BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
Introduction

“Central America’s Tropical Rainforests: Positive Steps for Survival” records that more than two-thirds of the South American rainforests have been eradicated. If the current patterns of clearing and burning are not drastically altered, much of the final third will be eradicated very soon. In the past years we have tried coaxing, arguing with and even mildly threatening countries to do more to protect their rainforests. Nothing notable has been achieved. We now face a serious problem of which action is long overdue. Thus the proposition proposes a bold new policy: the UN should impose sanctions on countries that destroy their rainforests. We would first like to define the major terms. The term “sanctions” refer to our policy, which is twofold. The UNSC should first pass a resolution to impose trade sanctions on all countries that destroy the rainforest for quick development. Precedents exist, such as the UN sanction on South Africa for apartheid. These sanctions will be limited to all products from destroying rainforests, such as timber, soybeans, palm oil and sugar cane. The second prong follows; in order to ease the difficulties of having to halt potential industries, developed nations will subsidize local farmers and companies that have been sustaining themselves by deforestation. There already have been such initiatives; Cutting Edge News reported that Norway donated $1 billion to the Amazon Fund and Germany is expected to make a substantial donation in the future. Even private companies such as Marriott Hotels have donated $8.1 million to create a state bank system that would allocate money to 6,000 families in exchange for their promise to preserve the trees on their land (http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=11430). We finally define “countries that destroy rainforests” as nations such as Brazil, that have been allowing the denuding and deforestation of its rainforests for development.
Sanctions give rise to a whole new set of problems

Bad relations are unpleasant but necessary for social change. Being afraid to offend for a just cause is cowardice. In the past, countries risked animosity with South Africa to properly address racism. The destruction of rainforests is just as urgent and directly connected with human lives. It would be embarrassingly immoral of the world to sit on its hands and wait. But we do not even concede that our policy would necessarily lead to bad relations. In the short term there will be disagreements, as of any other political move. However, if the threat of the sanction is enough to make countries like Brazil change, such as in the case of the US shrimp sanction or the whaling sanction, then this will lead to global cooperation.
Rainforests are global resources.

Considering that rainforest destruction accounts for about a fifth of carbon emissions responsible for global climate change, the deforestation crisis in the tropical regions hardly remain a local issue.1 The so-called “lung of the Earth” is also responsible for 28% of the world’s oxygen turnover – the net amount of oxygen produced after respiration and photosynthesis.2 As 32,000 hectares of rainforests continue to be destroyed every day, the international community as a whole faces the threat of rapidly depleting carbon sink and oxygen.3 Basically, saving the rainforest is a task not only for the nations hosting those invaluable natural resources but also for both developing and developed nations. While some may argue that countries have a right to do whatever it wants with its resources, the case of rainforests is a unique one. The clean air and water produced by rainforests are not exclusive within national borders. The clean air from the Amazon, for example, does not stay locked in within its national borders, but spreads out to and benefits the world as a whole. Thus rainforests differ from national resources such as gold deposits, in that it is a common resource. While each country has a right to develop its own industries, it can only do so within the limits of not interfering with the rights of other countries. The principle that countries can only develop to the extent that they do not harm other nations was outlined in Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, established in London in 1972, which stipulated that if certain countries condone the dumping of waste into the ocean, other countries may take multilateral action to punish the offending country.4 In this age of climate change concerns, it is necessary for us to clarify that it is not okay for countries to pollute at the expense of others for its own national growth. The fact that Brazil asks for international support in protecting its rainforests already shows us that even Brazil, to an extent, acknowledges the global nature of the benefits produced by the rainforests. In enforcing such global measures, UN, the largest international body encompassing both developed and developing nations, finds a definite responsibility in acting against the environmental crisis. As its preamble explicitly states, the organization is required to fulfill its responsibilities in “promot[ing] social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.”5 To extensively support this stance, UN has to go beyond using the rudimentary method of incentivizing; it has both the right and responsibility to impose sanctions on the nations that are suffocating Mother Nature and consequently putting the lives of the entire world population at stake. Reference: 1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7666516.stm 2. http://trendsupdates.com/killer-inhabitants-of-the-rainforests/ 3. http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0419-rhett_butler.html 4. http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=258&doc_id=681 5. http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/preamble.shtml
[Response to rebuttal] Sanctions are the most effective response to an urgent crisis.

