Policy Debate Resolution
2019-2020 Fall Term Resolution
The United States federal government should substantially reform or replace current federal policy regarding the United States environment as relating to energy formation or use, and its issues, including but not limited to regulation or impact oversight, for the safety and benefit of US citizens.
Resolution Notes
Affirmative cases will focus on some aspect of the environment as it is impacted by energy use or production. This could focus on addressing some change in federal policy regarding climate change issues as they relate to energy use or manufacture, carbon taxes, the New Green Deal, CO2 emissions, alternative energy development, or the continued manufacture and use of fossil fuels including making them more abundant, cleaner, or cheaper. If improved fossil fuel cases are ran, the case must address any environmental impact concerns of fossil fuels.
Topic Background (*items covered in class lecture)
Global Warming/Climate Change
*Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAbATJCugs "Global Warming 101," video, National Geographic website, (a non-profit society for the exploration and study of the earth), published May 18, 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtW2rrLHs08 Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye," video National Geographic (a non-profit society for the exploration and study of the earth), published December 2, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdbSxyXftc "What They Haven't Told You About Global Warming," Patrick Moore, Co-Founder of GreenPeace (organization for the protection of the environment), video, Prager University, July 27, 2015.
https://www.prageru.com/video/climate-change-what-do-scientists-say/ , "Climate Change, What Do Scientists Say?" by Richard Lindzen, atmospheric physicist, video, Prager University, published April 16, 2018.
https://www.prageru.com/video/climate-change-whats-so-alarming/ , by Bjorn Borg, Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center video, Prager University, published July 28, 2016.
Articles
Global Warming Timeline,2003-2019 Spencer Weart & American Institute of Physics https://history.aip.org/climate/timeline.htm
"What is Global Warming, Explained," by Christine Nunez, writer, National Geographic website (a non-profit society for the exploration and study of the earth), retrieved Jun 20, 2019
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-overview/
"Why The Latest Global Warming Report Is Politics, Not Science" Frank Vernuccio, JD, the president of the American Analysis of News & Media, Inc., and the editor-in-chief of its major publication, the New York Analysis of Policy and Government, Townhall.org (leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis), Nov. 5, 2018
With A Pinch of Salt: Endless Failure of Climate Doomsday Tales" Vijay Jayaraj ((M.Sc, Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, England) Townhall.org (leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis), June 23, 2019
"Greenland Episode Exposes Repeated Exaggeration of Weather Events," Vijay Jayaraj ((M.Sc, Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, England) Townhall.org (leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis), July 2, 2019
"Global Warming Is Not Damaging Our World, The Global Warming Movement Is," Jay Lehr, science director at The Heartland Institute. Lehr is an internationally renowned speaker, scientist, and author who has testified before Congress on dozens of occasions on environmental issues and consulted with nearly every agency of the national government, as well as many foreign countries, Townhall, November 2, 2018.
Case Ideas for Students (*items covered in class lecture)
Green New Deal
*Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OMGQoXEVE0 "What is the Green New Deal?" Washington Post news video, published December 20, 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eTJ8bu137c "Explaining the Green New Deal," Washington Week Extra, PBS broadcast, February 15, 2019.
https://www.prageru.com/video/whats-the-deal-with-the-green-new-deal/ "What's the Deal with the Green New Deal?" by Alex Epstein, President of Industrial Progress, Prager University, video, July 29, 2019.
Articles
"What Is the New Green Deal, A Climate Proposal, Explained," Lisa Friedman, a reporter on the climate desk, focusing on climate and environmental policy in Washington. She has covered eight international climate talks and chased climate-related stories New York Times, Feb. 21, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/climate/green-new-deal-questions-answers.html
"Analyzing the Green New Deal," John R. Lott, Jr., (Political Analyst and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center ) Townhall.org (leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis), February 11, 2018
|https://townhall.com/columnists/johnrlottjr/2019/02/11/analyzing-the-green-new-deal-n2541142
"Seattle City Council Vows To Support 'Environmental Justice' With Its Own 'Green New Deal' Plan," by Timothy Meads (weekend editor, Media Relations Strategist at Regnery Media) , Townhall.org (leading source for conservative news and political commentary and analysis), June 25, 2019.https://townhall.com/tipsheet/timothymeads/2019/06/25/seattle-vows-to-support-environmental-justice-and-fight-racial-inequality-with-n2548904
"Harry Reid to Dems: Kill the Fillibuster." Reid recommends eliminating 60 senator fillibuster (allowing simple majority) to pass climate change legislation in Senate if Democrats retake Senate. Article by Sam Stein, Politics Editor, The Daily Beast, August 8, 2019.
