Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
Index:
Page Numbers:
On-Case:
1NC Solvency
1NC Harms (Environment)
2
3-4
Responses to Add-On (only if read by 1AC):
1NC Harms Add-On Advantage (Water Treatment)
5
Off-Case – suggested for stronger readers or Varsity:
Mexico Jobs Disadvantage 1NC
2NC/1NR Mexico Jobs Disadvantage Link Extensions
Varsity- only Capitalism Link (use with Barton’s Kritik)
6-8
9
10
1
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
1NC SOLVENCY:
1. NANOTECHNOLOGY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REGULATE
VAUGHAN 2012
[Steven Vaughan, SET Lecturer in Obligations at the Law School, Cardiff University and a former associate with
Latham & Watkins and Freshfields, “Laying down the law on nanotechnology”, The Guardian, 11 June 2012,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/jun/11/law-nanotechnology-regulation]
Regulating nanotechnology is difficult because of the myriad [multiple] ways in which
nanomaterials can be used and due to their global impact - the fact that product X made in the US
can travel via Europe and be sold in China. There is also a real issue in knowing when and how to
regulate: with hindsight it may be too little, too late or too much, too soon.
2. COMPANIES SHOULD REGULATE THEIR OWN NANOTECHNOLOGY, NOT
GOVERNMENTS
LIN 2006
[Patrick Lin, director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, based at California Polytechnic State University,
“Nanotechnology Bound: Evaluating the Case for More Regulation” Nanoethics 31 March 2007, pg. SpringerLink,
105-122]
This position opposes more governmental regulation as a way to mitigate Environment, Health, and
Safety risks. Rather, it advocates self-regulation as an alternative, such that if any additional
regulation is needed, it should be left up to the industry to decide what measures are
appropriate. There are several reasons why this view is attractive to many [27]. First, it promotes a
smaller governmental footprint in business and individual lives, so it instantly appeals to libertarians
and some conservatives. Also, it may make more sense for the nanotechnology industry, that
presumably knows its field the better than lawmakers do and have a real stake in its workprocesses, to devise and implement any regulations, rather than some distant bureaucracy
whose edicts are inevitably borne from political compromise. By monitoring one’s own work,
self-regulation fosters a sense of responsibility within the industry. Further, self-regulation
seems to work, as evidenced by any number of professional code of ethics.
2
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
1NC HARMS - ENVIRONMENT:
1. NANOTECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS CAN’T MEASURE ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS ACCURATELY – COMPANIES WILL CHEAT
SOLIMAN 2012
(Agricultural economist, attorney, and researcher focused on legal and economic issues in the Agriculture, Resource
and Food sectors (Adam, “The Need for Stronger Nanotechnology Regulation”, Food Safety News, 10/16/2012,
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/10/why-we-should-have-more-regulations-on-nanotechnology/#.UfV_zI21F6I)
Legislation governing the use of nanoparticles is limited around the world, particularly in the
U.S. In 2007, a report released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Nanotechnology Task
Force 33 stated that despite the ‘special properties’ of nanomaterials, no further regulation is needed
(3). This report was opposed by environmental group Friends of the Earth and the International
Center for Technology Assessment. The organizations filed a petition with FDA urging it to take
action to highlight the risks associated with nanotechnology (4). As a result, the federal
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act was passed in 2003. The Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) was also developed to assess the risk posed by substances, and to provide authority to
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in regulating them (5). The TSCA set out provisions to
protect living systems against unknown risks of new or engineered substances by regulating and
testing new and existing chemicals. However, the EPA does not hold much sway in the American
political sphere. In fact, the U.S. legislature does not even require pre-market approval of
consumer goods; the FDA relies solely on manufacturers to ensure product safety (6). Moreover,
only evidence of a very specific harm associated with a product can elicit legal restrictions, and
nanoparticles have not yet been tested for such specific risks. The EU organization Strategy for
Nanotechnology asserts that nanotechnology has the potential to enhance quality of life and industrial
competitiveness, and therefore lobbies aggressively for minimal legislation on nanotechnology.
