Dantas-Cohen Aff

Solar Fits 1ac

Observation One – The Status Quo 

The federal government is embracing solar as a viable form of energy production for American homes, but their plans for expansion are limited to only 6 states.
US Dept of Interior ’12 [7/24, Obama Administration Releases Roadmap for Solar Energy Development on Public Lands, http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Obama-Administration-Releases-Roadmap-for-Solar-Energy-Development-on-Public-Lands.cfm]

As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy,
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faster, better permitting of large-scale solar projects on public lands.
Even if current programs are expanded to include more states, grandiose federal projects do no integrate well into the low income communities that have been battered by their proximity to fossil fuel industries for decades; and are being excluded as beneficiaries of the solar movement.
Cervas ’12, Coordinator @ California Environmental Justice [Strela, 1/19, Solar for All,http://caleja.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SmallScaleRDGfitProposal_FINALv4.pdf]

Low-income, communities of color have shouldered the burden of living adjacent to
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will give teeth to the concept of investing in communities most in need. 

And current incentive structures mean that the benefits of solar panels are reaped by wealthy families and businesses while low-income families literally pay the price.
Cardwell ’12, Business Day reporter for The New York Times covering energy [6/4, Diane, Solar Panel Payments Set Off a Fairness Debate, New York Times,http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/business/solar-payments-set-off-a-fairness-debate.html?pagewanted=all]

In California’s sun-scorched Central Valley, the monthly electric bill can easily top
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continue to encourage rooftop installations, while the utilities have generally been opposed. 

Thus, we offer the following plan: The Unites States Federal government should implement a feed in tariffs system for solar projects with a project size cap of 500 kilowatts, a program cap of 375 megawatts by 2020 at a "regular annual pace" with a term minimum of 20 years.

Observation Two – Solvency 

A small-scall FiT structure will facilitate solar installation in low income communities.
Cervas ’12, Coordinator @ California Environmental Justice [Strela, 1/19, Solar for All,http://caleja.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SmallScaleRDGfitProposal_FINALv4.pdf]

1 – Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) for small-scale projects:
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innovation, education, etc. to local communities, especially underemployed communities. 

These small scale projects will revitalize low income communities and give people control over their energy future.
Cervas ’12, Coordinator @ California Environmental Justice [Strela, 1/19, Solar for All,http://caleja.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SmallScaleRDGfitProposal_FINALv4.pdf]

Low-income communities
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their energy future. 

Advantage ¬¬¬¬¬1 – The Economy

Ominous signs about the US economy are sending ripples of worry throughout the global economy.
The International News 9/27/12 [http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-134157-Dow-transports-raise-warning-flag-for-US-economy]

NEW YORK: A slew of profit warnings from transportation companies like FedEx Corp and
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Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
Inability to recover jobs has doomed the US economy to a consistent downward spiral.
Wall Street Journal 9/7/12 [Fracking the U.S. economy isn’t working,http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2012/09/07/fracking-the-u-s-economy-isnt-working/]

In contrast, efforts of central bankers and politicians to frack the U.S
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relief, we’re likely to continue to see fewer and fewer Americans employed. 

Economic revitalization in low income communities is key to recovering the overall economy.
Gerlach and Neal ’12, R-Pa. and D-Mass. [Jim and Richard, A bipartisan solution to aid America's low-income communities, http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/231709-a-bipartisan-solution-to-aid-americas-low-income-communities]

How critical are these tax credits in stimulating economic development? According to the Government
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the disappointing May jobs numbers, our country can’t afford to let disappear. 

Economic collapse will lead to global war.
O’Donnell ‘09 [2-26, Sean, “Will this recession lead to World War III?” Baltimore Republican Examiner, www.examiner.com/republican-in-baltimore/will-this-recession-lead-to-world-war-iii, accessed 9/20/11]

Could the current economic crisis affecting this country and the world lead to another world
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possibility of World War III is averted. However sometimes history repeats itself. 

Empirically, only involvement at the federal level can access the poorest communities AND benefit the larger economy.
Gates ‘11 [Bill, 11/18, cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, chairman of Microsoft, and a member of the American Energy Innovation Council., The Energy Research Imperative http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6058/877.full]

As someone now working full time in global health and development, I see firsthand
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save—the world and provide generations to come with a brighter future. 

