You are on page 1of 94

Miami Debate Institute 2008

Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Natives Aff
Natives Aff......................................................................................................................................................................1
*** Inherency ***...........................................................................................................................................................3
Inherency – No Incentives Now.....................................................................................................................................3
Inherency – No PTC.......................................................................................................................................................4
Inherency – Coal Burning Now......................................................................................................................................5
Inherency – Coal Burning Now......................................................................................................................................6
*** Solvency ***............................................................................................................................................................8
Incentives Key................................................................................................................................................................8
PTC Key..........................................................................................................................................................................9
Solvency – Wind Power................................................................................................................................................10
Plan 1AC.......................................................................................................................................................................11
*** Colonialism Advantage ***...................................................................................................................................12
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................12
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................13
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................14
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................15
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................16
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................17
Colonialism 1AC..........................................................................................................................................................18
Enviro Destruction  Native Extinction......................................................................................................................19
Enviro Destruction  Native Extinction......................................................................................................................20
Fossil Fuels  Native Extinction.................................................................................................................................21
Coal Burning Bad.........................................................................................................................................................22
Natives Key...................................................................................................................................................................23
Natives Key...................................................................................................................................................................24
Native Oppression Spills Over......................................................................................................................................25
Colonialism Impact – Worse than Death......................................................................................................................26
Impact – Biodiversity....................................................................................................................................................27
Sustainable Development Good....................................................................................................................................28
Soft Energy Good – Acid Rain.....................................................................................................................................29
Soft Energy Good – Global Development....................................................................................................................30
Soft Energy Key to Native Survival.............................................................................................................................31
Renewables Ensure Native Survival.............................................................................................................................32
*** Damming Advantage ***......................................................................................................................................33
Damming 1AC – Indo/Pak............................................................................................................................................33
Damming 1AC – Indo/Pak............................................................................................................................................34
Damming 1AC – Turkey...............................................................................................................................................35
Damming 1AC – Turkey...............................................................................................................................................36
Damming 1AC..............................................................................................................................................................37
Damming 1AC..............................................................................................................................................................38
Damming 1AC..............................................................................................................................................................39
Damming 1AC..............................................................................................................................................................40
Yes Global Hydropower................................................................................................................................................42
Yes Global Hydropower................................................................................................................................................43
Modeling.......................................................................................................................................................................44
Hydropower Bad – Natives...........................................................................................................................................45
Hydropower Bad – Warming........................................................................................................................................46
Hydropower Bad – Environment..................................................................................................................................47
Hydropower Bad – Environment..................................................................................................................................48
Environment Impact......................................................................................................................................................49
China – Uniqueness......................................................................................................................................................50
China Specific Impacts.................................................................................................................................................51
Brazil – Uniqueness......................................................................................................................................................52

1
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Brazil Specific Impacts.................................................................................................................................................53


Turkish Dams  War...................................................................................................................................................54
*** Warming Advantage ***........................................................................................................................................55
Warming 1AC...............................................................................................................................................................55
Warming 1AC...............................................................................................................................................................56
Warming 1AC...............................................................................................................................................................57
Warming 1AC...............................................................................................................................................................58
Warming 1AC...............................................................................................................................................................59
Demonstration Effect....................................................................................................................................................60
Demonstration Effect....................................................................................................................................................61
Demonstration Effect....................................................................................................................................................62
Native Soft Energy Spills Over.....................................................................................................................................63
Modeling.......................................................................................................................................................................64
Renewables Solve Warming.........................................................................................................................................65
Warming Bad – Ecosystems.........................................................................................................................................66
Warming Bad – Species................................................................................................................................................67
Warming Bad – Species................................................................................................................................................68
Warming Bad – Extinction............................................................................................................................................69
Warming Bad – War......................................................................................................................................................70
*** 2AC Materials ***.................................................................................................................................................71
Culture Add-On – 2AC.................................................................................................................................................71
Aff U Helpers................................................................................................................................................................72
Aff U Helpers ...............................................................................................................................................................73
Aff U Helpers................................................................................................................................................................74
A2: Economy DA.........................................................................................................................................................75
A2: Native Economy DA..............................................................................................................................................76
A2: Self D DA..............................................................................................................................................................77
Self D Good – Extinction..............................................................................................................................................78
Self D Good – Heg........................................................................................................................................................79
Self D Good – Democracy............................................................................................................................................80
A2: Kashmir Scenario...................................................................................................................................................81
A2: Kashmir – Movements Now..................................................................................................................................82
A2: Kashmir – Support for Movements Now...............................................................................................................83
A2: Kashmir – Unstable Now.......................................................................................................................................84
A2: Kashmir – Unstable Now.......................................................................................................................................85
A2: India-Pakistan War.................................................................................................................................................86
A2: Kashmir – Self-D Doesn’t Cause War...................................................................................................................87
A2: Kashmir – Self-D solves War.................................................................................................................................88
A2: Bush Good.............................................................................................................................................................89
A2: States CP................................................................................................................................................................90
A2: States CP................................................................................................................................................................91
A2: States CP................................................................................................................................................................92
A2: States CP................................................................................................................................................................93
A2: T – In the United States..........................................................................................................................................94

2
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard
*** Inherency ***

Inherency – No Incentives Now


Currently Tribes are unable to receive incentives renewable energy because they are tax-
exempt
Sandlin (U.S. Representative from South Dakota) 2008 (Stephanie Herseth, Roll Call “What should Congress do to
encourage alternative fuels and technologies?; Wind Needs Greater Role In Nation's Energy Policy,” April 21, Lexis
Looking ahead, we need to involve every community willing and able to contribute to our new energy economy, including Native
American tribes. As tax-exempt organizations, tribes cannot take the tax credit or use the full value of the
tax credit when joint venturing with a taxable entity. This aspect of the law provides a disincentive for non-
tribal companies to invest in renewable energy projects on tribal lands because they can only take a portion of
the production tax credit related to their stake in the project. Even as tribes are seeking capital to fund renewable
energy projects on tribal lands, non-tribal companies are facing this financial disincentive for investment. That is
why Congress should act on Rep. Raœl
Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) legislation, H.R. 1954, and Sen. Tim Johnson's (D-S.D.) companion bill, S. 2520. By allowing tribes to transfer
the credit for electricity produced from renewable resources, this legislation would remove the disincentive that
exists under current law for such ventures. By facilitating and encouraging such investment, we would not
only support tribal communities in many rural areas, but also harness an abundant renewable resource to
reduce our overall carbon emissions.

3
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Inherency – No PTC
Tribes lack tax credit for a tribal-led green energy future.
Rahimi – writer - 2008 (Shadi, “Native company launches wind energy project”, April 11,
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417016)
SAN FRANCISCO - Just as a collective of tribes is pushing for federal legislation in favor of tribal-led wind energy projects, a Native company is posed to
launch an unprecedented effort to help tribes to become principal owners of turbines. The Seattle-based company, Native Green Energy, will debut its first
endeavor in April in Maine, where it has been working with the Passamaquoddy tribe to install two 100-kilowatt turbines that would power 50 homes on a
private grid and allow the tribe to sell back additional energy to private utilities. The company has already won the backing of some state legislatures and
plans next to launch a 2.2-megawatt turbine for a Michigan gaming tribe. ''We're setting out to make a difference in Indian country,'' said company co-
founder Litefoot, a Cherokee musician, actor and entrepreneur. ''We have responsibility from the Creator to take care of this earth and so we are harnessing
these things the Creator has provided to sustain our communities.'' Jon Ahlbrand, company co-founder, said the potential for wind energy is blowing
constantly across Indian country, but there remains a dire lack of suppliers that ''could bridge the gap'' between the private sector market and its renewable
energy demands and tribal governments. ''You can count on your hand the number of existing turbines operating on reservations,'' he said. ''Some of the
winds in the northern
most advantageous markets for wind energy are on trust land or fee land owned by tribes.'' Energy experts say the Dakota
Great Plains alone could meet the nation's entire electrical needs with wind power. But the lack of a
federal tax credit has been thwarting a tribal-led green energy future. Currently, tribes are not entitled to
the tax credits provided to non-Native developers for renewable energy production. And if an outside
company wants to team up with a tribe, they are not provided a full tax credit.

4
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Inherency – Coal Burning Now


Businesses place hazardous Coal burning plants on Native American lands.
AP 2008 (Associated Press, “Proposed coal plant pits economy vs. Navajo belief,” May 21, Lexis
In a corner of the Navajo Nation burdened by old and heavily polluting coal-fired power plants, it matters little
to many tribal elders that another facility promises to be the most efficient and cleanest of all. With two plants already a dozen
miles away, the last thing they want is another one even closer, a 1,500-megawatt project barely two miles in
another direction. "We want the smoke to stop," said 76-year-old Alice Gilmore in Navajo, raising a hand toward the belching
plants. Others say the $3 billion Desert Rock Energy Facility could invigorate the lagging economy of the Navajo Nation, which stretches
across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Backers say it would bring $52 million a year in revenues to the tribal government and
provide up to 400 jobs on a reservation where unemployment hovers around 50 percent. The plan the largest-ever economic
development partnership for the Navajos has prompted fierce debate pitting that economic windfall against
environmental concerns and traditional culture on the 27,000-square-mile reservation, rich with natural gas,
uranium and low-sulfur coal. Some Navajos believe they are inseparable from Mother Earth and Father Sky stewards of the land who
must live in harmony with the natural world. There are no Navajo words to describe the complexities of power plants; to many elders, they
are big stoves that produce electricity, the emissions wild spirits capable of harm. "You treat your mother with great respect and love," said
Harry Walters, a historian and cultural anthropologist at Dine College in Tsaile, Ariz. "You don't give your mother bad food, you don't take
your mother to a place where there is bad air, you don't let her drink dirty water." Gilmore grew up tending goats on a homestead on the
reservation, and recalls waist-high grass teeming with tiny ground lizards before the coal burning started 44 years ago. While the land is
bare now, it would be obliterated by an advancing strip mine that would be tapped for the new plant. "Sometimes
she cries for it when she's alone, for the land and the destruction," says her daughter, Bonnie Wethington. Walters said tribal leaders need
only consider the legacy of uranium mining booms in the 1950s and 1970s, which brought cancer, lung disease
and death to the Navajos to know that Mother Earth will retaliate for coal digging and burning. Others, however, see a gift in their
land's fortune of low-sulfur but high-ash and medium-BTU coal. By various estimates the coal reserve would last a century or more of
stepped-up burning. "The creator blessed us with this land, where there is an abundance of natural resources," said Lucinda Bennalley,
president of the Nenahnezad Chapter, one of 110 such tribal chapters, or local governing entities. Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr., a staunch
supporter of the project, says critics should "stop picking on the little Navajo" when countries like India and China are commissioning a new
coal plant practically every week. The debate over Desert Rock comes at a time when leaders in Congress and a number of states have begun
questioning coal burning, and the volume of greenhouse gases it churns out. The project's backers, a private equity group, are trying to build
ahead of a possible regulation by Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency or states to limit carbon dioxide emissions, produced in
abundance by coal burning that takes most of the blame for heating up the planet. The Navajo Nation picked Houston-based Sithe Global
Power, which is 80 percent owned by New York-based Blackstone Group, to build what amounts to a "merchant" plant for hire or sale.
Blackstone executives say customers won't be hard to find Phoenix or Las Vegas is the most likely consumer among hard-pressed utilities in
the booming Southwest. Because of industrywide improvements in pollutant-capturing technology over the years, Desert Rock's emissions
would be as little as a fifth of the reservation's Four Corners Power Plant to the north. Four Corners, a 2,000-megawatt plant co-owned and
operated by Arizona Public Service, routinely ranks No. 1 on dirty-power lists compiled by watchdog groups from emissions reports to the
EPA. But Desert Rock would hardly be a pollution slouch, despite new emissions technology. Every year, according to figures
compiled by the EPA, the station would pump out 6,644 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are
components of acid rain; 5,529 tons of carbon monoxide; 570 tons of lung-busting particulate matter and 166
tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds, plus trace amounts of lead and mercury.

Coal Plants on Tribal Lands operate under no restrictions dumping millions of tons of CO2
every year.
Earth Island Journal 2006 (“Clear Skies in the Desert,” Summer, Ebsco 21(2)
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=3&sid=bd87b7bb-6800-4b3d-8e97-
12e7a3280312%40sessionmgr107>) June 27, 2008
Burning coal pollutes the air. During each year of its operation, the Mohave Generating Station put an average of
40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 10,000 tons of smoke and soot into the air, to blow across the Grand Canyon
and Four Corners country. The plant was one of the largest single sources of airborne sulfur dioxide in the West.
It dumped other pollutants into the air as well; almost 20,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 2,000 tons of
particulate matter per year, and just under ten million tons of CO2. In the desert Southwest, views of a hundred
miles or more were commonplace as recently as the 1960s. Those views became first rare and then more or less
non-existent. In Clark County near Laughlin, residents complained of "chocolate skies" and sulfur odors when
the wind was light. The plant operated with virtually no emissions controls for the first three decades of its
existence, and an acid haze settled over the desert.

5
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Inherency – Coal Burning Now


Coal Factories are Destroying Native American Lands and Societies.
Orion Magazine 1998 (“The Black Mesa Syndrome: Indian Lands, Black Gold,” Summer,
<http://www.shundahai.org/bigmtbackground.html>) June 26, 2008
Until 1969, the coal lay untouched and so close to the surface that the walls of the dry washes glistened with seams of shiny black. With a
long- term value estimated as high as $100 billion, it lies completely under Indian reservation lands, for Black Mesa is also home to some
sixteen thousand Navajos and eight thousand Hopis. In 1966, the Hopi and Navajo tribal councils—not to be confused with the
general tribal population— signed strip-mining leases with a consortium of twenty utilities that had designed a new
coal-fired energy grid for the urban Southwest. Under the umbrella name WEST (Western Energy Supply and Transmission), the
utilities promised more air conditioning for Los Angeles, more neon lights for Las Vegas, more water for Phoenix, more power for Tucson—
and for the Indians, great wealth. Today, thirty years after the strip mining for coal began, the cities have the energy
they were promised, but the Hopi and Navajo nations are not rich—that part of the plan proved ephemeral.
Instead, Black Mesa has suffered human rights abuses and ecological devastation; the Hopi water supply is
drying up; thousands of archeological sites have been destroyed; and, unbeknownst to most Americans, twelve
thousand Navajos have been removed from their lands—the largest removal of Indians in the United States
since the 1880s.

Coal Factories are having deadly side effects on Tribal lands and communities.
Orion Magazine 1998 (“The Black Mesa Syndrome: Indian Lands, Black Gold,” Summer,
<http://www.shundahai.org/bigmtbackground.html>) June 26, 2008
Today at Black Mesa, buckets the size of a four- story building peel the topsoil off in mile-long strips—a technique called strip mining.
Instead of burrowing into the earth to find the mineral seam, the land over the mineral deposit is removed. Bulldozers shape the underlayers
into enormous slag heaps, workers dynamite the exposed mineral bed, and steam shovels load the coal into massive
transport trucks. By the time the coal is extracted, the land has turned gray, all vegetation has disappeared, the air is
filled with coal dust, the groundwater is contaminated with toxic runoff (sulphates particularly), and electric green
ponds dot the landscape. Sheep that drink from such ponds at noon are dead by suppertime.

The Worst Coal Burning Plants are Placed on Tribal Lands


Environment News Service 2007 (“50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants Named,” July 26, < http://www.ens-
newswire.com/ens/jul2007/2007-07-26-05.asp>) June 26, 2008
Already coping with the highest emissions of nitrogen oxides, Navajo communities in the Four Corners area
have been at a standoff with Sithe Global Power and the Dine Power Authority over the construction of Desert Rock, a
1,500 megawatt coal fired power plant that would cost 2.2 billion dollars to build and sit on 580 acres about 30 miles southwest of
Farmington. At a time when tribes, cities, states and nations are working to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the Desert
Rock plant would increase them. "It is blatant environmental racism and injustice when you place a third
power plant in an impoverished community with little or no access to healthcare," said Lori Goodman of Dine CARE.
"For our elders and future generations, we vow to fight this intrusion upon our people's health and way of life."

Tribal Lands are swindled by unfair contracts and then destroyed by Fossil Fuel Plants
Wilkinson (Moses Lasky Professor of Law, University of Colorado’s School of Law) 2005 (Charles, Blood
Struggle, page 307)
This gigantic scenario would create one of the largest mining complexes in history, a complex rendered even
grander because all the other water and energy projects in the proposed legislation depended on Black Mesa coal
and groundwater. The Hopi (and the Navajo, who owned part of the Black Mesa coal deposit) had enormous
leverage. But the pages of the Indian coal leases, which the tribal councils approved in 1966, hardly evidenced
leverage. Instead, they were financial travesties, unfair transactions that deprived the Hopi and Navajo of tens of
millions of dollars. Among other provision, the Hopi received inadequate payments for the coal and sold their
water for the slurry pipeline at the egregiously low rate of $1.67 per acre foot. In addition to lost revenue, the
Hopi suffered severe environmental consequences. Dynamite and heavy earthmoving equipment gouged
canyon-sized strips on Black Mesa, destroying the landscape and all manner of shrines and archaeological
sites, along with the age-old stories they held. Further, the springs used by the Hope for farming, household
use, and prayer began to dry up in the 1990s. The Peabody Coal Company’s studies deny that its pumping has depleted
the springs, but other analyses show a probable connection between the pumping and the aquifer where the springs originate.
The Hopi way of life depends on the springs, for parched Black Mesa has no year-round streams.

6
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

7
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

*** Solvency ***

Incentives Key
Incentives are key – natives need strong funding mechanisms to develop soft energy
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
4. Creation of Appropriate Funding Mechanisms -- Funding mechanisms are critical. Energy efficiency
measures may have very short pay-back periods but they do, nevertheless, require financial outlays.
Pay-back periods for renewable energy systems could range from several years to a decade or two. While such
pay-back periods compare favorably with megaprojects such as hydroelectric dams and coal-fired and nuclear
power plants, energy consumers who lack disposable income typically do not [*743] act on the basis of life-
cycle costing. 332 Mechanisms are needed to make it possible for people to invest in soft-path options
instead of consuming nonrenewable resources. The experiences of the multilateral development banks
demonstrate that financial institutions are needed at the community level to serve as financial intermediaries
between large institutions accustomed to financing megaprojects and end-use consumers/investors whose
aggregate needs compare to the cost of megaprojects. 333 The Solar Energy and Energy Conservation Bank, as
originally created, was designed to help meet this need. 334

8
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

PTC Key
Wind Turbines on Native Lands could Power the Entire Country, but Federal Tax Credits
are Crucial for funding.
Indian Country Today 2008 ( “Native Country Launches Wind Energy Projects,” April 11,
<http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417016>) June 27, 2008
Jon Ahlbrand, company co-founder, said the potential for wind energy is blowing constantly across Indian country, but there remains a dire
lack of suppliers that ''could bridge the gap'' between the private sector market and its renewable energy demands and tribal governments.
''You can count on your hand the number of existing turbines operating on reservations,'' he said. ''Some of the most advantageous
markets for wind energy are on trust land or fee land owned by tribes.''
Energy experts say the Dakota winds in the northern Great Plains alone could meet the nation's entire
electrical needs with wind power. But the lack of a federal tax credit has been thwarting a tribal-led green
energy future.
Currently, tribes are not entitled to the tax credits provided to non-Native developers for renewable energy
production. And if an outside company wants to team up with a tribe, they are not provided a full tax credit.

Making Production Tax Credits Available on Tribal Lands would spur Renewable Energy
Development
Distributed Energy 2005 (Native American Empowerment : A New Frontier for Distributed Energy,” July/August,
<http://www.foresterpress.com/de_0507_native.html>) June 27, 2008
A modification to production tax credits could help. Currently, they aren’t available because as sovereign governments
in and of themselves, tribes don’t pay federal taxes. But they could attract outside partnerships with distributed energy
resources if tax credit rules were changed to allow non-tribal partners to write off the tribe’s portion of the
credits. Under the current structure, partners are restricted to tax credits based upon their percentage of equity. So
a 50% equity would equal a 50% tax credit. Another possibility is a congressional move toward federal renewable portfolio standards that
would offer double credit for new renewable development on tribal lands.

Production Tax Credits are Critical to Tribal Efforts toward Renewable Energy
Spears and Gough (President of the Lower Brule Reservation, Secretary of Intertribal Council On Utilities Policy )
2008 (Pat, Bob, “Drawing on the Sacred Winds,” Solar Today, May/June,
<http://www.solartoday.org/2008/may_june08/sacred_winds.htm>) June 27, 2008
Tribal ownership in large-scale projects will require a sharable production tax credit (PTC), so that tribes
can maintain equity in reservation-based wind projects without losing the federal PTC incentives that help to
lower the cost of power from wind projects. Under present law, in a project where a tribe is an equity partner, the tribe gets the tax
credits in proportion to its ownership interest but cannot use them as a government without a federal income tax liability. full This
situation penalizes private capital seeking to partner with tribes on reservation projects and raises the cost of
power into markets that assume the supplier’s capture of the PTC. Two bills before Congress (HR 1954 and S2520) provide
such a remedy for tribal joint ventures, where the goal is not only to build wind hturbines on reservations, but also to position tribes as full
business partners.

9
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Solvency – Wind Power


Wind power is a promising alternative energy source for the Native Americans
Lizana K. Pierce, Robert L. Martin, Steve Sargent (Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy) 2001
(“Tribal Energy Program: Using Renewable Energy on Native American Lands,” U.S. Department of
Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, June 16-21 2001,
http://www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/report_native_lands.cfm) Assessed June 25 2008

Native American tribes are now beginning to look much more closely at their renewable energy resources as new
revenue generators. Investments in such areas as ecotourism, biomass power plants, and wind farms have the
potential for producing economic development and jobs for tribal members. In addition, tribes are looking at the
potential for renewable resources to improve their quality of life. This is especially true where there are homes with
no current electricity supply. In addition, the environmental advantages of renewable energy are significant. The
development of renewable resources holds great promise for Native Americans across the land.

Tribal lands have great potential for wind energy.

Herro – Staff Writer for Eye on Earth – 2007 (Alana, “A COUP for Clean Energy”, World Watch
Institute, Aug 15, http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5298) accessed 6/26/08

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, tribal lands have the potential to provide more
than 200 gigawatts of wind energy, enough to meet 25 percent of U.S. electricity demand. “Tribes have
the vast wind resources to build sustainable renewable energy economies on reservations to provide jobs
and energy for their young and growing populations,” notes Bob Gough, secretary of COUP and co-developer of the intertribal
plan. He says tribes can help provide a “clean-energy recharge of the ‘National Renewable Energy Grid,’” his
term for the federal power transmission system built off the dams throughout the U.S. West.

Native communities contain wind resources great for clean energy.

Trees, Water & People – non profit organization helping the environment – 2007 (“Tribal Lands
Renewable Energy program”, Trees, Water & People,
http://www.treeswaterpeople.org/tribal/info/tribal_nativeenergy.htm) accessed 6/26/08

In early 2003, the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota took a huge step toward energy independence for Native tribes by installing a commercial-
scale 750mW wind turbine. This turbine was the first wholly-Native American owned wind power installation in the lower 48 states. Using
renewable energy fits well with Native philosophies of caring for the earth and protecting the
environment for future generations. And especially for Native communities in the American west,
abundant sunlight and wind resources offer huge potential for clean energy. In the Great Plains alone, an
estimated wind resource of over 500 billion kilowatt hours a year* could be harvested—about 14% of the
United States' total electricity production.

10
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Plan 1AC
Plan –
The United States Federal Government should make businesses operating on Native American lands eligible for
federal production tax credits for energy generated from wind, solar and/or geothermal sources.

11
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard
*** Colonialism Advantage ***

Colonialism 1AC
Contention _____: Colonialism

Native lands are the target for disproportionate consumption of fossil fuels. The resulting
pollution and exploitation are a direct form of environmental racism
Tillet 05 (Rebecca Tillett August is a part-time teacher in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
at the University of Essex, recently completing her Ph.D. in Contemporary Native American Literature of the
American Southwest, “Reality consumed by realty: the ecological costs of ‘development’ in Leslie Marmon Silko’s
Almanac of the Dead” European Journal of American Culture Volume 24 Number 2, p. 153)
In his study of the understandings of a symbiotic culture-nature relationship among the Western
Apache, Wisdom Sits in Places, Keith H. Basso concludes that ‘the landscape in which people dwell
can be said to dwell in them’.1 It is a disturbing consideration for the tribal peoples of the American
Southwest, who not only constitute a significant proportion of the region’s population (the area is
‘home to the majority of land-based American Indians alive today on the North American continent’),2
but whose lands and extensive natural resources are also being exploited and polluted - through
uranium mining, water pollution and scarcity, stripmining, atomic testing, and nuclear contamination -
at an alarming rate.3 Indeed, the ‘Four Corners’ region, comprising the area where the states of
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet, has been deemed so polluted by industrial practices
that the federal government has long been attempting to have the region designated as a ‘National
Sacrifice Area’. The situation is significant, since the predominance of Southwestern environmental
hazards and unsafe or unhealthy industrial practices amongst disenfranchised indigenous
communities, whose ethnicity and poverty ensure a lack of social, political, or judicial redress,
suggests a prevalence of environmental racism. In their analysis of the situation - identified as the
‘Political Economy of Radioactive Colonialism’ - Ward Churchill and Winona LaDuke argue that
environmental racism directed at Native American communities is endemic: in 1975 alone, there
were 380 leases for uranium extraction on reserved lands, compared to a total of 4 on all other non-
Native American lands.

Fossil fuel burning sacrifices indigenous peoples at the alter of short-term economic
expediency. This creates a cycle of colonial domination that culminates in destruction
Thomas-Muller (Cree Indian and a Native energy organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network) 2005(
Clayton, Race, Poverty and the Environment, “Cycle of Destruction: Energy Exploitation on Sacred Native Lands”,
December, http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/307) accessed June 25, 2008.
The link between unsustainable energy consumption in the Americas and the destruction and
desecration of Indigenous homelands and culture is undeniable. As Indigenous peoples, we reject the
proposition that our traditional lands should be sacrificed at the altar of irresponsible energy
policies. Indigenous peoples in the United States, Canada, and throughout the Americas have experienced
systematic and repeated violations by oil, gas, mining, and energy industries of our treaty rights,
particularly those that protect our traditional lands. Oil and gas developments have consistently
violated our human rights and caused unconscionable damage to traditional territories that have sustained
us since time immemorial. In the United States, in contrast to other regions of the world, about 2/3 of all oil use is for
transportation. (In most of the rest of the world, oil is more commonly used for space heating and power generation than for
transportation.) Obviously, a transportation and energy policy that is so heavily dependent upon fossil fuel is unsustainable.
Fossil fuels have a destructive life cycle, which encompasses extraction, transportation of these raw materials via pipeline,
truck, and tanker to refineries, and the processing and shipment of the final product. For the Indigenous peoples
historically traumatized by colonial conquest and subsequent treaty violations, an energy policy
dependent upon fossil fuels creates yet another cycle of destruction characterized by the devastation of
sacred sites, the drying up of aquifers, micro-climate changes, and the poisoning of our air and soil with toxins

12
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
Acceptance of environmental genocide in the form of the environmental destruction of
native land authorizes the creation of human sacrifice zones and unlicensed killing
Gregory Hooks and Chad L. Smith Gregory Hooks is Professor and Chair of Sociology at Washington State
University. Chad L. Smith recently joined the faculty in the Department of Sociology at Texas State University-San
Marcos. “The Treadmill of Destruction: National Sacrifice Areas and Native Americans”, American Sociological
Review, 2004, VOL. 69 (August:558 575)
The sacrifice of Native American lands: Some Indian lands have suffered such severe and prolonged
environmental degradation that it is beyond current technology to make them safe for human use.
Brook (1998) characterizes the military damage to Indian lands as part of an “environmental
genocide.” Once a locale has been seriously degraded, it often attracts additional pollution (Marshall 1996). Reflecting
their permanent degradation and their purported contribution to the collective good, these areas are referred to as
“national sacrifice areas” (Kuletz 1998) or “human sacrifice zones” (Bullard 1993). The preceding discussion
made conceptual distinctions based on the sources of toxins and the processes through which people come to reside in
proximity to them. We assert that because reservations were forced upon Native Americans and because military activities
pose the gravest danger to them, the experiences of Native Americans are best understood in terms of the treadmill of
destruction. In the ensuing paragraphs we provide justification for this assertion and a historical context for the quantitative
analyses that follow. We anticipate finding that the military systematically used and damaged Native American lands. Our
research hypothesis is shared by the Department of Defense: In order to ensure that it meets its national security mission,
DoD operates and trains on vast amounts of land, including American Indian and Alaska Native lands. Evidence of DoD’s
past use of these lands remains: hazardous materials, unexploded ordnance (UXO), abandoned equipment, unsafe buildings,
and debris. This contamination degrades the natural environment and threatens tribal economic, social and cultural welfare.
(U.S. Department of Defense 2001) The propinquity of military installations to Indian lands is the result of
racism and statebuilding. That is, over the course of the nineteenth century, through a process that
would be referred to as ethnic cleansing in contemporary debates, the United States forced nearly all
562 Native Americans onto reservations located in western states. In the twentieth century the United States became
the world’s leading military power. In doing so, it built a vast military complex in the same western states in which Native
Americans were concentrated.

