138 SS Geothermal DA -- Generic

8/14/2019 138 SS Geothermal DA -- Generic

1/19

Efficiency CPDDI 08Culpepper Generic

Geothermal DA

Geothermal DA ........................................................................................................................................ ..........1NC Shell U/L .................................................................................................................................. ................1NC Shell mpx - Earthquakes ........................................................................................................ ....................2NC mpx modual - econ ................................................................................................................... .................2NC mpx modual - War ...................................................................................................... ...............................2NC link/mpx modual - methane ....................................................................................................... ................Uniqueness general.................................................................................................................... ....................Uniqueness squo barriers .................................................................................................. .............................Link releases gas ................................................................................................................. ..........................1Link empirical.................................................................................................................... ............................1I/L violence .................................................................................................................... ................................1Impacts violence .................................................................................................................................... ........1

Neg- Defense ................................................................................................................................................. ..1Neg - Defense ................................................................................................................................................. ..1Aff - Geothermal development inev................................................................................................. .................1Aff - Disasters cooperation .................................................................................................... .......................1Aff conflict turn ....................................................................................................................... .......................1Aff - earthquakes inev................................................................................................................................... ....1


2/19


1NC Shell U/L

1. Uniqueness- Geothermal energy isnt being developed due to geographic andeconomic barriers

[Larry Bell; staff writer; 7/16/08; Alternative energy opinions- getting a real grip on green; Energy Tribune; http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=949]

In addition to its currently uncompetitive costs, relative to coal, natural gas, and nuclear for electricity and ofor transportation, a major and long-term problem for the green-energy industry is its limited practicalexpansion capacity. Consider that alternatives presently account for only about 6 percent of the total U.S.electrical power production (half of that from hydropower). Wind power (about 0.77 percent of the total) is thonly alternative prospect for significant growth, and it has a long way to go in replacing fossils (about 71percent) and nuclear (about 8 percent of the total, and about 19 percent of electricity). On the basis of costand capacity, solar power (about 0.07 percent of the total, and 0.01 percent of electricity), is not a contendefor a significant commercial market share. Geothermal expansion is even more economically andgeographically restricted.In reducing dependence on coal and natural gas for heating and on petroleum for transportation, biofuels arproving less advantageous than the public anticipated. Corn ethanol yields little more energy than required tproduce it, and puts food demand in direct competition with motor fuel demand. Much-touted cellulosicethanol from plant waste is not yet a commercial reality, and the term hydrogen economy is an oxymoron.Hydrogen requires much more energy to produce than it yields, and its primary commercial source is naturalgas, which has more efficient and beneficial uses. Of course hydrogen can also be produced from water assuming that cheap and abundant energy is available from another source to electrolyze the water andcompress or liquefy the gas. A gallon of gasoline actually contains about 50 percent more hydrogen than agallon of liquid hydrogen.But just how green are these alternatives? Over time, fossil and nuclear energy may look somewhat less

objectionable to many environmentalists. And perhaps others are simply more united in their opposition tobrown power than in their support for mischaracterized green power options.Geothermal sites capable of producing electrical power are geographically limited. Located primarily in thewestern half of the U.S., many are in protected federal parks and natural wilderness areas that are not openfor development. Heat extraction for power is expensive, often necessitating drilling a mile or moreunderground and requiring extensive infrastructure and power lines along with large amounts of coolingwater. Processes often release groundwater contaminates (thermal and toxic), gas emissions (hydrogensulfide), and mineral-rich sludges containing mercury and other heavy metals.

2. Link - Geothermal drilling creates millions of tons of pressure- causingearthquakes

[Bassfeld Technology Transfer; 1-16-2007, "Can GEOHIL geothermal energy extraction methodsgenerate earthquakes?"; http://www.bassfeld.ch/News/files/36665ed9c129840a93c017cfecbac582-8.html]

