Contention One - Inherency

US is behind the curve in use of energy-saving technology. Other countries moving

ahead in use of this clean power while we remain unaware.

Diamond '09 (Kimberly Diamond is a Vice Chair of the Carbon and Energy Trading and Finance Committee of the American
Barr Association's Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. Chair of a Sustainability Subcommittee on her township's
Environmental Commission http://www.lowenstein.com/files/Publication/bf19e0c6-a3ca-4b1f-b748-
3c42413b1dd0/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/c702d283-e7ce-48b4-b97d-4652afe8bbb8/Breakthroughs%20in
%20Piezoelectric%20Power%20KD%20EnergyPulse%2004.09.pdf )

Efforts are afoot internationally to incorporate piezoelectricity into the clean energy mainstream. While state-of-the art uses of
this electricity-generating technology have debuted in countries such as England, the Netherlands, Japan, and Israel, the U.S. is
currently running at the back of the pack of global leaders in this space. News about scientific breakthroughs enabling

piezoelectric devices to be incorporated as sustainable building materials has not yet percolated to Americans' mainstream awareness
level. This needs to change. Wide scale employment of piezoelectric power as an energy source is no longer merely a conceptual notion
fit to appear in science fiction novels. Revolutionary developments in piezoelectric technology now permit the kinetic energy generated
from people walking and dancing, as well as from moving vehicles, to be converted into clean power. Innovative devices employing
piezoelectricity offer vast public benefits and potential business opportunities in both the long and short terms. Increased piezoelectricity usage could be a trend that
plays a significant role in shaping tomorrow's world in the alternative energy sector as well as in financial markets. Consequently, new scientific and technological
advances in piezoelectric inventions merit endorsement and should be raised to the forefront of U.S. domestic public consciousness
and discourse.
Plan Text

The United States federal government should substantially increase its

transportation infrastructure investment by investing in piezoelectric
technology to improve the net efficiency of road transportation and harvest
previously wasted energy. We reserve the right to clarify our intent.
FRAMEWORK

interpretation: Don't evaluate existential impacts- unrealistic magnitude and probability claims shouldn't
be weigh against the impacts of the 1AC.

Standards and Voters:

1) education: if you were to bring up nuclear war and human extinction as an impact in Congress, you
would be laughed out the room. Debate should simulate real policymaking- their perverse analysis of
100% link chains and infinite impacts will never leave the debate room. Prefer our real world framework.
This is also a voter- they actually diminish our debate education and their own through their foolish
oversight.

2) ground: When the 1AC comes into the room with real-world impacts, the negs can just run ridiculous
DAs and Ks to outweigh, even if their arguments don't find light in the real world. That means they can
massively skew the debate in the 1NC with a list of infinite impacts that we can't answer.

3)
The threat of huge impacts is often exaggerated
Rescher, Prof. of Philosophy, '83
Nicholas Rescher, University of Pittsburgh Professor of Philosophy, “Risk: A Philosophical Introduction to the Theory of Risk
Evaluation and Management” 1983
But while there is room for (perfectly legitimate) differences from person to person, it is clear that when these go too far there also
arises a significant prospect of impropriety and exaggeration. People frequently tend to inflate “extreme”
outcomes -- exaggerating the badness of the bad and the goodness of the good. The tendency to overestimate the
dramatic comes into play with outcome-evaluation. Our psychological capacity for imagination may run riot.
We tend to overrate the positivity of imagination-projected boons and negativity of imagination-projected hazards:
anticipated tragedies often do not prove to be all that awful. And such psychological tendencies as are involved with
familiarity, understanding, dread, etc. can all foster unrealism in appraising negativities.

 The perceived value of an outcome may prove to be widely off the mark of any realistic estimate of its actual value. Our
perception of the magnitude of risks tends to be distorted by the structure of our anxieties. Hazards
involving threats that are particularly striking or dramatic -- leading to death, say, rather than mere debility, or
likely to take more rather then fewer lives -- tend to be overestimated, while risks of a commonplace,
undramatic nature whose eventuations are no less serious tend to be underestimated. ~
Advantage One is Safety
Subpoint A: Speeding
Solvency
Piezo-electric generators can monitor speeding on highways
Blum, ‘10 Blum, Brian. "Media People: Handy Tips." Media People: Handy Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Aug.
2012. <http://www.mediapeople.co.nz/releases/article.php?id=35023>.

