Tournament: Berkeley | Round: 4 | Opponent: Leland SL | Judge: Naemah Morris

Framework

I affirm and value morality as should indicates a "desirable or expected state"
~Oxford Dictionaries, should: indicates desirable or expected state http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/should~~

There’s no such thing as an absolutely true ethical statement, our "facts" are simply what is valuable to accept as true. Morality has no truth-value beyond its usefulness.

Rorty 80, (Richard, Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 53, No. 6. (Aug., 1980), pp. 717+719-738)

My first characterization of pragmatism is that it is simply anti-
AND
to direct, or criticize, or underwrite, the course of inquiry.

Statements of value are simply statements of preference. To compare these, a criterion of decided preference should be applied, the conclusion is utilitarianism with an emphasis on higher pleasures.

Mill, (John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by F.E.L. Priestley (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). Chapter: CHAPTER II: What Utilitarianism Is)

The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest
AND
circumstantial advantages rather than in their intrinsic nature. And on all these points 

Thus the way we come to know value epistemologically and practically is through a utility preference.

Mill 2, ((John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by F.E.L. Priestley (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). Chapter: CHAPTER II: What Utilitarianism Is)

Utilitarians have fully proved their case; but they might have taken the other,
AND
outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small account.

Prefer epistemic arguments because they concern how knowledge is created. Epistemology necessarily comes first because if our process of attaining knowledge is indeterminate or flawed, we can’t trust that our conclusions are valid.

Also, the resolution implies util since it is a question of policymaking and policymaking must be utilitarian

Woller, (Gary, Economics Professor at BYU, "Policy Currents," June, http://apsapolicysection.org/vol7_2/72.pdf ) Showers

Moreover, virtually all public policies entail some redistribution of economic or political resources,
AND
offs implied by their polices are somehow to the overall advantage of society. 

Thus the standard is maximizing well being.

Inherency

2009 law is insufficient—stricter environmental legislation is key to protect Chile’s glaciers.

Estrada 09, (Daniela Estrada, degree in journalism from the Universidad de Chile and has worked for several media outlets in the field of technology, CHILE: Scientist Warns of Threats to Rock Glaciers, Apr 24 2009, http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/04/chile-scientist-warns-of-threats-to-rock-glaciers/)

A new government policy on glaciers adopted by Chile "is a step forward,
AND
up to twice as fast in the last 10 years," it says.

Plan

The National Congress of Chile should pass legislation modeled on Argentina’s National Glacier Law that expands the definition of glaciers to include rock glaciers and surrounding ice fields and bans mining operations in glacial and periglacial areas.

Reserve the right to clarify.

Solvency

The law has worked in Argentina.

Baissi 13 (1), (Fernanda Baissi, Center for Human Rights and Environment, Chilean Court Suspends Pascua Lama for Glacier, Wetlands and Water Contamination, April 11, 2013, http://wp.cedha.net/?p=1259026lang=en)

On the Argentine side of the border, Barrick has had to confront new environmental
AND
Court ruling rejected the request. Today, the Glacier Law still stands.

The law would effectively shut down mining operations.

Maxwell 13, (Amanda Maxwell, South America’s glaciers: going the way of the dinosaurs?, October 25, 2013, http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amaxwell/south_americas_glaciers_are_fa.html)

Chile could be the next country to pass a glacier protection law. Parliament has
AND
certainly be passed and—crucially—implemented to the fullest extent possible.

Expanding the definition of glaciers is key

AP 13, (Associated Press, Legislation to protect Chile’s glaciers and water supplies worries important mining industry, October 09, 2013, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/09/legislation-to-protect-chile-glaciers-and-water-supplies-worries-important/)

Jorge Daniel Taillant, director of the Center for Human Rights and the Environment,
AND
a change — there’s a greater environmental awareness and respect for natural resources."

Advantage 1: Biodiversity

Environmental negligence in copper and gold mining operations in Chile create massive ecological harms.

Baissi 13 (2), (Fernanda Baissi, Center for Human Rights and Environment, Chilean Court Suspends Pascua Lama for Glacier, Wetlands and Water Contamination, April 11, 2013, http://wp.cedha.net/?p=1259026lang=en)

The suspension is a response to criticism from indigenous groups and government agencies in Chile
AND
metals including arsenic, aluminum, copper and sulfates in local waterways. 

Explosions from Chilean mining operations contaminate and destroy glaciers.

Baissi 13 (3), (Fernanda Baissi, Center for Human Rights and Environment, Chilean Court Suspends Pascua Lama for Glacier, Wetlands and Water Contamination, April 11, 2013, http://wp.cedha.net/?p=1259026lang=en)

Barrick’s operations exploiting Veladero and preparing for exploitation at Pascua Lama have already had extensive
AND
mining company’s extensive impacts on the region’s ice reserves, later this month.

This damages the integrity of the high mountain wetlands and kills multiple species.

