Theory is a bad practice for PF debate and you should lose for initiating it; TURN THEIR VOTERS:
Wiki encourages people to literally steal cases and it leads to a homogeneity of cases which means you
have worse you get worse debate overal Accessibility disad – theory as a procedural issue excludes
people from being able to access the debate because only people from experienced debaters or those from
affluent families that can afford to go to camp or are from big programs are the ones that have the ability
to understand the function of theory and the strategy to answer it. Most people don’t know what a ‘interp’
is or even know about the wiki – even if my team is larger, potential abuse outweighs in round abuse,
your own drop the debater warrant is a reason why you should lose to discourage you from creating
barriers for minority groups getting access to debate in future rounds – prereq to getting access to your
voter of education in the first place. Also turns fairness because if only people with privilege get access to
debate then the structure isn’t competitively fair for other people in the community. First Contention:
Oil Prices Plummet Green tech will become cheaper than oil IN Status Quo Charles Kennedy 23,
"Soaring Oil & Gas Prices Made Renewables Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels In 2022", OilPrice,
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Soaring-Oil-Gas-Prices-Made-Renewables-Cheape
r-Than-Fossil-Fuels-In-2022.html, (DOA: 2-15-2024) //kb<3 The surge in fossil fuel prices last year made
renewable energy sources more competitive, with 86% of all new installed renewable capacity exhibiting
lower costs in 2022 compared to electricity powered by fossil fuels, the International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA) said in a new report on Tuesday. Renewable energy capacity added over the past two
decades helped to reduce the electricity sector fuel bill by at least $520 billion in 2022, according to
IRENA. In developing countries, just the saving over the lifetime of new capacity additions in 2022 will
reduce costs by up to $580 billion, according to the agency. “IRENA sees 2022 as a veritable turning
point in the deployment for renewables as its cost-competitiveness has never been greater despite the
lingering commodity and equipment cost inflation around the world,” the agency’s Director-General
Francesco La Camera said. “The most affected regions by the historic price shock were remarkably
resilient, in large part thanks to the massive increase of solar and wind in the last decade.” People only
switch to green tech if it’s cheaper Wang, 23 "Toward sustainable development: Does the rising oil price
stimulate innovation in climate change mitigation technologies?", No Publication,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S031359262300156X, (DOA: 2-15-2024) //kb<3
Based on a panel of 30 economies from 1990–2019, we investigate the causal linkage between oil prices
and climate change mitigation technology (CCMT)’s share in green innovation via using a two-way fixed
effect model. We find that the increased oil prices significantly positively drive green innovation toward
[climate change mitigation technology]CCMT. The rising oil prices affect CCMT’s share in green
innovation by increasing renewable energy consumption, reducing energy intensity, and raising public
R&D in energy technology We see this in the status quo with Frost 23 finding that [Rosie Frost, "Solar
investment set to eclipse oil for the first time ever", 05/26/2023, EuroNews,
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/05/26/clean-energy-is-moving-fast-solar-set-to-overtake-oil-in-inv
estments-for-the-first-time-ev, Accessed 02/08/2024] SA Solar energy investments are expected to
overtake oil for the first time ever this year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). A new
report from the agency says spending on clean energy technology is now significantly outpacing spending
on fossil fuels. This is due to affordability and security concerns triggered by the global energy crisis.
