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Gonzaga

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Round 1 - 1AC
Adv 1=== Heading 3===
Warming is real and anthropogenic
Donald R. Prothero, Professor of Geology at Occidental College and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology, 3-1-2012, “How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused,” Skeptic, vol 17 no 2, EBSCO
Thanks to all the noise and confusion over climate change, the general public has
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no interest in debating it since the evidence is so clear-cut.
Massive ice cap melting proves
Robin McKie, science editor for the Guardian, 8-11-2012, “Rate of Arctic summer sea ice loss is 50% higher than predicted,” The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/aug/11/arctic-sea-ice-vanishing
Sea ice in the Arctic is disappearing at a far greater rate than previously expected
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and see no sea ice coverage in the Arctic, just open water."
Its not a natural cycle*
Donald R. Prothero, Professor of Geology at Occidental College and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology, 3-1-2012, “How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused,” Skeptic, vol 17 no 2, EBSCO
"It's just natural climatic variability." No, it is not. As I
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" has never seen the huge amount of paleoclimatic data that show otherwise.
*we’ll clarify what we mean by natural
Climate change causes waves of extinctions – our window of opportunity is slamming shut
Bryan Walsh, senior writer for TIME magazine, covering energy and the environment, 4-13-2009, “The New Age of Extinction,” TIME, EBSCO
There have been five extinction waves in the planet's historyincluding the Permian extinction
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the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). "But it's slamming shut."
Runaway feedback loops cause total global extinction and turn the earth into Venus
Jozef Pecho, Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, 3-1-2011, “Review: Storms of My Grandchildren,” International Issues and Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs, EBSCO
Hansen is a pioneer in modern climate science. His whole-life journey to
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to melt lead. Runaway greenhouse effect could eliminate all life on Earth.

Natural gas is a dirty bridge – it bought us time, but failure to transition ensures worse warming
Ted Nordhaus, Chairman of the Breakthrough Institute, and Michael Shellenberger, President of the Breakthrough Institute, 2-27-2012, “Beyond Cap and Trade, A New Path to Clean Energy,” Yale Environment 360, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/nordhaus_shellenberger_beyond_cap_and_trade_a_new_path_to_clean_energy/2499/
A funny thing happened while environmentalists were trying and failing to cap carbon emissions in
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close existing ones, and put in place stronger EPA air pollution regulations.
Commitment to long-term commercialization of nuclear is key to solve warming
Ted Nordhaus, Chairman of the Breakthrough Institute, and Michael Shellenberger, President of the Breakthrough Institute, 2-27-2012, “Beyond Cap and Trade, A New Path to Clean Energy,” Yale Environment 360, http://e360.yale.edu/feature/nordhaus_shellenberger_beyond_cap_and_trade_a_new_path_to_clean_energy/2499/
Continuing to drive down U.S. emissions will ultimately require that we develop
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fossil fuels. There simply is no substitute for making clean energy cheap.
IFR solves cost concerns and carbon emissions
Steve Kirsch, founder and CEO of multiple tech companies collectively worth over $1 billion and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, November 2009, “Why We Should Build an Integral Fast Reactor Now,” http://skirsch.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/ifr/
Unfortunately, even in the US, we have no plan to install the clean
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technology? Nobody I've talked to has been able to answer that question.
U.S. action key to global leadership
Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution, and John-Michael Arnold, special assistant to the President at Brookings, 5-25-2012, “It’s the Climate, Stupid!” Brookings, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2012/5/25%20americas%20role%20talbott/0525%20americas%20role%20talbott.pdf
And then there’s climate change, the most urgent, most consequential, most dangerous
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problem to becoming a significant—and leading—part of the solution.

Adv 2=== Heading 3===
We’re on the brink of rapid prolif
CFR 7-5-2012, “The Global Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime,” Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org/proliferation/global-nuclear-nonproliferation-regime/p18984
Nuclear weapons proliferation, whether by state or nonstate actors, poses one of the
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way for "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."