Why does fracturing rock cause earthquakes? Fracturing (or "fraccing" in industry colloquial terms) involvescreating and enlarging small fractures in the rock from about 0.3 millimeter in size to about 1mm in diameteby using high pressure water injection. The fraccing is done at the bottom of the borehole; in the Basel projethis is at 5000 meters depth. Although the fractures are relatively small, millions of tons of rock are beingmoved in the process. This creates stress and can result in the accumulated pressure suddenly being releasein the form of an earthquake. The Soultz-sous-Forts geothermal drillings in France have also caused a seriesof93 earthquakes in the summer of the year 2000 ranging from 1.0 to 2.9 in magnitude on the Richter scale
http://www.quid.fr/2007/Geographie_Et_Sciences_De_La_Terre/Seismes_Artificiels/1http://www.quid.fr/2007/Geographie_Et_Sciences_De_La_Terre/Seismes_Artificiels/1http://www.quid.fr/2007/Geographie_Et_Sciences_De_La_Terre/Seismes_Artificiels/1


3/19


1NC Shell mpx - Earthquakes

3. Impact

a. Earthquakes spark resource competition which leads to violence

[Dawn Brancati; Academic Employment. Harvard University, Institute for Quantitative Social Science;2007; "Political Aftershocks: The Impactof Earthquakes on Intrastate Conflict", 51-5, http://jcr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/51/5/715]

Earthquakes, I argue, promote intrastate conflict by increasing competition among groups for scarceresources (e.g., food, water, housing, medicine, and relief aid). Scarcities, in turn, provoke frustrations, whichlead to anger and violence. Their effects are greater in economically developing countries than in developed

ones since earthquakes have more severe consequences in the former than in the latter. Earthquakes alsohave larger effects in countries already experiencing conflict since rebels can capitalize on earthquakes toattract popular support, recruit soldiers, and finance campaigns.

b. Earthquakes are uniquely bad because of the lack of warning andprolonged effects


Why earthquakes? Earthquakes may provoke conflict more than any other type of natural disaster becausethey have rapid onsets. In occurring quickly and without warning, earthquakes are more likely to stoke

feelings of frustration arising from relative deprivation than disasters with slow onsets, such as droughts.Earthquakes, moreover, unlike some other disasters such as famine, are exogenous to conflict. Conflict, thatis, does not affect whether earthquakes occur or the magnitude with which they strike, although conflict mayincrease the amount of damage that earthquakes inflict. Earthquakes do not occur, furthermore, in regions othe world particularly prone to conflict, as do droughts, which dominate Africa. Additionally, while earthquakeoccur primarily along fault lines, earthquakes are not predictable.

c. Earthquakes have become a short term threat to human survival

[Al-Ahram Weekly; January 2005; "The post-earthquake world";http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/724/op3.htm]

Until recently, the threat Nature represented was perceived as likely to arise only in the long run, related forinstance to how global warming would affect life on our planet. Such a threat could take decades, evencenturies, to reach a critical level. This perception has changed following the devastating earthquake andtsunamis that hit the coastal regions of South Asia and, less violently, of East Africa, on 26 December.

This cataclysmic event has underscored the vulnerability of our world before the wrath of Nature and shakenthe sanguine belief that the end of the world is a long way away. Gone are the days when we could comfortourselves with the notion that the extinction of the human race will not occur before a long-term future thatwill only materialize after millions of years and not affect us directly in any way. We are now forced to livewith the possibility of an imminent demise of humankind.


4/19


2NC mpx modual - econ

3. Impact

a. Earthquakes permanently damage the national economy

[Commission on technical and engineering systems; The Economic Consequences of aCatastrophic Earthquake: Proceedings of a Forum; 1992; Page 142, chapter 6; the ripple effect;http://www.nap.edu/nap-cgi/skimit.cgi?isbn=0309046394&chap=141-155]

The disruption in the earthquake area could easily break critical supply lines in the economy. It is very wellknown that gas and oil pipelines run through the New Madrid region and supply many businesses andindividuals throughout the Northeast. We are also very critically aware that the important semiconductorindustry is concentrated in California, and a catastrophic earthquake there would affect a wide array of othe

businesses, because suppliers there would shut down.In general, shutting down most activity in the earthquake area will spread beyond that area as customers orsuppliers are hit by the shutdown, and many businesses that are far away will suffer. There is a good chancethat many of those, which might have been marginal to begin with, will just never start up again.