“Clean energy is moving fast - faster than many people realise. This is clear in the investment trends,
where clean technologies are pulling away from fossil fuels,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a
statement. Elbein 23 corroborates [Saul Elbein, "Renewables’ growing price advantage over fossil fuels
paves way for industry dominance", 12/10/2023, The Hill,
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4350563-renewable-energy-fossil-fuels-price-advantage-in
dustry-dominance/#:~:text=Renewables%20are%20reaching%20the%20point,the%20energy%20sector%
20by%20midcentury., Accessed 02/08/2024] SA Renewables are reaching the point where they are
outcompeting fossil fuels on price — setting the stage for their predicted dominance of the energy sector
by midcentury. Plastic is driving demand for oil, leading to higher prices in Status Quo Gardiner 19
[Beth Gardiner, "The Plastics Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is on the Way", December 9 2019,
Yale,
https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-plastics-pipeline-a-surge-of-new-production-is-on-the-way#:~:text=Petr
ochemicals%2C%20the%20category%20that%20includes,in%20the%20next%2020%20years., Accessed
02/03/2024] SA Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, and Saudi Aramco are ramping up output of plastic
— which is made from oil and gas, and their byproducts — to hedge against the possibility that a serious
global response to climate change might reduce demand for their fuels, analysts say. Petrochemicals, the
category that includes plastic, now account[s] for 14 percent of oil use, and are expected to drive half of
oil demand growth between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says. The World
Economic Forum predicts plastic production will double in the next 20 years. Plastics ban reduces oil
demand, driving prices down John Paul Hampstead 19, 6-15-2019, "Single-use plastics bans: a risk for the
petchem industry", FreightWaves,
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/single-use-plastics-bans-a-risk-for-the-petchem-industry, (DOA:
2-15-2024) //kb<3 The oil industry has taken note of the evolving public sentiment and regulatory
outlook around plastics and is considering the possibility of sharply reduced demand for plastics in its
projections for future oil and gas demand. Common plastics like polyethylene, used in plastic shopping
bags, and polypropylene, used in Tupperware plastic containers, are made from a class of petrochemicals
called olefins, which include the ‘feedstocks’ ethylene and propylene. Olefins are produced in oil
refineries and chemical plants by ‘cracking’ — or separating — the various components of crude oil and
natural gas. Another group of plastics comes from the second major class of petrochemicals, aromatics:
one kind of aromatic, xylenes, are used to make plastic bottles and synthetic fibers like polyester. …
However, in its ‘Alternative Scenario’, where increasing environmental concerns lead to a worldwide ban
on single-use plastics in 2040, the demand for liquid fuels as [in plastic production]feedstock is utterly
crushed. An Increased oil supply lowers prices Greg Mcfarlane 23, 4-30-2023, "Oil Price Analysis: The
Impact of Supply and Demand", Investopedia,
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/100614/oil-price-analysis-impact-supply-demand.asp,
(DOA: 2-15-2024) //kb<3 Generally, if the oil supply increases, prices respond by going down and rising
if supply decreases. Likewise, if demand decreases, prices should decrease and rise if demand increases.
Impirics prove, when oil prices go down green investment decreases, look to 2014 Holly Ellyatt 14, Green
tech: Oil price slump’s latest victim”, CNBC,
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/12/19/green-tech-oil-price-slumps-latest-victim.html, (DOA: 2-15-2024)
//kb<3 The green energy market is fast becoming the latest to fall victim to the precipitous fall in global
oil prices, as investors shun eco-friendly tech companies. The price of benchmark Brent crude has fallen
46 percent since June on the back of a glut in global supply and waning demand, and has put pressure
both the oil and commodity sectors.Now, green energy firms are also suffering, as investors see the lower
oil price as a disincentive to invest in greener technology – or so-called “cleantech.” Danish [a] wind
turbine manufacturer, Vestas Wind Systems , has seen [saw] its share price slump almost 30 percent since
June when oil prices started to fall from a high of $114 a barrel. Brent is currently trading around $60 a
barrel. Shares of one of the largest solar companies in the world, German company Solarworld ,
meanwhile, have slipped 26 percent since mid-June. Abc News 22, 4-20-2022, "Batteries, solar, wind and
hydropower: Why renewable energy is essential to curbing climate change", ABC News,
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/batteries-solar-wind-hydropower-renewable-energy-essential-curbing/st
ory?id=84019384, (DOA: 2-15-2024) //kb<3 Renewable energy will be instrumental in reducing the
global reliance of fossil fuels, the leading cause of the greenhouse emissions that are accelerating the
warming, the study says. The inability to transfer from fossil fuels leads to the worst case scenario for
climate change EIA, 23, "Where greenhouse gases come from", No Publication,
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/energy-and-the-environment/where-greenhouse-gases-come-from.p
hp, (DOA: 2-15-2024) //kb<3 According to EPA, in 2021, CO2 emissions accounted for about 79% of
total U.S. anthropogenic GHG emissions (based on 100-year global warming potential). Fossil fuel
combustion (burning) for energy accounted for 73% of total GHG emissions and for 92% of total U.S.
anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the United States. CO2 emissions from other anthropogenic sources and
activities were about 6% of total GHG emissions and 8% of total CO2 emissions. On Doaj 23,
8-19-2023, "Quantifying Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Human Deaths to Guide Energy Policy",
MDPI, https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6074, (DOA: 2-16-2024) //kb<3 Specifically, for every
additional degree of warming beyond 2 °C, roughly an additional billion deaths will be caused, leading to
human extinction at very roughly 10 °C of warming [59]. At 2 [degree celsius]°C of warming, roughly 2
billion people would find themselves outside the climate niche as defined by Lenton et al. [72]. If it is
assumed that global warming will be the ultimate cause of death for half of those people (e.g., due to the
inability to migrate), then 2 °C of warming will cause a billion deaths. The 1000-ton rule makes it clear
that there is a marginal human death cost to every amount of warming, no matter how small. Thus, every
0.1[degree celsius] °C degree of warming can be expected to cause 100 million deaths. Similarly, every
0.001 °C of warming will cause a million deaths. If humanity misses the 2 °C target or any of the more
granular goals to stop ‘dangerous climate change’ [75], which appears likely according to AI models [76],
rather than relax and accept it, all efforts to reduce carbon emissions can be viewed as lifesaving. Second
Contention: Food Fight A Single Use Plastic ban will drive up food costs Dora 19 Manoj Dora, Eleni
Iacovidou. 6-10-2019. “Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste and protect the
environment”. Phys. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-plastic-packaging-food-environment.html. Plastic
packaging is used in the food supply chain because it supports the safe distribution of food over long
distances and minimises food waste by keeping food fresh for longer.
Banning it has
two significant impacts, first: domestically Clement 23
David Clement. 8-23-2023. “Opinion: Banning plastic food packaging would be a second big plastics
mistake”. Financial Post.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/banning-plastic-food-packaging-second-big-plastics-mistake.
How much better for the environment is plastic than glass? Researchers in Switzerland, looking at
baby-food containers, concluded using plastic rather than glass reduced emissions by up to 33 per cent
due in part to its lighter weight and lower transportation costs. That same metric applies to almost all food
that needs to be stored in airtight packaging. It’s obviously hard to effectively package food items like
baby food in paper or bamboo alternatives. Not only is plastic better from an emissions standpoint, it is
often the superior option for reducing food waste. Compared to the alternatives, including no packaging,
plastic does a significantly better job of keeping food whole and fresh and extending its shelf life.
Research on this issue suggests spoiled or damaged food may have a significantly higher impact on the
environment than the type of packaging the product comes in. How? Food production generates
emissions. Eliminating plastic food packaging would increase the volume of food that spoils, which
means more food would have to be produced, transported, refrigerated and put on grocery store shelves.
All of which generates additional emissions. A shift away from plastic food packaging would also drive
up costs for consumers. When asked about the impact of Ottawa’s proposed shift on food packaging
Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois explained “My guess is that it will compromise our food
affordability. Any alternative solutions will cost more money.” Right now, of course, the last thing
Canadians need is higher food costs: food prices in July were up 8.5 per cent over a year ago. Does
Ottawa really want to add more fuel to the food inflation
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/ottawas-next-phase-of-plastics-war-will-increase-cost-of-fruits-andvegetables Green ‘23 According to a new study from the Canadian Produce Marketing Association
(CPMA), [In Canada] under the new reduced-plastic packaging regime, food loss and waste will
potentially increase 495,000 tonnes above current levels, incurring financial losses valued at $3.4 billion.
These losses, at least in significant part,[which] will ultimately be passed onto consumers. In a report by
CTV, reporter Kevin Gallagher suggests that increased costs to consumers might reach 30 per cent. The
study authors suggest this estimate should be considered conservative, because it does not include the
potential for single-use plastic bans causing a “complete disruption to some sectors of the fresh produce
industry, and the anticipated 17.5 per cent increase in operating costs voiced by respondents that industry
would incur.” And 17.5 per cent is the median—cost increases ranged from 11 per cent to 25 per cent.