Current laws state that anyone producing or importing nanomaterials into Europe is required to
provide written notification to public authorities; this notification requires the manufacturer to
conduct research illustrating the properties and dangers of the product (7). However, this
research is not monitored, making the data difficult to validate and allowing manufacturers to
exaggerate, forge or omit crucial information. In Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety has
referred to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) requirement for risk assessment on nano-scale
materials for assessing nanoparticles before they can be used in food (8). Additionally, the Public
Health and Municipal Services Ordinance requires all food sold in Hong Kong to be fit for human
consumption. But consumer goods lack specific legislation monitoring nanotechnology’s expanding
applications. Furthermore, no comprehensive and compulsory [mandatory] danger assessment
scheme has been introduced to manage the potential risks posed by nanoparticles to public and
environmental health.
3
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
1NC HARMS - ENVIRONMENT:
2. MEXICO DOESN’T HAVE THE SCIENTISTS NECESSARY TO PRODUCE
NANOTECHNOLOGY
FOLADORI, 2005
Professor at Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas; Invernizzi-Senior associate at the Wilson Center (Guillermo,
Noela, “Nanotechnology and the Developing World:¶ Will Nanotechnology Overcome Poverty or¶ Widen
Disparities?”, 2005, Vol. 2, Issue 3, Article 11, http://estudiosdeldesarrollo.net/administracion/docentes/documentos_personales/11947LBJ.pdf)
Third, nanotechnology’s development in much of the world will do little to help the
developing world due to the difficulty in finding qualified workers. A country’s ability to
foster and support technological careers requires a social context that supplies the necessary
equipment and human capital in the long term. It will be difficult for many Third World
countries to find the staff necessary to work interdisciplinarily in nanotechnology. Mexico,
for instance, the thirteenth largest exporting power in the world, only has eleven research
teams in three universities and two research centers in nanotechnology, with a total of
ninety researchers and no official support program for field research.
3. NANOTECHNOLOGY IS IMPOSSIBLE, IT’S SCIENCE FICTION
LOVY 2003
(Howard, “Settle a little bet for me,” http://nanobot.blogspot.com/2003_10_26_nanobot_archive.html#106746603743656518)
Here we are, through the looking glass, where we ponder the impact of molecular
nanotechnology upon the ethical fiber of our society, when we have yet to settle a cosmic bar bet
on whether it's possible at all. Let me explain: The U.S. government is paying for a University of
South Carolina effort to study the societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology. The university
is jumping enthusiastically into the project and will examine issues like what exactly our culture
thinks of when it pictures "nanotechnology." It's going to hold what sounds like a fascinating
conference in March to explore how nanotech images in the movies, visual arts and other media
influence public understanding, and they'll look at how "self-replication (self-copying) and cascading
effects" (translation: "gray goo") is becoming an immovable feature of that image. As we saw from
early 20th-century images of space travel, reality and popular myth often diverge in entertaining
ways. In today's mythology, molecular manufacturing is often given a biological analogy, even
though it's more likely that an exponentially growing nanosystem – whose individual components
would lack the sophistication of a biological molecule – would be easier to predict and control than
any mythical monster we've created. Great stuff. All worthy of study. One problem. One … big …
problem: We're told that true molecular manufacturing is impossible. That's what eminent
scientists have told Congress, anyway, and that's the focus of many spirited debates among the
nanorati. The National Science Foundation can't seem to make up its mind, labeling large-scale
self-replication (self-copying) "very speculative, more like science fiction," yet also part of its
vision for the future.