Advantage 2 - Energy Bills
The insanely high cost of energy forced upon low income families by unequal access to solar strains their already limited budgets – forcing the choice between paying energy bills and every other necessary cost of living, including mortgages and rent.
Smith et. al. ’07, MD & MPH – Chairperson of Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group [Lauren A., April, Unhealthy Consequences: Energy Costs and Child Health,http://www.hiaguide.org/sites/default/files/ChildHIAofenergycostsandchildhealth.pdf]

High energy costs place increased economic demands on low-income households with limited budgets
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suggest that their situation would be even more precarious without this important assistance. 

Specifically, high utility bills in low income communities are a leading cause of families’ inability to maintain the habitability of their home.
Smith et. al. ’07, MD & MPH – Chairperson of Child Health Impact Assessment Working Group [Lauren A., April, Unhealthy Consequences: Energy Costs and Child Health,http://www.hiaguide.org/sites/default/files/ChildHIAofenergycostsandchildhealth.pdf]

It is well documented that high energy costs can result in unpaid bills, leading
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off moratorium period, families continue to accrue debt for their utility bills. 

3.5 million people are on the brink of losing their home as we speak.
National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty 04/16/12(“Law Center Launches “All-In to End Homelessness” Campaign” < http://homelessnesslaw.org/2012/04/law-center-launches-%E2%80%9Call-in-to-end-homelessness%E2%80%9D-campaign/>)

The “All-In” campaign commemorates the Act’s 25th Anniversary – recognizing its
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to act.  It’s time to fulfill the promise of McKinney-Vento.

Scenario 1 – Interpersonal Victimization

Loss of housing pushes women into a spiraling crisis of ongoing sexual assault layered on top of constant struggle to meet basic survival needs. Women experiencing homelessness are trapped in a traumatic lifestyle of perpetual and repeated battering, including rape – they are confined to this violence by their own transience as all avenues for remedy require a fixed contact location and shelters are the breeding ground for the types of violence they are trying to flee. Keeping women in their homes is the only way to begin to address the impact of this trauma and to stop the cycle before it starts for many women.
Goodman et.al. ’11 [Lisa A. Goodman, Ph.D., Katya Fels, & Catherine Glenn, M.A. With contributions from Judy Benitez, No Safe Place: Sexual Assault in the Lives of Homeless Women]

Although prevalence rates of homelessness have been estimated at up to seven to eight percent
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creating a growing number of ìspecial needsî victims whose needs are grossly neglected. 

Women experiencing precarious housing situations are uniquely vulnerable to interpersonal violence  – this demands our immediate attention.
Goodman et.al. ’11 [Lisa A. Goodman, Ph.D., Katya Fels, & Catherine Glenn, M.A. With contributions from Judy Benitez, No Safe Place: Sexual Assault in the Lives of Homeless Women]

Despite over two decades of media and public policy attention, homelessness remains an enormous
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might take to intervene with victims and prevent future sexual assaults from occurring. 

Scenario 2 – Human Rights
Furthermore, people experiencing homelessness are subject to the most severe forms of human rights violations.
Austrialian Human Rights Commission 08(“Homelessness is a Human Rights Issue” <http://www.hreoc.gov.au/human_rights/housing/homelessness_2008.html#fnB34>)
People experiencing homelessness face violations of a wide range of human rights. Access to
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whole to ensure that the rights of homeless people are respected and protected.
And, failure to uphold human rights when given the opportunity makes extinction inevitable.
Human Rights Web ‘94 (An Introduction to the Human Rights Movement Created on July 20, 1994 / Last edited on January 25, 1997, http://www.hrweb.org/intro.html)
The HYPERLINK "http://www.hrweb.org/legal/unchartr.html"United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and UN Human Rights convenants were written
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to preserve the human race.

Our Role  
Loss of daily shelter is dehumanizing and leads to unspeakable violence against people in their most vulnerable state- we must take the first step to pull people out of this trap.
Norton ’09 [Larry,8/19, Dehumanizing the homeless: violence and hate, http://blog.oregonlive.com/oldtown/2009/08/dehumanizing_the_homeless_viol.html]

What is the effect of dehumanizing the homeless? Vulnerability. Previously (Part II
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message to the many homeless victims. Well so much for day dreams. 

These people literally become invisible in our society – our 1ac is an attempt to bring them back into our collective field of vision.
Jean 10(Abby, August 5, 2010, “Vulnerability: Indexes, Homelessness and Disability”< http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/08/05/vulnerability-indexes-homelessness-and-disability/>)
This population is considered extremely difficult to serve, as lots have tried to engage
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that – and these programs are proving that assumption to be absolutely wrong.