Assuming these increased costs are passed onto consumers, Canadians will see the price of fruits and
veggies take yet another jump. Ross 23 Sean Ross. 12-17-2023. “4 Countries That Produce the Most
Food”. Investopedia.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/100615/4-countries-produce-most-food.asp. The U.S. is
the world's top food exporter thanks to high crop yields and extensive agricultural infrastructure. 1%
increase in food prices pushes 10 million into poverty World Bank 22 World Bank. 4-19-2022. “Remarks
by World Bank Group President David Malpass to the U.S. Treasury’s Event on “Tackling Food
Insecurity: The Challenge and Call to Action””. World Bank.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9368568/. Food crises are particularly devastating for the
poorest and most vulnerable people. They have to spend more on food. In the developing world, a typical
poor family spends about two-thirds of its income on food. World Bank estimations warn that for each
one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty. If food
prices stay this high for a year, global poverty could go up by more than 100 million. Food price increases
are creating vast needs in both low-income countries and middle-income countries; in fact, food insecurity
right now is rising fastest in middle-income countries. Thus, responding appropriately to rising food
prices is mission critical for the World Bank Group. Secondly: Food Aid Switching from plastics to
alternatives raises prices Nurul Aisyah Suwandi 22, 7-4-2022, "Rethinking our reliance on single-use
plastics in foodservice", Circulate Initiative,
https://www.thecirculateinitiative.org/post/rethinking-our-reliance-on-single-use-plastics-in-food-service,
(DOA: 2-12-2024) //zf<3 Convenience Maintaining convenience for consumers is key to ensuring that
they can easily switch to the alternative solution, particularly for refill or reuse types of alternatives. As
consumers have become reliant on the convenience of the ‘use and throw’ of SUP, a change in mindset is
necessary for them to bring their own reusable containers or return reusable packaging provided by the
operator. To overcome this, operators, either individually or collectively, will need to develop a reuse
program that makes it easy for consumers to do their part at no additional cost. Cost Cost is another
factor that is of concern for some food service operators. Due to their early developmental stage, most
alternative solutions such as bioplastics tend to be [are]much more expensive than SUPs, even as much as
two to five times the cost. For refill/ reuse models, the logistical cost of having to collect, clean, and
redistribute the items contributes to their higher price tag. With margins already eroded due to increasing
raw material costs, exacerbated by the pandemic, some operators cannot afford to switch to these costly
alternatives. Operators with fewer outlets, unlik Paul Harvey, 18, 6-29-2018, "There are some single-use
plastics we truly need. The rest we can live without", No Publication,
https://phys.org/news/2018-06-single-use-plastics-rest.html, (DOA: 2-13-2024) //zf<3 Single-use plastics
are often used to package food and water. While this is unnecessary in most settings, certain situations do
require single-use packaging to ensure food and water safety. Domestic food aid, emergency responses,
and international aid efforts all require food and water that can be stored[and] without refrigeration and
distributed when and where it's needed. Often this means packag[ed]ing it in lightweight, single-use
plastics. While the proposed bans on single-use plastics should be recognised and applauded as an
important step forward in the global fight to prevent plastic pollution, we should ensure that we have
thought through all the scenarios where single-use plastic may be a legitimate necessity. (41) However
affirming drastically raises costs, slashing the efficacy of food aid Matthew Stevens 21, 11-8-2021,
"What’s in a box: How cutting-edge packaging can help safeguard the environment and fight hunger ",
No Publication,
https://www.wfp.org/stories/whats-box-how-cutting-edge-packaging-can-help-safeguard-environment-and
-fight-hunger, (DOA: 2-13-2024) //zf<3 Food, and other assistance from around the world, arrives here.
WFP then directs it to where it is needed most in the region and beyond. The port and the nearby WFP
warehouse are where Silva and her 40-strong team spend most of their time, working on anything from
liaising with WFP Country Offices further afield, or welcoming international officials, to ensuring food
safety and quality standards are met. In October alone, her team tracked 170,000mt of food supplies. “We
move about 300,000mt of cargo a year,” she says. What this also translates to is a staggering number of
boxes and bags: “Over 1 million bags and 1.3 million cartons every year.” All that packaging contains
life-saving food assistance for people facing hunger. So while it helps solve a humanitarian problem, it
poses a sustainability one. (56) This is devastating for the recipients who need it. Oxfam ‘24 quantifies
that Oxfam ‘24 xx, xx-xx-xxxx, "Reform food aid", No Publication,
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/issues/humanitarian-response-and-leaders/hunger-and-famine/foo
d-aid/, (DOA: 2-13-2024) //zf<3 In the wake of World War II, the US launched an ambitious effort to help
save lives by fighting the scourge of hunger. The idea was simple: take surplus US grain and send it to
people in need around the world. Since then, US food aid has saved hundreds of millions of people from
malnutrition and starvation. In 2013, the US spent $1.7 billion—less than .05 percent of the federal
budget—to reach 46.2 million people in 56 countries with food aid. These efforts are helping to address
urgent humanitarian need in places such as Syria and Sudan. As more frequent natural disasters and
man-made crises leave millions of families struggling to survive, our humanitarian assistance is as
important as ever. (1:09) Third Contention: Medical Mayhem Emily J. North 14, "Plastics and
Environmental Health: The Road Ahead," PubMed Central (PMC),
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3791860/, accessed 1-16-2024 // yung nat Most
advances of human society over the past century have been facilitated by the use of plastics. Plastics are
composed of a network of molecular monomers bound together to form macromolecules of infinite use in
human society. Today, there are more than 20 different major types of plastics in use worldwide [1].