4
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
ANSWERS TO: WATER TREATMENT HARMS ADD-ON ADVANTAGE
1. NANOTECH DOESN’T SOLVE FOR CLEAN WATER THAT PEOPLE IN MEXICO
CAN AFFORD TO USE
SCHUMMER 2007
(Joachim, Department of Philosophy, University of Darmstadt, “The Impact of Nanotechnologies on Developing
Countries” http://joachimschummer.net/papers/2007_Nano-Developing-Countries_Althoff-et-al.pdf)
Against the background of the real problems and their existent efficient solutions, one needs to be
careful with media reports announcing nanotechnology’s solution to the drinking water
problems of the developing world. There is no doubt that micro- and nanoporous filter development
can lead to improved removal of microbes and other pollutants from water, and that desalination
plants can open up new water sources. However, these filters and plants will hardly be affordable
and manageable by the neediest in the foreseeable future. One should also note that filters based
on zeolites and ceramics, which are nowadays subsumed under nanotechnology, have been
produced since many decades,without meeting the needs of developing countries. And the latest
approach, the use of the extremely expensive carbon nanotubes in water filters, is a project by the US
military that, rather than helping developing countries, should provide “water pure enough to use for
medical purposes right on the battlefield”.
2. MEXICO IS INVESTING IN WATER TREATMENT PLANTS
FOX NEWS LATINO, 2011
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/10/16/us-looks-to-mexico-for-more-water/
Mexico may start sending water north as four major U.S. water districts help plan one of two
huge desalination plant proposals in Playas de Rosarito, about 15 miles south of San Diego.
Combined, they would produce 150 million gallons a day, enough to supply more than 300,000
homes on both sides of the border.
5
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
MEXICO JOBS DISADVANTAGE 1NC (1/3)
A. UNIQUENESS: MEXICO’S ECONOMY IS STRONG NOW DUE TO
MANUFACTURING
WALLSTREET JOURNAL 2013
(Timothy Aeppel, Wall Street Journal, “Mexico Manufacturing Looks to Gain Competitive Edge on China”
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/06/28/mexico-manufacturing-looks-to-gain-competitive-edge-on-china/)
That’s the assessment of the Boston Consulting Group, which in a new report estimates Mexican
factory wages will be nearly 30% lower than China’s by 2015, when adjusted for productivity
differences. Mexican workers typically produce more per hour than their Chinese counterparts. By
that same measure, Mexico already last year became a less expensive place than China to make some
products, according to BCG’s estimates.
Mexico’s strengthening factory sector is helping boost that nation’s economy. BCG estimates
that within five years, Mexico’s factories will churn out up to $60 billion a year more in goods
— much of it destined for export. About two-thirds of Mexico’s exports currently go to the U.S.
“We know there’s a lot of work leaving China for Mexico, because it’s cheaper,” says Harold L.
Sirkin, a BCG senior partner. He says Mexico’s gains will help U.S. manufacturers as well, “since
products made in Mexico contain four times as many U.S.-made parts, on average, as those
made in China.”
Mr. Sirkin says four industries in particular are getting a boost: electronics, automobiles, appliances,
and machinery.
Besides having relatively low wages, Mexico is also benefiting from its close proximity to the U.S.
and low energy costs. Mexico also has more free trade agreements — 44 — than any other country.
That makes it an attractive place to make goods destined for many markets.