13
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
This makes violence inevitable and culminates in extinction
William Eckhardt, Lentz Peace Research Laboratory of St. Louis, Journal of Peace Research, February 1990, p.
15-16
Modern Western Civilization used war as well as peace to gain the whole world as a domain to benefit
itself at the expense of others: The expansion of the culture and institutions of modern civilization
from its centers in Europe was made possible by imperialistic war… It is true missionaries and traders
had their share in the work of expanding world civilization, but always with the support, immediate or
in the background, of armies and navies (pp. 251-252). The importance of dominance as a primary
motive in civilized war in general was also emphasized for modern war in particular: ‘[Dominance] is
probably the most important single element in the causation of major modern wars’ (p. 85). European
empires were thrown up all over the world in this process of benefiting some at the expense of others,
which was characterized by armed violence contributing to structural violence: ‘World-empire is built
by conquest and maintained by force… Empires are primarily organizations of violence’ (pp. 965,
969). ‘The struggle for empire has greatly increased the disparity between states with respect to the
political control of resources, since there can never be enough imperial territory to provide for all’ (p.
1190). This ‘disparity between states’, not to mention the disparity within states, both of which take
the form of racial differences in life expectancies, has killed 15-20 times as many people in the 20th
century as have wars and revolutions (Eckhardt & Kohler, 1980; Eckhardt, 1983c). When this
structural violence of ‘disparity between states’ created by civilization is taken into account, then the
violent nature of civilization becomes much more apparent. Wright concluded that ‘Probably at least
10 per cent of deaths in modern civilization can be attributed directly or indirectly to war… The trend
of war has been toward greater cost, both absolutely and relative to population… The proportion of the
population dying as a direct consequence of battle has tended to increase’ (pp. 246, 247). So far as
structural violence has constituted about one-third of all deaths in the 20th century (Eckhardt &
Kohler, 1980; Eckhardt, 1983c), and so far as structural violence was a function of armed violence,
past and present, then Wright’s estimate was very conservative indeed. Assuming that war is some
function of civilization, then civilization is responsible for one-third of 20th century deaths. This is
surely self-destruction carried to a high level of efficiency. The structural situation has been improving
throughout the 20th century, however, so that structural violence caused ‘only’ 20% of all deaths in
1980 (Eckhardt, 1983c). There is obviously room for more improvement. To be sure, armed violence
in the form of revolution has been directed toward the reduction of structural violence, even as armed
violence in the form of imperialism has been directed toward its maintenance. But imperial violence
came first, in the sense of creating structural violence, before revolutionary violence emerged to
reduce it. It is in this sense that structural violence was basically, fundamentally, and primarily a
function of armed violence in its imperial form. The atomic age has ushered in the possibility, and
some would say the probability, of killing not only some of us for the benefit of others, nor even of
killing all of us to no one’s benefit, but of putting an end to life itself! This is surely carrying self-
destruction to some infinite power beyond all human comprehension. It’s too much, or superfluous, as
the Existentialists might say. Why we should care is a mystery. But, if we do, then the need for
civilized peoples to respond to the ethical challenge is very urgent indeed. Life itself may depend
upon our choice.

14
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
Morality requires you vote Affirmative – stopping destructive resource extraction on native
land is a deontological imperative that should be bracketed off from utilitarian
considerations
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
All over the world, indigenous peoples 16 are fighting for their lives and for their ways of life. 17 Some
indigenous peoples have been engaged in these struggles for hundreds of years, while other peoples, because of
the remoteness of the environments in which they live, have been spared from such struggles until more recent
times. But remoteness no longer ensures protection. The industrialized countries of the world and transnational
corporations now have the technological capability to extract oil from the once untouchable Arctic and
Amazon, to build massive hydropower dams, to rearrange river systems from the tundra to the tropics, and to
clearcut forests virtually anywhere in the world. The governments of the less developed countries also have
access to this brutal technological capability. The economies, the cultures, and the religious world views of
indigenous peoples are based upon the environments in [*679] which they live. 18 The destruction of
these environments renders the survival of these peoples as distinct societies difficult or impossible.
Despite the forces that threaten their survival, however, indigenous peoples in many parts of the world somehow
have managed to carry on. With a total estimated population of some 200 to 300 million, indigenous peoples
constitute about four or five percent of the world's population. 19 Even though indigenous peoples are minority
cultures, 20 they rightly insist that we draw a distinction between them and ethnic or national minorities.
Generally, the distinction reflects the legacy of the age of colonialism. One definition of the term "indigenous"
was proposed by the Special Rapporteur on the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations, who
was appointed under the auspices of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities: Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical
continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves
distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at
present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future
generations their ancestral territories, [*680] and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence
as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems. 21 Although no
commonly accepted definition of indigenous peoples has yet been fashioned, 22 the Special Rapporteur's
definition includes some of the key concepts that fit most cases. Particularly, it includes the concepts that
indigenous peoples identify themselves as indigenous, that their ways of life are tied to their ancestral territories,
that peoples who are relative newcomers exercise some degree of political domination over them, and that they
are determined to remain distinct peoples. Although some of these factors also apply to many ethnic minorities,
the cultural connection to ancestral lands generally serves to distinguish indigenous peoples from ethnic
minorities. 23 All over the world, indigenous peoples express their connection to their lands and their respect for
the environment in spiritual terms. 24 They provide living proof that it is possible [*681] for human societies to
provide for their needs over countless generations without destroying the ecosystems on which they depend, and
that religious teachings can serve at least as well as science in setting the rules for living in balance with the
natural world. Although some indigenous peoples do not face imminent threats to their survival as distinct
peoples, many do, and the forces that threaten them are largely beyond their control. To a large extent, the
peoples of the industrialized (and industrializing) world have the power to decide whether indigenous peoples
will survive. Utilitarian reasons can be advanced for ensuring indigenous peoples' survival. For instance,
we can learn from their experience in balancing human needs with environmental preservation and from their
knowledge of herbal medicine. To do this, however, we need to take some time to appreciate the subtleties of
teachings which have been handed down over countless generations since mythic time. At another level,
however, one can argue that we should not be governed by utilitarian thinking alone. We should act
instead on principle. Indigenous peoples are part of the human family and we should treat them as
such. We should recognize that they are entitled to human rights under international law as a matter
of principle.

15
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
The plan promotes a sustainability revolution essential to prevent ecological collapse of
native lands and extinction
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
The experience in the United States also provides numerous examples of tribes that have suffered severe
cultural and social disruption because of the decimation of wildlife populations and other profound
changes in the natural environment caused by the dominant society. Part III suggests that the international
recognition of rights will be a hollow success for indigenous peoples unless the industrialized societies also achieve a
transition from environmentally destructive to environmentally sustainable development. In particular, Part III focuses on
energy consumption both in the industrialized societies and in the less developed countries. This Article focuses on energy for
one significant reason. In many parts of today's world, the kinds of environmental damage that threaten the survival of
indigenous peoples are driven by the ways in which the economic engines of the industrialized and industrializing countries
consume energy. Over the past two decades, we have learned new ways to provide the kinds of services and benefits [*676]
that in the past we provided by consuming nonrenewable energy resources. These new ways render the environmental
destruction and pollution of the old ways both unnecessary and unjustifiable. Part III presents an overview of the alternative
energy development scenario, sometimes called the "soft energy path," which is based on energy efficiency and
environmentally sustainable solar and other renewable energy technologies. Taking soft energy paths will not in
itself solve the global environmental crisis, but it is an essential part of the solution. Part IV presents
some observations on critical needs that must be addressed if the vision of a soft-energy future is to become a
reality; to meet these needs will require action at all levels of government, as well as action by international and
nongovernmental organizations. As will be explained in the Article, American Indian governments in the United
States are uniquely situated to help bring about the transition to a soft-energy future. Part IV suggests a few of
the ways in which Indian tribes could use their governmental powers to help realize such a future. The global
environmental crisis is real -- unless we make some fundamental changes in the ways that our global
economy extracts resources from the earth and gives off pollution and wastes, the natural systems that
support human societies will collapse. Even if we do succeed in expeditiously making the fundamental changes that
6

are necessary, there still is no guarantee that we can avoid the widespread collapse of ecosystems. In his bestselling book on
7

the global environmental crisis, Senator Albert Gore includes some indigenous peoples [*677] among examples of
"resistance fighters" who are on "the front lines of the war against nature now raging throughout the world," Senator Gore
8

argues that the global environmental crisis is "rooted in the dysfunctional pattern of our civilization's relationship to the
natural world," in which people have lost their sense of connection to the natural world. He believes that healing the damage
9

we have done to the earth and changing our dysfunctional civilization into one that is based on stewardship rather than
exploitation must be, in essence, spiritual endeavors. Indigenous peoples, where their cultures remain substantially intact,
10

have not lost their spiritual connections to the natural world. Rather, they maintain connections to the natural world. Rather,
they maintain connections to the earth which are fundamentally sacred in nature, and they know a great deal about
stewardship that could be of benefit to the rest of humankind. Over the next several decades, sustainable energy
11

technologies will figure prominently in a worldwide social movement -- the "sustainability revolution" --
that will change human life on earth as profoundly as did the agricultural revolution of eight thousand years ago or
the industrial revolution of two hundred years ago. The natural world will be changed profoundly in any event, through
12

global warming, the loss of biodiversity, the thinning of the ozone layer, and other global trends that are already underway. If
humankind is to accomplish the sustainability revolution, we need to be able to envision a future world in which we would
like to live and which we would wish for future generations. Our collective vision of a sustainable future also
13

must include room for the remaining indigenous peoples of the world to carry on their ancient cultures
and to decide for themselves how much of the "modern" world to allow into their cultures. In addition to
challenging readers to help make the principle of self-determination a reality for indigenous peoples, this [*678] Article
challenges indigenous leaders, especially those in the United States, to help formulate our collective vision of a sustainable
future and to provide leadership in making that vision a reality. 14 The United Nations has designated 1993 the International
Year for the World's Indigenous Peoples, 15 and this event will provide tribal leaders with opportunities to have their voices
heard. Tribal leaders in the United States should take full advantage of these opportunities and step to the
forefront of the movement to hasten the dawning of the solar age.

16
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
Renewable approaches to energy on Native American land will redefine colonialist relationships between
Native Americans, corporations, and the federal government while also avoiding environmental catastrophe
Robyn 2002 (Linda, “Indigenous Knowledge and Technology: Creating Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First
Century”, American Indian Quarterly, Vol 26 (2), p 198-220)
As tribes continue to challenge state and corporate power, new definitions of who they are as Indian people and the
role they play economically will emerge. Circular ways of viewing profitable business by utilizing environmentally
sustainable methods will assist in redefining the ways Indian people, corporations, and the state do business and will
redefine relationships between these groups. New and different ways to take what is needed from the environment
without causing total devastation must be examined in the future. Decreasing the environmental deterioration
occurring today will require alternative approaches to economic security through sustainable land use
practices. Sharing the knowledge that American Indian people have in this area will place the focus on cooperation
rather than hierarchical control. Rearranging this focus will have enormous impacts in the area of policy
implementation.

Critical environmental perspectives integrating Native American culture will reformulate power
relationships, sustain the environment, and ensure survival
Robyn 2002 (Linda, “Indigenous Knowledge and Technology: Creating Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First
Century”, American Indian Quarterly, Vol 26 (2), p 198-220)
A critical perspective offers a new frame of reference for policy-making grounded in the doctrines and principles of
many American Indian people regarding the environment. This perspective demands critical thinking about the
policies of both private and public sectors developed by those privileged with power in response to environmental
issues. The critical perspective questions the assumptions upon which current policies are based, examines
traditional solutions, and advocates new ways of thinking about the environment. While not perfect by any means,
this perspective allows for different realities and reciprocal relations of power based on mutual respect and
insists that these different realities should be reflected in decisions and policies made to include Indigenous
peoples. Formulating environmental policies from a critical perspective includes taking into consideration questions
about responsibilities ought to be reflected in the policies adopted by the government, in the private sector, and in
the habits of the population as a whole. As we begin to view our history and future as Native people from a critical
perspective, we can reinterpret the values and validity of our own traditions, teachings, and culture within a
contemporary context. With this in mind there are many things that are possible to share with our global society.
One of the most important of these from a Native as well as a non-Native perspective, is the reestablishment of a
land ethic that is based upon the sound experience of our heritage. Some of these values may be transferable to the
whole of society now that we are beginning a new century. Native philosophies of the land generally demonstrate
an ethic that presents the earth as vital because we are all born on the earth and require its resources for our very
survival. From this perspective it is also possible to see how the relationships that we form with nature are of
essential importance. This is one of the elemental teachings that originate generally from within Native
culture that express our relatedness to nature, creation, and each other. It is important to understand that must
begin, as a global society, to realize this wholeness or relatedness.

17
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism 1AC
Native decolonization spills over – paving the way to broader gains
Churchill (Professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado, Boulder, BA and MA in
Communications from Sangamon State) 1996 (Ward, From a Native Son, pg 84-89)
The question which inevitably arises with regard to indigenous land claims, especially in the United States, is
whether they are “realistic.” The answer, of course is, “No, they aren’t.” Further, no form of decolonization has
ever been realistic when viewed within the construct of a colonialist paradigm. It wasn’t realistic at the time to
expect George Washington’s rag-tag militia to defeat the British military during the American Revolution. Just
ask the British. It wasn’t realistic, as the French could tell you, that the Vietnamese should be able to defeat U.S.-
backed France in 1954, or that the Algerians would shortly be able to follow in their footsteps. Surely, it wasn’t
reasonable to predict that Fidel Castro’s pitiful handful of guerillas would overcome Batista’s regime in Cuba,
another U.S. client, after only a few years in the mountains. And the Sandinistas, to be sure, had no prayer of
attaining victory over Somoza 20 years later. Henry Kissinger, among others, knew that for a fact. The point is
that in each case, in order to begin their struggles at all, anti-colonial fighters around the world have had to
abandon orthodox realism in favor of what they knew to be right. To paraphrase Bendit, they accepted as their
agenda, a redefinition of reality in terms deemed quite impossible within the conventional wisdom of their
oppressors. And in each case, they succeeded in their immediate quest for liberation. The fact that all but one
(Cuba) of the examples used subsequently turned out to hold colonizing pretensions of its own does not alter the
truth of this—or alter the appropriateness of their efforts to decolonize themselves—in the least. It simply means
that decolonization has yet to run its course, that much remains to be done. The battles waged by native nations
in North America to free themselves, and the lands upon which they depend for ongoing existence as discernible
peoples, from the grip of U.S. (and Canadian) internal colonialism are plainly part of this process of liberation.
Given that their very survival depends upon their perseverance in the face of all apparent odds, American Indians
have no real alternative but to carry on. They must struggle, and where there is struggle there is always hope.
Moreover, the unrealistic or “romantic” dimensions of our aspiration to quite literally dismantle the territorial
corpus of the U.S. state begin to erode when one considers that federal domination of Native North America is
utterly contingent upon maintenance of a perceived confluence of interests between prevailing
governmental/corporate elites and common non-Indian citizens. Herein lies the prospect of long-term success. It
is entirely possibly that the consensus of opinion concerning non-Indian “rights” to exploit the land and
resources of indigenous nations can be eroded, and that large numbers of non-Indians will join in the
struggle to decolonize Native North America. When you think about these issues in this way, the great
mass of non-Indians in North America really have much to gain and almost nothing to lose, from the success of
native people in struggles to reclaim the land which is rightfully ours. The tangible diminishment of US
material power which is integral to our victories in this sphere stands to pave the way for realization of
most other agendas from anti-imperialism to environmentalism, from African American liberation to
feminism, from gay rights to the ending of class privilege – pursued by progressive on this continent.
Conversely, succeeding with any or even all of these other agendas would still represent an inherently
oppressive situation in their realization is contingent upon an ongoing occupation of Native North
America without the consent of Indian people. Any North American revolution which failed to free
indigenous territory from non-Indian domination would be simply a continuation of colonialism in
another form. Regardless of the angle from which you view the matter, the liberation of Native North
America, liberation of the land first and foremost, is the key to fundamental and positive social changes of many
other sorts. One thing they say, leads to another. The question has always been, of course, which “thing” is to the
first in the sequence. A preliminary formulation for those serious about achieving radical change in the United
States might be “First Priority to First Americans” Put another way this would mean, “US out of Indian
Country.” Inevitably, the logic leads to what we’ve all been so desperately seeking: The United States – at least
what we’ve come to know it – out of North America altogether. From there it can be permanently banished from
the planet. In its stead, surely we can join hands to create something new and infinitely better. That’s our vision
of “impossible realism.” Isn’t it time we all worked on attaining it?

18
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Enviro Destruction  Native Extinction


Environmental destruction risks extinction of native peoples
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
As the industrialized societies of the world become increasingly proficient at reaching further into the
remote places of Mother Earth to extract resources, indigenous peoples face ominous threats to their
survival. Ancient ways of life that have sustained countless generations lose their viability when the web
of life is torn asunder by the technologies of industrialized peoples, whether it is multinational
corporations or impoverished refugees from the urban slums of Third World countries that wield these
technologies. Kinship networks and religious belief systems that have helped countless generations of
individuals develop positive self-images tend to break down when these ancient cultures are confronted by the
power and arrogance of industrialized peoples. These indigenous individuals who accept the challenges of
carrying on the traditions must deal not only with environmentally destructive technologies and externally
imposed legal regimes, but also with self-destructive behavior on the part of other members of their own
societies.

19
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Enviro Destruction  Native Extinction


The capitalist machine is depleting the majority water scarce resources in the west. Tribes
face extinction as early as 2011
Tillet 05 (Rebecca Tillett August 2005 is a part-time teacher in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre
Studies at the University of Essex, recently completing her Ph.D. in Contemporary Native American Literature of
the American Southwest, “Reality consumed by realty: the ecological costs of ‘development’ in Leslie Marmon
Silko’s Almanac of the Dead” European Journal of American Culture Volume 24 Number 2, p.154-155)
The key facilitative role that is played by science and technology, and the costs of development and progress, are
foregrounded in the Laguna writer Leslie Marmon Silko’s apocalyptic 1991 novel, Almanac of the Dead.6 One of the
principal issues that Silko addresses is the complicity between science/technology and capitalist ventures, such as
the energy/nuclear industries and real estate, which pursue the potential for vast economic profits at the cost of
irreversible ecological damage. In particular, Silko addresses the overwhelming significance of water to the
Southwest, whose scarcity and demand have combined to ensure that it has become not just one of the most sought-
after commodities, but also a highly profitable industry. As David N. Cassuto argues in his study of the relationships
between literature, politics, and water in the American Southwest, the importance of water should not be
underestimated as ‘the power to control water carries with it the power to control life’.7 Indeed, the sheer
significance of water to the Southwest is evident in the title of Cassuto’s analysis: the region is, quite literally,
‘dripping dry’. It is a problem that has a long history, inseparable from the history of US settlement. One of the most
detailed historical studies of water use and abuse in the American West and Southwest, Marc Reisner’s Cadillac
Desert, argues that the contemporary crisis has its roots both in the desires of Manifest Destiny to populate the
American West, and in the concomitant desire to transform that landscape by settlement. As a result, Reisner argues,
‘millions [have] settled in regions where nature, left alone, would have countenanced thousands at best’.8 It is a
potentially hazardous reversal of the symbiotic human-land interaction understood by many contemporary
Southwestern Native peoples. And the hazard derives primarily, as Reisner recognizes, from the sheer assault upon
the landscape by the water industry: to date, approximately ‘thirty thousand dams of significant size’ have been
erected across the American West, at the cost of the ‘dewater[ing]’ of ‘countless rivers’.9 For many Southwestern
Native communities who rely upon rivers as their main source of water, the hazard is very real; and one that is
compounded by the ongoing pollution and depletion of the remaining sources of water by the energy industry. While
Peabody’s mining activities at Black Mesa continue to deplete the underground water aquifer by 1.3 billion gallons
annually, it is estimated that the Hopi village of Moenkopi will be completely without water by the year 2011.It will,
quite literally, have ‘dripped dry’.

The exploitation of Native American lands symbolizes the exploitation of their humanity
Bullard (Ware Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center @ Clark Atlanta
University) 2002 (Robert D., “Poverty, Pollution and Environmental Racism: Strategies for Building Healthy and
Sustainable Communities,” Environmental Justice Resource Center, June 2, http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/povpolej.html)
accessed June 26, 2008.
There is a direct correlation between exploitation of land and exploitation of people. It should not be a surprise to anyone to
discover that Native Americans have to contend with some of the worst pollution in the United States. Native American nations have become
prime targets for waste trading. The vast majority of these waste proposals have been defeated by grassroots groups on the reservations. However,
"radioactive colonialism" is alive and well. Winona LaDuke sums up this "toxic invasion" of Native lands as follows: While Native
peoples have been massacred and fought, cheated, and robbed of their historical lands, today their lands are subject
to some of most invasive industrial interventions imaginable. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 317 reservations in the
United States are threatened by environmental hazards, ranging from toxic wastes to clearcuts.

20
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Fossil Fuels  Native Extinction


Native American Reservations Are Ruthlessly Exploited for Their Natural Resources.
Winona Laduke, program director of the Honor The Earth Fund “All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life”. South End Press,
2001
Finally, many resource corporations were interested in diversifying their resource base and expanding into coal and nuclear energy. All of these
factors combined to bring the corporations to the reservation, the Native America, a place where, indeed, many of them had started initially. So it
was that the federal government began to eye the West and was pleased with what it found. In 1971 the Department of
Interior reported that the low-sulfur strippable reserves in the West were ten times more abundant than those in the
eastern part of the nation. By the mid-1960s the federal government had determined that one-third of all strippable
coal resources and one-half of the country’s uranium was on reservation lands. That reality ultimately put native
communities, without infrastructure, attorneys, negotiators, environmental policy coordinators—without most of the
strategic assets necessary to sit across the table from a multinational mining or oil company, face to face with the big
companies and their own destinies.

Coal Mining On Native Lands Destroys The Ecosystem Beyond Repair. This evidence is
incredible.
Winona Laduke, program director of the Honor The Earth Fund “All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life”. South End Press,
2001
Coal strip mining is about as destructive as it gets. There is a term used in the strip mining business for everything that is on top of
the coal, or, perhaps, whatever else it is you want to get from under the ground. That term is “overburden”. That term, in itself, encapsulates the
divergence between industrial development and Native society. Coal strip-mining, whether in Appalachia or on Northern
Cheyenne and Crow territory, is destructive, but in the government’s own research, the more arid the land, the more
damage strip-mining wreaks. According to a 1973 National Academy of Sciences report that sent shivers up the backs of Native people in
coal-rich reservations, “no issue associated with the current energy debate is more in the center of this conflict between demand and conservation
than is the surface mining of coal. Our most abundant domestic fossil fuel is coal, and much of it occurs at depths where it can be mined by
surface methods. Surface mining destroys the existing natural communities completely and dramatically. Indeed,
restoration of a landscape disturbed by surface mining, in the sense of recreating the former conditions, is not
possible”. The problem was so dire, according to the academy, that in those areas receiving little rainfall (i.e. less than seven inches or so), the
academy recommended that reclamation not even be attempted. They noted that, “the coal lands of the western united states are quite
different from others in the nation…The ecological process of vegetative succession, or the orderly process of
community change is extremely slow under such arid conditions. Where natural revegetation of a disturbed site may develop in
five to twenty years on a high rainfall eastern U.S. site, it may take decades or even centuries for natural vegetation to develop
in a desert. The precarious nature of these dryland ecosystems should suggest caution by prudent men in any deliberate disturbance of an arid
site”. The academy suggested that if such lands were mined, it was more feasible to deem the land “National Sacrifice
Areas”. That same year, the government itself issued an urgent warning to arid, coal-rich areas of the West, recommending that reclamation not
be attempted.

21
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Coal Burning Bad


Coal Burning leads to extraction and destruction of other resources
Phoenix New Times 1997 (“A People Betrayed,” May 1, < http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1997-05-
01/news/a-people-betrayed/>) June 26, 2008
On Black Mesa--the land where their ancestors are buried, site of sacred shrines that bind their lives--Peabody's giant bulldozers
remove 12 million tons of coal a year. Meanwhile, the London-based multinational corporation's deep wells suck 1.2
billion gallons of water each year from an ancient aquifer--a practice the Hopi claim is drying up sacred springs.
The coal fuels two massive electricity generating plants that power the Southwest's burgeoning cities and, perhaps
more important, generate tens of billions of dollars of profits for utilities, banks and developers. As the decades passed, many of the
traditionalists faded into the dusty mesas where the Hopi first built villages more than 950 years ago and where their ancestors roamed
12,000 years ago.

Coal Plants Have Caused Irreversible Damage To Native Lands; Alternative Energy Is Key
to Solve.
Jeff Conant, April 3 , 2007.“Speaking Diné to Dirty Power: Navajo Challenge New Coal-Fired Plant”. Project Coordinator at Hesperian
rd

Foundation Editor, Generation Green Newsletter at Center for Environmental Health Journalism covering environmental and social justice at
Freelance Contributing writer at Clamor Magazine New College of California Boston University
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14435.The Four Corners – A National Sacrifice Area: Even if activists manage to derail the new plant,
the Four Corners region is already “a national energy sacrifice area,” says Mike Eisenberg of the San Juan Citizens Alliance, a
local community group. His group has been protesting the Four Corners power plant and the San Juan generating station, located
within sight of each other just outside Farmington in San Juan County, which are two of the most polluting plants in the western
U.S. American Lung Association figures show that 16,000 people in the county, or close to 15 percent of the population, suffer from
lung disease, most likely from plant emissions. The 2,040 megawatt Four Corners plant emits 157 million pounds of
sulfur dioxide, 122 million pounds of nitrogen oxides, 8 million pounds of soot and 2,000 pounds of mercury a year.
The 1,800 megawatt San Juan generating station releases over 100 million pounds of sulfur dioxide, more than 100
million pounds of nitrogen oxides, roughly 6 million pounds of soot, and at least 1000 pounds of mercury. Add to
this the 18,000 oil and gas wells spread throughout the region and you have “massive cumulative impacts that will
never be reversed,” says Eisenberg. The Navajo Nation seems to have no accesible records of local health impacts. “We don’t have numbers,
because Indian Health Services is notoriously under-funded and isn’t keeping track [of the health impacts]," says David Nez. "But when I was a
kid no one here had asthma. Now lots of kids have it.” CorpWatch calls to reach Indian Health Services for comments were not returned. Dr.
Marcus Higi of Cortez, Colorado, who worked as a physician on the reservation for four years, agrees with Nez. "I've seen the worst
asthma cases out here near the power plants," he said. "A kid would come in, barely breathing. They're basically on
the verge of death." Air pollution is not the only problem. Waste from the area’s two coal mines has destroyed
ground water with high sulfate content that kills livestock, “wiping out ranching as a viable business on this part of
the reservation,” according to Jeff Stant, a consultant with the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based non-profit group. Some “70 million tons
of coal combustion waste has been dumped in the Navajo coal mine, making it the biggest dump of mine waste in the country," Stant continues.
"Between this and the nearby San Juan mine there’s 150 million tons of waste sitting there. That’s more fly ash and scrubber sludge than the
entire nation generates in one year.” This waste, heavily laden with cadmium, selenium, arsenic, and lead – byproducts of
coal-burning – leaches into groundwater turning it poisonous to people, livestock, and vegetation. A forthcoming EPA
report released to the national environmental group Earth Justice indicates that groundwater contaminated with coal ash leads to a
cancer risk as high as 1 in 100 – 10,000 times higher than previous EPA estimates. “When you look at the plan for
the Desert Rock plant, one of the first things it says is that the sludge and ash will be dumped back into the mine pit," says Stant, who
directs the Safe Disposal Campaign for the Clean Air Task force. "It’s the same thing the other plants have done, and it’s a disaster.”

22
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Natives Key
Native American rights are a prerequisite to confronting imperialism, racism, colonialism
and genocide.
Churchill (Professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado, Boulder, BA and MA in
Communications from Sangamon State) 1996 (Ward, From a Native Son, pg 30-31)

The sort of alliance at issue no longer represents, as it did in the past, an exercise in altruism for non-Indians. Anti-imperialism,
opposition
to racism, colonialism, and genocide, while worthy enough to stances in and of themselves, are no longer the
fundamental issues at hand. Ultimately, the same system of predatory goals and values which has so busily and mercilessly
consumed the people of the land these past five centuries has increasingly set about consuming the land itself. Not
only indigenous peoples, but also the land to which they are irrevocably linked, is now dying. When the land itself
dies, it is a certainty that no humans can survive the struggle which confronts us- all of us- is thus a struggle to save our
collective habitat, to mai ntain it as a “survivable” environment, not only for ourselves, but also for the generations
to come. Self-evidently, this cannot be approached either from the posture of the predator or from any other position which allows the predator
to continue with business as usual. At long last, we have arrived at the point where there is a tangible, even overriding,
confluence of interests between natives and non-natives.
The crux of the matter rests, not merely in resistance to the predatory nature of the present Eurocentric status quo,
but in conceiving viable sociocultural alternatives. Here, the bodies of indigenous knowledge evidenced in the context
of Native North America at the point of the European invasion--large-scale societies which had perfected ways of
organizing themselves into psychologically fulfilling wholes, experiencing very high standards of material life, and
still maintaining environmental harmony- shine like a beacon in the night. The information required to recreate this
reality is still in place in many indigenous cultures. The liberation of significant sectors of Native America stands to allow
this knowledge to once again be actualized kin the “real world,” not to recreate indigenous societies as they once were, but to
recreate themselves as they can be in the future. Therein lies the model-the laboratory, if you will-from which a genuinely liberatory and
sustainable alternative can be cast for all humanity. In a very real sense, then, the fate of Native North America signifies the
fate of the planet. It follows that it is incumbent upon every conscious human- red, white, black, brown, or yellow, old or young, male or
female- to do whatever is within their power to ensure that the next half-millennium heralds an antithesis to the last.

Native American’s are key to broadening the prospects of the future of our environment. The inclusion of Native
American’s will shed light to perspectives of other groups who were once excluded.

Camacho (associate professor of political science at northern Arizona university) 1998 (David E.,
Environmental Injustices, Political Struggles: Race, Class, and the Environment, page 205-206)

To corporate executives and government legislators, the vision recounted by Sturdevant is just that: a vision. The point is that corporate
executives and elected officials do not understand the deep, spiritual relationship of the Chippewa to their land. Instead, the corporate-government
misconception is that everyone would like to be wealthy. Existing on a $400 a month, when one could live quite comfortable on corporate dollars,
makes no sense to those who sit in corporate boardrooms. If corporate and government leaders do not understand by now, they probably never will.
But the message is clear. If they could become more accepting of Native American beliefs, perhaps they could learn that when one
is involved with Native American people, there is a spiritual side and interconnectedness with the earth that cannot
be ignored.
Environmentally sustainable development is inseparable from maintaining cultural diversity. Reopening
and broadening the public debate about the economic and environmental future of indigenous peoples would allow
input from groups that are normally ignored in the decisional process. Allowing for the consideration of alternative plans would
offer a different means of economic development in places like northern Wisconsin while challenging the traditional export-based models of
economic development, because mining and oil and gas drilling are extremely capital intensive. That is, if the goal is to provide jobs and a stable
rural economic environment, investing in mining, oil, and gas is exactly the wrong way to accomplish this task. Mining industries that provide
jobs for only a short period of time and that also pollute are a poor investment in the long term. Small, locally owned firms and labor intensive
ventures- such as tribal fish hatcheries, renewable energy, recycling, forest product, and organic farming- would create far more jobs than mining
while contributing to the environmentally sustainable economy. For example, Menominee Tribal Enterprises in Keshena, Wisconsin, received
international recognition for its achievements in sustainable forestry. The Menominee manage 110,000 acres of forested lands and are now an
acknowledged “leader in shelterwood systems for uneven-aged management of white pine, hemlock, and hemlock-yellow birch ecosystems.