Innowattech’s system could also be used on regular cars to monitor both their
Edery-Azulay says that

weight and, more important to the average motorist, their speed. When asked whether or not
piezoelectric pads could be deployed one day by police to more effectively catch regular
motorists zipping past the speed limit, she responds: "The government would have to pass certain regulations or
else people would take the police to court."

Still, in an age when Big Brother is increasingly watching from cameras mounted above, it’s only a matter of time before we may be
tracked from below as well.

IMPACT: Speeding is a leading factor of accidents, and increased

speeds lead to increased probability of fatality
Hamilton 04 The information on this page is from a brochure developed by the U.S. Department of
Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
http://www.ou.edu/oupd/speed.htm

Exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast for conditions is one of the most prevalent factors
contributing to traffic crashes. Speed is a factor in nearly one-third of all fatal crashes. Speed-related
crashes cost society more than $23 billion a year.. Too few drivers view speeding as an immediate risk to
their personal safety or the safety of others. Yet, speeding reduces a driver's ability to steer safely around
curves or objects in the roadway, and it extends the distance required to stop a vehicle in emergency
situations.

Crash severity increases with the speed of the vehicle at impact. Inversely, the effectiveness of
restraint devices like air bags and safety belts , and vehicular construction features such as crumple zones and side member
beams decline as impact speed increases. The probability of death, disfigurement, or debilitating injury
grows with higher speed at impact.
Subpoint B is Trucking

Solvency
The technology can also be used to alert authorities of overweight trucks

Blum, ‘10 Blum, Brian. "Media People: Handy Tips." Media People: Handy Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Aug.

2012. <http://www.mediapeople.co.nz/releases/article.php?id=35023>.

Green energy is big business these days and Israel is frequently at the forefront of innovation, whether through solar energy extraction or the development of large wind
farms. But both these methods are tethered to the weather – no sun or wind, no power.

A small Israeli start-up with R&D headquarters at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology ( http://www1.technion.ac.il/en ) has a better idea: Harness the
power of the highways and railroads, with their non-stop stream of traffic, rain or shine.

Founded in 2007 by researchers from the Technion and Hadassah, the Ra’anana- and Haifa-based Innowattech ( http://www.innowattech.co.il ) has
developed a system of small piezoelectric generators designed to be embedded under the asphalt.
Every time a vehicle passes over the pad, Innowattech’s technology converts the unit’s natural compression into electricity, which is either stored in a battery for immediate
use (such as powering the lights or security cameras near the road) or channeled to the national electricity grid.
Tracking weight-in-motion

But a funny thing happened on the way to the exit lane: Innowattech’s scientists discovered that the generators can also extract data
on the very same trucks that are generating the power. By measuring the distance between pads and the amount of time it

takes for a truck to travel between them, Innowattech can dynamically calculate the truck’s weight and velocity.

If a truck is too heavy, that data can be sent wirelessly to the police or road company. And it’s all a self-
contained loop – the trucks generate the power that powers the tracking system that catches the trucks.
It turns out that the demand for identifying overweight trucks from generators fills an immediate need.
the

The "weight-in-motion" market, as it’s called, "is very mature," explains Innowattech CEO Lucy Edery-Azulay. "Overweight trucks cause

damage to the roads which in turn requires the companies in charge of the roads to spend more on
maintenance than expected."
The most common solution in place around the world has trucks pulling into weighing stations for
mandatory checks – a costly endeavor to build and one that slows down the transportation of goods by
forcing every vehicle to stop when only 10 percent of trucks are in fact over the weight limit.
Innowattech has just launched a test of its weigh-in-motion system on a stretch of Highway 75 near Haifa. The project was developed in conjunction with the Israel National

Roads Company (http://www.iroads.co.il/MazInternet/General/Pages/HomePage_EN.aspx ). A similar trial on a roadway – albeit to

generate energy – was installed last year in Italy, as was a small prototype on just 33 feet of Israel’s Road Four north of Hadera on the coastal plain.
IMPACTS: Heavier Trucks Compromise Safety

UMTRI ‘05
"Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety." Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2012. <http://www.saferoads.org/issues/fs-
trucks.htm>.

