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Earth Science DA
Juniors
***Earth Science DA***
Earth Science DA 1nc
A. Uniqueness- NASA is shifting away from space – focusing on Earth science
Karen Jacobs. June 11, 2011. (Journalist for Reuters, specializes in space policy issues. NASA
Spending Shift to Benefit Centers Focused on Science & Technology.
http://aerospaceblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/nasa-spending-shift-to-benefit-centersfocused-on-science-technology/) hss
Euroconsult, the leading international consulting and analyst firm specializing in the space sector, along with
the consulting firm Omnis, today announced the findings of a study today foreseeing a significant shift in
NASA spending toward Earth science and R&D programs and away from legacy spaceflight activities.
According to the report “NASA Spending Outlook: Trends to 2016,” NASA’s budget, which will remain flat
at around $18.7 billion for the next five years, will also be characterized by significant shifts from space
operations to technology development and science. With the shift in budget authority, NASA Centers
focused on Earth observation, space technology, and aeronautics will see increases in funding, while
those involved in human spaceflight will see major funding reductions. Indeed, the termination of the
Space Shuttle program will lead to a budget cut over $1 billion for Space Operations, resulting in a 21%
budget cut for the Johnson Space Center. Overall, the agency’s budget for R&D will account for about 50%
of all NASA spending. “Budget allocation across Centers will vary greatly,” said Steve Bochinger, President
of Euroconsult North America. “As NASA shifts priorities for human spaceflight from Shuttle
operations to Human Exploration Capabilities and commercial spaceflight, the budget will be
redirected to a range of technology development programs. Likewise, as NASA shifts its science
mission focus away from space science to Earth science, the science budget will be redistributed among
centers.”
B. Link- Funding exploration creates a political opportunity to defund Earth sciences --Congress will cut the program to keep overall budgeting level
Space Politics 11 (“Human Spaceflight versus Earth Sciences?”, 2-9,
http://www.spacepolitics.com/2011/02/09/human-spaceflight-versus-earth-sciences/)
A letter signed by several members of Congress is the latest evidence that a new battle line is forming
over NASA funding: human spaceflight versus Earth sciences. In a letter to House Appropriations
committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers and CJS subcommittee chairman Frank Wolf, six Republican
members of Congress asked the appropriators to prioritize NASA funding on what they consider to be
the agency’s primary mission, human spaceflight. To do that, they argue that funding for NASA’s
climate change research be redirected to human spaceflight accounts. “With your help, we can reorient
NASA’s mission back toward human spaceflight by reducing funding for climate change research and
reallocating those funds to NASA’s human spaceflight accounts, all while moving overall discretionary
spending towards FY2008 levels,” the letter’s authors—Reps. Bill Posey (R-FL), Pete Olson (R-TX), Rob
Bishop (R-UT), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Sandy Adams (R-FL), and Mo Brooks (R-AL)—argue. There are a
number of issues with the letter. They claim that NASA spent “over a billion dollars” on “studying global
warming/climate change” in FY2010. The agency got about $1.4 billion for all Earth sciences research in
FY10, according to agency budget documents. There’s no breakout for how much of that went specifically to
climate change research, though. The letter also claims that the “lion share” of NASA’s share of stimulus
funding went to climate change studies. In fact, only about a third of the agency’s stimulus funding, $325
million, went to Earth sciences programs, to accelerate development of Earth science spacecraft. Human
spaceflight got even more:$400 million, including $50 million for the CCDev program. And their claim that
NASA’s core mission is human spaceflight is not supported by other documents, ranging from the National
Aeronautics and Space Act from 1958 to the latest NASA authorization act, which declared that NASA “is
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and should remain a multi-mission agency with a balanced and robust set of core missions in science,
aeronautics, and human space flight and exploration” and that “NASA plays a critical role through its ability
to provide data on solar output, sea level rise, atmospheric and ocean temperature, ozone depletion, air
pollution, and observation of human and environment relationships”. A bigger issue, though, is that this
letter may be indicative of a bigger battle some in Congress want to wage between human spaceflight
and Earth science. Some members have openly expressed their skepticism about the validity of climate
change research, questioning either the existence of global warming or the role of human activities in causing
climate change. The letter to appropriators makes no judgment on the quality of validity of such research,
only NASA’s role in supporting it, but some might see that unspoken argument there. For example, one of
the letter’s signers, Rep. Brooks, said last week in regards to NASA funding that there would be “hearings
soon on global warming” by the House science committee without going into more details. An attack on
Earth sciences funding to support human spaceflight could create or reinvigorate opponents of human
spaceflight programs, reminiscent of previous debates between human spaceflight and robotic space
exploration advocates—a battle that the agency presumably would want to avoid.
C. Impact- Earth Sciences are key to human survival.
Kleyne June 27, 2011. (Sharon Kleyne is the founder and chairman and Research Director of
Bio-Logic Aqua Technologies Biomedical Research, Inc. “Sharon Kleyne talks to Dr. L.
DeWayne Cecil about NASA and the Life or Death Importance of Earth Research from Space”.
Guest: L. DeWayne Cecil, Ph D. (Salt Lake City, UT), Director, Western Region Climate Services,
NOAA-NCDC (formerly with NASA).
http://sharonkleynehour.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/space-research-and-earth-science/) hss
Dr. Cecil is a frequent guest on The Sharon Kleyne Hour – Power of Water. His subject on this day was
concern about NASA budget allocations. Dr. Cecil is convinced that space based earth science research
from orbiting satellites offers the greatest hope to humankind to acquire the information needed to
assure the survival of life on planet Earth. There are many answers we must have, that only space based
research, including NASA’s Earth Observation Satellite program, can provide. Hundreds of critical earth and
atmospheric experiments were conducted aboard the Space Shuttle during the program’s lifetime. The Space
Shuttle also launched hundreds of satellites aimed at discovering more about Earths weather (global
warming, global drying and climate change), geology, atmosphere, forest and vegetation distribution, etc.
With the Space Shuttle fleet being retired, and a projected five year hiatus before a replacement
program begins, a gap has been created that Dr. Cecil believes we can ill-afford at this critical time in
Earth’s history. Dr. Cecil is also concerned about specific projects that have been cut back in NASA’s Earth
Observation Satellite and Launch Services program. He notes that an orbiting carbon observation satellite
and an orbiting aerosol observation satellite both crashed on launch and were not replaced. He stresses that
space based research and Earth Observation Satellites could provide information about – and even
predict – tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, ozone depletion, solar radiation, tsunamis and
changing weather, pollution and vegetation patters. This information is crucial to global public health
(to combat environmentally caused dehydration diseases such as dry eye and malignant melanoma) , disaster
preparation, and the planet’s ability to feed its inhabitants and mange its energy and water resources.
Much of the information is only available from the wide perspective of space and has already saved
countless lives.