The inability to supply, the inability to sell, and the multiplier effects that will spread from the area are whatmany analysts are calling the ripple effect. Now, ripple connotes a less and less noticeable effect as theearthquake is spread over time and over space. But it is important for us to keep in mind that there are gointo be more than just ripple effects, and they are not going to be orderly, spread over time and space. Thereare going to be some immediate and large impacts on the national economy, and those are going to comethrough the financial markets and through the insurance system.

b. US economy collapse would cause loss of faith in the dollar, leading to

global economy collapse

[Joseph Candel; 2-2003; Activated Magazine; Signs of the Times: The Coming Economic Crash]

In this era of Internet trading and globally linked economies and stock markets, a sudden and drasticdownturn in one major financial market could create a worldwide panic that would send the global economytumbling down like a house of cards.In one possible scenario, if the American economy were to fail because of some international crisis like amajor war in the Middle East or a severe oil shortage, the rest of the world could rapidly lose faith in the U.Sdollar. The dollar and other dollar-based currencies and international stocks would lose much of their valueand, as a result, banks and financial markets worldwide would likely fail. Such an economic crash would alsomost likely lead to widespread political and civil chaos.

c. Economic decline causes a nuclear war

[Walter Russell Mead; NPQS Board of advisors, New perspectives quarterly, summer 1992, page 30]

Hundreds of millions - billions - of people have pinned their hopes on the international market economy. Theand their leaders haveembraced market principles -- and drawn closer to the west because they believe that our system can worfor them. But what if it can't? What if the global economy stagnates - or even shrinks? In that case, we willface a new period of international conflict: South against North, rich against poor. Russia, China, India - These
http://www.nap.edu/nap-cgi/skimit.cgi?isbn=0309046394&chap=141-155http://www.nap.edu/nap-cgi/skimit.cgi?isbn=0309046394&chap=141-155


5/19

Efficiency CPDDI 08Culpepper Genericcountries with their billions of people and their nuclear weapons will pose a much greater danger to worldorder than Germany and Japan did in the 30s.


6/19


2NC mpx modual - War

Disagreements over who should respond to the post-disaster area causes civilwar

[Jason Enia. "Shaking the Foundations of Civil War: Institutions, Earthquakes & the Political Economies ofInteraction in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka and Indonesia" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA's 49th

ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA,

3/26/2008Online . 2008-06-25 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.html

The derived preferences of both the rebels and the state leaders regarding control over disaster reliefinstitutions are instructive as one considers how this interaction might lead to conflict and either new orrenewed civil war. Given their concern about future rebel challenges to their respective comprehensiveauthorities, leaders of governments hope to resolve current challenges as well as send signals to other woul

be separatist groups and the citizens of the country that the government alone has the functional capabilityto provide for the citizens in a time of crisis. The period of time after a natural disaster provides a windowthrough which to view the governments attempt to achieve these strategic objectives.

Civil war escalates and involves other nations causing a global war

[Adam B. Siegel is a member of the Northrop Grumman Analysis Center and formerly was affiliated with thCenter for Naval Analyses; winter 2002; International naval cooperation during the Spanish civil war;http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Press/jfq_pages/1729.pdf]

Among ideologues on the left and the right, the Spanish civil war was perhaps the most controversial conflic

of the 20th century. Moreover, European powers could not ignore the fact that it posed the greatest threat topeace since World War I. Spains strategic location, the rise of fascism as a military threat, and the presenceof over 100,000 foreign nationals drew international naval forces into Spanish waters. Thus the conflictentangled foreign powers which, in addition to sparring with Republican and Nationalist forces, becameinvolved in ad hoc multinational operations from support to combatants to interdiction patrols, antisubmarinoperations, and noncombatant evacuationportending what today is known as coalitions of the willing.
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.htmlhttp://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.html


7/19


2NC link/mpx modual - methane

3. Impact Geothermal drilling releases greenhouse gases, such as methane, into the

atmosphere, turning case

[David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace, geothermal energy experts; 1981;Geothermal EnergyArguments For and Against; Reproduced with permission from "The People's Almanac" series of books;http://www.trivia-library.com/b/geothermal-energy-arguments-for-and-against.htm]

The development of geothermal reservoirs is often unfeasible because they are too far from major populatiocenters. Geothermal power plants release many pollutants (from processing mineral-laden steam and water)including the dangerous and malodorous gaseous forms of ammonia, hydrogen sulfate, and methane. Theyalso release almost twice as much heat into the atmosphere as nuclear plants and are quite noisy. They arenot at all foolproof; well blowouts have been known to rage out of control for days. The pumping or reinjectioof thermal fluids may cause earthquakes. Lastly, geothermal drilling is expensive, costing two to three timesas much as oil drilling, and present technology limits bore hole depths to 30,000 ft.