6
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
MEXICO JOBS DISADVANTAGE 1NC (2/3)
B. LINK – NANOTECH HURTS MEXICAN ECONOMY BY REPLACING
EXISTING TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING JOBS
FOLADORI 2006
(Professor in the Doctoral Program on Development Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, México,
Guillermo, “Nanotechnology in Latin America at the Crossroads,”
http://www.estudiosdeldesarrollo.net/administracion/docentes/documentos_personales/193983_2_International_138[1].pdf)
Another problem concerning the disruptive nature of nanotechnologies is their impact on
commerce. It is likely that raw materials will become cheaper as a consequence of their being
substituted by nanotechnologies and a fall in demand. The publication of the Action Group on
Erosion, Technology and Concentration (“ETC Group”), The Potential Impacts of Nano-Scale
Technologies on Commodity Markets: The Implications for Commodity Dependent Developing
Countries, studies the cases of the markets for rubber, platinum and copper. There are
nanotechnological procedures that will substantially improve the durability of automobile
tires, the main market for rubber, and this could significantly reduce the worldwide demand
for the product. Carbon nanotubes could become an effective competitor for copper cables,
greatly affecting worldwide demand for this product. Platinum could be replaced by
nanotechnology as a catalyst in converters, batteries, and other products. These are some examples
of the pressure that countries which sell these raw materials will face when they begin to be
substituted by nanotechnology products. The publication concludes as follows: Without critical
planning and assessment, commodity dependent developing countries are more likely to be on the
receiving end of nanotech’s potentially adverse impacts—rather than active participants in
shaping nanotech’s role in society.49 There is also the matter of unemployment. The latest
report of the work group on science and technology of the United Nations Millennium Program
considers nanotechnology to be more important to the developing world because, among other
things, it means reduced work, land, and maintenance.50 However, the possibility of an increase in
unemployment has not been considered by proponents of nanotechnology initiatives.
7
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
MEXICO JOBS DISADVANTAGE 1NC (3/3)
C. IMPACT – MEXICO KEY TO GLOBAL ECONOMY
RANGEL, 1995
(Enrique Rangel, fellow at the Monterrey Bureau, “Pressure on the Peso,” November 28th, 1995, from The Dallas Morning News, lexis)
All year long, thousands of foreign investors have nervously watched Mexico’s volatile financial
markets as the Clinton administration and congressional leaders debated the pros and cons of bailing
out a battered currency. With the exception of 1982 - when Mexico defaulted on its foreign debt and
a handful of giant New York banks worried they would lose billions of dollars in loans - few people
abroad ever cared about a weak peso. But now it’s different, experts say. This time, the world is
keeping a close eye on Mexico’s unfolding financial crisis for one simple reason: Mexico is a major
international player. If its economy were to collapse, it would drag down a few other countries
and thousands of foreign investors. If recovery is prolonged, the world economy will feel the
slowdown.
“It took a peso devaluation so that other countries could notice the key role that Mexico plays in
today’s global economy,” said economist Victor Lopez Villafane of the Monterrey Institute of
Technology. “I hate to say it, but if Mexico were to default on its debts, that would trigger an
international financial collapse” not seen since the Great Depression, said Dr. Lopez, who has
conducted comparative studies of the Mexican economy and the economies of some Asian and Latin
American countries. “That’s why it’s in the best interests of the United States and the industrialized
world to help Mexico weather its economic crisis,” he said. The crisis began last December when the
Mexican government devalued the currency. Last March, after weeks of debate, President Clinton,
the International Monetary Fund and a handful of other countries and international agencies put
together a $ 53 billion rescue package for Mexico. But despite the help - $ 20 billion in guarantee
loans from the United States - Mexico’s financial markets have been volatile for most of the year.
The peso is now trading at about 7.70 to the dollar, after falling to an all-time low of 8.30 to the
dollar Nov. 9. The road has been bumpy, and that has made many - particularly U.S. investors nervous. No country understands better the importance of Mexico to the global economy than
the United States, said Jorge Gonzalez Davila, an economist at Trinity University in San Antonio.
“Despite the rhetoric that you hear in Washington, I think that most people agree - even those who
oppose any aid to Mexico - that when Mexico sneezes, everybody catches a cold,” Mr. Gonzalez
said. “That’s why nowadays any talk of aid to Mexico or trade with Mexico gets a lot of
attention,” he said. Most economists, analysts and business leaders on both sides of the border agree
that the biggest impact abroad of a prolonged Mexican fiscal crisis may be on the U.S. economy,
especially in Texas and in cities bordering Mexico.
