Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC Wake vs ISU CI

Our world is composed of a complex assortment of interacting force-fields, each following their own rules and working to their own tempo, continually being driven by their interactions and contradictions with other fields.  A human is just one small piece in a play of forces involving solar energy, tectonic plate shifts, ocean currents, asteroid showers, earthquakes, volcanos, species evolutions and extinctions, rainstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

Unfortunately, this world is in jeopardy.  Anthropogenic climate change poses an unmistakable danger to life of all kinds on Earth.  At stake are the very life cycle processes relied upon by humans and nonhumans alike.

Hannah ’12 Lee Hannah, senior researcher in climate change biology at Conservation International, visiting researcher and adjunct professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science %26 Management at UC-Santa Barbara, has a pretty detailed Wikipedia page, "As Threats to Biodiversity Grow, Can We Save World’s Species?" Yale Environment 360, 4/19/2012, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_threats_to_biodiversity_grow_can_we_save_worlds_species/2518/
Now, with 7 billion people on the planet — heading to 10 billion —
AND
timber, ranching, and farming such crops as soybeans and oil palm.

Climate change also affects humans unequally.  Regions responsible for the least GHG emissions will be at the greatest disadvantage.  Sea level rise puts the hundreds of millions of people living on coastal and low-lying regions at risk, while climate shifts magnify food and water shortages.  Entire islands are sinking.  Action is key.

Byravan and Rajan ’10 Sujatha Byravan and Sudhir Chella Rajan, "The Ethical Implications of Sea-Level Rise Due to Climate Change," Ethics %26 International Affairs 24, No. 3, 9/20/2010, only accessible on some exclusive database
As scientific evidence for the adverse effects of human-induced climate change grows stronger
AND
and resettlement in regions and countries on higher ground in advance of disaster. 

Global warming is a crisis point for the coordinates of contemporary critique.  For much of the 20^th century, theory tasked itself with breaking down totalizing regimes of ’truth’ and ’certainty’—but as these deconstructive practices have lost their critical spirit, our tools have fallen into the hands of political conservatives. A New York Times article relates the following:

(This paragraph is taken from the middle of the evidence cited below)
In these most depressing of times, these are some of the issues I want
AND
to continue to make the lack of scientific certainty a primary issue." 2

Critical thinkers must take notice: the ’science wars’ are over—now the left’s arguments are fighting the right’s battles.  It’s time for critique to change. We must challenge the socioeconomic forces behind rampant fossil fuel emissions directly.

Latour ’4 Bruno Latour, Professor and vice-president for research at Sciences Po Paris, "Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern," Critical Inquiry 30, Winter 2004
Wars. So many wars. Wars outside and wars inside. Cultural wars,
AND
by the worst possible fellows as an argument against the things we cherish?

There are a variety of ways to respond to our energy and climate crises.  In the 1950s, nuclear planners chose solid uranium/plutonium fuel cycle designs—these reactors, after all, produced plutonium that we could make nuclear bombs from.  Unfortunately, safe and efficient liquid-fluoride thorium reactors were passed over, and have since been ignored.

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
What if we could turn back the clock to 1965 and have an energy do
AND
elements. Instead power is needed to prevent the shutdown of the reactor.

We affirm: The United States federal government should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for Liquid Fluoride Thorium Small Modular Reactors.

Flexible incentives would prompt a thorium renaissance

Rosner and Goldberg ’11 (Robert (William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics) and Stephen (Special Assistant to the Director at the Argonne National Laboratory) , Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.", Technical Paper, Revision 1, November 2011)
Production Cost Incentive: A production cost incentive is a performance-based incentive.
AND
should be subject to further analysis as higher quality cost estimates become available.

This would trigger key reductions in carbon emissions—that’s essential to slow and reverse anthropogenic climate change

Hargraves and Moir ’11 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors," Physics %26 Society, January 2011, http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/201101/hargraves.cfm
Burning coal for power is the largest source of atmospheric CO2, which drives global
AND
, ending 10 billion tons per year of CO2 emissions from coal plants.

Talking about state policies that improve the ways we produce energy and contest climate change has a radical potential.  The 1AC affirms a militant pluralist assemblage tasked with exploring new strategies for reducing inequality and changing human interaction with our so-called ’environment.’

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
3.    Today, perhaps the initial target should be on reconstituting established patterns of
AND
, role performance, cultural ethos, market regulation, and citizen activism.

We should stop treating structures as unmovable wholes—all it takes is one crack to expose the fragility of oppressive institutions.  The plan is a radical experiment in democratic politics.

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
A philosophy attending to the acceleration, expansion, irrationalities, interdependencies and fragilities of
AND
it. The following tentative judgments and sites of action may be pertinent.

Praxis can be hard, but planning action is essential for achieving our critical goals.  The world is not reducible solely to discourse—subjectivity is also positioned within material circumstances that influence thought—this demands particular strategies for change

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
If I get worked up about these issues, then this is because I think
AND
, hitching everything on psychology, attachment, and identification. Well done%21

A responsible politics must learn to appreciate the contours and crannies permeating existence.  Singular, unitary, and whole accounts of being are inevitably unsettled in confrontations with alterity; they respond with hatred, reactivity, and violence.  A responsible politics must cultivate a sense of becoming. Evaluate this debate in terms of competing responses to difference.

Connolly ’11 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, A World of Becoming, 2011, p. 5-8
A force-field, roughly speaking, is any energized pattern in slow or
AND
of spirituality, economics, political action, poetic experience, and ethics.

The intellectual exploration behind the 1AC is not just another positivist or technoscientific epistemology—the aff employs thorium power and climate science not as matters of fact, but matters of concern, cultivating an ethic of care for difference

Latour ’4 Bruno Latour, Professor and vice-president for research at Sciences Po Paris, "Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern," Critical Inquiry 30, Winter 2004
Do you see why I am worried? Threats might have changed so much that
AND
I say it, in a matter-of-concern way? 10

Encounter our aff as a becoming-revolutionary.  Political dichotomies lapse into the worst violence; politics must include caution alongside experimentation.

Tampio ’9 Nicholas Tampio, Fordham University, "Assemblages and the Multitude: Deleuze, Hardt, Negri, and the Postmodern Left," European Journal of Political Theory 8 (3), 2009, 383-400, Sage
In his 1990 interview with Negri, Deleuze refutes the Leninist assumptions embedded in Negri’s
AND
armory that is not tied to the Marxist-Leninist image of politics.

1AC Rd 3 UNLV

Contention 1 is physics.

Liquid fluoride thorium reactors are safe, efficient, and minimally wasteful

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
Liquid fuel thorium reactors offer an array of advantages in design, operation, safety
AND
200 million airplane per day, could be a model for LFTR production.

However, thorium tech hasn’t caught on in the US

Niiler ’12 Eric Niiler, "Nuclear power entrepreneurs push thorium as a fuel," Washington Post, 2/20/2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nuclear-power-entrepreneurs-push-thorium-as-a-fuel/2011/12/15/gIQALTinPR_story.html
The proposed fuel is thorium, an abundant silver-gray element named for the
AND
States or with the national research labs charged with investigating future energy sources.

Climate change is coming now and bears a hugely disproportionate impact on those already at the greatest socioeconomic disadvantage, causing widespread physical displacement and death

Byravan and Rajan ’10 Sujatha Byravan and Sudhir Chella Rajan, "The Ethical Implications of Sea-Level Rise Due to Climate Change," Ethics %26 International Affairs 24, No. 3, 9/20/2010, only accessible on some exclusive database
As scientific evidence for the adverse effects of human-induced climate change grows stronger
AND
is not always equivalent to an argument for making reparations for past injury. 

Global warming risks massive species die-off and habitat destruction

Hannah ’12 Lee Hannah, senior researcher in climate change biology at Conservation International, visiting researcher and adjunct professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science %26 Management at UC-Santa Barbara, has a pretty detailed Wikipedia page, "As Threats to Biodiversity Grow, Can We Save World’s Species?" Yale Environment 360, 4/19/2012, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_threats_to_biodiversity_grow_can_we_save_worlds_species/2518/
Now, with 7 billion people on the planet — heading to 10 billion —
AND
timber, ranching, and farming such crops as soybeans and oil palm.

We affirm: The United States federal government should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for Liquid Fuel Thorium Small Modular Reactors.

Flexible incentives would prompt a thorium renaissance

Rosner and Goldberg ’11 (Robert (William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics) and Stephen (Special Assistant to the Director at the Argonne National Laboratory) , Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.", Technical Paper, Revision 1, November 2011)
Production Cost Incentive: A production cost incentive is a performance-based incentive.
AND
should be subject to further analysis as higher quality cost estimates become available.

This would trigger key reductions in carbon emissions—that’s essential to slow and reverse anthropogenic climate change

Hargraves and Moir ’11 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors," Physics %26 Society, January 2011, http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/201101/hargraves.cfm
Burning coal for power is the largest source of atmospheric CO2, which drives global
AND
, ending 10 billion tons per year of CO2 emissions from coal plants.

Thorium spills over—formal mechanisms encourage global tech dispersal

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~[www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~], jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Formal mechanisms buoy global exports

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

Contention 2 is fragility.

Our world is composed of an unimaginable complexity of interacting force-fields, each following their own rules and working to their own tempo, continually being driven by their interactions and contradictions with other fields.  The human is but one small piece in a play of forces involving solar energy, tectonic plate shifts, ocean currents, asteroid showers, earthquakes, volcanos, species evolutions and extinctions, rainstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

However, human influence is accelerating in dangerous ways, such as increasing emissions of green-house gases into the air, trapping heat within the atmosphere, severely disturbing the prior functioning of ecological processes.  We should take two things from this.  First, humanity is not alone on the earth.  We are surrounded not only by other critters, but also inorganic pulses of energy and matter with unmistakable impact on our lives.  In fact, humanity itself is not closed; it too is open, changing, continuously including and excluding.  Second, we still carry a disproportionate influence on things—this complex world of becoming is radically fragile, open to change, for better or for worse.  And thus our social realities are also malleable, contestable, and fragile.

Amidst all these diffuse networks, vectors, and multiplicities, it’s hard to believe that some still hold onto ’total’ and ’whole’ accounts of being and identity, but if the last 10 years of military interventions social oppressions tell us anything, it’s that these totalizing world-views live on, and produce vengefulness and ressentiment when they encounter difference, leading to massive, unflinching exercises of violence. "They" killed 3,000 people who happened to reside within the same geographic boundaries as us, so "we" re-raised by invading two of their countries, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands (at least).  All this destruction because an impossible number of contingent factors aligned to pit two stratified social fields against each other, both trapped in absolutist ideology and unwilling to see change.

These are the stakes of leftist politics today.  We can either resign ourselves to stratified fundamentalism or take a risk on a new strategy to contest environmental destruction, combining critical thought, social interaction, and institutional engagement. Affirm the plan as an experiment in political becoming.

Connolly ’11 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, A World of Becoming, 2011, p. 5-8
A force-field, roughly speaking, is any energized pattern in slow or
AND
of spirituality, economics, political action, poetic experience, and ethics.

Praxis can be hard.  In all our critiquing, destabilizing, and disrupting, we risk losing sight of the important goals our critiques suggest—the material changes necessary to reorient institutions and social relations in less violent fashions. This obviates particular strategies for change in conjunction with broadening our theoretical lenses.

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
If I get worked up about these issues, then this is because I think
AND
, hitching everything on psychology, attachment, and identification. Well done%21

We should stop treating structures as unmovable wholes—all it takes is one crack to expose the fragility of oppressive institutions.  The plan is a radical experiment in democratic politics.

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
A philosophy attending to the acceleration, expansion, irrationalities, interdependencies and fragilities of
AND
it. The following tentative judgments and sites of action may be pertinent.

Talking about state policies that improve the ways we produce energy and contest climate change has a radical potential.  The 1AC affirms a militant pluralist assemblage tasked with exploring new strategies for reducing inequality and changing human interaction with our so-called ’environment.’

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
3.    Today, perhaps the initial target should be on reconstituting established patterns of
AND
, role performance, cultural ethos, market regulation, and citizen activism.

Nature and humanity do not exist as pre-formed totalities, but social theory which discards either as platonic myopia commits a severe strategic and ethical error. The future of humanity is not determined by humanism; time remains open to strategic interventions which infuse an emancipatory ethic into a spirit of engagement with difference.

Connolly ’11 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, A World of Becoming, 2011, p. 17-21
There has been a tendency in cultural theory, philosophy, and political theory to
AND
of real agency and creativity into a variety of natural-social processes.

1AC - Gonzaga

Contention 1 is physics.

Liquid fluoride thorium reactors are safe, efficient, and minimally wasteful

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
Liquid fuel thorium reactors offer an array of advantages in design, operation, safety
AND
200 million airplane per day, could be a model for LFTR production.

However, thorium tech hasn’t caught on in the US

Niiler ’12 Eric Niiler, "Nuclear power entrepreneurs push thorium as a fuel," Washington Post, 2/20/2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nuclear-power-entrepreneurs-push-thorium-as-a-fuel/2011/12/15/gIQALTinPR_story.html
The proposed fuel is thorium, an abundant silver-gray element named for the
AND
States or with the national research labs charged with investigating future energy sources.

Climate change is coming now and bears a hugely disproportionate impact on those already at the greatest socioeconomic disadvantage, causing widespread physical displacement and death

Byravan and Rajan ’10 Sujatha Byravan and Sudhir Chella Rajan, "The Ethical Implications of Sea-Level Rise Due to Climate Change," Ethics %26 International Affairs 24, No. 3, 9/20/2010, only accessible on some exclusive database
As scientific evidence for the adverse effects of human-induced climate change grows stronger
AND
is not always equivalent to an argument for making reparations for past injury. 

Global warming risks massive species die-off and habitat destruction

Hannah ’12 Lee Hannah, senior researcher in climate change biology at Conservation International, visiting researcher and adjunct professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science %26 Management at UC-Santa Barbara, has a pretty detailed Wikipedia page, "As Threats to Biodiversity Grow, Can We Save World’s Species?" Yale Environment 360, 4/19/2012, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_threats_to_biodiversity_grow_can_we_save_worlds_species/2518/
Now, with 7 billion people on the planet — heading to 10 billion —
AND
timber, ranching, and farming such crops as soybeans and oil palm.

We affirm: The United States federal government should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for thorium small modular nuclear reactors.

Flexible incentives would prompt a thorium renaissance

Rosner and Goldberg ’11 (Robert (William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics) and Stephen (Special Assistant to the Director at the Argonne National Laboratory) , Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, "Small Modular Reactors – Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.", Technical Paper, Revision 1, November 2011)
Production Cost Incentive: A production cost incentive is a performance-based incentive.
AND
should be subject to further analysis as higher quality cost estimates become available.

This would trigger key reductions in carbon emissions—that’s essential to slow and reverse anthropogenic climate change

Hargraves and Moir ’11 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fuel Nuclear Reactors," Physics %26 Society, January 2011, http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/201101/hargraves.cfm
Burning coal for power is the largest source of atmospheric CO2, which drives global
AND
, ending 10 billion tons per year of CO2 emissions from coal plants.

Thorium spills over—formal mechanisms encourage global tech dispersal

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~[www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~], jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Formal mechanisms buoy global exports

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

Contention 2 is fragility.

Our world is composed of an unimaginable complexity of interacting force-fields, each following their own rules and working to their own tempo, continually being driven by their interactions and contradictions with other fields.  The human is but one small piece in a play of forces involving solar energy, tectonic plate shifts, ocean currents, asteroid showers, earthquakes, volcanos, species evolutions and extinctions, rainstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

However, human influence is accelerating in dangerous ways, such as increasing emissions of green-house gases into the air, trapping heat within the atmosphere, severely disturbing the prior functioning of ecological processes.  We should take two things from this.  First, humanity is not alone on the earth.  We are surrounded not only by other critters, but also inorganic pulses of energy and matter with unmistakable impact on our lives.  In fact, humanity itself is not closed; it too is open, changing, continuously including and excluding.  Second, we still carry a disproportionate influence on things—this complex world of becoming is radically fragile, open to change, for better or for worse.  And thus our social realities are also malleable, contestable, and fragile.

I wrote this 1AC last Wednesday, on the 11^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.  Amidst all these diffuse networks, vectors, and multiplicities, it’s hard to believe that some still hold onto ’total’ and ’whole’ accounts of being and identity, but if the attacks tell us anything, it’s that these totalizing world-views live on, and produce vengefulness and ressentiment when they encounter difference, leading to massive, unflinching exercises of violence. "They" killed 3,000 people who happened to reside within the same geographic boundaries as us, so "we" re-raised by invading two of their countries, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands (at least).  All this destruction because an impossible number of contingent factors aligned to pit two stratified social fields against each other, both trapped in absolutist ideology and unwilling to see change.

These are the stakes of leftist politics today.  We can either resign ourselves to stratified fundamentalism or take a risk on a new strategy to contest environmental destruction, combining critical thought, social interaction, and institutional engagement in a politics of becoming.

Connolly ’11 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, A World of Becoming, 2011, p. 5-8
A force-field, roughly speaking, is any energized pattern in slow or
AND
of spirituality, economics, political action, poetic experience, and ethics.

Praxis can be hard.  In all our critiquing, destabilizing, and disrupting, we risk losing sight of the important goals our critiques suggest—the material changes necessary to reorient institutions and social relations in less violent fashions. This obviates particular strategies for change in conjunction with broadening our theoretical lenses.

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
If I get worked up about these issues, then this is because I think
AND
, hitching everything on psychology, attachment, and identification. Well done%21

We should stop treating structures as unmovable wholes—all it takes is one crack to expose the fragility of oppressive institutions.  The plan is a radical experiment in democratic politics.

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
A philosophy attending to the acceleration, expansion, irrationalities, interdependencies and fragilities of
AND
it. The following tentative judgments and sites of action may be pertinent.

Role playing as the government to improve the ways we produce energy and contest climate change has a radical potential.  The 1AC affirms a militant pluralist assemblage tasked with exploring new strategies for reducing inequality and changing human interaction with our so-called ’environment.’

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
3.    Today, perhaps the initial target should be on reconstituting established patterns of
AND
, role performance, cultural ethos, market regulation, and citizen activism.

The consequences of climate change should not be underestimated or ignored for the sake of ’theoretical purity.’ Social theory must redirect its analytical attention to climate science—refusal risks complicity with the worst violence

Lever-Tracy ’8 Constance Lever-Tracy, "Global Warming and Sociology," Current Sociology 56 (3), 2008, pp. 445-466, http://ireswb.cc.ku.edu/~~crgc/NSFWorkshop/Readings/Lever-Tracy%20Current%20Sociology%202008.pdf
There is a mystery in this lack of interest in developments that could conceivably open
AND
worse – an effective complicity with the vested interests of fossil fuel corporations.

Finally, debate is becoming, not being.  Role-playing lets students safely explore the methodologies and consequences of different ideas, constructing a unique form of education and creative expression

Hanghøj ’8 Thorkild Hanghøj, Since this PhD project began in 2004, the present author has been affiliated with DREAM (Danish Research Centre on Education and Advanced Media Materials), which is located at the Institute of Literature, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. Research visits have taken place at the Centre for Learning, Knowledge, and Interactive Technologies (L-KIT), the Institute of Education at the University of Bristol and the institute formerly known as Learning Lab Denmark at the School of Education, University of Aarhus, where he currently works as an assistant Professor, "Playful Knowledge: An Explorative Study of Educational Gaming," PhD Dissertation in the Institute of Literature, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, 2008, http://static.sdu.dk/mediafiles/Files/Information_til/Studerende_ved_SDU/Din_uddannelse/phd_hum/afhandlinger/2009/ThorkilHanghoej.pdf
Joas’ re-interpretation of Dewey’s pragmatism as a "theory of situated creativity"
AND
the contingent outcomes and domain-specific processes of problem-based scenarios. 

Policy debate over controversies like energy policy and global warming is a critical internal link to generating a more informed public to influence real policymakers to institute large-scale changes

Herbick and Isham ’10 Marian Herbick, senior at the University of Vermont, where she is studying natural resource planning and wildlife biology and where she is a member of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Honors College, and Jon Isham, professor of economics and environmental studies at Middlebury College, "The Promise of Deliberative Democracy," Solutions, Vol. 1, Issue 5, pp. 25-27, October 2010, http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/775
Getting to 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere will require massive investments in
AND
, policymakers should seek out deliberative polls in their decision-making process.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 1 vs UTSA RR

Even if our aff does not resolve calculative thinking or our alienation from the environment our advocacy of policy changes to address global warming is still essential.  The scientific consensus around warming is not replicated in current politics.  We should recognize the proximate alienation from the natural world denies our planets heat.

Housman 11 Benjamin H. Housman Undergradute Honor’s Thesis at Emory titled "Cooling Down Global Warming: Revisiting Sartre and Heidegger on this Modern Day Challenge" April 14, 2011, PJF
Up to this point we have explored existential theories of responsibility, social ontology,
AND
positioned, technological world that impairs an ethic of care towards our environment.

Being has not been forgotten—but totalizing accounts of technology shut themselves off from any relation to it

Latour ’93 Bruno Latour, professor at the Ecole des Mines de Paris, We Have Never Been Modern, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1993, p. 66-67
Who has forgotten Being? No one, no one ever has, otherwise Nature
AND
is a surer guide than Heidegger: ’Einai gar kai entautha theous.’

The K of technology misses the boat—the segregation of "nature" from "machine" is anthropocentric metaphysics

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~[Awesome philosopher with a PhD in biology~], "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
The second leaky distinction is between animal-human (organism) and machine.
AND
machines. Our machines are disturbingly lively, and we ourselves frighteningly inert.

Far from simply alienating animals and reducing them to "standing reserve," science has emerged as a tool to reshape the metaphysical divide between us and animals.

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~[Awesome philosopher with a Phd in biology~], "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
I will return to the science fiction of cyborgs at the end of this chapter
AND
teaching modern Christian creationism should be fought as a form of child abuse.

Bare life as a concept denies the radical animation present in animal and ’natural’ life

Stanescu ’9 James Stanescu, former debater and prolific blogger, "Calarco’s Zoographies: Jamming the Anthropological Machine – Agamben," The Inhumanities, 9/24/2009, typos fixed in brackets, http://inhumanities.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/calarcos-zoographies-jamming-the-anthropological-machine-agamben/
I should have added this last night, but I forgot. The section on
AND
to ~[be~] turned into bare life just like the human animal.

Alt cedes the political—turns the K—our advocacy solves

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
6.    The democratic state, while it certainly cannot alone tame capital or reconstitute
AND
either socialist productivism or the world projected by proponents of deep ecology.23

Sovereignty might get a bad rap but it isn’t nearly as bad as they make it out to be. Discourses of the law’s violent underside obscures its potential to get stuff done.  We don’t always have to resist—we can see the state as strategic.

Jacques Derrida, Directeur d’Etudes at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and Professor of Philosophy, French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, 2004, For What Tomorrow? A Dialogue With Elisabeth Roudinesco, p. 91-92
J.D.: A moment ago you spoke of regicide as the necessity of
AND
it seems im¬possible, and not sovereignty, even when it seems possible.

Prefer plurality over unitary theory—our world of fragility and complexity can’t be explained by singular totalizing frameworks—it always leaps outside and beyond these explanations.  Mixing critique is the best strategy because it allows for greater theoretical agility—the alt alone is an anthropocentric denial of the activity of objects

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
What we need– or what I want –is something like the Lacanian Borromean
AND
others, and refusing to privilege one point of view on the universe.

Rather than fully rejecting speed, we should strategically engage it to inspire a more pluralist cosmopolitan ethic. Late modernity’s quickening pace can be redeployed to check against the most harmful outgrowths of speed while simultaneously breaking down the slow-moving dogmas left over from modernism.

Connolly 2k William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Speed, Concentric Cultures, and Cosmopolitanism," Political Theory, Vol. 28 No. 5, October 2000, JSTOR
It may forever be impossible for parties on either side of the transcendental/ immanent
AND
unsusceptible to resolution by one country, one faith, or one philosophy.

Far from simply alienating animals and reducing them to "standing reserve," science has emerged as a tool to reshape the metaphysical divide between us and animals.

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~[Awesome philosopher with a Phd in biology~], "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
I will return to the science fiction of cyborgs at the end of this chapter
AND
teaching modern Christian creationism should be fought as a form of child abuse.

Their calculation of the state’s potential and naturalist ontology means no future

Derrida ’1 Jacques Derrida, Directeur d’Etudes at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, 2001, A Taste for the Secret, p. 19-21
In dealing with what-is-to-come ~[1’avenir~] ,2
AND
distin¬guished not only from law, but also from what is in general.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC – Fullerton

Based Islands Advantage

Cyber attack imminent and feasible – probing proves actors are in the staging steps – reverse engineer of Stuxnet likely

Reed 12 (John, national security reporter for Foreign Policy, University of New Hampshire with a dual degree in international affairs and history, "U.S. energy companies victims of potentially destructive cyber intrusions," Oct 11, ~[killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/10/11/us_energy_companies_victims_of_potentially_destructive_cyber_attacks~])
Foreign actors are probing the networks of key American companies in an attempt to gain
AND
to conduct effective operations to counter threats to our national interests in cyberspace."

Civilian grid blackouts wreck national command authority, fracture global military operations, collapse deterrence, and escalate to nuclear war—vulnerability independently invites cyber-attacks

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~[www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~], jam)
Grid Vulnerability. DOD is unable to provide its bases with electricity when the civilian
AND
however, may not share this fear or be deterred by this possibility. 

Loss of national command authority and cyber attack causes miscalc and extinction

Lawson 9 (Sean - assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, Cross-Domain Response to Cyber Attacks and the Threat of Conflict, 5/13, http://www.seanlawson.net/?p=477)
At a time when it seems impossible to avoid the seemingly growing hysteria over the
AND
lethal agent is regarded with the same or greater seriousness." ~[7~] 

SMRs efficiently island bases from grid failure—deters by denial

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~[www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~], jam)
In 2008, the Defense Science Board stressed that DOD should mitigate the electrical grid’s
AND
in order to win an ongoing battle or war would be greatly reduced. 

Thorium is the only energy capable of reliably supporting bases

Ackerman 11 (Spencer, senior reporter at Wired, "Latest Pentagon Brainstorm: Nuke-Powered War Bases," Feb 18, ~[www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/nuke-bases/~], jam)
Imagine the snow-capped peaks of mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Wouldn’t it be better
AND
I have no idea why you’d want to bring that upon the world."

Prolif Advantage

Scenario 1 is terrorism

Russia has dropped out of Nunn-Lugar – without reprocessing, vulnerable fissile material will find its way into the hands of terrorists causing extinction – Russia needs a new, independent, cost-effective program

NYT 10/17 ("Mr. Putin’s Gift to Terrorists," 2012, NYTimes Editorial Board, ~[www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/opinion/vladimir-putins-gift-to-terrorists.html?_r=1%26~], jam)
There will be plenty of losers from Russia’s recent decision to end two decades of
AND
Mr. Putin, having created that problem, must now solve it.

START means there is a lot of new vulnerable fissile material – Russia won’t deal with it

Diakov 12 (Anatoli, Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, "Disposition of Excess Russian Weapon HEU and Plutonium," Feb, ~[www.unidir.org/pdf/ouvrages/pdf-1-92-9045-012-D-en.pdf~], jam)
There is no public indication that Russia has set specific requirements for the quantities of
AND
will not be used to block Rosatom SWU sales in the United States. 

Nuclear terrorism is inevitable absent fissile material disposal and Russia is the most likely candidate for theft—Bin Laden was only the beginning—expert consensus

Smith 11 (James F., Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Jun 6, ~[www.nti.org/newsroom/news/first-joint-us-russia-assessment/~], jam)
Researchers from the United States and Russia today issued a joint assessment of the global
AND
by UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and international police organizations.

Assume a high risk of nuclear attack – it is too easy to steal weapons grade material

Tirone ’12 (Jonathan, reporter for Bloomberg News, 3/22/2012, "Missing Nukes Fuel Terror Concern," ~[www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-22/missing-nukes-fuel-terror-concern-as-seoul-meeting-draws-obama~%23p1~], jam)
A nuclear-armed terrorist attack on the U.S. port in Long
AND
lead to a detonation that would make the Fukushima disaster pale in comparison."