In response to our rebuttal, the proposition has provided statistics for the EU and US to disprove our arguments. On checking out the sources of the first piece of information(the one from the New York Times), the opposition found a very strange thing. Intentionally or not, the proposition seems to have given a link to a news article that was published in 1919. We the opposition do not think that statistics almost 100 years old should apply for the current market situation. In fact, in 2008, the US production of meat before exporting was around 26 billion pounds, and consumption was 27 billion pounds. Secondly, there is reason to why the EU has a beef mountain. It was because there was a scare that these could be affected by BSE disease, and as a result people shifted to imported Brazillian meat, and Brazil took up a big part in the international market.[[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135707994.html]]. However, new beef can easily be sold to the EU consumers without fears of BSE. We gave beef as an exapmle only and told that there would be shortages of other goods like biofuel as well. And it is not as simple as McDonald's being effected. The economy is dependent on many factors and an immediate shortage can have side-effects like pushing up food prices. Crop based food prices are already high, and if meat prices suddenly rise too, there will be a huge problem. As for poultry, the EU also imports some poultry from Brazil[[http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/eu-and-brazil-agree-on-new-trade-rules-687.html]]. We wont be twinddling our thumbs at all. We will be using peaceful ways to solve a crisis, instead of putting our thumbs and poking out eyes of other countries to reach the same conclusions. Inthe end, their rebuttals don't stand.
[Response to rebuttal] Accountability: polluter pays

The proposition has twisted the picture we painted. The picture was like this: Rainforests are mainly in developing countries. They are producing goods in these rainforest areas. And these goods are chiefly exported to the developed countries, including countries in UNSC. Even though domestic influences are there on the economic growth, it should be noted that a countries like Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia provid much of the world's demand for biofuel and meat. So, a sudden change would definitely have a clear impact on the economy. We do not want to play the blame game. However, We do not feel that it will be possible to explain this to countries being harmed by other countries who alos pollute.
When the buying stops the killing can too

"When the buying stops, the killing can too" - a very simple principle that can be used in the context of this debate. If demand for Brazilian beef, Indonesian soy bean, Malaysian biofuel, or rainforest timber is reduced, there will be a gradual reduction in the industries based in those countries that are producing these goods. Moreover, there will be no other side effects like a sudden global shortage or public anger or even deterioration in relations between countries. The UNSC, instead of passing what would be a very controversial and harmful resolution regarding the sanction, could work to reduce demand of the products so that neither the producing countries nor the importing countries are harmed. THis can be achieved by producing the goods in their own countries instead of importing from Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. For example, the EU has a ban on importing US produced biofuel, and it imports biofuel from Malaysia and Indonesia instead. If this ban is removed, the production in Malaysia and Indonesia will automatically decrease and at the same time there will be no need for costly subsidies. At the same time, production in US will increase and this will lead to decrease in dependnce on biofuel produced in lands that were once home to the awesome rainforests. Also, this will be a gradual process and the farmers in Malaysia and Indonesia will gradually overcome the problem of shifting demand to other problems and will not have to suddenly face the prospect of losing their livelihood since a sudden stop in imports can make them think so. The proposition might argue here that they would not loose their livelihood, since they would be given subsidies, but as we have highlighted out, these subsidies are likely to be highly inadequate and the solution proposed by us requires no subsidies at all.
Sanctions are the most effective response to an urgent crisis.

The sanctions that have been proposed by the propostion is dangerous and alarming. It seems like the proposition is looking for an easy and fast way to get out of the deforestation problem without thinking of the consequences. These sanction will get us into problems just like the EU's plan to promote biofuel that resulted in deforestation did. These sanctions will create economic problems that will not only be limited to people in the host country. In their case, the proposition ahs not considered the importing countries at all. For example, ff sanctions are put on Brazil's meat exports(since cattle are grazed on deforested land as highlighted by the proposition) there will be an immediate shortage in Western countries which depend on this meat and can lead to huge public outcry as restauraunts are suddenly unable to obtain sufficient supply of meat. People in the importing countries who depend on the imported goods may loose their jobs and may have to be subsidized too.In the end the taxpayer's money of the developed countries will be used to subsidize people in other countries that could lead to sudden shortages in developed country itself. It should be noted that Brazil is the world's largest producer of beef[[http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/April06/Findings/Brazil.htm]]. The sanctions are very destructive and we the oppostion believe that a much gradual approach to reduce demand will be much more beneficial as we will go on to explain.
Sanctions give rise to a whole new set of problems

These unprecedented sanctions will have far reaching effects. The receiving countries will be extremely angry since these products were demanded by many countries in UNSC, and suddenly, they themselves pass sanctions that will severly harm their economy. This will lead to bad relations not only between the countries but also between the UN and the countries. the solution that we have hihglighted is a much more peaceful one. The sanctions will also lead to the stagnation of development in many countries since the subsidies are unlikely to be enough. This may lead to growth of ideas that say that the developed countries are trying to stop the developing countries from developing countries, increasing the devide between the developed and developing countries.
[Response to rebuttal] Sanctions are the most effective response to an urgent crisis.