The chances of a big truck crash resulting in deaths and serious injuries increase with each
extra ton of weight over the 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight (GVW) limit in federal law.
These federal weight limits are used by many states as the upper limit on truck weight even on most of their state roads. A big truck weighing

even a legal 80,000 pounds is more than twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash than
a truck weighing about 50,000 pounds. (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

Advantage Two is Economy

Solvency

Piezo-electricity generates large amounts of electricity on Israeli highways

Bar-Eli, ’09 "Passing Cars Produce Power in Pilot Test of Breakthrough Concept." Haaretz.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Aug. 2012.

<http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/passing-cars-produce-power-in-pilot-test-of-breakthrough-

concept-1.6616>.

Drivers passing through the Hefer intersection along the old coastal road of Route 4 yesterday morning generated
electricity without even realizing it.

They did so by driving over a ten-meter strip of asphalt, underneath which lie generators capable of producing some 2,000 watt-
hours (Wh). The power is then relayed to batteries situated beside the road.
This is the first practical test of the innovative technology developed by Innowattech and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The pilot is being
conducted in cooperation with the Israel National Roads Company.

If the pilot test is successful, the project is expected to be expanded. Generators will be situated in one-
kilometer strips along Israel's highways.
The project manager, Dr. Lucy Edery-Azulay, explained that the generators developed by Innowattech are embedded about five centimeters beneath
the upper layer of asphalt.
"The technology is based on piezoelectric materials that enable the conversion of mechanical energy exerted by the weight of passing vehicles into

electrical energy. As far as the drivers are concerned, the road is the same ," she says.
Edery-Azulay added that expanding the project to a length of one kilometer along a single lane would produce 200 KWh, while a four-lane
highway could produce about a MWh - sufficient electricity to provide for the average consumption in
2,500 households.
Initial surveys by the scientists found that Israel has about 250 kilometers of roadways suitable for the technology, in terms of volumes of traffic, and the mass of vehicles taking the roads. Suitable
roadways include the Trans-Israel Highway (otherwise known as Highway 6), the Ayalon Highway in the country's center, and the coastal highway.

The technology also enables the supply of electricity to various "consumers" located alongside the roads, such as
traffic lights, lighted billboards, police speed cameras, communication systems or road signs, Edery-Azulay said.
Weather conditions do not effect the electricity production of this technology, nor does it require special allocation of land. In addition, the technology allows electricity to be harvested near the end
consumer, rendering conduction infrastructure unnecessary, Edery-Azulay said.

Extended Solvency

Costs for generators will drop once mass production begins

Rabinovitch 2009 (Rabinovitch is a journalist for Reuters.com, a worldwide news agency
http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/10/us-energy-piezolectric-idUSTRE52945S20090310 )