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UQ- Earth Science focus now
Moving away from space issues allows focus and funding for Earth sciences.
Pelton 2010. (Joseph N. Pelton is a Research Professor with the Institute for Applied Space
Research at the George Washington University and Dr. Pelton holds degrees from the University
of Tulsa (B.S. 1965), New York University, (M.A. 1967) and Georgetown University (Ph.D. 1971).
“A new space vision for NASA-And for space entrepreneurs too?” Space Policy 26 (2010) 78-80.)
hss
Some have suggested that President Barack Obama's cancellation of the unwieldy and expensive Project
Constellation to send astronauts back to the Moon for a few exploratory missions was a blow to NASA and
the start of the end of the US space program. The truth is just the reverse. Project Constellation, accurately
described by former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin as “Apollo on Steroids” provided little new
technology or innovation and had an astronomical price tag. It was clearly too much for too little. If the
opportunity costs of Project Constellation are examined (i.e. if we think what could have been done with an
extra $100 billion of space funds), dumping it defies argument. With much less invested in a questionable
Project Constellation enterprise we can do much more in space astronomy.We can invest more wisely
in space science to learn more about the Sun, the Earth and threats from Near Earth Objects. David
Thompson, Chairman and CEO of Orbital Sciences said the following in a speech that endorsed the new
commercial thrust of the NASA space policies on Nine February 2010: “Let us, the commercial space
industry, develop the space taxis we need to get our Astronauts into orbit and to ferry those wanting to go
into space to get to where they want to go.We are in danger of falling behind in many critical areas of
space unless we shift our priorities” [10]. With a change in priorities we can deploy far more spacecraft
needed to address the problems of climate change via better Earth observation systems. We can fund
competitions and challenges to spur space entrepreneurs to find cheaper and better ways to send
people into space.We can also spur the development of solar power satellites to get clean energy from
the sun with greater efficiency. We can deal more effectively with finding and coping with “killer”
asteroids and near earth objects. We may even find truly new and visionary ways to get people into
space with a minimum of pollution and promote the development of cleaner and faster hypersonic
transport to cope with future transportation needs.
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Links – Trades off w/ Earth Science
Earth Science programs need to maintain current momentum.
Minster et al. 2007. (Committee on Scientific Accomplishments of Earth Observations from Space: Jean
Bernard Minster (Chair), Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Janet W. Campbell (Vice Chair), University of New
Hampshire; Jeff Dozier, University of California, Santa Barbara; James R. Fleming, Colby College; John C. Gille,
National Center for Atmospheric Research; Dennis L. Hartmann, University of Washington, Seattle; Kenneth Jezek,
The Ohio State University; Stan Kidder, Colorado State University; Navin Ramankutty, McGill University; Anne
Thompson, Pennsylvania State University; Susan L. Ustin, University of California, Davis; James Yoder, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution; Claudia Mengelt (Study Director), National Research Council. “Earth Observations from
Space The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements”. http://delsold.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/earth_observations_final.pdf. ) hss
The critical infrastructure to make the best use of satellite data has taken decades to build and is now in
place; the scientific community is poised to make great progress toward understanding and predicting
the complexity of the Earth system. However, the current capability to observe Earth from space is in
jeopardy. Resources will be required to maintain the current momentum and ensure the workforce
and infrastructure built over the past decades remains in place.
Earth Science programs would be the next thing to get cut.
SCHMID June 14, 2011. ( RANDOLPH E. SCHMID is an AP science writer. “Weather satellite need
defended by climate experts” http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-weather-satellitedefended-climate-experts.html) hss
"The stakes are high and the challenge is great," at a time when extreme weather is happening more
frequently, Michael Freilich, earth science director for NASA, said at a briefing at the Forum on Earth
Observation. Current earth observing satellites have outlasted their planned lifetime, he said, but they
won't last forever and budget shortfalls for replacements threaten to create a gap in coverage. Even
President Barack Obama weighed in. In an interview that aired Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show, Obama
said that among the things that need to be preserved in a time of budget cuts are "government
functions like food safety and weather satellites."
Even small funding cuts crush the effectiveness of NASA’s programs
Conley 10 (Richard, Professor of Political Science – University of Florida, “The Perils of
Presidential Leadership on Space Policy: The Politics of Congressional Budgeting for NASA,
1958-2008”, APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper,
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1642810)
The situation is that much more problematic given NASA’s size. NASA is a small agency. Even
relatively small cuts to the agency’s budget requests have considerable ramifications for ongoing and
future programs. Figure 2 shows changes in NASA personnel since 1958. The first y-axis traces the
number of civilian employees. The second y-axis tracks the percent annual change in NASA civilian
personnel. The data show relative stability in the agency’s workforce at approximately 21,000 in the last four
decades. But the upshot is that a cut of $1 billion to the president’s NASA budget request equates to
an annual loss of $47,000 per employee. The ramifications are also highly significant
for NASA contractors in the private sector, who typically number about 40,000—twice the agency’s
personnel. The data accentuate the mismatch between human and financial resources necessary for longterm, large scale space programs and congressional appropriations. It is rare that any NASA program that
can rely on one year’s worth of funding. The reality is that the vast majority of space exploration
projects require years of commitment while the budgeting process occurs on a yearly basis. Sharp cuts to
a project’s budget in the middle of its lifetime can mean drastic cuts to a program’s capabilities or
results. The space shuttle is a prime example of this phenomenon. Combined with the tendency of elected
representatives to consider their ability to justify programs to their constituents on a two year (House) or six
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year (Senate) electoral cycle, highly technical and long-term projects within NASA regularly face unstable
budgets (Kay 1995).
NASA funding is zero-sum --- Constellation robs funds from Earth science
Robinson 8 (Michael, Professor of History – Hillyer College, “Before We Send a Man to Mars
We Should Remember the Wasted Efforts Spent Finding the North Pole”, History News
Network, 7-7, http://hnn.us/node/5138 6)
But space exploration is a zero-sum game. Sending astronauts to Mars (a planet now studied quite
efficiently by rovers, orbiters, and, as of late May, the Phoenix Lander) requires an enormous investment
that will come at the expense of smaller, more useful, scientific projects. Already NASA plans to cut
millions of dollars from the space science budget over the next five years. The savings will help cover a
portion of the staggering costs of the “Constellation Program,” an initiative to design and produce a new
generation of launch vehicles (Ares) and crew exploration vehicles (Orion).
NASA Earth science budget already tight – anymore programs would take away from it.