Proliferation leads to nuclear war
Robert Pfaltzgraff, Professor of International Security Studies at The Fletcher School @ Tufts, and James Schoff, the Associate Director of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA), Feburary 2009, “Updating U.S. Deterrence Concepts and Operational Planning,” IFPA White Paper, online
Moreover, as suggested above, as more nations seek or attain nuclear status,
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escalatory exchange that ultimately draws the United States into a regional nuclear conflict.
And there is loose fissile material everywhere!
Fred Pearce, reporter on environmental issues for over 20 years, environmental correspondent for the New Scientist and The Guardian, 7-30-2012, “Are fast-breeder reactors the answer to our nuclear waste nightmare?” The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/30/fast-breeder-reactors-nuclear-waste-nightmare?newsfeed=true
None of it yet has a home. If not used as a fuel,
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a policy framework in the U.S. for solving this issue."
Loose spent fuel ensures nuclear terrorism
Nuclear Threat Initiative, 8-1-2012, “Why Is Highly Enriched Uranium a Threat?” Prepared by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, http://www.nti.org/analysis/reports/civilian-heu-reduction-and-elimination/
The most difficult challenge for a terrorist organization seeking to build a nuclear weapon or
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or decommissioned, while eight are planned or under construction. [4]
Nuclear terror causes U.S. retaliation – global escalation
Robert Ayson, Professor of Strategic Studies and Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies: New Zealand at the Victoria University of Wellington, 2010, “After a Terrorist Nuclear Attack: Envisaging Catalytic Effects,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Volume 33, Issue 7, July, Available Online to Subscribing Institutions via InformaWorld)
A terrorist nuclear attack, and even the use of nuclear weapons in response by
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for the terrorists. This might not help the chances of nuclear restraint.
Nuclear terrorism causes the same causalities and full scale nuke war and nuclear winter
O. B. Toon, et al. department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, U Colorado Boulder, 4-19-2007, “Atmospheric effects and societal consequences of regional scale nuclear conflicts and acts of individual nuclear terrorism,” Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 1973-2002.
To an increasing extent, people are congregating in the world’s great urban centers,
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should be carried out as well for the present scenarios and physical outcomes.
And, nom nom nom Integral Fast Reactors eat up all the depleted Uranium
Charles Archambeau et al, PhD in Geophysics from Cal Tech and President of Technology Research Associates corporation, February 2011, “The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR): An Optimized Source for Global Energy Needs,” The Science Council for Global Initiatives, https:// ams.confex.com/ams/91Annual/webprogram/Handout/Paper179693/179693_replacement.pdfandei=xCxOUOjPN8bmqAHj44HYCQandusg=AFQjCNF5uN6Ae0YTILNa1RDfyMLmFpJvlgandcad=rja
The European recycle option produces waste which still has actinides with long half-lives
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any insurmountable containment problems involving IFR waste at a well-designed repository.
Importing spent fuels solves prolif
Pete Domenici, former senator from New Mexico, and Warren F. “Pete” Miller, part time Research Professor at Texas A and M University and former assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, July 2012, “Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Global Nuclear Energy Markets,” Bipartisan Policy Center, http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Leadership%20in%20Nuclear%20Energy%20Markets.pdf
Leadership in technological and policy developments related to the management of the nuclear fuel cycle
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have to develop effective spent fuel management and disposal capabilities of their own.
Inaction on IFRs is killing US leadership and ability to influence prolif
Joseph Shuster, founder of Minnesota Valley Engineering and Chemical Engineer, 9-8-2011, “Response to Draft Report From Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America’s Nuclear Future dated July 29, 2011,” Beyond Fossil Fools, www.beyondfossilfools.com/assets/files/BRCresponse.pdf
Contrary to the commission’s declarations on the matter, the U.S. is
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really did was give our competitors an additional two years to catch up.
Civilian nuclear power is key to nuclear leadership
Pete Domenici, former senator from New Mexico, and Warren F. “Pete” Miller, part time Research Professor at Texas A and M University and former assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, July 2012, “Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Global Nuclear Energy Markets,” Bipartisan Policy Center, http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Leadership%20in%20Nuclear%20Energy%20Markets.pdf
Nuclear power technologies are distinct from other potential exports in energy or in other sectors
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, could help address concerns about the proliferation of uranium-enrichment capabilities).
