Resolved: The USFG should substantially increase alternative energy incentives in the US.

Thank you for the opportunity to join you in this debate; currently I am debating this in school. Contention I: Problem A: Pollution leads to Global Warming Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution -- they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually.(1) A study by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University found that ignoring global warming would end up costing $20 trillion by 2100. (2) 150,000: Number of people the World Health Organization estimates are killed by climate-change-related issues every year (3) In April, a group of 11 former U.S. military leaders released a report charging that the war in Somalia during the 1990s stemmed in part from national resource shortages caused by global warming. (4) Problem B: Dependence on Gasoline It is no coincidence that so much of the cash filling terrorists' coffers come from the oil monarchies in the Persian Gulf. It is also no coincidence that those countries holding the world's largest oil reserves and those generating most of their income from oil exports, are also those with the strongest support for radical Islam. In fact, oil and terrorism are entangled. If not for the West's oil money, most Gulf states would not have had the wealth that allowed them to invest so much in arms procurement and sponsor terrorists organizations.. But the only way to deal with the problem strategically is to reduce the disposable income and wealth generation capacity of terrorist supporters. Hence, America's best weapon against terrorism is to decrease its dependency on foreign oil by increasing its fuel efficiency and introducing next-generation fuels. Only then financial support for terrorism could radically diminish. (5) Last week's brutal suicide bombings in Baghdad and Jerusalem have once again illustrated dramatically that the international community failed,to understand the magnitude and implications of the terrorist threats to the very survival of civilization itself. Contemporary terrorists have introduced a new scale of violence in terms of conventional and unconventional threats and impact. The internationalization and brutalization of current and future terrorism make it clear we have entered an Age of Super Terrorism with its serious implications concerning national, regional and global security concerns.(6) Problem C: Peak oil is upon us We are fast approaching a critical watershed for the fossil-fuel era, with potentially dire consequences for industrial civilization. Experts had been saying that we had another forty or so years of cheap available crude oil left. Now, however, some of the world's leading petroleum geologists are suggesting that global oil production could peak and begin a steep decline much sooner, as early as the second decade of the 21st century. Non-OPEC oil producing countries are already nearing their peak production, leaving most of the remaining reserves in the politically unstable Middle East. Increasing tensions between Islam and the West are likely to further threaten our access to affordable oil. In desperation, the U.S. and other nations could turn to dirtier fossil-fuels – coal, tar sand, and heavy oil – which will only worsen global warming and imperil the earth's already beleaguered ecosystems. Looming oil shortages make industrial life vulnerable to massive disruptions and possibly even collapse. (7) The decline of oil, the principal driver of economic growth, undermines the validity of that collateral which in turn erodes the valuation of most entities quoted on Stock Exchanges. The investment community however faces a dilemma. It desires to protect its own fortunes and those of its privileged clients while at the same time is reluctant to take action that might itself trigger the meltdown. It is a closely knit community so that it is hard for one to move without the others becoming aware of his actions. In this situation, interest shifts to commodities and to short term trading to benefit from daily or hourly fluctuations in price, implying that there are few valid genuine long-term investments left. The scene is set for the Second Great Depression. (8) Contention II: Currently the government is not going far enough to encourage alternative energy Mandate: A 7% tax break would go to businesses switching to Jatropha bean alternative energy Logistics: Recycle Government Waste Intent: "We reserve the right to explain what we mean" Contention III: Our plan would increase alternative energy use, halt Global warming, and reduce the risk of nuclear annihilation. Biofuels can slash global warming pollution. By 2050, biofuels could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 billion tons per year. That's equal to more than 80 percent of current transportation-related emissions.(9) Producing a cheap and reliable alternative to oil will be lucrative business, but industry needs encouragement to develop technologies that are also sustainable and environmentally sound. The government can spur the development along through strategic investments and incentive programs. (10) Jatropha Statistics (11): Jatropha is seen by many to be the perfect biodiesel crop. It can be grown in very poor soils actually generating top soil as it goes, is drought and pest resilient, and it has seeds with up to 40% oil content. - Jatropha grows well on low fertility soils - Jatropha can be intercropped with many cash crops such as coffee, sugar, fruits and vegetables with the Jatropha offering both fertilizer and protection against livestock. - Jatropha can survive three years of drought by dropping its leaves. - Jatropha is excellent at preventing soil erosion, and the leaves it drops act as a wonderful soil enriching mulch. - The cost of 1000 jatropha saplings (enough for one acre) in Pakistan is around 5000PKR (equiv to around ï¿½50 or just 5p each). - 80% of seedlings planted will survive. - Jatropha seedlings yield seeds in the first year after plantation. - After the first five years, the typical annual yield of a jatropha tree is 3.5kg of beans. - Jatropha trees are productive for up to 30-40 years. - 2,200 trees can be planted per hectare (approx 1,000 per acre). - 1 hectare should yield around 7 tonnes of seeds per year. - 91%+ of the oil can be extracted with cold pressing. - 1 hectare should yield around 2.2-2.7 tonnes of oil. - Filtered jatropha oil can be used as is in many diesel vehicles I still have info to put in! I'm starting to hate the 8,000 character limit! Yet again, I'd like to thank my opponent for the chance to debate him, and I wish him the best of luck in his rebuttal. Citation: (1)National Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org... (2) Mic Check; Harvey Christy (3) Washington Post; Struck Doug, writer for the Washington Post, 2006 (4) Washington Post; Eilperin, Juliet, writer for the Washington Post, 2006 (5) Korin, 02( Co-Director of the Institute for the Analysis for Global Security, http://www.iags.org..., 2002) (6)Alexander 03(Yonah, Washington Times, August 28, LN) (7)Jeremy Rifkin, noted thinker and futurist, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, 04/28/06, http://premierespeakers.com... (8)Colin Campbell "The financial consequences of peak oil." 2007 http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net... Consequences.html (9)National Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org... (10)National Resources Defense Council, http://www.nrdc.org... (11)RUEK.com, 08 (RENEWABLE ENERGY UK)