Amy Svitak. March 11, 2011. (Amy is a news reporter for Space News. “Two High-priority NASA
Earth Science Missions Face 1-Year Slip”
http://www.spacenews.com/civil/110311-earth-science-missions-slip.html) hss
NASA could be forced to delay two approved, top-tier Earth science missions by up to one year due to
congressional inaction on the president’s 2011 spending request, which has U.S. federal agencies operating at
their 2010 spending levels, according to sources and documents. NASA had hoped to spend about $5
billion on Earth- and space-science missions in 2011, but the funding available under the current
stopgap spending measure, or continuing resolution, falls $450 million short of that total, the documents
show. U.S. President Barack Obama requested $19 billion for NASA in 2011, but the agency currently is
constrained to spending rates commensurate with the $18.72 billion appropriated for 2010. According to a
March 9 laundry list detailing potential program impacts to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), the
shortfall could delay the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) and Soil Moisture Active and
Passive (SMAP) missions while increasing their cost. A copy of the list was obtained by Space News.
Although NASA requested $75 million and $132 million this year for ICESat-2 and SMAP,
respectively, SMD could be forced to reduce planned spending on ICESat-2 by $22 million in order to
stay within the $1.4 billion spending ceiling Congress appropriated for Earth science initiatives last
year. SMAP funding would have to be reduced by $30 million, according to the document.
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I/L Earth Science key to Econ
Earth Science studying key to the economy
NASA. 2010 (July 1, 2010. From their report Responding to the Challenge of Climate and Environmental
Change. “NASA's Plan for a Climate-Centric Architecture for Earth Observations and Applications from Space”.
http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/) hss
Earth is a complex, dynamic system we do not yet fully understand. The Earth system, like the human
body, comprises diverse components that interact in complex ways. We need to understand the Earth's
atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere as a single connected system. Our
planet is changing on all spatial and temporal scales. The purpose of NASA's Earth science program is to
develop a scientific understanding of Earth's system and its response to natural or human-induced changes,
and to improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards. NASA recently completed
deployment of the Earth Observing System, the world's most advanced and comprehensive capability to
measure global climate change. Over the coming decade, NASA and the Agency's research partners will be
analyzing EOS data to characterize, understand, and predict variability and trends in Earth's system for both
research and applications. Earth is the only planet we know to be capable of sustaining life. It is our lifeboat
in the vast expanse of space. Over the past 50 years, world population has doubled, grain yields have tripled
and economic output has grown sevenfold. Earth science research can ascertain whether and how the
Earth can sustain this growth in the future. Also, over a third of the US economy - $3 trillion annually
- is influenced by climate, weather, space weather, and natural hazards, providing economic incentive
to study the Earth. NASA Earth System Science conducts and sponsors research, collects new observations
from space, develops technologies and extends science and technology education to learners of all ages. We
work closely with our global partners in government, industry, and the public to enhance economic security,
and environmental stewardship, benefiting society in many tangible ways. We conduct and sponsor research
to answer fundamental science questions about the changes we see in climate, weather, and natural hazards,
and deliver sound science that helps decision-makers make informed decisions. We inspire the next
generation of explorers by providing opportunities for learners of all ages to investigate the Earth system
using unique NASA resources, and our Earth System research is strengthening science, technology,
engineering and mathematics education nationwide. This is a fundamental part of our mission because the
leaders and citizens who will meet challenges of tomorrow are the students of today.
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I/L Earth Science key to Climate
NASA Earth science key to monitoring climate.
CEU 2011. (CEU is CUengineering, a publication of the college of engineering and applied
sciences at the University of Colorado. “Engineers Combine Modeling, Satellites to Track
Greenhouse Gases” http://engineering.colorado.edu/news/cue/2011/features/mech.htm) hss
OCO-2 is one more Earth science satellite that Henze hopes to use in his research. A large portion of his
research has followed the launches of other satellites in the NASA constellation, such as Aura and Aqua. He
and his students integrate observational data from instruments aboard satellites with various atmospheric
models to closely examine the role that greenhouse gases and particulate matter, known as aerosols, play in
air quality and climate change. Using numerical models and inverse modeling techniques, they try to estimate
the sources and the fates of various chemical species. OCO-2 will be NASA's second attempt to launch a
satellite specifically for the purpose of monitoring carbon dioxide, or CO2. The first attempted OCO launch
tragically failed to reach orbit in 2009. More recently, a satellite built to measure aerosol properties suffered a
similar fate. Thus, the importance of maximizing data from existing climate-related satellites has
become a pressing need, and the inherent risk in this field of research an increasing reality. Henze's
current studies of CO2 have used data from a recently launched Japanese satellite called
GOSAT. Henze is interested in data from GOSAT and OCO-2 to help improve our
knowledge of sources and sinks of CO2. It is hoped that the global coverage provided by these
orbiting instruments will help scientists map the man-made and natural processes that govern carbon
cycling, leading to better estimates of how future climate may respond to changes in emissions and our
environment. While CO2 is a widely recognized driver of climate change, other more
fleeting species, such as tropospheric ozone and aerosols, can also play important roles.
Aerosols are solid particles in the atmosphere typically ranging in size from 1 to 10
microns that stay aloft for a period of several days. Although temporary in nature, some
aerosols can create a cooling effect, which means they have to be considered in any
strategy aimed at addressing climate change, Henze says. Recently, Henze was awarded a
NASA New Investigator grant to improve our understanding of the link between radiative
forcing of aerosols and tropospheric ozone, and precursor emissions. Radiative forcing is
the alteration of the energy balance that leads to global climate change. The launch of several
new Earth science satellites in the last decade has revolutionized our approach to atmospheric
chemistry, Henze says: "They are giving us an unprecedented amount of data, and we now have
much greater coverage of the planet." For example, satellite data is showing that formation
of
ozone, amassing some five to seven kilometers above the Earth, far exceeds estimates from
current models—a situation that can only be explained by unaccounted- for generation of
nitrogen oxides from lightning, according to Henze. Ammonia, another gas that is critical to
constrain for understanding air quality and climate, also shows up in satellite data. A space-based
spectrometer picked up its presence because it was interfering with the infrared-light
energy (radiance) coming from the Earth, Henze says. Ammonia is emitted largely from
agricultural feedlots and farming operations.