*https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aocs-top-aide-admits-green-new-deal-about-the-economy-not-the-climate "AOC's Top Aide Admits Green New Deal About the Economy, Not the Climate" by Adam Shaw, reporter, Fox News, published July 12, 2019. "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff recently admitted that the Green New Deal was not conceived as an effort to deal with climate change, but instead a “how-do-you-change-the-entire economy thing”
https://townhall.com/columnists/hsterlingburnett/2019/08/03/watermelons-use-green-new-deal-paris-treaty-to-impose-socialism-n2551060 "Watermelons Use Green New Deal, Paris Treaty to Impose Socialism," by H. Sterling Burnett, Phd., lead energy analyst for National Center for Policy Analysis, opinion article, Townhall, published August 3, 2019.
All Sides search for "New Green Deal"
Carbon Tax
*Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRtZw5aaGAA "How A Carbon Tax Could Work" video, CBS News, May 23, 2019,
https://www.prageru.com/video/the-truth-about-co2/ "The Truth About Carbon" Patrick Moore, Co-Founder of GreenPeace (organization for the protection of the environment), video, Prager University, July 26, 2015.
"Each Country's Share of CO2 Emissions," Charts, Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit organization which seeks to use science to improve the world, https://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html
Articles
"What's A Carbon Tax?" Carbon Tax Center, carbontax.org, a non-profit organization promoting carbon taxes on all greenhouse emissions, retrieved June 20, 2019
https://www.carbontax.org/whats-a-carbon-tax/
"Call Your Senator, No Carbon Tax HB 2020" OregonCatalyst.com website, Taxpayer Association of Oregon, a political action tax watch dog group, retrieved June 23, 2019,
"Time to Give the CO2 Endangerment Finding A Tremendous Whack," by Jay Lehr, science director at The Heartland Institute. Lehr is an internationally renowned speaker, scientist, and author who has testified before Congress on dozens of occasions on environmental issues and consulted with nearly every agency of the national government, as well as many foreign countries, Townhall, July 20, 2019. https://townhall.com/columnists/jaylehr/2019/07/20/time-to-give-the-co2-endangerment-finding-a-tremendous-whack-n2550269
Alternative Energy (and Fossil Fuels)
*Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kUE0BZtTRc Renewable Energy 101, video, National Geographic, (a non-profit society for the exploration and study of the earth), published September 21, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvdSmPbdLg "Can We Rely on Wind and Solar Energy?" Alex Epstein, President of Industrial Progress, Prager University, video, October 19, 2015.
https://www.prageru.com/video/trees-are-the-answer/ "Trees Are the Answer," by Patrick Moore, Co-Founder of Green Peace (organization for the protection of the environment), video, Prager University, published July 21, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJWq1FeGpCw "Fossil Fuels, the Greenest Energy" by Alex Epstein, President of Industrial Progress, Pager University, video, April 21, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49Teja5YNCo "Why You Should Love Fossil Fuels," Alex Epstein, Center for Industrial Progress, Prager University, April 20, 2015.