23
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Natives Key
Native Americans are a necessary component to the United States policies, as long as large
corporations continue to take advantage of Native Americans, we will see no progress.

Camacho (associate professor of political science at northern Arizona university) 1998 (David E.,
Environmental Injustices, Political Struggles: Race, Class, and the Environment, page 202)

Native
Even though Native American perspectives are beginning to inform environmental politics and policy to a greater extent, at present,
American philosophies and values are not included in those policy decisions that benefit large
corporations and serve the interests of the state. There is a vast expanse of social distance
between all involved that causes a breakdown in communication as well as misinterpretation of
each other’s actions. This social distance is well illustrated by Walter Bresette, activist and member of the Red Cliff band of Chippewa,
who says that Native Americans and non-native Americans alike are being victimized by large
corporations, which reduce economic options.
As activist and author Al Gedicks writes, “the sooner we stop labeling ‘native issues’ as something we
separate and distinct from our own survival, the sooner we will appreciate the critical
interconnections of the world’s ecosystems and social systems. Environmental concerns can be
absolutely crucial within the context of reservation politics; even before the most hostile of tribal councils, the kind of
“mother earth” that we would make Anglo mining executives or legislators roll their eyes can make all the difference. Corporate
America and the federal government would be wise to realize that there is growing respect for
tribal elders and the “old ways.” Utilitarian business practices and government actions that
benefit all involved cannot be accomplished by ignoring this fact.

24
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Native Oppression Spills Over


The exploitation of Native American lands is spreading racism, sexism, classism, etc.
Churchill (Professor of Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado, Boulder, BA and MA in
Communications from Sangamon State) 1996 (Ward, From a Native Son, pg 524-525)
Not only is it perfectly reasonable to assert that a restoration of Indian control over unceded lands within the United States would do nothing
to perpetuate such problems as sexism and classism, but the reconstitution of indigenous societies this would entail stands to free
the affected portions of North America from such maladies altogether. Moreover, it can be said that the process should have a tangible
impact in terms of diminishing such oppressions elsewhere. The principles is this: sexism, racism, and all the rest
arose here as a concomitant to the emergence and consolidation of the Eurocentric nation-state form of
sociopolitical and economic organization. Everything the state does, everything it can do, is entirely contingent on its maintaining
its internal cohesion, a cohesion signified above all by its pretended territorial integrity, its ongoing domination of Indian Country. Given
this, it seems obvious that the literal dismemberment of the nation-state inherent to Indian land recovery
correspondingly reduces the ability of the state to sustain the imposition of objectionable relations within itself. It
follows that realization of indigenous land rights serves to undermine or destroy the ability of the status quo to
continue imposing a racist, sexist, classist, homophobic, militaristic order on non-Indians.

25
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Colonialism Impact – Worse than Death


Colonialism is worth than death
Charleston (member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, President and Dean of Episcopal Divinity
School in Cambridge, Mass., and former Bishop of Alaska) 2001 (Steven, “Colonialism: The American
Apartheid”, Witness Magazine, January/February Edition)
. The past is not gone and forgotten, even though some of us may pretend
The Canadian experience graphically demonstrates that colonialism is not a historic artifact

otherwise. Colonialism is historically radioactive. It has a long half-life that continues to poison the relationship between human
beings even generations after the fact. The colonization of the Americas by European imperialism, aided and abetted by the Christian church, continues to haunt this hemisphere. Indigenous
people, who are the survivors of one of the most systematic efforts at ethnic cleansing in the history of the world, remain in the
shadow of what I believe must be named the American apartheid.
In North America, this apartheid accounts for what happened, what is still happening, in Canada. It explains why indigenous communities in the United States

continue fighting in the courts to protect themselves, their treaty rights, the remnants of their ancient homeland.
The fact that indigenous people in both Canada and the United States go to court year after year is testimony to the legacy of the American apartheid. It is
evidence of the toxic effects of colonialism.
Throughout Central and South America, what I describe as apartheid against indigenous people is far more obvious and deadly. In Guatemala alone, thousands of indigenous people have been killed in massacres by state-supported terrorists. In the Chiapas region of Mexico,
indigenous communities remain under the armed occupation of the Mexican military. In both cases, the "crimes" of the indigenous people were to name the American apartheid for what it is, to expose the truth that colonialism and racism in the Americas is ongoing and virulent, and to
demand their basic rights as human beings.

Poverty, illiteracy, disease, hunger, oppression: the truth is just beyond the border. And yet, the life and death struggles of the
indigenous people of the southern hemisphere remain invisible to the majority of North American Christians. Only as if in a
mirage do we catch a glimpse of the suffering that occurs daily in what we, with such casual arrogance, have defined as "our own backyard."
If the North American media pay scant attention to Central and South America, they pay almost none to the original inhabitants of these nations. At best they are only colourful "extras" for

nature specials on the rain forests or the condor, not real people with a legitimate civilization still in peril to colonial greed. For all practical purposes, for all
political purposes, they simply do not exist.
This leads to the second lesson the church must take to heart: our blindness to the American apartheid has consequences. In Canada, those consequences may be measured in both

the human terms of broken relationships and in the monetary terms of a church in bankruptcy. In Alaska they may be measured by the loss of a natural beauty, the Arctic tundra, that

can never be restored. In the South, they can be measured by tombstones.


When I describe our colonial history as radioactive, I mean to imply that it is lethal. It infects us. It permeates both ends of this hemisphere. It creates

a pathology, which we pass from one generation to the next. A key aspect of this pathology is the inherent inability of the descendents of European colonizers to "see" those they have
colonized. In the North, indigenous communities are still categorized in the most blatant stereotypes. They are dismissed as the historical

leftovers of the Wild West myth created by colonialism as a macho justification for slaughter. In the South, indigenous people are only a backdrop to the "real"
stories, that concern North Americans: the war on drugs, NAFTA, the plight of economic refugees crossing our borders.
In the end, the vast majority of Christians living in the privileged centres of power in this hemisphere have virtually no idea of the suffering of their faceless neighbours living under the American apartheid. Therefore, they are

the consequences come to them in financial, ecological or moral disasters, the blind managers
usually shocked when they discover the implications of this kind of racism. Whether

The cycles of pain begin again.


of the American apartheid are caught off guard by the sudden realization that the illness they have carried in the genetic structure of their own history has suddenly activated.

The pattern of struggle, oppression and denial runs its course through the courts or in the hidden places of the Americas where
indigenous people pay with their freedom, their hopes or their lives because European Americans fear the truth. And eventually, when
the stark light of that truth fades under the shadows of America's guilt, the eyes of the privileged public turn away, the indigenous
long

people slowly dissolve before them.

26
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Impact – Biodiversity
Indigenous cultures are key to biodiversity
Haller (Professor at the University of Zurich) 2005 (Tobias, Fossil Fuels, Oil Companies, and Indigenous Peoples:
Strategies of Multinational Oil Companies, States and Ethnic Minorities. Page 15)

Our planet is rich in diversity, not only as regards plants and animals but also in human cultures. Of the 6000 peoples, who have their own distinct
culture and language and to whom our planet is home, 4000 to 5000 are supposed to be indigenous peoples according to various definitions and
estimates. This cultural diversity is extremely valuable as it represents diverse identities and ways of life. A large part
of the cultural heritage of humans, the diversity of material culture, music, art, religion and intellectual values can be traced back to
indigenous cultures (Keesing 1981).
Cultural diversity is very closely linked to biodiversity. Areas, which are today characterized by biodiversity and do not
present a monocultural landscape, are frequently indigenous cultural areas. The close connection between cultural and biological
diversity is conspicuous in the field of agriculture. UNCED documents bear out that in this field we are likely to be faced with an immense loss in biodiversity
indigenous peoples play a crucial role in maintaining and
of multipurpose plant species. In this connection it is important to note that
further developing the existing biodiversity. The 20 most important food plants, that compromise 90% of our food intake, are from
areas rich in cultural diversity. Indigenous peoples have maintained and developed the biodiversity of plant species that
provide for human needs. It is vital that we preserve this biodiversity because we have to fall back on the old varieties
conserved by the indigenous peoples in order to develop new resistant varieties for food, medicine and shelter (Mooney and Fowler 1991,
interview with Mooney in Merten 1995). The situation in the case of domestic animals is no different. Many people who describe themselves as
indigenous are traditional with livestock breeders in Africa, Asia and Scandinavia/Siberia (Köhler-Rollefson 1994). Ever since the danger of the
loss of biodiversity in life forms has become general knowledge, there are international discussions, at various political and economic levels, on
how to protect this biodiversity. It is important here to note that the areas where indigenous groups are living, e.g. in rainforest areas,
continue in general to be rich in biodiversity. Two thirds of the countries that are extraordinarily rich in biodiversity as regards plants and
animals are countries equally rich in cultural diversity (Durning 1993:86). This is indicative of the fact that indigenous resource use
systems serve to conserve biodiversity. In fact in some cases they have even contributed substantively towards the creation
of habitats rich in species.

27
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Sustainable Development Good


Sustainable development is the only check on a myriad of ecological threats to survival
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
At a more fundamental level, one might expect the multilateral development banks to continue financing
environmentally [*720] destructive projects simply because much of the economic activities pursued by
industrialized countries and LDCs alike are environmentally destructive. As the twentieth century draws to a
close, the continued habitability of the Earth is threatened by a variety of global environmental problems, such as
deforestation in the tropics and in temperate North America, global warming from combustion of fossil fuels,
depletion of stratospheric ozone, pollution of ground water, and loss of topsoil from high input agriculture. 223
These environmental problems result from economic activities that generally are included on the positive side of
the national economic accounts of the countries where they are carried out. 224 The widespread tendency of
economists to downplay the severity of global environmental problems results in part from the intellectual
framework of the discipline of economics, which is quite different from that of ecology. The Worldwatch
Institute explains this difference as follows: From an economist's perspective, ecological concerns are but a
minor subdiscipline of economics -- to be "internalized" in economic models and dealt with at the margins of
economic planning. But to an ecologist, the economy is a narrow subset of the global ecosystem. Humanity's
expanding economic activities cannot be separated from the natural systems and resources from which they
ultimately derive, and any activity that undermines the global ecosystem cannot continue indefinitely. Modern
societies, even with their technological sophistication, ignore dependence on nature at their own peril. 225 After
two centuries of industrialization in some countries, and some four decades of "economic development" in the
Third World, ecosystems all over the Earth are on the verge of collapse. This Article does not attempt to
catalogue the scope of global environmental threats, which include problems such as the hole in the ozone layer,
increasing atmospheric concentrations of [*721] carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and the
cataclysmic loss of biodiversity. As theologian John Cobb and World Bank economist Herman Daly have noted,
these are the "wild facts" of the current state of the world, 226 and we no longer can ignore them. Professor
Milbrath has said, "Nature has a power of its own that speaks loudly to humans when they abuse it; nature will
be our most powerful teacher. . . . Either we learn fast and well, or nature will find some other way to deal with
our exuberant growth." 227 In sum, political leaders no longer can rely solely on economists for advice on
economic policy. Rather, political leaders must learn to acknowledge that our societies depend upon ecosystems
and that, over the long term, we cannot achieve development except in ways that are also ecologically
sustainable. Those leaders who cannot learn this basic principle must be replaced.

28
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Soft Energy Good – Acid Rain


Soft energy solves acid rain
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
1. The Vision of Soft Energy Paths -- The oil embargo by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) in 1973 and 1974 was the watershed event that spurred widespread interest in solar energy and energy
efficiency. 254 One of the early formulations of an energy development scenario based on energy efficiency and a
variety of solar energy technologies was advanced by Amory Lovins in his 1977 book Soft Energy Paths.
According to Lovins's formulation, "soft" energy technologies (including energy efficiency and small-scale
renewable energy systems) are soft in the sense that they are flexible, resilient, sustainable, and
environmentally benign. Lovins contrasts these technologies to conventional or "hard" energy technologies,
which are both hard on the environment and hard (impossible) to sustain over the long term. 255 Since the OPEC
embargo, proponents of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies have achieved a great deal of
technological progress, and energy consumers have put much of this progress to use. For instance, in the United
States alone between 1973 and 1985, energy efficiency improved twenty-three percent. 256 Lovins and others
continue to articulate their visions of the "soft energy" scenario. 257 Soft energy technologies provide [*728] a
way to avoid the kinds of environmental damage caused by conventional energy development, such as
air and water pollution and acid rain. Accordingly, a number of environmental groups have taken
258

leading roles in promoting and publicizing the soft energy approach. 259

29
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Soft Energy Good – Global Development


Global development hinges on transitioning to soft energy
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
In the late 1980s, as people became aware of the problem of global warming, the soft energy approach began to
creep back into the public dialogue. Global warming, after all, is largely caused by the emission of carbon
dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels, and the soft energy approach seeks to displace the use of fossil fuels.
264 Although the Bush Administration asserted that measures to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases would
adversely affect the United States economy, 265 a substantial body of analytical work shows that such assertions
are unfounded. 266 [*730] Indeed, the economic benefits of soft energy paths compare favorably to those
of hard energy paths. 267 A body of literature based on Third World experiences suggests that soft energy
paths also can lead to substantial economic benefits for the LDCs, particularly in rural areas where soft
energy paths may be the only viable option. 268 The literature also suggests that we must reconsider
conventional ways of thinking about energy because the institutional frameworks that have been developed for
conventional energy technologies are often inappropriate for soft energy technologies. 269 The time has come
for political leaders to realize that soft energy paths are not only the key to dealing with global warming, but
are also part of the only viable long-term strategy for economic recovery in the United States and other
industrialized countries and for economic development in the Third World.

30
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Soft Energy Key to Native Survival


Natives have ignored soft energy – this locks in destructive resource extraction that risks
widespread environmental damage
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
2. Conventional Energy and Indigenous Peoples -- For the dominant societies of the United States and other
industrialized and less developed countries, the failure of political leaders to see the sunlight and to embrace the
vision of soft energy paths has resulted in missed opportunities. The results for indigenous peoples have been
tragic. Mining for nonrenewable energy resources such as coal and uranium has wreaked environmental damage
in the homelands of indigenous peoples in the southwest and northern plains in the United States, as well as in
northwestern Canada, Australia, and South America. 270 The adverse [*731] environmental impacts of mining,
especially surface mining, affect indigenous peoples in a variety of ways, many of which should be obvious
given the cultural and spiritual ties that indigenous peoples have with the land. Impacts of nonrenewable energy
development are not limited to mining. Oil extraction in the Amazon, which is accompanied by roads, oil spills,
and disease-bearing outsiders, has caused the destruction of some indigenous peoples and threatens to destroy
others. 271 Oil and gas exploration and extraction in northern Canada and Alaska have caused damage to wildlife
habitats and have opened up areas of the north to "sport hunters" who have recklessly depleted wildlife
populations. 272 A number of Alaska native villages suffered devastating impacts from the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
273
Moreover, some indigenous peoples believe that the extraction of petroleum causes harm to the Earth itself and
interferes with their duty to protect the Earth. 274 [*732] In the United States, nonrenewable energy resource
extraction in Indian country has yielded significant benefits for some tribes, such as substantial revenues for
those tribes whose lands hold oil and gas. 275 But these resources have proven to be mixed blessings. Since the
early twentieth century, the terms of extraction often have been exploitative, and the monetary rewards are
accompanied by cultural disruption. 276 For example, the presence of coal on tribal lands has resulted in deep
divisions within some tribes. 277 In the past two decades, however, many tribes engaged in extraction of their
resources have succeeded in improving the terms of their deals and in building their regulatory capabilities, 278
partly by working together through the Council of Energy Resource Tribes. 279 Despite some success, tribes have
given very little attention to the soft energy approach.

Environmental cooperation is the best way to integrate Native values and environmental development
necessary for future survival
Robyn 2002 (Linda, “Indigenous Knowledge and Technology: Creating Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First
Century”, American Indian Quarterly, Vol 26 (2), p 198-220)
We cannot return to a pristine existence, but we can make the best possible use of what we have now. We have an
opportunity as a society to integrate our ways of “doing” to match the patterns and requirements of nature and
natural environment. Cooperation with the environment is one way to integrate Native traditional values and
mainstream concepts of development and future survival. With the assistance of Native traditions and teachings, we
as a society can begin to identify patterns of nature that do work and present us with alternatives to ecological and
global crises.

31
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Renewables Ensure Native Survival


Renewable energy is a way to recognize Native American cultural history and ensure environmental survival
Robyn 2002 (Linda, “Indigenous Knowledge and Technology: Creating Environmental Justice in the Twenty-First
Century”, American Indian Quarterly, Vol 26 (2), p 198-220)
In the times past, Native nations in the Americas achieved an ecological balance with their environment. The great
success that Native people experienced using natural patterns and strategies for survival is available to us now. It
may be time to us to begin to examine the alternatives used throughout history to achieve the survival of Native
societies. For example, Gedicks suggests investing in locally-owned small firms and in labor-intensive technologies
such as tribal fish hatcheries, renewable energy, recycling, forest products, and organic farmind, which would
create far more jobs than mining, while at the same time contributing to an environmentally stable economy.
Gedicks also suggests encouraging utilities to buy locally-produced renewable energy rather than encouraging
electric utilities to build coal-fired power plants. He cites Northern States Power, a company building a wind farm in
Buddalo Ridge, Minnesota, as an example of available, cost effective technology. From an American Indian context
it is important, once again, to recognize the influence of past history, cultural perspectives, and environmental
relationships. The logic that led us into the problems our society faces today is not adequate to develop informed
solutions to these contemporary concerns.

32
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard
*** Damming Advantage ***

Damming 1AC – Indo/Pak


India is moving to develop hydroelectric energy
Dawber (reporter, the independent) 2008 (alistair . lexis , “indian energy group aims to raise $500m”, may 12
2008 www.lexisnexis.com/scholastic) June 25, 2008
First thing this morning, KSK Emerging India Energy Fund Ltd will disclose plans to float with the intention of
raising more money than any other group this year; an ambitious plan considering the dire state of the market.
But the group is not completely unknown. It is a spin-off from another AIM fund, KSK Power Ventur plc, a
venture capital group, which invests in private power projects in India. The new fund, which will be listed on
AIM and CISX in June, intends to develop secondary power projects. It has already put together a pipeline of 14
proposed investments, which include equipment suppliers, such as turbine and boiler manufacturers and power
dev-elopers including hydroelectric, biomass and gas-fired technology. And it is because of the homework
already done, and the fact that the founders of the original fund will act as non-executive directors, that director
Tanmay Das believes investors will be convinced that KSK Emerging India Energy Fund is not just another AIM
also-ran. Maybe investors will be further convinced by the astonishing projected power needs of India. The
Indian Government has introduced a "Power-for-All" project to help increase capacity from 143,000MW today
to 200,000MW by 2012, a rise that is expected to require a capital investment of at least $120bn over the next
five years. The whole $500m KSK Emerging India Energy Fund aims to raise is a tall order and Mr Das, while
conceding that any business operating exclusively in India is subject to the risks associated with the country's
emerging economy, says he would be satisfied with $300m. We will see in June.

Indian hydroelectric projects will cause conflict with Pakistan


Bajpaee (Energy analyst, hong kong) 2005 (chietigj . Asia Times , “india, china locked in an energy game”, mar
17 2008 www.atimes.com) June 26, 2008
India's plans to generate hydroelectric power through damming and rerouting several river systems
have also been delayed by changes in state and central governments and disputes with upstream and
downstream states such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Most recently, Pakistan has been pushing
for international arbitration to resolve a dispute over the Baglihar dam, which India is constructing to
generate power across the Chenab river running through Kashmir. Pakistan claims this project is a
violation of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. The dispute now threatens to derail the peace initiatives
between India and Pakistan.
Nevertheless, India has made significant progress in tapping into energy resources within its borders, including oil discoveries in Rajasthan by UK-based Cairn Energy and gas discoveries by India's Reliance Industries off the coast of Andhra Pradesh in the Bay of Bengal. In August
2003, ONGC also announced a deep-sea project, "Sagar Samriddhi", to look for oil and gas reserves in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. In the past two years, India has reported 21 oil and gas discoveries amounting to 800 million tons of oil and gas, although domestic oil
production has still been stagnant at about 32 million tons annually for the past few years. Indo-Iranian energy cooperation The inability to resolve the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India has undermined the viability of an Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline. A
memorandum of understanding was signed between Iran and India in 1993 for a $4 billion 1,700 kilometer pipeline from Iran's South Pars field with 700 kilometers passing through Pakistani territory. Pakistan stands to benefit with gas to meet its own energy needs and $500 million
in transit fees. The international community has also shown growing interest in the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, with the World Bank and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation willing to finance the project. Russia also supports the project, although the US opposes it,
instead pushing for the competing trans-Afghan pipeline project. However, in the presence of sporadic tensions between India and Pakistan, both states have often proposed separate pipeline projects with Iran, with India sometimes pushing for the expensive option of a deep-sea
pipeline that bypasses Pakistan altogether. Rising oil prices and a recent improvement in Indo-Pakistani relations following a commitment to resume a "composite dialogue" in January 2004 has revived hopes for the "peace pipeline", which has now become one of the confidence-
building measures being pursued by both states.
Notably, Pakistan has offered security guarantees for the pipeline, vowing that gas flow will not be "switched off", even during periods of Indo-Pak tensions or hostilities. However, the future of the pipeline project is once again in doubt due to periodic violence across the Line of
Control in Kashmir and rising tensions in Pakistan's Balochistan province, with attacks by the Baloch Liberation Front on energy infrastructure.
At the beginning of 2005, India also completed a $40 billion deal with Iran to import 7.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually over a 25-year period, as well as obtaining stakes in the development of Iran's largestonshore oilfield, Yadavaran, as well the Jufeir oilfield. The
Yahavaran oilfield is a Sino-Indian-Iranian collaboration with India holding a 20% stake, China 50% and 30% with Iran. In exchange for Iranian gas, India is investing in Iran's ports and energy infrastructure. Iran and India have agreed to jointly develop the Iranian port at Chabahar
as well as the road linking the port to Afghanistan and Central Asia, and grant India exclusive rights to the port. Cooperation in the energy arena is mirroring relations in other arenas, including trade and military cooperation. Bilateral exchanges of defense and intelligence officials are
routine and in 2003 both states conducted joint naval exercises. These developments have not only concerned India's traditional adversaries, China and Pakistan, but also its newly found allies, Israel and the United States, who fear that military technology supplied to India could be
diverted to Iran. Central Asia
India is at a geographic disadvantage in Central Asia when compared to China. While China shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as Russia, India does not share a land border with any of the Central Asian states. That being said, however, India's warm
relations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War have provided it with influence in Central Asia. Further, India also has its soft power to exercise, with historical links that go beyond the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship to the Mughal period and Silk Road, as well as the
popularity of Indian mass culture in the region, such as Bollywood films and music.
However, the presence of two unfriendly regimes standing between India and Central Asia has slowed the progress of Indo-Central Asian cooperation in the economic, transportation and energy spheres. For example, progress on the $3.3 billion US-backed Turkmenistan-
Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) or Trans-Afghan pipeline that is to supply gas from the Daulatabad fields in southeast Turkmenistan has been delayed by instabilities in Afghanistan and poor Indo-Pak relations. With the ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the installment of a
pro-US regime and improving Indo-Pak relations, the TAP project is back on the table.
Nevertheless, progress has been impeded by the competing Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, sporadic violence in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan's isolationism and questions over whether Turkmenistan has sufficient gas to meet India's and Pakistan's needs, given its competing energy
agreements with Ukraine, Russia, Iran and its own domestic consumption needs. India's increasing interest in Central Asia's energy resources has been accompanied by a growing involvement in the region's security. India has expanded military contacts in Central Asia, allegedly
establishing a military and medical facility in Tajikistan. Other major world powers have followed similar trends. Since September 11, 2001, the US has forged closer relations with Central Asia and established a military presence in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Uzbekistan. China has led in the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is fighting the "three evils" of extremism, terrorism and fundamentalism and promoting greater economic integration and development in Central Asia and China's West. Meanwhile, Russia
has reasserted its presence in Central Asia under President Vladimir Putin, as seen most recently with Russia becoming a member of the Central Asian Cooperation Organization. Russia has also established a permanent military presence in Tajikistan, replacing its 201st division and
border guards, who had been in the region since the 1992-1997 Tajik civil war, as well as maintaining a military presence at Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan. Numerous formal and informal overlapping power blocs are emerging in the region, which spillover into the energy arena. For
example, Iran, Russia and India are pushing for a north-south oil and gas pipeline and transportation corridor to link Asia with Europe, which is in competition with a US-led initiative to create an east-west corridor on the historic Silk Road through Baku, Tbilisi and Ceyhan. A
growing military presence in the region coupled with increasing desperation to access the region's energy resources makes Central Asia a stage for potential great power conflicts. India has recently stepped up efforts to access energy resources in Russia, the world's second largest oil
producer and leading gas producer. India's ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) holds a 20% stake in Sakhalin-1 of $1.7 billion, which is set to begin production this year eventually generating 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. India is also looking to invest in the
Sakhalin-3 project, which is estimated to hold 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 770 billion cubic meters of gas as well as investing in the joint Russian-Kazakh Kurmangazy oilfield in the Caspian Sea. During Putin's visit to India in December, the two countries also signed a
memorandum of understanding for joint exploration and distribution of natural gas from the Caspian basin as well as building underground gas storage facilities in India. The controversy over the sale of the Yugansk, which produces 60% of Yukos' oil output and pumps 11% of
Russia's oil, has also highlighted India's growing interest in Russian energy assets. While the mysterious buyer, Baikal Finance Group, ended up selling its stake in Yugansk to Rosneft in December, which has been acquired by Russian state-owned Gazprom, this does not preclude the
possibility of Yukos' assets being acquired by India's ONGC. ONGC has been considering a $2 billion investment for a 10-15% stake in Yugansk. Indo-Russian energy cooperation is being further cemented by political and military cooperation. Just as India increasingly relies on
Russian energy resources, so it also constitutes one of the biggest buyers of Russian military hardware. During Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's visit to Moscow in October 2004, he voiced similar sentiments stating that "in the first half-century of Indian
independence, Russia has guaranteed our territorial integrity, and in the second half it may be able to guarantee our energy security". In fact, growing Indo-Russian energy cooperation resurrects former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov's idea for a strategic triangle between
Russia, India and China. These states are bound together by their shared interests in the fight against terrorism, the push for a multipolar world, and respect for the principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention with regards to their respective separatist movements in Chechnya,
Kashmir and Taiwan. Now the energy sector can be added to this list of shared interests. India and China are already collaborating in the development of the Yahavaran oil field in Iran and India's leading state-owned gas company, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), has acquired
a 10% stake in China Gas Holdings. With India and China vying for assets in Yukos, Sino-Indian-Russian collaboration in the energy sphere could be further cemented. On December 3, during Putin's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, a joint
statement was released which included a proposal for greater cooperation with China, stating that "the sides express their conviction in favor of a progressive increase in trilateral cooperation, which also leads to social and economic development amongst the three countries". As
India has made limited progress in accessing energy resources on its doorsteps due to poor relations with neighboring states, it has shown a growing interest in accessing energy resources further afield, including in Africa and Latin America. In many cases, India is vying for energy
resources in some of the most unstable parts of the world, such as Sudan, where India has invested $1.5 billion. In July 2004, India's OVL signed a $194 million contract with the Sudanese government for the construction of a 741 kilometer petroleum product pipeline from Khartoum
refinery to Port Sudan. Khartoum refinery is currently owned by the Sudanese government and China's CNPC. While India has made nowhere near the progress of China on the international energy stage, it is conceivable that India could become a major player in the near future, thus
bringing it into competition with other major energy consuming countries. Furthermore, India's and China's attempts to engage "rogue states" such as Myanmar, Iran and Sudan in order to access their energy resources is undermining attempts by the West to isolate these regimes. The
quest for energy resources on the world stage could eventually be added to the outsourcing debate as an area of contention between India and the West. owever, conflict over increasing energy needs is not inevitable. The need to access energy resources on the world stage can be as
much a catalyst for cooperation as it can for conflict. For example, the Iran-Pakistan-India and Myanmar-Bangladesh-India natural gas pipelines raise the stakes for regional states to resolve their differences.

Conversely, India's plans for generating hydroelectric power through rerouting several river systems
adds an additional element of instability in relations between India and downstream and upstream
states such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

33
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC – Indo/Pak


Extinction
Ghulam Nabi Fai, Executive Director of the Kashmiri American Council, July 8, 2001, The Washington Times,
“The Most Dangerous Place,” p. B4
The most dangerous place on the planet is Kashmir, a disputed territory convulsed and illegally
occupied for more than 53 years and sandwiched between nuclear-capable India and Pakistan. It has
ignited two wars between the estranged South Asian rivals in 1948 and 1965, and a third could trigger
nuclear volleys and a nuclear winter threatening the entire globe. The United States would enjoy
no sanctuary. This apocalyptic vision is no idiosyncratic view. The director of central intelligence, the
Defense Department, and world experts generally place Kashmir at the peak of their nuclear worries.
Both India and Pakistan are racing like thoroughbreds to bolster their nuclear arsenals and advanced
delivery vehicles. Their defense budgets are climbing despite widespread misery amongst their
populations. Neither country has initialed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty, or indicated an inclination to ratify an impending Fissile Material/Cut-off
Convention.