New nuclear capacity is key – solves all the alt causes
Pete Domenici, former senator from New Mexico, and Warren F. “Pete” Miller, part time Research Professor at Texas A and M University and former assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, July 2012, “Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Global Nuclear Energy Markets,” Bipartisan Policy Center, http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Leadership%20in%20Nuclear%20Energy%20Markets.pdf
As the world’s largest commercial nuclear operator and dominant weapons state, the United States
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in domestic nuclear energy activities could erode U.S. international standing.
New construction is key
Harold Bengelsdorf, Principal with the consulting firm Bengelsdorf, McGoldrick, and Associates, and held numerous senior positions in the US Government including DoE, State, and the IAEA, Fred McGoldrick, Principal with Bengelsdorf, McGoldrick, and Associates and served in the DoE and negotiator on nuclear nonproliferation with the State Department, and Michael Schwartz, Principal with Energy Resources International and consultant to electric utility companies, suppliers, industry associations, and governments, May 2007, “THE U.S. DOMESTIC CIVIL NUCLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE AND U.S. NONPROLIFERATION POLICY,” American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness, http://www.nuclearcompetitiveness.org/images/COUNCIL_WHITE_PAPER_Final.pdf
Consumer countries are likely to turn for support and assistance to those states possessing the
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of long lead time components and coping with anticipated shortages of experienced personnel.
Civilian nuclear policy is modeled and spills over to global nuclear leadership
Scott D. Sagan, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, 4-18-2011, “The International Security Implications Of U.S. Domestic Nuclear Power Decisions,” http://cybercemetery.unt.edu/archive/brc/20120621005012/http://brc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/sagan_brc_paper_final.pdf
Reasonable people may well disagree about the value of specific policy proposals regarding nuclear power
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fully appreciate how much our policies influence the decisions made by foreign governments.
US leadership is key – only direct government pressure solves
CFR 7-5-2012, “The Global Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime,” Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org/proliferation/global-nuclear-nonproliferation-regime/p18984
International instruments for combating nuclear proliferation were largely successful before 1991, but are proving
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, rising doubts about the sustainability of the nonproliferation regime are no surprise.
Solvency
Loan guarantees attract private capital
Ari Peskoe, associate in the law firm of McDermott Will and Emery LLP and focuses his practice on regulatory, legislative, compliance, and transactional issues related to energy markets, 4-20-2012, “A Solution Looking For a Problem: Building More Nuclear Reactors after Vogtle,” The Electricty Journal, vol 25 issue 3, Science Direct
Given the checkered history of reactor construction projects,56 private lenders are understandably skittish
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would likely cover much of the liabilities associate with a nuclear disaster.64
Loan guarantees make IFR’s cheap to operate
Charles Ferguson, president of the Federation of American Scientists, November 2011, “JAPAN MELTED DOWN. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE END OF THE ATOMIC AGE,” Foreign Policy issue 189, EBSCO
IN FACT, NUCLEAR POWER plants are relatively cheap to operate. Averaging the costs
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a good deal, once you factor in the risks of climate change.
Federal action key to send project commercialization
Michael Scott, former senior advisor at the Department of Treasury and partner and managing director at Miller Buckfire and Co as well as head of the firm’s U.S. Government Advisory practice, 4-20-2010, “Statement of Michael D. Scott” Testimony before the Subcommittee on Domestic Policy of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the House of Representatives, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg65123/pdf/CHRG-111hhrg65123.pdf
The President and Congress have a very powerful policy tool in Title XVII that is
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application and, significantly, before any closing on a Federal loan guarantee.
IFRs solve cost concerns – economies of scale take over
Barry Brook, chair of Climate Change at the University of Adelaide, 2-29-2009, “Prescription for the Planet – Part IV – Show me the money!” Brave New Climate, http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/02/28/prescription-for-the-planet-part-iv-%E2%80%93-show-me-the-money/
The guts of Chapter 8 is lots of numbers — really big numbers. It
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are among the lowest in Europe, at around 3 eurocents per KWh.

Plan: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase loan guarantees for the construction of nuclear power plants based on the Integral Fast Reactor Design.