8/19


Uniqueness general

Geothermal energy is not widely used

[Erick Simmelinket al.; researcher for the School of Ecology and Environment at Dreakin University;11/9/2007; " Risk analysis for the development of geothermal energy"; http://conferences-engine.brgm.fr/conferenceOtherViews.py?view=standard&confId=8]

Currently, Turkeys rich geothermal resources are used only to a small degree for the generation of thecountrys electric energy needs. Turkey in this regard is a promising country to develop, test, and apply newmethodology for the exploration, development, and operation of geothermal low/medium-enthalpy reservoirAt the same time, all these three stages required for the conversion of geothermal energy into electric energare associated with uncertainty and risk.

Lack of direction means minimal geothermal use in the status quo

[Erick Simmelinket al.; researcher for the School of Ecology and Environment at Dreakin University;11/9/2007; " Risk analysis for the development of geothermal energy"; http://conferences-engine.brgm.fr/conferenceOtherViews.py?view=standard&confId=8]

It is widely accepted that the geothermal energy is a versatile renewable energy source that is among thecleanest of the commercially viable technologies available today. Towards this direction, there has been a lotof scientific substantiation. Regardless of this positive opinion the development of geothermal exploitation

has not followed the pace of the development as most other alternative energy sources have had. Animportant reason is that many geothermal projects face strong opposition from politicians, neighbouringcommunities or environmental pressure groups. This is the main reason which has led to a global tendencyfor geothermal companies to develop their own policy and their own social responsibility.


9/19


Uniqueness squo barriers

Geothermal projects are facing budget cuts now

[Dana Childs; Leader of the Cleantech Group; 3/30/2007; More money on the way for geothermal power ithe U.S.; http://media.cleantech.com/965/more-money-on-the-way-for-geothermal-po]

The Bush administration has already proposed cutting federal funding of geothermal research in order to sav$25 million in the 2008 national budget. Policy makers argue that geothermal energy is a mature technologythat doesnt require additional research.A recent research study at MIT estimated that the U.S. could generate enough geothermal power for 80million homes by 2050, or as much as 100,000 megawatts of electricity (see MIT report says geothermal

power not to be ignored.) But it called for between $300 and $400 million to be invested in geothermal plantefficiency research.While government geothermal funding may not be as forthcoming as it could be, the GEA's Gawell notesthere are other sources of money."There's been a real shift. We're starting to see real interest from financial communities like venture capital,GE Capital and others. The interest has really been overwhelming. There are a lot of new projects people aretrying to put together."Gawell says he's not daunted."I try not to listen to Washington. If you look at what people are doing in California, in Oregon, in Hawaii, inAlaska and in Nevada, there are a lot of exciting things going on. Luckily I spend enough time outside ofWashington that I stay optimistic."Geothermal power only supplies the U.S. with 2,828 megawatts of electricity, today, accounting for .36percent of its power. Few geothermal plants have been developed to date because of their relative cost tobuild and expense to operate.
http://media.cleantech.com/node/640http://media.cleantech.com/node/640http://media.cleantech.com/node/640http://media.cleantech.com/node/640


10/19


Link releases gas

Geothermal drilling releases dangerous gases into the air and increases the riskof earthquakes

[Alternative Energy: Information about alternative energy options, news, and discussion; powered bywordpress; 10/2/2007; The disadvantages of geothermal energy";http://www.yourenergyalternitives.com/2007/10/02/the-disadvantages-of-geothermal-energy/]

The biggest concern for environmentalists is the gases and materials released from deep within the earthscentre. The gases and minerals released are more often than not hazardous. The biggest concern is for

hydrogen sulfide. It is a very corrosive gas and is very difficult to dispose off properly. The minerals whichcause concern are: - arsenic, mercury, and ammonia. The danger or earthquakes is also increased whendrilling for geothermal energy.Earthquakes: The geothermal energy harvesting can cause earthquakes in the region. The statistics clearlysay that there is a definite increase in the recurrence of earthquakes in the region of geothermal energyharvesting.