The opposition’s prophecies of doom are not based on reality. Claiming that the Western world will encounter a supply deficit is more wishful thinking than fact. The New York Times reported that American beef packers have 100,000,000 pounds more a month than the public can buy. [1] The EU has a large beef surplus, often referred to as a ‘beef mountain’. [2] Moreover many countries refuse to import Brazilian frozen beef in the first place, such as the U.S. and most Asian nations. [3] In the worst case there might be a slight short-term rise in food prices, which will be easily mitigated through market processes. Even if by divine grace beef turns out to be quite undersupplied, saving rainforests as soon as possible through decisive action is still necessary. Less beef in the world may be a bad news for McDonald’s. No rainforest in the world will be a humanitarian catastrophe. Temporary lack of meat is hardly a fatal issue. The world is already well informed about how to deal with the sudden deficit of a certain food. Especially in the case of meat, beef can be perfectly replaced with poultry or pork. Meat consumption is fluid, as shown in the Avian Influenza panic. On the other hand, rainforests will be nonexistent within 20 years. The opposition takes a blatantly naïve stance towards this urgency. “A much gradual approach” is more of a cowardly euphemism for “twiddling our thumbs” than anything else. The fact is that the world cannot afford ten or twenty more years for a nice utopian solution. What is even worse is that rainforests take millions of years to recover from destruction. [4] Judging from the logic of the rebuttals, the opposition evidently conceded to the sanctions’ fundamental promptness and effectiveness in dealing with the problem. We totally agree. Their only rebuttal was about the potential negative side effects, argued without factual evidence and now clearly disproved through contrary data. Thus for these reasons the proposition believes the first point stands.
[Response to rebuttal] Accountability: polluter pays

The opposition has painted a misguided picture about how developing countries act as factories that produce goods for the developed countries. This is not true at all. In fact, developing nations produce goods, not only for international trade, but also for their domestic markets as well. For example, according to the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, the 6% growth in Brazilian industrial production in 2007 over the previous year was mainly boosted by the domestic demand for consumer goods. Assuming that the economy of the affected governments is greatly dependant on only the UNSC countries is a factually wrong argument in the first place Moreover, the opposition stated that it is not right to only punish the developing nations while the developed nations “spew out tons of CO2.” However, now is not the right time to be playing the blame game. The fact is, conserving rainforests and reducing developed nations’ CO2 emissions are not mutually exclusive at all. Both of them can be carried out; in fact, we would like to actually encourage that both be carried out because we value the environment and its following benefits.
The UNSC passing a sanction is highly unlikely

(Rebuttal) The UNSC Passing a Sanction is highly unlikely First of all, a debate like this should not be focused on practicality; the values behind the motion, “the UN should impose sanctions on countries that destroy their rainforests,” are what matters. Yet, even with that in mind, we would like to show how sanctioning is a much more practical policy anyway. In the past, the UNSC has sanctioned many issues, especially those of moral concerns. Take, for example, the sanction that eventually led to the disposing of the Apartheid discrimination in South Africa or the stopping of human rights abuses in Iraq. Even if it comes with certain disadvantages to the UNSC nations, history shows that the UNSC nations are willing to cushion some of those damages. Furthermore, the UNSC has the incentive to proceed with these sanctions. For one, on the environmental level, these nations know that the environment is a global resource. The US and the EU have continuously lobbied nations like Brazil to stop the rainforest destructions, which simply shows that these nations actually care. After all, who wouldn’t like clean air? Also, on the economic level, the UNSC nations would actually like Brazil out of the picture in the timber or meat market. The US, Canada, and Australia are all deeply interested in getting a bigger share of the beef market, for example, as shown in the countless examples of their lobbying the WTO to get permission to export to countries like South Korea. Because sanctioning Brazil effectively takes it out of the picture, attacking the practicality of the sanctions is illogical.
Sanctions are the most effective response to an urgent crisis.