34
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC – Turkey


New Turkish dam projects are being sited on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. These will
starve Iraq of vital water resources, causing tension
Al-Zaman, Iraqi independent newspaper on 13 December, 2007. “Iraqi Experts Warn Turkish Dam May Cause Water Shortage, Damage
Sites.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1201689/iraqi_experts_warn_turkish_dam_may_cause_water_shortage_damage/index.html#
Baghdad - Farmers have expressed concern that the water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers will drop to an
unprecedented level once new dams are built on the two rivers, pointing out that the perpetual drop of the water
level in recent years has harmed agriculture in Iraq. The Iraqi engineers' doyen has warned that the scarcity of water will
force Iraq to import large quantities of agricultural products, and an agricultural source has also warned that the dam
Turkey plans to build will destroy important historical sites and cause a serious desertification. Hamid Ghaylan, a farmer
from the Al-Mada'in area, said that the drop of the water level caused by the numerous dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has seriously
affected the agricultural sector, destroying vast areas of arable land over the past three years. The Water Resources Ministry has urged Iraq to
build dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, since the two rivers' waters pour into the Shatt al-Arab waterway without Iraq making any use of
them. He also called for investing the snow-break season to store water in lakes and behind dams and to encourage farmers not to desert their
lands. Muhammad Ubayd, a farmer from Baghdad, has pointed out that the building of several dams on the Tigris and Euphrates
by neighbouring countries, as well as the consequent drop of the water level in the two rivers, has damaged the
agricultural sector in Iraq over the past years. He also said that the drop of the water level in the two rivers has caused the
desertification of vast areas of arable land and forced many farmers to desert their land, dig wells, or diminish cultivated land by 25 per cent. For
his part, Sa'dallah Lafi, doyen of the agricultural engineers, has warned that the scarcity of water has prompted Iraq to import agricultural
products and that Turkey and Syria have built giant dams on the Tigris and Euphrates. Lafi also said that the Tigris River's waters were expected
to make up for the scarcity of water in the Euphrates, but that the opposite has happened. He said that the Tigris River's waters will drop
from 20.9 to 9.7 billion cubic meters, deprive 28,000 donums of arable land of water, and turn a large part of Iraq
into a desert. A source at the Ministry of Agriculture has warned of the anticipated negative consequences of the construction of the southern
Turkish Aliso Dam. The source, which asked not to be named, said that the Aliso Dam is the biggest of all the other dams on the
Tigris and that it has been the object of heated discussions since the idea was first launched in the late seventies of the past
century. The dam, he said, is expected to destroy important Assyrian, Roman, and Ottoman historical sites and to seriously
affect the quantity and quality of water reaching Iraq. He also said that the quantity of water in the Tigris on the Iraqi-Turkish border
will drop from 20 to 9.7 billion cubic meters a year once the said dam is built. This would affect agriculture, drinking water, power
generation, and plans to rehabilitate the marshlands and the environment, he said, adding that it will also increase desertification and
sand dunes, change the climate, damage grazing land, and contaminate water. He also said that the said dam is part of a series
of dams, which Turkey seeks to build on the Tigris River to store as much water as possible in its territory. The dam will deprive Iraq of 696,000
hectares of cultivated land and reduce water resources by 10 billion cubic meters a year, he said, adding Iraq has not yet received any information
of the technical specifications of the said dam.

These dam projects will cause conflict in the Middle East


American University, November, 1997. Tevfik Emin Kor. “Tigris-Euphrates River Dispute”.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=Tigris+and+Euphrates+water+wars&btnG=SearchThe
School of International Service http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/tigris.htm
The Southeastern Anatolia Development Project (GAP in Turkish), is one of the most ambitious development projects in the
world. It plans to utilize the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers with the construction of 22 dams and 19 Hydroelectric
Power Plants (HEPP). It also plans to divert the waters of the basin, with immense tunnels into the Harran field, where 1.7 million hectares of
land are waiting to be irrigated.[3] The GAP was created to develop Southeastern Turkey, a region long ignored by the Turkish government. The
Turkish government, as the upper riparian, wants to utilize the waters of the basin, which would in return contribute to alleviating Turkey's
electricity and agriculture needs. The GAP project, when it completed, will help Turkey to utilize the basin with mega dams like Ataturk,
Karakaya, and Keban. The project also creates a great deal of resentment from Syria and Iraq, the other riparians of the
basin. The tensions over the waters of the basin have reached internationally acknowledged levels, and a lack of
cooperation among the riparians confronted the world with a new potential conflict area. This situation threatens the
delicate political stability in the Middle East, and further polarization in the region continues with Turkey and Israel's alliance against
Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The basin is one of the most unstable political areas in the region, and water plays an important
role. This is a classic case of water quantity issue, and use of the available water in the basin. Therefore, a much needed understanding of the
developments in the basin has been researched by the author to provide insight into the situation. In addition, past and current standings of the
three riparians are presented to establish an objective evaluation of the conflict, and suggestions for preventing a major conflict in the area are
explored for future use.

35
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC – Turkey


Global nuclear war results
John Steinbach, Center for Research on Globalization, 3-3-2002,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/STE203A.html
Meanwhile, the existence of an arsenal of mass destruction in such an unstable region in turn has serious
implications for future arms control and disarmament negotiations, and even the threat of nuclear war. Seymour
Hersh warns, "Should war break out in the Middle East again,... or should any Arab nation fire missiles
against Israel, as the Iraqis did, a nuclear escalation, once unthinkable except as a last resort, would now be
a strong probability."(41) and Ezar Weissman, Israel's current President said "The nuclear issue is gaining
momentum(and the) next war will not be conventional."(42) Russia and before it the Soviet Union has long
been a major(if not the major) target of Israeli nukes. It is widely reported that the principal purpose of Jonathan
Pollard's spying for Israel was to furnish satellite images of Soviet targets and other super sensitive data relating
to U.S. nuclear targeting strategy. (43) (Since launching its own satellite in 1988, Israel no longer needs U.S. spy
secrets.) Israeli nukes aimed at the Russian heartland seriously complicate disarmament and arms control
negotiations and, at the very least, the unilateral possession of nuclear weapons by Israel is enormously
destabilizing, and dramatically lowers the threshold for their actual use, if not for all out nuclear war. In the
words of Mark Gaffney, "... if the familar pattern(Israel refining its weapons of mass destruction with U.S.
complicity) is not reversed soon- for whatever reason- the deepening Middle East conflict could trigger a
world conflagration." (44)

36
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC
The plan stops international dam development
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
Tribes in the United States, at least today, have the right to decide for themselves whether resources will
be extracted from their lands. 280 In much of the world, however, indigenous peoples either lack legal
recognition of their territories or national governments claim absolute ownership of subsurface [*733]
resources. In these places, governments and transnational corporations scarcely bother to consult with
indigenous peoples or, if they do, consultation tends to be based on the premise that the resources will be
extracted. 281 Some tribes in the United States face essentially the same situation with respect to resources that are
not within official tribal jurisdiction. 282 Extraction of nonrenewable resources is not the only kind of energy
development that inflicts suffering and destruction on indigenous peoples. Large-scale hydroelectric dams
have inflicted great damage too. Although dams usually are considered renewable sources of energy because
they derive power from the hydrologic cycle, when their scale is such that they cause extensive environmental
destruction, they should not be treated as part of the soft energy approach. Indeed, for indigenous peoples,
dam projects may be the most devastating kind of energy development. Examples abound. The dams
and reservoirs on the upper Missouri River in the United States flooded fertile river bottom lands on five
Indian reservations, destroying subsistence agricultural economies and cutting the hearts out of tribal
communities. 283 The dams in the Columbia River basin in the Pacific northwest may cause the extinction of
several species of salmon, fish that are central to the economies and religions of tribes in that region. 284 Examples
are not limited to the United States. [*734] Hydroelectric megaprojects currently threaten indigenous
peoples in many parts of the world. 285 In some cases, indigenous peoples and their supporters have mounted
international campaigns to stop such projects. For example, Kayapo Indian leaders and their allies succeeded in
persuading the World Bank to withdraw its support for a series of dams on the Xingu River in the Brazilian
Amazon. 286 3. A True Story: James Bay II and the Crees of Quebec -- Another current example, the James
Bay hydroelectric project in Northern Quebec, demonstrates that aggressively promoting soft energy
paths in the United States can be a key component of a realistic strategy to stop such megaprojects. 287 In
the 1970s, the province of Quebec and its government-owned electric power authority, Hydro-Quebec,
constructed Phase I of the James Bay project. Construction proceeded over the opposition of the Crees of
Quebec, who continue to carry on their ancient subsistence economy based on hunting, fishing, and trapping. 288
Although the Crees were not able to stop Phase I, their resistance did result in the execution of the James Bay
and Northern Quebec Agreement in 1975, 289 which the Crees understood to give them a substantial role in
determining the course of further development in their traditional homeland. 290 Phase I, also known as the La
Grande Project, is [*735] a complex of dams, reservoirs, and diversion structures through which several major
rivers are diverted into the La Grande River, which flows into James Bay. 291 By drastically changing the wildlife
habitat and destroying much of the riparian habitat, Phase I has devastated the Cree communities of that region.
292
Communities that have lost most of their hunting territories now depend on food from the south, and with the
loss of the resource base that supports their way of life, the people of these communities are unable to carry on
their culture and religion and to transmit them to their children. 293

37
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC
Development of renewables on native land will be modeled globally
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
These attributes of soft energy paths apply equally to industrialized countries and to the LDCs. The
economies of most industrialized countries are more energy efficient than that of the United States; some analysts have
concluded that energy efficiency is a major factor in the global competitiveness of the Japanese. A substantial body of
315

literature indicates that there is a vast potential for energy efficiency improvements in the LDCs and for the use of soft
316

energy supply options, especially decentralized, renewable energy systems, in rural areas. A study published by the United
317

Nations has concluded that, for rural areas in the LDCs, the use of decentralized, renewable, stand-alone energy systems is
the most realistic strategy to achieve rural electrification. This study also found that the practical effect of choosing a
318

strategy for rural electrification based on extending transmission lines from centralized power plants will be that most rural
communities in the LDCs that do not have electricity will never be connected to a power grid. One should bear in mind, of
319

course, that the traditional homelands of most of the world's indigenous peoples are located in rural areas of the LDCs.
Through a decade in which the Executive Branch of the United States government has been controlled by administrations that
have demonstrated indifference and hostility toward soft-path options, the United States economy nevertheless has made
substantial progress along several of the soft paths. Progress also has been achieved in the LDCs, some of which have
320

adopted innovative programs to spur decentralized, renewable, energy [*740] development. Analysts have recommended
321

a variety of ways to speed up this progress. This part of the Article focuses on ways in which tribal governments
322

could use their governmental powers to help people in Indian country choose soft energy paths and,
drawing on experiences of the LDCs, suggests some ways in which tribal governments in this country could
help to make soft energy paths viable choices for indigenous peoples and other rural communities in
the LDCs. A. Critical Needs In the United States and other industrialized countries, purchases of end-use energy
benefits are made in markets that are heavily distorted by subsidies and regulation. 323 Governmental institutions
for regulating electricity evolved in tandem with the technologies of centralized power generation and
transmission at a time when electric power was treated as a "natural monopoly." As a result, many of these
institutions have been slow to respond to the range of possibilities offered by new technologies. 324 Unfortunately,
the LDCs have borrowed many aspects of the industrialized world's institutional framework. If widespread
adoption of soft path options is to be a realistic possibility in the near term, concerted measures must be taken to
overcome market distortions and to allow purchasers of end-use energy benefits to make informed decisions
while choosing among a wide range of options. Based on experiences in many LDCs, the United Nations
Department of Technical Co-operation for Development has identified four conditions that must be met if
widespread adoption of soft path options is to be possible in the rural areas of the LDCs: (1) existence of
political will; (2) existence and knowledge [*741] of resources; (3) creation of local technical capacities; and
(4) creation of an appropriate funding system. 325 As presented in this United Nations study, these prerequisites
apply to the use of decentralized renewable energy systems to achieve rural electrification, but meeting these
conditions would also expedite the widespread adoption of nonelectric, renewable energy systems and energy
efficiency measures. Attention to these conditions would expedite the widespread adoption of soft energy paths
in Indian country in the United States as well. 326 1. Political Will -- Political will is needed at all levels of
government. Because energy marketplaces are heavily influenced by governmental policies, policies that
promote conventional energy development will tend to retard soft energy development. 327 In the international
context, considerations of global equity influence political will in a perverse way, as many national
leaders in the LDCs tend to utilize the energy technologies -- particularly large-scale, centralized power
plants -- that they perceive as being favored in the industrialized countries. If national leaders in
industrialized countries were to make soft energy options the priority at home, perhaps national leaders
in LDCs would give more prominence to soft-path options in their own energy strategies. Although
such national leadership is important, local political leadership is also critical. In fact, the movement for
sustainable energy development in both the industrialized world and the Third World is taking place
primarily at the grass-roots level, and tribal leaders in the United States could play leading roles in this
movement.

38
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC
Native renewables will be critical to compensate for hydropower failures that will cause
power shortages
Robert Gough, Secretary – Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, “Issues in Tribal Wind Development
in the Context of Tribal, National and International Policy”, Windpower 2001, 6-7-2001,
http://www.montanagreenpower.com/greenpower/pdfs/Tribalwind.pdf
Today, reservation
resources must serve a multiplicity of social, cultural, spiritual and economic needs.
Reservation lands are diverse and varied in their environments (land, water, wind, flora, fauna and other
resources) within relatively fixed, though historically shrinking jurisdictional boundaries. Native communities have
extremely youthful and rapidly growing populations relative to the surrounding non-Native communities. The fixed
resources and growing populations will require creative and expanding opportunities for sustainable
economic development such as renewable energy generation can provide. Tribal governments hold legal authority
for the management of homeland ecosystems and economies, exercised in partnership with various federal agencies under the federal trust
responsibility. Over the past few years, a growing number of Tribes have embraced the prospect of clean, renewable energy generation as a
“no regrets” strategy in the context of climatic change. This presents a viable economic development opportunity that can meet local needs
and be sold into an export market. In the northern Great Plains, the foremost renewable energy opportunity is in wind power, with
hydropower, solar, biomass and geothermal also available. Multiple Benefits of Distributed Tribal Wind Development The
development of even a small fraction of this tribal wind power potential, however, could make a
significant contribution to the energy budget of the entire West and a tremendous contribution to the local
tribal economies, particularly if the Tribe owned all or part of the facility. Management Flexibility: For example, if Tribes in
the Dakotas developed only 1% of the 200 plus gigawatt reservation resource (i.e., 2,000 MW), it could double the power
currently produced by the dams on mainstem of the Missouri River. The Intertribal Council On Utility Policy views
distributed tribal wind generation as having a tremendous potential for providing greater flexibility in
the operation and management of the Missouri River dams by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dams are
operated for a variety of purposes, such as navigation, flood control, recreation, and species and habitat management, as well
as power production. Having an additional source of power available may allow for greater flexibility in addressing other
priorities. Growing Need for Less Expensive Supplemental Power: The Western Area Power Administration is charged with
the transmission and sale of federal hydropower produced by the Corps of Engineers, which estimates that, due to western
drought and eastern flooding, the Missouri River dams will fall some 4 billion kilowatt hours short of
normal power generation this year. The Corps expects that if Western has to make up that power through the
purchase of supplemental power at 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, the cost will be about $240 million. This single
expenditure represents almost a five-fold increase over the highest cost in recent years. At such prices, a modest
investment in utility scale wind generation distributed throughout the region could provide an economical
alternative source of electrical power. This potential only grows in importance as shifts in precipitation
patterns and reduced mountain snowpack, not inconsistent with long term climate change and variability
scenarios, are likely to result in chronic shortfalls in hydropower production and increased costs in
supplemental electrical power necessary for Western to meet its contractual obligations.

Economic collapse results


Dan Jaynes, Research Leader – ARS Soil and Water Quality Unit, Final Policy Paper, 3-12-2004,
http://glenninstitute.osu.edu/washington/JaynesPolicyPaper.htm
Power blackouts and brownouts often occur during peak demand despite the increased efforts to supply more electricity to
meet consumer demand. These disruptions in the service of power can cause serious economic
consequences. For example, the infamous blackouts of the summer of 2003 caused a broad
suspension in the movement of American goods and services which caused extensive economic
penalties. The $135 billion airline industry was seriously affected by the partial or complete closure of 12 airports in the
Northeast and Midwest. In addition, 35 individual automobile related manufacturing plants were closed and trading in the
New York Stock Exchange came to a virtual standstill. In review, the economic cost of the three day outage is
estimated to have caused nearly a $10 billion loss to the national economy. Clearly, the vitality of the
U.S. economy is directly correlated to the dependable supply of electricity to power a variety of
necessary applications. Thus, this irrevocable relationship could greatly benefit from the introduction of tighter controls that
very carefully call for energy efficiency in the commercial and residential sectors.

39
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Damming 1AC
Global nuclear war
Walter Russell Mead, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy – Council on Foreign Relations, New Perspectives
Quarterly, Summer 1992, p. 30
The failure to develop an international system to hedge against the possibility of worldwide depression- will
open their eyes to their folly. Hundreds of millions-billions-of people around the world have pinned their
hopes on the international market economy. They and their leaders have embraced market principles-and
drawn closer to the West-because they believe that our system can work for them. But what if it can't? What if
the global economy stagnates, or even shrinks? In that case, we will face a new period of international
conflict: South against North, rich against poor. Russia. China. India-these countries with their billions of
people and their nuclear weapons will pose a much greater danger to world order than Germany and Japan
did in the 1930's.

Electricity failures cause nuclear meltdowns


EIJ, Earth Island Journal, Winter 2000, http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/win2000/wr_win2000y2k.html
The third type could happen if the electricity fails. Reactors depend on off-site electric power to run cooling systems and
control rooms, with emergency diesel generators for automatic backup. Unfortunately, according to Olsen, even in the US
these generators are "not even 90 percent reliable." In the US, most local emergency officials are planning for three weeks
without power. But diesel generators often overheat and usually are not operated for weeks at a time. Many generators also
have digital components that may be subject to Y2K failure. "It takes only two hours without the cooling system functioning
for reactor fuel to melt," Olsen says. Power failures also could cause "a meltdown of nuclear fuel storage
pools .... These pools must be cooled for at least five years." Loss of off-site electrical power poses the most
prominent risk to nuclear powerplant safety. Reliable back-up power is needed immediately at each nuclear site.
Fuel cells and gas turbines are more reliable than diesel generators. There are well over 1,000 private utilities, non-utility
generators, public utilities, and rural electric cooperatives in the US and Canada operating more than 15,000 generating units.
Many will reach the millennium with Y2K issues unresolved. The US electric power grid is fragile. In 1996, two
disruptions in one five-week period caused 190 generating stations (including several nuclear reactors) to shut
down. On August 10, 1996, a sagging tree limb in Oregon caused a short that caused a blackout in California,
Arizona and New Mexico. Millions of people were left without power. In some regions, the blackout lasted
several weeks.

Reactor meltdowns obliterate the planet


Harvey Wasserman, Senior Editor – Free Press, Earth Island Journal, Spring 2002,
www.earthisland.org/eijournal/new_articles.cfm?articleID=457&journalID=63
The intense radioactive heat within today's operating reactors is the hottest anywhere on the planet. Because
safety systems are extremely complex and virtually
Indian Point has operated so long, its accumulated radioactive burden far exceeds that of Chernobyl. The

indefensible. One or more could be wiped out with a small aircraft, ground-based weapons, truck bombs or even chemical/biological assaults
aimed at the work force. A terrorist assault at Indian Point could yield three infernal fireballs of molten radioactive lava burning through the earth and into the
aquifer and the river. Striking water, they would blast gigantic billows of horribly radioactive steam into the
atmosphere. Thousands of square miles would be saturated with the most lethal clouds ever created, depositing relentless genetic poisons that would kill
forever. Infants and small children would quickly die en masse. Pregnant women would spontaneously abort or give birth to horribly deformed offspring.
Ghastly sores, rashes, ulcerations and burns would afflict the skin of millions. Heart attacks, stroke and multiple organ failure would kill thousands on the spot.
Emphysema, hair loss, nausea, inability to eat or drink or swallow, diarrhea and incontinence, sterility and impotence, asthma and blindness would afflict
hundreds of thousands, if not millions. Then comes the wave of cancers, leukemias, lymphomas, tumors and hellish diseases
for which new names will have to be invented. Evacuation would be impossible, but thousands would die trying. Attempts to quench the fires would be futile.
More than 800,000 Soviet draftees forced through Chernobyl's seething remains in a futile attempt to clean it up are still dying from their exposure. At Indian
Point, the molten cores would burn uncontrolled for days, weeks and years. Who would volunteer for such an American task force? The immediate damage from
an Indian Point attack (or a domestic accident) would render all five boroughs of New York City an apocalyptic wasteland. As at Three Mile Island, where
thousands of farm and wild animals died in heaps, natural ecosystems would be permanently and irrevocably destroyed. Spiritually, psychologically, financially
and ecologically, our nation would never recover. This is what we missed by a mere 40 miles on September 11. Now that we are at war, this is what could be
happening as you read this. There are 103 of these potential Bombs of the Apocalypse operating in the US. They generate a mere 8 percent of our total energy.
Since its deregulation crisis, California cut its electric consumption by some 15 percent. Within a year, the US could cheaply replace virtually all the reactors with
increased efficiency. Yet, as the terror escalates, Congress is fast-tracking the extension of the Price-Anderson Act, a form of legal immunity that protects reactor
the
operators from liability in case of a meltdown or terrorist attack. Do we take this war seriously? Are we committed to the survival of our nation? If so,
ticking reactor bombs that could obliterate the very core of our life and of all future generations

40
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

must be shut down.

41
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Yes Global Hydropower


Use of Hydroelectric power is on the rise
International energy agency, 2000 ( “world energy outlook”, 2000
Http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2000/weo2000.pdf) june 25, 2008
Hydropower met 3% of the world’s primary energy needs and 18% of electricity output in 1997. Expected world
hydroelectricity use rises some 50% by 2020. More than 80% of the projected increase will come in developing
countries.
Other renewables2 are expected to be the fastest growing primary energy source, with annual growth averaging
2.8% over the outlook period. Despite this rapid growth, the share of renewables rises to only 3% by 2020 from the
current 2%. Power generation in the OECD countries accounts for most of this increase. Concerns over climate
change will encourage the deployment of renewables, but relatively low fossil fuel prices will limit it.

China is looking to expand their hydropower resources


PAISH (senior engineer, energy consultation firm) 2002 (oliver, science direct, “renewable and sustainable
energy reviews: small hydropower”, dec. 2002, www.sciencedirect.com) june 23, 2008
China deserves a special mention when discussing small-scale hydropower. China has 17% of the earth’s
hydropower resource and has installed around 40% of the world’ s small hydro capacity. Since the establishment of
the Peoples’ Republic in 1949, approximately 15,000 MW of schemes less than 10 MW have been constructed, with
more than 80% of this coming on-line since the mid 1970s. Around half (7000 MW) of this capacity is below 500
kW. The economic small hydro resource in China is estimated to exceed 70 GW . The Government has major plans
for continued rural electrification with small hydro and is perhaps unique in promoting a national policy which
places equal importance on hydro and thermal power, and which devotes as much attention to small hydropower as
to medium and large scale projects. In recent years the rate of commissioning of new small hydro capacity has been
around 1000 W per year, supporting a large network of factories supplying mass-produced turbines. Small hydro is
seen as a key environmentally-sound solution for improving the economic growth rate in China’s vast rural areas,
many of which have rich, undeveloped hydro resources. As many as 80 million rural Chinese people still do not
have access to electricity.

Hydroelectric use increasing rapidly in developing countries, including China


International energy agency, 2000 ( “world energy outlook”, 2000
Http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2000/weo2000.pdf) june 25, 2008
Developing countries account for 80% of the projected increase in hydroelectricity between now and 2020. Three-
quarters of that is expected to appear in China and Latin America. The unexploited economic potential remains
large in many developing countries, but much discussion surrounds the environmental and social effects of large-
dam construction (an estimated 20% of large dams in the world produce electricity14). The development of large-
scale hydropower may have negative environmental effects, such as disturbing local ecosystems, reducing
biological diversity or modifying water quality. It may also have significant socio-economic impacts when it
requires the displacement of local populations. A number of projects in developing countries have been stalled or
decreased in size because of such problems. Although these effects can be managed and mitigated to some degree,
they could adversely affect the future of hydropower. Obtaining loans from international lending institutions and
banks, for example, has become more difficult. The development of mini and micro-hydro systems seems to have
relatively modest and localised effects on the environment, particularly if it does not require the construction of a
dam, but the kWh cost is generally higher in smaller systems

42
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Yes Global Hydropower


Use of Hydroelectric power is on the rise
International energy agency, 2000 ( “World Energy Outlook”, 2000
http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2000/weo2000.pdf) June 25, 2008
Hydropower met 3% of the world’s primary energy needs and 18% of electricity output in 1997.
Expected world hydroelectricity use rises some 50% by 2020. More than 80% of the projected increase will
come in developing countries.
Other renewables2 are expected to be the fastest growing primary energy source, with annual growth averaging
2.8% over the outlook period. Despite this rapid growth, the share of renewables rises to only 3% by 2020 from the
current 2%. Power generation in the OECD countries accounts for most of this increase. Concerns over climate
change will encourage the deployment of renewables, but relatively low fossil fuel prices will limit it.

43
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Modeling
Native energy policies are modeled globally
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
Federal policies toward Indian tribes during the "self-determination" era have not been limited to acts of
Congress that are specifically directed towards Indians. Rather, a new federalism has emerged in which many
federal agencies administer programs in ways that recognize the separate sovereign status of tribal governments.
140
In one area in particular -- environmental protection -- recent changes in federal law provide a
model for indigenous autonomy that is promising for indigenous peoples throughout the world. 1.
Environmental Protection in Indian Country -- Federal environmental law in the United States has evolved as a
partnership between the federal government and the states. Federal statutes provide an overall framework, but
state governments assume much of the responsibility for establishing regulatory programs, setting standards,
issuing permits, and taking enforcement action. In the last decade, several major federal environmental laws
have been amended to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to treat Indian tribes as states for
certain purposes. These laws include the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), 141 the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund), 142 the Clean Water Act
(CWA), 143 and the Clean Air Act (CAA). 144 The implementation of these amendments will require long-term
commitments on the part of both the EPA and those tribes that choose to be treated as states. 145 [*705] The
policy to treat Indian tribes as states under these laws is premised on the principle of inherent tribal sovereignty.
As the EPA has explained in regulations implementing the amendments to the Clean Water Act, the federal
statute does not constitute a delegation of authority from Congress to the tribes. 146 Rather, tribes must have their
own authority to carry out environmental regulatory programs. In light of the fact that many Indian reservations
include substantial areas of non-trust lands, the EPA specifically addressed the issue of whether tribes have the
authority to regulate water quality on non-trust lands within reservation boundaries as an aspect of inherent
sovereignty. The EPA concluded that tribes generally do have such authority. 147 Tribal governments' efforts to
regulate non-Indians within reservation boundaries often encounter resistance. 148 Nevertheless, federal courts
have upheld such efforts in cases in which important tribal interests are at stake. 149 In the environmental
protection context, the federal statutes and implementing regulations have set the stage for tribal authority to
continue to withstand challenge. 150 It is too soon to tell how well this approach will work. There may need to be a
different model for tribes that either do not [*706] choose to be treated as states or choose to assume less than
the full range of responsibilities that states typically perform. Assuming that treatment as states will work for a
substantial number of tribes, successful environmental regulatory programs being carried out by
tribal governments could prove to be invaluable examples for indigenous peoples in other
countries, especially those who also must contend with the presence of nonindigenous people within their
territories.

U.S role in addressing global warming is a model for the rest of the world and increases soft
power.
Zervos and Coequyt – European Renewable Energy Council and Climate & Energy Unit, Greenpeace
USA – 2007 (Arthouros and John, “Increasing Renewable Energy in U.S. Can Solve Global Warming”,
Renewable Energy World, January,
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/infocus/story?id=47208) accessed 6/26/08

It's time for a national plan to address global warming. Such a plan will create jobs, improve the security
of America's energy supply, and protect Americans from volatile energy prices. It will restore America's
moral leadership on the critical international issue of climate change. And real action in the United States
will inspire confidence as the rest of the world negotiates future global commitments to address climate
change. In addition to global warming, other energy-related challenges have become extremely pressing. Worldwide energy demand is growing at a
staggering rate. Over-reliance on energy imports from a few, often politically unstable, countries, and volatile oil and gas prices, have together pushed
energy security to the top of the political agenda, while threatening to inflict a massive drain on the global economy. But while there is a broad consensus
that we need to change the way we produce and consume energy, there is still disagreement about what changes are needed and how they should be
achieved.

44
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Hydropower Bad – Natives


Hydroelectric development exploits Native American lands, to the benefit of non-Natives
Morris (professor, Center for Native American Studies, Montana State University) 1990 (C. Patrick, “The Struggle
for the Land” p. 197) June 27, 2008
Hydroelectric development in other areas of the US has followed a pattern similar to that in the Great Plains,
with a similar economic and environmental impact on Indian tribes. In fact, in the arid and semiarid regions of
the America Southwest and California, hydroelectric development has been an integral part of what might be
called the theft of the century- the massive taking of Indian lands and water to support economic
development for non-Indians.

Hydroelectric development on Native American lands, a violation of Native rights, is


responsible for the current struggles of the Native American people
Morris (professor, Center for Native American Studies, Montana State University) 1990 (C. Patrick, “The Struggle
for the Land” p. 197) June 27, 2008
The economic results of this massive violation of the Indians’ legal rights can be seen everywhere throughout
the American Southwest- Indian reservation underdevelopment and poverty resting conspicuously alongside
the spectacular growth and wealth of the southwestern sun belt. Ignoring the obvious, economic havoc created by
western water development, official and popular explanations for Indian poverty continue to rely on the
presumed lack of economic ingenuity and work ethic among Indians rather than the lack of water and water
development on Indian reservations. The federally subsidized theft of Indian water and land in the American
West has been so flagrant that a 1973 Presidential Water Commission Report was forced to admit that billions
of dollars have been invested… in water resources projects benefiting non-indians, but using water to which
the Indians have a priority right”

Hydroelectric projects in tribal areas enable a system of “trusteeship” of governments over


natives, and justify the colonial destruction of the indigenous world
Morris (professor, Center for Native American Studies, Montana State University) 1990 (C. Patrick, “The Struggle
for the Land” p. 197) June 27, 2008
The destructive impact of hydroelectric projects in tribal areas around the world suggests that the present
system of national “trusteeships” over tribal people and their natural resources has failed to develop any
meaningful form of self-determination for indigenous people. Instead, the national “trustee” system has
perpetuated an onerous form of internal colonialism by the use of such agencies as the Bureau of Indian
Affairs in the US, the DIAND in Canada, the INI in Mexico, the DAA in Australia, the FUNAI in Brazil and so on
around the world. Seldom scrutinized publicly or required to conform to national or international laws, these
fiduciaries of the tribal world have successfully “legitimized” the theft of millions of acres of tribal lands and
natural resources, the forced relocation of entire cultures, the systematic destruction of native languages,
religions, and social and political communities—even the unlawful imprisonment and murder of those who
legally oppose national policies they believe violate the human rights of indigenous minorities. The continuing
failure of the system of national trustees suggests that it is time for the world to question the presumed capacity
of the nation-state to safeguard the human rights of indigenous people- particularly if those rights conflict
with national economic priorities. Some alternative form of protective governance is needed to support
meaningful forms of self-determination for indigenous nations. To address this and other issues an extranational tribunal is
needed to investigate national wrongdoing and to formulate safeguards that would prevent the use of national “native” policies to “legally”
violate international law and the human rights of indigenous people. Currently the UN serves this function in disputes involving member nations.
But this limited UN oversight has not yet been extended to “native” cultures, for obvious reasons- the nation-states would view such oversight as
an infringement on their sovereignty. Nevertheless, within the past two decades the UN at the urging of native people and various international
human rights organizations has extended NGO status to various representative indigenous peoples’ organizations. This is a beginning, but only
that. However, without such international efforts it is unlikely that the tribal world will survive much beyond the present country.