1
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/geothermal_powe.phphttp://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/geothermal_powe.php


11/19


Link empirical

Multiple earthquakes have been caused by the geothermal drilling at Basel

[Bassfeld Technology Transfer; 1-16-2007, "Can GEOHIL geothermal energy extraction methodsgenerate earthquakes?"; http://www.bassfeld.ch/News/files/36665ed9c129840a93c017cfecbac582-8.html]

Updated (16.01.07): a third earthquake with a magnitude of 3.2 on the Richter scale was measured in Baselnear the Hot-Dry-Rock drill site. On January 6, 2007 the news agency ap/sda had reported a secondearthquake in Basel, Switzerland with a magnitude of 3.1 on the Richter scale, whereas the previousearthquake on December 8, 2006 had a magnitude of 3.4.All three earthquakes have been caused by the high pressure water injections necessary to fracture the deep

seated rock in Kleinhuenigen, Basel where the drilling for the "Deep Heat Mining" project from GeopowerBasel AG is taking place. The epicenter was near the borehole. The project uses the Hot-Dry-Rock (HDR)geothermal energy extraction method.

1
http://www.geopowerbasel.ch/http://www.geopowerbasel.ch/http://www.dhm.ch/dhm.htmlhttp://www.geopowerbasel.ch/http://www.geopowerbasel.ch/http://www.dhm.ch/dhm.html


12/19


I/L violence

Earthquakes provoke resources wars and interstate tensions


Although many scholars, policy makers, and relief organizationssuggest that natural disasters bring groupstogether and dampenconflicts, earthquakes can actually stimulate intrastate conflict by producing scarcitiesin basic resources, particularly indeveloping countries where the competition for scarce resourcesis mostintense. Capitalizing on a natural experiment design,this study examines the impact of earthquakes onintrastateconflict through a statistical analysis of 185 countries overthe period from 1975 to 2002. Theanalysis indicates that earthquakesnot only increase the likelihood of conflict, but that theireffects are

greater for higher magnitude earthquakes striking

more densely populated areas of countries with lower grodomesticproducts as well as preexisting conflicts. These results suggestthat disaster recovery efforts mustpay greater attention to the conflict-producing potential of earthquakes and undertake certain measures,including strengthening security procedures, to prevent this outcome from occurring.

Earthquakes and other natural disasters cause massive internal unrest andviolence empirically proven

[Jason Enia. "Shaking the Foundations of Civil War: Institutions, Earthquakes & the Political Economies ofInteraction in Post-Tsunami Sri Lanka and Indonesia" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA's 49th

ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA,

3/26/2008Online . 2008-06-25 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.html

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, both GAM and the Indonesian government made conciliatorygestures toward one another. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lifted the state of emergencyin Aceh in order to facilitate the flow of aid and relief workers into the area. Rebel leaders from GAM offered tentative unilateral ceasefire. This rebel ceasefire was not matched by the Indonesian military, however, andwithin a week, it appeared that the tsunami would do more to increase conflict between the Indonesiangovernment and GAM than to decrease it. The armys presence in Aceh was based on conflicting roles: theprovision of disaster relief aid and the simultaneous pursuit of the Acehnese guerrillas. The Indonesiangovernment felt it important for the military to control the flow of aid to ensure that it not fall into the handsof the rebel leaders.During the following weeks, the rebels were never able to gain control of any of the aid distribution. In fact,the Indonesian government, the military, and the GAM rebels all had radically different interpretations of wha

was happening on the ground. Toward the middle of January, the chief of the Indonesian Army, RyamizardRyucudu, announced that 208 rebels had been killed by the military in the three weeks following the tsunamSince May of 2003, the rate at which GAM rebels were being killed had been about 115 per month; so 208 inthree weeks represented a significant increase (Powell 2005). The military argued that the rebels had beenarmed; the GAM countered that most of those killed were not rebels at all but unarmed civilians. The militaryclaimed that rebels had been attacking aid supply convoys; the GAM rebels claimed that this was not the casand that the military had been attacking indiscriminately (Powell 2005).

