TOPICALITY ARGUMENTS
Rich Edwards
Baylor University
2014-15 National Policy Topic
Resolved: The United States federal government should
substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or
development of the Earth’s oceans.
Especially Likely Topicality
Arguments
Development is not the same as “protection.”
Development of the oceans is not the same as development
on the oceans.
Non-military does not include the Coast Guard or Army
Corps of Engineers.
“Its” means the U.S. federal government, not energy or
mining companies.
Increase means the expansion of an already existing
program.
The increase is not “substantial.”
“Oceans” is plural, meaning a plan focused on a single ocean
is not topical.
Negative: Development Does
Not Mean Protection
Page 9 of your handout:
WORDS AND PHRASES, Vol. 12, 2007, 416. Development:
“Development" relates to the management of a resource to make
it available for use. AS 16.05.251.—Grunert v. State, 109 P.3d 924
WORDS AND PHRASES, Vol. 12, 2007, 419. Development: A
development will always be a use, but a use may not always be a
development. West's RCWA 90.58.020
Pew Oceans Commission, AMERICA’S LIVING OCEANS, 2003, 58.
Recommendation 2. Identify and protect from development
habitat critical for the functioning of coastal ecosystems. Congress
should provide a significant, permanent, and dedicated source of
funding for habitat protection.
Affirmative: Development
Means to Protect a Resource
Page 9 of your handout:
Joseph Pickett, (Editor), AMERICAN HERITAGE COLLEGE DICTIONARY,
2002, 388. Develop: To improve the quality of; refine.
International Institute for Sustainable Development, WHAT IS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?, 2011. Retrieved Mar. 3, 2014 from
http://www.iisd.org/sd/. Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains
within it two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the
essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority
should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of
technology and social organization on the environment's ability to
meet present and future needs.
TOPIC PARAGRAPH
Oceans hold 99 percent of the space for Earth’s living organisms; yet many experts
argue humans know less about the world’s oceans than outer space. This fact solidifies
the topic as one which offers an opportunity to examine both U.S. and international law
on matters related to the Earth’s ocean resources. In early 2012, the National Ocean
Council drafted an Implementation Plan to translate President Obama’s National Policy
for the Stewardship of the Ocean. The document indicates a readiness by the U.S.
government to address oceanic exploration and development policies in the areas of
marine planning, coastal communities, commercial fishing, agriculture and energy.
Possible affirmative cases would include reducing overfishing, limiting ocean
acidification, conducting disease research, restricting invasive species and decreasing
ocean dumping. Other affirmatives could deal with changes in Arctic shipping routes or
opportunities for oil and natural gas exploration. Negative positions can focus on
international issues, especially with China or Russia, in regard to control of the Exclusive
Economic Zone of oceans. Some negatives might take the route of environmental
challenges or threats that development might encounter. Additionally, there is a wealth
of negative information focusing on the burden additional exploration or development
would place on the U.S. economy.
Negative: “Of” is not the same
as “On”
MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/of?show=0&t=1412098958. Of:
“used as a function word to indicate the component material, parts,
or elements or the contents”
MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on. On: “touching and
being supported by the top surface of (something)”
Affirmative: “Of” includes “On”
MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/of?show=0&t=1412098958. Of:
“belonging to, relating to, or connected with (someone or
something)”
Negative: Coast Guard is
Military
Pages 7-8 of Your Topicality Handout:
Bryan Garner, (Editor), BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 2009, 1083.
Military: Of or relating to the armed forces.
OXFORD DICTIONARY ONLINE, 2014. Retrieved Apr. 21, 2014 from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/nonmilitary.
Non-Military: Not belonging to, characteristic of, or involving the
armed forces; civilian.
U.S. Coast Guard, OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD, Mar. 20,
2014. Retrieved Apr. 9, 2014 from http://www.uscg.mil/top/about/. The
U.S. Coast Guard is one of the five armed forces of the United
States and the only military organization within the Department of
Homeland Security.
Affirmative: Coast Guard Is Assigned
Non-Military Functions
Thomas Kerr, (Flotilla Staff Officer, U.S. Coast Guard) UNITED STATES
COAST GUARD AUXILIARY, 2014. Retrieved Sept. 30, 2014 from
http://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=013-02-08&category=auxiliary-history.
“From its inception, the Coast Guard has been different in kind
from the rest of America’s armed services. Apart from its military
functions, the Coast Guard is also tasked with a broad range of
additional duties: search and rescue at sea; administration of the
nation’s maritime laws; environmental protection; port security;
and maintenance of the nation’s public aids to navigation, to name
but a few.”