Innowattech, an energy company affiliated with Israel's Technion Institute of Technology, said special generators placed under roads, railways and runways can harvest
enough energy from passing vehicles to mass-produce electricity.
The generators contain material that produces electricity when mechanical force is applied, like the pressure from a passing car's tires.
The process, known as piezoelectricity, has been used for years on a smaller scale, including in barbecue lighters and a dance club where the pounding feet of dancers
light the floor.
Uri Amit, chairman of Innowattech, said the company's technology will be the largest application of piezoelectrics to date, with a single 1-km (half-mile)-lane of
highway providing up to 100 kw of electricity, enough to power about 40 houses.
The technology has its limitations since it can collect a steady flow of electricity only from busy roads and rails. But Amit said that in any case, peak-hour morning and
evening demand for power coincided with heavy traffic at the start and end of the business day.
"We can produce electricity anywhere there is a busy road using energy that normally goes to waste," Amit said.
He said the first pilot program would begin in the coming months on a 30 meter (90 foot) strip of highway outside Tel Aviv and that similar projects could start
internationally in 2010.
Efstathios Meletis, chairman of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Arlington, said the Innowattech technology was a
"sound idea that theoretically could be done."
But problems, he said, could arise in the implementation and the coordination needed to bury the generators over vast amounts of highways and train tracks.
ROADWORKS
One of the hurdles was finding a way to package the generators so they are effective when buried in the road. The company's chief scientist, Eugeny Harash, developed
a casing that acts like asphalt. The generators are then put in the road during scheduled maintenance in 30 cm (11 inch) squares.
"The asphalt is elastic and the pressure of each tire that passes is picked up by the generator, which is buried about 3 cm (1 inch) below the road's surface," Harash said.
"The drivers won't even feel a difference."
The piezoelectric material lasts for at least 30 years, which is longer than most roads, Harash said.
The generators can also be placed in the sleepers, or cross ties, of rail tracks to harvest the energy of trains, he said.
The energy is transferred to storage systems that are set up along the road at about every 500 meters (0.3 miles). The power can then be fed into a main grid, or even
used to charge batteries as part of a future electric car infrastructure.
Innowattech chairman Amit said the
current cost for fitting a kilometer (half-mile) of one lane of highway is about
$650,000, with a cost of $6,500 per kilowatt. He said when mass production begins, the price could drop by two thirds, making the
system even cheaper than solar energy systems.
The company said the target cost of generation is 3-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, depending on the amount of traffic. Wind generated energy has comparable costs, while
fossil fuels require about five cents per kilowatt/hour.

Piezoelectric generators will create over 4 trillion, 737 billion dollars of revenue solely from
implementation interstate highways.($4,737,006,376,080)

Next: Cutting Deficit Spending Bad, Money From Piezo will Be the “Miraculous generator of money”
that the government needs to keep the debt in check without sacrificing crucial programs
Whalen '11 (A Guided Tour of the United States Economy: Promises among the Perils (Second Publication) EDWARD L.
WHALEN holds a doctorate in economics from Princeton University and served as a faculty member in the economics department of
Indiana University, as the University's Director of Budgeting, the chief financial officer at the University of Houston System, interim
vice president of administration, and finance at Clarke College, consultant to the National Association of College and University
Business Officers, and has served as an economic consultant to the Agency for International Development and the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget)

I've decided to dedicate an entire chapter to the deficit and accumulating debt. Why? Because misconceptions about the United States
deficit run rampant. While much of the population is shouting “deficit bad!” the scholars are shouting the very inverse: “Deficit good!” Who do we believe,
the general public or the ones with degrees in economics? The answer isn't quite so simple.
I'm sure you're all sitting there reading this and thinking, well, then what is the answer? Is the deficit good or bad? To explain this, we
must analyze the situation from several angles. We must take into consideration the present, of course. But we need also look to the future. When
the deficit runs wild and goes unpaid, our debt accumulates. Is debt good or bad? Once again, a lengthy explanation is required. However, I can offer a briefer analysis
of the question to begin, and delve deeper further in the chapter.
The large portion of the public that is horrified by the deficit puts the United States government on the same
level as a household. Large deficit, large debt. Now, obviously, when an individual or a household racks up the debt, things may not look so jolly.
The simple truth, however, is that the government works immensely different than a household. Shocker, right?
Now, many economists will vehemently support the deficit. A large deficit simply means that the
government is funding things like social welfare, education, environmental issues, and a whole host of other things that must be
addressed, they say. Cutting the deficit means cutting funding to these programs. We can't have that now, can we?
So does this mean the deficit is good? No, I'm afraid it doesn't. I would agree that slashing the deficit could prove
harmful to the nation, due to a lack of funding to some crucial programs. However, this does not mean that the
deficit is a good thing. It simply means cutting spending isn't the way to go.
The national deficit from 1950 on had ridden, on average, at about 2% of the GDP. Today, it's roughly 10%. The debt accumulation due to such a high deficit
is enormous. For our government, debt
isn't an immediate problem in the present. However, the problems it poses for the
future are countless. Debt inevitably must be paid off in one form or another. China isn't about to start a war with us over the debt, though. Not by a long shot.
We hold China in a vice-grip, and they us. If we go to war with China, what does that get them? Do the trillions of dollars of debt just magically appear in China's piggy
bank? No. War isn't a likely problem. However, concessions will eventually need to be made, agreements passed, restrictions
wavered, all in an attempt to make up for the rising debt owed to other countries, China especially.
What's the solution, then? If cutting the deficit is bad, but keeping it may be just as detrimental, where do
we go from here? However nasty it may sound, taxes just might have to be increased. Now, this may not be the taboo of all taboos. Why not, say, obliterate the
tax cuts given to multibillion dollar corporations? To solve the problem (at least partially) either taxes must be raised, or the
government is going to have to trip over some miraculous generator of money.
Too simple for you? Keep reading, and I'll offer a more thorough and wordy explanation.