1
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.htmlhttp://www.allacademic.com/meta/p254529_index.html


13/19


14/19


Neg- Defense

Mineral deposition limits future development

[A. J. Ellis , J. Patrick Muffler, Thomas C. Hinrichs, 2008, "Geothermal power", in AccessScience@McGraw-Hill, http://www.accessscience.com, DOI 10.1036/1097-8542.287600]

In some water-dominated fields there may be mineral deposition from boiling geothermal fluid. Silicadeposition in wells caused problems in the Salton Sea, California, field; more commonly, calcium carbonatescale formation in wells or in the country rock may limit field developments, for example, in Turkey and thePhilippines. Fields with hot waters high in total carbonate are now regarded with suspicion for simpledevelopment. In the disposal of hot wastewaters at the surface, silica deposition in flumes and waterways cabe troublesome.

Geothermal developments cause chemical changes that prevent long termextraction


Extensive production from wells changes the local hydrological conditions. Decreasing aquifer pressures maycause boiling water in the rocks (leading to changes in well fluid characteristics), encroachment of cool watefrom the outskirts of the field, or changes in water chemistry through lowered temperatures and gasconcentrations. After an extensive withdrawal of hot water from rocks of low strength, localized groundsubsidence may occur (up to several meters) and the original natural thermal activity may diminish in

intensity. Some changes occur in all fields, and a good understanding of the geology and hydrology of asystem is needed so that the well withdrawal rate can be matched to the well's long-term capacity to supplyfluid.

Geothermal water causes erosion


Geothermal waters cause an accelerated corrosion of most metal alloys, but this is not a serious utilizationproblem except, very rarely, in areas where wells tap high-temperature acidic waters (for example, in activevolcanic zones.) The usual deep geothermal water is of near-neutral pH. The principal metal corrosion effects

to be avoided are sulfide and chloride stress corrosion of certain stainless and high-strength steels and therapid corrosion of copper-based alloys. Hydrogen sulfide, or its oxidation products, also causes a more rapiddegradation than normal of building materials, such as concrete, plastics, and paints.

1


15/19


Neg - Defense

Geothermal plants emit large amounts of hazardous waste


A high noise level can arise from unsilenced discharging wells (up to 120 decibels adjusted), and welldischarges may spray saline and silica-containing fluids on vegetation and buildings. Good engineeringpractice can reduce these effects to acceptable levels.Because of the lower efficiency of geothermal power stations, they emit more water vapor per unit capacitythan fossil-fuel stations. Steam from wellhead silencers and power station cooling towers may cause anincreasing tendency for local fog and winter ice formation. Geothermal effluent waters liberated into

waterways may cause a thermal pollution problem unless diluted by at least 100:1.Geothermal power stations may have four major effluent streams. Large volumes of hot saline effluent wateare produced in liquid-dominated fields. Impure water vapor rises from the station cooling towers, which alsoproduce a condensate stream containing varying concentrations of ammonia, sulfide, carbonate, and boron.Waste gases flow from the gas extraction pump vent.

Geothermal drilling has adverse economy effects


The compositions of geothermal waters vary widely. Those in recent volcanic areas are commonly dilute(


16/19


Aff - Geothermal development inev.

Development of geothermal energy is inevitable based on current trends

[Dana Childs; Leader of the Cleantech Group; 3/30/2007; More money on the way for geothermal power ithe U.S.; http://media.cleantech.com/965/more-money-on-the-way-for-geothermal-po]

Geothermal producers in the U.S. got all excited today about a tenth of a cent. It's just an inflation adjustmein a tax credit, but multiplied across millions of kilowatt hours it becomes real money. And the industry'sassociation forecasts a real upswing in support for geothermal just around the corner. Today, the U.S. Treasuand Internal Revenue Service released the 2006 Inflation Adjustment Factor (IAF) as it relates to Section 45 othe Internal Revenue Code. Geothermal and other qualified energy projects can now claim 2.0 cents per kwhup from 1.9 cents per kwh. Geothermal developers were, unsurprisingly, pleased.We believe that this increase will help to further stimulate the development of geothermal resources in the

United States, said Brent M. Cook, CEO of geothermal developer Raser Technologies.