Baissi 13 (4), (Fernanda Baissi, Center for Human Rights and Environment, Chilean Court Suspends Pascua Lama for Glacier, Wetlands and Water Contamination, April 11, 2013, http://wp.cedha.net/?p=1259026lang=en)

The Argentine National Park Service (ANPS) condemns the Pascua Lama and Veladero projects
AND
laden water. The ANPS calls Veladero, "Argentina’s sacrifice to Barrick."

The Chilean glaciers are a key hub of biodiversity

Carrasquel 12, (Gustavo Carrasquel, The Patagonia Biodiversity in peril, 1/30/2012, http://anca24canada.canalazul24.com/?p=189)

Patagonia is a vast, immensely rich, sparsely populated area of South America,
AND
endemic deer and many other species not found anywhere else in the planet.

Wetlands are uniquely key to biodiversity

EPA 06, EPA, February 22, 2006 (http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/vital/nature.html-http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/vital/nature.html)

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests
AND
for food, water, and shelter, especially during migration and breeding.

Loss of biodiversity will lead to extinction – global ecosystems are reliant on each other

Tonn 7, Bruce E. Tonn, Urban Planning Prof @ Tennessee, November 2007 (Futures v. 39, no. 9, "Futures Sustainability", l/n)

The first principle is the most important because earth-life is needed to support
AND
earth-life into the distant future the earth’s biodiversity must be protected.

Advantage 2: Water

Glaciers are vanishing quickly—threatens the water supply for all of Chile.

Jamasmie 13, (Cecilia Jamasmie, Master of Journalism from the University of British Columbia, Chile’s proposed glaciers protection law worries miners, investors, October 9, 2013, http://www.mining.com/chiles-proposed-glaciers-protection-law-worries-miners-investors-15134/)

The revival of legislation to protect glaciers by banning mining activities close to them has
AND
boulder-strewn slope with a few patches of ice near the top.

Chile is key to the world’s water supply—glacial water is needed to avert conflict.

Smith 13, (Michael Smith, Bloomberg Markets Magazine, South Americans Face Upheaval in Deadly Water Battles, Feb 12, 2013, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-13/south-americans-face-upheaval-in-deadly-water-battles.html)

South America has more water than any other region on earth, with 29 percent
AND
known as a tailings dam, for the Los Pelambres copper mine.

Water shortages escalate to military conflict.

Chellaney 13, (Brahma Chellaney, Geostrategist and the author of "Water, Peace, and War," Rowman 26 Littlefield, 2013, CHELLANEY: The coming water wars, Tuesday, October 8, 2013, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/8/the-coming-water-wars/?page=all)

As competition for the precious resource grows, water will be a key to war
AND
and quality constraints, the risks of overt water wars are now increasing.

Goes nuclear—causes extinction.

NASCA 2006, (National Association for Scientific 26 Cultural Appreciation ("Water Shortages – Only A Matter Of Time." http://www.nasca.org.uk/Strange_relics_/water/water.html)

Water is one of the prime essentials for life as we know it. The
AND
ourselves with a nightmare situation for which there will be no obvious answer.

Tournament: Berkeley | Round: 1 | Opponent: Brentwood JR | Judge: Michael Overing

Framework

Coca grower Leonilda Zulrita once said, "A grape is a grape and through a long process you make wine. It’s the same with coca. Coca is coca and through a long process you can make cocaine."

Because I agree with Leonilda I affirm and value morality as should indicates a "desirable or expected state"
~Oxford Dictionaries, should: indicates desirable or expected state http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/should~~

First extraction defined as, "the action of taking out something, esp. using effort or force". ~Google. https://www.google.com/search?q=extraction26oq=extraction26aqs=chrome..69i57j5j0j69i60j0.2002j026sourceid=chrome26ie=UTF-8~~23q=extraction+definition26safe=off~~ 

Second, resources are a, "natural feature or phenomenon that enhances the quality of human life". ~Merriam Websters Dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resource~~  

Third, developing country on the list of 150 dev countries from the ISI. 

And to negate means to defend the converse of the resolution not just prove the nonfunctionality of the resolution. 

There’s no such thing as an absolutely true ethical statement, our "facts" are simply what is valuable to accept as true. Morality has no truth-value beyond its usefulness.

Rorty 80, (Richard, Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 53, No. 6. (Aug., 1980), pp. 717+719-738)

My first characterization of pragmatism is that it is simply anti-
AND
to direct, or criticize, or underwrite, the course of inquiry.

Statements of value are simply statements of preference. To compare these, a criterion of decided preference should be applied, the conclusion is utilitarianism with an emphasis on higher pleasures.

Mill, (John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by F.E.L. Priestley (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). Chapter: CHAPTER II: What Utilitarianism Is)

The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest
AND
circumstantial advantages rather than in their intrinsic nature. And on all these points 

Thus the way we come to know value epistemologically and practically is through a utility preference.