Terrorism causes global nuclear escalation – national retaliation goes global

Morgan ’9 (Dennis Ray, Professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University, December, "World on fire: two scenarios of the destruction of human civilization and possible extinction of the human race" Futures, Vol 41 Issue 10, p 683-693, ScienceDirect) ORIGINALLY CUT BY MATT GOMEZ FOR THE SCUFI. THANKS, MATT.
In a remarkable website on nuclear war, Carol Moore asks the question "Is
AND
, taking a savage toll upon the environment and fragile ecosphere as well.

Thorium reactors can’t produce weapons grade waste – stymies proliferation

Donohue 8/17 (Nathan, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, research intern for the Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2012, "Thorium and its Value in Nonproliferation," ~[csis.org/blog/thorium-and-its-value-nonproliferation~], jam)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) recently featured an article on their Science
AND
); and advanced designs such as Molten Salt Reactor and Accelerator Driven System.

LFTRs provide safe and effective reprocessing without risk of prolif

Hall 10 (Vincent, M.S. Chemical Engineering at University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Process Engineer at Burns %26 McDonnell, "A REVIEW OF THE BENEFITS AND APPLICATIONS OF THE THORIUM FUEL CYCLE," Sep 21, jam)
What appears to be the most promising reactor design for the thorium fuel cycle is
AND
realizable and available to the public as a very clean form of energy. 

Plan makes the U.S. a leader in thorium tech – formal mechanisms buoy international adoption

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~[www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~], jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Domestic development prompts global exports

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

Scenario 2 is Iran

Thorium solves Iran prolif and Middle East war

Harrington 12 (Anthony, award-winning business and energy journalist, writing regularly for the Scotsman newspaper, the Glasgow Herald newspaper, Financial Director magazine, Pensions Insight magazine, CA Magazine, and a number of other publications, "Thorium reactors could hold the key to safer cheaper nuclear power," Aug 30, ~[www.qfinance.com/blogs/anthony-harrington/2012/08/30/thorium-reactors-could-hold-the-key-to-safer-cheaper-nuclear-power~], jam)
It goes without saying that business needs energy to run. The wheels of industry
AND
as other countries bring forward their thorium reactor research remains to be seen.

Testing Iran is key – negotiations prove

Haas 10/17 - President of the Council on Foreign Relations since 2003, previously served as Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/can-iran-compromise-on-its-nuclear-program-by-richard-n—haass
NEW YORK – Most of the debate about how to address Iran’s efforts to develop
AND
a nuclear weapon – and, with it, the march to conflict.

SMRs are key to prolif-resistant cradle-to-grave nuclear tech adoption – solves Iran

Mandel 9 (Jenny, Scientific American, Environment and Energy Publishing, LLC, "Less Is More for Designers of "Right-Sized" Nuclear Reactors," Sep 9, ~[www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=small-nuclear-power-plant-station-mini-reactor~], jam)
Tom Sanders, president of the American Nuclear Society and manager of Sandia National Laboratories’
AND
is: Are we building them, or are we just importing them?"

Testing Iran exposes intent which solves proliferation and Israeli strikes

Ross 12 (Ambassador Dennis, counselor at The Washington Institute, previously served as special assistant to President Obama and senior director for the central region at the National Security Council, "Calling Iran’s Bluff: It’s Time to Offer Tehran a Civilian Nuclear Program," Jun 15, ~[www.tnr.com/article/politics/104085/calling-iran’s-bluff-its-time-offer-iran-civilian-nuclear-program?page=0,1~], jam)
Herein lies the trap for Washington in the current step-by-step approach
AND
diplomatic failure—with all that implies about our readiness to use force. 

Nuke war – miscalc and first use pressure

Robb et al 10/10 ("The Price of Inaction: An analysis of
AND
CEO and Chairman of the Board of  Directors, Boston Properties, Inc.)
A nuclear Iran would immediately encounter another nuclear state—even if an undeclared  one
AND
as a much smaller country Israel has far less room for maneuver. xxvi

Solvency

Text: The Department of Defense should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for electricity from Small Modular Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors for military facilities in the United States.

Thorium reactor tech exists—but no domestic development now

Evans-Pritchard ’10 Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor, "Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium," The Telegraph (UK), 8/29/2010, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/7970619/Obama-could-kill-fossil-fuels-overnight-with-a-nuclear-dash-for-thorium.html
Muddling on with the status quo is not a grown-up policy. The
AND
way to pull the US out of perma-slump than scattershot stimulus.

Federal production cost-incentives are key to widespread commercialization – learning benefits and aggregation of demand

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
As illustrated in the previous discussion, until significant learning benefits are achieved, the
AND
, can surmount these challenges and provide critical initial markets for SMR plants. 

Plan bypasses licensing restrictions—causes rapid commercialization

Hunt 11 (Gary L, 30 years experience in the energy, software and information technology industries,  Tech%26Creative Labs, "Is there a Small Modular Nuke in our Distributed Energy Future?," May 31, ~[www.tclabz.com/2011/05/31/is-there-a-small-modular-nuke-in-our-distributed-energy-future/~], jam)
What the US military needs according to Colonel Roege is clean, modular, transportable
AND
to displace coal and replace the first generation nuclear units as they retire.

We access cost-competitiveness

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
In terms of cost, the ideal would be to compete successfully against coal without
AND
sites. The savings from adapting existing infrastructure could be very large indeed. 

Transition takes 30 months

Sorensen 11 (Kirk, studying thorium technology since 2000 and has been a public advocate for its use and development since 2006, masters’ degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is studying nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Laurence Miller, May 28, ~[www.financialsense.com/financial-sense-newshour/big-picture/2011/05/28/03/kirk-sorensen/thorium-could-be-our-energy-silver-bullet~], jam)
Jim: (32:00) Let me throw another idea, and I’ve
AND
and the answer is absolutely yes. And it would go quite quickly.

Thorium can be introduced into existing nuclear fuel cycles

IAEA ’5 "Thorium fuel cycle — Potential benefits and challenges," International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section, May 2005, http://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/te_1450_web.pdf
Several thorium-based fuel design options investigated in recent years ~[28~], have
AND
existing LWRs (i.e., within the current "safety envelope").

DOE already announced specific SMR grants

Halper 12/3 (Mark, writer for the Weinberg Foundation, UK-based not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing the research, development and deployment of safe, clean and affordable nuclear energy technologies to combat climate change and underpin sustainable development for the world , "’Small’ step forward for alternative nuclear: U.S. Dept. of Energy funds Babcock %26 Wilcox modular reactor" 2012, ~[www.the-weinberg-foundation.org/2012/12/03/small-step-forward-for-alternative-nuclear-u-s-dept-of-energy-funds-babcock-wilcox-modular-reactor/~])
Neither DOE nor B%26W would disclose the amount of funding DOE is providing
AND
, Pennsylvania-based Lehigh Heavy Forge Corp. to fabricate the shell.

Optimists are wrong—prolif is destabilizing—offense/defense paradox resolves itself in miscalc, accidental launch, out of control escalation

Kroenig ’12 Matthew Kroenig, Council on Foreign Relations Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow and Georgetown University assistant professor of government, "The History of Proliferation Optimism:  Does It Have A Future?" Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, 5/26/2012, http://www.npolicy.org/article.php?aid=1182%26tid=30
First and foremost, proliferation optimists do not appear to understand contemporary deterrence theory.  
AND
war in an attempt to force less-resolved opponents to back down.

Shirley Rd 2 vs Binghamton GR

PROLIF ADVANTAGE

Russia has dropped out of Nunn-Lugar – without reprocessing, vulnerable fissile material will find its way into the hands of terrorists causing extinction – Russia needs a new, independent, cost-effective program

NYT 10/17 ("Mr. Putin’s Gift to Terrorists," 2012, NYTimes Editorial Board, ~[www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/opinion/vladimir-putins-gift-to-terrorists.html?_r=1%26~], jam)
There will be plenty of losers from Russia’s recent decision to end two decades of
AND
Mr. Putin, having created that problem, must now solve it.

START means there is a lot of new vulnerable fissile material – Russia won’t deal with it

Diakov 12 (Anatoli, Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, "Disposition of Excess Russian Weapon HEU and Plutonium," Feb, ~[www.unidir.org/pdf/ouvrages/pdf-1-92-9045-012-D-en.pdf~], jam)
There is no public indication that Russia has set specific requirements for the quantities of
AND
will not be used to block Rosatom SWU sales in the United States. 

Nuclear terrorism is inevitable absent fissile material disposal and Russia is the most likely candidate for theft—Bin Laden was only the beginning—expert consensus

Smith 11 (James F., Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Jun 6, ~[www.nti.org/newsroom/news/first-joint-us-russia-assessment/~], jam)
Researchers from the United States and Russia today issued a joint assessment of the global
AND
by UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and international police organizations.

Assume a high risk of nuclear attack – it is too easy to steal weapons grade material

Tirone ’12 (Jonathan, reporter for Bloomberg News, 3/22/2012, "Missing Nukes Fuel Terror Concern," ~[www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-22/missing-nukes-fuel-terror-concern-as-seoul-meeting-draws-obama~%23p1~], jam)
A nuclear-armed terrorist attack on the U.S. port in Long
AND
lead to a detonation that would make the Fukushima disaster pale in comparison."

Terrorism causes global nuclear escalation – national retaliation goes global

Morgan ’9 (Dennis Ray, Professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University, December, "World on fire: two scenarios of the destruction of human civilization and possible extinction of the human race" Futures, Vol 41 Issue 10, p 683-693, ScienceDirect) ORIGINALLY CUT BY MATT GOMEZ FOR THE SCUFI. THANKS, MATT.
In a remarkable website on nuclear war, Carol Moore asks the question "Is
AND
, taking a savage toll upon the environment and fragile ecosphere as well.

Thorium reactors can’t produce weapons grade waste – stymies proliferation

Donohue 8/17 (Nathan, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, research intern for the Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2012, "Thorium and its Value in Nonproliferation," ~[csis.org/blog/thorium-and-its-value-nonproliferation~], jam)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) recently featured an article on their Science
AND
); and advanced designs such as Molten Salt Reactor and Accelerator Driven System.

LFTRs provide safe and effective reprocessing without risk of prolif

Hall 10 (Vincent, M.S. Chemical Engineering at University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Process Engineer at Burns %26 McDonnell, "A REVIEW OF THE BENEFITS AND APPLICATIONS OF THE THORIUM FUEL CYCLE," Sep 21, jam)
What appears to be the most promising reactor design for the thorium fuel cycle is
AND
realizable and available to the public as a very clean form of energy. 

Plan makes the U.S. a leader in thorium tech – formal mechanisms buoy international adoption

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~[www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~], jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Domestic development prompts global exports

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

~%23BASED ISLANDS ADVANTAGE

Long-term grid outages are devastating and highly probable – degrading infrastructure, solar storm, EMP, cyberattack, pandemic, or physical attack

Bartlett et al 12 (Roscoe, Congressman 6th district of Maryland, Rich Andres, Energy Security Chair, National Defense University, Jack Markey, Director, Division of Emergency Management in Frederick County, Maryland, Marshall Hanson, Legislative Director, Reserve Officers Association,  R. James Woolsey, Chairman, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Former Director of Central Intelligence,  The Honorable Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor to President Reagan, Aug 3, ~[bartlett.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=305763~], jam)
Congressman Bartlett noted, "The U.S. electric grid is one of
AND
Roscoe Bartlett is the go-to man on energy and environmental policies."

Civilian grid blackouts wreck national command authority, fracture global military operations, collapse deterrence, and escalate to nuclear war—vulnerability independently invites cyber-attacks

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~[www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~], jam)
Grid Vulnerability. DOD is unable to provide its bases with electricity when the civilian
AND
however, may not share this fear or be deterred by this possibility. 

Loss of national command authority and cyber attack causes miscalc and extinction

Lawson 9 (Sean - assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, Cross-Domain Response to Cyber Attacks and the Threat of Conflict, 5/13, http://www.seanlawson.net/?p=477)
At a time when it seems impossible to avoid the seemingly growing hysteria over the
AND
lethal agent is regarded with the same or greater seriousness." ~[7~] 

SMRs efficiently island bases from grid failure—deters by denial

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~[www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~], jam)
In 2008, the Defense Science Board stressed that DOD should mitigate the electrical grid’s
AND
in order to win an ongoing battle or war would be greatly reduced. 

Thorium is the only energy capable of reliably supporting bases

Ackerman 11 (Spencer, senior reporter at Wired, "Latest Pentagon Brainstorm: Nuke-Powered War Bases," Feb 18, ~[www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/nuke-bases/~], jam)
Imagine the snow-capped peaks of mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Wouldn’t it be better
AND
I have no idea why you’d want to bring that upon the world."

MELTDOWNS ADVANTAGE

Conventional nuclear meltdowns are inevitable and cause extinction

Lendman 11 – Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (Stephen, 03/ 13, "Nuclear Meltdown in Japan," http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/03/13/nuclear-meltdown-in-japan)
For years, Helen Caldicott warned it’s coming. In her 1978 book, "
AND
, that if serious enough can cause enormous, possibly catastrophic, harm.

Only a fraction of reactors need to meltdown to cause extinction from agricultural collapse

IB Times ’11 (International Business Times, Mike Adams – author and journalist, Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns, http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm-http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm, AV)
 But here’s the real issue: There are 700 nuclear power AND of deadly radiation all by itself, imagine a world where hundreds of nuclear facilities go into a total meltdown simultaneously.

Meltdowns are impossible with LFTRs – passive design and chemically inert liquid salt

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~[liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~], jam)
If the reactor overheats, a frozen plug melts and the fuel quickly drains out
AND
class." Fast Spectrum Molten Salt Reactor Options, Oak Ridge Nat’l Lab 2011

Text: The Department of Defense should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for electricity from Small Modular Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors for military facilities in the United States.

Thorium reactor tech exists—but no domestic development now

Evans-Pritchard ’10 Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor, "Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium," The Telegraph (UK), 8/29/2010, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/7970619/Obama-could-kill-fossil-fuels-overnight-with-a-nuclear-dash-for-thorium.html
Muddling on with the status quo is not a grown-up policy. The
AND
way to pull the US out of perma-slump than scattershot stimulus.

Federal production cost-incentives are key to widespread commercialization – learning benefits and aggregation of demand

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
As illustrated in the previous discussion, until significant learning benefits are achieved, the
AND
, can surmount these challenges and provide critical initial markets for SMR plants. 

Plan bypasses licensing restrictions—causes rapid commercialization

Hunt 11 (Gary L, 30 years experience in the energy, software and information technology industries,  Tech%26Creative Labs, "Is there a Small Modular Nuke in our Distributed Energy Future?," May 31, ~[www.tclabz.com/2011/05/31/is-there-a-small-modular-nuke-in-our-distributed-energy-future/~], jam)
What the US military needs according to Colonel Roege is clean, modular, transportable
AND
to displace coal and replace the first generation nuclear units as they retire.

LFTRs are cheap and will get cheaper

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
In terms of cost, the ideal would be to compete successfully against coal without
AND
sites. The savings from adapting existing infrastructure could be very large indeed. 

Transition takes 30 months

Sorensen 11 (Kirk, studying thorium technology since 2000 and has been a public advocate for its use and development since 2006, masters’ degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is studying nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Laurence Miller, May 28, ~[www.financialsense.com/financial-sense-newshour/big-picture/2011/05/28/03/kirk-sorensen/thorium-could-be-our-energy-silver-bullet~], jam)
Jim: (32:00) Let me throw another idea, and I’ve
AND
and the answer is absolutely yes. And it would go quite quickly.

Thorium can be introduced into existing nuclear fuel cycles

IAEA ’5 "Thorium fuel cycle — Potential benefits and challenges," International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section, May 2005, http://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/te_1450_web.pdf
Several thorium-based fuel design options investigated in recent years ~[28~], have
AND
existing LWRs (i.e., within the current "safety envelope").

No disads—SMR incentives inevitable

Tomich 11-2 Jeffrey Tomich, "Ameren, Westinghouse still waiting for decision on nuclear grant," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/2/2012, http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-11-02%26val=666817%26cat=energy-http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-11-02%26val=666817%26cat=energy
President Barack Obama announced the availability of grant funding for so-called small nuclear
AND
. "I think it will move forward next year," he said.

1AC-UNLV

Contention one is the status quo

Despite feasibility, thorium tech hasn’t caught on in the US

Niiler ’12 Eric Niiler, "Nuclear power entrepreneurs push thorium as a fuel," Washington Post, 2/20/2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nuclear-power-entrepreneurs-push-thorium-as-a-fuel/2011/12/15/gIQALTinPR_story.html
The proposed fuel is thorium, an abundant silver-gray element named for the
AND
States or with the national research labs charged with investigating future energy sources.

Coming SMR grants trigger your disad – NRC commissioner

Barber 9/24 (Wayne, energybiz, "Southern realizes ’world is watching’ new Vogtle construction. 9/24/12 http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/09/southern-realizes-world-watching-new-vogtle-construction-http://www.energybiz.com/article/12/09/southern-realizes-world-watching-new-vogtle-construction)

Collins is Southern’s General Manager and External Affairs Liaison for Nuclear Operations and Development.
AND
to receive its first mini-reactor applications in 2013, Ostendorff said.

Advantage one is prolif

Nuclear terrorism is inevitable absent fissile material disposal—Bin Laden was only the beginning—expert consensus

Smith 11 (James F., Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Jun 6, ~[www.nti.org/newsroom/news/first-joint-us-russia-assessment/~], jam)
Researchers from the United States and Russia today issued a joint assessment of the global
AND
by UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and international police organizations.

We’re overdue for a nuclear attack – it is too easy to steal weapons grade plutonium from reactors

Tirone ’12 (Jonathan, reporter for Bloomberg News, 3/22/2012, "Missing Nukes Fuel Terror Concern," ~[www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-22/missing-nukes-fuel-terror-concern-as-seoul-meeting-draws-obama~%23p1~], jam)
A nuclear-armed terrorist attack on the U.S. port in Long
AND
lead to a detonation that would make the Fukushima disaster pale in comparison."

Terrorism causes global nuclear escalation – national retaliation goes global

Morgan ’9 (Dennis Ray, Professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University, December, "World on fire: two scenarios of the destruction of human civilization and possible extinction of the human race" Futures, Vol 41 Issue 10, p 683-693, ScienceDirect) ORIGINALLY CUT BY MATT GOMEZ FOR THE SCUFI. THANKS, MATT.
In a remarkable website on nuclear war, Carol Moore asks the question "Is
AND
, taking a savage toll upon the environment and fragile ecosphere as well.

Thorium reactors can’t produce weapons grade waste – stymies all state and non-state proliferation attempts

Donohue 8/17 (Nathan, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs,
research intern for the Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2012, "Thorium and its Value in Nonproliferation," ~[csis.org/blog/thorium-and-its-value-nonproliferation~], jam)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) recently featured an article on their Science
AND
); and advanced designs such as Molten Salt Reactor and Accelerator Driven System.

Thorium reactors reprocess existing stockpiles and waste ridding us of vulnerable fissile material in the process

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~[liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~], jam)
A LFTR can use all three of the available nuclear fuels: uranium-235
AND
water and CO2, to make carbon-neutral car and truck fuel%21

Plan makes the U.S. a leader in thorium tech – formal mechanisms allow for international adoption

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~[www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~], jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Formal mechanisms mean we’ll export SMR technology globally once we use it in the U.S.

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

Advantage two is military base islanding

Long-term grid outages are devastating and highly probable – degrading infrastructure, solar storm, EMP, cyberattack, pandemic, or physical attack

Bartlett et al 12 (Roscoe, Congressman 6th district of Maryland, Rich Andres, Energy Security Chair, National Defense University, Jack Markey, Director, Division of Emergency Management in Frederick County, Maryland, Marshall Hanson, Legislative Director, Reserve Officers Association,  R. James Woolsey, Chairman, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Former Director of Central Intelligence,  The Honorable Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor to President Reagan, Aug 3, ~[bartlett.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=305763~], jam)
Congressman Bartlett noted, "The U.S. electric grid is one of
AND
Roscoe Bartlett is the go-to man on energy and environmental policies."

The military needs to be independent from the civilian grid – blackouts will wreck national command authority, fracture global military operations, collapse deterrence, and escalate to nuclear war – vulnerability independently invites cyber attacks and only small modular reactors can solve

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~[www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~], jam)
Grid Vulnerability. DOD is unable to provide its bases with electricity when the civilian
AND
in order to win an ongoing battle or war would be greatly reduced. 

Loss of national command authority and cyber attack causes miscalc and extinction

Lawson 9 (Sean - assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, Cross-Domain Response to Cyber Attacks and the Threat of Conflict, 5/13, http://www.seanlawson.net/?p=477)
At a time when it seems impossible to avoid the seemingly growing hysteria over the
AND
lethal agent is regarded with the same or greater seriousness." ~[7~] 

Thorium is the only energy capable of reliably supporting bases

Ackerman 11 (Spencer, senior reporter at Wired, "Latest Pentagon Brainstorm: Nuke-Powered War Bases," Feb 18, ~[www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/nuke-bases/~], jam)
Imagine the snow-capped peaks of mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Wouldn’t it be better topped off with a cooling tower for a nuclear reactor? The Pentagon’s way-out research arm thinks so. It’s all part of a big push to make the military more eco-friendly.
Buried within Darpa’s 2012 budget request under the innocuous name of "Small Rugged Reactor
AND
I have no idea why you’d want to bring that upon the world."

Advantage three is meltdowns

Conventional nuclear meltdowns are inevitable and cause extinction – plan solves

Lendman 11 – Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (Stephen, 03/ 13, "Nuclear Meltdown in Japan," http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/03/13/nuclear-meltdown-in-japan)
For years, Helen Caldicott warned it’s coming. In her 1978 book, "
AND
, that if serious enough can cause enormous, possibly catastrophic, harm.

Al-Qaeda will successfully attack across the globe – causes meltdowns

Kimery 11 – Homeland Security Today’s senior reporter and online editor (Anthony, W. Scott Malone, multiple Emmy and Peabody award-winning investigative journalist and former senior editor of NavySEALs.com. He runs the website’s counterterrorism newsletter spin-off, "BlackNET Intelligence Channel," 05/12, "Al Qaeda Could Try to Replicate Fukushima-type Meltdowns," http://www.hstoday.us/blogs/the-kimery-report/blog/al-qaeda-could-try-to-replicate-fukushima-type-meltdowns/aa96292934d83bb8c9f97fd9d685f32b.html)
A May 5 "intelligence brief" prepared by a Department of Homeland Security (
AND
if ~[O~]sama Bin Laden were to be captured or killed."

Only a fraction of reactors need to meltdown to cause extinction from agricultural collapse

IB Times ’11 (International Business Times, Mike Adams – author and journalist, Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns, http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm-http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm, AV)
 But here’s the real issue: There are 700 nuclear power facilities in the world, remember? Let’s suppose that in the aftermath of a massive solar flare, the nations of the world are somehow able to control half of those facilities and nurse them into cold shutdown status. That still leaves roughly 350 nuclear facilities at risk. Now let’s suppose half of those are somehow luckily offline and not even functioning when the solar flare hits, so they need no special attention. This is a very optimistic assumption, but that still leaves 175 nuclear power plants where all attempts fail. Let’s be outrageously optimistic and suppose that a third of those somehow don’t go into a total meltdown by some miracle of God, or some bizarre twist in the laws of physics. So we’re still left with 115 nuclear power plants that "go Chernobyl." Fukushima was one power plant. Imagine the devastation of 100+ nuclear power plants, all going into meltdown all at once across the planet. It’s not the loss of electricity that’s the real problem; it’s the global tidal wave of invisible radiation that blankets the planet, permeates the topsoil, irradiates everything that breathes and delivers the final crushing blow to human civilization as we know it today. Because if you have 100 simultaneous global nuclear meltdowns, the tidal wave of radiation will make farming nearly impossible for years. That means no food production for several years in a row. And that, in turn, means a near-total collapse of the human population on our planet. How many people can survive an entire year with no food from the farms? Not one in a hundred people. Even beyond that, how many people can essentially live underground and be safe enough from the radiation that they can have viable children and repopulate the planet? It’s a very, very small fraction of the total population. Solar flares far more likely to hit nuclear power plants than tidal waves or earthquakes What’s the chance of all this actually happening? A report by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said that "...over the standard 40-year license term of nuclear power plants, solar flare activity enables a 33 percent chance of long-term power loss, a risk that significantly outweighs that of major earthquakes and tsunamis." (http://www.IBTimes.com/articles/194-http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/194...) The world’s reliance on nuclear power, you see, has doomed us to destroy our own civilization. Of course, this is all preventable if we would only dismantle and shut down ALL nuclear power plants on the planet. But what are the chances of that happening? Zero, of course. There are too many commercial and political interests invested in nuclear power. So the power plants will stay, and we will therefore be vulnerable to a solar flare which could strike us at any time and unleash a global nuclear holocaust. Planet Earth has been struck by solar flares before, of course, but all the big hits in recorded human history took place long before the age of modern electronics, so the impacts were minimal. Today, society cannot function without electronics. Nor can nuclear facility coolant pumps. Once you realize that, you begin to understand the true danger in which humanity has placed itself by relying on nuclear power. By relying on nuclear power, we are risking everything. And we’re doing it blindly, with no real acknowledgement of the dangers of running 700+ nuclear facilities in a constant state of "near meltdown" while foolishly relying on the steady flow of electricity to keep the fuel rods cool. If Fukushima, all by itself, could unleash a tidal wave of deadly radiation all by itself, imagine a world where hundreds of nuclear facilities go into a total meltdown simultaneously.

Meltdowns are impossible with LFTRs – passive design and chemically inert liquid salt

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~[liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~], jam)
If the reactor overheats, a frozen plug melts and the fuel quickly drains out
AND
class." Fast Spectrum Molten Salt Reactor Options, Oak Ridge Nat’l Lab 2011

Text: The Department of Defense should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for electricity from Small Modular Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors for military facilities in the United States.

Contention two is solvency

DoD can authorize thorium SMRs independent of the NRC – also spurs widespread commercialization

Hunt 11 (Gary L, 30 years experience in the energy, software and information technology industries,  Tech%26Creative Labs, "Is there a Small Modular Nuke in our Distributed Energy Future?," May 31, ~[www.tclabz.com/2011/05/31/is-there-a-small-modular-nuke-in-our-distributed-energy-future/~], jam)
What the US military needs according to Colonel Roege is clean, modular, transportable
AND
to displace coal and replace the first generation nuclear units as they retire.

The military can enter into purchase power agreements for SMRs – this market pull makes nuclear economically competitive

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
Similar to other important energy technologies, such as energy storage and renewables, "
AND
, can surmount these challenges and provide critical initial markets for SMR plants. 

LFTRs are super cheap and will get much cheaper with the plan

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
In terms of cost, the ideal would be to compete successfully against coal without
AND
sites. The savings from adapting existing infrastructure could be very large indeed. 

All existing reactors can run on thorium

Cox 11 (Patrick, two decades of experience in software, public policy, medical economics and biotechnology, editor of the Breakthrough Technology Alert and Technology Profits Confidential, studied at Boise State University and has written for USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Reason Magazine, Sep 12, ~[dailyresourcehunter.com/investing-thorium-interview-patrick-cox/~], jam)
Rodricks: Patrick Cox, another question about thorium. If it’s so great,
AND
than what we have now operating in Japan, in the United States.

Transition takes 30 months

Sorensen 11 (Kirk, studying thorium technology since 2000 and has been a public advocate for its use and development since 2006, masters’ degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is studying nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Laurence Miller, May 28, ~[www.financialsense.com/financial-sense-newshour/big-picture/2011/05/28/03/kirk-sorensen/thorium-could-be-our-energy-silver-bullet~], jam)
Jim: (32:00) Let me throw another idea, and I’ve
AND
and the answer is absolutely yes. And it would go quite quickly.