1


17/19


Aff - Disasters cooperationDisasters, such as earthquakes, foster cooperation

[Ministry of foreign affairs; Tokyo, Japan; Kasumigaseki; Coping with Natural disasters in Kobe andLos Angeles; 2008; http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/n-america/us/q&a/agenda/b01.html]

Both Japan and the U.S. suffer earthquake damage from time to time. We need only remember serious quakethat struck recently: the Northridge Earthquake that damaged Los Angeles in January 1994, and the GreatHanshin-Awaji Earthquake that hit Kobe and its surroundings one year later in January 1995.Disaster relief is another area where both countries coordinate their efforts. For example, we have conducte

joint studies of the damage caused by the two earthquakes mentioned above, and have held workshops todiscuss ways to construct earthquake-resistant bridges and other structures. Both countries also intend to

sponsor a Joint Earthquake Symposium. The knowledge gained from natural disasters must be shared withpeople throughout the world.U.S. military forces stationed in Japan participated in relief efforts in the area devastated by the GreatHanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Their hard work, efficiency and capability created a very favorable impressionamong Japanese people. As an expression of Japan's gratitude for their valuable service, at the June 1995 G-Summit Meeting in Halifax, Prime Minister Murayama presented President Clinton with messages of thankswritten by children in Kobe. After the Northridge Earthquake, the Japanese Government sent money to helpthe victims.

Earthquakes create international cooperation empirically proven

[Xinhua; 7/8/2008; Peoples daily online; Chinese president meets representatives of Japanese rescue,medical teams; http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/6444391.html]

"Chinese people were deeply impressed by your outstanding rescue activities ... and your actions fullyexhibited the Japanese people's friendly sentiment toward the Chinese people," Chinese President Hu Jintaotold a group of Japanese rescue and medical workers on Tuesday.President Hu met representatives of Japanese rescue and medical teams that participated in the rescue workin the aftermath of the disastrous 8.0-magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province on May 12.

Tuesday's meeting was the first official activity in the three-day Japan tour of President Hu, who arrived hereMonday evening to attend the outreach session of the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries.After shaking hands one by one with the 16 representatives and conveyed the Chinese government andChinese people's sincere regards, Hu sat down with them to watch a telefilm named "Great Love without

Borders," which was specially produced by China to record the Japanese assistance teams' impressive andrespectable performance in the quake-hit regions.The Japanese rescue and disaster relief team was the first such foreign professional team to arrive in Chinafollowing the quake.

1


18/19


Aff conflict turn

Increased availability of resources prevents conflict

[Sharon McCarter; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Improving local natural resourcemanagement could prevent and mitigate conflict; 2/25/2008;http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS200360+25-Feb-2008+PRN20080225]

Improving the management of natural resources can help enhance stability and prevent violent conflict, sayexperts from Nepal and Botswana. At the Woodrow Wilson Center at noon on February 28th, they will presencase studies demonstrating how to design local governance structures -- such as community forest usergroups and wildlife conservancies -- that not only improve the environment, but also strengthen governmentand reduce conflicts in communities.

1


19/19


Aff - earthquakes inev.

Earthquakes are inevitable along fault lines

[Dr. Max Harry Weil; founding president of the Rancho Mirage based Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicineand an emeritus professor at USC; 6/7/2008; Valley must prepare for an inevitable earthquake;http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080607/COLUMNS26/806070305/1026/news12]

A major disaster, specifically earthquakes and fires, in Southern California and especially in the CoachellaValley is almost a certainty during the lifetime of a most of its residents. The horrific injuries and loss of lifereported from China last month highlights the need for preparedness. As a physician who was chairman ofcounty Emergency Medical Services in Los Angeles, which included during the 1971 San Fernandoearthquake, I believe it to be essential to be ready.

1

138 SS Geothermal DA -- Generic

Documents

Transcript of 138 SS Geothermal DA -- Generic