TOPICALITY ARGUMENTS

Rich Edwards Baylor University 2014-15 National Policy Topic Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth’s oceans.

Especially Likely Topicality Arguments

Development is not the same as “protection.” Development of the oceans is not the same as development on the oceans.

Non-military does not include the Coast Guard or Army Corps of Engineers.

“Its” means the U.S. federal government, not energy or mining companies.

Increase means the expansion of an already existing program.

The increase is not “substantial.” “Oceans” is plural, meaning a plan focused on a single ocean is not topical.

Negative: Development Does Not Mean Protection

Page 9 of your handout: WORDS AND PHRASES, Vol. 12, 2007, 416. Development: “Development" relates to the management of a resource to make it available for use. AS 16.05.251.—Grunert v. State, 109 P.3d 924 WORDS AND PHRASES, Vol. 12, 2007, 419. Development: A development will always be a use, but a use may not always be a development. West's RCWA 90.58.020 Pew Oceans Commission, AMERICA’S LIVING OCEANS, 2003, 58. Recommendation 2. Identify and protect from development habitat critical for the functioning of coastal ecosystems. Congress should provide a significant, permanent, and dedicated source of funding for habitat protection.

Affirmative: Development Means to Protect a Resource

Page 9 of your handout: Joseph Pickett, (Editor), AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLEGE DICTIONARY, 2002, 388. Develop: To improve the quality of; refine. International Institute for Sustainable Development, WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?, 2011. Retrieved Mar. 3, 2014 from http://www.iisd.org/sd/ . Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs.

TOPIC PARAGRAPH

Oceans hold 99 percent of the space for Earth’s living organisms; yet many experts argue humans know less about the world’s oceans than outer space. This fact solidifies the topic as one which offers an opportunity to examine both U.S. and international law on matters related to the Earth’s ocean resources. In early 2012, the National Ocean Council drafted an Implementation Plan to translate President Obama’s National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean. The document indicates a readiness by the U.S. government to address oceanic exploration and development policies in the areas of marine planning, coastal communities, commercial fishing, agriculture and energy.

Possible affirmative cases would include reducing overfishing, limiting ocean acidification, conducting disease research, restricting invasive species and decreasing ocean dumping.

Other affirmatives could deal with changes in Arctic shipping routes or opportunities for oil and natural gas exploration. Negative positions can focus on international issues, especially with China or Russia, in regard to control of the Exclusive Economic Zone of oceans. Some negatives might take the route of environmental challenges or threats that development might encounter. Additionally, there is a wealth of negative information focusing on the burden additional exploration or development would place on the U.S. economy.

Negative: “Of” is not the same as “On”

MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/of?show=0&t=1412098958 . Of: “used as a function word to indicate the component material, parts, or elements or the contents” MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on . On: “touching and being supported by the top surface of (something)”

Affirmative: “Of” includes “On”

MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/of?show=0&t=1412098958 . Of: “belonging to, relating to, or connected with (someone or something)”

Negative: Coast Guard is Military

Pages 7-8 of Your Topicality Handout: Bryan Garner, (Editor), BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 2009, 1083. Military: Of or relating to the armed forces.

OXFORD DICTIONARY ONLINE, 2014. Retrieved Apr. 21, 2014 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/nonmilitary . Non-Military: Not belonging to, characteristic of, or involving the armed forces; civilian.

U.S. Coast Guard, OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD, Mar. 20, 2014. Retrieved Apr. 9, 2014 from http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/ . The U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United States and the only military organization within the Department of Homeland Security.

Affirmative: Coast Guard Is Assigned Non-Military Functions

Thomas Kerr, (Flotilla Staff Officer, U.S. Coast Guard) UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014 from http://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=013-02-08&category=auxiliary-history . “From its inception, the Coast Guard has been different in kind from the rest of America’s armed services. Apart from its military functions, the Coast Guard is also tasked with a broad range of additional duties: search and rescue at sea; administration of the nation’s maritime laws; environmental protection; port security; and maintenance of the nation’s public aids to navigation, to name but a few.”