Advantage 3 – Phase Out Coal

Coal is the U.S.’s single largest producer of CO2 and other greenhouse gases
(Energy Information Administration EIA 07.) http://www.global-warming-forecasts.com/2025-
climate-change-global-warming-2025.php

GHG emissions from coal-fired power are significant and growing rapidly.

One 500-MW coal-fired power plant produces approximately 3 million tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO2).

The United States produces close to 2 billion tons of CO2 per year from coal-burning power plants.

GHG emissions from coal-fired electricity, now 27 percent of total U.S. emissions, are projected to grow by
a third by 2025.
Analytic:

As noted previously, there will be a net gain of approximately 4.7 trillion dollars worth of energy
over a span of 30 years. ($4,737,006,376,080)

This equates to roughly 157 billion dollars worth of energy annually.

($157,900,212,536)

This translates into 1.16 trillion kWh of annual energy production.

(1,169,631,203,970 kWh)

In the United States, approximately 1.12 trillion kWh of energy come from coal. (Energy
Information Administration) (1,122,769,185,000)
(EIA 2012 http://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/state/)

Piezoelectricity can completely replace coal electricity in the United States.

Subpoint A) Environment
Global Warming As Result of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Leads to Lack of
Biodiversity
RCF '03 (Rainforest Conservation Fund article citing numerous exterior reports / studies
http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/2-biodiversity/g-recent-losses-in-
biodiversity/5-causes-of-recent-declines-in-biodiversity )

climate changes are having effects on tropical forest ecology.

Global warming: There is recent evidence that
Warming in general (as distinct from the effects of increasing concentrations of CO 2 and other greenhouse
gases) can increase primary productivity, yielding new plant biomass, increased organic litter, and increased food supplies for animals and soil
flora (decomposers). Temperature changes can also alter the water cycle and the availability of nitrogen
and other nutrients. Basically, the temperature variations which are now occurring affect all parts of forest ecosystems, some more than
others. These interactions are unimaginably complex. While warming may at first increase net primary productivity (NPP), in the longer run, because
plant biomass is increasing, more nitrogen is taken up from the soil and sequestered in the plant bodies. This leaves less nitrogen for the growth of
additional plants, so the increase in NPP over time (due to a rise in temperature or CO 2 levels) will be limited by nitrogen availability. The same is
probably true of other mineral nutrients. The consequences of warming-induced shifts in the distribution of nutrients will not be seen rapidly, but
perhaps only over many years. These events may effect changes in species distribution and other ecosystem processes in complex ways. We know
little about the reactions of tropical forests, but they may differ from those of temperate forests.
In tropical forests, warming may be more important because of its effects on
evapotranspiration and soil moisture levels than because of nutrient redistribution or NPP (which is already very high
because tropical temperatures are close to the optimum range for photosynthesis and there is so much available light energy). And warming will
obviously act in concert with other global or local changes – increases in atmospheric CO 2 (which may modify plant chemistry and the water balance
of the forest) and land clearing (which changes rainfall and local temperatures), for examples. (For an excellent discussion of these issues, see
Shaver, et al., 2000.)