NASA’s Earth science missions are critical to effective climate modeling --- boosts U.S.
competitiveness and leadership on warming
NAST 8 (NASA Aeronautics Support Team (Non-Profit Organization of Community Leaders,
Business Leaders, and Former NASA Officials), “NASA’s Role in the 21st Century”, Fall,
http://nastus.org/documents/NASARole.21st Century.pdf)
Climate change is likely to be a dominating global issue for the rest of this century. NASA’s Earth science
program is already the global leader in the measurement and prediction of climate change. The focus
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of climate change science/studies is now shifting to better prediction of its evolution and impacts, and
developing and monitoring effective mitigation strategies. NASA must next be challenged with
dramatically improving its climate prediction capability as well as taking on the new challenge of accurately
predicting the impacts of climate change on our civilization and the biosphere. Additionally, there are already
many speculative proposals for climatechange mitigation strategies which attempt to introduce climate
forcing that acts opposite to the greenhouse effect or which attempt to capture or reduce existing greenhouse
gases. Given the complex feedbacks in the climate system, understanding the possible unintended
consequences of such mitigation strategies will become more important Impact on Innovation &
Competitiveness: NASA is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge of predicting the efficacy of
potential mitigation strategies and monitoring their effectiveness once implemented. Innovation will be
supported by the development of enormous supercomputing resources needed to both crunch data, and also
to model the earth’s climate and atmosphere. Given the massive amounts of national and international
wealth that may be invested in mitigation strategies, global competitiveness will either be harmed or
advanced by shifting budgetary resources to deal with global warming, or saving those expenditures if
little action is warranted. Taking on such a role will provide the US a global leadership position in this
most vital effort of our civilization for the remainder of the century8.
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I/L Earth science key to Deforestation
Monitoring climate key to stop deforestation
Goward ’88 (Samuel N, PhD Physical Geography, pursues biophysical applications of land
remotely sensed data, “Satellite Bioclimatology*” http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/005621/005-621.html) hss
Progress in understanding the biophysical significance of multispectral observations of electromagnetic
exitance from the earth's land areas has led to the recognition that one or more general measures of
vegetation foliar status may be derived from remotely sensed data. These new measures of vegetation
activity provide an opportunity to study vegetation/climate interactions at a level of detail not
previously possible. Preliminary empirical analyses of these data suggest that the relations between
vegetation activity and climate are strong, a finding which agrees with previously hypothesized
macroscale bioclimatic theories. A direct link between the remotely sensed VNVIs and climate/vegetation
interactions has been proposed in the relation of VNVIs to APAR. Although this concept needs further
investigation, the empirical evidence strongly supports this hypothesis. Availability of these remotely
sensed data provides an opportunity to test and refine bioclimatic theories by providing the vegetation
measurements needed for this research. A broad range of studies are currently underway to develop the
understanding needed to use remotely sensed data in bioclimatic research. In the context of current
international scientific interest in the study of "Global Change," these innovations in satellite
bioclimatology are timely.
NASA observation systems key to solve deforestation
Goward ’88 (Samuel N, PhD Physical Geography, pursues biophysical applications of land
remotely sensed data, “Satellite Bioclimatology*” http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/005621/005-621.html) hss
The Landsat data record is now seventeen years in length and the AVHRR data record is now ten years in
length. Other sensor systems are beginning to accumulate similar time histories. With the current operational
and research satellite observatories followed by the proposed Earth Observing System, a true "climatology"
of terrestrial vegetation activity should be available shortly after the turn of the century. As this time
record of biospheric dynamics becomes more complete understanding of climate/biosphere
interactions should significantly improve. New advances are developing rapidly in remote sensing
technology, as well as progress in understanding the value of this technology in vegetation analysis.
This progress should lead to further improvements in the use of remote sensing technology for
studying the terrestrial biosphere and its interactions with the earth's climate. The potential for
developing a satellite-based terrestrial bioclimatic monitoring system appears great and the proposed
NASA/NOAA Earth Observing System should go a long way toward fulfilling this promise.
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I/L Earth Science key to Preventing Natural Disasters
Earth science monitoring key to watching for natural disasters.
Minster et al. 2007. (Committee on Scientific Accomplishments of Earth Observations from Space: Jean
Bernard Minster (Chair), Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Janet W. Campbell (Vice Chair), University of New
Hampshire; Jeff Dozier, University of California, Santa Barbara; James R. Fleming, Colby College; John C. Gille,
National Center for Atmospheric Research; Dennis L. Hartmann, University of Washington, Seattle; Kenneth Jezek,
The Ohio State University; Stan Kidder, Colorado State University; Navin Ramankutty, McGill University; Anne
Thompson, Pennsylvania State University; Susan L. Ustin, University of California, Davis; James Yoder, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution; Claudia Mengelt (Study Director), National Research Council. “Earth Observations from
Space The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements”. http://delsold.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/earth_observations_final.pdf. ) hss
Where will a developing hurricane make landfall? What is the status of the ozone layer? How much
will sea level rise? No other single measurement platform has revolutionized the ability to address
these and other fundamental Earth science questions as much as satellites orbiting the Earth. From
weather forecasting to high-tech navigation systems to answering fundamental questions about the Earth’s
climate, satellites have become a crucial part of a wide variety of scientific endeavors and practical
applications over the past 50 years. The National Research Council convened a committee to examine the
scientific accomplishments that have resulted from space-based satellite observations. This report concludes
that the advent of satellite observations has revolutionized the Earth research endeavor, and highlights
examples of how such observations have led to new discoveries, opened new avenues of research, and
provided important societal benefits by improving the predictability of Earth system processes. These
scientific achievements underscore the importance of satellite observations and the need for a renewed
commitment to Earth observations from space.
Without the current monitoring systems natural disasters would have much worse impacts.
SCHMID June 14, 2011. ( RANDOLPH E. SCHMID is an AP science writer. “Weather satellite need
defended by climate experts” http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-weather-satellitedefended-climate-experts.html) hss
National Weather Service director Jack Hayes said the threatened polar-orbiting satellites were vital in
forecasting "Snowmageddon," the 2010 blizzard that staggered much of the Northeast. The agency ran a
"what if," analysis, Hayes explained, to see how the forecasts would have looked without satellite data
and the result was a prediction that would have underestimated the snow by 50 percent, he said. Similar
"what if" studies are planned for forecasts of the tornadoes that devastated Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Joplin,
Mo., he said. Most people are aware of the geostationary satellites that provide pictures of much of the globe
from a high level, but the lower polar orbiting satellites not only view more of the planet in a regular
progression but also collect detailed information on moisture, temperatures and other data used by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.. The polar satellites are especially important three to
five days before a weather outbreak, Hayes said. People tend to talk about forecasts in terms of extreme
weather, but it's also important to collect and study data over the long term to see how things are
changing in certain areas and to anticipate the future, said John Townshend of the University of
Maryland. "We've got to recognize that climate change is occurring, whether or not you believe in
global warming," Townshend said. "Climate changes from year-to-year."