45
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Hydropower Bad – Warming


Hydropower dams are not a silver bullet to solve global warming, in fact they often make it
worse
AMERICAN RIVERS (ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH GROUP) 2008 ( “HEALTHY RIVERS NOT MORE
HYDROPOWER DAMS ARE NEEDED IN A WARMING WORLD”, JUN. 14, 2008,
HTTP://WWW.RISINGTIDENORTHAMERICA.ORG/WORDPRESS/2008/06/14/WATER-IS-LIFE-4-STORIES-FROM-
AROUND-THE-WORLD) JUNE 25, 2008
Making smart energy choices is more important than ever. Hydropower dams will continue to play a role serving
our nation’s energy needs, but they aren’t a silver bullet solution to the problem of global warming. In some
cases, hydro dams may even make the problem worse.” “Global warming affects every American river and
therefore, every American community. We know that the future holds more intense floods and droughts. The
question is how to make our rivers and communities more resilient in the face of these big changes. The answer lies
in protecting and restoring healthy rivers.” “Hydropower dams may not generate as much global warming
pollution as coal, but they can have staggering impacts on a river’s health. It isn’t fair or just when a dam
harms clean water, or prevents a community from enjoying its river and the many economic benefits that
come from river recreation and healthy fish and wildlife.”

Hydroelectric dams are a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions


Fearnside (phd, research professor, department of ecology, national institute for research in the amazon) 1995 (phillip .m.,
environmental conservation, “hydroelectric dams in the brazillian amazon as sources of greenhouse gasses”, nov. 14, 1995,
http://philip.inpa.gov.br/publ_livres/preprints/1995/hydro-gh-ec.pdf) june 25, 2008
Hydroelectric dams are commonly believed to have no serious impact on the greenhouse effect, in contrast to
fossil fuel use. However, the principal reason for this frequent assumption is ignorance of emissions of
hydroelectric dams. Reservoirs in the Brazilian Amazonia (Legal Amazon) contribute to greenhouse gas
emissions from the region, although contributions from currently existing reservoirs are small relative to other
anthropogenic sources such as deforestation for cattle pasture. The four existing 'large' [> 10 megawatt (MW)]
dams in the region are Balbina in the State of Amazonas (filled in 1987), Curuá-Una in Pará (1977), Samuel in
Rondônia (1988) and Tucuruí in Pará (1984) (Figure 1). In addition, there are small reservoirs at Boa Esperança in
Maranhão (filled prior to 1989), Jatapu in Roraima (1994), Paredão or Coarcy Nunes in Amapá (1975), and Pitinga
in Amazonas (1982

46
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Hydropower Bad – Environment


Dams Destroy The Environment; Multiple Reasons
SCIENCE ENCYCLOPEDIA “DAMS - CLASSIFICATION OF DAMS, DAM CONSTRUCTION, IMPACT OF DAMS”.
COPYRIGHT © 2008 NET INDUSTRIES 2008 HTTP://SCIENCE.JRANK.ORG/PAGES/1942/DAMS-IMPACT-DAMS.HTML
Impact of dams: Dams have long been acknowledged for providing electricity without the pollution of other methods, for flood protection, and
for making water available for agriculture and human needs. Within recent decades, however, the environmental impacts of dams have been
debated. While dams do perform important functions, their effects can be damaging to the environment. People
have begun to question whether the positive contributions of some dams are outweighed by those negative
effects. The damming of a river will have dramatic consequences on the nature of the environment both
upstream and downstream of the dam. The magnitude of these effects are usually directly related to the size of the dam. Prior to dam
construction, most natural rivers have a flow rate that varies widely throughout the year in response to varying conditions. Of course once
constructed, the flow rate of the river below a dam is restricted. The dam itself and the need to control water releases for the
various purposes of the particular dam result in a flow rate that has a smaller range of values and peaks that occur at times related to need rather
than the dictates of nature. In cases where the entire flow has been diverted for other uses, there may no longer be any flow in the
original channel below the dam. Because water is held behind the dam and often released from some depth,
the temperature of the water below the dam is usually lower than it would be prior to dam emplacement. The
temperature of the water flow is often constant, not reflecting the natural seasonal variations that would have been the case in the free-flowing
river. Similarly, the chemistry of the water may be altered. Water exiting the lake may be higher in dissolved salts or have lower
oxygen levels than would be the case for a free-flowing river. Impoundments increase the potential for evaporation from the
river. Because the surface area of a lake is so great when compared to the river that supplies it, the loss of water to evaporation must be
considered. In some desert areas, potential annual evaporation can be greater than 7 ft (2.1 m), meaning that over the course of one year, if no
water flowed into or out of the system, the reservoir would drop in elevation by 7 ft (2.1 m). At Lake Mead on the Colorado River in
Arizona and Nevada, evaporation losses in one year can be as great as 350 billion gal (1.3 trillion l). The
impoundment of water behind a dam causes the velocity of the water to drop. Sediment carried by the river is
dropped in the still water at the head of the lake. Below the dam, the river water flows from the clear water directly behind the
dam. Because the river no longer carries any sediment, the erosive potential of the river is increased. Erosion of
the channel and banks of the river below the dam will ensue. Even further downstream, sediment deprivation
affects shoreline processes and biological productivity of coastal regions. This problem has occurred within the Grand
Canyon below Glen Canyon Dam. After the construction of the dam was completed in 1963, erosion of the sediment along the beaches began
because of the lack of incoming sediment. By the early 1990's, many beaches were in danger of disappearing. In the spring of 1996, an
experimental controlled flood of the river below Glen Canyon Dam was undertaken to attempt to redistribute existing sediments along the sides
of the channel. While many of the beaches were temporarily rebuilt, this redistribution of sediments was short lived. Research on this issue is
continuing, however, the fundamental problem of the lack of input sediment for the river downstream of the dam remains unresolved. The
environmental changes described above create a new environment in which native species may or may not be
able to survive. New species frequently invade such localities, further disrupting the system. Early photographs of
rivers in the southwest desert illustrate the dramatic modern invasion of non-native plants. Entire lengths of these rivers and streams have been
transformed from native desert plants to a dense riparian environment. Native species that formerly lived in this zone have been replaced as a
result of the changes in river flow patterns. The most commonly cited species affected by the presence of dams is the salmon. Salmon have been
isolated from their spawning streams by impassable dams. The situation has been addressed through the use of fish ladders and by the use of
barges to transport the fish around the obstacles, but with only limited success.

47
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Hydropower Bad – Environment

Hydroelectric dams are three and a half times worst for the environment than oil.

New Scientist – 2005 (“Hydroelectric power’s dirty secret revealed”, New Scientist, February,
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7046) accessed 6/28/08

Contrary to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries' climate
budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far
enough. Thegreen image of hydro power as a benign alternative to fossil fuels is false, says Éric Duchemin, a
consultant for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "Everyone thinks hydro is very clean, but this is
not the case," he says. Hydroelectric dams produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane,
and in some cases produce more of these greenhouse gases than power plants running on fossil fuels.
Carbon emissions vary from dam to dam, says Philip Fearnside from Brazil's National Institute for Research in the Amazon in Manaus. "But we do know
that there are enough emissions to worry about." In a study to be published in Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Fearnside
the greenhouse effect of emissions from the Curuá-Una dam in Pará, Brazil, was more
estimates that in 1990
than three-and-a-half times what would have been produced by generating the same amount of electricity
from oil. This is because large amounts of carbon tied up in trees and other plants are released when the
reservoir is initially flooded and the plants rot. Then after this first pulse of decay, plant matter settling on
the reservoir's bottom decomposes without oxygen, resulting in a build-up of dissolved methane. This is
released into the atmosphere when water passes through the dam's turbines.

48
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Environment Impact
Environmental destruction and Global Warming leads to the extinctions of thousands of
species
Reuters 06 (ABC News Online, “Humans Spur Worst Extinctions Since Dinosaurs”, Mar 21, 2006,
www.abc.net.au) June 26, 2008
Humans are responsible for the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs and must make unprecedented
extra efforts to reach a goal of slowing losses by 2010, a UN report has said. Habitats ranging from coral reefs to
tropical rainforests face mounting threats, the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity said in the
report, issued at the start of a March 20-31 UN meeting in Curitiba, Brazil. "In effect, we are currently
responsible for the sixth major extinction event in the history of earth, and the greatest since the dinosaurs
disappeared, 65 million years ago," said the 92-page Global Biodiversity Outlook 2 report. Apart from the
disappearance of the dinosaurs, the other "Big Five" extinctions were about 205, 250, 375 and 440 million years
ago. Scientists suspect that asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions or sudden climate shifts may explain the five. A
rising human population of 6.5 billion was undermining the environment for animals and plants via pollution,
expanding cities, deforestation, introduction of "alien species" and global warming, it said. It estimated the
current pace of extinctions was 1,000 times faster than historical rates, jeopardising a global goal set at a 2002
UN summit in Johannesburg "to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss".
"Unprecedented additional efforts' will be needed to achieve the 2010 biodiversity target at national, regional and
global levels," it said. The report was bleaker than a first UN review of the diversity of life issued in 2001.

Environmental degradation leads to extinction


Kanter (Reporter, Herald Tribune) 2007 (James, International Herald Tribune, “UN issues Final Wake Up Call on
Population and Environment”, Oct 25, 2007, www.iht.com) June 26, 2008
The result of that population growth combined with unsustainable consumption has resulted in an increasingly
stressed planet where
natural disasters and environmental degradation endanger millions of humans, as well as plant and animal
species, the report said. Steiner said that demand for resources was close to 22 hectares per person, a figure that
would have to be cut to between 15 and 16 hectares per person to stay within existing, sustainable limits. Persistent
problems identified by the report include a rapid rise of so-called dead zones, where marine life no longer can
be supported because of depletion of oxygen caused by pollutants like fertilizers. Also included is the resurgence of
diseases linked with environmental degradation. Steiner said environmental tipping points, at which degradation
can lead to abrupt, accelerating or potentially irreversible changes, would increasingly occur in locations like
particular rivers or forests, where populations would lack the ability to repair damage because the gravity of
a problem would be far beyond their physical or economic means.

Environmental degradation leads to extinction


Burke (Reporter, The Observer) 2002 (Jason, The Guardian/The Observer, “UN
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/jul/07/research.waste”, Jul 7, 2002, www.iht.com) June 26, 2008
Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be
exploited at the current rate, according to a report out this week. A study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF),
to be released on Tuesday, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its
capacity to support life. In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the
extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are
exhausted. The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural
world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades.

49
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

China – Uniqueness
China is looking to expand their hydropower resources
Paish (senior engineer, energy consultation firm) 2002 (oliver, science direct, “renewable and sustainable
energy reviews: small hydropower”, dec. 2002, www.sciencedirect.com) June 23, 2008
China deserves a special mention when discussing small-scale hydropower. China has 17% of the earth’s
hydropower resource and has installed around 40% of the world’ s small hydro capacity. Since the
establishment of the Peoples’ Republic in 1949, approximately 15,000 MW of schemes less than 10 MW have been
constructed, with more than 80% of this coming on-line since the mid 1970s. Around half (7000 MW) of this
capacity is below 500 kW. The economic small hydro resource in China is estimated to exceed 70 GW . The
Government has major plans for continued rural electrification with small hydro and is perhaps unique in
promoting a national policy which places equal importance on hydro and thermal power, and which devotes
as much attention to small hydropower as to medium and large scale projects. In recent years the rate of
commissioning of new small hydro capacity has been around 1000 W per year, supporting a large network of
factories supplying mass-produced turbines. Small hydro is seen as a key environmentally-sound solution for
improving the economic growth rate in China’s vast rural areas, many of which have rich, undeveloped hydro
resources. As many as 80 million rural Chinese people still do not have access to electricity.

50
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

China Specific Impacts


New Chinese dams displace millions of people and hurt the environment
YARDLEY (REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES)2007 (JIM, NY TIMES, “CHINESE DAM PROJECTS CRITICIZED FOR
THEIR HUMAN COST”, NOV. 19, 2007,
HTTP://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2007/11/19/WORLD/ASIA/19DAM.HTML?_R=1&OREF=SLOGIN) JUNE 25, 2008
The Three Gorges is the world’s biggest dam, biggest power plant and biggest consumer of dirt, stone,
concrete and steel. Ever. Even the project’s official tally of 1.13 million displaced people made the list as record
No. 10. Today, the Communist Party is hoping the dam does not become China’s biggest folly. In recent weeks,
Chinese officials have admitted that the dam was spawning environmental problems like water pollution and
landslides that could become severe. Equally startling, officials want to begin a new relocation program that would
be bigger than the first

Damming in China creates extensive problems


BRAUN (REPORTER, SUN PUBLICATIONS) 08 (LIZ, THE TORONTO SUN, “CHINA BE DAMMED”, FEB. 8, 2008,
HTTP://WEB.LEXIS-NEXIS.COM/SCHOLASTIC) JUNE 23, 2008

Damming the Yangtze River is a monumental undertaking, literally and figuratively, and China's Three Gorges Dam
currently stands as a symbol of the country's so-called "economic miracle." The dam, in addition to hydroelectric
power, is responsible for fantastic environmental problems, the displacement of millions of people and plenty of old-
fashioned corruption. As the water rises, a culture and a way of life are being lost.

Damming causes conflict and opposition in China


JIANGTAO (REPORTER, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) 08 (SHI, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, “GREEN
ACTIVISTS PRESS BEIJING TO RELEASE KEY REPORT ON NU RIVER DAM”, FEB. 24, 2008, HTTP://WEB.LEXIS-
NEXIS.COM/SCHOLASTIC) JUNE 23, 2008
Mainland environmental groups and activists have renewed their appeal to the central government to come clean on
the controversial damming of the Nu River in Yunnan .In an open letter issued last week, they called for the release
of a mandatory environmental impact assessment on the project and a public hearing on the issue. Signatories to the
letter include renowned university academics, social and environmental scientists, mainland media representatives
and non-governmental groups such as Green Earth Volunteers, Friends of Nature and Global Village of Beijing. The
project to build up to 13 dams on the Nu River, also known as the Salween in downstream countries, was halted in
2004 by Premier Wen Jiabao amid fierce public opposition over compensation and mounting environmental
concerns.

China is looking to expand their hydropower resources


PAISH (SENIOR ENGINEER, ENERGY CONSULTATION FIRM) 2002 (OLIVER, SCIENCE DIRECT, “RENEWABLE
AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS: SMALL HYDROPOWER”, DEC. 2002, WWW.SCIENCEDIRECT.COM) JUNE
23, 2008
China deserves a special mention when discussing small-scale hydropower. China has 17% of the earth’s
hydropower resource and has installed around 40% of the world’ s small hydro capacity. Since the
establishment of the Peoples’ Republic in 1949, approximately 15,000 MW of schemes less than 10 MW have been
constructed, with more than 80% of this coming on-line since the mid 1970s. Around half (7000 MW) of this
capacity is below 500 kW. The economic small hydro resource in China is estimated to exceed 70 GW . The
Government has major plans for continued rural electrification with small hydro and is perhaps unique in
promoting a national policy which places equal importance on hydro and thermal power, and which devotes
as much attention to small hydropower as to medium and large scale projects. In recent years the rate of
commissioning of new small hydro capacity has been around 1000 W per year, supporting a large network of
factories supplying mass-produced turbines. Small hydro is seen as a key environmentally-sound solution for
improving the economic growth rate in China’s vast rural areas, many of which have rich, undeveloped hydro
resources. As many as 80 million rural Chinese people still do not have access to electricity.

51
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Brazil – Uniqueness
Brazil is moving ahead with major hydroelectric projects, despite public opposition
Downie(correspondent, christian science monitor) 08 (andrew, christian scieince monitor, “green critics slam loss of brazils
environmental minister”, may. 23, 2008, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/scholastic) june 26, 2008
As if to underline the conflict between economic development and environmental protection, some 1,000
indigenous Brazilians protested a proposed $6.7 billion dam this week in the Amazonian city of Altamira.
Painted and feathered protesters attacked a electric company official with machetes and clubs after he spoke to the
group Tuesday. Brazil is busy building huge hydroelectric dams, roads, and other infrastructure to boost the
country's sluggish rise as a regional economic power. But its boom means paving, flooding, and stringing power
lines through thousands of miles of pristine jungle. Silva is particularly sensitive to the dam project as it take places
in the remote western Amazon where she was born and raised. A poor rubber tapper from the western Amazon who
only learned to read and write as a teenager, Silva was a powerful symbol of a government that Lula - himself once a
poor, factory worker - hoped would be more representative of this vast and varied nation. But Silva was increasingly
marginalized and resigned citing “the difficulties I have been facing to pursue the federal environmental
agenda.â€Analysts said she had tired of losing recent power struggles with governors and ministers who put
economic development over environmental protection.

52
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Brazil Specific Impacts


Damming Causes Native Species Extinction, collapsing the Fragile Ecosystem.
Lúcia Ortiz, with contributions from Glenn Switkes “The Amazon River’s Largest Tributary is Under Threat”. August 2007. Ph.D.,
Hispanic Language and Literature. Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures, Boston University M.A., Spanish Language,
Literature, and Culture. Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Syracuse University B.A., International Relations. School of Arts
and Sciences, Syracuse University. http://www.foei.org/en/get-involved/take-action/RIO_MADEIRA.pdf
The majestic Madeira River The Madeira River, the second largest river in the Amazon, is considered a jewel of
biodiversity, home to more than 750 species of fish, 800 species of birds, and countless other species, many of them
threatened. Its basin covers close to a quarter of the Brazilian Amazon, and2 stretches over 1.5 million km across Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. The
river is formed by the confluence of the Guaporé, Mamoré and Beni Rivers, which originate in the Andean high plains. The Madeira River
is the major affluent of the Amazon River, with a length of 1700 km in3 Brazilian territory alone and an average flow of 23,000m /s.
The Madeira is responsible for approximately 15% of the water volume and 50% of the sediment transported by the
Amazon River to the Atlantic Ocean. This enormous load of sediment regulates the biological systems of vast flood
plains along the Madeira and Amazon Rivers. A jewel under threat The Madeira River is under threat by large-scale
infrastructure projects associated with the Madeira River Hydroelectric and Hidrovia (industrial waterway) Complex, a fundamental project
of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA).This complex includes the construction of: the Jirau and
Santo Antonio hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon, with a joint capacity of 6450MW; a third dam in the stretch between Abunã, inBrazil,
and Guayaramerín, in Bolivia; and possibly a forth hydroelectric dam at Cachoeira Esperanza located on the Beni River, 30km above its
confluence with the Mamoré River in Pando, Bolivia. The completion of this complex of dams with locks would allow the
operation of an industrial hidrovia, or waterway, to allow the passage of barges, extending 4200 km. This will facilitate the
transportation of goods such as soy, timbre and minerals from the Amazon region to ports on Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Other transport
infrastructure projects planned for the region and related to the hidrovia include the sealing of three highways: the Rodovia Cuiabá-Santarém
(BR-163) in Brazil; the Corredor Norte in Bolivia, and the Rodovia Interoceânica in Brazil and Peru. The expansion of soy monocultures
is one of the main consequences of these infrastructure projects, and may lead to the alteration of Amazon
ecosystems to make way for the expansion of the agricultural front. This includes forests, fields and savannas, in a
region identified as a centre of plant species diversity and endemism. In addition to the foreseeable increased
deforestation, the following are also a threat: extinction and/or reduced diversity of fish species in an area
considered a fisheries hotspot; the accumulation in reservoirs of sediments and toxic levels of mercury; impacts on
riverbank dwellers and indigenous peoples, as well as urban communities.

53
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Turkish Dams  War


Iraq Is Completely Dependent Upon The Tigris and Euphrates For Its Water Needs. The
Completion of Turkey’s Dam Projects Would Be A Unique Link Trigger.
Erwin E. Klaas, Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University Presentation to College for Seniors Lecture Series, "The World
Turned Upside Down,”. “Potential for Water Wars in the 21st Century” April 3, 2003. http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/waterwars.htm
The Tigris-Euphrates System: The region served by the Tigris and Euphrates has a recorded history even older than the Nile. The Fertile Crescent
in Iraq is where agriculture, and with it Western civilization, began. The biblical Garden of Eden is believed to have been in this region. Jared
Diamond, in his book "Guns, Germs and Steel" documents the origin in this region of many of the domesticated grains that are now used globally
for cash crops. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers rise in the moisture-rich and lush valleys of eastern Turkey known as Anatolia. The Tigris flows
southeast through low mountain valleys and the Turkish plains. For a short distance it forms the border between Syria and Turkey. Then it heads
southeast, passing Baghdad and the Central Marshes before joining the Euphrates to become the Shatt-al-Arab that flows into the Persian Gulf.
The Euphrates starts near the Black Sea, makes a sweeping curve west and south and then meanders through a series of Turkish lakes and
reservoirs before crossing into Syria and Lake Assad, the reservoir formed by the Euphrates Dam. From there it crosses into Iraq, and traverses
the dry desert south of Baghdad before flowing through what was once known as the Hammar Marshes before joining the Tigris not far from the
city of Basra. The Euphrates and its tributaries are Syria's major water source. Iraq, downstream from both Turkey and
Syria, is dependent on both rivers. Nearly 85 percent of Iraq's population fills all of their water needs from these two
rivers. Turkey claims that it has absolute sovereignty over any water originating in its territory. Iraq argues that the
rivers pass through their country by natural course and they have "historical rights" to waters used by the people of
southern Mesopotamia since the dawn of civilization 6000 years ago. This is often referred to as the "prior-use" doctrine that has
been central to attempts to develop international water law. Midstream Syria argues both ways. It uses the prior-use
doctrine in arguing with Turkey, and sovereignty in its disputes with Iraq. This 3-nation rivalry is complicated by the presence
of the Kurds, an ancient culture whose homeland straddles the two rivers in both Turkey and Iraq. By Middle East standards, Turkey is
water rich but in reality it doesn't have much water to spare. Consumption is rising rapidly. First, the government is
pursuing a set of irrigation programs that will increase demands on the country's water resources. Second, the population is growing. Third,
the country is urbanizing rapidly. Fourth, the rapidly expanding industrial base will require new and additional water.
To meet these demands for water consumption, Turkey has a grandiose plan for the southeastern Anatolia region of the Euphrates. They are
spending $32 billion on a collection of 22 dams, some of them huge, and a network of irrigation canals and weirs that will irrigate 3.7 million
acres of currently non-irrigated land. The largest of these dams, the Atatürk Dam, was completed on the Euphrates in 1990. Water from its
reservoir is carried through the mountains to southern Turkey through a tunnel that is 23 feet in diameter and 16 miles long. Along with 19
hydroelectric generating plants the project may produce a 12 percent jump in national income. Best estimates are that Syria will lose up
to 40 percent of Euphrates water to the project. Iraq would lose somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of its
Euphrates allotment. In 1987, Turkey agreed to supply Syria with a steady 500 cubic meters a second at the border, an amount it knew would
be impossible to do with the completion of the Southeast Anatolia Project, known by its Turkish language acronym GAP. When the Atatürk Dam
began to fill in 1990, Turkey actually stopped the river's flow completely for a month, saying that it was impossible to fill a reservoir if you let the
water pass through it. When Syria and Iraq complained, Turkey said it was committed to supplying only an average flow of 500 cubic meters, not
a steady flow.

54
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard
*** Warming Advantage ***

Warming 1AC
Contention ____: The Heat is On

Warming is anthropogenic, and faster than ever, causing massive climate variation
Ross Gelbspan, Washington Post Environmental Editor, 2004 (Boiling Point, p.24-32)
That argument was first answered in 1995 by the world's community of climate scientists when they determined that the warming is,
undeniably, due to human activities. Since that 1995 declaration, a succession of new findings has strengthened the case
for.
human-induced climate change beyond a doubt. This is not the hypothesis of a few researchers. The finding that
human beings are changing the climate comes from more than 2,000 scientists from 100 countries reporting to
the United Nations in what is the largest and most rigorously peer-reviewed scientific collaboration in history. In
1988, the United Nations created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to find out why the planet is warming: Was it attributable to the natural variability of the
climate, or was it due to human activities? Seven years later, the IPCC declared that the scientific panel had found-in the conservative language of science a "discernible
human influence" on the climate. After reviewing the scientific literature on climate change, the IPCC found that the heating of the planet was due to the buildup of
greenhouse gases-primarily carbon dioxide from our burning of coal and oil-in our atmosphere. That 1995 consensus declaration was based on a number of findings,
including three critical research efforts. That year, a team of researchers led by Dr. Benjamin Santer of the Lawrence Livermore Lab examined the pattern of heating in the
atmosphere. That
pattern of warming over land and water and warm and cold areas-produced a very specific pattern,
one that matches the pattern projected by computer models of "greenhouse gas," plus sulfate warming. When the
vertical structure of the warming was examined, it was found to be graphically different from the structure
produced by natural warming. A second "smoking gun" was published in 1995 when a team of scientists at
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center verified an increase of extreme weather events in the United States.
They concluded the growing weather extremes are due, by a probability of 90 percent, to rising levels of green-
house gases. Those extremes-which reflect an intensification of the planet's hydrological cycle from atmospheric heating-are not consistent with
natural warming and, instead, resemble the changes that were projected for emissions from fossil fuels. The researchers declared the climate in the
United States is becoming more "greenhouse-like"-with more intense rain and snowfalls, more winter precipitation, more droughts, floods, and heat
waves. It concluded: "[T]he late-century changes recorded in U.S. climate are consistent with the general trends anticipated from a greenhouse-
enhanced atmosphere." A third contribution to our understanding of the global climate appeared that same spring when David J. Thomson, a
signals analyst at AT&T Bell Labs, evaluated a century of summer and winter temperature data. Whereas some
scientific skeptics had attributed this century's atmospheric warming to solar variations, Thomson discovered the
opposite: The accumulation of greenhouse gases had overwhelmed the relatively weak effects of solar cycles on
the climate. He also discovered that since the beginning of World War II, when accelerating industrialization led to a skyrocketing of
carbon dioxide emissions, the timing of the seasons had begun to shift. Since 1940, he wrote in the journal Science, the seasonal patterns "of
the previous 300 years began to change and now appear to be changing at an unprecedented rate." Since the IPCC's 1995 declaration, a
succession of studies has profoundly strengthened the case for human-induced global warming. In 1997, a
research team led by David Easterling of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center found that the nighttime and
wintertime low temperatures are rising nearly twice as fast as the daytime and summertime high temperatures.
Easterling called the findings a "fingerprint" study of "greenhouse warming." That research, based on data from 5,400
observing stations around the world, showed that "[t]he rise in [minimum temperatures] is due to higher humidity and
more water vapor, especially in the winter in northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. In an increasingly
`greenhouse' world this is the kind of rise you'd expect to see," Easterling wrote. He added that if the warming were
natural, and not driven by fossil fuel emissions, the high and low temperatures would more or less rise and fall in
parallel. In 1999, a team of British meteorologists studied all the factors that influence changes in the climate-
solar activity, volcanic eruptions, emissions of sulfur particulates, and greenhouse gases. According to an
editorial in the journal Nature, "The researchers' findings were unambiguous: `The temperature changes over the
Twentieth Century cannot be explained by any combination of natural internal variability and the response to
natural forcings alone,' they conclude. Rather, it seems necessary to include some human-induced component in the
climate forcing throughout the century. . . ." "Thus the rise in temperature of about a quarter of a degree since the 1940s
seems to be due mainly to increases in greenhouse gases ... All in all," the editorial concluded, "it seems we can lay to rest the
idea that recent climate warming is just a freak of nature." A year later, Thomas Crowley at Texas A&M University
concluded that 75 percent of the warming of the twentieth century was due to human activities-and that the rate
of warming exceeded any similar time period in the last 1,000 years. The Crowley findings affirmed a groundbreaking study
published two years earlier by a team of scientists who essentially reconstructed the history of the global climate over the previous 1,000 years.
Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters. The
reconstruction involved examinations of tree rings, ice cores, and sediments that contain information about earlier climatic periods. They found that
since the year 1000, the decade of the 1990s was the hottest in history-and that 1998 was the warmest year at least in the millennium. Their research,
captured in a famous "hockey-stick" graph, showed that from about the year 1,000 to the mid-nineteenth century, the climate was actually cooling very
slightly-about onefourth of a degree. But in the last 150 years, beginning with the widespread industrialization of the late nineteenth century, the
temperature has shot upward at a rate unseen in the last 10,000 years. Those studies-which used computer models and physical

55
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming 1AC
[Gelbspan Continued]
climate "archives"-were corroborated for the first time by direct evidence from satellites in 2001. That year, scientists
studying the escape of longwave radiation from Earth into the outer atmosphere discovered there had been a marked change between 1970 and 1997.
Using data gathered by satellites in those two years, the scientists found that radiation from greenhouse gases had increased significantly over the
twenty-seven-year period. The satellite radiation readings, according to researchers, provided the first direct experimental evidence "for a significant
increase in the Earth's greenhouse effect that is consistent with concerns over radiative forcing of climate." Those concerns were heightened in 2000
when scientists determined that the rate of heating had skyrocketed in the latter part of the twentieth century. In early 2000,
scientists declared that the earth's surface is warming at an "unprecedented rate" that was not expected to be seen until
well into the twenty-first century. According to an analysis by a team of climatologists, led by Tom Karl of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, although warming for most of the twentieth century was
progressing at the rate of I 'C per century, that changed in the mid-1970s. Since 1976, the earth has been
warming at a rate of about 3°C per century. Karl speculated that the planet may have experienced a "change
point" at which the rate of warming suddenly accelerated. Said Jonathan Overpeck, director of the University of
Arizonas Institute for the Study of Planet Earth: "There is no known precedent of natural forces that could have given
rise to the temperatures of the last decade." That heating was apparent not only in atmospheric studies but in
measurements of the deep oceans as well. In 2001, two studies indicated that the warming was penetrating to far
deeper levels-with potentially irreversible consequences. That year, two teams of researchers, one headed by
Sydney Levitus of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the other by Tim Barnett of the
Scripps Institute of Oceanography, found that the world's oceans had warmed by about one-tenth of 1 °C down to a
depth of 3,000 meters-almost two miles-in the last fifty years. Said Levitus: "I believe our results represent the
strongest evidence to date that the Earth's climate system is responding to human-induced forcing." Levitus and his
colleagues calculated the average of how much the oceans had warmed by compiling millions of deep ocean temperature measurements from 1948
through 1995. But initially they couldn't say for sure whether the heat came from greenhouse warming or from a natural swing in the climate cycle. To
solve that riddle, Levitus and Barnett each used a different computer model of the earth's climate to simulate how ocean temperature should respond to
current levels of greenhouse gases and other modern atmospheric conditions. The amount of warming predicted by both models matched the warming
that had been physically measured. The Scripps team ran their model with-and withoutthe extra greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosols produced by
combustion of coal and oil. "What we found is that the signal is so bold and big that you don't have to do any fancy statistics to beat it out of the data.
It's just there, bang," said Dr. Barnett. He added that the findings "will make it much harder for naysayers to dismiss predictions from climate models."
The findings of the Levitus team also answered a major question posed by "greenhouse skeptics." The skeptics contended that if the climate models
were accurate, the atmosphere should have warmed considerably more than it has. But the findings from deep ocean measurements
showed that a substantial portion of that heat had been absorbed by the world's oceans. "We've shown that a large
part of the `missing warming' has occurred in the ocean," said Levitus, who added: "The whole-Earth system has
gone into a relatively warm state." By 2003, the science had become so robust that even the most conservatively
spoken scientists were adamant about the fact that humans, primarily through their burning of fossil fuels, are
heating the atmosphere. "Modern climate change is dominated by human influences, which are now large enough to exceed the bounds of
natural variability. The main source of global climate change is human-induced changes in atmospheric composition ... Anthropogenic climate change
is now likely to continue for many centuries. We are venturing into the unknown with climate, and its associated impacts could be quite disruptive,"
wrote Thomas Karl and Kevin Trenberth in the journal Science. Putting the various strands of temperature research together, the picture that emerges
is profoundly ominous. It begins with bare physical measurements-independent of computer models. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps in heat.
For the last 10,000 years, the amount of C02 remained constant at about 280 parts per million-until the late nineteenth century, when the world began
to industrialize using coal and oil. Today, that 280 is up to 379 parts per million. That is a level the planet has not experienced for 420,000 years. The
most direct consequence of this buildup of atmospheric carbon is in the relentless rise of global temperatures. Seventeen of the eighteen
hottest years on record have occurred since 1980. The period from 1991 to 1995 constitutes the hottest five-year
period on record. The year 1998 replaced 1997 as the hottest year in human history, and 2001 replaced 1997 as the
second-hottest year. Then 2001 was replaced by 2002. The decade of the 1990s was the hottest at least in this last
millennium. And the planet is heating at a rate faster than at any time in the last 10,000 years. Senior scientist
Tom M.L. Wigley of the National Center for Atmospheric Research put the coming changes in perspective in a
letter to Senators Tom Daschle (D-ND) and William Frist (R-TN) in July 2003: There is only one chance in 100
that the rate of warming will be less than double the warming rate of the last 100 years-and a 99 percent
probability that it will exceed double the past warming rate ... The most likely estimate of warming between
[now] and 2100 is 5.5 degrees F This is five times the warming rate experienced over the past 100 years. At the high
end, there is a five percent chance that the warming could be more than eight times the warming rate of the past
century. Our climate is capable of immense and wildly disruptive surprises. Every day, those surprises seem
progressively more likely than not. Not only are we gambling with our future, we are gambling with our eyes
blindfolded. We can't even read the cards we've been dealt.