1AC—Gonzaga

Contention one is the status quo

Despite feasibility, thorium tech hasn’t caught on in the US

Niiler ’12 Eric Niiler, "Nuclear power entrepreneurs push thorium as a fuel," Washington Post, 2/20/2012, http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nuclear-power-entrepreneurs-push-thorium-as-a-fuel/2011/12/15/gIQALTinPR_story.html
The proposed fuel is thorium, an abundant silver-gray element named for the
AND
States or with the national research labs charged with investigating future energy sources.

Budget request triggers perception links

Green Car Congress 12 (Green Car Congress, edited by Mike Millikin, editor and analyst in the IT industry for more than 15 years, "President’s Budget for FY 2013 boosts discretionary funds for DOE, cuts fossil fuel subsidies," Feb 13, ~www.greencarcongress.com/2012/02/budget-20120213.html~, jam)
The President’s Budget for FY 2013 provides %2427.2 billion in discretionary funds
AND
for securing, disposing of, and detecting nuclear and radiological material worldwide.

Advantage one is prolif

Nuclear terrorism is inevitable absent fissile material disposal—Bin Laden was only the beginning—expert consensus

Smith 11 (James F., Communications Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Jun 6, ~www.nti.org/newsroom/news/first-joint-us-russia-assessment/~, jam)
Researchers from the United States and Russia today issued a joint assessment of the global
AND
by UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and international police organizations.

We’re overdue for a nuclear attack – it is too easy to steal weapons grade plutonium from reactors

Tirone ’12 (Jonathan, reporter for Bloomberg News, 3/22/2012, "Missing Nukes Fuel Terror Concern," ~www.businessweek.com/news/2012-03-22/missing-nukes-fuel-terror-concern-as-seoul-meeting-draws-obama~%23p1~, jam)
A nuclear-armed terrorist attack on the U.S. port in Long
AND
lead to a detonation that would make the Fukushima disaster pale in comparison."

Nuclear terrorism causes global nuclear exchange

Ayson 10 (Robert, Professor of Strategic Studies and Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand at the Victoria University of Wellington, "After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack: Envisaging Catalytic Effects," Studies in Conflict %26 Terrorism, Volume 33, Issue 7, July, informaworld)
A terrorist nuclear attack, and even the use of nuclear weapons in response by
AND
be admitted that any preemption would probably still meet with a devastating response.

Thorium reactors can’t produce weapons grade waste – stymies all state and non-state proliferation attempts

Donohue 8/17 (Nathan, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs,
research intern for the Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2012, "Thorium and its Value in Nonproliferation," ~csis.org/blog/thorium-and-its-value-nonproliferation~, jam)
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) recently featured an article on their Science
AND
); and advanced designs such as Molten Salt Reactor and Accelerator Driven System.

Thorium reactors reprocess existing stockpiles and waste ridding us of vulnerable fissile material in the process

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~, jam)
A LFTR can use all three of the available nuclear fuels: uranium-235
AND
water and CO2, to make carbon-neutral car and truck fuel%21

Plan makes the U.S. a leader in thorium tech – formal mechanisms allow for international adoption

Johnson 6 (Brian, BS Nuclear Engineering from Oregon State U, later received a Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Engineering from M.I.T., "Thorium for Use in Plutonium Disposition,Proliferation-Resistant Fuels for DevelopingCountries, and Future Reactor Designs,"  ~www.wise-intern.org/journal/2006/Johnson-ANS.pdf~, jam)
As it stands, the joint plutonium disposition plans of the United State and Russia
AND
, the United States could become a leader in thorium-based technology. 

Formal mechanisms mean we’ll export SMR technology globally once we use it in the U.S.

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~, jam)
Previous studies have documented the potential for a significant export market for U.S
AND
, but this assistance would not require the need for new federal funding. 

Advantage two is military base islanding

Long-term grid outages are devastating and highly probable – degrading infrastructure, solar storm, EMP, cyberattack, pandemic, or physical attack

Bartlett et al 12 (Roscoe, Congressman 6th district of Maryland, Rich Andres, Energy Security Chair, National Defense University, Jack Markey, Director, Division of Emergency Management in Frederick County, Maryland, Marshall Hanson, Legislative Director, Reserve Officers Association,  R. James Woolsey, Chairman, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Former Director of Central Intelligence,  The Honorable Robert McFarlane, former National Security Advisor to President Reagan, Aug 3, ~bartlett.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=305763~, jam)
Congressman Bartlett noted, "The U.S. electric grid is one of
AND
Roscoe Bartlett is the go-to man on energy and environmental policies."

The military needs to be independent from the civilian grid – blackouts will wreck national command authority, fracture global military operations, collapse deterrence, and escalate to nuclear war – vulnerability independently invites cyber attacks and only small modular reactors can solve

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~, jam)
Grid Vulnerability. DOD is unable to provide its bases with electricity when the civilian
AND
in order to win an ongoing battle or war would be greatly reduced. 

Loss of national command authority and cyber attack causes miscalc and extinction

Lawson 9 (Sean - assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, Cross-Domain Response to Cyber Attacks and the Threat of Conflict, 5/13, http://www.seanlawson.net/?p=477)
At a time when it seems impossible to avoid the seemingly growing hysteria over the
AND
lethal agent is regarded with the same or greater seriousness." ~7~ 

Thorium is the only energy capable of reliably supporting bases

Ackerman 11 (Spencer, senior reporter at Wired, "Latest Pentagon Brainstorm: Nuke-Powered War Bases," Feb 18, ~www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/nuke-bases/~, jam)
Imagine the snow-capped peaks of mountainous eastern Afghanistan. Wouldn’t it be better topped off with a cooling tower for a nuclear reactor? The Pentagon’s way-out research arm thinks so. It’s all part of a big push to make the military more eco-friendly.
Buried within Darpa’s 2012 budget request under the innocuous name of "Small Rugged Reactor
AND
I have no idea why you’d want to bring that upon the world."

Advantage three is meltdowns

Conventional nuclear meltdowns are inevitable and cause extinction – plan solves

Lendman 11 – Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (Stephen, 03/ 13, "Nuclear Meltdown in Japan," http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/03/13/nuclear-meltdown-in-japan)
For years, Helen Caldicott warned it’s coming. In her 1978 book, "
AND
, that if serious enough can cause enormous, possibly catastrophic, harm.

Al-Qaeda will successfully attack across the globe – causes meltdowns

Kimery 11 – Homeland Security Today’s senior reporter and online editor (Anthony, W. Scott Malone, multiple Emmy and Peabody award-winning investigative journalist and former senior editor of NavySEALs.com. He runs the website’s counterterrorism newsletter spin-off, "BlackNET Intelligence Channel," 05/12, "Al Qaeda Could Try to Replicate Fukushima-type Meltdowns," http://www.hstoday.us/blogs/the-kimery-report/blog/al-qaeda-could-try-to-replicate-fukushima-type-meltdowns/aa96292934d83bb8c9f97fd9d685f32b.html)
A May 5 "intelligence brief" prepared by a Department of Homeland Security (
AND
if ~O~sama Bin Laden were to be captured or killed."

Only a fraction of reactors need to meltdown to cause extinction from agricultural collapse

IB Times 9/14 (International Business Times, Mike Adams – author and journalist, Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns, http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm-http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm, AV)
 But here’s the real issue: There are 700 nuclear power facilities in the world, remember? Let’s
AND
where hundreds of nuclear facilities go into a total meltdown simultaneously.

Meltdowns are impossible with LFTRs – passive design and chemically inert liquid salt

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~, jam)
If the reactor overheats, a frozen plug melts and the fuel quickly drains out
AND
class." Fast Spectrum Molten Salt Reactor Options, Oak Ridge Nat’l Lab 2011

Text: The Department of Defense should substantially increase market-fixed production cost incentives for domestic deployment of thorium small modular nuclear reactors.

Contention two is solvency

DoD can authorize thorium SMRs independent of the NRC – also spurs widespread commercialization

Hunt 11 (Gary L, 30 years experience in the energy, software and information technology industries,  Tech%26Creative Labs, "Is there a Small Modular Nuke in our Distributed Energy Future?," May 31, ~www.tclabz.com/2011/05/31/is-there-a-small-modular-nuke-in-our-distributed-energy-future/~, jam)
What the US military needs according to Colonel Roege is clean, modular, transportable
AND
to displace coal and replace the first generation nuclear units as they retire.

The military can enter into purchase power agreements for SMRs – this market pull makes nuclear economically competitive

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~, jam)
Similar to other important energy technologies, such as energy storage and renewables, "
AND
, can surmount these challenges and provide critical initial markets for SMR plants. 

All existing reactors can run on thorium

Cox 11 (Patrick, two decades of experience in software, public policy, medical economics and biotechnology, editor of the Breakthrough Technology Alert and Technology Profits Confidential, studied at Boise State University and has written for USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Reason Magazine, Sep 12, ~dailyresourcehunter.com/investing-thorium-interview-patrick-cox/~, jam)
Rodricks: Patrick Cox, another question about thorium. If it’s so great,
AND
than what we have now operating in Japan, in the United States.

Transition takes 30 months

Sorensen 11 (Kirk, studying thorium technology since 2000 and has been a public advocate for its use and development since 2006, masters’ degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is studying nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Laurence Miller, May 28, ~www.financialsense.com/financial-sense-newshour/big-picture/2011/05/28/03/kirk-sorensen/thorium-could-be-our-energy-silver-bullet~, jam)
Jim: (32:00) Let me throw another idea, and I’ve
AND
and the answer is absolutely yes. And it would go quite quickly.

LFTRs are super cheap and get cheaper

Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
In terms of cost, the ideal would be to compete successfully against coal without
AND
sites. The savings from adapting existing infrastructure could be very large indeed. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Gonzaga Rd 4 vs UNLV BV

We meet—production cost incentives are financial incentives in context of SMRs

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," November 2011, ~https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~, jam)
Production Cost Incentive: A production cost incentive is a performance-based incentive.
AND
400 MW in credits is available for other nuclear projects, including SMRs. 

Counter-interp—financial incentives are cash payments

Joanna I. Lewis and Ryan H. Wiser in 2007,  Fostering a renewable energy technology industry: An international comparison of wind industry policy support mechanisms,  Energy Policy 35 (2007) 1844–1857, Cited by Malgor ~exceptional dancer~ in his wording paper "RE Incentives wording paper"
Financial incentives of various forms, whether based on electrical production or capital investment and
AND
and India) have often been left with unstable markets for wind power.

Cash production incentives are uniquely predictable—confirmed by DEO program language

The Law ’12 — US Code of Federal Regulation , 2012, 10 CFR 451 – "RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION INCENTIVES,"
§ 451.9 Procedures for processing applications.  (a) Supplemental information.
AND
.9(c), DOE shall make  payments to all qualified applicants.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Doubles vs UNLV BV

Romney up – polls, swing states

Sheppard 10/14 (Elena, Policy Mic, Latest Presidential Polls: Romney Ahead Says Real Clear Politics Polls, Obama Ahead Says New York Times; http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama-http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama)
With 23 days to go until the presidential election, all eyes are on the
AND

49% to Obama’s 45%. Check out the RealClearPolitics numbers below:

Up in Florida

Rasmussen 10/12 (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/florida/election_2012_florida_president)
Mitt Romney has crossed the 50% mark for the first time to widen his
AND
since April. Last week, it was Romney 49%, Obama 47%.

Err aff—risk of Obama gain outweighs

Silver 10/12 (Nate Romney Debate gains show staying power http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540)
The forecast model adjusts Mr. Obama’s numbers up slightly based on its economic index
AND
might have more to gain than to lose in the final two events.

Nuclear swings Florida and Latinos for Obama

Whitman and Avilla ’12 Christie is an American-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States  politician-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician and author-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author who served as the 50th-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_New_Jersey Governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_New_Jersey of New Jersey-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency also was New Jersey’s first, and to date, only female governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_state_governors_in_the_United_States. Karen is a guest Columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. "Nuclear energy = green jobs, economic growth in Fla., beyond" 6/22/12 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community-http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community
We all know how critical Florida is to the outcome of this year’s election.
AND
Hispanic population represents for cues on how to shape their policies and platforms.¶ 

Florida key—resolves close elections

Silver 9/12 ~Nate, 9/12/12, "Florida a True Must-Win for Romney" http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~%23more-34415-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~
Florida has a well-established reputation-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/in-florida-tampa-is-essential-to-romney-election-hopes/ as a swing state. But as the
AND
for instance, about twice Mr. Romney’s chance of doing the same.

Plan’s insulated from backlash – bipartisan consensus

Shaw ’12 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/-http://www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~~, jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

Strong relations are structurally impossible – Syria, Magnitsky, missile defense, anti-Americanism

Baker 6/13 (Peter, New York Times writer, used to be the Washington Post’s Moscow bureau chief, wrote a book on Putin while there, "Syria Crisis and Putin’s Return Chill U.S. Ties With Russia," 2012, ~www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/world/europe/putins-return-brings-rapid-chill-to-us-russia-ties.html?pagewanted=all~, jam)
WASHINGTON — Sitting beside President Obama this spring, the president of Russia gushed that
AND
won’t be a pretty meeting. And it shouldn’t be a pretty meeting."

DoD shields links

Lacey 8/16 (Stephen, reporter Climate Progress, B.A. in journalism from Franklin Pierce University, 2012, ~thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699811/the-solyndra-standard-on-loan-guarantees-military-spending-and-clean-energy-politics/?mobile=nc~, jam)
That’s exactly how it’s playing out. The politically-manufactured outrage over Solyndra has
AND
unfolds, political leaders are all too willing to practice the Solyndra standard.

Business and bipartisan political support

Tindale ’11 (Stephen, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, June 2011, "Thorium: How to save Europe’s nuclear revival,"  ~www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/pb_thorium_june11-153.pdf~, jam)
In the US, political interest in thorium molten salt reactors is cross-party
AND
molten salt reactor. Japanese companies involved include Toyota, Toshiba and Hitachi. 

Russia’s constrained from war

Weitz ’11 Richard Weitz,  senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a World Politics Review senior editor, "Global Insights: Putin not a Game-Changer for U.S.-Russia Ties," 9/27/2011
Fifth, there will inevitably be areas of conflict between Russia and the United States
AND
of social communication, that will constrain whoever is in charge of Russia.

UNLV Rd 7 vs UNLV PS

Romney up – polls, swing states

Sheppard 10/14 (Elena, Policy Mic, Latest Presidential Polls: Romney Ahead Says Real Clear Politics Polls, Obama Ahead Says New York Times; http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama-http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama)
With 23 days to go until the presidential election, all eyes are on the
AND 

49% to Obama’s 45%. Check out the RealClearPolitics numbers below:

Up in Florida

Rasmussen 10/12 (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/florida/election_2012_florida_president)
Mitt Romney has crossed the 50% mark for the first time to widen his
AND
since April. Last week, it was Romney 49%, Obama 47%.

Err aff—risk of Obama gain outweighs

Silver 10/12 (Nate Romney Debate gains show staying power http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540)
The forecast model adjusts Mr. Obama’s numbers up slightly based on its economic index
AND
might have more to gain than to lose in the final two events.

Nuclear swings Florida and Latinos for Obama

Whitman and Avilla ’12 Christie is an American-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States  politician-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician and author-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author who served as the 50th-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_New_Jersey Governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_New_Jersey of New Jersey-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency also was New Jersey’s first, and to date, only female governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_state_governors_in_the_United_States. Karen is a guest Columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. "Nuclear energy = green jobs, economic growth in Fla., beyond" 6/22/12 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community-http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community
We all know how critical Florida is to the outcome of this year’s election.
AND
Hispanic population represents for cues on how to shape their policies and platforms.¶ 

Florida key—resolves close elections

Silver 9/12 ~Nate, 9/12/12, "Florida a True Must-Win for Romney" http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~%23more-34415-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~
Florida has a well-established reputation-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/in-florida-tampa-is-essential-to-romney-election-hopes/ as a swing state. But as the
AND
for instance, about twice Mr. Romney’s chance of doing the same.

Plan’s insulated from backlash – bipartisan consensus

Shaw ’12 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/-http://www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~~, jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

Relations are rife with disagreement

Zammit ’11 George Vital Zammit, professor of international relations at the University of Sheffield, "A DWARF OR A GIANT? Framing the European People’s Party international relations perspective and the transatlantic backdrop," presented at EUSA Conference, Boston, 3/4/2011, http://euce.org/eusa/2011/papers/6f_zammit.pdf
Amidst the commitment that both sides should strengthen collaboration, a number of key issues
AND
discuss this from an EPP perspective in the following section. Relations crushed.

Their impact is absurd—there’s a difference between relations and security cooperation—rational actors mean the latter won’t fail if the former does

DoD shields links

Lacey 8/16 (Stephen, reporter Climate Progress, B.A. in journalism from Franklin Pierce University, 2012, ~thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699811/the-solyndra-standard-on-loan-guarantees-military-spending-and-clean-energy-politics/?mobile=nc~, jam)
That’s exactly how it’s playing out. The politically-manufactured outrage over Solyndra has
AND
unfolds, political leaders are all too willing to practice the Solyndra standard.

Business and bipartisan political support

Tindale ’11 (Stephen, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, June 2011, "Thorium: How to save Europe’s nuclear revival,"  ~www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/pb_thorium_june11-153.pdf~, jam)
In the US, political interest in thorium molten salt reactors is cross-party
AND
molten salt reactor. Japanese companies involved include Toyota, Toshiba and Hitachi. 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

Romney up – polls, swing states

Sheppard 10/14 (Elena, Policy Mic, Latest Presidential Polls: Romney Ahead Says Real Clear Politics Polls, Obama Ahead Says New York Times; http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama-http://www.policymic.com/articles/16484/latest-presidential-polls-real-clear-politics-polls-show-romney-new-york-times-poll-show-obama)
With 23 days to go until the presidential election, all eyes are on the
AND

49% to Obama’s 45%. Check out the RealClearPolitics numbers below:

Err aff: risk of an Obama gain outweighs

Silver 10/12 (Nate Romney Debate gains show staying power http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/oct-12-romney-debate-gains-show-staying-power/?gwh=EB0A7A5046CCC852A922C7B507944540)

The forecast model adjusts Mr. Obama’s numbers up slightly based on its economic index
AND
might have more to gain than to lose in the final two events.

Up in Florida

Rasmussen 10/12 (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/florida/election_2012_florida_president)
Mitt Romney has crossed the 50% mark for the first time to widen his
AND
since April. Last week, it was Romney 49%, Obama 47%.

Nuclear swings Florida and Latinos for Obama

Whitman and Avilla 12
Christie is an American-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States  politician-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician and author-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author who served as the 50th-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_New_Jersey Governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_New_Jersey of org/wiki/New_Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the org/wiki/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency also was New Jersey’s first, and to date, only org/wiki/List_of_female_state_governors_in_the_United_States. Karen is a guest Columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. "Nuclear energy = green jobs, economic growth in Fla., beyond" 6/22/12 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community-http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community
We all know how critical Florida is to the outcome of this year’s election.
AND
Hispanic population represents for cues on how to shape their policies and platforms.¶ 

Florida key—resolves close elections

Silver 9/12 ~[Nate, 9/12/12, "Florida a True Must-Win for Romney" http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~%23more-34415-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~]
Florida has a com/2012/08/29/in-florida-tampa-is-essential-to-romney-election-hopes/ as a swing state. But as the
AND
for instance, about twice Mr. Romney’s chance of doing the same.

Plan’s insulated from backlash – bipartisan consensus

Shaw 5/15 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~], jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

DoD shields links

Lacey 8/16 (Stephen, reporter Climate Progress, B.A. in journalism from Franklin Pierce University, 2012, ~[thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699811/the-solyndra-standard-on-loan-guarantees-military-spending-and-clean-energy-politics/?mobile=nc~], jam)
That’s exactly how it’s playing out. The politically-manufactured outrage over Solyndra has
AND
unfolds, political leaders are all too willing to practice the Solyndra standard.

Business and bipartisan political support

Tindale 11 (Stephen, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, June 2011, "Thorium: How to save Europe’s nuclear revival,"  ~[www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/pb_thorium_june11-153.pdf~], jam)
In the US, political interest in thorium molten salt reactors is cross-party
AND
molten salt reactor. Japanese companies involved include Toyota, Toshiba and Hitachi. 

Relations resilient—dissident crisis proves

Drezner ’12 Daniel W. Drezner, professor of international politics at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, PhD in Political Science from Stanford University, "The big dogs that have not barked in the Chen Guangcheng case," Foreign Policy, 5/4/2012, http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/05/04/thoughts_on_the_chen_guangcheng_case
My Big Thought: contrary to just about every headline I’ve seen in the past
AND
, he actually could be able to leave the country with his family. 

No war—economic globalization

Xuetong and Haixia ’12 Yan Xuetong, Dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations at Tsinghua University and the Chief Editor of The Chinese Journal of International Politics, he has his own Wikipedia page, Qi Haixia, Lecturer Ph.D in the Institute of International Studies , Tsinghua University, "Football Game Rather Than Boxing Match: China–US Intensifying Rivalry Does not Amount to Cold War," Chinese Journal of International Politics 5(2): 105-127, Summer 2012, 10.1093/cjip/pos007
Economic globalization created a strategic need for superficial friendship between China and the United States
AND
thus created a foundation for superficial friendship between the United States and China.

UNLV Rd 2 vs Texas BK

2AC

Plan is uniquely insulated from politics – bipartisan consensus

Shaw 5/15 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/-http://www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~~, jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

DoD shields the links

Lacey 8/16 (Stephen, reporter Climate Progress, B.A. in journalism from Franklin Pierce University, 2012, ~thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/16/699811/the-solyndra-standard-on-loan-guarantees-military-spending-and-clean-energy-politics/?mobile=nc~, jam)
That’s exactly how it’s playing out. The politically-manufactured outrage over Solyndra has
AND
unfolds, political leaders are all too willing to practice the Solyndra standard.

Business and bipartisan political support for the plan

Tindale 11 (Stephen, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, June 2011, "Thorium: How to save Europe’s nuclear revival,"  ~www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/pb_thorium_june11-153.pdf~, jam)
In the US, political interest in thorium molten salt reactors is cross-party
AND
molten salt reactor. Japanese companies involved include Toyota, Toshiba and Hitachi. 

Romney winning a close FL race – polling, state econ

Miami Herald "Buz group FL poll: Romney 50%, Obama 47%" 9/13/12 http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/09/biz-group-fl-poll-romney-50-obama-47.html-http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/09/biz-group-fl-poll-romney-50-obama-47.html
The Associated Industries of Florida business group has released snippets of a survey taken by
AND
poll will be a pro-Romney outlier as other surveys are released.

Nuclear swings Florida and Latinos for Obama

Whitman and Avilla 12
Christie is an American-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States  politician-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician and author-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author who served as the 50th-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_New_Jersey Governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_New_Jersey of New Jersey-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrator_of_the_Environmental_Protection_Agency also was New Jersey’s first, and to date, only female governor-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_state_governors_in_the_United_States. Karen is a guest Columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. "Nuclear energy = green jobs, economic growth in Fla., beyond" 6/22/12 http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community-http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-06-22/opinion/os-ed-nuclear-energy-florida-jobs-062212-20120621_1_nuclear-energy-green-jobs-hispanic-community
We all know how critical Florida is to the outcome of this year’s election.
AND
Hispanic population represents for cues on how to shape their policies and platforms.¶ 

Florida is key to the election

Silver 9/12 ~Nate, 9/12/12, "Florida a True Must-Win for Romney" http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~%23more-34415-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/sept-11-florida-a-true-must-win-for-romney/~~
Florida has a well-established reputation-http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/in-florida-tampa-is-essential-to-romney-election-hopes/ as a swing state. But as the
AND
for instance, about twice Mr. Romney’s chance of doing the same.

Strong relations are structurally impossible – Syria, Magnitsky, missile defense, anti-Americanism

Baker 6/13 (Peter, New York Times writer, used to be the Washington Post’s Moscow bureau chief, wrote a book on Putin while there, "Syria Crisis and Putin’s Return Chill U.S. Ties With Russia," 2012, ~www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/world/europe/putins-return-brings-rapid-chill-to-us-russia-ties.html?pagewanted=all~, jam)
WASHINGTON — Sitting beside President Obama this spring, the president of Russia gushed that
AND
won’t be a pretty meeting. And it shouldn’t be a pretty meeting."

1AR

Romney up: debate swung Florida’s undecideds

Tampa Bay Times 10/11 ("Times/Bay News 9/Herald exclusive Florida Poll: Romney 51, Obama 44" http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/timesbay-news-9herald-exclusive-florida-poll-romney-51-obama-44/1255882-http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/timesbay-news-9herald-exclusive-florida-poll-romney-51-obama-44/1255882)

Barack Obama’s lackluster debate performance last week has dramatically altered the presidential race in Florida
AND
percent of Obama supporters said they are now undecided because of the debate.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 5 vs UMKC JW

2AC

Plan creates domestic mfg base

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Nov 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
As stated earlier, SMRs have the potential to achieve significant greenhouse gas emission reductions
AND
an n th-of-a-kind (NOAK) economy. 

EMP is highly probable – devastates the grid

Timmerman 11 (Kenneth R., expert at Wikistrat, Israeli geostrategic analysis firm, M.A. Brown, "An EMP Attack on America?," Oct, ~[frontpagemag.com/2011/kenneth-r-timmerman/an-emp-attack-on-america/~], jam)
(October 4, 2011) — For most of this week, the Department
AND
United States alone, with a recovery period of 4 to 10 years."

1AR

No workforce crisis

Hosek 8 (James, and Titus Galama, National Defense Research Institute at RAND, PhD Economics @ Chicago "U.S. Competitiveness in Science and Technology," http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG674.pdf)
We consider two indicators of shortage—unusually low unemployment and high wage growth for
AND
) argues that there is an oversupply of PhDs in the life sciences.

Expertise

Robitaille 12 (George, Department of Army Civilian, United States Army War College, "Small Modular Reactors: The Army’s Secure Source of Energy?" 21-03-2012, Strategy Research Project)
Expansion of Reporting Requirements Regarding Department of Defense Energy Efficiency Programs," requires the Secretary
AND
of energy for our critical military facilities will leverage this knowledge and experience.

Devastating cyber attacks coming now – China, Iran, and terrorists target the energy grid

Clayton 11/9 (Blake, fellow for energy and national security at CFR, "The New Face of Energy Insecurity" http://www.nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-new-face-energy-insecurity-7715)
The future of energy insecurity has arrived. In August, a devastating cyber attack
AND
economic security, this is one battle it cannot afford to sit out.

Shirley Rd 2 vs Binghamton GR

2AC

System collapses are the squo—SMRs solve

Kessides ’12 Ioannis N. Kessides, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank, "The future of the nuclear industry reconsidered: Risks, uncertainties, and continued promise," Energy Policy, Vol. 48, September 2012, pp. 185-208
The design, construction, and operational challenges of nuclear plants became more severe as
AND
in unpredictable ways thus making it extremely difficult for operators to respond correctly.

U233 only ignites the initial reaction—then a LFTR just needs a steady supply of thorium—and it can reprocess other fissile materials

Cannara ’11 Alexander Cannara, received his BSEE degree from Lehigh University, and received MSEE, DEE and MS Statistics degrees from Stanford, returned to Stanford for a PhD in Mathematical Methods in Educational Research and a Master of Science in Statistics, during which time he designed analog and digital instrumentation, applying for a patent on one design, has taught courses in engineering, programming and networking at Stanford, University of San Francisco, International Technological University, Golden Gate and Silicon Valley University, and has worked both for the government and in the corporate arena with such organizations as Ballantine Laboratories, RMC Research, Zilog, Gibbons %26 Associates, Mitsubishi Semiconductor, AMD, 3Com, Network General, Vitesse, PacketMotion and Xambala, "IEER/PSR Thorium "Fact Sheet" Rebuttal," response to the 2009 Makhijani and Boyd piece on thorium, posted 3/23/2011 by Kirk Sorenson on Energy From Thorium, http://energyfromthorium.com/ieer-rebuttal/
On the contrary, thorium is very much a fuel because in the steady-
AND
"beat swords into plowshares" in a safe and economically attractive way.