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I/L Earth Science essential for everyday life
Earth Science satellites essential for everyday life
Minster et al. 2007. (Committee on Scientific Accomplishments of Earth Observations from Space: Jean
Bernard Minster (Chair), Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Janet W. Campbell (Vice Chair), University of New
Hampshire; Jeff Dozier, University of California, Santa Barbara; James R. Fleming, Colby College; John C. Gille,
National Center for Atmospheric Research; Dennis L. Hartmann, University of Washington, Seattle; Kenneth Jezek,
The Ohio State University; Stan Kidder, Colorado State University; Navin Ramankutty, McGill University; Anne
Thompson, Pennsylvania State University; Susan L. Ustin, University of California, Davis; James Yoder, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution; Claudia Mengelt (Study Director), National Research Council. “Earth Observations from
Space The First 50 Years of Scientific Achievements”. http://delsold.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/earth_observations_final.pdf. ) hss
The global view from satellite observations is unmatched in its ability to resolve the dynamics and
variability of Earth processes. Ship-based observations, for example, cannot provide spatial coverage
frequently enough to detect the dynamic nature of the ocean. Similarly, aircraft and weather balloon
measurements alone cannot resolve the details required to understand the complex dynamics of ozone
depletion. Satellite observations have not only transformed the Earth sciences—vastly more accurate
global observations and consequently improved predictability of Earth processes also provide
profound social benefits. From revolutionizing the ability to predict weather to enabling the
development of the Global Positioning System, satellites have become essential to everyday
applications that improve human safety and the quality of life.
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Impact – US Leadership
Climate leadership is key to overall hegemony
Walter 2 (Norbert, Chief Economist – Deutsche Bank Group, The New York Times, 8-28, Lexis)
At present there is much talk about the unparalleled strength of the United States on the world stage. Yet at
this very moment the most powerful country in the world stands to forfeit much political capital, moral
authority and international good will by dragging its feet on the next great global issue: the
environment. Before long, the administration's apparent unwillingness to take a leadership role -- or, at the
very least, to stop acting as a brake -- in fighting global environmental degradation will threaten the very
basis of the American supremacy that many now seem to assume will last forever. American authority is
already in some danger as a result of the Bush administration's decision to send a low-level delegation to the
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg -- low-level, that is, relative to America's share
of both the world economy and global pollution. The absence of President Bush from Johannesburg
symbolizes this decline in authority. In recent weeks, newspapers around the world have been dominated
by environmental headlines: In central Europe, flooding killed dozens, displaced tens of thousands and
caused billions of dollars in damages. In South Asia, the United Nations reports a brown cloud of pollution
that is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year from respiratory disease. The pollution (80
percent man-made) also cuts sunlight penetration, thus reducing rainfall, affecting agriculture and otherwise
altering the climate. Many other examples of environmental degradation, often related to the warming of the
atmosphere, could be cited. What they all have in common is that they severely affect countries around
the world and are fast becoming a chief concern for people everywhere. Nobody is suggesting that these
disasters are directly linked to anything the United States is doing. But when a country that emits 25 percent
of the world's greenhouse gases acts as an uninterested, sometimes hostile bystander in the environmental
debate, it looks like unbearable arrogance to many people abroad. The administration seems to believe it is
merely an observer -- that environmental issues are not its issues. But not doing anything amounts to
ignoring a key source of world tension, and no superpower that wants to preserve its status can go on
dismissing such a pivotal dimension of political and economic -- if not existential -- conflict.
Leadership sustains U.S. global engagement – this solves terrorism, economic collapse,
spread of disease, proliferation, and WMD conflict
Reiss 8 (Mitchell B., Vice Provost of International Affairs – College of William & Mary,
“Restoring America's Image: What the Next President Can Do”, Survival, October, 50(5))
But first, there is another question to be answered: why should Americans care if the United States is liked or
not? After all, foreign policy is not a popularity contest. Policies that are controversial today may look better
in a few years. Perhaps America's unpopularity is just the price that must be paid for being the world's most
powerful country. Yet Americans do care, and their desire to be respected by the world has been reflected in
the campaign rhetoric of both McCain and Obama. This desire extends beyond the normal, near-universal
human wish to be liked, or at least not misunderstood or hated. Americans still believe in John Winthrop's
description of America as a 'shining city on the hill' and want others to view the United States that way as
well. But there is another, larger reason for caring about the rise of anti- Americanism, one that is
related to the United States' status as the world's only superpower. No one country can defeat today's
transnational threats on its own. Terrorism, infectious disease, environmental pollution, weapons of
mass destruction, narcotics and human trafficking - all these can only be solved by states acting
together. If others mistrust the United States or actively work against it, building effective coalitions
and promoting a liberal international order that benefits both Americans and hundreds of millions of
other people around the world will be far more challenging. Ultimately, if the United States has to go it
alone or bear most of the costs while others are seen as free riders, the American people are unlikely to
sustain engagement with the world with the same intensity, or even at all. The history of the last century
demonstrates that when the United States retreats from the world, bad things happen. The United
States rejected the League of Nations and turned inwards in the 1920s and 1930s, contributing to the Great
Depression and the onset of the Second World War. After the Vietnam War, a weakened and inward-looking
America prompted some Asian countries to start their own nuclear-weapons programmes, emboldened
Islamic fundamentalists to attack American interests, and encouraged the Soviet Union to occupy
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Afghanistan. While there are some who say this couldn't happen today, that America couldn't pull up the
drawbridge and retreat behind the parapets, recent opinion polls in the United States reveal a preference for
isolationism not seen since the end of the Vietnam War. It is hard to imagine any scenario in which an
isolated, disengaged United States would be a better friend and ally to other countries, better promote
global prosperity, more forcefully endorse democracy, social justice and human dignity, or do more to
enhance peace and security.