56
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming 1AC
Lack of a production tax credit has blocked the development of soft energy on tribal lands
Rob Capriccioso, Staff Writer – IC Today, “Tribes Look For Federal Wind Energy Incentives”, Indian Country
Today, 4-11-2008, http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096417026
Few, if any, tribes have been able to take advantage of the production tax credits offered to date because
many tribes that have been able to create wind energy projects have relied on non-Native developers to help
them get projects off the ground. Under current law, tribes are not entitled to the tax credits provided to
non-Native developers for renewable energy production because tribes have a tax-exempt status. Tribal
energy experts say it's important for tribes to be reaching out to Congress regarding the tax-exempt issue,
since it likely discourages non-Native developers from wanting to work with tribes. Thune's office seems
amenable. ''As a general matter, we know tribes are very supportive of wind energy,'' said Jon Lauck, a senior
adviser to Thune. ''They know this is an area that could jump-start their economies, and we'd like to help
them.'' Recent legislative developments have also made it challenging for tribes to obtain federal wind
energy seed funding. In 2007, Thune proposed the Wind Energy Development Act, which included $2.25 billion
in funding for Clean Renewable Energy Bonds that tribes could have used to fund pilot wind energy programs.
Under Thune's plan, 20 percent of this bonding would have been specifically set aside for tribes; however, the
set-aside did not make it into the current version of the wind energy tax credit legislation, and it was not in the
energy bill that passed last December. Some tribal energy advocates believe supporting new legislation that
promotes Clean Renewable Energy Bonds may be the best hope for tribes that want to receive federal funding to
begin wind energy development. Thune's current legislation proposes $400 million in funding for the bonds,
which energy experts say tribes should be eligible to apply for via the IRS. ''Seed monies would be helpful,''
Renville said. ''But we haven't factored those into our current projects.'' As the Senate and House consider
extensions of the renewable energy tax credit, the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, which represents 10
tribes, is pushing for legislation that would support tribal wind projects. Officials with the group note that none
of the federal incentives currently in place involving wind energy were designed expressly for tribes, which they
say is ironic since tribes are the only group that the federal government has an explicit trust responsibility to
assist in economic development. ''The federal renewable energy incentives, as designed, are problematic
for tribes, in that they are both insufficient and inappropriate as drivers of tribal development as
presently configured,'' the group noted in a recent policy paper. ''The presently formulated federal
incentives have actually worked as disincentives in the unique context of tribal renewable energy
development.''

This undermines market-wide adoption of renewables because Native lands are a key site
for demonstration
David K. Garman, U.S. Assistant Secretary – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy – Department of Energy,
“Native American Programs”, 2-25-2004,
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/office_eere/congressional_test_022504.html
The Tribal Energy Program holds great potential for serving both the Department's mission and the Native
American community. While Indian land comprises five percent of the land area of the United States it
contains an estimated ten percent of all energy resources in the United States. Moreover, tribal lands
possess some of the best renewable energy resources in the country. Because most tribal lands are
remote and sparsely populated, they are also considered to be good sites for testing the market
potential of dispersed energy sources such as renewable energy. And renewable energy projects are
considered particularly appropriate on Indian lands because they are generally environmentally benign
and harmonize well with nature. The potential is significant—we estimate, for example, that wind
resources in the Great Plains could meet 75 percent of the electricity demand in the contiguous 48
states. And the need is great—Indian households on reservations are disproportionately without electricity. A
total of 14.2 percent of Indian households have no access to electricity, as compared to only 1.4 percent of all
U.S. households. The Navajo Nation alone accounts for 75 percent of the households without electricity.

57
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming 1AC
Native renewable projects forge unique linkages and trust that enable technology transfers
and global adoption of soft energy
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan,
“Renewable Energy in Indian Country”, 5-19-1998, http://www.crest.org/repp_pubs/pdf/issuebr10.pdf
Indian Expertise in Developing Countries Many developing countries have little hope of making electric
power available to rural communities except through the use of dispersed renewable energy systems.
These communities provide an enormous potential market for such systems. Where people want renewable
power, they will have to overcome a range of problems centering on the four critical needs mentioned earlier.
Over the next several decades, many interests will converge to address these needs, in part driven by the need to
limit carbon emissions from human activities, the main culprit in climate change. Industrial countries will
insist that developing nations share in limiting emissions, and developing nations will demand help in
gaining access to energy technologies to do so. Indigenous peoples inhabit the rural areas of many
developing countries. Indian tribes and tribal colleges in the United States may be particularly well
suited to transfer renewable energy technologies to indigenous communities, in large part because
of a sense of common experience and, especially with respect to Indian communities in Central and South
America, a measure of shared cultural values. These factors can build trust, an important factor in
introducing new technologies. The experience of Native SUN/Hopi Solar Electric Enterprise suggests
that tribal ventures could be well received in overseas indigenous communities. Native SUN receives
Indian visitors from Central and South America, and they have put on workshops as far away as Ecuador.54 In
the coming decades, tribal ventures that provide technology transfer services could find themselves in high
demand. Tribes also could pursue more conventional ways of entering international markets for renewable
energy products and services. For example, tribally owned business enterprises and enterprises owned by Alaska
Native corporations generally qualify for the minority small business program administered by the Small
Business Administration, commonly known as the "Section 8(a) program."55 Business entities with 8(a) status
can obtain contracts with federal agencies without competition or in a competition limited to 8(a) entities.
Tribally owned 8(a) firms working in renewable energy could use this status to obtain contracts with such federal
agencies as the U.S. Agency for International Development. They could enter into joint ventures with companies
that manufacture products such as PV panels and wind power equipment. Such joint ventures could create
employment opportunities for tribal members, generate income for tribal business entities and their joint venture
partners, and help joint venture partners expand their shares of overseas markets. Partners in joint ventures with
tribal companies will realize financial and competitive benefits common to partnerships with 8(a) firms
generally. Yet tribally owned business entities differ from typical 8(a) firms. By locating manufacturing
facilities on tribal trust land and structuring joint ventures carefully, tribes could bring some significant
advantages to such undertakings. Some of these potential advantages are discussed in the next section.

Eliciting global support for alternative energy is key to solve warming


Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
With respect to energy, however, we do know what the key elements of sustainable development must be.
We know that the burning of fossil fuels by humans is the leading source of the buildup of carbon
dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere, and that carbon dioxide is the most significant "greenhouse" gas in
terms of its cumulative contribution to global warming. 250 Although the industrialized countries are
responsible for most of the carbon dioxide that has been added to the atmosphere since the industrial revolution,
the LDCs' share is increasing and can be expected to grow dramatically if their energy policies rely
primarily on fossil fuels. Thus, if we are to have any hope of stabilizing atmospheric concentrations
251

of carbon dioxide and avoiding the likelihood of global climate change associated with the greenhouse
effect, both the industrialized countries and the LDCs need to shift away from fossil fuels. This means
252

that development must be energy efficient and that the favored options for producing energy must be solar and
other renewable energy technologies. 253

58
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming 1AC
Warming causes climate oscillations that kill billions, collapse ecosystems and the economy
Lester Milbrath, The Futurist, Climate and Chaos: Societal Impacts of Sudden Weather Shifts, 1994, p. 27-8
Another scenario suggests that there could be an extended period, perhaps a decade or two, when there is an oscillation-type
chaos in the climate system. Plants will be especially vulnerable to oscillating chaos, since they are injured
or die when climate is too hot or too cold, too dry or too wet. And since plants make food for all other
creatures, plant dieback would lead to severe declines in agricultural production. Farm animals and wildlife
would die in large numbers. Many humans would also starve. Several years of climate oscillations could kill
billions of people. The loss of the premise of continuity would also precipitate collapse of world
financial markets. That collapse would lead to a sharp decline in commodity markets, world trade, factory output, retail
sales, research and development, tax income for governments, and education. Such nonessential activities such as tourism,
travel, hotel occupancy, restaurants, entertainment, and fashion would be severely affected. Billions of unemployed people
would drastically reduce their consumption, and modern society's vaulted economic system would collapse like a
house of cards.

Extinction is the inevitable outcome


Dr. John Brandenberg, Physicist, Dead Mars, Dying Earth, 1999, p. 232-3
The world goes on its merry way and fossil fuel use continues to power it. Rather than making painful or
politically difficult choices such as inventing in fusion or enacting a rigorous plan of conserving, the industrial
world chooses to muddle through the temperature climb. Let’s imagine that America and Europe are too worried
about economic dislocation to change course. The ozone hole expands, driven by a monstrous synergy with
global warming that puts more catalytic ice crystals into the stratosphere, but this affects the far north and south
and not the major nations’ heartlands. The seas rise, the tropics roast but the media networks no longer cover it.
The Amazon rainforest becomes the Amazon desert. Oxygen levels fall, but profits rise for those who can
provide it in bottles. An equatorial high pressure zone forms, forcing drought in central Africa and Brazil, the
Nile dries up and the monsoons fall. Then inevitably, at some unlucky point in time, a major unexpected event
occurs—a major volcanic eruption, a sudden and dramatic shift in ocean circulation or a large asteroid impact
(those who think freakish accidents do not occur have paid little attention to life on Mars), or a nuclear war that
starts between Pakistan and India and escalates to involve China and Russia… Suddenly, the gradual climb in
global temperatures goes on a mad excursion as the oceans warm and release large amounts of
dissolved carbon dioxide from their lower depths into the atmosphere. Oxygen levels go down as oxygen
replaces lost oceanic carbon dioxide. Asthma cases double and then double again. Now a third of the world
fears breathing. As the oceans dump carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect increases, which further
warms the oceans, causing them to dump even more carbon. Because of the heat, plants die and burn in
enormous fires which release more carbon dioxide, and the oceans evaporate, adding more water vapor to
the greenhouse. Soon, we are in what is termed a runaway greenhouse effect, as happened to Venus eons ago.
The last two surviving scientists inevitably argue, one telling the other, “See, I told you the missing sink was in
the ocean!” Earth, as we know it, dies. After this Venusian excursion in temperatures, the oxygen disappears
into the soil, the oceans evaporate and are lost and the dead Earth loses its ozone layer completely. Earth is too
far from the Sun for it to be a second Venus for long. Its atmosphere is slowly lost – as is its water—because of
the ultraviolet bombardment breaking up all the molecules apart from carbon dioxide. As the atmosphere
becomes thin, the Earth becomes colder. For a short while temperatures are nearly normal, but the
ultraviolet sears any life that tries to make a comeback. The carbon dioxide thins out to form a thin veneer
with a few wispy clouds and dust devils. Earth becomes the second Mars – red, desolate, with
perhaps a few hardy microbes surviving.

59
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Demonstration Effect
Native American’s are key to solving global warming
Terra Daily 2006 (“More Than 50 Tribes Convene on Global Warming Impacts,” Dec. 06, <
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/More_Than_50_Tribes_Convene_on_Global_Warming_Impacts_999.html> June
25, 2008)
"Native Americans can provide key inspiration regarding global warming and its impact on our world,
unite broad stakeholder support, and demonstrate actions that alleviate global warming impacts," said
Garrit Voggesser, manager of the National Wildlife Federation's Tribal Lands Conservation Program. Native
Americans are critical eyewitnesses to global warming. Among the first to experience the devastating impacts of
a changing climate, Indigenous people are uniquely able to compare what's happening today with
experiences spanning generations of understanding natural cycles and resources. The National Wildlife
Federation is reaching out to those best able to tell the stories and first-hand, on-the-ground accounts about the
impacts to fish, wildlife and natural resources fueled by manmade carbon emissions and global warming. The
conference gathers representatives from more than 50 tribes throughout the Southwest, Northwest, Midwest, and
Alaska - and political leaders, climate scientists, and NGOs - to exchange strategies and solutions to address
global warming

Tribal lands are uniquely key for Alternative Energy use because they have the highest
potential output.
Burke, Sikkema ( Energy Program Manager for the National Congress of State Legislatures (NCSL), Director of
the NCSL’s Institute for State- Tribal Relations) 2007 (Kate, Linda, “Native American Power,” State Legislatures,
33(6), June, 32-35 Ebsco http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=2&sid=ed2e3788-84ee-4b12-8b77-
556d49d29e7d%40sessionmgr108 June 25, 2008)
Wind and solar energy especially have great potential on tribal lands. The wind energy capacity on tribal
lands is approximately 14 percent of the annual U.S. electric generation. The solar energy potential is 4.5 times
the annual U.S. electric generation. The two dozen reservations in the northern Great Plains have a
combined wind power potential that exceeds 300 gigawatts--half of the current electrical generation in the
United States

Tribal lands have the greatest potential for alternative energy.

Burke and Sikkema – Energy Policy Specialist and director of NCSL’s. Institute for State-Tribal
Relations – 2007 (Kate and Linda, “Native American Power”, NCSL, June,
http://www.ncsl.org/magazine/articles/2007/07SLJune07_Native.pdf) accessed 6/26/08

POTENTIAL ABOUNDS: Wind and solar energy especially have great potential on tribal lands. The
wind energy capacity on tribal lands is approximately 14 percent of the annual U.S. electric generation.
The solar energy potential is 4.5 times the annual U.S. electric generation. The two dozen reservations in
the northern Great Plains have a combined wind power potential that exceeds 300 gigawatts—half of the
current electrical generation in the United States. New energy projects are popping up all around the country. The Confederated
Tribes of Warm Springs in Central Oregon are on their way to becoming a major energy supplier in the Pacific Northwest. The tribes’ own interest in two
large hydroelectric projects and a biomass project that operates on wood waste from the tribes’ lumber mill. Another project in the works is a large biomass
plant that will use forest waste to generate renewable electricity for more than 15,000 homes. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Warm
Springs also is working on a wind energy assessment, and is studying geothermal resources on the reservation. There are more examples around the
country. A wind turbine powers Four Bears Casino near Ft. Berthoud, N.D. The Mohegan Nation in Uncasville, Conn., tapped the Connecticut Clean
Energy Fund to finance two giant fuel cells that use hydrogen and operate like a battery. This cleaner power replaces diesel generators as the source of
emergency power for the tribe’s gambling facility. The tribe plans eventually to go off-grid by adding more fuel cells for their main power source as well.

60
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Demonstration Effect

Clean alternative energy will be a booming industry in tribal lands.

Burke and Sikkema – Energy Policy Specialist and director of NCSL’s. Institute for State-Tribal
Relations – 2007 (Kate and Linda, “Native American Power”, NCSL, June,
http://www.ncsl.org/magazine/articles/2007/07SLJune07_Native.pdf) accessed 6/26/08

Developing renewable energy just may be a booming industry for many tribes in Indian Country. More
and more tribes are looking at clean alternative energy sources to power their homes and bring in jobs, all
while respecting Mother Earth’s resources. They are tapping power from solar and geothermal sources,
and from wind, biomass, hydrogen and ocean waves. “Renewable energy has the potential to be as big—
or bigger—a revenue generator for tribes as casinos are for some of them today,” says Lizana Pierce of the U.S. Department of Energy
in Golden, Colo. “Currently, tribal land encompasses about 5 percent of the land in the lower 48 states and contains about 10 percent of all energy resources
— conventional and renewable.”

Natural energy resources are perfect on tribal lands and fit their values.

Burke and Sikkema – Energy Policy Specialist and director of NCSL’s. Institute for State-Tribal
Relations – 2007 (Kate and Linda, “Native American Power”, NCSL, June,
http://www.ncsl.org/magazine/articles/2007/07SLJune07_Native.pdf) accessed 6/26/08

PROTECTING MOTHER EARTH: Using natural resources on tribal lands for power—and to fight
global warming—fits a core value shared among tribes: an innate respect for Mother Earth. Tony Rogers, a
member of the Rosebud Tribe who serves on the Tribal Utility Commission, says the key is to make these energy sources available
to tribal members while maintaining the desire to “protect Mother Earth from the abuse the human race
has done.” Tribal governments, private investors, local governments and utility companies see the benefit
of exploring alternative, clean sources of power. Washington Representative John McCoy says this is an important trend and
one he hopes has sustainability.

61
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Demonstration Effect
Native Americans are poised to be leaders in Renewable Energy
In these Times 2008 (“Dirty Smoke Signals,” April 28, < http://www.truthout.org/article/dirty-smoke-signals>)
June 26, 2008
In 1988, the grassroots group Dine CARE formed to protect local forests and fight a proposed toxic waste incinerator near Dilkon, a town in
the southwest part of the reservation. ("Dine" roughly means "people," and it is the way Navajo refer to themselves. CARE stands for
Citizens Against Ruining our Environment.) Last fall, the group released a study on renewable energy potential on the Navajo Nation. It
describes "world-class" solar resources in the Arizona side of Four Corners, and reservation-wide "abundance of
moderately to highly valuable solar and wind resources, all largely untapped to date." "The Navajo Nation
is poised to be a leader in renewable energy," says Dailan Jake Long, who grew up near the Desert Rock site and recently
graduated from Dartmouth College. "Solar and wind could supply Navajo homes with electricity without the
negative consequences of Desert Rock."

62
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Native Soft Energy Spills Over


Development of renewables on Native lands will spur rapid application and deployment of
clean energy technology
Robert Gough, Secretary – Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, “Issues in Tribal Wind Development
in the Context of Tribal, National and International Policy”, Windpower 2001, 6-7-2001,
http://www.montanagreenpower.com/greenpower/pdfs/Tribalwind.pdf
Clean, Quick and Cost Effective: In addition to being a clean renewable resource, wind energy is cost effective at
3 to 4 cents per kilowatt-hour. Further, wind has several well-known advantages over its conventional rival
sources of energy. The cost of its fuel input never changes over the life of the installation (30 years) in contrast
to natural gas-fired plants where running costs have sky rocketed this past year. Wind generation is ideally
suited to providing dependable supplies of predictable power at fixed, long-term rates. Moreover, electricity
generated from wind can be commissioned in a matter of months as opposed to the years it takes for more
conventional generation projects to be brought on line. And all of this can be had without the NOx, SOx, heavy
metals, or the green house gas emissions associated with conventional fossil fuels. Other Innovative Benefits:
Expenditures in the development of distributed wind generation would hardly exceed even a few years of
supplemental purchases at today’s electricity market costs. While the current drought-like conditions and shifts
in precipitation are consistent with forecasts of greater climatic variability, there have been no predictions that
energy costs are going to decline anytime soon. Investment today in distributed wind generation could
continue to provide clean renewable electricity over the next thirty plus years regardless of changes in
precipitation patterns and river flow levels. Innovative programs, such as a “green tag” purchase of wind
generation from Indian reservations to meet established federal green power goals, could encourage the
rapid application and deployment of proven wind technologies, assist in the sustainable development
of reservation economies, help address environment justice considerations, and better utilize existing
federal electricity transmission capacity.

63
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Modeling
Native American Pursuits of Alternative Energy Resources are perceived globally.
Indian Country Today 2007 (“ Tribal Energy Organization Wins Worldwide Recognition,” July 11, Lexis <
http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4037515515&f
ormat=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=26&resultsUrlKey=29_T4037504964&cisb=22_T4037515520&tre
eMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=169235&docNo=50>June 25, 2008)
The Intertribal Council on Utility Policy was recognized on a world-class level for its work In the creation
of a plan to offer clean, renewable energy to tribal reservations and improve economic conditions in
Indian country. The first-ever World Clean Energy Awards were presented June 15 to nine organizations representing countries from
around the world. The awards were presented at the Faktor 4-Festival in Basel. Representatives attended from Abu Dhabi, China, India,
Kenya, Sweden and the Rosebud and Lower Brule Sioux reservations. ICOUP was given a Special Award for Courage for its
work that established the first commercial wind power generation on any reservation with the 750-kilowatt
turbine on Rosebud in addition to a plan that would create wind power energy for the western United States. The
courage award recognized the ICOUP plan that would extend wind power to 3,000 megawatts from tribally owned power turbines on
reservations across the northern Great Plains by 2015. The plan is referred to as Environmental justice Intertribal Wind Power. "We are
honored and humbled for selection by such a distinguished, juried panel of people who are knowledgeable in their field for sustainable
development," said Pat Spears, Enhanced Coverage Linking Spears, -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days
president of ICOUP. "It is good to be recognized for the feasibility of our project and now to be recognized that this is a viable plan," Spears
Enhanced Coverage Linking Spears -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60 Days said. More than 75 tribes across the
country have studied or are conducting studies on wind energy for the future development of wind energy. "Along with being humbled and
honored with the nomination, we are pleased to see a grass-roots tribal plan for renewable energy recognized at that world stage level," said
Bob Gough, secretary of ICOUP. "The indigenous peoples in America have understood the value in the face of climate change and
understand a sustained economy based on renewable energy," Gough said. With this worldwide recognition, ICOUP may
become more recognized by people and the plan will have a better chance of becoming reality. Many cities
across the western part of the country have signed on to accept tribal wind power energy.

64
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Renewables Solve Warming


U.S can use wind and solar power to address Global Warming.
Zervos and Coequyt – European Renewable Energy Council and Climate & Energy Unit, Greenpeace
USA – 2007 (Arthouros and John, “Increasing Renewable Energy in U.S. Can Solve Global Warming”,
Renewable Energy World, January,
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/infocus/story?id=47208)
Landmark analysis released by Greenpeace USA, European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and other climate and energy advocates shows that the
United States can indeed address global warming without relying on nuclear power or so-called "clean
coal" -- as some in the ongoing energy debate claim. The new report, "Energy Revolution: A Blueprint for Solving Global Warming" details
a worldwide energy scenario where nearly 80% of U.S. electricity can be produced by renewable energy
sources; where carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced 50% globally and 72% in the U.S. without
resorting to an increase in dangerous nuclear power or new coal technologies; and where America's oil
use can be cut by more than 50% by 2050 by using much more efficient cars and trucks (potentially plug-in hybrids), increased use of
biofuels and a greater reliance on electricity for transportation. The 92-page report, commissioned by the German Aerospace Center, used input on all
wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, biomass power plants, solar
technologies of the renewable energy industry, including
thermal collectors, and biofuels, all of which "are rapidly becoming mainstream."

Transition to solar and wind energy will be able to stop global warming.
Zervos and Coequyt – European Renewable Energy Council and Climate & Energy Unit, Greenpeace
USA – 2007 (Arthouros and John, “Increasing Renewable Energy in U.S. Can Solve Global Warming”,
Renewable Energy World, January,
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/infocus/story?id=47208)
Renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels, biomass power plants, solar
thermal collectors, and biofuels are rapidly becoming mainstream. The global market for renewable energy is growing
dramatically; global investment in 2006 reached US$38 billion, 26% higher than the previous year. The time window available for making the transition
energy companies have plans to build well over 100 coal-
from fossil fuels to renewable energy is relatively short. Today,
burning power plants across the United States; if those plants are built, it will be impossible to reduce
CO2 emissions in time to avoid dangerous climate impacts. But it is not too late yet. We can solve global
warming, save money, and improve air and water quality without compromising our quality of life. Strict
technical standards are the only reliable way to ensure that only the most efficient transportation systems, industrial equipment, buildings, heating and
cooling systems, and appliances will be produced and sold. Consumers should have the opportunity to buy products that minimise both their energy bills
and their impact on the global climate.

65
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming Bad – Ecosystems


An increase of just 2-3˚ will disrupt ecosystems and societies and threaten the lives of
millions.
Stern – Head of the Government Economic Service and Adviser to the Government on the economics of
climate change and development – 2006 (Sir Nicholas, "Stern Review on the economics of climate
change”, 10/30,
http://www.treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review
_report.cfm)

Climate change threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world – access to water, food, health, and
use of land and the environment. On current trends, average global temperatures could rise by 2 - 3°C within
the next fifty years or so, leading to many severe impacts, often mediated by water, including more frequent droughts and floods (Table 3.1). •
Melting glaciers will increase flood risk during the wet season and strongly reduce dry-season water
supplies to one-sixth of the world’s population, predominantly in the Indian sub-continent, parts of China, and the Andes in South
America. • Declining crop yields , especially in Africa, are likely to leave hundreds of millions without the ability to
produce or purchase sufficient food - particularly if the carbon fertilisation effect is weaker than previously thought, as some recent studies
suggest. At mid to high latitudes, crop yields may increase for moderate temperature rises (2 – 3°C), but
then decline with greater amounts of warming. • Ocean acidification, a direct result of rising carbon dioxide levels, will
have major effects on marine ecosystems, with possible adverse consequences on fish stocks. • Rising sea
levels will result in tens to hundreds of millions more people flooded each year with a warming of 3 or
4°C. There will be serious risks and increasing pressures for coastal protection in South East Asia (Bangladesh and Vietnam), small islands in the
Caribbean and the Pacific, and large coastal cities, such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Calcutta, Karachi, Buenos Aires, St Petersburg, New
York, Miami and London. • Climate change will increase worldwide deaths from malnutrition and heat stress.
Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever could become more widespread if effective
control measures are not in place. In higher latitudes, cold-related deaths will decrease. • By the middle of the century, 200 million
more people may become permanently displaced due to rising sea levels, heavier floods, and more intense
droughts, according to one estimate. • Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, with one study estimating that around 15 –
40% of species face extinction with 2°C of warming. Strong drying over the Amazon, as predicted by some climate
models, would result in dieback of the forest with the highest biodiversity on the planet. The consequences of climate change will become
disproportionately more damaging with increased warming. Higher temperatures will increase the chance of triggering abrupt and large-scale changes that
Warming may induce sudden shifts in regional weather patterns like
lead to regional disruption, migration and conflict. •
the monsoons or the El Niño. Such changes would have severe consequences for water availability and
flooding in tropical regions and threaten the livelihoods of billions. • Melting or collapse of ice sheets
would raise sea levels and eventually threaten at least 4 million Km2 of land, which today is home to 5% of the
world’s population. P56

66
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming Bad – Species


Global Warming leads to plant and animal species extinction.
NRDC – Natural Resources Defense Council – 2007 (“Issues: Global Warming”, NRDC, 2/6,
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp#3) accessed 6/25/08

Yes. Global warming is a complex phenomenon, and its full-scale impacts are hard to predict far in advance. But each year scientists
learn more about how global warming is affecting the planet, and many agree that certain consequences are likely
to occur if current trends continue. Among these:
Melting glaciers, early snowmelt and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages in the
American West.
Rising sea levels will lead to coastal flooding on the Eastern seaboard, in Florida, and in other areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico.
Warmer sea surface temperatures will fuel more intense hurricanes in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Forests, farms and cities will face troublesome new pests and more mosquito-borne diseases.
Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species
to extinction.