Smart grid’s increase vulnerability exponentially

Mo et al 12 (Yilin Mo received the Bachelor of Engineering degree from Department
AND
the IEEE" January 2012, Vol. 100, No. 1)
A wide variety of motivations exist for launching an attack on the power grid,
AND
external access which in turn can lead to compromise and infection of components.

Doesn’t solve regulatory confusion or cyberdefense

Sater 11 (Daniel, Research Fellow at Global Green USA’s Security and Sustainability Office, "Military Energy Security: Current Efforts and Future Solutions", August, http://globalgreen.org/docs/publication-185-1.pdf)
Cybersecurity remains one of the leading challenges impeding the development of a smart grid.
AND
could instruct USCYBERCOM to create a specific set of metrics for microgrid development. 

SMRs are key to grid invulnerability – renewables are a step back

Barton 11 (Charles, founder of the Nuclear Green Revolution blog, MA in philosophy, "Future storm damage to the grid may carry unacceptable costs", April 30, http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html)
Amory Lovins has long argued that the traditional grid is vulnerable to this sort of
AND
use of renewable electrical generation approaches may worsen rather than improved grid reliability.

UNLV Doubles vs UNLV BV

2AC

Nuke expansion now—assumes Japanese phase-out

Tirone 9/19 (Jonathan, Associated Press, "Nuclear Power Production Set to Grow Even After Japan Phase-Out (Vienna)," http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/170334006_Nuclear_Power_Production_Set_to_Grow_Even_After_Japan_Phase-Out__Vienna_.html?page=all, AM*Agency=IAEA)
Nuclear power is set to grow over the next four decades even after Japan shuts
AND
Germany and Switzerland announced plans to phase out nuclear power after the meltdowns.

DOD bypasses and solves licensing lag

CSPO 10, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at ASU, "four policy principles for energy innovation %26 climate change: a synthesis", June, http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/Synthesis.pdf
Government purchase of new technologies is a powerful way to accelerate innovation through increased demand
AND
innovation. Public procurement of other renewable energy technologies could be similarly important.

SMRs are key to grid invulnerability – renewables are a step back

Barton 11 (Charles, founder of the Nuclear Green Revolution blog, MA in philosophy, "Future storm damage to the grid may carry unacceptable costs", April 30, http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html)
Amory Lovins has long argued that the traditional grid is vulnerable to this sort of
AND
use of renewable electrical generation approaches may worsen rather than improved grid reliability.

Empirics

Andres and Breetz 11 Richard Andres, Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College and a Senior Fellow and Energy and Environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National Defense University, and Hanna Breetz, doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Small Nuclear Reactorsfor Military Installations:Capabilities, Costs, andTechnological Implications, www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf-http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
AND
the prospects for addressing these critical vulnerabilities through small-scale nuclear plants.

Intermittency and land

Loudermilk 11 Micah J. Loudermilk, Research Associate for the Energy %26 Environmental Security Policy program with the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense University, 5/31/11, Small Nuclear Reactors and US Energy Security: Concepts, Capabilities, and Costs, www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=314:small-nuclear-reactors-and-us-energy-security-concepts-capabilities-and-costs%26catid=116:content0411%26Itemid=375

When discussing the energy security contributions offered by small nuclear reactors, it is not
AND
in fact prove instrumental to enabling the smart grid to become a reality.

DOD cyberdefense is terrible and more spending fails

Strassman 11 - president of The Information Economics Press, Senior Advisor to the Science Applications International Corporation, and Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences, George Mason School of Information Technology and Engineering (Paul, "Operating in Cyberspace," 2/9, http://pstrassmann.blogspot.com/2011/02/operating-in-cyberspace.html-http://pstrassmann.blogspot.com/2011/02/operating-in-cyberspace.html)
The current hardware, software and networks within the Defense Department are obsolete and dysfunctional
AND
protective measures cannot keep up with the rapidly rising virulence of the attackers. 

DOD has authority independent of NRC—historical precedence supports

King et al. ’11 Marcus King, Associate Director of Research, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, LaVar Huntzinger, Thoi Nguyen, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," CNA Market Solutions, March 2011, http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Nuclear%20Power%20on%20Military%20Installations%20D0023932%20A5.pdf
The most basic licensing issue relates to whether NRC will have jurisdiction over potential nuclear
AND
that operated aboard the Sturgis barge in the 1960s and 1970s ~44~.

No renewables investment

Ball 12 (Jeffrey, Scholar in Residence at Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, ~"Tough Love for Renewable Energy," Foreign Affairs, May/June, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137519/jeffrey-ball/tough-love-for-renewable-energy?page=6~~)
Over the past decade, governments around the world threw money at renewable power.
AND
the U.S. Department of Energy before going bankrupt last fall.

No link – nuclear corporations aren’t VC

Stepp 11 (Matthew, Senior Policy Analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) specializing in climate change and clean energy policy, 11 ~"An Anti-Innovation Strategy: The Heritage Foundations Deficit Reduction and Energy Proposal" The Energy Collective, April 27, http://theenergycollective.com/mstepp/56497/anti-innovation-strategy-heritage-foundations-deficit-reduction-and-energy-proposal~~)
Citing the examples of the Internet, computer chips, and GPS, the report
AND
was set up to ensure the safety and economic viability of the industry.

Warming won’t cause extinction

Barrett, professor of natural resource economics – Columbia University, ’7
(Scott, Why Cooperate? The Incentive to Supply Global Public Goods, introduction)
First, climate change does not threaten the survival of the human species.5
AND
defense, but we would have done much more about it by now. 

Existing carbon triggers the impact

Daniel Rirdan 12, founder of The Exploration Company, "The Right Carbon Concentration Target", June 29, http://theenergycollective.com/daniel-rirdan/89066/what-should-be-our-carbon-concentration-target-and-forget-politics?utm_source=feedburner%26utm_medium=feed%26utm_campaign=The+Energy+Collective+%28all+posts%29-http://theenergycollective.com/daniel-rirdan/89066/what-should-be-our-carbon-concentration-target-and-forget-politics?utm_source=feedburner%26utm_medium=feed%26utm_campaign=The+Energy+Collective+%28all+posts%29

James Hansen and other promi­nent cli­ma­tol­o­
AND
in reverse—hundreds of bil­lions of tons of that stuff.

1AR

Case

Plenty of expertise

Armond Cohen 12, Executive Director of the Clean Air Task Force, "DoD: A Model for Energy Innovation?", May 29, http://www.catf.us/blogs/ahead/2012/05/29/dod-a-model-for-energy-innovation/-http://www.catf.us/blogs/ahead/2012/05/29/dod-a-model-for-energy-innovation/

Unlike most other agencies, including the Energy Department, the Pentagon is the ultimate
AND
zero-carbon liquid fuels other than anything resembling current generation biofuels. 


UNLV Rd 7 vs UNLV PS

DOD bypasses and solves licensing lag

CSPO 10, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at ASU, "four policy principles for energy innovation %26 climate change: a synthesis", June, http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/Synthesis.pdf
Government purchase of new technologies is a powerful way to accelerate innovation through increased demand
AND
innovation. Public procurement of other renewable energy technologies could be similarly important.

DOD has authority independent of NRC—historical precedence supports

King et al. ’11 Marcus King, Associate Director of Research, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, LaVar Huntzinger, Thoi Nguyen, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," CNA Market Solutions, March 2011, http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Nuclear%20Power%20on%20Military%20Installations%20D0023932%20A5.pdf
The most basic licensing issue relates to whether NRC will have jurisdiction over potential nuclear
AND
that operated aboard the Sturgis barge in the 1960s and 1970s ~44~.

UNLV Rd 2 vs Texas BK

2AC

Plenty of expertise

Armond Cohen 12, Executive Director of the Clean Air Task Force, "DoD: A Model for Energy Innovation?", May 29, http://www.catf.us/blogs/ahead/2012/05/29/dod-a-model-for-energy-innovation/-http://www.catf.us/blogs/ahead/2012/05/29/dod-a-model-for-energy-innovation/

Unlike most other agencies, including the Energy Department, the Pentagon is the ultimate
AND
zero-carbon liquid fuels other than anything resembling current generation biofuels. 


No spare capacity – means no backstopping

Chazan 12 (Guy, energy correspondent at Financial Times, "IEA warns of falling spare oil capacity," Mar 14, ~http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/14b2afec-6db0-11e1-b9c7-00144feab49a.html~~%23axzz26J9564I8~~, jam)
World oil markets face a "bumpy ride" in the months ahead, amid
AND
is expected to stand at 89.9m b/d for 2012. 

There’s government-trained personnel for nuke

Robitaille 12 (George, Department of Army Civilian, United States Army War College, "Small Modular Reactors: The Army’s Secure Source of Energy?" 21-03-2012, Strategy Research Project)
Expansion of Reporting Requirements Regarding Department of Defense Energy Efficiency Programs," requires the Secretary
AND
of energy for our critical military facilities will leverage this knowledge and experience.

Transition takes 30 months

Sorensen 11 (Kirk, studying thorium technology since 2000 and has been a public advocate for its use and development since 2006, masters’ degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is studying nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Laurence Miller, May 28, ~www.financialsense.com/financial-sense-newshour/big-picture/2011/05/28/03/kirk-sorensen/thorium-could-be-our-energy-silver-bullet~, jam)
Jim: (32:00) Let me throw another idea, and I’ve
AND
and the answer is absolutely yes. And it would go quite quickly.

1AR

The green fleet swamps the link

Cardwell 12 (Diane, NYTimes, 8/27/12, Military SPending on Biofuels Draws Fire, www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/business/military-spending-on-biofuels-draws-fire.html?pagewanted=all)
When the Navy put a Pacific fleet through maneuvers on a %2412 million cocktail
AND
drop in the ocean of the Pentagon’s nearly %24650 billion annual budget.

Nuclear doesn’t displace oil

IM No date (International Mundi, "United States - electricity production from oil sources Electricity production from oil sources (kWh)," http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/electricity-production-from-oil-sources-http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/electricity-production-from-oil-sources, AM*Cites the IEA)
Electricity production from oil sources (percent of total) in United States was 1.11 as of 2010. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 17.17 in 1977, while its lowest value was 1.11 in 2010. Definition: Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Oil refers to crude oil and petroleum products. Source: International Energy Agency (IEA Statistics © OECD/IEA, http://www.iea.org/stats/index.asp), Energy Statistics and Balances of Non-OECD Countries, Energy Statistics of OECD Countries, and Energy Balances of OECD Countries.

DoD’s even smaller

Bartis 11 (James, PhD chemical physics – MIT, senior policy researcher – RAND, 2012,Promoting International Energy Security: Volume 1, Understanding Potential Air Force Roles, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2012/RAND_TR1144z1.pdf)
As fuel purchasers, neither the Air Force nor DoD has enough power to influence
AND
lanes that are crucial to the international trade in petroleum and natural gas.

Gonzaga rd 2 vs UNLV BV

DOD cyberdefense is terrible and more spending fails

Strassman 11 - president of The Information Economics Press, Senior Advisor to the Science Applications International Corporation, and Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences, George Mason School of Information Technology and Engineering (Paul, "Operating in Cyberspace," 2/9, http://pstrassmann.blogspot.com/2011/02/operating-in-cyberspace.html-http://pstrassmann.blogspot.com/2011/02/operating-in-cyberspace.html)
The current hardware, software and networks within the Defense Department are obsolete and dysfunctional
AND
protective measures cannot keep up with the rapidly rising virulence of the attackers. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 7 vs UNLV PS

Plan is comparatively a drop in the bucket – other renewables spending now

Sustainable Business 11 (October 17, "US Military to Invest %2410 Billion a Year in Renewable Energy" http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23039-http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23039)
Military spending on renewable energy spiked over 300% between 2006-2009, to
AND
its buildings around the world - more than 500,000 of them. 

Civilian workers get cut, not weapons systems – and the possibility of sequestration triggers your link

Weisgerber 10/8 (Marcus, staff writer at Defense News, "If Cuts Happen, Troops, Major Weapons Are DoD Priorities," 2012, ~www.defensenews.com/article/20121008/DEFREG02/310080001/If-Cuts-Happen-Troops-Major-Weapons-DoD-Priorities?odyssey=nav%7Chead~, jam)
The Pentagon will move to protect major weapon programs, including those locked into fixed
AND
Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to cancel plans for sending out layoff notices. 

If funding did come from the DoD, it would be from energy efficiency savings

Fitzpatrick et al 11 (Ryan, Senior Policy Advisor for Clean Energy at Third Way, Josh Freed, Vice President for Clean Energy at Third Way, Mieke Eoyang, Director for National Security at Third Way, "Fighting for Innovation: How DoD Can Advance Clean Energy Technology... And Why It Has To," Jun, ~content.thirdway.org/publications/414/Third_Way_Idea_Brief_-_Fighting_for_Innovation.pdf~, jam)
Leverage Savings From Efficiency and Alternative Financing to Pay for Innovation. In an age
AND
promotion of innovative technologies to further reduce demand or increase general energy security. 

Air power’s insufficient to prevent conflict

Sheldon and Gray ’11 John B. Sheldon, Professor, School of Advanced Air %26 Space Studies, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and Marshall Institute Fellow and Colin S. Gray, professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, where he is the director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, Senior Associate to the National Institute for Public Policy, "Theory Ascendant? Spacepower and the Challenge of Strategic Theory," Toward a Theory of Space Power, published by the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, ed. Luttes, Charles D., and Peter L. Hays, 7 March 2011, http://www.ndu.edu/press/space-Ch15.html
"Space power, alone, is insufficient to control the outcome of terrestrial conflict
AND
(especially land and airpower delivered by a preponderant spacepower) providing support.

Aerospace dec inev

Sterner 10 (Eric, national security and aerospace consultant in Washington, DC., has held senior Congressional staff positions as the lead Professional Staff Member for defense policy on the House Armed Services Committee, Jun 15, ~www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/5793/tending-the-forge-of-american-space-power?page=3~, jam)
The industry also faces difficulties in the manner that contracts are awarded. Increasingly,
AND
some knowledge, it also retards the development of corporate knowledge and expertise.

Gonzaga Rd 2 vs UNLV BV

2AC

Small modular reactors solve blackouts – preserves military readiness and turns the f-36

Baker 12 (Matthew, Adjunct Junior Fellow at the American Security Project, expertise in The Asia-Pacific; Energy; Climate Change, Jun 22, ~americansecurityproject.org/blog/2012/do-small-modular-reactors-present-a-serious-option-for-the-militarys-energy-needs/~, jam)
The Defense Energy Security Caucus (DESC) held a briefing yesterday afternoon with proposals
AND
to Congressman Bartlett, SMRs could make such bases energy self-sufficient.

No impact to airpower – constrained by weather, opponents

Mueller, ’10 (Karl, senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation specializing in military and national security, "Air Power", RAND Corporation, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reprints/2010/RAND_RP1412.pdf-http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reprints/2010/RAND_RP1412.pdf, LH)
The first is the ability of air power to bypass the enemy’s army and navy
AND
usually result either in driving the enemy back en masse or shattering them. 

Airpower’s resilient and strong – your internal link’s also not key

Mueller, ’10 (Karl, senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation specializing in military and national security, "Air Power", RAND Corporation, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reprints/2010/RAND_RP1412.pdf-http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reprints/2010/RAND_RP1412.pdf, LH)
For some 65 years the United States has been the world’s leading aerial power,
AND
over long ranges and far from the United States itself (Lambeth 2000). 

1AR

No war—interdependence and liberalization

Vannarith ’10 Chheang Vannarith, Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace. PhD in Asia Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific U, "Asia Pacific Security Issues: Challenges and Adaptive Mechanism," CICP Policy Brief No. 3, July 2010, http://www.cicp.org.kh/download/CICP%20Policy%20brief/CICP%20Policy%20brief%20No%203.pdf
Some people look to China for economic and strategic interests while others still stick to
AND
the region and those elements are present and being improved in this region. 

Middle East conflict is impossible—their ev is biased

Kahn ’11 Jeremy Kahn, "Crude reality," Boston Globe, 2/13/2011, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/02/13/crude_reality/?page=full
In their Security Studies paper, Gholz and Press argue that there are indeed a
AND
for gas in one part of the US is not an existential threat."

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 7 vs UNLV PS

Land and purchasing power make the DoD a unique customer – it needs to be buying this electricity – only way to reduce costs and commercialize the tech

Fitzpatrick et al 11 (Ryan, Senior Policy Advisor for Clean Energy at Third Way, Josh Freed, Vice President for Clean Energy at Third Way, Mieke Eoyang, Director for National Security at Third Way, "Fighting for Innovation: How DoD Can Advance Clean Energy Technology... And Why It Has To," Jun, ~content.thirdway.org/publications/414/Third_Way_Idea_Brief_-_Fighting_for_Innovation.pdf~, jam)
The DoD has over %24400 billion in annual purchasing power, which means the
AND
of the economy, it should make clean energy innovation its newest priority.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 7 vs UNLV PS

Causes fast, short-term, irreversible warming

Chameides 12 (Bill, Dean, Duke U’s Nicholas School of the Environment, "Natural Gas: A Bridge to a Low-Carbon Future or Not," Jul 20, ~http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/-natural-gas-a-bridge-to_b_1690857.html~~, jam)
Cathles’s point about the transient effects of methane fugitive emissions is well taken. But
AND
and environmental point of view, the less of that stuff the better. 

Warming ensures volcanic activity – coming soon and invisible brink

Telegraph 10 (Newspaper, Staff Writers, cites Bill McGuire of U of London’s Hazard Research Center, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/7604188/Volcanic-ash-cloud-Global-warming-may-trigger-more-volcanoes.html)JFS
The reduction in the ice could also stimulate volcanic eruptions, according to the research
AND
such events - but it was not clear where those thresholds might lie. 

Extinction – poisons all life

Marusek 7 – (James, nuclear physicist and engineer, formerly with the US Navy, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, "Comet and Asteroid Threat Impact Analysis," http://www.aero.org/conferences/planetarydefense/2007papers/P4-3—Marusek-Paper.pdf)
A deep impact produces two zones of destruction: one at the point-of
AND
impacts are not random. Rather they occur with regularity in geological time.

Plan’s good for the economy in the short-term

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Nov 2011, ~https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~, jam)
As stated earlier, SMRs have the potential to achieve significant greenhouse gas emission reductions
AND
an n th-of-a-kind (NOAK) economy. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

Nuke expansion now—assumes Japanese phase-out

Tirone 9/19 (Jonathan, Associated Press, "Nuclear Power Production Set to Grow Even After Japan Phase-Out (Vienna)," http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/170334006_Nuclear_Power_Production_Set_to_Grow_Even_After_Japan_Phase-Out__Vienna_.html?page=all, AM*Agency=IAEA)
Nuclear power is set to grow over the next four decades even after Japan shuts
AND
Germany and Switzerland announced plans to phase out nuclear power after the meltdowns.

Rare earth shortage now – Chinese monopoly

Worstall 10/10 (Tim, Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute and an expert on rare earth metals according to The Telegraph, "The rare earths shortage isn’t over yet" Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/10/10/the-rare-earths-shortage-isnt-over-yet/-http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/10/10/the-rare-earths-shortage-isnt-over-yet/) wg
The Rare Earths Shortage Isn’t Over Yet¶ Back a couple of years the great
AND
the world becomes reliant once again on Chinese supplies, reinforcing that monopoly.

Thorium incentives solve global rare earth shortage

Halper 12 (Mark, Energy editor for Smart Planet, "Solve the energy AND rare earth crisis: join the thorium bank" Smart Planet, 7/24/12 http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/solve-the-energy-and-rare-earth-crisis-join-the-thorium-bank/17845-http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/solve-the-energy-and-rare-earth-crisis-join-the-thorium-bank/17845) wg
Put this idea into the "killing two birds with one stone" category.¶
AND
big tent where people could come in and either contribute capital or IP."

Asteroid mining – it’s happening

Diaz 12 (Jesus, Gizmodo Australia, "New asteroid mining company may solve world’s economic problems" 4/23/12 http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/new-asteroid-mining-company-may-solve-worlds-economic-problems/-http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/new-asteroid-mining-company-may-solve-worlds-economic-problems/)
Early on Wednesday morning, a group of billionaires and former NASA scientists will announce
AND
solve many of our material needs as resources on Earth keep dwindling fast.

Solves shortage

Mr. V’s Think Pad 10 – Writer of over 65 blogs about space (10/21/10, Mr. V’s Think Pad, "Astronomy: Asteroid Mining," http://mrvsthinkpad.blogspot.com/2010/10/astronomy-asteriod-mining.html)
Rare earth elements (also known as rare earth metals) are a series of
AND
moon. Near earth asteroids orbit much closer to earth than the moon.

DoD stockpile and domestic mining

Topf 11 (Andrew, specializes in writing about mining and commodities, Nov 6, ~www.mining.com/us-strategic-rare-earth-reserve-one-step-closer/~)
A temporary production stoppage by China’s largest rare earth exporter makes the creation of an
AND
due to low rare earth prices and a series of radioactive wastewater spills. 

Aerospace will decline inev

Sterner 10 (Eric, national security and aerospace consultant in Washington, DC., has held senior Congressional staff positions as the lead Professional Staff Member for defense policy on the House Armed Services Committee, Jun 15, ~www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/5793/tending-the-forge-of-american-space-power?page=3~, jam)
The industry also faces difficulties in the manner that contracts are awarded. Increasingly,
AND
some knowledge, it also retards the development of corporate knowledge and expertise.

Economic crisis causes cooperation, not war – their ev is rhetoric

Barnett 9 (Thomas P.M., senior managing director of Enterra Solutions LLC and a contributing editor/online columnist for Esquire magazine, Aug 24, ~www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/4213/the-new-rules-security-remains-stable-amid-financial-crisis~ AD: 9-24-11, jam)
When the global financial crisis struck roughly a year ago, the blogosphere was ablaze
AND
fear-mongering to proceed apace. That’s what the Internet is for.  

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

Doesn’t solve ~%23based islands if the DoD isn’t the actor deploying these SMRs

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~, jam)
The preceding analysis suggests that DOD should seriously consider taking a leadership role on small
AND
in the future for either U.S. military or commercial use.   

Second, permutation do the Counterplan

A. "Resolved" doesn’t mean certain
Merriam Webster ’9 (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resolved-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resolved)
~%23 Main Entry: 1re•solve ~%23 Pronunciation: \ri-ˈzälv, -ˈzȯlv also -ˈzäv or -ˈzȯv\~%23 Function: verb ~%23 Inflected Form(s): resolved; re•solv•ing 1 : to become separated into component parts; also : to become reduced by dissolving or analysis 2 : to form a resolution : determine 3 : consult, deliberate.
B. Neither does "should"
Encarta World English Dictionary 2005
(http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861735294-http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861735294)
expressing conditions or consequences: used to express the conditionality of an occurrence and suggest it is not a given,or to indicate the consequence of something that might happen ( used in conditional clauses ) 

C. Doesn’t sever immediacy
Online Plain Text English Dictionary ’9 (http://www.onelook.com/?other=web1913%26w=Resolve-http://www.onelook.com/?other=web1913%26w=Resolve)
Resolve: "To form a purpose; to make a decision; especially, to determine after reflection; as, to resolve on a better course of life." 

DoD already established its recommendations for SMR adoption

King 11 (Marcus, Ph.D., Center for Naval Analyses Project Director and Research Analyst for the Environment and Energy TeamLaVar Huntzinger, Thoi Nguyen, March 2011, Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S.Military Installations, www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Nuclear Power on Military Installations D0023932 A5.pdf)
Recognizing nuclear power as a potential benefit to Department of Defense (DoD) facilities
AND
NRC, and DOE Labs. This report documents our analysis and findings. 

AND—it recommended against being an early adopter—proves the CP can’t establish a bureaucratic consensus for the plan

King 11 (Marcus, Ph.D., Center for Naval Analyses Project Director and Research Analyst for the Environment and Energy TeamLaVar Huntzinger, Thoi Nguyen, March 2011, Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S.Military Installations, www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Nuclear Power on Military Installations D0023932 A5.pdf)
The most significant risk for SMR power plants is associated with being an early adoptor
AND
for cooperation and partnership for sharing risks associated with this type of project.

DoD empirically won’t implement energy policy recommendations

DSB 8 (Defense Science Board Task Force on DoD Energy Strategy, Feb 2008, More Figh -Less Fuel, www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/ADA477619.pdf)
Finding ~%231: The recommendations from the 2001 Defense Science Board Task Force Report
AND
to complete the recommendations of the 2001 study and similar recommendations made herein.

Delays the plan by years

Moniz 12 (Ernest, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems and Director of the Energy Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Former Clinton Administration Under Secretary of the Department of Energy and as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy ; serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 11/15/11, Quadrennial Energy and Technology Reviews, web.mit.edu/mitei/views/testimony/111115-quadrennial-energy-and-technology-reviews.html)
S.1703 would legislate the QER as a required submission to the Congress,
AND
of analytical capabilities and process development are funded and pursued aggressively in 2012.

No implementation and the CP links to politics

Barlas 12 (Stephen, Columnist @ Financial Executive, 1/1, Lexis)
But it is highly unlikely that Obama’s blueprint will lead to a firmer footing for
AND
to fruition as Washington’s football Redskins have of getting into the Super Bowl.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

Fuel bank causes backlash and spurs prolif

Weiss ’9 Leonard Weiss, Affiliate at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, "Reliable Energy Supply and Nonproliferation," Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 16 no. 2, July 2009, pp. 269-284
The problem of global warming has fostered much talk of a ’’nuclear renaissance’’ as
AND
complaints of discrimination and a class system for recipients that will be resented.

CP’s the squo—and it does nothing

Horner and Meier ’9 Daniel Horner, and Oliver Meier, "Talks on Fuel Bank Stalled at IAEA," Arms Control Today, October 2009, http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2009_10/fuelBank
Plans to establish an international nuclear fuel bank, a key part of nonproliferation programs
AND
largely indifferent or critical. (See ACT, January/February 2009.)

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

No link—Obama won’t push for no-ENR pledges

Lugar 12 (Richard G. Lugar, former member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and coauthor of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, 2/21/12, Obama’s Nuclear Misstep, nationalinterest.org/commentary/obamas-nuclear-mistake-6548)
However, the United States and the United Arab Emirates took an important joint step
AND
means there will be few cases in which we shall see its return.

123 agreements are prolif-resistant enough—no ENR pledge not key

McGoldrick 10 (Fred, CSIS, spent 30 years at the U.S. State and Energy Departments and at the U.S. mission to the IAEA, negotiated peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements with a number of countries and helped shape the policy of the United States to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, 11/30/10, The U.S.-UAE Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: A Gold Standard or Fool’s Gold?, http://csis.org/files/publication/101130_McGoldrick_USUAENuclear.pdf)
Finally, while we have many ways to promote nonproliferation objectives, one important nonproliferation
AND
to-institution contacts and collaboration that can help advance our nonproliferation objectives.

Their ev is what nonprolif advocates want Obama to do—not what he WILL do

Grossman 12 (Elaine, Global Security Newswire, 1/12/12, U.S. Nuclear Trade Talks with Vietnam, Jordan Moving Forward, www.nti.org/gsn/article/us-nuclear-trade-talks-vietnam-jordan-moving-forward/)
Nonproliferation proponents have argued that the United States should advocate in nuclear trade negotiations with
AND
officials are not keen on arm-twisting, said one congressional aide.

Plan can’t reverse negotiating positions

Lewis 12 (Jeffrey, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation, 8/1/12, It’s Not as Easy as 1-2-3, www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/01/it_s_not_as_easy_as_1_2_3?page=full)
The Obama administration largely finds itself an accidental architect of the new civil nuclear order
AND
list in his pocket because he had trouble keeping all the negotiations straight.

Alliance resilient

Ireland ’9 Corydon Ireland, Harvard News Office, "Firm allies, past and present," Harvard Gazette, 09/14/09, http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2009/09/firm-allies-past-and-present/
She visited the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum last week (Sept.
AND
that has never been "underestimated or disregarded. It was always central."