Mill 2, ((John Stuart Mill, The Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, Volume X - Essays on Ethics, Religion, and Society, ed. John M. Robson, Introduction by F.E.L. Priestley (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). Chapter: CHAPTER II: What Utilitarianism Is)

Utilitarians have fully proved their case; but they might have taken the other,
AND
outweighing quantity as to render it, in comparison, of small account.

Prefer epistemic arguments because they concern how knowledge is created. Epistemology necessarily comes first because if our process of attaining knowledge is indeterminate or flawed, we can’t trust that our conclusions are valid.

Also, the resolution implies util since it is a question of policymaking and policymaking must be utilitarian

Woller, (Gary, Economics Professor at BYU, "Policy Currents," June, http://apsapolicysection.org/vol7_2/72.pdf ) Showers

Moreover, virtually all public policies entail some redistribution of economic or political resources,
AND
offs implied by their polices are somehow to the overall advantage of society. 

Thus the standard is maximizing well being.

Inherency

Current Ongoing Peace Talks between FARC and Colombian officials are centered around farming and the combat of illegal drugs. FARC would help increase eradication efforts of illicit crops

MISNA 14, Missionary International Service News Agency. "Colombia: Government-FARC Talks A Year In Search Of Peace – Interview." Eurasia Review. N.p., 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

The first item on the agenda – rural development – has drawn hope and optimism
AND
corruption and it is likely to have a major impact on regional elections."

Plan Text

The Colombian and Peruvian governments should decriminalize the cultivation of the coca plant and cease environmentally harmful extraction methods as part of the "war on drugs".

Reserve the Right to Clarify.

Solvency

FARC proposes decriminalization of coca cultivation, in response to failed past policies. Other requests from the FARC have been met by implementing new policies. This one could be next.

Alsema 14, Adriaan. "FARC Proposes to Legalize Coca Cultivation and Decriminalize Drug Consumption." Colombia News. Colombia Reports, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, on Monday proposed to decriminalize the cultivation
AND
the disarmament of the FARC and the reintegration into society of its members.

Bolivia has effectively rejoined the UN Drug Treaty, sans the ban on coca cultivation.

Smith 14, Philip. "Bolivia Rejoins UN Drug Treaty, Sans Coca Ban." Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Prohibition. N.p., 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

Bolivia will rejoin the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs after its bid to rejoin
AND
historic errors and to adapt old drug control dogmas to today’s new realities."

Advantage 1: Deforestation

Illicit drug cultivators need to be constantly on the move because of the war on drugs,

TDPF 14. "Count The Costs: The effects of the 50 years War on Drugs". Countthecosts.org. Transform Drug Policy Foundation.
While eradications necessarily cause localised deforestation in the areas in which they are conducted
AND
clear-cut to produce just one acre of drug crop.

Other countries have banned the use of aerial fumigation as an eradication method for coca cultivation after seeing the effects on biodiversity.  Colombia key because it’s second most biodiverse.

TDPF 14. "Count The Costs: The effects of the 50 years War on Drugs". Countthecosts.org. Transform Drug Policy Foundation.
Concerns over human and environmental health have led Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Thailand
AND
of drug crops using a chemical mixture primarily consisting of the herbicide glyphosate.

Loss of BioD from deforestation in Colombia leads to the extinction of endemic species at high rates.

D. Armenteras, M.H. A. Rincón; N. Rodríguez, M. Morales 26 S. Sua. "Forest Biodiversity Indicators in the Colombian Andes".  Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt Carrera 7 ~23 35-20, Bogotá Colombia (South America).

The Northern-Andean eco-region harbours some of the 200 priority sites for
AND
mostly caused by deforestation and fragmentation (Armenteras et al, 2003). 

Advantage 2: Culture

The original purpose and importance of a coca leaf was not to make cocaine. Instead it’s the traditional use of coca leaves that continues to be eradicated as long as the leaves are forcibly eradicated.

Sanches-Bustamente 14, Claudia. "Counter Illicit Crops Program: Eradicating Illegality in Colombia." Dialogo America. N.p., 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
(war on culture)

Another casualty in the war on drugs has been the criminalization of the coca leaf
AND
parties have emerged from the farmers’ fight to grow coca and resist militarization. 

Advantage 3: Drugs

Crop Eradication efforts have increased demand for drugs,

TDPF 14. "Count The Costs: The effects of the 50 years War on Drugs". Countthecosts.org. Transform Drug Policy Foundation.
Although the logic of illicit crop eradications seems clear, such attempts to break the
AND
of this cycle means that production is never eliminated, only displaced. 

Decriminalizing the cultivation of coca leaves will flood the market and depress the price of coca thereby reducing the incentive to growing coca. Economic models prove.

Acosta and Murphy 14, Helen, and Luis J. Acosta. "Colombians Seek to Decriminalize Coca Crops." - World News. N.p., 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.

Bogota - Colombian lawmakers have introduced a bill to decriminalize coca cultivation in the world’s
AND
treat farmers as delinquents, just like we shouldn’t treat consumers as delinquents."