Loss of biodiversity leads to extinction.


Warner-life sciences at American University-1994 (Paul, Politics and Life Sciences, Aug, pg. 177)

Massive extinction of species is dangerous, then, because one cannot predict which species are
expendable to the system as a whole. As Philip Hoose remarks, “Plants and animals cannot tell us what they mean to each other.”
One can never be sure which species holds up fundamental biological relationships in the planetary
ecosystem. And because removing species is an irreversible act, it may be too late to save the system after the extinction of key plants or animals.
According to the U.S. National Research Council, “The ramifications of an ecological change of this magnitude [vast
extinction of species] are so far reaching that no one on earth will escape them.” Trifling with the
“lives” of species is like playing Russian roulette, with our collective future as the stakes.

Loss of biodiversity results in extinction and outweighs all other impacts.


Wilson-professor at Harvard and author of two Pulitzer Prize winning books-1992
(Dr. Edward O. Wilson, “The Diversity of Life”, 1992)

The worst thing that can happen, will happen, in not energy depletion, economic collapse, limited nuclear war, or
conquest totalitarian government. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations.
The one process ongoing in the 1980’s that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species
diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendants are least likely to forgive us.

67
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming Bad – Species


Pollution to the environment as well as global warming will lead to human extinction.
Ghista- is a freelance journalist and founding director of World Prout Assembly-2008
(Garda, “Fall of the American Empire and the Rise of a New Economy”, Biddho.com, March 30,
http://www.biddho.com/content/view/1007/29/lang,english/)

We have all the indicators today of mounting ecological devastation. More than 15,000 species are
threatened with extinction. Global warming is occurring far faster than atmospheric scientists ever
imagined, due directly to carbon dioxide emissions of factories owned by greedy capitalists who do not care what happens to the
environment or whether there is global climate change later on. They care about today, and about today’s profits. So in the name of
exploitation for capitalist profit, we have widespread slaughter of forests around the world. We have pollution of freshwater resources - which comprise just
In America’s new wars (Kosovo,
two percent of the earth’s total water – it is a very small amount to nourish 6 billion people.
Afghanistan and Iraq) we have depleted uranium dust being used in a reckless, devil-may-care manner in such large
amounts that it is already killing not just the so-called ‘enemy combatants’ but also American soldiers by
the thousands. The dust is being picked up and carried by winds around the world, and will gradually
cause thousands more deaths of civilians who will never know what hit them. We are losing our ecological equipoise.
Without ecological equipoise, human beings will not be able to sustain themselves. A Department of Defense report in 2004 predicts
abrupt climate changes within the next ten years leading to ‘catastrophic’ water shortages, wars over fast
dwindling water and energy resources. In addition there is vast erosion of top soils and beaches,
overfishing, global deforestation, freshwater and aquifer depletion, soil salinization, depletion of oil and
minerals, melting ice caps and glaciers and rising sea levels, which threaten to inundate New York, Boston, New Orleans and
many other coastal cities around the globe..

Global Warming will cause extinction of all species


Sydney Morning Herald-News Services-2003
(“Global Warming ‘threatens Earth with mass extinction,’ smh.com.au, June 19 2004, [online]
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/19/1055828440526.html?oneclick=true)

Global warming over the next century could trigger a catastrophe to rival the worst mass extinction in the
history of the planet, scientists have warned. Researchers at Bristol University have discovered that a mere 6 degrees of global warming was
enough to wipe out up to 95 per cent of the species which were alive on earth at the end of the Permian period, 250 million years ago. United Nations
scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict up to 6 degrees of warming for the next 100 years if nothing is done about
emissions of greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, the chief cause of global warming. The Permian mass extinction is now thought to have been
a runaway greenhouse effect and nearly put an end to life on Earth.
caused by gigantic volcanic eruptions that triggered
Conditions in what geologists have termed this "post apocalyptic greenhouse" were so severe that only
one large land animal was left alive and it took 100 million years for species diversity to return to former
levels. This dramatic new finding is revealed in a book by Bristol University's head of earth sciences, Michael Benton, which chronicles the geological
efforts leading up to the discovery and its potential implications. Professor Benton said: "The Permian crisis nearly marked the end of
life. It's estimated that fewer than one in 10 species survived. Geologists are only now coming to appreciate the severity of this global catastrophe and to
understand how and why so many species died out so quickly." Other climate experts say they are appalled that a disaster of such magnitude
could be repeated within this century because of human activities.

68
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming Bad – Extinction


Even small increases in average temperatures lead to extinction.
Stern – Head of the Government Economic Service and Adviser to the Government on the economics of
climate change and development – 2006 (Sir Nicholas, "Stern Review on the economics of climate
change”, 10/30,
http://www.treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review
_report.cfm)

A warming world will accelerate species extinctions and has the potential to lead to the irreversible loss of
many species around the world, with most kinds of animals and plants affected (see below). Rising levels of carbon dioxide have some
direct impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity,76 but increases in temperature and changes in rainfall will have even more profound effects.
Vulnerable ecosystems are likely to disappear almost completely at even quite moderate levels of
warming.77 The Arctic will be particularly hard hit, since many of its species, including polar bears and seals, will be very sensitive to the rapid
warming predicted and substantial loss of sea ice (more detail in Chapter 5).78
1°C warming. At least 10% of land species could be facing extinction, according to one study.79 Coral reef
bleaching will become much more frequent, with slow recovery, particularly in the southern Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef and the Caribbean.80
Tropical mountain habitats are very species rich and are likely to lose many species as suitable habitat disappears.
2°C warming. Around 15 – 40% of land species could be facing extinction, with most major species
groups affected, including 25 – 60% of mammals in South Africa and 15 – 25% of butterflies in Australia. Coral reefs are expected to
bleach annually in many areas, with most never recovering, affecting tens of millions of people that rely
on coral reefs for their livelihood or food supply.81 This level of warming is expected to lead to the loss
of vast areas of tundra and forest – almost half the low tundra and about one-quarter of the cool conifer forest according to one study.82
3°C warming. Around 20 – 50% of land species could be facing extinction. Thousands of species may be
lost in biodiversity hotspots around the world, e.g. over 40% of endemic species in some p80

69
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Warming Bad – War


Climate Change leads to Global War and Conflict
DW World- German News Station -2008
(“France Warns Climate Change Triggers Global Conflict,” Deutsche Welle World, Apr 18,
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3276161,00.html)

"Climate change is already having a considerable impact on security," Sarkozy said in his speech to ministers from the 16
economies that together account for 80 percent of the planet's greenhouse-gas emissions -- including Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France,
"Water scarcity and rivalry for farmland
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the US.
and fishing resources were emerging as "major challenges," he said, pointing to the African example. "In Darfur, we see
this explosive mixture from the impact of climate change, which prompts immigration by increasingly
impoverished people, which then has consequences in war." "If we keep going down this path, climate
change will encourage the immigration of people with nothing towards areas where the population do
have something, and the Darfur crisis will be only one crisis among dozens of others," he stressed. UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon last June was the first to suggest that the Darfur conflict arose "at least in part" from climate change.

Global Warming will lead to World Wars


Knickerbocker- Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor-2007
(Brad, “Could Global Warming Cause War?,” The Christian Science Monitor, Apr 19,
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0419/p02s01-usgn.html)
For years, the debate over global warming has focused on the three big "E's": environment, energy, and economic impact. This week it officially entered the
realm of national security threats and avoiding wars as well. A platoon of retired US generals and admirals warned that global
warming
"presents significant national security challenges to the United States." The United Nations Security Council held its first
ever debate on the impact of climate change on conflicts. And in Congress, a bipartisan bill would require a National Intelligence Estimate by all federal
intelligence agencies to assess the security threats posed by global climate change. Many
experts view climate change as a "threat
multiplier" that intensifies instability around the world by worsening water shortages, food insecurity,
disease, and flooding that lead to forced migration. That's the thrust of a 35-page report (PDF) by 11 admirals and generals this
week issued by the Alexandria, Va.-based national security think tank The CNA Corporation. The study, titled National Security and the Threat of Climate
Change, predicts: "Projected
climate change will seriously exacerbate already marginal living standards in
many Asian, African, and Middle Eastern nations, causing widespread political instability and the
likelihood of failed states.... The chaos that results can be an incubator of civil strife, genocide, and the
growth of terrorism. "The U.S. may be drawn more frequently into these situations, either alone or with
allies, to help provide stability before conditions worsen and are exploited by extremists. The U.S. may also be
called upon to undertake stability and reconstruction efforts once a conflict has begun, to avert further disaster and reconstitute a stable environment."

70
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard
*** 2AC Materials ***

Culture Add-On – 2AC


Environmental destruction undermines native culture – spills over throughout society
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
2. Historic Places and Cultural Preservation -- Protecting the environment is important to Indian tribes for
a number of reasons, not the least of which are tribal aspirations to be autonomous and to have tribal authority
respected by federal and state government agencies. A more fundamental reason is that tribal cultures and
religions are closely tied to the natural world. 151 Thus, preserving the environment is a prerequisite if
tribal cultures and tribal ways of using the environment are to survive. In the United States, the federal government has
established a program of financial assistance to Indian tribes expressly for "the preservation of their cultural heritage." Because the draft declaration provides
152

that states are to provide assistance to indigenous peoples to pursue their own cultural development, this program could serve as a model for other nations. The
153

grant program is authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 and is administered by the National Park Service (NPS). The NHPA 154

is the basic charter for our national historic preservation program. Pursuant to the NHPA, the Secretary of the Interior, through the NPS, has established the
National Register of Historic Places and administers a grant program to states which provides recurrent funding to support State Historic Preservation Officers
155

(SHPOs). The NHPA also established an independent agency, the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, which is charged under section 106 of [*707]
156 157

the NHPA with reviewing and commenting on proposed federal actions that might affect properties that are listed on or eligible for the National Register of
158

Historic Places. Properties that are important to tribes for religious or cultural reasons may be eligible for the National Register. The Advisory Council's
159

implementing regulations assign the SHPOs a substantial measure of responsibility for carrying out the section 106 process, which is an environmental review
160

and consultation requirement that must be taken into consideration in the preparation of environmental impact statements pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). Thus, as tribal governments become more involved in the NHPA, they are likely to enhance their influence when they participate in the
161

NEPA process as well. Until recently, Indian tribes have virtually been excluded from our national historic preservation program. The NHPA as originally enacted
made no mention whatsoever of Indian tribes, despite their sovereign status and legitimate concern for the subject matter. This oversight is not surprising,
however, given that the NHPA was enacted in the waning years of the "termination" era in federal Indian policy. But, in the 1980 amendments to the NHPA,
Congress added Indian tribes to the list of entities that are to be included in the federally proclaimed partnership for carrying out our national program and 162

authorized the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to tribes. It was not until fiscal year 1990, however, that Congress appropriated funds, and the Secretary,
163

acting through the NPS, finally started making these grants to tribes. [*708] In 1992, Congress enacted amendments to the NHPA which provide a mandate for
164

tribal governments to become full partners in the national historic preservation program. The 1992 amendments direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a
165

program to assist Indian tribes in preserving historic properties. Each tribe now has the option to assume "all or any part of the functions of a State Historic
166

Preservation Officer . . . with respect to tribal lands." Tribal historic preservation programs, however, will not limit themselves to replicating the established
167

state historic preservation programs. Rather, it is expected that tribal programs, because they will be defined by local tribal priorities, will exhibit a great deal of
variety. As
the tribal programs develop, they will revitalize the national and state programs with which
they will interact. a. Preserving Living Cultures -- Tribal traditions do have historic significance, and all of
today's tribal cultures have deep historical roots in North America. Tribal cultures are dynamic, however, and
most have changed in many ways during the generations of contact with non-Indians. Indian people of today are
not concerned so much with preserving tribal histories for the general good of the larger society. Rather, Indian
people primarily are concerned with the vitality of tribal cultures in today's world. 168 Each tribe has a
wellspring of ancestral wisdom derived from the knowledge, experiences, and values of countless
[*709] generations of ancestors, but it is only by carrying on these traditions in the present that future
generations will have the same opportunity.

Cultural survival is key to human survival


Maivan Clech Lam, Visiting Associate Professor at American University Washington College of Law, 2000, At
The Edge of the State: Indigenous Peoples and Self-Determination, p. 205-206
Nevertheless, as anthropologists know, ethnicity is both an enabling and an inescapable condition of human
existence. It is a collective system of meaning that generates social energy which can be put to constructive
and destructive uses equally. Stavenhagen writes: Cultures are complex patterns of social relationships,
material objects, and spiritual values that give meaning and identity to community life and are a
resource for solving the problems of everyday life. That some very ugly campaigns in modern history,
usually unleashed by the destructive economic and military policies of the world’s powerful states, have
tapped, frighteningly successfully, into ethnic energy is undeniable. But it is just as undeniable that
knowledge—of the universe, of a specific part of it, of workable social relationships, of human nature—that
is crucial to the project of human survival remains separately encoded in the distinctive cultures
of ethnic groups. No human community or ethnic group can construct an informed and meaningful
future if it is cut off from its cultural past. And alienation from meaning, as much as exploited
meaning, can lead to violence.

71
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Aff U Helpers
Federal Government is giving Native American tribes monetary assistance in the status quo
New Mexico Business Weekly, 2008
New Mexico Business Weekly, “Senate re-authorizes Native American Housing Program”, Wednesday, May 28, 2008,
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/05/26/daily12.html, Accessed June 26, 2008

The Senate unanimously approved legislation to reauthorize a federal housing assistance program for Native
American communities.
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-determination Act, originally approved in 1996, channels funds
directly to tribal entities to create and sustain affordable and culturally appropriate housing on Indian reservations
and pueblos.
Under the program, more than $5.7 billion has been provided since 1998 to help Native American families secure
housing through down payment and rent assistance programs, home construction, and rehabilitation through
initiatives such as the Indian Housing Block Grant program.
Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Pete Domenici, R-N.M., co-sponsored the original legislation and supported its
reauthorization. Domenici -- a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee -- said the program has helped raise
Indian housing standards in New Mexico during the past decade.
"New Mexico's tribes and pueblos are prime candidates for funds and programs," Domenici said. "Senate approval
of this reauthorization is a necessary step in establishing safer and more modern housing in Indian Country."

Federal Government is complying to Native American demands by recently passing


granting Native American improved health care
CongressNow, 2008
Clayton Hanson, CongressNow Staff Member, LexisNexis News, “Senate Approves Indian Health Care Reauthorization “, February 26, 2008,
(http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T4047073519&format=GNBFI&sort=RELE
VANCE&startDocNo=26&resultsUrlKey=29_T4047073526&cisb=22_T4047073525&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=323090&docNo=29)
Accessed June 26. 2008

The Senate easily passed legislation today that would reauthorize funds through 2017 for federal health care services
for American Indians. It was approved 83-10.
"Today marks a major step in health care for Native Americans. The bill includes several programs that will help
combat the most serious health issues facing American Indians and it contains programs to promote Native
Americans entering the health care field," said Sen. Byron Dorgan
(D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "But we have to remember that this is just a start to the
work that needs to be done to meet and pay for the health care obligations that we have to American Indians and
Alaska Natives."
Additionally, the Senate approved three amendments to the bill. The amendments included a provision relating to
development of innovative approaches, a limitation on funds regarding abortion and technical corrections.
"For years, funding has fallen far below what is required, and to make true progress, the Indian Health Care system
must be fully funded. It's scandalous when our federal government spends almost twice as much per person for
health care for federal prisoners as we do for First Americans," Dorgan said.
The legislation, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (S. 1200), also includes incentives for encouraging
American Indians to pursue careers related to behavioral health, substance abuse and violence-prevention programs
and expands access to Medicare and Medicaid by allowing third-party reimbursement. It would authorize about $35
billion in spending over 10 years, including $3 billion for fiscal 2008.

72
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Aff U Helpers
Federal Government has granted Native American Energy Self-Determination Now
Department of Interior 2008, (US Dept of Interior, “DOI Publishes Final Regulations on Tribal Energy Resource
Agreement”, March 10, 2008, http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/080311.html, ) Accessed June 26, 2008

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today announced that the Interior Department
has published final regulations in the Federal Register implementing Title V of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L.
109-58) regarding Tribal Energy Resource Agreements (TERAs) under the Indian Tribal Energy Development and
Self-Determination Act. The regulations will become effective on April 9, 2008. “The Tribal Energy Resource
Agreement is a major step for tribal self-determination and self-governance that will usher in a new era of tribal
economic development,” Artman said. “It is a new tool for tribes who want to directly manage their energy
resources and develop their renewable and non-renewable energy resources to benefit their communities and the
nation.” TERAs further the goal of Indian self-determination by promoting tribal oversight and management of
energy and mineral resource management on tribal trust lands. With a TERA, a tribe may, at its discretion, and with
the Secretary of the Interior’s review and approval, enter into business agreements and leases for energy resource
development as well as grant rights-of-way for pipelines or electric transmission or distribution lines across its trust
lands. The new regulations are optional for federally recognized tribes, some of whom may choose not or find they
are unable to assume the greater level of oversight and administrative responsibility that TERAs require. The new
regulations, which can be found at 25 CFR Part 224, fully implement the provisions of 25 USC 3504, which lay out
the process by which a tribe can consult with the Interior Department on whether a TERA is a viable means for it to
use for energy development, what the TERA requirements and application consist of, and what the Secretarial
decision-making process is. The regulations also provide for a periodic review of the tribe’s compliance with the
approved TERA’s provisions.
“We stand ready to work closely with any tribe that chooses to establish a TERA with the Interior Department by
ensuring access to the expertise and data necessary for this level of decision-making responsibility,” Artman said. “I
have directed the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development to put these resources in place
immediately.”
The IEED intends to hold a national information and discussion session for tribes on the TERA regulations in the
near future with dates, times and location to be announced. The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development
was established within the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs to provide high-level support for the
Interior Department’s goal of serving tribal communities. It does so by providing access to energy resources and
helping tribes with stimulating job creation and economic development in their communities.

73
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Aff U Helpers
Federal Government is giving Native Americans financial self-determination
State News Service 2008
(State News Service-Washington, Lexis-Nexis, “JOHNSON SECURES NEARLY $10 MILLION FOR SOUTH DAKOTA IN LABOR-HHS
FUNDING BILL” June 24, 2008)

NATIONAL PROJECTS with a SOUTH DAKOTA FOCUS


Rural Health Outreach Grant Program The Senate bill includes $51.4 million for Rural Health Outreach grants. The
President' budget proposal did not include funding for this program. These grants are available to rural communities
working to provide health care services through new and creative strategies, including telemedicine and trauma care
services.
Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (formerly Medicare Rural Health Flexibility Program) The Senate bill provides
$39.2 million in 2008 for rural hospital flexibility grants. The President' proposed to completely eliminate this
program, which supports Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), rural health networks and rural emergency medical
services throughout rural states.
Head Start will see a $223 million increase over last year' request of $6.88 billion and $75 million over the
President' FY2009 request. Head Start is a comprehensive program that provides early education, health and
nutrition services to children before entering elementary school.
Administration for Native Americans (ANA) received $45.5 million in this bill. The ANA' mission is to "promote
economic and social self-sufficiency for American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native
Pacific Islanders." The agency focuses on funding programs to help Native Children and families, with the goal of
reducing long-term dependency on public assistance.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is funded at $2.57 billion, a $570 million increase over
the President' request of $2 billion.
Title I education funding will see a $631 million increase over the FY2008 level of $19.898 billion to $14.529
billion.
Special Education will receive $11.4 billion in this bill. While this is still less than half the federal obligation, it is a
step towards fulfilling the federal obligation of 40%. This is a $477 million increase over last year' level and a $140
million increase over the President' budget request.
Career and Technical Education received $1.271 billion dollars. This fully restores the funding that was eliminated
in the President' FY2009 budget proposal.

74
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Economy DA
Soft energy is best for growth – fossil fuels are more capital intensive
Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
For many reasons, choosing soft energy paths over hard energy paths will serve the interests of most
people in the United States economy and worldwide. Hard-path technologies are very capital intensive,
while soft-path technologies are much more labor intensive. Thus, soft paths lead to more
310

employment. Soft paths also tend to cost less, as do energy efficiency measures, especially when cost
accounting is done on a life-cycle basis where the typically high initial costs are offset by savings from low
operating costs later. 311 Accordingly, over the past two decades, soft paths have added much more to new
"supplies" of end-use energy in the United States economy than have hard paths, despite massive
subsidies for hard paths. 312 Because soft-path technologies use locally available resources and employ
people to do work in local economies, investments in soft paths pump money into local economies
while hard-path spending drains money away to other regions and other countries. 313 Money that stays
home can be reinvested in other sectors of the economy. Moreover, because soft-path supplies tend to be
less capital intensive than hard path [*739] supply options, choosing soft paths means that a larger portion of
the total capital available for investment can be invested in other sectors. 314

75
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Native Economy DA


Development in tribal lands can help them with their economic development.
Burke and Sikkema – Energy Policy Specialist and director of NCSL’s. Institute for State-Tribal
Relations – 2007 (Kate and Linda, “Native American Power”, NCSL, June,
http://www.ncsl.org/magazine/articles/2007/07SLJune07_Native.pdf)

HELPING THEIR OWN One-third of the 2.4 million Native Americans living on or near tribal lands live
in poverty. The unemployment rate is double the national average. There are an estimated 18,000 families in the Navajo
Nation alone still living without electricity. “Our hope is that if the tribes choose to develop these
renewable energy resources,” says DOE’s Pierce, “it could enable local economic development and
contribute to additional jobs.” For some tribes, taking on renewable energy projects means helping members
pay for, and in some cases acquire, power. If tribes can generate their own power, they can lower utility bills and bring power to more people.
Energy projects also provide new jobs, and potential profits translate into additional assets for tribes. In some cases not only do tribes benefit, but so do the
areas near the reservation. A handful of tribes supply power to neighboring communities, which can be beneficial for the tribes as well as the surrounding
area.

76
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Self D DA
Ignoring legitimate concerns for human rights and will perpetuate international conflict on a global scale.
Self determination is a prerequisite for human dignity
Kolodner 94 (Eric, JD NYU Law, “The Future of the Right of Self Determination”, 10 Conn. J. Int'l L. 153, Lexis)
Despite the international community's historical support for self determination, some commentators assert that the
international community should now halt the development of this right and refuse to support self determination
movements. n28 Such a perspective is misguided for two reasons. First, it ignores the legitimate human rights
claims of numerous peoples throughout the world. Second, it will perpetuate domestic and international
conflict. While the era of decolonization might have formally ended, many peoples still suffer under neo-colonial
oppression. n29 Only if the interna- [*158] tional community supports movements for self-determination can it
guarantee the protection of the rights of peoples throughout the world. n30 As Hector Gros Espiell, a U.N. Special
Rapporteur on the right to self-determination, concluded:
The effective exercise of a people's right to self-determination is an essential condition or prerequisite . . . for
the genuine existence of the other human rights and freedoms. Only when self-determination has been
achieved can a people take the measures necessary to ensure human dignity, the full enjoyment of all rights
and the political, economic, social and cultural progress of all human beings. . . . n31

77
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Self D Good – Extinction


Current restrictions on self determination create violent conflicts internationally which threaten global
survival. We must readjust our conception of self determination to protect human rights and world stability
Kolodner 94 (Eric, JD NYU Law, “The Future of the Right of Self Determination”, 10 Conn. J. Int'l L. 153, Lexis)

Self-determination has recently assumed a salience within the international arena: the dissolution of the Soviet
Union; the bloody conflict in former Yugoslavia; the attempted secession of Quebec from Canada; the apparent
settlement between Eritrea and Ethiopia; the partition of Czechoslovakia; and the continued warfare in Sri Lanka
have all implicitly or explicitly raised questions of self-determination. n1 That is, in each of these cases, communities
have demanded a change in their international identities and greater control over their everyday social, economic,
and political lives. Since the end of World War I, the international community has actively emphasized principles of
self-determination. "Perhaps no contemporary norm of international law has been so vigorously promoted or widely
accepted as the right of all peoples to self-determination." n2 Despite historical, legal, and political support for
self-determination movements, however, some observers have recently argued that present global conditions
dictate a restriction on such movements. Citing the importance of regional alliances, they worry that current and
future movements for self-determination portend lengthy and violent conflicts which threaten to embroil all
nations, weaken international cooperation, and undermine recent democratic developments. n3 Such
commentators assert that as the era of decolonization comes to a close and an apparently new era of democracy
surfaces, the doctrine of self-determination should either be relegated to historical "dustbins" or severely limited in
scope. n4 This paper argues that such views derive from an unjustifiably limited conception of self-determination and
a short-sighted perspective on geo-political realities. Rather than abandoning self-determination principles, the
international community must readjust its conception of selfdetermination to address the changing needs of a
post-Cold War world. Part II briefly discusses the history and development of self-determination. Part III then
describes its "external" and "internal" aspects, and addresses the future of the right to self-determination. It argues
that the international community can simultaneously promote human rights and world stability only if it
cautiously supports movements for external selfdetermination and actively encourages movements for
internal self-determination.

78
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Self D Good – Heg


Self determination is key for US leadership and to avoid conflict
Kolodner 94 (Eric, JD NYU Law, “The Future of the Right of Self Determination”, 10 Conn. J. Int'l L. 153, Lexis)

The serious consequences of the international community's refusal to support self-determination movements are also
evident in the former Yugoslavia and Somalia. The failure to promptly address self-determination claims in these
two territories contributed to the conflict in which they are now embroiled. n40 "A failure to respond more quickly,
directly, and comprehensively to self-determination claims in the future will cause more such needless tragedy . . .
ultimately with profound consequences for U.S. interests and American ideals.

Global nuclear war


Zalmay Khalilzad, RAND Corporation, Losing The Moment? Washington Quarterly, Vol 18, No 2, 1995, p. 84
Under the third option, the United States would seek to retain global leadership and to preclude the rise of a
global rival or a return to multipolarity for the indefinite future. On balance, this is the best long-term guiding
principle and vision. Such a vision is desirable not as an end in itself, but because a world in which the United
States exercises leadership would have tremendous advantages. First, the global environment would be more
open and more receptive to American values -- democracy, free markets, and the rule of law. Second, such a
world would have a better chance of dealing cooperatively with the world's major problems, such as nuclear
proliferation, threats of regional hegemony by renegade states, and low-level conflicts. Finally, U.S. leadership
would help preclude the rise of another hostile global rival, enabling the United States and the world to
avoid another global cold or hot war and all the attendant dangers, including a global nuclear
exchange. U.S. leadership would therefore be more conducive to global stability than a bipolar or a
multipolar balance of power system.

79
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

Self D Good – Democracy


Self Determination is a necessary prerequisite to all democratic states
Philpott 95 (Daniel, In Defense of Self-Determination, Ethics, Vol. 105, No. 2, Jan, pp. 352-385, The
University of Chicago Press, JSTOR)
To the democrat, though, this skepticism is far from easy. Despite its miscarriages, self-determination runs
deep in democratic history, often traced back to the French Revolution, when Sieyes and others preached
that Rousseauian self-government means not only democracy, but also an independent nation. And if the
French Revolution is only partially vindicated, Americans find and celebrate the same link in their own
revolution. The democratic intuition in international relations is that just as self-governing people ought
to be unchained from kings, nobles, churches, and ancient custom, self-determining peoples should be
emancipated from outside control-imperial power, colonial authority, Communist domination. Self-
determination is inextricable from democracy; our ideals commit us to it.

Extinction
Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow – Hoover Institution, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s, December 1995,
http://wwics.si.edu/subsites/ccpdc/pubs/di/1.htm
OTHER THREATS This hardly exhausts the lists of threats to our security and well-being in the coming years
and decades. In the former Yugoslavia nationalist aggression tears at the stability of Europe and could easily
spread. The flow of illegal drugs intensifies through increasingly powerful international crime syndicates that
have made common cause with authoritarian regimes and have utterly corrupted the institutions of tenuous,
democratic ones. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons continue to proliferate. The very source of life
on Earth, the global ecosystem, appears increasingly endangered. Most of these new and unconventional
threats to security are associated with or aggravated by the weakness or absence of democracy, with its
provisions for legality, accountability, popular sovereignty, and openness. LESSONS OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY The experience of this century offers important lessons. Countries that govern
themselves in a truly democratic fashion do not go to war with one another. They do not aggress against
their neighbors to aggrandize themselves or glorify their leaders. Democratic governments do not ethnically
"cleanse" their own populations, and they are much less likely to face ethnic insurgency. Democracies do not
sponsor terrorism against one another. They do not build weapons of mass destruction to use on or to threaten
one another. Democratic countries form more reliable, open, and enduring trading partnerships. In the long
run they offer better and more stable climates for investment. They are more environmentally responsible
because they must answer to their own citizens, who organize to protest the destruction of their
environments. They are better bets to honor international treaties since they value legal obligations and because
their openness makes it much more difficult to breach agreements in secret. Precisely because, within their own
borders, they respect competition, civil liberties, property rights, and the rule of law, democracies are the only
reliable foundation on which a new world order of international security and prosperity can be built.

80
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir Scenario


Denying self determination movements causes conflict in Kashmir
Kolodner 94 (Eric, JD NYU Law, “The Future of the Right of Self Determination”, 10 Conn. J. Int'l L. 153, Lexis)
The refusal to recognize self-determination movements can also produce severe international ramifications. The
current conflict in Kashmir demonstrates how a previous denial of a people's right to selfdetermination can foment
the conflicts of the present and ensure the uncertainty of the future. In 1947, Great Britain decided to partition its
South Asian colony into two independent countries: Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. n32 The ruling prince of
Kashmir (a northern state in British India) was granted the option of merging with India or Pakistan, or declaring an
independent state. n33 This Hindu prince chose independence for his predominantly Muslim kingdom. n34 A Pakistani-
sponsored revolt in Kashmir, however, derailed the prince's plans, and he was forced to ask for Indian military aid in
exchange for Kashmir's accession to this new Hindu state. n35 A U.N.-mediated cease-fire divided Kashmir between
Pakistan and India, and a U.N. resolution called for a plebiscite in which Kashmiris could opt for union with India or
Pakistan. n36 The plebiscite was never held, and India formally annexed Kashmir in 1957. n37 For the past thirty-five
years, Kashmir has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan, with dozens of guerrilla organizations
engaged in fighting. n38 The past few years have witnessed intensified vio- [*159] lence with over 3000 deaths in
1990 alone. n39 If the U.N. had permitted the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination through the
plebiscite it promised, this current conflict could potentially have been mitigated or even averted.