Negative: “Its” Means the Plan Actor
Must Be the U.S. Government, Not
Private Corporations
Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout:
Jean McKechnie, (Sr. Editor), WEBSTER’S NEW TWENTIETH
CENTURY DICTIONARY, UNABRIDGED, 2nd Ed., 1979, 977. Its: Of, or
belonging to, or done by it.
Layer Mayer, (Dir., Center for Coastal Mapping, U. New Hampshire),
THE LAW OF THE SEA CONVENTION, 2012, 520. In the United
States, the high-level technical expertise needed to design, build,
implement, and evaluate deep-water drilling technology lies in the
industry, not in the government, as those with these very
specialized skill sets are paid much higher salaries in the private
sector.
Affirmative: “Its” Only Means There
Must Be Some Relation to the
Federal Government
Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout:
Sandra Anderson, (Editor), COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY, 8th Ed.,
2006, 867. Its: Belonging to, or associated in some way with.
Christopher Gillis, (Editor, American Shipper Magazine), OFFSHORE
WINDPOWER, 2011, 91. For more than forty years, the Mineral
Management Service has governed the U.S. offshore oil, gas, and
mineral extraction industries in federal waters, known as the Outer
Continental Shelf. Federally controlled waters generally cover three
miles off the coast out to 200 miles.
Negative: “Increase” Means To
Expand Something Already Existing
Page 7 of Your Topicality Handout:
Ian Brookes, (Sr. Editor), THE CHAMBERS DICTIONARY, 10th ed.,
2006, 754. Increase: Growth; increment; addition to the original
stock.
Maurice Waite, (Editor), OXFORD DICTIONARY & THESAURUS, 2007,
526. Increase: Make bigger, augment, supplement.
Affirmative: “Increase” Can Mean to
Start From Zero
Page 6 of Your Topicality Handout:
WORDS AND PHRASES CUMULATIVE SUPPLEMENTARY PAMPHLET,
Vol. 20A, 2007, 76. Increase: Salary change of from zero to $12,000
and $1,200 annually for mayor and councilmen respectively was an
“increase” in salary and not merely the fixing of salary. King v.
Herron, 243 S.E.2d36, 241 Ga. 5.
Also, some ocean exploration and development programs already
exist; by adding a new program, we are “increasing” the total
amount of ocean exploration and dvelopment.
Affirmative: “Increase” Can Mean to
Start From Zero
Page 6 of Your Topicality Handout:
WORDS AND PHRASES CUMULATIVE SUPPLEMENTARY PAMPHLET,
Vol. 20A, 2007, 76. Increase: Salary change of from zero to $12,000
and $1,200 annually for mayor and councilmen respectively was an
“increase” in salary and not merely the fixing of salary. King v.
Herron, 243 S.E.2d36, 241 Ga. 5.
Also, some ocean exploration and development programs already
exist; by adding a new program, we are “increasing” the total
amount of ocean exploration and development.
Negative: The Increase Is Not
“Substantial”
Page 4 of Your Topicality Handout:
“Substantially” means more than 25%.
Federal Tax Regulation, Section 1.409A-3(j)6, INCOME TAX
REGULATIONS (Wolters Kluwer Business Publication), 2008, 723. For
this purpose, a reduction that is less than 25% of the deferred
amount in dispute is not a substantial reduction.”
Affirmative: “Substantial” Means By
an Important Amount
Page 5 of Your Topicality Handout:
Christine Lindberg, (Editor), OXFORD COLLEGE DICTIONARY, 2nd Ed.,
2007, 1369. Substantially: Important in material or social terms.
Erich Hoyt, (Sr. Research Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology), MARINE PROTECTED AREAS FOR WHALES, DOLPHINS,
AND PORPOISES, 2011, 42. Cetaceans are not only the high-profile
attractions that bring people to the sea, but, by their presence,
they advertise the health of that part of the sea since they are
known to the public as inhabitants of clean, healthy waters. The
tourism and local community benefits from cetaceans, as well as
the economic impact, can be substantial.
Negative: “Oceans” Is Plural,
Meaning More Than One Ocean
Page 12 of Your Topicality Handout:
Bryan Garner, (Editor), BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY, 2009, 1185.
Ocean: There are generally considered to be five oceans: Atlantic,
Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic.
Affirmative: The Word “Oceans”
Describes an Interconnected Whole
Page 12 of Your Topicality Handout:
Elizabeth Geller, (Editor), DICTIONARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE, 2003, 280. Ocean: The interconnected body of salt water
that occupies almost three quarters of the earth’s surface.
Also, Affirmative plans are not required to do EVERYTHING
encompassed within the resolution; instead, the plan must fall
within the boundaries set by the resolution. The affirmative plan,
by exploring/developing one ocean does fall within those
boundaries.