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Impact – Climate
Warming causes extinction
Deibel 7 – Terry L. Deibel, Professor of National Strategy at the National War College, 2007,
Foreign Affairs Strategy: Logic for American Statecraft, p. 387-389
Finally, there is one
major existential threat to American security (as well as prosperity) of a nonviolent nature, which, though far
of global warming to the stability of the climate upon which all
earthly life depends. Scientists worldwide have been observing the gathering of this threat for three decades now, and what was once a mere
possibility has passed through probability to near certainty. Indeed, not one of more than 900 articles on climate change published in
refereed scientific journals from 1993 to 2003 doubted that anthropogenic warming is occurring. "In legitimate scientific
in the future, demands urgent action. It is the threat
circles," writes Elizabeth Kolbert, "it is virtually impossible to find evidence of disagreement over the fundamentals of global warming."83 Evidence from a
vast international scientific monitoring effort accumulates almost weekly, as this sample of newspaper reports shows:
• an international panel predicts "brutal droughts, floods and violent storms across the planet over the next century";
• climate change could "literally alter ocean currents, wipe away huge portions of Alpine snowcaps and aid the spread of cholera and malaria";
• "glaciers in the Antarctic and in Greenland are melting much faster than expected, and... worldwide, plants are blooming several days earlier than they did
a decade ago";
• "rising sea temperatures have been accompanied by a significant global increase in the most destructive hurricanes";
• "NASA scientists have concluded from direct temperature measurements that 2005 was the hottest year on record, with 1998 a close second";
• "Earth's warming climate is estimated to contribute to more than 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses each year" as disease spreads:
• "widespread bleaching from Texas to Trinidad ... killed broad swaths of corals" due to a 2-degree rise in sea temperatures.84
"The world is slowly disintegrating," concluded Inuit hunter Noah Metuq, who lives 30 miles from the Arctic Circle. "They call it climate change,... but we
just call it breaking up."85
From the founding of the first cities some 6,000 years ago until the beginning of the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere remained
relatively constant at about 280 parts per million (ppm). At present they are accelerating toward 400 ppm, and by 2050 they will reach 500 ppm, about
double pre-industrial levels. Unfortunately, atmospheric CO2 lasts about a century, so there is no way immediately to reduce levels, only to slow their
increase. We
are thus in for significant global warming; the only debate is how much and how serious the effects
will be. As the newspaper stories quoted above show, we are already experiencing the effects of 1-2 degree warming in more
violent storms, spread of disease, mass die offs of plants and animals, species extinction, and threatened inundation of low-lying
countries like the Pacific nation of Kiribati and the Netherlands. At a warming of 5 degrees or less the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets could
disintegrate, leading to a sea level of rise of 20 feet that would cover North Carolina's outer banks, swamp the southern third of Florida, and inundate
Manhattan up to the middle of Greenwich Village. Another catastrophic effect would be the collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation that keeps the
winter weather in Europe far warmer than its latitude would otherwise allow.86 Economist William Cline once estimated the damage to the United States
alone from moderate levels of warming at 1-6 percent of GDP annually; severe
warming could cost 13-26 percent of GDP.87
But the most frightening scenario is runaway greenhouse warming, based on positive feedback from the buildup
of water vapor in the atmosphere that is both caused by and causes hotter surface temperatures. Past ice age transitions, associated with
only 5-10 degree changes in average global temperatures, took place in just decades, even though no one was then pouring everincreasing amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Faced with this specter, the best one can conclude is that "humankind's continuing
enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect is akin to playing Russian roulette with the earth's climate and
humanity's life-support system."88 At worst, says physics professor Marty Hof-fert of New York University, "we're just going
to burn everything up; we're going to heat the atmosphere to the temperature it was in the Cretaceous, when there were crocodiles at the
poles. And then everything will collapse."89 During the Cold War, astronomer Carl Sagan popularized a theory of nuclear winter
to describe how a thermonuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union would not only destroy both countries but possibly
end life on this planet.90 Global warming is the post-Cold War era's equivalent of nuclear winter, at least as serious
and considerably better supported scientifically. Over the long run, it puts dangers from terrorism and
traditional military challenges to shame. It is a threat not only to the security and prosperity of the United States, but
potentially to the continued existence of life on this planet.
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Impact – Economy
Economic collapse causes global nuclear war
Auslin 9 (Michael, Resident Scholar – American Enterprise Institute, and Desmond Lachman –
Resident Fellow – American Enterprise Institute, “The Global Economy Unravels”, Forbes, 3-6,
http://www.aei.org/article/100187)
What do these trends mean in the short and medium term? The Great Depression showed how social and
global chaos followed hard on economic collapse. The mere fact that parliaments across the globe, from
America to Japan, are unable to make responsible, economically sound recovery plans suggests that they do
not know what to do and are simply hoping for the least disruption. Equally worrisome is the adoption of
more statist economic programs around the globe, and the concurrent decline of trust in free-market systems.
The threat of instability is a pressing concern. China, until last year the world's fastest growing economy,
just reported that 20 million migrant laborers lost their jobs. Even in the flush times of recent years, China
faced upward of 70,000 labor uprisings a year. A sustained downturn poses grave and possibly immediate
threats to Chinese internal stability. The regime in Beijing may be faced with a choice of repressing its own
people or diverting their energies outward, leading to conflict with China's neighbors. Russia, an oil state
completely dependent on energy sales, has had to put down riots in its Far East as well as in downtown
Moscow. Vladimir Putin's rule has been predicated on squeezing civil liberties while providing economic
largesse. If that devil's bargain falls apart, then wide-scale repression inside Russia, along with a continuing
threatening posture toward Russia's neighbors, is likely. Even apparently stable societies face increasing
risk and the threat of internal or possibly external conflict. As Japan's exports have plummeted by nearly
50%, one-third of the country's prefectures have passed emergency economic stabilization plans. Hundreds of
thousands of temporary employees hired during the first part of this decade are being laid off. Spain's
unemployment rate is expected to climb to nearly 20% by the end of 2010; Spanish unions are already
protesting the lack of jobs, and the specter of violence, as occurred in the 1980s, is haunting the country.
Meanwhile, in Greece, workers have already taken to the streets. Europe as a whole will face dangerously
increasing tensions between native citizens and immigrants, largely from poorer Muslim nations, who have
increased the labor pool in the past several decades. Spain has absorbed five million immigrants since 1999,
while nearly 9% of Germany's residents have foreign citizenship, including almost 2 million Turks. The
xenophobic labor strikes in the U.K. do not bode well for the rest of Europe. A prolonged global downturn,
let alone a collapse, would dramatically raise tensions inside these countries. Couple that with possible
protectionist legislation in the United States, unresolved ethnic and territorial disputes in all regions of
the globe and a loss of confidence that world leaders actually know what they are doing. The result
may be a series of small explosions that coalesce into a big bang.
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Impacts – Deforestation
Deforestation causes massive global species loss – this is ten times better than your average
species internal link
Roper & Roberts 03 John Roper Forest Conservation Consultant Ralph W. Roberts R.P.F.,
ing.f. Senior Advisor, Forestry and Conservation Canadian International Development Agency
Hull, Quebec, Canada 08/31/2003 http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/issues.12.html
Probably the most serious and most short-sighted consequence of deforestation is the loss of biodiversity. The
antiseptic phrase "loss of biodiversity" masks the fact that the annual destruction of millions of hectares
of tropical forests means the extinction of thousands of species and varieties of plants and animals, many of which
have never been catalogued scientifically. How many species are lost each year? The exact figure is not known, a
consequence of our limited knowledge of tropical forest ecosystems and our inadequate monitoring systems. Some estimates put
the annual loss at 50,000 separate species but this is an educated guess at best. Fragmented stands of trees left during
deforestation are usually not large enough to be self-perpetuating in terms of maintaining even an altered balance of biodiversity.
Deforestation is eroding this precious resource of biodiversity .
Biodiversity loss causes extinction
Paul Warner, American University, Dept of International Politics and Foreign Policy, August, Politics and Life
Sciences, 1994, p 177
Massive extinction of species is dangerous, then, because one cannot predict which species are expendable to the system as a whole. As
Philip Hoose remarks, "Plants and animals cannot tell us what they mean to each other." One can never be sure which
species holds up fundamental biological relationships in the planetary ecosystem. And, because
removing species is an irreversible act, it may be too late to save the system after the extinction of key
plants or animals. According to the U.S. National Research Council, "The ramifications of an ecological change of this magnitude
[vast extinction of species] are so far reaching that no one on earth will escape them." Trifling with the "lives" of species is
like playing Russian roulette, with our collective future as the stakes.