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 6 vs Gonzaga HN

DOD has authority independent of NRC—historical precedence supports

King et al. ’11 Marcus King, Associate Director of Research, Associate Research Professor of International Affairs, LaVar Huntzinger, Thoi Nguyen, "Feasibility of Nuclear Power on U.S. Military Installations," CNA Market Solutions, March 2011, http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Nuclear%20Power%20on%20Military%20Installations%20D0023932%20A5.pdf
The most basic licensing issue relates to whether NRC will have jurisdiction over potential nuclear
AND
that operated aboard the Sturgis barge in the 1960s and 1970s ~44~.

Empirics

Andres and Breetz 11 Richard Andres, Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College and a Senior Fellow and Energy and Environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, at the National Defense University, and Hanna Breetz, doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Small Nuclear Reactorsfor Military Installations:Capabilities, Costs, andTechnological Implications, www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf-http://www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
AND
the prospects for addressing these critical vulnerabilities through small-scale nuclear plants.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 2 vs Texas BK

Risk of extinction outweighs – even if probability of our scenario is low, the capability to bounce back from lesser catastrophes means they don’t matter as much

Anders Sandberg et al., James Martin Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University and postdoctoral research assistant for the EU Enhance project, Jason G. Matheny, PhD candidate in Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, special consultant to the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and co-founder of New Harvest, and Milan M. Ćirković, senior research associate at the Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, assistant professor of physics at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia and Montenegro, "How Can We Reduce the Risk of Human Extinction," 2008, http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/how-can-we-reduce-the-risk-of-human-extinction
The facts are sobering. More than 99.9 percent of species that have
AND
neuroscience, and developing international policies to reduce the risk of catastrophic accidents.

Policy debate is the antidote to overt linearity—combining diverse theories and opinions by cutting lots of cards and putting together the best ones while role-playing makes policymaking creative

Kerbel ’12 Josh Kerbel, federal civilian employee, despite that he’s still published in Parameters, Foreign Policy, and World Politics Review, "How Government Thinks - and How it Should," Disruptive Change—Strategic Foresight Initiative Blog, The Atlantic Council, 6/22/2012, http://www.acus.org/disruptive_change/how-government-thinks-and-how-it-should
In particular, the federal government remains enthralled by notions of "linearity". That
AND
tolerance for uncertainty—that is all too rare in today’s political discourse.

Imagining hypothetical scenarios is key to carrying an exploration of lived complexity into practical application

Kavalski ’7 Emilian Kavalski, "The fifth debate and the emergence of complex international relations theory: notes on the application of complexity theory to the study of real life," Cambridge Review of International Affairs, vol. 20 iss. 3, 2007, 10.1080/09557570701574154
In a further examination of the cognitive perspective, some proponents of CIR theory have
AND
and uncertainty straight in the face’ (Smith and Jenks 2006, 4). 

Complexity theory causes political paralysis and lazy scholarship

Hendrick ’9 Diane Hendrick, "Complexity Theory and Conflict Transformation: An Exploration of Potential and Implications," University of Bradford Department of Peace Studies, June 2009, http://143.53.238.22/acad/confres/papers/pdfs/CCR17.pdf
It is still relatively early days in the application of complexity theory to social sciences
AND
prestige, etc. Such attempts appear, therefore, unrealistic or unfeasible. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 2 vs Texas BK

Not using the DoD regulatory authority means the CP takes 20 years to just start

Makhijani ’12 Arjun Makhijani, electrical and nuclear engineer, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, has served as an expert witness in Nuclear Regulatory Commission Proceedings, "Is Thorium A Magic Bullet For Our Energy Problems?" interviewed by Ira Flatow, host of Science Friday, NPR, 5/4/2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/05/04/152026805/is-thorium-a-magic-bullet-for-our-energy-problems-http://www.npr.org/2012/05/04/152026805/is-thorium-a-magic-bullet-for-our-energy-problems
This isn’t going to happen tomorrow, even if you pour money into it. It would take 10 years for the NRC to understand and write regulations for this thing. And it would take 10 years before that to build the reactors, do the experiments and produce the data so you can regulate this thing, because all of our regulation is based on light water reactors.

Perm do both means states fund DoD purchasing – otherwise they don’t fiat power gets to the bases

GAO 9, "Defense Infrastructure: DOD Needs to Take Actions to Address Challenges in Meeting Federal
Renewable Energy Goals", December, http://www.gao.gov/assets/300/299755.html
DOD has also joined with private sector entities, entering into various types of arrangements
AND
several different types of these approaches that have resulted in renewable energy projects.

Current acquisitions favor old tech – the plan’s signal is key

CNA 10, non-profit research organization that operates the Center for Naval Analyses and the Institute for Public Research, "Powering America’s Economy: Energy Innovation at the Crossroads of National Security Challenges", July, http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/WEB%2007%2027%2010%20MAB%20Powering%20America%27s%20Economy.pdf
In our final discussion, we consider the end of the innovation pipeline—deployment
AND
innovative technologies on its installations provides a clear demand signal to the developer.

DOD bypasses and solves licensing lag

CSPO 10, Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at ASU, "four policy principles for energy innovation %26 climate change: a synthesis", June, http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/Synthesis.pdf
Government purchase of new technologies is a powerful way to accelerate innovation through increased demand
AND
innovation. Public procurement of other renewable energy technologies could be similarly important.

Only military SMR’s will be usable on bases

Andres %26 Breetz 11 (Richard B., Professor of national Security Strategy at the national War College and a Senior fellow and energy and environmental Security and Policy Chair in the Center for Strategic research, institute for national Strategic Studies, at the national Defense University, Hanna L., doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts institute of technology, "Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications," February 2011, ~www.ndu.edu/press/lib/pdf/StrForum/SF-262.pdf~, jam)
The preceding analysis suggests that DOD should seriously consider taking a leadership role on small
AND
in the future for either U.S. military or commercial use.   

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 7 vs ISU CI

No mining or supply issues—we already have more than enough stored

Cannara ’11 Alexander Cannara, received his BSEE degree from Lehigh University, and received MSEE, DEE and MS Statistics degrees from Stanford, returned to Stanford for a PhD in Mathematical Methods in Educational Research and a Master of Science in Statistics, during which time he designed analog and digital instrumentation, applying for a patent on one design, has taught courses in engineering, programming and networking at Stanford, University of San Francisco, International Technological University, Golden Gate and Silicon Valley University, and has worked both for the government and in the corporate arena with such organizations as Ballantine Laboratories, RMC Research, Zilog, Gibbons %26 Associates, Mitsubishi Semiconductor, AMD, 3Com, Network General, Vitesse, PacketMotion and Xambala, "IEER/PSR Thorium "Fact Sheet" Rebuttal," response to the 2009 Makhijani and Boyd piece on thorium, posted 3/23/2011 by Kirk Sorenson on Energy From Thorium, http://energyfromthorium.com/ieer-rebuttal/
Thorium is found with rare-earth mineral deposits, and global demand for rare
AND
time and effort by avoiding the expense of trying to throw it away.

We solve demand/adoption issues

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Nov 2011, ~[https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~], jam)
As stated earlier, SMRs have the potential to achieve significant greenhouse gas emission reductions
AND
an n th-of-a-kind (NOAK) economy. 

Thorium solves waste and prolif problems – this ev is answering Makhijani in person

Martin 12 (Richard, author of "SuperFuel: Thorium, The Green Energy Source for the future, and he’s a contributing editor for Wired and editorial director for Pike Research, May 4, "Is Thorium a Magic Bullet for Our Energy Problems?" ~[www.npr.org/2012/05/04/152026805/is-thorium-a-magic-bullet-for-our-energy-problems~], jam)
MARTIN: However - you’re welcome. However, some of those conclusions are just
AND
know, very, very slim - so much as to be negligible.

Protactinium is solved by original MSR designs – U-232 contamination and Pa-233 diversion shuts down reactor

Stone 12 (Cavan, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Physics at Dartmouth College, Energy and Computer Technology Analyst at Ethan Allen Institute’s Energy Education Project, MIT Lincoln Laboratory / Kwajalein Range Services, Circuit City, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, comment on the post, "Back to thorium – the thorium cycle and non-proliferation," Sep 2, ~[www.fas.org/blogs/sciencewonk/2012/08/back-to-thorium-the-thorium-cycle-and-non-proliferation/~], jam)
Hi Martin, To touch on your protactinium comment, preventing this method of proliferation
AND
in the first place, intense competition over limited and diminishing natural resources.

UNLV Rd 3 vs Oklahoma CO

Meltdowns are impossible with LFTRs – passive design and chemically inert liquid salt

Lerner 12 (George, president of Lerner Consulting, a consulting firm, "Can Use LFTRs to Consume Nuclear Waste," Jan 17, ~liquidfluoridethoriumreactor.glerner.com/2012-can-use-lftrs-to-consume-nuclear-waste/~, jam)
If the reactor overheats, a frozen plug melts and the fuel quickly drains out
AND
class." Fast Spectrum Molten Salt Reactor Options, Oak Ridge Nat’l Lab 2011

No risk and their impact is academic garbage
NEI 12, Nuclear Energy Institute, "Myths %26 Facts About Nuclear Energy", June, http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/documentlibrary/reliableandaffordableenergy/factsheet/myths—facts-about-nuclear-energy-january-2012/
Fact: If this claim were true, it would be dangerous to breathe air
AND
Academy of Pediatrics, numerous state departments of health and other independent studies.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Their understanding of Black bodies as ontologically shaped by the unique and incommensurable experience of slavery is founded on confusion between Structural Trauma (the trauma of our ontological condition) and Historical Trauma (of specific events such as the Middle Passage).   Structural trauma is infected by the sublime—it is simultaneously the site of terror and ecstasy.  By understanding the historical trauma of slavery as constitutive of the Black body slavery is rendered sublime.  Thus, the experience of slavery (both as historical event and as ongoing violence) becomes aestheticized, as the slave becomes a sort of divine figure and the locus of our juissance.   Slavery "remembered" in this way is divorced from its cause and ethical significance—It is "without consequence".  Further, we become unable to work though the trauma of slavery as Being itself is rendered sublime, language is impossible and chronology becomes "trauma time".

Anna Phillips,  The ’Slave Sublime’ , Masters Dissertation in Cultural Memory, Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies  Tutors: Dr Andrew Asibong, Birckbeck  Dr Richard Crownshaw, Goldsmiths. 15 September 2008 http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/1795/1/Anna%20Phillips%20Dissertation.pdf
How, first, are we to categorise the sublime? Briefly, the sublime
AND
immigration in our postcolonial world, its implications for the present go unexamined.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

UNLV Rd 3 vs Oklahoma CO

Alt cedes the political—turns the K—our advocacy solves

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
6.    The democratic state, while it certainly cannot alone tame capital or reconstitute
AND
either socialist productivism or the world projected by proponents of deep ecology.23

Prefer plurality over unitary theory—our world of fragility and complexity can’t be explained by singular totalizing frameworks—it always leaps outside and beyond these explanations.  Mixing critique is the best strategy because it allows for greater theoretical agility—the alt alone is an anthropocentric denial of the activity of objects

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
What we need– or what I want –is something like the Lacanian Borromean
AND
others, and refusing to privilege one point of view on the universe.

Far from simply alienating animals and reducing them to "standing reserve," science has emerged as a tool to reshape the metaphysical divide between us and animals.

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~Awesome philosopher with a Phd in biology~, "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
I will return to the science fiction of cyborgs at the end of this chapter
AND
teaching modern Christian creationism should be fought as a form of child abuse.

The K of technology misses the boat—the segregation of "nature" from "machine" is anthropocentric metaphysics

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~Awesome philosopher with a PhD in biology~, "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
The second leaky distinction is between animal-human (organism) and machine.
AND
machines. Our machines are disturbingly lively, and we ourselves frighteningly inert.

Loss of life outweighs zimmerman - their evidence is anthropocentric and stupid

David Macauley, Minding Nature: The philosophers of ecology, 1996, p. 74
We may approach the issue of what Heidegger may teach today’s radical environmentalists by examining
AND
ontological awareness would be far preferable to their own extinction in nuclear war%21

Being has not been forgotten—but totalizing accounts of technology shut themselves off from any relation to it

Latour ’93 Bruno Latour, professor at the Ecole des Mines de Paris, We Have Never Been Modern, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1993, p. 66-67
Who has forgotten Being? No one, no one ever has, otherwise Nature
AND
is a surer guide than Heidegger: ’Einai gar kai entautha theous.’

Even if our aff does not resolve calculative thinking or our alienation from the environment our advocacy of policy changes to address global warming is still essential.  The scientific consensus around warming is not replicated in current politics.  We should recognize the proximate alienation from the natural world denies our planets heat.

Housman 11 Benjamin H. Housman Undergradute Honor’s Thesis at Emory titled "Cooling Down Global Warming: Revisiting Sartre and Heidegger on this Modern Day Challenge" April 14, 2011, PJF
Up to this point we have explored existential theories of responsibility, social ontology,
AND
positioned, technological world that impairs an ethic of care towards our environment.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Prolif K

2AC

Engagement with nuclear technocracy is critical to solve

Nordhaus 11, chairman – Breakthrough Instiute, and Shellenberger, president – Breakthrough Insitute, MA cultural anthropology – University of California, Santa Cruz, 2/25/’11
(Ted and Michael, http://thebreakthrough.org/archive/the_long_death_of_environmenta-http://thebreakthrough.org/archive/the_long_death_of_environmenta) 

Tenth, we are going to have to get over our suspicion of technology,
AND
simpler, more bucolic past in which humans lived in harmony with Nature.

’Nuclear apartheid’ arguments erase the internal differences between marginalized groups that becomes apologia for conservative violence and reinscribes nuclearism

Biswas ’1 Shampa Biswas, professor of political science at Whitman College, ""Nuclear Apartheid" as Political Position: Race as a Postcolonial Resource?" Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, October 2001, vol. 28 no. 4, 10.1177/030437540102600406
Where does that leave us with the question of "nuclear apartheid"? As persuasive
AND
this mutually constitutive co-construction of racialized domestic and international hierarchical orders.

1AR

apartheid args homogenize marginalized groups

Biswas ’1 Shampa Biswas, professor of political science at Whitman College, ""Nuclear Apartheid" as Political Position: Race as a Postcolonial Resource?" Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, October 2001, vol. 28 no. 4, 10.1177/030437540102600406
Where does that leave us with the question of "nuclear apartheid"? As persuasive
AND
this mutually constitutive co-construction of racialized domestic and international hierarchical orders.

Individual level strategies fail and make global violence inevitable

Monbiot ’4 George Monbiot, journalist, academic, and political and environmental activist, 2004, Manifesto for a New World Order, p. 11-13
The quest for global solutions is difficult and divisive. Some members of this movement
AND
to prevent climate change from destroying the conditions it requires for its survival.

Policy analysis should precede discourse – most effective way to challenge power

Taft-Kaufman ’95 Jill Taft-Kaufman, Speech prof @ CMU, 1995, Southern Comm. Journal, Spring, v. 60, Iss. 3, "Other Ways", p pq
The postmodern passwords of "polyvocality," "Otherness," and "difference," unsupported
AND
political agendas, institutions, agencies, and the budgets that fuel them. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 4 vs Rochester BS

2AC

Individual level strategies fail and make global violence inevitable

Monbiot ’4 George Monbiot, journalist, academic, and political and environmental activist, 2004, Manifesto for a New World Order, p. 11-13
The quest for global solutions is difficult and divisive. Some members of this movement
AND
to prevent climate change from destroying the conditions it requires for its survival.

Debate over policy options is a prerequisite to the K

McClean ’1 David E. McClean, 2001, "The Cultural Left and the Limits of Social Hope," Am. Phil. Conf., www.american-philosophy.org/archives/past_conference_programs/pc2001/Discussion%20papers/david_mcclean.htm
Yet for some reason, at least partially explicated in Richard Rorty’s Achieving Our Country
AND
critics with their snobish disrespect for the so-called "managerial class." 

Policy analysis should precede discourse – most effective way to challenge power

Taft-Kaufman ’95 Jill Taft-Kaufman, Speech prof @ CMU, 1995, Southern Comm. Journal, Spring, v. 60, Iss. 3, "Other Ways", p pq
The postmodern passwords of "polyvocality," "Otherness," and "difference," unsupported
AND
political agendas, institutions, agencies, and the budgets that fuel them. 

Policy changes in energy production can reverberate throughout the socius to reduce inequality and engender a militant pluralistic assemblage

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
3.    Today, perhaps the initial target should be on reconstituting established patterns of
AND
, role performance, cultural ethos, market regulation, and citizen activism.

Perm: Do Both

The aff embodies the practical side of ecofeminism—only the perm disrupts the dualism at the heart of masculine culture through its holistic engagement with feminist ideals and material structures

Gaard ’93 Greta Gaard, assistant professor of composition and women’s studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, "Living Interconnections with Animals and Nature," Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature, 1993, p. 2-3
It is now common knowledge that rights-based ethics (most characteristic of dominant
AND
choice, homelessness, militarism, and political strategies for creating change globally. 

Their criticism will be co-opted by the right – ensures worse exploitation

Wapner ’3 Paul Wapner, associate professor and director of the Global Environmental Policy Program at American University. "Leftist Criticism of "Nature" Environmental Protection in a Postmodern Age," Dissent Winter 2003 http://www.dissentmagazine.org/menutest/archives/2003/wi03/wapner.htm
The postmodern argument also poses challenges for anyone concerned with environmental protection. Environmentalism is
AND
they are re-setting the fault lines within the environmental movement itself. 

Thorium reprocess all the bad stuff—byproducts of LFTRs are harmless

Cannara ’11 Alexander Cannara, received his BSEE degree from Lehigh University, and received MSEE, DEE and MS Statistics degrees from Stanford, returned to Stanford for a PhD in Mathematical Methods in Educational Research and a Master of Science in Statistics, during which time he designed analog and digital instrumentation, applying for a patent on one design, has taught courses in engineering, programming and networking at Stanford, University of San Francisco, International Technological University, Golden Gate and Silicon Valley University, and has worked both for the government and in the corporate arena with such organizations as Ballantine Laboratories, RMC Research, Zilog, Gibbons %26 Associates, Mitsubishi Semiconductor, AMD, 3Com, Network General, Vitesse, PacketMotion and Xambala, "IEER/PSR Thorium "Fact Sheet" Rebuttal," response to the 2009 Makhijani and Boyd piece on thorium, posted 3/23/2011 by Kirk Sorenson on Energy From Thorium, http://energyfromthorium.com/ieer-rebuttal/
Again, the authors make blanket statements about "thorium" but then confine their
AND
represented some sort of condemnation of the use of thorium for nuclear power.

No mining or supply issues—we already have more than enough stored

Cannara ’11 Alexander Cannara, received his BSEE degree from Lehigh University, and received MSEE, DEE and MS Statistics degrees from Stanford, returned to Stanford for a PhD in Mathematical Methods in Educational Research and a Master of Science in Statistics, during which time he designed analog and digital instrumentation, applying for a patent on one design, has taught courses in engineering, programming and networking at Stanford, University of San Francisco, International Technological University, Golden Gate and Silicon Valley University, and has worked both for the government and in the corporate arena with such organizations as Ballantine Laboratories, RMC Research, Zilog, Gibbons %26 Associates, Mitsubishi Semiconductor, AMD, 3Com, Network General, Vitesse, PacketMotion and Xambala, "IEER/PSR Thorium "Fact Sheet" Rebuttal," response to the 2009 Makhijani and Boyd piece on thorium, posted 3/23/2011 by Kirk Sorenson on Energy From Thorium, http://energyfromthorium.com/ieer-rebuttal/
Thorium is found with rare-earth mineral deposits, and global demand for rare
AND
time and effort by avoiding the expense of trying to throw it away.

1AR

We should stop treating structures as unmovable wholes—all it takes is one crack to expose the fragility of oppressive institutions.  The plan is a radical experiment in democratic politics.

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
A philosophy attending to the acceleration, expansion, irrationalities, interdependencies and fragilities of
AND
it. The following tentative judgments and sites of action may be pertinent.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 4 vs Rochester BS

2AC

CBO estimates ignore basic incentives – austerity won’t hurt the economy

Mulligan 12 (Casey B., economics professor at the University of Chicago, Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, visiting professor teaching public economics at Harvard University, Clemson University, and Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, "Is the Fiscal Cliff a Big Deal?", Aug 29, ~economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/29/is-the-fiscal-cliff-a-big-deal/~, jam)
With their Keynesian analysis, the Congressional Budget Office and others have exaggerated the effects
AND
produce are essentially neutral, compared with the ordinary federal personal income tax.

Plan’s good for the economy in the short-term

Rosner %26 Goldberg 11 (Robert, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, and the College at the U of Chicago, and Stephen, Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, The Harris School of Public Policy Studies, "Small Modular Reactors - Key to Future Nuclear Power Generation in the U.S.," Nov 2011, ~https://epic.sites.uchicago.edu/sites/epic.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/EPICSMRWhitePaperFinalcopy.pdf~~, jam)
As stated earlier, SMRs have the potential to achieve significant greenhouse gas emission reductions
AND
an n th-of-a-kind (NOAK) economy. 

No deal – GOP hard-line stance on tax hikes

Taylor 11/8 (Andrew, the AP, "Fiscal cliff: Impasse on tax rates is big hurdle," ~www.pjstar.com/free/x1890075006/Fiscal-cliff-would-spark-recession?zc_p=0~, jam)
House Republicans’ hard line against higher tax rates for upper-income earners leaves re
AND
office and imperil prospects for second-term Obama initiatives including immigration reform.

No link – plan is immediate and negotiations haven’t started yet meaning Washington has two months to compromise

Plan is uniquely insulated from politics – bipartisan consensus

Shaw 12 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/-http://www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~~, jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

Not intrinsic – policymakers can do the plan and legislate the fiscal cliff away

Obama pc collapses budget negotiations—2011 proves

The Hotline, 9/10/12, Slow and Steady Wins the Race, Lexis
Gaps in Obama’s leadership contributed to the collapse of a "grand bargain" on
AND
beginning of a war" (Klein, ABC, 9/10).

DOD energy programs don’t link – conservative won’t oppose

Davenport 12 (Coral , energy and environment correspondent for National Journal. Prior to
AND
White House Budget to Expand Clean-Energy Programs Through Pentagon, ProQuest)
The White House believes it has figured out how to get more money for clean
AND
1 billion on renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs across its departments.

1AR

No risk or impact to economic decline

Drezner ’11 Daniel W. Drezner, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, "Please come down off the ledge, dear readers," Foreign Policy, 8/12/11, http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/12/please_come_down_off_the_ledge_dear_readers
So, when we last left off this debate, things were looking grim.
AND
, based on the data we’ve got, that’s not going to happen. 

coal is dying in the status quo – means that we are especially key to recuperate from the job losses

Miller 12 (RL, attorney and environment blogger with Climate Hawks, "The Rage Of A Dying Dinosaur: Coal’s Decline In The U.S.," Jun 23, ~http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/23/504331/the-rage-of-a-dying-dinosaur-coals-decline-in-the-us/~~, jam)
A dinosaur backed into a corner by a pack of smaller dinosaurs may be mortally
AND
and wind, both of which have been around longer than the dinosaurs. 

DA doesn’t turn based islands – sequestration won’t hurt deterrence

Weisgerber 10/8 (Marcus, staff writer at Defense News, "If Cuts Happen, Troops, Major Weapons Are DoD Priorities," 2012, ~www.defensenews.com/article/20121008/DEFREG02/310080001/If-Cuts-Happen-Troops-Major-Weapons-DoD-Priorities?odyssey=nav%7Chead~, jam)
The Pentagon will move to protect major weapon programs, including those locked into fixed
AND
Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to cancel plans for sending out layoff notices. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 5 vs UMKC BS

2AC

Case outweighs—multiple scenarios for rapid extinction outlined by the 1AC—makes transition to other economies impossible

Nuclear is an essential step in energy production—no feasible alternatives

Monbiot ’11 George Monbiot, activist, journalist, intellectual, got a metal spike driven through his foot by a security guard while he was protesting a new road in Britain, tried to carry out a citizen’s arrest of John Bolton for his role in instigating the Iraq War, used to be Whitman’s go-to K answer but then he got too radical, "The double standards of green anti-nuclear opponents," The Guardian, 3/31/2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/mar/31/double-standards-nuclear
Like most environmentalists, I want renewables to replace fossil fuel, but I realise
AND
and my belief that it needs to be held to account remain unchanged.

Perm: do both

"Anti industrial" alts offer us NOTHING—socialism requires a commitment to material problems like energy shortages and climate destruction—the REAL socialist alternative is nuclear power

Walters 11 – David Walters worked as a union power plant operator for 24 years in California. He is currently a member of Socialist Organizer, US Section of the Fourth International. Permanent Revolution, a journal named after the following quote: "The workers... battle-cry must be: ’The Permanent Revolution.’" — Marx and Engels, 1850, "After Fukushima: is nuclear power finished?" Sun 12, June 2011 @ 18:37 http://www.permanentrevolution.net/entry/3332-http://www.permanentrevolution.net/entry/3332
We have serious issues facing our class, our planet.¶ From economic development of
AND
humanity’s ability to power such a society.¶ Only nuclear can do this.

Poverty unprecedentedly decreasing due to capitalism

Chandy and Gertz ’11 Laurence Chandy, fellow at the Global Economy and Development Program in the Brookings Institution, and Geoffrey Gertz, research analyst at the Global Economy and Development Program in the Brookings Institution, "With Little Fanfare, Hundreds Of Millions Escaped Poverty," Jakarta Globe, 7/8/11, http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/with-little-fanfare-hundreds-of-millions-escaped-poverty/451432
We are in the midst of the fastest period of poverty reduction the world has
AND
We should consider ourselves fortunate to be alive at such a remarkable moment. 

Consequentialism good

Isaac ’2 Jeffrey Isaac, James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science and director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and Public Life at Indiana University-Bloomington, Dissent, Vol. 49 No. 2, Spring 2002
As writers such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Max Weber, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Hannah
AND
choices. But it should never be mistaken for a serious political commitment. 

Growth is sweet—it’s uniquely key to lifting global populations out of unimaginable poverty

Lomborg ’12 Bjørn Lomborg, Adjunct Professor at Copenhagen Business School and head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, "Environmental Alarmism, Then and Now," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2012, Vol. 91, Issue 4, pp. 24-40, ebsco
But the Club of Rome did not just distract the world’s attention. It actually
AND
and that what the world needs is more of it, not less.

They need a specific alt—failure to specify causes cooption

John K. Wilson, coordinator of the Independent Press Association’s Campus Journalism Project, How the Left can Win Arguments and Influence People, 2000, pp. 110-113
Victory isn’t easy for the left, even when it wins. One example in
AND
Buchananesque conspiracy theories about the UN or the WTO taking over the world.  

Growth is key to curbing environmental degradation—collapse makes it inevitable—most recent scholarship proves

Tierney ’9 John Tierney, columnist for NYT, his reporting has won awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Physics, and the New York Publishers Association, "Use Energy, Get Rich and Save the Planet," New York Times, 4/20/2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/science/earth/21tier.html
Their equation was I=PAT, which means that environmental impact is equal to
AND
wealth and better agricultural technology, the farm fields start reverting to forestland. 

Policy changes in energy production can be methodologically liberatory

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
3.    Today, perhaps the initial target should be on reconstituting established patterns of
AND
, role performance, cultural ethos, market regulation, and citizen activism.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 2 vs Binghamton GR

2AC

Science diplomacy happens now – scientists don’t care about politics.

Dickson ’9 Dave Dickson, Director of SciDev, SciDev, June 4, 2009, http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/the-limits-of-science-diplomacy.html
The scientific community has a deserved reputation for its international perspective — scientists often ignore
AND
for example, scientific organisations provided a conduit for discussing nuclear weapons control. 

Science diplomacy fails—politics is not an effective framework to scientific cooperation

Dickson ’9 Dave Dickson, Director of SciDev, SciDev, June 4, 2009, http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/the-limits-of-science-diplomacy.html
 Perhaps the most contentious area discussed at the meeting was how science diplomacy can
AND
abroad to lie for his country". But he touched a raw nerve. 