Root, et al.(2003) have determined that more than 80% of plant and animal species on which they
gathered data had undergone temperature-related shifts in physiology . Highland forests in Costa Rica have
suffered losses of amphibian and reptile populations which appear to be due to increased warming of
montane forests. The golden toad Bufo periglenes of Costa Rica has become extinct, at least partly because of the decrease in mist frequency in its
cloud forest habitat. The changes in mists appear to be a consequence of warming trends. Other suspected causes are alterations in juvenile growth
or maturation rates or sex ratios due to temperature shifts. Parmesan and Yohe (2003), in a statistical analysis, determined that climate change had
biological effects on the 279 species which they examined.

The migratory patterns of some birds which live in both tropical and temperate regions during the year seem to be
shifting, which is dangerous for these species, as they may arrive at their breeding or wintering grounds at an inappropriate
time. Or they may lose their essential interactions with plants which they pollinate or their insect or plant food supplies. Perhaps for these
reasons, many migratory species are in decline, and their inability to coordinate migratory
clues with climatic actualities may be partly to blame. The great tit, which still breeds at the same time as previously,
now misses much of its food supply because its plant food develops at an earlier time of year, before the birds have arrived from their wintering
grounds. Also, as temperatures rise, some bird populations have shifted, with lowland and foothill species moving into higher areas. The
consequences for highland bird populations are not yet clear. And many other organisms, both plant and animal, are
being affected by warming.
An increase in infectious diseases is another consequence of climate change, since the causative agents are affected by humidity, temperature
change, and rainfall. Many species of frogs and lizards have declined or disappeared, perhaps because of the increase in parasites occasioned by
higher temperatures. As warming continues, accelerating plant growth, pathogens may spread more quickly because
of the increased availability of vegetation (a “density” effect) and because of increased humidity under heavier plant cover. As mentioned above,
In addition, the geographical range of
the fungus Phytophtora cinnamoni has demolished many Eucalyptus forests in Australia.
pathogens can expand when the climate moderates, allowing pathogens to find new,
nonresistant hosts. On the other hand, a number of instances of amphibian decline seem to be due to infections with chrytid fungi, which
flourish at cooler temperatures. An excellent review of this complex issue may be found in Harvell, et al., (2002).
There may be a link between augmented carbon dioxide levels and marked increase in the density of lianas in Amazonian forests. This relationship is
suggested by the fact that growth rates of lianas are highly sensitive to CO 2 levels. As lianas become more dense, tree mortality rises, but mortality
is not equal among species because lianas preferentially grow on certain species. Because of this biodiversity may be reduced by increased mortality
in some species but not others (Phillips, et al., 2002).
Subpoint B) Health
Impact - Mining and burning of coal cause birth defects, infant mortality, and
higher chronic heart, respiratory, and kidney disease mortality.
Sapire, 2012, [Engulfed in a Toxic Cloud: The Effects of Coal Mining On Human Health Rachel Sapire, 2-1-
2012, Harvard College Global Health Review, http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hghr/2012/02/01/engulfed-in-a-
toxic-cloud-the-effects-of-coal-mining-on-human-health/]
The continued growth of coal mining has left communities with pervasive and irreparable damage . Until
recently, however, the effects of coal on human health have been largely ignored and mining has continued without many appeals for improvement.
In both the United States and China, industrial achievements have created a legacy of pollution that is taking a major toll on human health.
Despite relatively modest concentrations of hazardous air pollutants and the sophisticated pollution control systems employed in the United States,
recent studies have proven that the resulting health effects of mining can be devastating. Such facts have
largely been ignored, especially in Appalachia, an important American coal region.
Dr. Michael Hendryx, a researcher at West Virginia University, began uncovering alarming ailments
resulting from coal production. Hendryx told the HCGHR, “When I first started talking to my colleagues about it, their
immediate reaction was somewhat skeptical. They assumed that if there were significant health problems that those problems were