Deforestation makes incurable diseases inevitable which cause human extinction
Rhett A. Butler, operator and writer of Mongabay.com, seeks to raise interest in and
appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in
climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development, January 9, 2006,
“LOSS OF SPECIES FOR FOREST REGENERATION,” online:
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0904.htm
The emergence of tropical diseases and outbreaks of new diseases, including nasty hemorrhagic fevers
like ebola and lassa fever, are a subtle but serious impact of deforestation. With increased human
presence in the rainforest, and exploiters pushing into deeper areas, man is encountering "new"
microorganisms with behaviors unlike those previously known. As the primary hosts of these
pathogens are eliminated or reduced through forest disturbance and degradation, disease can break out
among humans. Although not unleashed yet, someday one of these microscopic killers could lead to a
massive human die-off as deadly for our species as we have been for the species of the rainforest. Until
then, local populations will continue to be menaced by mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, and malaria, and water-borne diseases
like cholera.
Many emergent and resurgent diseases are directly linked to land alterations which bring humans in closer contact with such pathogens. For example,
malaria and snailborne schistosomiasis have escalated because of the creation of artificial pools of water like dams, rice paddies, drainage ditches, irrigation
canals, and puddles created by tractor treads. Malaria is a particular problem in deforested and degraded areas, though not in forested zones where there are
few stagnant ground pools for mosquito breeding. These pools are most abundant in cleared regions and areas where tractors tear gashes in the earth.
Malaria is already a major threat to indigenous peoples who have developed no resistance to the disease nor any access to antimalarial drugs. Malaria alone
is cited as being responsible for killing an estimated 20 percent of the Yanomani in Brazil and Venezuela. Malaria—caused by unicelluar parasites
transferred in the saliva of mosquitoes when they bite—is an especially frightening disease for its drug-resistant forms. Thanks to poor prescribing
techniques on the part of doctors, there are now strains in Southeast Asia reputed to be resistant to more than 20 anti-malarial drugs. There is serious
concern that global climate change will affect the distribution of malaria, which currently infects roughly 270 million people worldwide and kills 1-2 million
a year— 430,000-680,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
any disease can be incubated for
enough time to allow penetration into the temperate developed countries. For example, any Central
African doctor infected with the ebola virus from a patient can board a plane and land in London within 10
hours. The virus could quickly spread, especially if airborne, among the city's population of 8 million.
The outbreak of disease in the tropics does not affect only the people of those countries, since virtually
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Additionally, every person at the airport who is exposed can unknowingly carry the pathogen home to
their native countries around the world.
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Impact – Natural Disasters
Unchecked natural disasters roll back decades of progress towards global development
Mark Pelling, Senior Lecturer in Geography at King’s College, London, “Paradigms of Risk,”
NATURAL DISASTERS AND DEVELOPMENT: IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD, 2003, p. 4.
A recent definition of development presents it as 'an economic, social and political process, which results in a
cumulative rise in the perceived standard of living for an increasing proportion of a population' (Hodder
2000:3). But this supposes a benign physical environment, allowing a cumulative rise in the standards
of living. Hewitt's argument that '[i]f there could be such a thing as sustainable development, disasters
would represent a major threat to it, or a sign of its failure' (1995:155) highlights the ability of natural
disasters to set back development. In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and Nicaragua, human
losses and damage to physical infrastructure, housing and crops have set back development efforts by a
decade or more (Bradshaw et al. 2002). Similarly, cycles of growth and recession in the global economy
destabilize linear economic growth models (Wallerstein 1980). Those excluded from cycles of cumulative
development include the 84 per cent of the global population living in Africa, Asia and Latin America
and the substantial minority populations of the richer northern countries that have been unplugged
from global circuits of accumulation and appear left behind by progress.
That particularly undermines sustainable development
Ulrike Kastrup, Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre, “Sustainable Development and Natural
Disasters: Exploring the Unexplored,” INSECURITY FORUM, September 26, 2005,
http://insecurityforum.org/ulrike_kastrup/172/, accessed 5/7/07
During the last 50 years the number of natural disasters has increased dramatically, with the majority of the
20 most devastating natural disasters since 1950 having occurred during the last 10 years. Even though the
number of fatalities did, luckily, not increase proportionally, today the number of people being displaced by
natural disasters outnumbers those displaced by war. The countries most affected by the impact of natural
disasters are the least developed countries; the people most affected are people with low income –
independent of the country they live in. The economic loss related to natural disasters is steadily increasing
with the insured losses of the last 10 years being almost 16 times higher than in the 1960s. The share of
economic loss in total GDP is highest in developing countries. Losses of 75% GDP, as for example those
caused by hurricane Mitch in Honduras in 1998, make it difficult for the countries affected to get back to
their pre-disaster path of growth. Thus, natural disasters can seriously hamper sustainable development.
Within this bleak picture it was emphasized that the situation deteriorates over-proportionally in Africa.
Sustainable development key to solve extinction
John Cairns, jr., Professor Emeritus of Environmental Biology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University, “The Zen of Sustainable Use of the Planet: Steps on the Path to
Enlightenment,” POPULATION & ENVIRONMENT, Vol. 20, No. 2, November 1998, p. 110-111.
The attainment of sustainability faces considerable obstacles. A societal distrust of scientific evidence has
arisen that ranges from a belief that science does not differ from other ways of knowing to a total
misunderstanding of how science works. Also, one common belief is that quality of life is more closely
associated with consumption or affluence than with environmental quality, and, consequently, that a
maintenance of affluence is to be preferred over the maintenance of natural systems. This false choice arises
from human society's failure to recognize its dependence on natural systems for essential ecological services,
such as maintenance of breathable air, drinkable water, the capture of energy from sunlight, and the provision
of arable soils (e.g., Daily, 1997). Possibly, the same human ingenuity that people have relied on to solve
local resource limitations could also be used to develop an environmental ethos that will enable
humans to conserve the ecological capital (old growth forests, species diversity, topsoil, fossil water,
and the like) upon which they now depend. Humankind has survived thus far by meeting short-term
emergencies as they occurred. However, humans supposedly can be distinguished from other species by
their awareness of the transience of individual lives and their own mortality. Extending this awareness to
the possibility of human extinction might be enlightening. Wilson (1993) asks "Is humanity suicidal?":
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The human species is, in a word, an environmental hazard. It is possible that intelligence in the wrong kind of
species was foreordained to be a fatal combination for the biosphere. Perhaps a law of evolution is that
intelligence usually extinguishes itself. If human society destroys, by its own actions, the living
components of Earth that maintain an environmental state favorable to human survival, human
society hastens its own extinction. Protection of these ecological services extends the time that the
human species can survive on Earth. By regulating the use of ecosystem services to a rate that does not
destroy the ability of natural systems to produce them, more humans will live better lives over time. Towards
this end, a number of steps can be undertaken.