Top docket

NYT 11/8 ("Back to Work, Obama Is Greeted by Looming Fiscal Crisis" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/us/politics/president-obama-begins-work-on-second-term.html?hp%26pagewanted=all)

It may be weeks before Mr. Obama starts making personnel announcements. His first
AND
in surveys of those leaving the polls on Tuesday, agreed with him.

Winners win- fast legislative victory key to second term agenda

Baker 11/7 (Peter, NYT, "Question for the Victor: How Far Do You Push?" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/us/politics/obama-second-term-has-immediate-challenges.html?pagewanted=all)

Mr. Obama is acutely aware that time for progress is limited in any second
AND
will be marginalized by your own party and the other side very quickly."

Plan is uniquely insulated from politics – bipartisan consensus

Shaw 12 (Andrew, member of the Government Affairs team where he focuses primarily on energy issues at the intersection of Canada-U.S. relations, uses his knowledge and experience of Congress and the Executive Branch to advise clients on critical energy and environmental public policy issues, " A "Chunks" Approach to Climate Policy," 2012,  ~www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/-http://www.politicsandlawblog.com/2012/05/15/a-chunks-approach-to-climate-policy/~~, jam)
While ideally President Obama would seek a "comprehensive" approach to climate change,
AND
of the election, could be a renewed emphasis on ARPA-E.

DOD energy programs don’t link – conservative won’t oppose

Davenport 12 (Coral , energy and environment correspondent for National Journal. Prior to
AND
White House Budget to Expand Clean-Energy Programs Through Pentagon, ProQuest)
The White House believes it has figured out how to get more money for clean
AND
1 billion on renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs across its departments.

1AR

spending capital gives Obama leverage on other issues

Brooks 10/18 (Rosa, law prof at Georgetown and former counselor and senior advisor to DOD and State, The Case For Intervention, Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/18/the_case_for_intervention?page=full-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/18/the_case_for_intervention?page=full)

5. Get a backbone. President Obama has sound moral instincts, but he
AND
fights, he won’t win every battle — but if he doesn’t fight, 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 5 vs UMKC JW

2AC

Thorium incentives solve global rare earth shortage

Halper 12 (Mark, Energy editor for Smart Planet, "Solve the energy AND rare earth crisis: join the thorium bank" Smart Planet, 7/24/12 http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/solve-the-energy-and-rare-earth-crisis-join-the-thorium-bank/17845-http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/solve-the-energy-and-rare-earth-crisis-join-the-thorium-bank/17845) wg
Put this idea into the "killing two birds with one stone" category.¶
AND
big tent where people could come in and either contribute capital or IP."

Market incentivizes recycling – solves shortage

Rhodes 12 (Chris, studied chemistry at Sussex University, earning both a B.Sc and a Doctoral degree, "Peak Minerals: Shortage of Rare Earth Metals Threatens Renewable Energy," Jul 30, ~oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Peak-Minerals-Shortage-of-Rare-Earth-Metals-Threatens-Renewable-Energy.html~, jam)
In the face of resource depletion, recycling looks increasingly attractive. In this stage
AND
, use and reuse, rather than treating it as an unplanned consequence.

Asteroid mining – it’s happening

Diaz 12 (Jesus, Gizmodo Australia, "New asteroid mining company may solve world’s economic problems" 4/23/12 http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/new-asteroid-mining-company-may-solve-worlds-economic-problems/-http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/04/new-asteroid-mining-company-may-solve-worlds-economic-problems/)
Early on Wednesday morning, a group of billionaires and former NASA scientists will announce
AND
solve many of our material needs as resources on Earth keep dwindling fast.

Solves shortage

Mr. V’s Think Pad 10 – Writer of over 65 blogs about space (10/21/10, Mr. V’s Think Pad, "Astronomy: Asteroid Mining," http://mrvsthinkpad.blogspot.com/2010/10/astronomy-asteriod-mining.html)
Rare earth elements (also known as rare earth metals) are a series of
AND
moon. Near earth asteroids orbit much closer to earth than the moon.

No impact—Chinese supply is insignificant

Miklian ’11 Jason Miklian, researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, "I Was a Rare Earths Day Trader," Foreign Policy, 1/21/2011, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/01/21/i_was_a_rare_earths_day_trader?page=full
Cooler heads have weighed in on rare earths, but since the frenzy began they’ve
AND
be delivering more than six times what the United States needs by 2012.

LFTRS key to hafnium production

Cannara 12 (Dr. Alexander, Engineering and Environmental Consultant, AAAS, IEEE, Sierra Club, "Thorium – A Safe, Abundant and ’Fertile’ Power Source," ~threeconsulting.com/pdfs/AlexCan-Thor.pdf~, jam)
In fluid-fuelled reactors, gasses like Xenon simply evolve for capture at appropriate
AND
reactor has to put in enough fuel to last until the next refueling. 

Increased hafnium supply revitalizes aerospace

Lipmann 12 (Anthony, Founder of Lipmann Walton %26 Co LTD "MMTA Meta Statistics - Hafnium" January 5, 2012 www.lipmann.co.uk/articles/MMTA_hafnium.html-http://www.lipmann.co.uk/articles/MMTA_hafnium.html**)**
Unlike the listed Zirconium producers above, Westinghouse, USA, does not generate Hafnium
AND
dependence on Zirconium output for source material would still remain a limiting factor.

That solves your impact

Thompson 9 (David, President – American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, "The Aerospace Workforce", Federal News Service, 12-10, Lexis)
Aerospace systems are of considerable importance to U.S. national security, economic
AND
and scientists — one of the largest concentrations of technical brainpower on Earth. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 5 vs UMKC JW

2AC

Nuke expansion now—assumes Japanese phase-out

Tirone 9/19 (Jonathan, Associated Press, "Nuclear Power Production Set to Grow Even After Japan Phase-Out (Vienna)," http://www.northjersey.com/news/international/170334006_Nuclear_Power_Production_Set_to_Grow_Even_After_Japan_Phase-Out__Vienna_.html?page=all, AM*Agency=IAEA)
Nuclear power is set to grow over the next four decades even after Japan shuts
AND
Germany and Switzerland announced plans to phase out nuclear power after the meltdowns.

No renewables investment

Ball 12 (Jeffrey, Scholar in Residence at Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, ~"Tough Love for Renewable Energy," Foreign Affairs, May/June, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137519/jeffrey-ball/tough-love-for-renewable-energy?page=6~~)
Over the past decade, governments around the world threw money at renewable power.
AND
the U.S. Department of Energy before going bankrupt last fall.

No link – nuclear corporations aren’t VC

Stepp 11 (Matthew, Senior Policy Analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) specializing in climate change and clean energy policy, 11 ~"An Anti-Innovation Strategy: The Heritage Foundations Deficit Reduction and Energy Proposal" The Energy Collective, April 27, http://theenergycollective.com/mstepp/56497/anti-innovation-strategy-heritage-foundations-deficit-reduction-and-energy-proposal~~)
Citing the examples of the Internet, computer chips, and GPS, the report
AND
was set up to ensure the safety and economic viability of the industry.

No tradeoff—subsidies fill-in—France proves

Tindale ’11 Stephen Tindale, associate fellow at the CER, "Thorium: How to save Europe’s Nuclear Revival," Centre for European Reform, June 2011, http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/attachments/pdf/2011/pb_thorium_june11-153.pdf
The money to support research and development of molten salt reactors need not be taken
AND
power stations burning energy crops and waste wood which would otherwise be wasted.

Doesn’t trade off with other renewables—nuclear replaces inefficient fossil fuel production

Farrell ’12 John Farrell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) senior researcher specializing in energy policy developments that best expand the benefits of local ownership and dispersed generation of renewable energy, "Clean Energy Doesn’t Require A Trade-Off, But A Trade-In Of Our Obsolete Electric Grid," Think Progress, 2/29/2012, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/29/434440/clean-energy-trade-off-trade-in-obsolete-electric-grid/?mobile=nc
In a New York Times SundayReview piece last week –
AND
energy system where Americans can be producers and owners of their energy future.

No CCP collapse—the government represses instability

Pei 9 (Minxin, Senior Associate in the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 3/12. "Will the Chinese Communist Party Survive the Crisis?" Foreign Affairs. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64862/minxin-pei/will-the-chinese-communist-party-survive-the-crisis)
It might seem reasonable to expect that challenges from the disaffected urban middle class,
AND
and-true practices to ward off any organized movement against the regime.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Shirley Rd 7 vs ISU CI

Prefer plurality over unitary theory—our world of fragility and complexity can’t be explained by singular totalizing frameworks—it always leaps outside and beyond these explanations.  Mixing critique is the best strategy because it allows for greater theoretical agility—the alt alone is an anthropocentric denial of the activity of objects

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
What we need– or what I want –is something like the Lacanian Borromean
AND
others, and refusing to privilege one point of view on the universe.

Alt cedes the political—turns the K—our advocacy solves

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
6.    The democratic state, while it certainly cannot alone tame capital or reconstitute
AND
either socialist productivism or the world projected by proponents of deep ecology.23

Sovereignty might get a bad rap but it isn’t nearly as bad as they make it out to be. Discourses of the law’s violent underside obscures its potential to get stuff done.  We don’t always have to resist—we can see the state as strategic.

Jacques Derrida, Directeur d’Etudes at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and Professor of Philosophy, French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, 2004, For What Tomorrow? A Dialogue With Elisabeth Roudinesco, p. 91-92
J.D.: A moment ago you spoke of regicide as the necessity of
AND
it seems im¬possible, and not sovereignty, even when it seems possible.

It isn’t helpful to think of the state as supreme and cunning to justify disengagement—it’s more important to identify methods of challenging oppression, including considerations of "non-revolutionary" alternatives.

Gilles Deleuze, "Toward Freedom" published in The Deleuze Reader, ed. Constantin V. Boundas, 1993, p.255-256
The mistake would be to say: there is a globalizing State, the master
AND
revolutionary-becoming of people,  at every level, in every place.

The K of technology misses the boat—the segregation of "nature" from "machine" is anthropocentric metaphysics

Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~Awesome philosopher with a PhD in biology~, "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
The second leaky distinction is between animal-human (organism) and machine.
AND
machines. Our machines are disturbingly lively, and we ourselves frighteningly inert.

The opposition between legal violence and local resistance is a false one—the attempt to purge politics of violence is the height of ethical irresponsiblity

Thomson ’5 Alex Thomson, lecturer in English at the University of Glasgow, 2005, Deconstruction and Democracy, p. 171-73
What Derrida proposes is not the end of revolution, however, but an extension
AND
an intensive engagement with the law, both within and beyond the state.  

Structures like civilization are not closed totalities—a holistic, ecological approach is essential to dealing with the infinite externalities which compose social existence—the alt disavows its own fragility and contingency

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
I focus here, however, on a related issue. Many critics of neoliberalism
AND
-fields, and the independent power of nonhuman forces acting upon capitalism.

Tournament: D2 Qualifiers | Round: 1 | Opponent: ISU Doty/Hoth | Judge: Bausch

2AC—Fem K ~ISU DH~

Consumption is inevitable—the most immediate question is how we do it—nuclear is the best way

Monbiot ’11 George Monbiot, activist, journalist, intellectual, got a metal spike driven through his foot by a security guard while he was protesting a new road in Britain, tried to carry out a citizen’s arrest of John Bolton for his role in instigating the Iraq War, used to be Whitman’s go-to K answer but then he got too radical, finalist in the Lloyds National Screenwriting Prize with his screenplay ’The Norwegian’, "The double standards of green anti-nuclear opponents," The Guardian, 3/31/2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/mar/31/double-standards-nuclear
Like most environmentalists, I want renewables to replace fossil fuel, but I realise
AND
and my belief that it needs to be held to account remain unchanged.

The practical alternatives to nuclear are way worse

Monbiot ’11 George Monbiot, activist, journalist, intellectual, got a metal spike driven through his foot by a security guard while he was protesting a new road in Britain, tried to carry out a citizen’s arrest of John Bolton for his role in instigating the Iraq War, used to be Whitman’s go-to K answer but then he got too radical, finalist in the Lloyds National Screenwriting Prize with his screenplay ’The Norwegian’, "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power," The Guardian, 3/21/2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima
But the energy source to which most economies will revert if they shut down their
AND
The crisis at Fukushima has converted me to the cause of nuclear power.

Prefer plurality over unitary theory—our world of fragility and complexity can’t just be explained away by gender binaries. Mixing critique is the best strategy because it allows for greater theoretical agility—the alt alone is an anthropocentric denial of the activity of objects

Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
What we need– or what I want –is something like the Lacanian Borromean
AND
others, and refusing to privilege one point of view on the universe.

Total disengagement from technology is disastrous—makes ecological devastation inevitable—engaging tech with care is best

Latour ’12 Bruno Latour, "Love Your Monsters," 6/5/2012, http://convozine.com/monster-theory/31585
Frankenstein lives on in the popular imagination as a cautionary tale against technology. We
AND
whole of Creation on our shoulders and have become coextensive with the Earth.

Prefer our politics of difference over their reductive identitarianism

Connolly ’99 William Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, Why I Am Not a Secularist, 1999, p. 51-54
The most difficult cases require a public ethos of critical engagement between interdependent, contending
AND
while trimming some of the cognitive fat from its theological or secular diet.

Alt cedes the political—turns the K—our advocacy solves

Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
6.    The democratic state, while it certainly cannot alone tame capital or reconstitute
AND
either socialist productivism or the world projected by proponents of deep ecology.23

Sovereignty might get a bad rap but it isn’t nearly as bad as they make it out to be. Discourses of the law’s violent underside obscures its potential to get stuff done.  We don’t always have to resist—we can see the state as strategic.

Jacques Derrida, Directeur d’Etudes at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and Professor of Philosophy, French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine, 2004, For What Tomorrow? A Dialogue With Elisabeth Roudinesco, p. 91-92
J.D.: A moment ago you spoke of regicide as the necessity of
AND
it seems im¬possible, and not sovereignty, even when it seems possible.

It isn’t helpful to think of the state as supreme and cunning to justify disengagement—it’s more important to identify methods of challenging oppression, including considerations of "non-revolutionary" alternatives.

Gilles Deleuze, "Toward Freedom" published in The Deleuze Reader, ed. Constantin V. Boundas, 1993, p.255-256
The mistake would be to say: there is a globalizing State, the master
AND
revolutionary-becoming of people,  at every level, in every place.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1

IPI ADVANTAGE

Scenario 1 is Iran prolif

Proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline wrecks coop with key security council members like China and Russia against Iran prolif

Cohen %26 Curtis 8 (Ariel, Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies
AND
an-unacceptable-risk-to-regional-security~, jam)
The foreign policies of India and Pakistan are driven increasingly by energy security. To
AND
other energy sources, including clean coal, hydroelectric, and civilian nuclear.

Also, natty revenues skirt the effectiveness of economic sanctions and directly bankroll Iran’s nuclear program

Cohen %26 Curtis 8 (Ariel, Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies
AND
an-unacceptable-risk-to-regional-security~, jam)
Iran is an important economic power in the nat­ural gas and petroleum industry
AND
incapable of supplying gas to Pakistan and India through the IPI.~39~ 

Sanctions and pressure are key to continue blocking prolif

Frenkel 1-28 Sheera Frenkel, "Israel: Iran slowing nuclear program, won’t have bomb before 2015," McClatchy Newspapers, 1/28/2013, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/01/28/181276/israel-iran-slowing-nuclear-program.html~~%23storylink=cpy
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli intelligence officials now estimate that Iran won’t be able
AND
firms while blocking Iran from obtaining key materials necessary for its automobile industries.

One Iranian nuclear bomb causes extinction

Shavit 12 Ari, A senior correspondent at Haaretz Newspaper and a member of its editorial board and writer for the NY Times. Published by the NY Times "The Bomb and the Bomber" March 12 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/the-bomb-and-the-bomber.html-http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/the-bomb-and-the-bomber.html  CUT BY JOHN CLARE FUTURE NATTY CHAMP
If Iran goes nuclear it will change our world. An Iranian atom bomb will
AND
moment, it might soon face the dire consequences of its own impotence.

Scenario 2 is Strait of Hormuz closure

High risk now

Cordesman 1/22 (Anthony H., holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS, recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Bryan Gold, CSIS, Bradley Bosserman, CSIS, Sam Khazai, CSIS, "U.S. and Iranian Strategic Competition: Sanctions, Energy, Arms Control, and Regime Change," 2013, ~csis.org/publication/us-and-iranian-strategic-competition-sanctions-energy-arms-control-and-regime-change~, jam)
The report provides an in-depth analysis of US and Iranian competition focusing on
AND
tactics and is a familiar part of the US-Iranian strategic relationship.

Spikes oil prices

Krauss 12 (Clifford, NYT, "Oil Price Would Skyrocket if Iran Closed the Strait of Hormuz," Jan 4, ~www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/business/oil-price-would-skyrocket-if-iran-closed-the-strait.html~, jam)
HOUSTON — If Iran were to follow through with its threat to blockade the Strait
AND
Relations, "but there is no certainty in this kind of situation."

Oil shocks collapse the global economy – whatchu know bout stagflation?

Roubini et al 4 (Nouriel, Stern School of Business, NYU, Brad Sester, Research Associate, Global Economic Governance Programme, University College, Oxford, "The effects of the recent oil price shock on the U.S. and global economy," August, ~pages.stern.nyu.edu/~nroubini/papers/OilShockRoubiniSetser.pdf~, jam)
Oil prices shocks have a stagflationary effect on the macroeconomy of an oil importing ¶
AND
to a more severe growth ¶ slowdown following the recent oil price shock. 

Economic collapse causes global wars

Royal ’10 director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense (Jedediah, Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives, pg 213-215)
Less intuitive is how periods of economic decline may increase the likelihood of external conflict
AND
not featured prominently in the economic-security debate and deserves more attention.

Killing the IPI prevents it

Cohen %26 Curtis 8 (Ariel, Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies
AND
an-unacceptable-risk-to-regional-security~, jam)
Finally, by forgoing the IPI pipeline and thus constraining Iran’s overland export capability,
AND
option may increase Iran’s interest in promoting stability in this extremely important chokepoint.

2

INDIAN ENERGY ADVANTAGE

India is competing for LNG imports – key to growth

Reuters ’11 (This date was straight up fabricated, can’t find the date, ~http://www.deccanherald.com/content/164939/indias-future-lies-liquified-natural.html~~, jam)
Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by India will soar in the next
AND
of as much as Rs 350 billion, GAIL Chairman B C Tripathi.

Indian energy demand has forced policymakers into a fundamentally unsustainable acquisition strategy – precipitates conflict with Pakistan, China, and Maoist insurgents which will collapse Indian political stability

Kugelman 11 (Michael, senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, M.A., International Relations, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, "Integrating Energy Concerns into India’s National Security Strategy," Dec 14, Journal of Energy Security, ~www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=334:integrating-energy-concerns-into-indias-national-security-strategy%26catid=121:contentenergysecurity1111%26Itemid=386~, jam)
India’s externally oriented energy security strategy holds troubling implications for national security. First,
AND
coal is jeopardized in India, the country’s energy security is immediately imperiled.

Sino-India war escalates to nuclear war

Mazza %26 Blumenthal 11 (Michael, M.A., international relations (strategic studies and international economics), Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, and Dan, M.A., School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Apr 6, ~http://www.npolicy.org/article.php?aid=813%26tid=30~~ AD: 8-8-11, jam)
The Sino-Indian nuclear relationship is, however, much more complicated. India
AND
enter a period of flux,  with potentially destabilizing consequences for the region. 

Indo-Pak war rapidly escalates, causes nuclear winter

Hundley ’12 Tom Hundley, senior editor at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, MA in International Relations from Penn, and professor of Communication at the American University in Dubai. "Race to the end: Pakistan’s terrible, horrible, no-good very bad idea to develop battlefield nukes." Foreign Policy 9/5/12 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/05/race_to_the_end?page=full-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/05/race_to_the_end?page=full wg
The arms race could make a loose nuke more likely. After all, Pakistan’s
AND
or more humans who already live on the margins of subsistence could starve.

Maoists will win – causes widespread political instability

Vira 11 (Varun, writes on Middle Eastern and South Asian security affairs, coauthored Pakistan: Violence vs. Stability with Dr. Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, pursuing an M.A. in international relations at George Washington University, has written for the Program for Culture and Conflict Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School, National Defense University’s Joint Forces Quarterly, the Diplomat, and the Diplomatic Courier, "Counterinsurgency in India: The Maoists," Dec 7, ~smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/counterinsurgency-in-india-the-maoists~, jam)
India’s Prime Minister identifies the Maoist (or "Naxalite") insurgency as India’s "
AND
, but it is less certain that they can strategically end the insurgency.

Continued Indian development solves multiple extinction scenarios

Kamdar 7 (Mira Kamdar, World Policy Institute, 2007, Planet India: How the fastest growing democracy is transforming America and the world, p. 3-5)
No other country matters more to the future of our planet than India. There
AND
, multipolar world.  India’s gambit is truly the venture of the century.

Imports are also key to meet growing fertilizer demand

Mukherjee and Panandiker ’12 Kaustav Mukherjee and Rahool Panandiker, "Natural Gas: The Achilles’ Heel of India’s Energy Security," Boston Consulting Group, 8/22/2012, https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/energy_environment_natural_gas/~~%23chapter1
Appetite for natural gas from fertilizer producers, another major demand source, is also
AND
14 to 19 percent of the total demand for natural gas in 2015.

Fertilizer production’s falling behind now

Commodity Online 1/24 "’Natural Gas production declines affecting supply to Indian fertilizer companies’" Commodity Online, 1/24/2013, http://www.commodityonline.com/news/natural-gas-production-declines-affecting-supply-to-indian-fertilizer-companies-52402-3-52403.html
MUMBAI (Commodity Online): Decreasing gas production from KG Basin and lack of material
AND
companies have to increasingly rely on R-LNG to meet their requirements.

Shortages will spill over and increase prices hurting global supply

Katakey ’10 Rakteem Katakey, "Reliance Gas Delay Halts India’s First Fertilizer Investments in a Decade," Bloomberg, 9/21/2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-21/reliance-gas-delay-halts-india-s-first-fertilizer-investments-in-a-decade.html
India’s fertilizer makers will need to increase imports after Reliance Industries Ltd. fell behind
AND
Gas supply is the most critical part if imports are to be reduced."

Insecure food production causes global instability

Ehrlich and Ehrlich 2-21 Paul R. Ehrlich is Professor of Population Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Anne H. Ehrlich is the associate director and policy coordinator of the Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, "The Food Threat to Human Civilization," Project Syndicate, 2/21/2013, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/human-population-growth-has-become-unsustainable-by-paul-r—ehrlich-and-anne-h—ehrlich
But our guess is that the most serious threat to global sustainability in the next
AND
, measures to "improve food security have never been more urgently needed."

Solvency

SOLVENCY

Energy markets are waiting on a U.S. signal on liquefied natural gas exports – exports revitalize the domestic industry

Johnston %26 Palti-Guzman 1/9 (Robert, director of global energy and natural resources at Eurasia Group, and Leslie, global gas analyst, "Johnston and Palti-Guzman: The Foreign Policy Uses of an Energy Bounty," 2013, ~online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324374004578217803412316408.html~, jam)
The United States is poised to become a global gas superpower. Thanks to innovation
AND
, this trend will be accentuated by U.S. gas exports.

Doesn’t require new staffing, funding, or action by Congress

Levi 12 (Michael, PhD in war studies from the University of London (
AND
20exports%20levi/06_exports_levi.pdf~, jam)
In Chapter 4, I laid out a framework for consideration of the wisdom of
AND
. Congress need only refrain from placing new statutory restrictions on LNG exports.

LNG exports prevent IPI pipeline – US source credibility is key

Johnston %26 Palti-Guzman 1/9 (Robert, director of global energy and natural resources at Eurasia Group, and Leslie, global gas analyst, "Johnston and Palti-Guzman: The Foreign Policy Uses of an Energy Bounty," 2013, ~online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324374004578217803412316408.html~, jam)
Furthermore, the rise of American LNG exports makes it easier for Washington to convince
AND
as a global gas superpower. The world is waiting for its answer.

Also Indian energy security

Kugelman 11 (Michael, senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, M.A., International Relations, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, "Integrating Energy Concerns into India’s National Security Strategy," Dec 14, Journal of Energy Security, ~www.ensec.org/index.php?option=com_content%26view=article%26id=334:integrating-energy-concerns-into-indias-national-security-strategy%26catid=121:contentenergysecurity1111%26Itemid=386~, jam)
Better inter-agency and international coordination, enhanced naval and reserves capacity, and
AND
a relatively small portion of electricity generation in India (see chart below). 

High price elasticity prevents price convergence – that increases export volumes and cost-competitiveness

Levi ’12 (Michael, PhD in war studies from the University of London
AND
20exports%20levi/06_exports_levi.pdf~, jam)
More intriguing is the possibility that U.S. natural gas prices will turn
AND
proper protections for water, air, and local communities were in place.

Plan

The United States Department of Energy should approve applications for liquefied natural gas exports to the Republic of India.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC

U.S. competitiveness is slipping away but a manufacturing resurgence solves and prevents economic deterioration
Rosselet 2/8 (Suzanne, research fellow at IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, specializes in world competitiveness and holds a degree in economics from Stanford University, previously served as deputy director of IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook, "US manufacturing is key to competitiveness," 2013, ~www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2013/0208/US-manufacturing-is-key-to-competitiveness~, jam)
US competitiveness in the global economy is slipping. According to the IMD World Competitiveness
AND
still hovering just below 8 percent, that’s an objective worth fighting for.
competitiveness is key to global influence and managing the slow ’rise of the rest’ – the alternative is quick collapse and regional power vacuums
Jones 12 (General James L. Jones, Jr., chairman-designate of the Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, most recently served as national security advisor to President Barack Obama, was also supreme allied commander Europe and commandant of the Marine Corps, May 24, ~www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/economic-competitiveness-and-us-national-security~, jam)
As America considers its global strategy in this still young and opportunity-filled century
AND
the first true sign of decline. We should never let that happen.
Quick collapse of U.S. leadership causes widespread geopolitical instability, collapse of the global commons, and WWIII – power vacuum and no unipolar hegemon can fill in
Brzezinski ’12 Zbigniew Brzezinski, serves as National Security Advisor to President Carter, currently Robert E. Osgood Professor of American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, member of the Council on Foreign Relations, "After America," Foreign Policy, Jan/Feb 2012, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/03/after_america?page=full
For if America falters, the world is unlikely to be dominated by a single
AND
and ubiquity of American power creates order where there would normally be conflict.
U.S. economic leadership solves great power war
Zhang and Shi ’11 Yuhan Zhang, Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Lin Shi, Professor at Columbia, "America’s decline: A harbinger of conflict and rivalry," East Asia Forum, 1/22/2011, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/01/22/americas-decline-a-harbinger-of-conflict-and-rivalry
Over the past two decades, no other state has had the ability to seriously
AND
forecast in a future that will inevitably be devoid of unrivalled US primacy.
The plan uniquely stops manufacturing decline –
First, LNG export restrictions wreck U.S. trade credibility – creates a protectionist race to the bottom which destroys manufacturing – exports and access to inputs
Dempsey 13 (Linda, vice president of international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers, "Banning LNG Exports Will Hurt Jobs and Economy", Shopfloor, January 15, p. http://www.shopfloor.org/2013/01/banning-lng-exports-will-hurt-jobs-and-economy/27328)
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) supports open and expanded trade and opposes
AND
must not restrict any company’s ability to expand its market for any commodity.
Protectionism escalates quickly to trade wars but trade leadership solves
Irwin 12 (Douglas, John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences at Dartmouth, "The Return of the Protectionist Illusion," Jul 1, ~online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304058404577492882405657846.html~, jam)
When the Great Depression struck in the early 1930s, countries imposed high tariffs,
AND
doubly difficult to unwind. Now is no time to entertain dangerous illusions.
Second, glut of domestic natty leads to artificially low prices and stops manufacturing investment – plan stimulates demand and spills over to the global economy
Economides 1/11 (Michael, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston PhD petroleum engineer, "Blocking LNG Exports Helps A Few, Hurts Many," ~www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/01/11/blocking-lng-exports-helps-a-few-hurts-many/~, jam)
In recent weeks, there has been a growing debate over whether to allow American
AND
. Blocking exports would make long term natural gas production an unreliable investment.¶
Economic shocks are inevitable – strong domestic manufacturing is key to economic resilience and retaining our innovation leadership
Ettlinger and Gordon 11 Michael Ettlinger, the Vice President for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, former director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network of the Economic Policy Institute, and Kate Gordon, the Vice President for Energy Policy at the Center for American Progress, April 2011, "The Importance and Promise of American Manufacturing" http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/manufacturing.pdf~-~-http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/manufacturing.pdf-http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/manufacturing.pdf, shout out to the dynamic duo of Menzies and Menzies.
Manufacturing is critically important to the American economy. For generations, the strength of
AND
vulnerable to everything from exchange rate fluctuations to trade embargoes to natural disasters.¶
Economic collapse causes global wars
Royal ’10 director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense (Jedediah, Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives, pg 213-215)
Less intuitive is how periods of economic decline may increase the likelihood of external conflict
AND
not featured prominently in the economic-security debate and deserves more attention.
Strategic U.S. LNG exports are key to leverage on negotiating free trade agreements –restrictions wreck WTO credibility and cause resource nationalism
Levi 12 (Michael, PhD in war studies from the University of London (
AND
20exports%20levi/06_exports_levi.pdf~, jam)
Potential U.S. exports might also be exploited for wider strategic gain under
AND
. LNG exports while fighting Chinese limits on exports of rare earth metals.
Resource nationalism leads to stagnant growth and great power conflict which causes extinction
Panzner 9 Michael Panzner, Prof. at the New York Institute of Finance, 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets who has worked in New York and London for HSBC, Soros Funds, ABN Amro, Dresdner Bank, and JPMorgan Chase, Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse, 2009, p. 136-138
Continuing calls for curbs on the flow of finance and trade will inspire the United
AND
between Muslims and Western societies as the beginnings of a new world war. 