Whereas plastics have been in the public eye recently for potentially dangerous human exposure to toxic
components such as bisphenol A (BPA) and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) [2], their beneficial
impact on society is undeniable and illustrated best by their medical uses and applications in public
health. Plastics are cost-effective, require little energy to produce, and are lightweight and biocompatible.
This makes them an ideal material for single-use [plastics] disposable devices, which currently comprise
85% of medical equipment. Plastics can also be soft, transparent, flexible, or biodegradable and many
different types of plastics function as innovative materials for use in engineered tissues, absorbable
sutures, prosthetics, and other medical applications. Of course, the reach of plastics goes far beyond
medicine and public health, and as such, an enormous quantity of plastics must be accounted for. Over
300 million metric tons of plastics are produced in the world annually [2] and about 50% [3] of this
volume is for disposable applications, products that are discarded within a year of their purchase.
Wayken ‘22 https://waykenrm.com/blogs/medical-plastic-material/ The medical plastics market has
advanced, with the global market value projected to hit 37.2 billion USD by 2027; breathtaking, right?
The increasing use of these medical plastics continues to transform the health market, with plastic medical
products replacing medical instruments originally fabricated with ceramics, steel, or glass where
applicable. This is because they are more cost-effective, durable, lightweight, and compatible with various
manufacturing processes. [than ceramics, steel, or glass instruments] Further, the biocompatibility of
plastics for medical devices with the human circulation system and their ease of disposal has proven a
breakthrough in the healthcare industry. And this is mainly because the medical polymers help limit the
spread of infections linked with non-disposable medical products. You’ll find that many suppliers of
quality medical plastics reap the benefits of steady patronage from the various health industries
worldwide due to their utmost importance. Plastics bans will hurt vaccines Rodgers 22 Cathy McMorris
Rodgers. 6-30-2022. “Leader Rodgers: Banning Plastic will Make Supply Chain and Inflation Crisis
Worse”. Committee on Energy and Commerce.
https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/leader-rodgers-banning-plastic-will-make-supply-chain-and-in
flation-crisis-worse. “Importantly, these plastics bans will deprive us of life-saving technologies, like
PPE, syringes, vaccine production equipment, medical gowns, and insulated packaging for transporting
vaccines. Williams 23, 11-20-2023, "Outlook of pandemic preparedness in a post-COVID-19 world",
Nature, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-023-00773-0, (DOA: 2-16-2024) //kb<3 Beyond NPIs,
early action should aim to leverage all available interventions as soon as possible in pandemic response,
which may require pre-planning strategies and stockpiling a broad range of essential supplies. While
leaders were encouraging social distancing early during the COVID-19 pandemic, US hospitals were
already reporting shortages in basic supplies and essential medicines104. Shortages were amplified by
supply chain bottlenecks, which limited access to many basic supplies, including personal protective
equipment (PPE) for frontline hospital staff104. The shortage of facilities and pharmaceutical glass,
especially Type I glass vials used for vaccines, also strained fill-finish capacity [shortages lead to higher
costs]105. The existing fill-finish capacity shortages were further intensified by the pandemic due to a
shift from vials to syringes and cartridges, increasing the demand for syringe capacity106. In response,
companies reprioritized their manufacturing networks to ensure adequate production of supplies such as
sterile injectables and PPE. As healthcare prices rise, Americans lose access– this is devastating, History
shows with COVID Harvard Business Review 22, 11-29-2022, "When Inflation Rises, Health Outcomes
Fall", https://hbr.org/2022/11/when-inflation-rises-health-outcomes-fall, (DOA: 12-4-2023) //zf<3 As
inflation hit a 40-year high over the summer, Americans faced tough decisions on how to tighten budgets
— and unfortunately, many cut medical care at the expense of their health. A June 2022 survey conducted
by West Health and Gallup found that in the prior six months, high health care prices drove 38% of
American adults — nearly 100 million people — to delay or skip treatment and cut back on driving,
utilities, and food or borrow money to pay medical bills. For the 37 million American adults living with
diabetes, the 116 million managing hypertension, and the countless others living with different chronic
conditions, skipping appointments or prescriptions can be life threatening. While there are a number of
factors that influence inflation’s impact on health behavior, it’s essential for employers to recognize its
effect on employees and find ways to help them afford and access the care they need as prices continue to
go up