the result of poverty or some other socioeconomic disadvantage.” Hendryx explained, “Their own assumptions got the better of
them.”
As a result of their proximity to coal mines, members of these mining communities are plagued by higher
chronic heart, respiratory, and kidney disease mortality. Hendryx also discovered that the rates of birth
defects are significantly worse in Appalachia, with defects ranging from circulatory and respiratory issues
to central nervous system problems.
In addition to the adverse health effects in mining communities, negative social impacts have also arisen as a result of the establishment of mines.
Coal mining has taken place in Appalachia since the 1700s, but practices have changed within the last 30 years. “The mechanization of mining has
become so advanced, that there are not that many human jobs that are required anymore to run a coal mine,” Hendryx explained. As a result,
communities are left with fewer job opportunities as well as greater adverse health effects.
Coal has been the cause of major health issues in China as well. With a denser population and more widespread usage of the resource, coal mining
has caused significant air pollution.
As the result of major reforms, economic development in China has reached spectacular heights. The economic boom has been matched with an
increase in energy production and in turn, a rise in negative health effects. In fact, pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause of death and has
left a grey cloud over the nation. China now produces three billion tons of coal every year. China’s rapid economic growth has led to the
deteriorating health of the Chinese population.
Economic growth has not necessarily meant technological advances in coal mines. Dr. Sun Qingwei, a coal campaigner for Greenpeace China, stated
in an interview with the HCGHR, “Traditional coal mining is labor intensive. The reason is that the technology is underdeveloped.” China is plagued
by a continually increasing level of dependence on coal for domestic and energy uses. Paradoxically, China’s greatest achievement has evolved into
its most burdensome problem.
Similar health concerns to those in Appalachia have been found in mining communities in China. Qingwei reports, “There is a widespread problem
with children and birth defects near coal mines, especially in the Shangxi province, which has been the largest coal producer in China.” Despite
these reports, research on Chinese coal production is lacking, and most data is inconclusive.
Domestic uses of coal for heating and cooking can be especially harmful because the coal is generally mined locally, with minor regard to their
chemical composition. Poor ventilation in homes further exposes residents to the dangerous emissions. In fact, more than 75 percent of China’s
primary energy needs are supplied by residential coal use.
Will improved policy even be effective? Hendryx is skeptical that coal can ever become “clean.” The US federal government intends to put a lot of
money into carbon capture and sequestration from coal fired power plants, but these plans only address how coal is burned, not the practices of
extraction, processing, or transporting prior to burning.
“It’s an exceedingly dirty product from start to finish,” Hendryx says. He noted the extraordinary resources required to extract coal – heavy
equipment, chemicals to treat the coal, and vast amounts of water – and remarked , “Even
the cleanest coal burning power plants
still produce more greenhouse gases, more mercury, and more pollutants than any other form of energy
that we have.”
Researchers in China share this sentiment. In light of these recent findings, China is taking strides to alleviate their growing coal problem. The
Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning predicts that the government will allocate about $454 billion for environmental protection, which is
more than double the previous cycle’s allocation. However, the rate of economic growth in China is hard to keep up with. “Greenpeace thinks that
China should switch to renewable energy, like wind-power and solar energy,” Sun says, “China is now the biggest producer of solar energy, so we
think that China has been doing well, but its not, because China’s economic growth is so rapid that the government should be doing more to produce
its share of renewable energy.”

the alternative to “cleaning” coal requires serious economic diversification programs and a complete
Therefore,
rearrangement of current energy sources. In mining communities, coal has become the most serious
public health issue, and only some of the adverse health effects have been uncovered. In order to curb
the growing problems, China and the United States must diversify their energy sources and eliminate the
lingering pollutants.

Brink: Time is now to end coal dependency. Every initiative that moves us away
from dependency is crucial.