Articles
"Barriers to Renewable Energy Technologies," web article by Union of Concerned Scientists, retrieved July 30, 2019. https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/renewable-energy/barriers-to-renewable-energy
"The Problem with Renewable Energy (and ways it's being fixed)," web article by Interesting Engineering, retrieved July 30, 2019, https://interestingengineering.com/the-problem-with-renewable-energy-fixed
"4 Critical Energy Issues to Watch in 2017," article by Bobby Magill, environmental journalist, Scientific American, December 29, 2016, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/4-critical-energy-issues-to-watch-in-2017/
*Government Agencies
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency created to protect human health and the environment. https://www.epa.gov/
EPA regulatory process https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/basics-regulatory-process
EPA laws and regulations https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations
*How the Energy Grid Works
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEeUIa9EeBw "How It Works: Fossil Fuel Power," Ontario Power Generation video, published July 22, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1BMWczn7JM "How Does the Power Grid Work?" video by Practical Engineering, Grady Hillhouse, professional civil engineer, hobbyist educational video publisher, June 25, 2019.
NOTE: As of 2018, 63.5% of America's electricity is created by fossil fuel generators. 35.1% natural gas. 27.4% coal. US Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=6
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients, chart, US Energy Information Administration, February 2, 2016, https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBtXmdRqhE "How Utilities Make Money" by Power Scout (a for profit home solar energy company) March 29, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkaplHQp2n0 "Where Does Our All Oil Come From?" DNews, an independent news source, Seeker Network, published April 14, 2015. (Be sure to check out the links in the "more" section for further resources of energy development.)
General Politics and Worldview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJY6P7t-yD0 "Private Sector vs. Public Sector," Prager University, Dennis Prager, conservative commentator, video, published July 8, 2016.
Left vs. Right: How Do We Make Society Better? Prager University video.
Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs, The Student Daily News
Are Some Cultures Better Than Others? Prager University video
Socialism vs. Capitalism, Student News Daily
General Government Lessons
Types of Government Explained, a youtube presentation on the different types of government.
How power is divided in the US, a TedEd video.
Why America is a Republic, not a Democracy (overview of other government types included, by the Indicrat)
Senator Ben Sasse discourse during Kavanaugh which is an estute review on judicial vs. legislative function in the US.
Separation of Powers Check and Balance (a Crash Course video, some good info, annoying presentation)
the Bicameral Congress (a Crash Course video, some good info, annoying presentation)
Constitutional Principles:Representative Government (the Bill of Rights Institute)
The Electoral College (and why it is important), Prager University video.
Introduction to the Constitution, video lecture series by Hillsdale College Also check into their other free, online courses such as Constitution 101 and 201 and US History. (These courses are excellent prep for the American Government and US History I CLEP's).
How a Bill Becomes Law
I'm Just a Bill (yes...the old Schoolhouse Rock version)
SNL and Executive Orders
Vox update on How a Bill Really Becomes Law
LexNexis interactive chart on the real steps of How a Bill Becomes Law
General Economics Lessons
Why You Love Capitalism, Prager U video
Can the Government Run the Economy? Prager U video
What Creates Wealth? Prager U video
Why Capitalism Works. Prager U video
Who Is Karl Marx? Prager U video
Lower Taxes, Higher Revenue. Prager U video
A highly revered article on the miracle and power of free market economics
I, Pencil (written form) (movie form)
Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson
Broken Window Fallacy, Learn Liberty video
Just for fun...
The Economics of Halloween Candy
The Worst Candy: Halloween Economics
The Guide to Trading Halloween Candy (warming some cheesy language)
Keep track of all your research and extra reading. Credit hours can accumulate and Club points will be awarded for those who complete extra reading and research!
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTIONS (Place in notebook. These can help offset a sick day during debate rounds!):
Who should control America's energy resources? Individuals? Private organizations/companies? Government? (Support your answer with reason. 10 points)
Do you believe Carbon Dioxide emissions are positive or negative or make no difference to the world's environment? (Support your answer with reason. 10 points).
Read and Answer Student News Daily questions from their Media Bias articles base examples of media bias.
5 to 10 points per article, depending upon depth and number answered (do not choose a question with an answer on key other than "answers vary").
Watch and respond to a video. 5 point Response should include short summary of what it says, what does it mean, and personal opinion about concept.
Possible video choices: "I Pencil," "The Broken Window," "Who Is Karl Marx?," and the "Electoral College"