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NASA Key
NASA needed for Earth science studies
Space Daily. March 4, 2011(Written by a collaboration of writers at Space Daily and UPI.
“NASA's Bolden defends Earth science”.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASAs_Bolden_defends_Earth_science_999.html) hss
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., asked Bolden if NASA wouldn't be better off letting other agencies -- in particular
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Science
Foundation -- take over NASA's Earth science efforts. Such a move, Wolf suggested, would free up money
for NASA to pursue space exploration, and he asked whether there was any overlap in work being done by
NOAA and NASA in Earth science. "Everything we do in Earth science is unique to NASA," Bolden
replied, adding that looking down on Earth from space to understand our planet is very much a part of
NASA's job. A 2009 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found no duplication of
efforts between NASA and NOAA, he said.
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AFF Answers: DA Non-Unique
NASA already shifting away from Earth sciences
Morello May 7, 2011. (Lauren Morello is a writer for Scientific American. “How Failure of
Climate Satellite Sets Back Earth Science”.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=failure-climate-satellite-sets-back-earthscience) hss
Experts said NASA has at least three options to avert a potential data gap. Kopp said the agency could
assemble spare parts for a new version of TIM and fly a replacement instrument on a satellite already under
construction. That could be done in less than two years if NASA can identify a probe to host the TIM
replacement. Meanwhile, Erik Richard, another scientist at the same University of Colorado lab, said NASA
could opt to accelerate its planned launch of the instrument designed to replace Glory's TIM. Richard said his
lab will finish building that instrument by the end of 2012, although it's not expected to be sent into space
until 2015. "Since it's early with the Glory failure, there may be a lot of shuffling," he said. In the meantime,
Richard and his colleagues submitted paperwork Friday to extend the operational life of the SORCE satellite
from 2012 to 2014. With Glory gone, Richard said NASA may opt to shut down SORCE's instruments
except for its solar energy-measuring TIM. That could keep the SORCE instrument running and achieve
enough overlap with data from a new European solar energy-measuring satellite, PICARD, to ward off a data
gap. It's not a sure thing. The French team in charge of PICARD, which launched in June 2010, still hasn't
released data from the satellite's solar energy monitor. As for SORCE, "another two years is an optimistic
plan," Richard said. "As with all of these older satellites, you never know what will crop up."
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AFF Answers: Europe can Study Climate
Europe can study climate change with their current satellites
ESA 2010(European Space Agency, “Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of
satellites”, http://www.physorg.com/news184253832.html) hss
Surface velocity field for the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan based on six Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar images taken from
2003 to 2008. The analysis of mutli-temporal data such as these allows changes in the glacier velocity pattern to
be detected accurately and quickly. Inset: Centreline velocity profile; location as depicted by dashed yellow line in main
image. Note the gradual increase in flow with distance from the terminus, as is common on debris-covered glaciers, and the velocity
maximum at Concordia, which is associated with the confluence of the two major tributary glaciers, the Godwin Austen Glacier and the
Baltoro South Glacier. Credits: Dr Duncan Quincey, Institute of Geography and Earth Science, Aberystwyth
University (UK) The intense public debate on how rapidly the Himalayan glaciers are retreating highlights the necessity for the
constant monitoring of glaciers worldwide by satellites.
Europe has sufficient satellites, the US does not need to jump in
ESA 2010(European Space Agency, “Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of satellites”,
http://www.physorg.com/news184253832.html) hss
While most of the smaller and debris-free glaciers show considerable retreat in this period, the larger glaciers with completely covered
tongues have not changed much. Several of the pro-glacial lakes have grown. Quite a few glaciers at lower altitudes are nearly free of
snow in the August 2001 image, indicating a retreat that year. ESA's ERS-1, ERS-2 and Envisat Advanced Synthetic
Aperture Radar (ASAR) data are providing velocity measurements of selected glaciers. The image to the right
shows the surface velocity field for the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan based on Envisat ASAR data from 2003 to 2008. ESA's new
Climate Change Initiative, which will produce robust long-term records of essential climate variables,
will build on the results of the GlobGlacier project by further improving the algorithms for glacier
monitoring and continually updating the related glacier inventory information.
AFF Answers – NASA not key
NASA not needed – NOA could take over
NASA 2010. (From the EARTH SCIENCES SUBCOMMITTEE of NASAs Advisory council from
their meetings report. March 2010.
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2011/02/01/ESS_Mar_16_17_2010_minutes_TA
GGED.pdf) hss
Dr. Christy questioned the lack of funding supporting studies on natural variability, versus the notion that
greenhouse gases cause everything. Dr. Judith Curry commented that NASA’s satellites have the potential
for sorting out measurements by providing global satellite data sets. The challenge of interpretation lies in the
climate field, however, which is missing a key application of global integrated data sets. Dr. Freilich noted
that some of ESD’s augmentation would be spent on synthesis. Dr. Kaye suggested the Terra and Aqua
satellite calls as a good area to look at natural variability, as well as Modern Era Retrospective. Dr. Lucia
Tsaoussi cautioned that the discussion must not devolve to the personal level. Dr. Tapley asked if there were
a NASA subject area in which one can do fundamental modeling, using data not strongly influenced by
anthropogenic variables. Dr. Kaye replied that if one wants to look at multi-decadal data, one can also
consult with other agencies that are not constrained by NASA parameters, such as those that provide
operational or in situ data. Dr. Large noted that ESD’s program is climate research and monitoring,
which is broad enough to include natural variability, and would be a likely program to propose to that
purpose. Dr. Siegel asked how climate data from JPSS would meet global climate objectives. Dr. Freilich
responded that JPSS must use a variety of measurements from sources over the long-term. While research
and operations are difficult to harmonize, he added that he personally thought the opportunities for success
are much greater than ever before thanks to NASA participation. He suggested therefore that ESS also look
at how ESD makes use of other sources and other agencies; it would not be inappropriate to consider
the output of other programs and agencies. The question to ponder for ESS is how ESD should go
about working with JPSS within NASA and within the government in order to best achieve ESD’s
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Earth System science goals. Dr. Large suggested considering how the climate services already provided
by NOAA might serve the program, as opposed to weather forecasting. Dr. Minster pointed out that one de
facto responsibility for NASA is the organization of data generated by JPSS, as it is the only agency that can
maintain data at that level and volume. Dr. Curry felt that an important NASA responsibility would be
converting the data into information. Dr. Freilich cautioned that such data conversion would require
resources, potentially at the expense of other programs.
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