Hener 09

2025. Projected starting point when melting permafrost begins a likely irreversible release
of 190 gigatons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. (http://www.global-warming-
forecasts.com/2025-climate-change-global-warming-2025.php)
“Thawing permafrost is threatening to overwhelm attempts to keep the planet from getting too
hot for human survival. Without major reductions in the use of fossil fuels, as much as two-thirds
of the world's gigantic storehouse of frozen carbon could be released, a new study [Amount and
timing of permafrost carbon release in response to climate warming] reported. That would push
global temperatures several degrees higher, making large parts of the planet uninhabitable. Once
the Arctic gets warm enough, the carbon and methane emissions from thawing permafrost will
kick-start a feedback that will amplify the current warming rate, says Kevin Schaefer, a scientist at
the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado."

"That will likely be irreversible. And we're less than 20 years [2030] from this tipping point.
Schaefer prefers to use the term ‘starting point’ for when the 13 million square kilometres [11.6
million square miles] of permafrost in Alaska, Canada, Siberia and parts of Europe becomes a major
new source of carbon emissions. ‘Our model projects a starting point 15 to 20 years [2025 to 2030]
from now ,’ Schaefer told IPS. The model used a 'middle of the road' scenario with less fossil fuel
use than at present. Even at that rate, it found that between 29 and 60 percent of the world's
permafrost will thaw, releasing an extra 190 gigatonnes of carbon by 2200. The study is the first to
quantify when and how much carbon will be released and was published this week [February 15,
2011] in the meteorological journal Tellus.” (Stephen Leahy, “Permafrost Melt Soon Irreversible Without Major Fossil Fuel
Cuts,” IPS, Uxbridge, Canada, February 17, 2011 reporting findings in Kevin Schaefer, Tingjun Zhang, Lori Bruhwiler, Andrew P. Barrett, Amount and
timing of permafrost carbon release in response to climate warming, Tellus B, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.2011.00527.x, article first published
online on
Revenue from Energy Created: Cost Analytic
Our Bar-Eli, 2009 card states that a four-lane highway could produce enough electricity to power
2,500 households. (http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/passing-cars-produce-power-in-pilot-
test-of-breakthrough-concept-1.6616 )

Since the source was based on a road in Israel, it should be assumed that it meant 2,500 Israeli
households.
The per capita consumption of electricity in Israel is 6,307kWh.
Source: CIA World Factbook ( https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
)
Let's say 6,307 per home, rather than per person. It is justifiable to say this because the United
States per capita consumption according to the CIA World Factbook is 12,484 kWh. Divide that by
12 and you get about 1040 kWh per month. The average US household uses 958 kWh per month, via
United States Energy Information Administration, 2010 (Source: EIA 2010
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3 )

There are 46 thousand 876 miles of interstate highway, or 75 thousand 440 km.
(46,876 miles, 75,440 km)
(United States Department of Transportation, December 2011
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm )

Interstate highways must have at least 2 lanes for each direction of traffic.
(Current Edition of Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets by the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials)

The average cost of electricity in the United States is point 135 dollars per kWh. ($0.135)
(United States Department of Labor, June 2012 http://www.bls.gov/ro9/cpilosa_energy.htm )
75,440 km four-lane highway x 6,307 kWh/home/year x 2,500 homes x 30 years x .135 dollars per
kWh
Equals 4 trillion, 817 billion, 475 million, 810 thousand dollars solely from implementation in
interstate highways. ($4,817,475,810,000)

Our Rabinovitch, 2009 card cites the cost at 650,000 dollars per 1km stretch of road at the
time the article was published. It noted that once mass production begins, costs could be cut
by two-thirds.

650,000 x 2/3 = 433,333 dollars cut from the cost, leaving the cost after mass production to be
266,667 dollars per one-lane 1km stretch.

266,667 dollars x 75,440 km of interstate x 4 lanes minimum

Equals 80 billion, 469 million, 433 thousand, 920 dollars total cost of generators. ($80,469,433,920)

Previous calculation of total value of electricity generated minus the cost of the generators yields
Over 4 trillion, 737 billion dollars solely from interstate highways.($4,737,006,376,080)