The age of the environment taken for granted is long past, and now the world must fight determinedly for its future. One of the foremost impediments in that quest is the current destruction of rainforests. Deforestation poses catastrophic scenarios for the planet. It is singularly responsible for around a fifth of the world's carbon emissions. The vaporization of natural resources is inevitable. Millions of species become extinct – rain forests contain 50% of the earth’s entire pool. Rainfalls become unstable, atmospheric gases irregular. Thousands of indigenous people lose their habitat of centuries. The land becomes an eroded desert wasteland, useless for anything save for environmental documentaries. Thankfully, awareness of the critical status quo is beginning to rise. From merely discussing preservation at the start of the millennia, the world has come to realize the need for powerful measures. In 2008, all EU nations concurred to sanction any kind of serious environmental abuse. Similarly, under the Pelly Amendment, the U.S. government can impose trade sanctions against countries that hamper multilateral efforts for environmental conservation. Such positive decisiveness by certain regions is certainly worthy of adaptation on the global scale. Actions for environmental conservation should not be left to certain nations, but rather an international force – and thus the UN. Let me introduce the mechanism of our policy. The proposition proposes the introduction of economic sanctions that place limits on trade – undertaking boycotts when necessary – on the countries’ byproducts of rainforest destruction, such as timber and meat. Companies will not be able to profit from producing such goods. The sanctions’ aim is simple yet effective. Through our specifically targeted restrictions, the sole incentive of rainforest destruction will be disabled – profit. Quote directly from Greenpeace: While the issues surrounding the Amazon are complex, they boil down to a very simple economic principle. Today, it is worth more to a logging company or a farmer to clear rainforest than to let it stand. Essentially, the market views trees as worth more dead than alive. However, if we halt the sales of products manufactured by such actions, the companies be left with zero positive incentive. Ultimately the market will view trees as worth more standing than dead; benefits will become nonexistent in creating dead trees and increasing land. The possible side effects of the policy may be short-term economic disadvantages. This can be mitigated by foreign subsidies aforementioned in the introduction of our case. Through subsidized structural adjustments in the economy, these countries can actually receive positive benefits from the sanctions in the long run. For this reason we are proud to propose. References: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2004/2004-02-06-11.asp http://www.mongabay.com/0801.htm http://www.ran.org/info_center/factsheets/04b.html
Dependece on subsidies

As stated before by us, only subsidies to the ones effected in sanctioned countries cannot mitigate the immediate effects of what has been proposed by the proposition. Not only, that subsidies will create yet another problem. The workers to whom these subsidies will be given, they might become dependent on the subsidies they receive, and may not look for immediate alternatives. However, if they are effected by natural change in demand, they will not be dependent on subsidies and will be forved to look for alternatives due to falling profits on a gradual basis.
Accountability: polluter pays

Our policy may seem limited, only targeting the reduction of destruction of rainforests. Yet, its implications are much more far-reaching, in the sense that it establishes a new trend for the UN’s attitude on climate change concerns by declaring that the days in which polluting as much as possible, as fast as possible, for quick money, are over. Until now, most countries have engaged in a neck-to-neck competition to consume as much resources as possible in order to achieve quick development, and common thought was that such governments were immune from facing the consequences of their rampant pollution. However, this sanction shows a fundamental change in attitude; by making it clear that the global community such as the UN will not allow for quick profits made in the expense of the environment, we establish that the simple principle that pollution is unacceptable, and that the polluter will have to pay for whatever harms he/she inflicts upon rest of the world. As stated in the second argument, the environment is now a global, common resource, so if a company pollutes for the sake of its personal profit, this is tantamount to theft, as it is an act of stealing a common resource for private benefit. The principle behind this sanction is simple, logical and fair—if someone takes away a resource that does not wholly belong to himself and uses it for his own personal benefit, he will be held accountable and punished accordingly. We think this is more significant because our plan is an unprecedented one that encompasses all nations; in the past, countries such as the United States have frequently acted alone, threatening and imposing unilateral sanctions such as the US sanction on shrimps caught without TEDs (Turtle Excluding Devices). In such cases, sanctions have been difficult because loopholes existed, and trade was still possible with other countries; in our case, we ensure that the world as a whole sends a clear message that this international crisis will be addressed with international cooperation, and that there will be no way out of it. Countries will either have to be held accountable for their unapologetic pollution of the environment, or face international ostracism. References: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/teds.htm