81
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Movements Now


Kosovo independence has emboldened separatist movements in Kashmir
Herald Sun 08 (Kosovo heartens Kashmir separatists, February 23,
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23266451-5005961,00.html)
Separatists in Indian Kashmir said Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence has bolstered their
resolve to achieve the same status for the disputed Himalayan territory. Kosovo last Sunday declared
independence from Serbia, which vowed never to recognise the move. Kosovo's independence declaration
has "strengthened our resolve to achieve freedom for Kashmir", leading Kashmiri separatist Shabir
Shah said. Several countries including the United States and Britain have recognised Kosovo as a new state,
but India said it was studying the legal ramifications. India is wary of recognising Kosovo as an
independent state because of its potential implications for Kashmir, racked by a nearly two-decade revolt
against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 43,000 people dead. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan,
which have fought two wars for control of the Muslim-majority region, each hold part of the territory but claim it
in full. "Kosovo's independence is an indicator that struggles based on truth and justice never fail,"
Shah said, adding the day is not "far when Kashmiris will be free".

Kashmir is currently experiencing some of the largest self-determination protests the


region has ever seen
AFP 2/27 (Tens of thousands hit Indian Kashmir streets in protest,
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzHRCSdVOoN4swo-6hDP3rzuCtGA)
Tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Indian Kashmir's main city on Friday in some of
the biggest pro-freedom protests in the Muslim-majority region in almost two decades. The demonstrations,
which marked the fifth straight day of upheaval in the disputed Himalayan province, began as displays of anger
over the transfer of land to a Hindu pilgrim body before growing into larger anti-India rallies. "It is one of the
biggest pro-freedom marches I have witnessed," said Joginder Singh, a resident of the Lal Chowk
commercial area, one of several spots in Srinagar where thousands gathered. Chanting "We want freedom"
and "Stop the sale of Kashmir," the marchers passed through stone and brick-littered streets and tore
down banners and billboards of pro-India parties as federal troops watched from a distance, an AFP reporter
and witnesses said. Large numbers of armed security personnel patrolled sensitive areas of the city on Friday, the
day Muslims offer congregational prayers. Police, who have been urged by local officials to show restraint,
retreated before the swelling crowds in the heart of the city. After Friday afternoon prayers, thousands of
worshippers emerged from Srinagar's main mosque and also started marching towards Lal Chowk, with
thousands more joining them along the way. Some in the crowd carried banners that read "India leave
Kashmir," while others among the protesters shouted pro-Pakistan slogans. Top separatist leaders were absent,
with authorities having placed many of them under house arrest. On the outskirts of the heavily guarded city,
police broke up half-a-dozen small protests by firing in the air and using tear gas. Police said they also used force
in four other towns in the valley.

82
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Support for Movements Now


There is widespread both global and local support for Kashmiri self determination
Kashmir Media Service 6/21 (“OIC supports Kashmiris' right to self-determination,” Thursday, June 26, 2008,
http://www.kmsnews.org/news/oic-supports-kashmiris-right-self-determination)
Kampala, June 21 (KMS): The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) Contact Group on Kashmir while
reiterating its support to Kashmiris' struggle for right to self-determination has stressed the need for
resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with aspirations of the people of the occupied territory.
The reiteration was made by the OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, while addressing 35th session of
the Council of Foreign Ministers moot in Uganda's capital city Kampala. Speaking on the occasion the foreign
minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi highlighted his county's efforts regarding the resolution of
Kashmir dispute through a meaningful, constructive and result-oriented dialogue with India. He said that
Pakistan would continue to extend its moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiri people in
their just struggle. The Kashmiris' representatives lead by the APHC leader, Agha Syed Hassan Al-Moosvi,
Mahmood Ahmed Sagar, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl and Shah Ghulam Qadir apprised the meeting of the
latest human rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir and called for regular monitoring of the human rights
situation by the OIC and immediate inquiry into the issue of mass graves discovered in occupied Kashmir. They
thanked Izzat Kamil Mufti, the Secretary General's special representative on Jammu and Kashmir, for his
sustained efforts in support of the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. Kashmiri leaders also
expressed grave concern over the illegal transfer of forestland to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and said that
India was working on a plan to change the demography of Kashmir. The foreign minister of Turkey, minister
of state for foreign affairs, Saudi Arabia and foreign minister of Niger emphasized that the dispute
should be resolved peacefully keeping in view the wishes and aspiration of the people of occupied
Kashmir.

The Kashmiri people have support now for self-determination


The Daily Times 6/24 (President hopes for peaceful Kashmir solution, June 24, 2008
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C06%5C25%5Cstory_25-6-2008_pg7_18)
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan will continue its political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of
Kashmir until the fate of the valley is decided in accordance with their aspirations, President Pervez
Musharraf said on Tuesday. Any solution to the Kashmir issue that does not have the backing of the
Kashmiris will not be durable and sustainable, Musharraf told a delegation of the All Parties Hurriyat
Conference (APHC), which consisted of Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Ghani Lone. The
delegates said elections in Indian-held Kashmir could not be a substitute for the exercise of right of self-
determination by the Kashmiris.

83
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Unstable Now


Riots in Kashmir have torn the region asunder
AFP 6/26 (Police, protesters clash in Indian Kashmir for fourth day, June 26, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jBwWPuYMGgcwmu4pdfj6LnBa1hMA)
Violent protests in Indian Kashmir entered their fourth day Thursday as police struggled to contain
thousands of protesters angered over the provision of land in the Muslim region to Hindu pilgrims. Officials and
witnesses said some 50 people were hurt in clashes as police used force at more than 20 places across the
Kashmir valley in the revolt-hit and disputed Himalayan region. The protests, which began Monday, have left
three Kashmiris dead in police firings, and nearly 200 others injured. The Kashmir valley hub of Srinagar
has been transformed into a battleground littered with rocks and burned tyres. "The situation in the city
is very tense," city police chief Syed Mujtaba told reporters, adding that reinforcements had been rushed to the
worst-hit areas. Tensions worsened overnight after police shot dead a third protester. Hundreds of youth
were on the streets again Thursday, chanting slogans including, "We want freedom" and "Stop giving land to
Indians." Police later fired in the air, lobbed tear-gas canisters and used batons to disperse the demonstration,
AFP photographers said. Police also used force to quell stone-pelting groups across the city of one million,
including along the main road to Srinagar's high-security airport, witnesses said. The protests were sparked by a
local government decision last week to give land to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, a Hindu trust, so it can
build accommodation for tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims who make an annual pilgrimage to a mountain
grotto. Faced with rapidly deteriorating security, the state's chief minister vowed Wednesday that nothing would
be built for the pilgrims until further notice. The protests are reminiscent of large scale anti-India demonstrations
that hit Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley in 1990, a year after militants launched an insurgency
against Indian rule. Anti-India sentiments run high in Kashmir, which is split between nuclear-armed
rivals India and Pakistan, and where Indian troops are often accused of human rights violations.

Kashmir is as unstable as it was when its insurgency originally broke out, violence is
rampant
AFP 2/27 (Tens of thousands hit Indian Kashmir streets in protest,
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzHRCSdVOoN4swo-6hDP3rzuCtGA)
"Some 40 people were hurt on Friday in clashes, including 15 policemen, across Kashmir," a police officer said,
adding protesters also set fire to a car, and destroyed several security posts. Three Kashmiris have died
this week and nearly 240 have been injured, evoking memories of widespread protests that swept the
region after a separatist insurgency broke out in 1989. Banks, post offices, schools and offices were closed
in Srinagar on Friday and there was little traffic. The unrest was sparked by a state government decision
last week to transfer some land to a Hindu trust for the construction of accommodation for tens of thousands
of Hindu pilgrims making an annual pilgrimage to a mountain grotto. Tensions were still high despite a
promise by the state's chief minister that no construction activity would be permitted until further notice.
Kashmir Valley police chief S.M. Sahai said police were trying to talk to civic leaders in Srinagar "so that normal
situation could be restored as soon as possible." Insurgency-hit Kashmir is held in part by nuclear-armed
rivals India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in full, and has remained a sticking point in negotiations
between the two sides.

84
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Unstable Now


Impending elections mean that the violence in Kashmir is only going to get worse
Reuters 6/14 (Indian minister warns Kashmir violence could worsen, 2008,
http://in.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idINB66836920080614)
BANGALORE, India, June 14 (Reuters) - India's defence minister warned on Saturday that attacks by
separatist militants in the disputed Kashmir region could increase as local elections draw near. The
comments by A.K. Antony came a day after suspected rebels killed five people, including four Indian soldiers,
and injured 12 civilians in two separate attacks in the Himalayan region claimed by both India and Pakistan. "In
the coming months there could be more attempts at infiltration and violence," he told reporters while
visiting the southern city of Bangalore. Earlier on Saturday, three people, including a policeman, were injured in
a grenade attack at a police post outside the chief minister's office in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir's summer capital.
"There are forces within and outside the county who do not want free and fair elections," Antony said.
"From our side, we will provide logistic support for free and peaceful elections. If we do that it will boost
confidence of people both in India and outside." Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly are due by
November. Violence involving Indian troops and separatist militants has declined since India and Pakistan began
a peace process in 2004, but people are still killed in daily shootouts and occasional bomb attacks. Tens
of thousands of people have been killed in the region since a rev olt against New Delhi broke out in
1989.

85
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: India-Pakistan War


There will be no nuclear war over Kashmir, both sides are rational
Associated Press of Pakistan 00 (India, Pakistan dismiss fears of nuclear war over Kashmir, March 13,
http://www.fas.org/news/pakistan/2000/000313-pak-app1.htm)
The leaders of Pakistan and India, in interviews published on Mar. 12 by both the Washington Post and
Newsweek, dismissed concerns that nuclear war could result from the conflict between their countries
over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. “There is no possibility. I completely rule out a nuclear
war,” Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said. Pakistan Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf
also expressed confidence in a parallel interview that the nuclear threshold would not be crossed on the
subcontinent. “I do not think it will get out of control,” said Musharraf, referring to tensions between the two
neighboring states. “They know that there is a deterrence in place on our side,” added Musharraf.

MAD prevents India-Pakistan conflict


Friedman 02 (Benjamin, political economist at William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy at Harvard
University, “India and Pakistan: War in the Nuclear Shadow,” Nuclear Issues, Center for Defense Information, June
18, http://www.cdi.org/nuclear/nuclearshadow.cfm)
Many political theorists argue that the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides will prevent another
major war. By making the risks of war unthinkable, the logic goes, nuclear weapons create a balance of
terror, sobering leaders and necessitating dialogue, as in the Cold War. Yet today in Kashmir the threat of war
looms despite these weapons. Are nuclear weapons then containing or causing conflict in Kashmir? Perhaps
both. Because both states have nuclear weapons, neither is likely to intentionally launch an all-out war.
But nuclear weapons permit the states to take lesser violent actions - risks that attempt to exploit the chance of
catastrophe for strategic gain.

86
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Self-D Doesn’t Cause War


Kashmir would be a peaceful independent state that would work to resolve Indo-Pak
tensions, there would be no war
Parker 03 (Karen, J.D. Honors, Univ. San Francisco, Diplome, Strasbourg, non-governmental delegate to UN
Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission, “The Right to Self-determination of the Kashmiri People,”
Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, July 24,
Even without the United Nations recognition of the Kashmiri’s right to self-determination, the Kashmir
claim under the traditional test set out above: (1) a definable territory with a history of independence or
self-governance; (2) a distinct culture; and (3) the will and capability to restore self-governance. Tfhe
area had a long history of self-governance pre-dating the colonial period.16 In this regard it is revealing that
under British colonial rule, Kashmir was granted internal autonomy. The territory of Kashmir has been clearly
defined for centuries.17 Regarding cultural uniqueness, the Kashmiri people speak Kashmiri, which,
while enjoying Sanskrit as a root language as do all Indo-European languages, is clearly a separate language
from either Hindi or other languages spoken in India or Urdu or other languages spoken in Pakistan.18 The
Kashmiri culture is similarly distinct from other cultures in the area in all respects -- folklore, dress,
traditions, and cuisine. Even every day artifacts such as cooking pots, jewelry have the unique Kashmiri style.19
Most important to a claim to self-determination, the Kashmiri people have had a continuing and at present
have a current strong common aspiration for re-establishment of self-rule. The Kashmiri people resisted
the British, and maintained autonomy throughout British rule. In 1931 the Kashmiri people and their
leadership formed the “Quit Kashmir” movement against the British and the British-supported maharajah that
was, unfortunately, brutally put down. But the "Quit Kashmir" campaign against the maharajah continued into
1946, when it reconstituted itself into the Azad (Free) Kashmir movement. As discussed above, during the
breakup of British India, the Azad Kashmir military forces began armed attacks against the forces of the
maharajah -- prompting the accession to India in exchange for Indian military protection.20 Resistance to
Indian occupation has continued unabated throughout Indian occupation, with major uprisings in 1953,
1964 and continuing essentially unabated since 1988. While resistance to India has played a major role in
Kashmiri events, there is also forward-looking political leadership with a clear will and capability to
carry on the governance of an independent Kashmir. There are a number of political parties in both
Indian-occupied Kashmir and Azed Kashmir that have been active for some time, even though at great risk.
Many of the leaders of these parties have spent time in Indian jails, some for many years, merely because of their
political views on Kashmir. In 1993 most of the Kashmiri political parties in the Indian-occupied area joined
together to form the All- Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC). Since it formation, the APHC has sent leaders
around Kashmir and around the world to forward dialogue, peaceful resolution of the Kashmiri war, and
realization of the United Nations resolutions for a plebiscite of the Kashmiri people. Leaders and
representatives of the APHC have regularly attended United Nations human rights sessions, special
conferences and the General Assembly.

87
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Kashmir – Self-D solves War


Self determination in Kashmir is the only way to diffuse rising warlike tensions between
India and Pakistan
Safvi 07 (Syed Ali, Right To Self-determination: A Key To Kashmir Solution, Countercurrents, Feb 24,
http://www.countercurrents.org/kashmir-safvi240207.htm, accessed 06/26/08)
The solution of Kashmir imbroglio is accessible provided all parties are committed to resolve the dispute.
Both New Delhi and Islamabad have been doing a lot in this regard but their efforts have not yielded concrete
results. The last few years have witnessed a tremendous improvement in the relationship between the two
nations. However, when Kashmir, which is a bone of contention between India and Pakistan, comes for
discussion the atmosphere of hope turns into despair and both the countries are unable to come to a
joint agreement. Both the nations must know that the good relations will last long only when the made-
complex issue of Kashmir is resolved, otherwise such Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) will turn out
to be fruitless only. India and Pakistan are so allergic to each other that they are not going to accept any
solution proposed by either of the two. The reason is that the leaders of the two countries don't trust each other
and the history too does not augur well for them. Musharraf's proposals of 'demilitarization' and 'self-rule' was
turned down by India without considering them worthy of giving a serious thought. In such a hostile and
hopeless situation, the solution of Kashmir crises looks very much elusive. It is very pathetic on part of the
Indian leaders not to come up with any proposal. If they don't like the proposal put forth by Musharraf why they
don't then come up with their own proposal? This clearly shows how "serious" and "committed" they are to
resolve the impending dispute over Kashmir. You cannot castigate others and yourself remain silent at the same
time. Either you have to accept the proposals or come up with one. The history bears testimony to the fact that
India and Pakistan can't reach any solution and the measures they take are only to make an impression in the
international stage that Kashmir is being 'seriously' discussed. In fact, both the countries are merely killing
time and the status quo will mean that Kashmir crises will continue unabated. Pragmatically, there
seems to be only one way out to put an end to nearly 60 years of mayhem in Kashmir: free and impartial
plebiscite under the aegis of the United Nation as per the UN Resolution, with the inclusion of a third
option, Independence, just to update the 'old' Resolution. Let the people of Kashmir decide about their future.
The UN Resolution can peacefully and permanently solve the Kashmir dispute. After all, it was responsible to
permanently solve the dispute in South Africa and Angola. Ironically, one of the largest democracies in the
world, India, has refrained from granting the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir,
which happens to be their democratic right.

Nuclear conflict will erupt between India and Pakistan if a peaceful solution is not achieved
in Kashmir
Parker 03 (Karen, J.D. Honors, Univ. San Francisco, Diplome, Strasbourg, non-governmental delegate to UN
Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission, “The Right to Self-determination of the Kashmiri People,”
Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, July 24,
The United Nations determined many years ago that the Kashmiri people have the right to self-
determination and set up a plan for realizing this right and resolving what was then a political and military
crisis between India and Pakistan over the disposition of Kashmir. However, this plan has not able to be
implemented and the Kashmiri right to self-determine is as yet unrealized. India and Pakistan have
continued to fight over Kashmir -- a fight that has generated several wars and many military skirmishes
between them. Kashmir situation continues to haunt the world, especially now that both India and
Pakistan have developed nuclear weapons capability. The Kashmiri people continue to suffer from
serious human rights and humanitarian law violations in the course of India’s military actions against
them.

88
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: Bush Good


Developing native renewables has broad bipartisan support and is a win for Bush
Mike Connor, Majority Counsel – Energy and Natural Resources Committee of the United States Senate,
“Energizing Indian Tribes and America”, American Bar Association Native American Resources Committee, 1(2),
March 2002, http://www.abanet.org/environ/committees/nativeamerican/newsletter/mar02/connor.shtml
The Energy Policy Act of 2002 holds much promise for Indian country and tribal leaders have provided
significant support for the legislation. See, e.g., Bingaman Energy Bill Would Help Tribes, Albuquerque Journal
(Jan. 7, 2002). Moreover, the legislation was developed wit h bipartisan input from the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee and is consistent with President Bush's Energy Plan, which calls for more domestic
energy production. See National Energy Policy - Report of the National Energy Policy Development Group
(May 2001). The Senate has begun to debate and act on the Energy Policy Act. Notwithstanding the
widespread support that exists on Indian energy issues, there are still several unrelated issues that are
potential impediments to final enactment of the necessary legislation. Included among these issues are the
average fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (so-called CAFÉ standards), many elements of
electricity reform, and opening up the Arctic National W ildlife Refuge to oil exploration. Assuming these issues
do not derail enactment of the bill, the Senate would then conference with the House of Representatives, which
passed an energy bill late last summer. See H.R. 4, Securing America's Future Energy Act of 2001 (Sept. 4,
2001). The House and Senate conferees would have to reach agreement on controversial is sues, and also agree
to include the Indian energy sections in the final bill. Those sections were not included in H.R. 4. Assuming
ultimate agreement and final enactment by the House and Senate, the bill would go to President Bush for his
signature. The President has been a strong advocate for energy legislation and it is likely that he
would sign a final bill that includes a number of items addressed in the National Energy Policy Report.
Although the politics concerning comprehensive energy legislation are complicated, it does appear that
most people agree that it is time to update our national energy policies. That fact gives hope that some
form of broad legislation will be enacted in 2002. The Energy Policy Act addresses the often-ignored trust
responsibility that the federal government owes to Indian tribes and their people by including Indian tribes as
both important benefactors and beneficiaries of energy reform.

89
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: States CP
Pre-emption:

A) States lack jurisdiction over natives


Dean B. Suagee, J.D. – University of North Carolina Law, LLM – American University, University of Michigan
Journal of Law Reform, “Self-Determination For Indigenous Peoples At The Dawn Of The Solar Age”, Spring and
Summer 1992, 25 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 671, Lexis
Indian tribes have governmental powers as an aspect of their original or inherent sovereignty, but these powers
can be divested by Congress through its "plenary power." 112 Within their reservations, tribes generally retain all
powers other than those they gave up in treaties, had taken away by an express act of Congress, or had taken
away by implicit divestiture as a result of their dependent status. 113 Accordingly, the tribes have authority over a
wide range of subject matter, although the federal government has concurrent authority over much of this range.
State governments generally lack jurisdiction over tribes and Indians within reservations, unless
expressly granted jurisdiction by the federal government, 114 but states generally do have jurisdiction
over non-Indians within reservations, except when preempted by federal law 115 or when the exercise of
state authority would infringe upon tribal self-government. 116

B) That means state action will be rolled back


Free Dictionary 2008
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Preemption
A doctrine based on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution that holds that certain matters are of such a
national, as opposed to local, character that federal laws preempt or take precedence over state laws. As such, a
state may not pass a law inconsistent with the federal law.
A doctrine of state law that holds that a state law displaces a local law or regulation that is in the same field and
is in conflict or inconsistent with the state law.
Article VI, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution provides that the "… Constitution, and the Laws of the United States …
shall be the supreme Law of the Land." This Supremacy Clause has come to mean that the national government,
in exercising any of the powers enumerated in the Constitution, must prevail over any conflicting or inconsistent
state exercise of power. The federal preemption doctrine is a judicial response to the conflict between federal and
state legislation. When it is clearly established that a federal law preempts a state law, the state law must be
declared invalid.
A state law may be struck down even when it does not explicitly conflict with federal law, if a court finds that
Congress has legitimately occupied the field with federal legislation. Questions in this area require careful Balancing of
important state and federal interests. Problems arise when Congress fails to make its purpose explicit, which is often the case. The court must
then draw inferences based on the presumed objectives of federal law and the supposed impact of related State Action.

90
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: States CP
State Government has practically no authority over Native Americans, they are only
subjugated to Federal Authority
US Department of Health and Social Services, 2002
US Department of Health and Social Services, “Tribal Self-Governance Studies”, FAQs, October 2002,
http://aspe.hhs.gov/SelfGovernance/faqs.htm - Accessed June 25, 2008

What Is the Relationship Between Tribal and State Governments?


Because the Constitution vests authority over Indian Affairs in the federal government, generally, states have no
authority over tribal governments. Tribal governments are not subordinate to state governments. They retain the
right to enact and enforce stricter or more lenient laws and regulations than those of the neighboring state(s).
Tribes possess both the right and the power to regulate activities on their lands independently from the neighboring state government. However,
tribes frequently collaborate and cooperate with states through compacts or other agreements. The Tribal-to-State relationship is also one of a
government to a government.

Federal Government has ultimate authority over Native American in all aspects such as economic, territorial,
and legal rights
Law Library-American Law and Legal Information
<a href="http://law.jrank.org/pages/8749/Native-American-Rights-Federal-Power-over-Native-American-Rights.html">Native American Rights -
Federal Power Over Native American Rights</a>, Accessed June 25, 2008
Although Native Americans have been held to have both inherent rights and rights guaranteed, either explicitly or
implicitly, by treaties with the federal government, the government retains the ultimate power and authority to either
abrogate or protect Native American rights. This power stems from several legal sources. One is the power that the
Constitution gives to Congress to make regulations governing the territory belonging to the United States (Art. IV,
Sec. 3, Cl. 2), and another is the president's constitutional power to make treaties (Art. II, Sec. 2, Cl. 2). A more
commonly cited source of federal power over Native American affairs is the COMMERCE CLAUSE of the U.S.
Constitution, which provides that "Congress shall have the Power … to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,
and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes" (Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 3). This clause has resulted in what is
known as Congress's "plenary power" over Indian affairs, which means that Congress has the ultimate right to pass
legislation governing Native Americans, even when that legislation conflicts with or abrogates Indian treaties. The
most well-known case supporting this congressional right is Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553, 23 S. Ct. 216, 47
L. Ed. 299 (1903), in which Congress broke a treaty provision that had guaranteed that no more cessions of land
would be made without the consent of three-fourths of the adult males from the Kiowa and Comanche tribes. In
justifying this abrogation, Justice EDWARD D. WHITE declared that when "treaties were entered into between the
United States and a tribe of Indians it was never doubted that the power to abrogate existed in Congress, and that in
a contingency such power might be availed of from considerations of governmental policy."
Another source for the federal government's power over Native American affairs is what is called the "trust
relationship" between the government and Native American tribes. This "trust relationship" or "trust responsibility"
refers to the federal government's consistent promise, in the treaties that it signed, to protect the safety and well-
being of the tribal members in return for their willingness to give up their lands. This notion of a trust relationship between Native
Americans and the federal government was developed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall in the opinions that he wrote for the three cases on tribal
sovereignty described above, which became known as the Marshall Trilogy. In the second of these cases, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, Marshall specifically described
the tribes as "domestic dependant nations" whose relation to the United States was like "that of a ward to his guardian." Similarly, in Worcester v. Georgia, Marshall
declared that the federal government had entered into a special relationship with the Cherokees through the treaties they had signed, a relationship involving certain
moral obligations. "The Cherokees," he wrote, "acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and of no other power. Protection does not
imply the destruction of the protected."
The federal government has often used this trust relationship to justify its actions on behalf of Native American tribes, such as its defense of Indian fishing and hunting
rights and the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Perhaps more often, however, the federal government has used the claim of a trust relationship to stretch
its protective duty toward tribes into an almost unbridled power over them. The United States, for example, is the legal title-holder to most Indian lands, giving it the
power to dispose of and manage those lands, as well as to derive income from them. The federal government has also used its powers in ways that seem inconsistent
with a moral duty to protect Indian interests, such as terminating dozens of Indian tribes and consistently breaking treaty provisions. Because the trust responsibility is
moral rather than legal, Native American tribes have had very little power or ability to enforce the promises and obligations of the federal government.
Several disputes have erupted over the relationship between the federal government and Native Americans. Beginning in 1998, beneficiaries of Individual Indian
Money (IIM), which is held in trust by the federal government, brought a CLASS ACTION against the secretary of the interior and others, alleging mismanagement
and breach of fiduciary duties against trustee-delegates of the funds. The case has spawned dozens of orders and rulings by the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.

91
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: States CP
Federal plenary power gives Federal government exclusive control of Native Americans
and allows it to preempt any possible state actions

Wilkins 2006(Wilkins, a Lumbee Indian, is an Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, Political Science, and Law at the
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus. He received his PhD from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 1990. His
publications focus particularly on Federal Indian law, tribal government and tribal sovereignty.)
David E. Wilkins, American Indian Politics and the American Political System: Second Edition, pg 49

A fourth concept, congressional plenary power, is yet another distinctive feature of tribal-federal relationship that
separates tribal nations from all other racial/ethnic groups in the United States.13Basically put, “plenary” means
complete in all aspects or meanings in federal Indian policy and law. First, it means exclusive. The federal
Constitution, in commerce clause(article 1, section 8, clause 3) vests in congress the sole authority to “regulate
Commerce with foreign Nations, and among several States, and with the Indian tribes.” In other words, the founders
of the American republic believed the power to engage in treaty making with the tribes should rest with the
legislative branch of the federal government, not with the states, which, under the Articles of Confederation, had
retained the right to deal with tribes in their proximity.
Second, and related to the first definition, plenary also means preemptive. That is, Congress may enact legislation
which effectively precludes-preempts-state governments from acting in Indian-relating matters. Finally, and most
controversially, since this definition lacks a constitutional basis, plenary means unlimited or absolute. This judicially
constructed definition(United States v. Kagama, 1886) means that the Congress has vested in itself, without a
constitutional mooring, virtually boundless governmental authority and jurisdiction over tribal nations, their lands,
and their resources. As recently as 2004 the Supreme Court, in United States v. Lara14, held that “ Congress, with
this Court’s approval, has interpreted the Constitution’s ‘plenary’ grants of power as authorizing it to enact
legislation that both restricts and, in turn, relaxes those restrictions on tribal sovereign authority.”15

92
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: States CP
The Federal Government has the unique authority over Tribal lands.
Southern Illinois University 1995 (“Native American Sovereignty Takes A Back Seat To The "Pig In The
Parlor:" The Redefining Of Tribal Sovereignty In Traditional Property Law Terms,” Southern Illinois University
Law Journal, Spring , Lexis, 19 S. Ill. U. L. J. 593,
Almost two centuries ago, the Supreme Court assigned a unique political status to the Native American tribes
and their members; n2 since that time the Court has been inconsistent when interpreting powers and rights
affiliated with that status. On the one hand, the tribes are considered sovereigns over their people and their
territories. N3 On the other hand, the tribes are considered domestic dependent nations whose sovereignty is
limited to the extent it conflicts with the overriding sovereignty of the federal government. N4 Tribal sovereign
power is therefore subject to unique limitations, when compared to the traditional sovereign powers of both
the federal government and the states. In addition, the Court has confused the identity of Native American tribes
as distinct political sovereigns with their status as landowners. Most reservations are a "checkerboard of tribal
community land, allotted Indian lands, property held in fee simple by non-Indians, and various roads and public
highways maintained by [local municipalities]." n5 Furthermore, not only tribal members but also non-member
Indians and non-Indians often occupy Indian reservations. This checkerboard pattern of ownership and multi-
cultural occupancy has been used by the Supreme Court in its rationale when mistaking powers which exist by
virtue of a tribe's sovereignty for rights which exist because of a tribe's status as a landowner. Nor has Congress
acted to clarify the dangerously confusing status of tribal sovereignty. Although Native American nations are
labelled as separate and distinct sovereigns, n6 the tribes are subject to the exercise of Congress' plenary
authority over them. n7 Like the Supreme Court, Congress has similarly confused the issue of the scope of
tribal sovereignty, enacting diverse and inconsistent legislation. n8 [*595] In 1887, Congress passed the
General Allotment Act in an effort to assimilate Native Americans into Anglo culture. n9 In 1934, Congress
repealed the Allotment Act via the Indian Reorganization Act to protect tribal rights of selfgovernment. N10 In
1990, Congress amended the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, drawing tribal criminal jurisdictional lines based
on ancestry rather than territorial boundaries. n11

93
Miami Debate Institute 2008
Natives Aff – Harrigan / Munksgaard

A2: T – In the United States


Indian reservations are part of the United States
Words & Phrases, Vol. 43, 1969, p. 506 (PDNSS4701)
Indian reservation, within limits of which, smuggled cattle were kept, is part of “United States," and therefore
smuggling was complete when cattle were brought onto reservation without payment of duty. 19 U.S. C.A. § l:dla(It,
c). Bailey v. United States, ('..('.A.Ariz., 47 F.2d 702, 7(1-I.

94

You might also like