Structural factors lock-in low domestic natural gas prices creating a glut – exports are feasible and solve and there’s infrastructure now
The Economist 3/2 (The Economist, weekly newsmagazine, smart people tend to read it, "Bonanza or bane," 2013, ~www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21572815-natural-gas-prices-are-sure-riseeventually-bonanza-or-bane~, jam)
Abundant supplies and slow growth in demand have sent gas prices crashing. In 2008
AND
could be converted into plants that turn American gas into LNG for export.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC

Asia pivot inevitable – status quo creates an antagonistic relationship with China that escalates to war
Zheng 12/18 (Henry, specializes in human rights and international relations for Policymic, "US-China Relations: Why Obama’s ’Asia Pivot’ Strategy Could Lead to Disaster," ~www.policymic.com/articles/20675/us-china-relations-why-obama-s-asia-pivot-strategy-could-start-a-nuclear-war~, jam)
In an interesting policy move that has been dubbed the "Asia Pivot," the
AND
and cultural differences. If not done soon, we will all suffer.
Shale gas exports key to cooperatively re-engage China—cements economic and political ties with the CCP and the public while preventing conflict escalation
Brennan 3/8 (Elliot, Editor and Project Coordinator of research in resource security at the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm, Sweden, "Shale Gas: The Key in the US’ Asia Pivot?," 2013, ~www.chinausfocus.com/energy-environment/shale-gas-the-key-in-the-us-asia-pivot/~, jam)
Energy has long been both the bane and the favored instrument in the foreign policy
AND
-the-sleeve, the juggernaught in the US pivot to Asia.
Now is key – our posture will set the tone for the pivot – deteriorating relations will lead to miscalc and China war
Lieberthal 11 (Kenneth G., senior fellow in Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development at Brookings, former senior director for Asia on the National Security Council, "The American Pivot to Asia," Dec 21, ~www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2011/12/21-obama-asia-lieberthal~, jam)
However, China’s leaders also do not want to fall seriously behind popular nationalist sentiment
AND
worse will require active, sustained, and carefully calibrated American diplomatic efforts.
Goes nuclear
Fayette 12 (Mike, military analyst for Policymic, 30 years of experience, "The US Air Sea Battle Strategy: What War With China Would Look Like," Aug, ~www.policymic.com/articles/12262/the-us-air-sea-battle-strategy-what-war-with-china-would-look-like~, jam)
For the past 20 years this strategy has been developed by 91-year old
AND
even been criticized by some American military officials … for being too expensive.
LNG exports go to China – solidifies relations
Livingston and Tu 12 (David, Junior Fellow in the Energy and Climate Program – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Kevin Jianjun, Senior Associate in the Energy and Climate Program – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "Feeding China’s Energy Appetite, Naturally," Energy Tribune, Jul 17, ~http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm/11206/Feeding-Chinas-Energy-Appetite-Naturally~~, jam)
Ever since CNOOC, one of China’s "big three" national oil companies,
AND
synergy will go even further if Beijing eventually returns the favor at home.
Energy relations spill over broadly
Rose 10 (Erwin, LLM candidate at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law %26 Policy (CEPMLP),University of Dundee, UK and a Program Development Specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development, "NATURAL GAS: A GAME-CHANGER FOR CHINA-UNITED STATES ENERGY RELATIONS?," jam)
The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to Enhance Cooperation on Climate Change,¶ Energy and Environment
AND
¶ of expanding the gas industry as opposed to non-fossil alternatives.
US China relations are key to solve every global impact
Cohen ’9 (Maurice R. Greenberg is chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr %26 Co., Inc. "Smart Power in U.S.-China Relations," CSIS, 2009, http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/090309_mcgiffert_uschinasmartpower_web.pdf)
The evolution of Sino-U.S. relations over the next months,
AND
U.S.-China partnership, though not inevitable, is indispensable.

2AC

Pivot now
Lobe 3/13 Jim Lobe, "U.S. "Rebalancing" to Asia/Pacific Still a Priority," IPS, 3/13/2013
Amidst growing tensions with North Korea and, to a lesser extent, China,
AND
we will maintain our security presence and engagement in the Asia-Pacific."

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

Plan

Text: The United States Department of Energy should approve pending applications for liquefied natural gas exports to countries with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement regarding natural gas imports and exports.

Solvency

SOLVENCY
Energy markets are waiting on a U.S. signal on liquefied natural gas exports – exports revitalize the domestic industry
Johnston %26 Palti-Guzman 1/9 (Robert, director of global energy and natural resources at Eurasia Group, and Leslie, global gas analyst, "Johnston and Palti-Guzman: The Foreign Policy Uses of an Energy Bounty," 2013, ~online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324374004578217803412316408.html~, jam)
The United States is poised to become a global gas superpower. Thanks to innovation
AND
, this trend will be accentuated by U.S. gas exports.
Doesn’t require new staffing, funding, or action by Congress
Levi 12 (Michael, PhD in war studies from the University of London (
AND
20exports%20levi/06_exports_levi.pdf~, jam)
In Chapter 4, I laid out a framework for consideration of the wisdom of
AND
. Congress need only refrain from placing new statutory restrictions on LNG exports.
US source credibility is key
Johnston %26 Palti-Guzman 1/9 (Robert, director of global energy and natural resources at Eurasia Group, and Leslie, global gas analyst, "Johnston and Palti-Guzman: The Foreign Policy Uses of an Energy Bounty," 2013, ~online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324374004578217803412316408.html~, jam)
Furthermore, the rise of American LNG exports makes it easier for Washington to convince
AND
as a global gas superpower. The world is waiting for its answer.
High price elasticity prevents price convergence – that increases export volumes and cost-competitiveness
Levi ’12 (Michael, PhD in war studies from the University of London
AND
20exports%20levi/06_exports_levi.pdf~, jam)
More intriguing is the possibility that U.S. natural gas prices will turn
AND
proper protections for water, air, and local communities were in place.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge:
Court decisions on natty devastate predictability and raise costs
Neese ’5 Angela Neese, Candidate for Juris Doctor, University of Colorado School of Law, 2005; B.S.B.A., University of Denver, "THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE COLORADO OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: A CALL FOR A NEW AND COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH," 76 U. Colo. L. Rev. 561, 2005, lexis
These two leading Colorado Supreme Court decisions, Bowen/Edwards and Voss, were
AND
a number of unanswered questions that will likely lead to future legal battles.
Uncertainty’s the key impediment to exports
Das ’12 D.K. Das, project engineer at UniversalPegasus International, an engineering, project management and construction management firm headquartered in Houston, M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, "Shale Gas Creating New Opportunities," American Oil %26 Gas Reporter, February 2012, http://www.aogr.com/index.php/web-features/exclusive-story/shale-gas-creating-new-opportunities
At the moment, political risk is the biggest factor playing against U.S. LNG exports. In this case, political risk means a lack of political commitment or support from the government for producing and exporting shale gas. Lack of political will and direction drives away capital funding, which is critical for high-cost LNG projects.
Certainty key to exports—buyers are holding off now from concerns over future DOE regulation
Brooks ’12 Allen Brooks, distinguished 40+ year career in the energy and investment industries as an energy securities analyst, an oilfield service company manager, a consultant to energy company managements and a member of the board of directors of various oilfield service companies, "Musings from the Oil Patch - January 17, 2012," Energy Musings, http://www.energy-musings.com/node/281
In May of last year, the Energy Department approved plans for the construction of
AND
have never proven as capable of operating energy markets as free markets have.
Courts can’t solve – Congress prohibits WTO law from prevailing over US policy – supercharges the link to politics
Dunoff 9 (Jeffrey, professor of law at Temple and director of Temple’s International Law %26 Public Policy Program and its LLM in Transnational Law Program. "Less Than Zero: The Effects of Giving Domestic Effect to WTO Law", 6 LOY. U.¶ CHI. INT’L. L. REV. 279 (2009).) will

Trading states created the WTO via a series of treaties collectively known as¶ the
AND
relevant congressional committees with time to indicate their agreement or¶ disagreement.¶ 20

Makes Congressional overrule uniquely likely
Brickman ’7 Danette Brickman, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, "Congressional Reaction to U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: Understanding the Introduction of Legislation to Override," Southern Political Science Association, 1/3/2007, http://www.sbu.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Undergraduate_Programs/School_of_Arts_and_Science/Social_Sciences/Political_Science/Faculty_Pages/Brickman_Danette/Southern%20PSA%202007%20Congressional%20Reaction.pdf
Congress’s policy-making realm is sometimes challenged by the U.S. Supreme
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increase the probability that Congress will introduce legislation to overturn Supreme Court decisions.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

2AC vs Missouri State BR

LNG exports cement a strategic U.S.-India alliance
Ebinger et al. ’12 Charles, director of the Energy Security Initiative with a PhD from Tuft’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Kevin Massy, associate director of the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings with an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown, "Liquid Markets: Assessing the Case for U.S. Exports of Liquefied Natural Gas," Brookings, May 2012, http://www.brookings.edu/~~/media/research/files/reports/2012/5/02%20lng%20exports%20ebinger/0502_lng_exports_ebinger.pdf

A large increase in U.S. LNG exports would have ¶ the potential
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in ¶ the region will be an important economic and ¶ strategic asset.

Won’t pass—business, labor fight over guest workers
Sarlin 3/22 (Benjy, Business Insider, "A huge fight between big business and big labor is threatening to derail immigration reform" Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/business-and-labor-fight-war-of-words-as-immigration-deal-nears.php~~%23ixzz2OKYVi82G-http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/business-and-labor-fight-war-of-words-as-immigration-deal-nears.php)

Long-simmering tensions between labor and business over importing new workers are spilling out
AND
final negotiations or a sign that talks are deteriorating — or perhaps both.
Guns thump CIR
LFN 3/22 (Law Firm Newswire, "Politicians Are Closer To Agreement On Immigration Changes – Or Are They?" http://www.lawfirmnewswire.com/2013/03/politicians-are-closer-to-agreement-on-immigration-changes-%E2%80%93-or-are-they/)

High profile battles facing Obama’s administration may quash immigration reform.¶ "If you follow
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and move forward with immigration reform? The clock is ticking; loudly.
No PC – agenda is stuck
Parnes 3/20 (Amie and Justin Sink, "Obama honeymoon may be over" The Hill http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/289179-obama-honeymoon-may-be-over-http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/289179-obama-honeymoon-may-be-over)

The second-term honeymoon for President Obama is beginning to look like it is
AND
the legislative quicksand, ~and~ the cement is beginning to harden."
Oil and gas lobbies fervently support the plan and resistance from manufacturers is limited
Dlouhy 1/17 (Jennifer A., quals, "Oil industry battles back on natural gas exports," 2013, ~fuelfix.com/blog/2013/01/17/oil-industry-battles-back-on-natural-gas-exports/~, jam)
The oil and gas industry on Thursday stepped up its fight for natural gas exports
AND
he insisted that the Energy Department should move prudently in considering the issue.
Nat gas lobbyists have tremendous influence in congress
Browning and Clifford 11 (James, Regional State Director – Common Cause, and Pat, Stone Senior Fellow – HUC-UC Ethics Center, "Fracking for Support: Natural Gas Industry Pumps Cash Into Congress," Common Cause, 11-10, http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG%26b=7831813)
Natural gas interests have spent more than %24747 million during a 10-year
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our elections is critical to protecting our environment for this and future generations."

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC

April 20 2010—an explosion occurs on the deep-water horizon oil rig.  The fireball is visible 35 miles away.  Oil spews for months.
March 11 2011—Japan is hit by the largest earthquake in history.  The biggest earthquake begets the biggest tsunami.  The tsunami begets the Fukashima Daichi nuclear disaster—over the next weeks the buildings around three separate boiling water reactors explode.
Saturday Morning 1995—Ben enters a high school in Kansas
Lerner 12 Ben Lerner ~Professor at Brooklyn College, Poet and Former Debater—most NFL points of any high school kid ever, BA (politically theory) and MFA from Brown, Fulbright Scholar, finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the  Hayden Carruth prize, etc~ "Contest of Words: High school debate and the demise of public speech" Harpers, October 2012, http://harpers.org/archive/2012/10/contest-of-words/
Although high school debate is often considered the thinking person’s—the nerd’s—alternative
AND
, would be seized, however briefly, by an experience of prosody.
1870—Standard Oil is formed
1942—Enrico Firmi successful demonstrates the ideas of science fiction author and peace activist Leó Szilárd, creating the first sustained nuclear reaction.
1965—Oak Ridge conducts the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment under the direction of PWR and BWR inventor Alvin Weinberg.  This reactor promises a new direction that is passively safe, cannot meltdown, requires no uranium mining, and is not useful in the creation of nuclear weapons.
Hargraves and Moir ’10 Robert Hargraves, teaches energy policy at the Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth, PhD in physics from Brown, and Ralph Moir, Sc.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT, published 10 papers on molten-salt reactors during his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, "Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors: An old idea in nuclear power gets reexamined," American Scientist, Vol. 98, No. 4, July-August 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/liquid-fluoride-thorium-reactors
What if we could turn back the clock to 1965 and have an energy do
AND
elements. Instead power is needed to prevent the shutdown of the reactor.
May 15 1911—Standard oil is declared a monopoly by the Supreme Court, and broken up.
June 13 1917—Phillips petroleum is founded.
1973—Alvin Weinberg is fired for advocating designs that do not produce weapons usable plutonium and for continuing to talk about nuclear safety.  One year later, he publishes an article in Science about the possibility for CO2 caused warming
Barton 9 Charles Barton ~retired counselor and son of famed ORNL researcher MSR advocate (and the guy who figured out how to make Hafnium, Gonzaga) Charles Barton Sr.~ "Alvin Weinberg, Prophet of CO2 Driven Global Warming" an early version published in 2007, some typos removed, http://theenergycollective.com/charlesbarton/27816/alvin-weinberg-prophet-co2-driven-global-warming
I have told the story before of my proto-internship in the ORNL-
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use, but that these efficiencies would not offset the increase in demand.
Energy companies have been trying to deny that anthropogenic warming is real ever since.
Farley ’12 John W. Farley, teaches physics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, "Petroleum and Propaganda," Monthly Review, May 2012, Vol. 64, Issue 1, pp. 40-53
James Powell was inspired to write this important new book because of a remarkable paradox
AND
—two key points that are effective at dissuading teachers from teaching science."
1979—NFL Nationals.  A representative from Phillips petroleum watches a debate round and is shocked by what he sees.  In response LD is created as an activity focused solely on values.  A rift is created, one that continually reappears in different forms—values vs policy, policy vs critique, lay vs experienced.  A new influx of petro dollars ensures the segregation of these models while this basic segregation is replicated throughout the discourse of our society
Lerner 12 Ben Lerner ~Professor at Brooklyn College, Poet and Former Debater—most NFL points of any high school kid ever, BA (politically theory) and MFA from Brown, Fulbright Scholar, finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the  Hayden Carruth prize, etc~ "Contest of Words: High school debate and the demise of public speech" Harpers, October 2012, http://harpers.org/archive/2012/10/contest-of-words/
I’m not disputing the very real synthetic intelligence of many of Extemp’s participants, but
AND
politicians speak very, very slowly about values utterly disconnected from their policies.
This abandonment of the ground of contestation over values—the acceptance of the technocratic grounds for the debate—has a particularly profound impact in these environmental questions.  Acceptance of pure policy debate makes corporate domination inevitable
Huber ’11 Matthew T. Huber, "Gusher in the Gulf and the Despotism of Capital," Antipode, Volume 43, Issue 2, pages 195–198, March 2011, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2010.00806.x
One of the most disheartening aspects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
AND
It is~ the tendency of capital to give production a scientific character.
Don’t mistake our (counter) history of debate as a plea to LD, to running slow or even the k.  We are interested in the segregation that has occurred between these modes of arguments.   For, the retreat to the realm of pure critique, pure tearing down, pure value, has also served the interests of domination, and nowhere is this more obvious than in energy policy
Latour ’4 Bruno Latour, Professor and vice-president for research at Sciences Po Paris, "Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern," Critical Inquiry 30, Winter 2004
Wars. So many wars. Wars outside and wars inside. Cultural wars,
AND
by the worst possible fellows as an argument against the things we cherish?
Saturday Evening 1995 – Ben returns home
Lerner 12 Ben Lerner ~Professor at Brooklyn College, Poet and Former Debater—most NFL points of any high school kid ever, BA (politically theory) and MFA from Brown, Fulbright Scholar, finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the  Hayden Carruth prize, etc~ "Contest of Words: High school debate and the demise of public speech" Harpers, October 2012, http://harpers.org/archive/2012/10/contest-of-words/
On Saturday evenings I would return home from a tournament, change clothes, have
AND
and one another, were largely modeled on gangsta rap and its videos.
It’s time we brought values and policy back together—time that the critique stopped being a tool for only tearing things down—time that we stop segregating ourselves into wonks and philosophers, scientists and poets—time that we come together
Robbert ’11 Adam Robbert, "The Mischief and the Manyness," Knowledge Ecology, 4/21/2011, http://knowledge-ecology.com/tag/bruno-latour/page/3/
In order to "bring the sciences into democracy" and to explore what "
AND
of the complex, interdependent qualities of all environments, human and nonhuman.
Perhaps energy policy doesn’t have to be only a metaphor for things going wrong.  Maybe energy provides a radical potential for rethinking debate.  When Fermi built that pit, and Weinberger built that vat of molten salt, something magical happened.  Those devices went critical.  Not critical in the sense of tearing things down—of showing the wrong assumptions behind everything.  But, critical in the sense of producing more than you put in, of throwing high energy particles every which way, of transmuting matter, of creation.  A kritik that incorporates—that plays with technocracy—that includes stories about Alvin Winberger and the occasional technocratic acronym.  
Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce restrictions on and/or substantially increase financial incentives for energy production of nuclear power from this debate.
Latour ’4 Bruno Latour, Professor and vice-president for research at Sciences Po Paris, "Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern," Critical Inquiry 30, Winter 2004
The practical problem we face, if we try to go that new route,
AND
, deploy them." Then we would have gone for good beyond iconoclasm.
Sarah Palin doesn’t define the only way to be slow.  Despite how fast we talk in debates, there is always a paradoxical element of delay in this activity.   Rounds at national championships often take 3 plus hours from pairing to decisions.   Nor is this only in debate: a new slow speech emerged at Zucotti park in the form of the human microphone.  Collective repetition presents a new avenue for challenging corporate domination.   The ballot can take on this roll.   Our aff does not challenge within the conventional language of the policy aff or the K aff because we need a new language if we want to break from our rhetorical impasse.  Repeat us.  Serve as our microphone.
Lerner 12 Ben Lerner ~Professor at Brooklyn College, Poet and Former Debater—most NFL points of any high school kid ever, BA (politically theory) and MFA from Brown, Fulbright Scholar, finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the  Hayden Carruth prize, etc~ "Contest of Words: High school debate and the demise of public speech" Harpers, October 2012, http://harpers.org/archive/2012/10/contest-of-words/
It is a stubborn slowness that appeals to so many "spread" Americans,
AND
expression of the necessity of our learning as a people how to speak.
The stakes could not be higher. Political discourse reduced to pure values, packaged in slow and stupefied soundbites on Fox News accompany a disastrous slide toward conservative politics.
Lerner 12 Ben Lerner ~Professor at Brooklyn College, Poet and Former Debater—most NFL points of any high school kid ever, BA (politically theory) and MFA from Brown, Fulbright Scholar, finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the  Hayden Carruth prize, etc~ "Contest of Words: High school debate and the demise of public speech" Harpers, October 2012, http://harpers.org/archive/2012/10/contest-of-words/
And then I was in another dorm room watching the helicopter footage of Columbine as
AND
said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

Tournament: NDT  | Round: Rd 1  | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: Cronin, Shook, McVey
No manufacturing renaissance and competitiveness is down – exports are key
Geewax 3/28 (Marilyn, Senior Business Editor, National Desk, national economics correspondent for NPR, "Cheap Natural Gas Pumping New Life Into U.S. Factories," 2013, www.npr.org/2013/03/28/175483517/cheap-natural-gas-pumping-new-life-into-u-s-factories?utm_source=NPRandutm_medium=facebookandutm_campaign=20130328, jam)
And some economists say talk of an energy-related "renaissance" is overblown
AND
benefits all sectors ... not a structural U.S. manufacturing renaissance."
Structural factors lock-in low domestic natural gas prices creating a glut – exports are feasible and solve and there’s infrastructure now
The Economist 3/2 (The Economist, weekly newsmagazine, smart people tend to read it, "Bonanza or bane," 2013, www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21572815-natural-gas-prices-are-sure-riseeventually-bonanza-or-bane, jam)
Abundant supplies and slow growth in demand have sent gas prices crashing. In 2008
AND
liquids (NGLs) such as ethane, butane and propane. These hydrocarbons 

are valuable for making plastic in petrochemicals plants or for industrial and domestic uses such
AND
could be converted into plants that turn American gas into LNG for export.

Tournament: NDT | Round: Round 1 | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: Cronin, Shook, McVery
2AC

Russian natural gas influence will cartelize the market
Cohen and Curtis 8 (Ariel, Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies
AND
an-unacceptable-risk-to-regional-security, jam)
Russian Interests in the IPI and Iran¶ Iran and Russia see the U.
AND
Turkmenistan–Afghanistan– Pakistan–India pipeline. (See Map 1.)
Gas cartels create dependency and destroy alliance cohesion which is key to the effectiveness of heg – cross apply Brzezinski
MIT Study 11 (Contributors are too numerous to note but can be found at: mitei.mit.edu/publications/reports-studies/future-natural-gas, study co-chairs include Ernest J. Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, MIT, Henry D. Jacoby, Professor of Management, MIT, "The Future of Natural Gas," Jun 6, http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/NaturalGas_Chapter7_Markets.pdf, jam)
Natural gas dependence could constrain U.S. foreign policy options. U.
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LNG infrastructure should be viewed as favoring U.S. security interests.
Qatar takes out the link – already out competing Russia*
Satanovsky 12 (E. , “Small, but very dangerous. Qatar could oust Russia from the global gas market”, 9/4, http://therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/small-but-very-dangerous-qatar-could-oust-russia-from-the-global-gas-market/, originally from  http://www.centrasia.ru/newsA.php?st=1333724880)
Ironically, the tiny but ambitious and dynamic, Qatar is the main competitor of
AND
export of Qatari gas to the Baltic countries, Ukraine and Belarus. In 

Asia Qatari liquefied natural gas – a competitor of Russian LNG produced on Sakhalin and
AND
, to supply the last 2.4 million tons of LNG annually.
No Canadian exports to Asia
Hussain 12 (Yadullah, Financial Post, "Canadian natural gas export potential may be limited: IEA," business.financialpost.com/2012/05/29/canadian-natural-gas-export-potential-may-be-limited-iea/?lsa=7dde-1f12, jam)
Hold that LNG terminal! Canada’s rising domestic demand for natural gas will make up
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2010, under its ‘Golden Rules Case’ or best-case scenario.

1AR
Can’t extract Chinese shale
WSJ 12-3 Russell Gold, Marynia Kruk, “Global Gas Push Stalls; Firms Hit Hurdles Trying to Replicate U.S. Success Abroad,” WSJ, 12/3/2012, proquest
China is believed to have more shale oil and gas than the U.S. The problem is that most of it is in arid or heavily populated areas; oil companies worry they won't be able to obtain enough water to hydraulically fracture the rockthe process needed to free hydrocarbons from shale. "To create a flat drilling pad, we almost always have to take out some part of a hillside and basically someone's rice paddy," says Simon Henry, Royal Dutch Shell PLC's executive director for the Asia Pacific region.

Tournament: NDT | Round: Round 1 | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: Cronin, Shook, McVey
2AC
Alt cause: education system crushes STEM leadership
Qayoumi 3/18 (Mohammad, PhD and President of San Jose State U, “Removing Obstacles to STEM Education is Critical to U.S. Vitality” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mohammad-humayon-qayoumi/removing-obstacles-to-ste_b_2903025.html)

A major barrier to graduating more STEM majors is the way we teach these disciplines
AND
and universities. Our imaginations can shape a new reality for higher education.
Workforce expansion in biotech now
Biocom, “California’s Industrial Biotechnology Workforce: Creating Jobs and Leading Innovation,” 9-16-2010, http://www.baybio.org/about/press-releases/industrial-biotechnology-workforce-press-release/
A recent survey of California’s new industrial biotechnology sector shows that this state is once
AND
the state, citing the cost of doing business and the regulatory environment.
Won’t pass—guest workers mean no bipart
Higgins 3/29 (Sean, Washington Examiner, “White House aloof in fight between Big Labor and Big Business on immigration” http://washingtonexaminer.com/white-house-aloof-in-fight-between-big-labor-and-big-business-on-immigration/article/2525780)

As the Examiner has noted several times before, the key obstacle in getting a
AND
flow. . .  Eventually, the White House will have to make a choice.”
Obama’s pushing gun control – top of the agenda after recess
Peters and Baker 3/28 (Jeremy W., and Peter, both of the New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/us/politics/obama-makes-impassioned-plea-for-gun-control.html?_r=0#hMOaAsm,3, jam)
WASHINGTON — With resistance to tougher gun laws stiffening in Congress, a visibly frustrated
AND
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s coalition.
Oil and gas lobbies fervently support the plan and resistance from manufacturers is limited
Dlouhy 1/17 (Jennifer A., quals, "Oil industry battles back on natural gas exports," 2013, fuelfix.com/blog/2013/01/17/oil-industry-battles-back-on-natural-gas-exports/, jam)
The oil and gas industry on Thursday stepped up its fight for natural gas exports
AND
he insisted that the Energy Department should move prudently in considering the issue.
Nat gas lobbyists have tremendous influence in congress
Browning and Clifford 11 (James, Regional State Director – Common Cause, and Pat, Stone Senior Fellow – HUC-UC Ethics Center, “Fracking for Support: Natural Gas Industry Pumps Cash Into Congress,” Common Cause, 11-10, http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwGandb=7831813)
Natural gas interests have spent more than $747 million during a 10-year
AND
our elections is critical to protecting our environment for this and future generations.”

