Glossary of Key Terms
Alternative Energy | energy derived from non-conventional sources; this mostly includes renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydropower), fuel cell technology (hydrogen), and nuclear energy; it can also encompass energy conservation and demand response enabling techniques, and even clean coal technology (coal-to-liquid). Relevance: vast aff case area |
Anthropogenic Global Warming | a human-induced theory of global warming that claims the rise in world temperatures beginning in the 20th century is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases (i.e. carbon dioxide) produced when humans use fossil fuels Relevance: aff area; harms/advantages; inherency |
ANWR | Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; a 19.2 million acre publicly-managed reserve in Alaska designated for the preservation of wildlife and wilderness; also the subject of heated debate over whether to allow drilling for its immense oil reserves. Relevance: possible neg counterplan |
Biodiesel | refers to a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats which can be blended with regular diesel. B20 is diesel blended with 20% biodiesel. Relevance: aff area; possible solvency mechanism |
Biofuels | generally refers to motor fuels produced from agricultural commodities or other biological materials such as agricultural and municipal wastes. Relevance: aff case area, poss solvency mech. |
Blender's Tax Credit | a 51¢ per gallon ethanol subsidy given by the U.S. government to ethanol producers to encourage greater development, Relevance: aff case area, an aff case might expand the subsidy |
Cap and Trade Scheme | laws that set a maximum limit to carbon emissions and give energy producers allowances or credits representing the specified amount of CO2 they are allowed to emit per year. Relevance: aff area, possible sovency mechanism |
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | a gas naturally produced by all animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms but also generated as a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels or vegetable matter. Relevance: aff area, harms/advantages |
Carbon Sequestration | the capture of carbon dioxide, produced from burning fossil fuels, for permanent storage underground in geologic formations or deep in the ocean Relevance: aff area; possible solveceny mechanism |
Carbon Tax | a tax on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism, funding plank |
Cellulosic Ethanol (switchgrass) | a type of biofuel produced from the hardy matter (cellulose) found in almost all plant life; common sources include switchgrass, woodchips, sugarcane bagasse, sawdust, paper pulp, etc. Relevance: possible aff case, solvency mechanism. |
Civic Environmentalism | allows a role for government in setting national standards, but would leave the actual work of environmental protection up to collaborative efforts between industry and local governments. Relevance: Aff area, possible enforcement plan |
Clean Air Act | 1963 law; revisions in 1970 established the Environmental Protection Agency and granted it authority to implement and enforce regulations reducing air pollutant emissions. Relevance: Aff area, cases might increase regualtion or funding |
Clean Coal Technology | any type of technology that attempts to remove pollutants released while burning coal; includes carbon sequestration, coal-to-liquid, coal washing, coal gasification etc. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism |
Climate Adaptation | reducing society's vulnerability to, or helping it cope with, the consequences of global climate change. Relevance: Aff area, links, possible Kritical ground |
Climate Change | any long-term significant change in the "average weather" that a given region experiences. Relevance: Aff area, inherency |
Climate Mitigation | policies that attempt to prevent further global warming by reducing and regulating the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Relevance: General aff case area |
Climate Skeptics | scientists and pundits who do not believe humans are the main cause of climate change and who also question the authority and objectivity of the IPCC . Relevance: Strong neg resources for evidence |
Common-sense Environmentalism | uses sound science to distinguish real environmental issues from imaginary ones, and then to tap the efficiency of market forces to address the environmental issues that truly do exist. Relevance: Possible aff case area, also allows for Kritikal debate |
Conventional energy | energy from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal). |
Deforestation | the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area, or wasteland. Relevance: Harms/advantages, MPX |
Demand Response | in electricity grids, demand response (DR) refers to mechanisms to manage the electricity demand from customers in response to supply conditions; for example, having electricity customers reduce their consumption during emergencies or in response to market prices. Relevance: Aff area, possible enforcement |
E20 | gasoline blended with 20% ethanol. Relevance: possible aff area, case might expand use |
E85 | gasoline blended with 85% ethanol. Relevance: possible aff area, cases might expand use |
Energy Balance | the net energy produced from making a fuel; the amount of energy it takes to produce a certain fuel type (i.e. ethanol) minus the amount of energy provided by that fuel type. Relevance: Neg area, links, mpx; also possible aff area. |
Energy Conservation | policies for saving energy or lowering energy usage by developing and using energy-efficient technologies; some examples include increasing vehicle gas mileage, making light bulbs that use less electricity, or using better insulation in houses. Relevance: aff case area; voluntary counterplan option. |
Energy Content | the amount of energy released when a fuel is totally burned. Relevance: Aff area, significance |
Energy Incentives | tax schemes, mandates, regulations and other policies (enacted voluntarily or by state or federal government) to promote the development of specific types of energy. Relevance: possible solvency mechanism |
Energy Independence | when a country is completely free from foreign energy sources and produces enough domestic energy to meet all its energy needs. Relevance: Aff case area, poss mandate; neg area, links to many disads and even Kritiks |
Energy Independence and Security Act 2007 | bill passed by Congress and signed into law in December 2007 to increase the amount of renewable fuel in the energy supply, increase fuel economy standards and promote energy conservation. Relevance: Aff area |
Energy Per Capita | average energy used per person per year; also described as the sum of all energy consumed in a nation in a given year divided by the population. Relevance: Background |
EPAct 2005 | Energy Policy Act 2005; signed into law August 2005, it's the first major energy bill since the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Relevance: Aff area, possible expansion |
Energy Reliability | the steady and uninterrupted delivery of energy (especially electricity) within accepted standards and in the amount desired. Relevance: Possible MPX |
Energy Security | achieving freedom from energy price shocks by diversifying a country's energy portfolio so that it uses energy only from domestic sources or from countries that are politically stable and have similar governmental structures. Relevance: Possible MPX |