8
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
2NC/1NR ECONOMY DISAD LINK EXTENSIONS: NANOTECH HURTS ECON
NANOTECH CAUSES ECONOMIC MELTDOWN
CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2004
(4/19 “Disaster Scenarios,” http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2004/07/disaster_scenar.html)
Subquestion B: Economic meltdown? Preliminary answer: It's easy to imagine a nanofactory
package that allows completely self-sufficient living, off grid and without money, while
retaining modern first-world comfort levels. However, a modest amount of advertising would
make this unattractive to most people. As discussed elsewhere, we can expect a large fraction of
jobs in a wide range of areas related to manufacturing, extraction, and supply to disappear.
This problem is already appearing with increased automation and efficiency, but could
rapidly get worse. The factors that lead to economic meltdown also provide increased selfsufficiency, so it ought to be survivable in the absence of oppressive policy (maintaining artificial
scarcity while removing sources of income). Secondary effects from social disruption may be
problematic but ought to be survivable. Attempts to subsidize dead-end jobs will probably be
harmful in the long run. Some amount of economic disruption should be expected.
NANOTECH DESTROYS INDUSTRIES AND MAKES JOBS OBSOLETE
TREDER 2005
(Mike Treder, Executive Director of The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology professional writer, speaker, and
activist with a background in technology and communications company management, 2005, “War, Interdependence,
Nanotechnology,” http://www.futurebrief.com/miketrederwar002.asp)
We also must consider the potential negative impacts of advanced nanotechnology on our
current socio-economic structure. Low-cost local manufacturing and duplication of designs
could lead to monetary upheaval, as major economic sectors contract or even collapse. For
example, the global steel industry is worth over $700 billion. What will happen to the millions of
jobs associated with that industry—and to the capital supporting it—when materials many times
stronger than steel can be produced quickly and cheaply wherever (and whenever) they are
needed? Productive nanosystems could make storable solar power a realistic and preferable
alternative to traditional energy sources. Around the world, individual energy consumers pay
over $600 billion a year for utility bills and fuel supplies. Commercial and industrial uses drive the
figures higher still. When much of this spending can be permanently replaced with off-grid solar
energy, many more jobs will be displaced. The worldwide semiconductor industry produces
annual billings of over $150 billion. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the industry
employs a domestic workforce of nearly 300,000 people. Additionally, U.S. retail distribution of
electronics products amounts to almost $300 billion annually. All of these areas will be
impacted significantly if customized electronics products can be produced at home for about a
dollar a pound, the likely cost of raw materials. If any individual can make products containing
computing power a million times greater than today’s PCs, where will those jobs go?
9
Minnesota Urban Debate League
Nanotechnology Negative
Middle School
(VARSITY ONLY) CAPITALISM KRITIK LINKS: NANOTECH PROMOTES
CAPITALISM
NANOTECHNOLOGY IS A PRODUCT OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM THAT
OVERWHELMS OUR SOCIETY
NARDI, PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 2001
(Bonnie, PhD, UC Irvine, Anthropology, http://www.darrouzet-nardi.net/bonnie/nanosciencestatement.html, 12/30)
Brown and Duguid suggest that Bill Joy's concerns about nanotechnology are distorted by
technological tunnel vision. But Joy is far from oblivious to the social. He situates the development
of nanotechnology very realistically as a product of "global capitalism and its manifold
[multiple] financial incentives and competitive pressures." Capitalism is a social force
more powerful than the "government, courts, formal and informal organizations, social
movements, professional networks, local communities, and market institutions" enumerated by
Brown and Duguid. Indeed many of these social forms are deeply implicated [involved] in
capitalism, not outside of it. Forces that can "redirect the raw power of technologies," as Brown and
Duguid say, come up against the "manifold [multiple] financial and competitive pressures" of which
Joy speaks. Some parts of government and certain social movements do exist as reactive forces
trying to slow and restrain rampant capitalism. However, I believe such forces should be primary
generative [productive] stimuli of planned societal progress, not catch-up rearguard actions. Joy's
fear of "undirected growth" is one to take seriously.
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