Plan’s a win for Obama – new independent government study provides political cover
Johnson and Tracy 12/6 (Keith, Wall Street Journal, Tennille, Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Gas Exports Clear Hurdle," 2012, online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324001104578161461770971222.html, jam)
Shipping some of the newly abundant U.S. natural gas overseas would benefit
AND
it goes," Mr. Liveris said before the release of the study.
No bioterror
Schneidmiller ‘9 Chris Schneidmiller, “Experts Debate Threat of Nuclear, Biological Terrorism,” Global Security Newswire, 1/13/2009, Experts Debate Threat of Nuclear, Biological Terrorism
Panel moderator Benjamin Friedman, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, said academic
AND
the United States between 1980 and 1990. No evidence exists of state assistance 

to nonstate groups in this sector. Two prominent extremist organizations, al-Qaeda
AND
. Which can't make anything and what it would make is just garbage."

Tournament: NDT | Round: Round 1 | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: Cronin, Shook, McVey
2AC
No solvency
First is delay
Moniz 12 Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems and Director of the Energy Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Former Clinton Administration Under Secretary of the Department of Energy and as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy ; serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 11/15/11, Quadrennial Energy and Technology Reviews, web.mit.edu/mitei/views/testimony/111115-quadrennial-energy-and-technology-reviews.html
S.1703 would legislate the QER as a required submission to the Congress,
AND
of analytical capabilities and process development are funded and pursued aggressively in 2012.
Even the perception of delay takes out the case
Bayless 3 (Robert, President – Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, “Energy Production on Federal Lands,” Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 4-30)
Mr. BAYLESS. Senator, if I could follow up, not only is
AND
additional wells. It really puts a bad filter on those price signals.
Second is no implementation – QER won’t go into effect
Barlas 12
Stephen, Columnist @ Financial Executive, 1/1, Lexis
But it is highly unlikely that Obama's blueprint will lead to a firmer footing for
AND
efforts to substitute domestic natural gas for foreign petroleum features business versus business.
Third is congressional strike down
Tollefson 11 (Jeff Tollefson, DOE releases first Quadrennial Technology Review, September 27, 2011, http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/09/doe_releases_first_quadrennial_1.html)
The US Department of Energy (DOE) released its inaugural Quadrennial Technology Review on
AND
the danger of long-term thinking that is not backed by legislation. 

Tournament: NDT | Round: Round 1  | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: McVey, Shook, Cronin
Should doesn’t mean certainty
Black’s Law Dictionary 79 (Fifth Edition, p. 1237)
Should. The past tense of shall; ordinarily implying duty or obligation; although usually no more than an obligation of propriety or expediency, or a moral obligation, thereby distinguishing it from “ought.” It is not normally synonymous with “may,” and although often interchangeable with the word “would,” it does not ordinarily express certainty as “will” sometimes does
 “Resolved” means law
Words and Phrases 64 (Permanent Edition)

Definition of the word “resolve,” given by Webster is “to express an opinion or determination by resolution or vote; as ‘it was resolved by the legislature;” It is of similar force to the word “enact,” which is defined by Bouvier as meaning “to establish by law”.
QER links to elections/politics –  requires transparency and presidential involvement
PCAST 10
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Executive Office of the President, Co-Chaired by John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Eric Lander, President, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Nov 2010, REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT ON ACCELERATING THE PACE OF CHANGE IN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES THROUGH AN INTEGRATED FEDERAL ENERGY POLICY, www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-energy-tech-report.pdf

A QER process would, in some sense, formulate an integrated energy policy for the twenty­first century. It will span mission and vision definition, strategy, and tactics. The QER and the process leading to it would provide an effective tool for Administration­wide coherence on energy and for effective dialog with Congress on a coordinated legislative agenda. Presidential interest and engagement will be a necessary ingredient for success.
While the QER will be a product of the Administration, substantial input from the Congress, the energy industry, academia, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and consumers will be essential throughout the process. Transparency in the process of gathering input for the QER will be key to the development of a sound product that can gain wide support.

Tournament: NDT | Round: Round 1 | Opponent: Minnesota SS | Judge: McVey, Cronin, Shook
2AC
Case outweighs—1AC isolates multiple scenarios for extinction. Prefer specificity of our internal link chains—reason why we outweigh on probability
Perm: do both.
Fetishization of pure political Acts is a vestige of cynical conservatism—allows the subject to disavow success as ’un-political’ to avoid the messy work of incrimentalism
Wolfe ’13 Cary Wolfe, Before the Law: Humans and Other Animals in a Biopolitical Frame, University of Chicago Press, 2013, p. 28-30
Zizek, for his own part, finds much to admire in Badiou’s posture,
AND
defined by the Manichaean struggle between Bush’s evangelism and Bin Laden’s fundamentalism.97
We are utilitarian—extinction is the only irreversible impact—subsumes their ethics claims
Privileging disidentification is counterproductive—reinforces conservatism—affirmative intervention is key
Connolly ’12 William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, "Steps toward an Ecology of Late Capitalism," Theory %26 Event, Vol. 15, Issue 1, 2012, Muse
6.    The democratic state, while it certainly cannot alone tame capital or reconstitute
AND
either socialist productivism or the world projected by proponents of deep ecology.23
Subjective lack normalizes the subject around a historically contingent Platonism—this is totalitarian
Winnubst ’7 Shannon Winnubst, "Bataille’s Queer Pleasures," Reading Bataille Now, ed. Winnubst, Indiana University Press: Bloomington, 2007, p. 78-79
It may actually be in The Use of Pleasure, volume 2 of The History
AND
opening musings suggest, totalizing. How to exit this stranglehold of desire?

T

1AR
Epistemic critique replicates fascistic knowledge production—only substantive debate breaks down dogma without collapsing into irrelevance
Houghton ’8 David Patrick Houghton, "Positivism ’vs’ Postmodernism: Does Epistemology Make a Difference?" International Politics (2008), 45
As long ago as 1981, Yale Ferguson and Richard Mansbach effectively laid the influence
AND
epistemological ones, ought to be what divides the international relations scene today. 

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

2AC vs Binghamton GR

Discourse isn’t over-determinative.  Critique must be joined with political engagement
Bryant ’12 Levi Bryant, teaches philosophy at Collin College, "RSI, Discursivity, Critique, and Politics," Larval Subjects, 7/18/2012, http://larvalsubjects.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/rsi-discursivity-critique-and-politics/
If I get worked up about these issues, then this is because I think
AND
, hitching everything on psychology, attachment, and identification. Well done%21
States will always act to preserve security
John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of political science at the University of Chicago and co-director of the Program on International Security Policy, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, 2001, p. 30-32
The first assumption is that the international system is anarchic, which does not mean
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of behavior result: fear, self-help, and power maximization.
Natty key to rapidly cutting emissions
Zakaria ’12 Fareed Zakaria, editor-at-large of Time, Phd in Political Science from Harvard, "The New Oil and Gas Boom," Time, 10/29/2012, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2127202-2,00.html
The environmental impact of the natural-gas boom is already clear—and positive
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fuel—and is associated with mining deaths and respiratory illnesses as well.
Net reduces warming
Cathles ’12 L. M. Cathles, PhD in geological sciences at Princeton, co-leader of the oil and gas thrust of the Cornell KAUST program and Director of the Cornell Institute for the Study of the Continents, Fellow of American Association of Advancement of Science – 1987, Extractive Metallurgy Science Award, Metallurgical Society of AIME – 1985, "Assessing the greenhouse impact of natural gas," Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Volume 13, Issue 6, June 2012, DOI: 10.1029/2012GC004032
 ~42~ We have verified our computations by comparing them to predictions by
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such a trivial climate effect that it need not be considered at all.
Collapse of capitalism leads to transition wars
Ashish Kathari, professor of political science at University of Delhi, Towards a Just Social Order, 1982, p. 571
Attempts at global economic reform could also lead to a world racked by increasing turbulence, a greater sense of insecurity among the major centres of power – and hence to a further tightening of the structures of domination and domestic repression – producing in their wake an intensification of the old arms race and militarization of regimes, encouraging regional conflagrations and setting the stage for eventual global holocaust.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

NDT Rd 3 vs Binghamton GR

2AC

The nature/technology divide is arbitrary and violent—magnifies human inequalities while turning resistance into ’empty gestures’ and unsustainable quick-fixes
Shellenberger and Nordhaus ’11 Michael Shellenberger, and Ted Nordhaus, "Evolve - A case for modernization as the road to salvation," Orion Magazine, September/October 2011, http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6402/
MANY ENVIRONMENTALLY CONCERNED people today view technology as an affront to the sacredness of nature
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and insecurity; now they must be considered essential to overcoming ecological risks.
Nuclear war outweighs - their evidence is anthropocentric and stupid
David Macauley, Minding Nature: The philosophers of ecology, 1996, p. 74
We may approach the issue of what Heidegger may teach today’s radical environmentalists by examining
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ontological awareness would be far preferable to their own extinction in nuclear war%21
Being is a forgettable myth—their ontology produces genocidal complacency
Caputo ’93 John D. Caputo, Against Ethics, 1993, p. 30
That would mean you cannot have an obligation to Being or Spirit or the People
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remember. Replace it with a mnemo-technique for remembering proper names.
Total disengagement from technology is disastrous—makes ecological devastation inevitable—engaging tech with care is best
Latour ’12 Bruno Latour, "Love Your Monsters," 6/5/2012, http://convozine.com/monster-theory/31585
Frankenstein lives on in the popular imagination as a cautionary tale against technology. We
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whole of Creation on our shoulders and have become coextensive with the Earth.
Innovative responses to tech-induced environmental destruction enable reconceptualization of technology as more than an instrument. The Alt’s passive refusal leaves prevailing worldviews intact.
Feenberg 7 (Andrew, Canada Research Chair in the Philosophy of Technology in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, Danish Yearbook of Philosophy, Volume 42, "Between Reason and Experience," p. 24-27, http://www.sfu.ca/~~andrewf/books/Between_Reason_and_Experience_DYP42.pdf)
As I reformulate this social version of the technical revealing, it has political consequences
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new limits can serve in the reconstruction of both technical disciplines and technology.
To be sure, the process character and full complexity of reality cannot be reflected
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through nature and causality through freedom" (Marcuse, 1969: 31).

1AR

Far from simply alienating animals and reducing them to "standing reserve," science has emerged as a tool to reshape the metaphysical divide between us and animals.  
Haraway 91—Donna Haraway ~[Awesome philosopher with a Phd in biology~], "A Cyborg Manifesto Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (New York; Routledge, 1991), pp.149-181. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html-http://www.egs.edu/faculty/haraway/haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto.html
I will return to the science fiction of cyborgs at the end of this chapter
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teaching modern Christian creationism should be fought as a form of child abuse.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

2AC vs Binghamton GR

Neolib inevitable and sustainable
Peck 2 (Jamie, Canada Research Chair in Urban %26 Regional Political Economy and Professor of Geography, University of British Columbia, former Honourary Professorial Fellow, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester, PhD in Geography, and Adam Tickell, Professor of Geography, University of Bristol, PhD, "Neoliberalizing space",  Antipode 34 (3): 380-404)
In many respects, it would be tempting to conclude with a Ideological reading of
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resistance movement may have the capacity to hold a mirror to the process.
Social theory cannot reduce everything to neoliberal economy—recovering resistant praxis within existing structures is key to change
White and Williams ’12 Richard J. White, Colin C. Williams, "The Pervasive Nature of Heterodox Economic Spaces at a Time of Neoliberal Crisis: Towards a "Postneoliberal" Anarchist Future," Antipode, Vol. 44, Issue 5, pp. 1625-1644, November 2012, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2012.01033.x
The central argument of this paper is that to move purposefully towards "post-
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doing so the intention is to reconsider future possibilities of work and organisation.
Capitalism isn’t totalizing—the aff presupposes an open economy that’s key to revolutionary praxis
White and Williams ’12 Richard J. White, Colin C. Williams, "The Pervasive Nature of Heterodox Economic Spaces at a Time of Neoliberal Crisis: Towards a "Postneoliberal" Anarchist Future," Antipode, Vol. 44, Issue 5, pp. 1625-1644, November 2012, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8330.2012.01033.x
When the multifarious labour practices are taken into account alongside the evidence generated though time
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practices such as mutual aid, reciprocity, co-operation and inclusion.
Agricultural output and food supply continues to expand—no limits in sight
Lomborg ’12 Bjørn Lomborg, Adjunct Professor at Copenhagen Business School and head of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, "Environmental Alarmism, Then and Now," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2012, Vol. 91, Issue 4, pp. 24-40, ebsco
And predictions about the last two factors, agricultural production and pollution, were way
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are being used, and 6.7 billion acres are in reserve. 

Nor have productivity gains maxed out. The latest long-range UN report on food availability, from 2006, estimated that the world would be able to feed ever-more people, each with evermore calories, out to midcentury.

Economic interdependence and multinational institutions empirically prevent conflict and crisis escalation – state preference convergence and reduced uncertainty
Gartzke and Lupu ’12 Erik Gartzke, Associate Professor of Political Science, and Yonatan Lupu, Ph.D. candidate in political science, both at the University of California, San Diego, "Trading on Preconceptions: Why World War I Was Not a Failure of Economic Interdependence," International Security, Vol. 36, No. 4, Spring 2012, Muse
Theories of interdependence argue that economic relationships that span international borders decrease the likelihood of
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to foresee the costs of fighting, which facilitates bargaining and compromise.16
Empirical academic discourse is key to politics—the alt theoretical isolationism decimates applicability
Walt ’12 Stephen M. Walt, professor of international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, "Theory and Policy in International Relations: Some Personal Reflections," Yale Journal of International Affairs, September 2012, http://yalejournal.org/2012/09/theory-and-policy-in-international-relations-some-personal-reflections-by-stephen-m-walt/
Despite these limitations, academic scholars — including IR theorists — have at least three
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restore some of the civility that has been lost in contemporary public life.
Trade leadership prevents global conflict
Panitchpakdi 4 (DG Supachai, Former Director-General – World Trade Organization, "American Leadership and the World Trade Organization: What is the Alternative?", National Press Club, 2-26, http://www.wto.org/french/ news_f/spsp_f/spsp22_f.htm)
I can sum up my message today in three sentences: The United States,
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important to fail. The world depends on it. So does America.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge: 

1AC

STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP ADVANTAGE
National Ignition Facility is de-emphasizing ignition experiments which are key to nuclear weapons modeling
SPIE ’12 "Report defines new path for NIF," SPIE optics.org, premier news source in service of worldwide photonics community, 12/19/2012, http://optics.org/news/3/12/26
As a result, the emphasis at the facility between now and 2015 will shift
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have associated uncertainties ~that are~ larger than they would be otherwise."
NIF key to stockpile stewardship—that’s key to nuclear arsenal maintenance
Courtland 3-27 RACHEL COURTLAND, "Laser Fusion’s Brightest Hope," IEEE Spectrum, 3/27/2013, http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/laser-fusions-brightest-hope
If NIF does blaze a trail toward commercial fusion power generation, it will be
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and behave under pressures and temperatures that can be achieved only at NIF.
Warhead reliability key to the nuclear arsenal—collapse decks heg, causes allied prolif and global nuclear war
Caves ’10 John P. Caves, Jr., faculty of the National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, "Avoiding a Crisis of Confidence in the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent," Strategic Forum, no. 252, January 2010, http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada514285
A Hypothetical Scenario In 2030, U.S. nuclear weapons scientists discover an
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scale far more catastrophic than what nuclear-armed terrorists alone could inflict.
Heg key to global peace—prevents conflict outbreak
Barnett ’11 Thomas P. M. Barnett, Former Senior Strategic Researcher and Professor in the Warfare Analysis %26 Research Department, Center for Naval Warfare Studies, U.S. Naval War College American military geostrategist and Chief Analyst at Wikistrat., worked as the Assistant for Strategic Futures in the Office of Force Transformation in the Department of Defense, "The New Rules: Leadership Fatigue Puts U.S., and Globalization, at Crossroads," World Politics Review, 3/7/2011, http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/8099/the-new-rules-leadership-fatigue-puts-u-s-and-globalization-at-crossroads
It is worth first examining the larger picture: We live in a time of
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. And if you know your history, that should make you nervous.
Prolif risks extinction
Kroenig ’12 Matthew Kroenig, Council on Foreign Relations Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow and Georgetown University assistant professor of government, "The History of Proliferation Optimism:  Does It Have A Future?" Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, 5/26/2012, http://www.npolicy.org/article.php?aid=1182%26tid=30
Should we worry about the spread of nuclear weapons?  At first glance, this
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the steps necessary to combat the spread of the world’s most dangerous weapons.
Additionally, effective SSP is the only thing standing in the way of RRW
Young ’12 Stephen Young, Washington representative and senior analyst for UCS, "A Third Era for Nuclear Weapons?" Union of Concerned Scientists, 9/18/2012, http://allthingsnuclear.org/a-third-era-for-nuclear-weapons/
New warhead proponents did not give up. The RNEP campaign was followed by the
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the nuclear stockpile—as a vehicle to make major changes to warheads.
SSP viability is key—RRW initially gained traction due to skepticism concerning theoretical modeling
Sims and Henke ’12 Benjamin Sims, Statistical Sciences Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Christopher R. Henke, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Colgate University, "Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War," Social Studies of Science 2012 42: 324 originally published online 5 March 2012, DOI: 10.1177/0306312712437778
RRW gained traction within the weapons community through the 1990s and the early 2000s,
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managers, Department of Energy officials, and key members of Congress.14
RRW massively increases nuclear danger—low yield means higher risk of use and creates global arms races
Civiak ’6 Dr. Robert Civiak, Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pittsburgh, was a Specialist in Energy  Technology and Section Head in the Science Policy Research Division of the Congressional Research Service, was a Visiting Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was a Program and Budget  Examiner with the Office of Management and Budget, "The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program: A Slippery Slope to New Nuclear Weapons," Tri-Valley CAREs, January 2006, http://www.trivalleycares.org/TVC_RRW_FNL.pdf
In its 2001 Nuclear Posture Review, the Bush Administration expanded the role of nuclear
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the right stockpile would increase the likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used.
RRW causes Russia war
UCS ’7 "New Nuclear Weapons: Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW)," Union of Concerned Scientists, May 2007, http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_weapons_and_global_security/nuclear_weapons/technical_issues/new-nuclear-weapons-reliable.html
The RRW program would return the nuclear weapons laboratories to the Cold War cycle of
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—either accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate but based on false information.
US-Russian war causes extinction
Bostrum ’2 (Nick, professor of philosophy - Oxford University, March, Existential Risks: Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios and Related Hazards, Journal of Evolution and Technology, p. http://www.nickbostrom.com/existential/risks.html)
A much greater existential risk emerged with the build-up of nuclear arsenals in
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preludes to the existential risks that we will encounter in the 21st century.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge:
SCIENCE THINGS ADVANTAGE
NIF key to complete advances in plasma nuclear physics
Wiescher ’12 Michael Wiescher, Freimann Professor of Nuclear Physics at the University of Notre Dame, "Nuclear Science Opportunities at NIF," Report on National Ignition Facility Workshop, 3/7/2012, http://science.energy.gov/~~/media/np/nsac/pdf/mtg%203912/Wiescher_nuclear-science-at-NIF2.pdf
Nuclear physicists have made major advances in understanding the origin of the elements using a
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based experiments, our increased understanding from these future facilities will remain incomplete.
Plasma physics key to predicting solar storms
NRC 4 Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos¶ Committee on Solar and Space Physics¶ Space Studies Board¶ Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences¶ NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Plasma is the fourth state of matter and is ubiquitous in the universe. Plasmas
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throughout the universe are, by and large, variations on this theme.
Impact is waves of nuclear meltdowns—causes extinction
IB Times ’11 (International Business Times, Mike Adams – author and journalist, Solar Flare Could Unleash Nuclear Holocaust Across Planet Earth, Forcing Hundreds of Nuclear Power Plants Into Total Meltdowns, http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm-http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/213249/20110914/solar-flare-could-unleash-nuclear-holocaust-across-planet-earth-forcing-hundreds-of-nuclear-power-pl.htm, shouts out to Ajay)
But here’s the real issue: There are 700 nuclear power facilities in the world, remember? Let’s suppose that in the aftermath of a massive solar flare, the nations of the world are somehow able to control half of those facilities and nurse them into cold shutdown status. That still leaves roughly 350 nuclear facilities at risk. Now let’s suppose half of those are somehow luckily offline and not even functioning when the solar flare hits, so they need no special attention. This is a very optimistic assumption, but that still leaves 175 nuclear power plants where all attempts fail. Let’s be outrageously optimistic and suppose that a third of those somehow don’t go into a total meltdown by some miracle of God, or some bizarre twist in the laws of physics. So we’re still left with 115 nuclear power plants that "go Chernobyl." Fukushima was one power plant. Imagine the devastation of 100+ nuclear power plants, all going into meltdown all at once across the planet. It’s not the loss of electricity that’s the real problem; it’s the global tidal wave of invisible radiation that blankets the planet, permeates the topsoil, irradiates everything that breathes and delivers the final crushing blow to human civilization as we know it today. Because if you have 100 simultaneous global nuclear meltdowns, the tidal wave of radiation will make farming nearly impossible for years. That means no food production for several years in a row. And that, in turn, means a near-total collapse of the human population on our planet. How many people can survive an entire year with no food from the farms? Not one in a hundred people. Even beyond that, how many people can essentially live underground and be safe enough from the radiation that they can have viable children and repopulate the planet? It’s a very, very small fraction of the total population. Solar flares far more likely to hit nuclear power plants than tidal waves or earthquakes What’s the chance of all this actually happening? A report by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said that "...over the standard 40-year license term of nuclear power plants, solar flare activity enables a 33 percent chance of long-term power loss, a risk that significantly outweighs that of major earthquakes and tsunamis." (http://www.IBTimes.com/articles/194-http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/194...) The world’s reliance on nuclear power, you see, has doomed us to destroy our own civilization. Of course, this is all preventable if we would only dismantle and shut down ALL nuclear power plants on the planet. But what are the chances of that happening? Zero, of course. There are too many commercial and political interests invested in nuclear power. So the power plants will stay, and we will therefore be vulnerable to a solar flare which could strike us at any time and unleash a global nuclear holocaust. Planet Earth has been struck by solar flares before, of course, but all the big hits in recorded human history took place long before the age of modern electronics, so the impacts were minimal. Today, society cannot function without electronics. Nor can nuclear facility coolant pumps. Once you realize that, you begin to understand the true danger in which humanity has placed itself by relying on nuclear power. By relying on nuclear power, we are risking everything. And we’re doing it blindly, with no real acknowledgement of the dangers of running 700+ nuclear facilities in a constant state of "near meltdown" while foolishly relying on the steady flow of electricity to keep the fuel rods cool. If Fukushima, all by itself, could unleash a tidal wave of deadly radiation all by itself, imagine a world where hundreds of nuclear facilities go into a total meltdown simultaneously.

NIF related breakthroughs in HPC in the last two weeks—but US supercomputer dominance and expertise is threatened—continued funding is key
Ling 3/20 Katherine Ling, E%26E reporter "Fast ignition for fusion energy closer after supercomputer’s record simulations" Greenwire: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2013/03/20/3-http://www.eenews.net/public/Greenwire/2013/03/20/3
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) pushed the boundaries of the
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will impact our ability to keep pace with the rest of the world."
Supercomputers are THE internal link to the US economy and competiveness—DOE programs are key
Goodwin and Zacharia 11 Bruce Goodwin ~principal associate director of weapons and complex integration at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory~ and Thomas Zacharia ~deputy laboratory director for science and technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory~  "The supercomputing race" The Washington Post June 23, 2011
It is clear that China and Japan have aggressive road maps to capture leadership of
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the rest of the world suggest they have a different future in mind.
Economic collapse causes global wars
Royal ’10 director of Cooperative Threat Reduction at the U.S. Department of Defense (Jedediah, Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives, pg 213-215)
Less intuitive is how periods of economic decline may increase the likelihood of external conflict
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not featured prominently in the economic-security debate and deserves more attention.
Inertial confinement fusion from NIF key to commercialized fusion energy—generic fusion takeouts don’t apply
Heller ’11 Arnie Heller, "Igniting our Energy Future," Science %26 Technology Review, July/August 2011, https://str.llnl.gov/JulAug11/dunne.html
NIF is designed to achieve the extreme conditions needed for fusion ignition, burn,
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commercial plant," says Dunne. "We will be ready to go."
Fusion energy key to human survival
Boone 11 PAT BOONE ~Right wing icon, sold more records in the 1950s than anyone but Elvis Presley, has his own reality TV series, ~ "FUSION: NATURE’S CHOICE FOR ENERGY" World News Daily, 5/7/2011, http://www.wnd.com/2011/05/295753/-http://www.wnd.com/2011/05/295753/
I hope you realize how special you are.¶ I do, when I speculate
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supplying 100 percent of the Earth’s annual – and ongoing – energy requirements.

Tournament:  | Round:  | Opponent:  | Judge:
The United States Federal Government should substantially increase applied research and development funding for direct-driven inertial confinement fusion at the National Ignition Facility.

NDAA diminishes ignition research funding—balanced with lower-yield SSP and other priorities
Jones ’13 Richard M. Jones, "FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act: National Ignition Facility, CMRR," AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News, 1/17/2013, http://www.aip.org/fyi/2013/012.html
President Barack Obama has signed into law H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2013. This legislation provides policy and budget guidance for the Department of Defense and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). It does not provide the actual funding, which is contained in the yet to be enacted FY 2013 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill. The conference report (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-112hrpt705/pdf/CRPT-112hrpt705.pdf) has language on the National Ignition Facility and the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility (CMRR). The report language briefly summarizes the respective positions of the House and Senate authorizing committees regarding a particular section of their bill and explains the final position each chamber’s conferees took in resolving the matter. The "sec." number refers to the actual bill text. National Ignition Facility: "Limitation on availability of funds for inertial confinement fusion ignition and high yield campaign "The House bill contained a provision (sec. 3119) that would limit the obligation and expenditure of funds for fusion ignition research and experiments to not more than 50 percent until the Administrator for Nuclear Security certifies to the congressional defense committees that fusion ignition has been achieved at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) or the Administrator submits a report on fusion ignition. "The Senate amendment contained no similar provision. "The House recedes ~withdraws from its position.~ "The conferees are pleased that the National Nuclear Security Administration has submitted the report required in section 3119 of the House bill regarding a path forward for the NIF, including fusion ignition. The conferees believe that the NIF should continue to balance the goal of achieving ignition with other stockpile needs as part of the life extension programs as well as ongoing work for other agencies and offices in the Department of Energy."
NIF should expand inquiry into direct-drive IFE
NRC 2-20 "An Assessment of the Prospects 2 for Inertial Fusion Energy," National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems, 2/20/2013
630 Conclusion: The National Ignition Facility (NIF), designed for stockpile stewardship 631
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the 651 potential of achieving higher gain and/or other technological advantages.
R%26D funding accelerates applicability of experiments, draws technical expertise, key to commercialization
NRC 2-20 "An Assessment of the Prospects 2 for Inertial Fusion Energy," National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems, 2/20/2013
5720 An organized program that encompasses all technology options most effectively 5721 determines the roadmap
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and inertial fusion energy programs 5769 are identified and incorporated into both programs.
Direct drive is cheaper and more efficient—higher yields at lower energy intensity—accelerates ignition achievement
NRC 2-20 "An Assessment of the Prospects 2 for Inertial Fusion Energy," National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems, 2/20/2013
1367 The high efficiency of coupling laser energy to the imploding fuel is usually 1368
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waste stream. This issue is discussed 1386 more fully in Chapter 3.
Ignition isn’t unfeasible—remodeling implosion targets solves
NRC 2-20 "An Assessment of the Prospects 2 for Inertial Fusion Energy," National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems, 2/20/2013
378 There has been substantial scientific and technological progress in inertial 379 confinement fusion during
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to 422 determine the viability of ignition at the million joule energy scale.