Environmental Justice Racism | refers to intentional or unintentional racial discrimination in the enforcement of environmental rules and regulations and siting of polluting industries. Relevance: Ground for Kritikal Debate |
EPA | Environmental Protection Agency; its mission is to protect human health and the environment by developing and enforcing regulations, conducting research, and educating the public. Relevance: Likely plan actor/enforcement |
Ethanol | a biofuel that has the same properties as ethyl alcohol, which is found in alcoholic beverages, and can be used as a fuel alternative to gasoline. Relevance: Possible solvency mecahnism, possible harm, expansion links into disads for neg |
Farm Bill | a comprehensive omnibus bill passed every several years by the United States Congress dealing with both agriculture and all other affairs under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture. Relevance: Aff area, cases might expand, mandate/Funding |
Flex-Fuel (FFV) | vehicles designed to run off all gasoline, all ethanol, or a combination of the two. Relevance: aff area, possiible solvency mechanism |
Fuel Cycle | total amount of energy used to make a product; consists of inputs and processes involved in the development, delivery and final use of the fuel. Relevance: See Energy Balance |
Fuel Economy/ Fuel Efficiency | how far a vehicle can travel on a gallon of fuel. Relevance: Possible aff area, cases might seek to increase |
Gasoline | a volatile mixture of flammable liquid hydrocarbons derived chiefly from crude oil and used principally as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. Relevance: Aff area, poss harms |
Geoengineering | the deliberate modification of the Earth's climate; it is a stopgap measure that ameliorates the problem of global warming without addressing the underlying cause. Relevance: Possible aff area; possible ground for neg counter plan |
Global Warming | increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century. Relevance: Aff area, harm/advantage |
Greenhouse Gases | gases naturally present in the atmosphere and emitted by human beings through fossil fuel use and other activities which reduce the loss of heat into space and therefore contribute to global temperatures through the greenhouse effect; these gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons. Relevance: Harms/advantages |
Hydrogen Fuel Cells | an electrochemical cell in which the energy of a reaction between a fuel, such as liquid hydrogen, and an oxidant, such as liquid oxygen, is converted directly and continuously into electrical energy. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism |
International Biodiversity | the number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region which can be threatened by environmental harm and degradation. Relevance: Aff area, harm/advantages; links to many neg disads |
International Climate Treaties | global agreements forged by a coalition of nations to reduce greenhouse gases by setting certain emissions targets. Relevance: Possible aff and neg area |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) | a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to objectively study human-induced climate change and publish international reports. Relevance: Aff area, Resources and Evidence on Climate Change |
Kyoto Protocol | an international treaty signed December 1997 with the objective of reducing greenhouse gases that purportedly cause climate change. Relevance: Possible aff area (See ICT) |
LNG | Liquefied natural gas; natural gas converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport; can be used in vehicles. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism |
Methanol | fuel made from methane for use in internal combustion and other engines, mainly in combination with gasoline. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism |
OCS | outer continental shelf; gently sloping underwater plain that extends seaward from the coast and is controlled by the federal government and off-limits to leasing and development; contains an estimated 19.1 billion barrels of oil and 83 trillion cubic feet of gas. Relevance: Possible neg ground for counterplan |
OPEC | organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; it is a permanent intergovernmental organization and oil cartel that monopolizes most of the world's oil supply, and was created on September 10-14, 1960. Relevance: Possible Harms |
Ozone Depletion | describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere since the late 1970s; and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. Relevance: Aff area, possible harm/advantages |
Per Capita CO2 Emissions | average CO2 emitted per person per year; also described as the sum of all the CO2 emitted in a nation in a given year divided by the population. Relevance: Aff area, background/significance |
Petroleum | a generic term applied to oil and oil products in all forms, such as crude oil, lease condensate, unfinished oils, refined petroleum products, natural gas, etc. Relevance: Possible aff and neg area |
Precautionary Principle | a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action. Relevance: Neg area, possible Kritikal ground |
Production Tax Credit | provides the owner of a qualifying facility with an annual tax credit based on the amount of energy that is generated from renewable sources. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism, possible funding plank |
Renewable Energy | natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished; range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and biofuels for transportation. Relevance: Aff case area |
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) | a federal mandate requiring gasoline to be blended with a certain percentage of renewable fuel (mostly ethanol); passed in 2007, current law requires the mixture of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. Relevance: Aff areas, cases might expand usage |
Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) | a government mandate requiring that a certain percentage of electricity come from renewable sources of energy; most states have passed RPS laws but the federal government has not. Relevance: Possible Solvency Mechanism |
Smart Growth | an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid urban sprawl. Relevance: Aff area, possible adv |
Smart Meters | an advanced electricity meter than can send two-way communication between the utility and customer and can record more detailed real-time electricity usage; for use with demand response systems. Relevance: Aff area |
Solar Powered Satellites | SPS or Powersat, as originally proposed would be a satellite built in high Earth orbit that uses microwave power transmission to beam solar power to a very large antenna on Earth. Relevance: Possible solvency mechanism |
Solar Radiation Effect | the theory that an increase in solar radiation during times of quiet sunspot activity (part of the 11 year cycle of solar radiation) can have a significant effect on climate change; it is one theory for the cause of current trends in climate change. Relevance: Neg area |
Sustainable Development | balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. Relevance: Aff area, possible advantage; Possible Kritikal Ground |