Negative: “Its” Means the Plan Actor Must Be the U.S. Government, Not Private Corporations

Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout: Jean McKechnie, (Sr. Editor), WEBSTER’S NEW TWENTIETH CENTURY DICTIONARY, UNABRIDGED, 2 nd Ed., 1979, 977. Its: Of, or belonging to, or done by it. Layer Mayer, (Dir., Center for Coastal Mapping, U. New Hampshire), THE LAW OF THE SEA CONVENTION, 2012, 520. In the United States, the high-level technical expertise needed to design, build, implement, and evaluate deep-water drilling technology lies in the industry, not in the government, as those with these very specialized skill sets are paid much higher salaries in the private sector.

Affirmative: “Its” Only Means There Must Be Some Relation to the Federal Government

Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout: Sandra Anderson, (Editor), COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY, 8th Ed., 2006, 867. Its: Belonging to, or associated in some way with. Christopher Gillis, (Editor, American Shipper Magazine), OFFSHORE WINDPOWER, 2011, 91. For more than forty years, the Mineral Management Service has governed the U.S. offshore oil, gas, and mineral extraction industries in federal waters, known as the Outer Continental Shelf. Federally controlled waters generally cover three miles off the coast out to 200 miles.

Negative: “Increase” Means To Expand Something Already Existing

Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout: Ian Brookes, (Sr. Editor), THE CHAMBERS DICTIONARY, 10 th ed., 2006, 754. Increase: Growth; increment; addition to the original stock. Maurice Waite, (Editor), OXFORD DICTIONARY & THESAURUS, 2007, 526. Increase: Make bigger, augment, supplement.

Affirmative: “Increase” Can Mean to Start From Zero

Page 6 of Your Topicality Handout: WORDS AND PHRASES CUMULATIVE SUPPLEMENTARY PAMPHLET, Vol. 20A, 2007, 76. Increase: Salary change of from zero to $12,000 and $1,200 annually for mayor and councilmen respectively was an “increase” in salary and not merely the fixing of salary. King v. Herron, 243 S.E.2d36, 241 Ga. 5. Also, some ocean exploration and development programs already exist; by adding a new program, we are “increasing” the total amount of ocean exploration and dvelopment.

Affirmative: “Increase” Can Mean to Start From Zero

Negative: The Increase Is Not “Substantial”

Page 4 of Your Topicality Handout: “Substantially” means more than 25%. Federal Tax Regulation, Section 1.409A-3(j)6, INCOME TAX REGULATIONS (Wolters Kluwer Business Publication), 2008, 723. For this purpose, a reduction that is less than 25% of the deferred amount in dispute is not a substantial reduction.”

Affirmative: “Substantial” Means By an Important Amount

Page 5 of Your Topicality Handout: Christine Lindberg, (Editor), OXFORD COLLEGE DICTIONARY, 2 nd 2007, 1369. Substantially: Important in material or social terms. Ed., Erich Hoyt, (Sr. Research Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), MARINE PROTECTED AREAS FOR WHALES, DOLPHINS, AND PORPOISES, 2011, 42. Cetaceans are not only the high-profile attractions that bring people to the sea, but, by their presence, they advertise the health of that part of the sea since they are known to the public as inhabitants of clean, healthy waters. The tourism and local community benefits from cetaceans, as well as the economic impact, can be substantial.

Negative: “Oceans” Is Plural, Meaning More Than One Ocean

Page 12 of Your Topicality Handout: Bryan Garner, (Editor), BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 2009, 1185. Ocean: There are generally considered to be five oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic.

Affirmative: The Word “Oceans” Describes an Interconnected Whole

Page 12 of Your Topicality Handout: Elizabeth Geller, (Editor), DICTIONARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, 2003, 280. Ocean: The interconnected body of salt water that occupies almost three quarters of the earth’s surface.

Also, Affirmative plans are not required to do EVERYTHING encompassed within the resolution; instead, the plan must fall within the boundaries set by the resolution. The affirmative plan, by exploring/developing one ocean does fall within those boundaries.