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SDI 2008 WHAM!

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Silver DA Index Silver DA Index.............................................................................................................................................................1 1NC Shell.......................................................................................................................................................................2 Links- General...............................................................................................................................................................3 Link- Solar (1/2)............................................................................................................................................................4 Link- Solar (2/2)............................................................................................................................................................5 Ext. Silver in Short Supply...........................................................................................................................................6 AT: Silver Surplus Now................................................................................................................................................7 Ext. Econ Internal Link................................................................................................................................................8 AT: Econ Low Now.......................................................................................................................................................9 Econ ! T/ Solar Affs.....................................................................................................................................................10 Genocide ! Module......................................................................................................................................................11 Ext. Genocide Internal Link......................................................................................................................................12 Iran Impact Module (1/2)...........................................................................................................................................13 Iran Impact Module (2/2)...........................................................................................................................................14 Heg ! Module...............................................................................................................................................................15 Ext. Heg Internal Link (1/2).......................................................................................................................................16 Ext. Heg Internal Link (2/2).......................................................................................................................................17 Readiness Key to Heg.................................................................................................................................................18 Disease ! Module.........................................................................................................................................................19 Ext. Disease Internal Link..........................................................................................................................................20 Aff - Demand Inevitable.............................................................................................................................................21 Aff- Non Unique..........................................................................................................................................................22 Aff- Non Unique..........................................................................................................................................................23 Aff- No Link- Solar Energy........................................................................................................................................24 Aff- ! Empirically Denied...........................................................................................................................................25 Aff AT: Econ !- Turn...................................................................................................................................................26 Aff AT: Econ !- Uniqueness........................................................................................................................................27

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1NC Shell A. Silver supply is too stretched to meet any new demands. Jason Hommel, Silver Stock Reporter, 3/21/08. Silver Seek. “Silver Shortage gets Worse, Price Drops Again!”, http://news.silverseek.com/GoldIsMoney/1206119500.php Three more major silver dealers are reported to be out of silver today: The U.S. Mint, Kitco, and Monex. This, on top of the major dealers yesterday, Amark, Perth Mint, CNI Numismatics, and APMEX, all reported sold out. Further, nearly all of Canada is reported to be out of silver, from Vancouver to Toronto. This is unprecedented, and is a perfect case of market manipulation in the paper market at COMEX and other futures exchanges to see silver prices continue to drop down to below $17/oz. today. Paper promises can be created endlessly, but real silver cannot. This is NOT a case of the dealers getting spooked, and selling out to the refiners just in time, at peak prices. This is a case of the public buying up the stock at coin shops across the world ever since gold hit $1000/oz.. That event finally sparked a little of the public's buying of silver and gold. Thus, the typical coin shop flow of silver to the refiners just stopped in the last few weeks, and especially the last two days. This is NOT a case of the public creating a top with 'everyone' in silver, because nobody's in silver yet. In 2006, only $1 billion was spent on investment silver, which is 0.007% of the $13.5 trillion of money in the banks. As I have long reported, the silver market is so small, there is no room for new investor demand, not even 0.1% of money could be spent on silver, because that would be $13 billion, which would push silver prices to $200/oz., and we are seeing only the tiniest beginnings of that.

B. C. Impact 1. Silver supplies are key to the world economy. Jason Hommel, Silver Stock Reporter, 2008. The Silver Stock Report. “Here’s why silver investment is better than gold,” http://silverstockreport.com/ MH Each silver contract at the NYMEX is a promise. There are too many contracts, too many promises to deliver silver that may not exist. Each contract is for 5000 ounces. There are often over 200,000 contracts for 5000 ounces, that's a total of 1000 million ounces of silver promised to be delivered. With recent market trends of defaults and bankruptcies, these contracts are at risk of default. Yet the exchange has only about a third of that in real silver. How can they promise to deliver more silver than exists? If they fail to deliver silver, then confidence in the world's entire financial system may collapse. Industrial users of silver may have to shut down their factories. To prevent this, users will bid silver prices much higher.

2. Nuclear war. Walter Russel Mead, fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, 1992 New perspectives quarterly, summer pp. 28 But what if it can't? What if the global economy stagnates - or even shrinks? In that case, we will face a new period of international conflict: South against North, rich against poor. Russia, China, India these countries with their billions of people and their nuclear weapons will pose a much greater danger to world order than Germany and Japan did in the '30s.

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Links- General Silver is key to building alternative energy sources because of unique characteristics. COEUR d’ Alene Mines Corporation 2008 , Silver: The Metal for Modern Applications, “The Value of Silver,” http://www.coeur.com/silver.html’ Silver is unique among metals. It is a precious metal and a store of value for investors around the world. Yet over half the silver demanded by consumers each year is used in industrial or technological products. This is because silver’s unique characteristics as a metal are essential to the development and growth of modern and growing economies everywhere. Its uniqueness includes its strength, malleability and ductility, its electrical and thermal conductivity, its ability to reflect light and endure extreme temperatures. This has made possible plasma television sets, solar panels, electrical connectors and semiconductors, alternative energy sources, and thousands of other devices we take for granted in our modern world, all of which are dependent on silver.

Silver needed for alternative energy (fuel cells, solar, windmills, nuclear) Matt Savinar, Political Science from the University of California at Davis, J.D. from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law, "The Peak Oil and Die-Off," 2004, ACC. 6/7/2008, http://www.unicamp.br/fea/ortega/eco/traducao-DieOff.pdf, p. 58 The same holds true for almost every resource and material known to humanity, including resources and materials such as platinum, silver, and uranium, which are necessary to up-scale alternative forms of energy such as hydrogen fuel cells, solar panels, windmills, and nuclear power plants. We won’t even be able to recycle the leftovers of industrial civilization without cheap energy, as recycling things like SUVs, computers, asphalt, etc., is extremely energy-intensive. Most recycling centers (particularly large, industrial ones) get their energy from – you guessed it – fossil fuels! Unless you’re super-rich, it’s back to the caves.

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Link- Solar (1/2) Solar panels require huge quantities of silver to transmit electricity. Matt Savinar, Political Science from the University of California at Davis, J.D. from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law, "The Peak Oil and Die-Off," 2004, ACC. 6/7/2008, http://www.unicamp.br/fea/ortega/eco/traducao-DieOff.pdf, p. 58 The geographic areas most suited for large solar farms are typically very warm areas, such as deserts. This requires the energy collected by the panels to be converted to electricity and then transmitted over large distances to power more densely populated regions. Unfortunately, heat makes electricity extremely difficult to transmit. The benefits of setting up solar farms in sun-drenched areas like the desert are largely offset by the additional costs of transmitting the electricity. The only way to overcome this problem is through the use of superconducting wires, which require copious quantities of silver, a precious metal already in short supply.

Solar panels are doubling the demand for silver. David Zgodzinski, Montreal freelance writer, 6-19-2008, The Gazette (Montreal), “NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND; Can mining make a greener world?”, VP lexis Most environmentalists agree that the overriding environmental imperative, trumping other concerns, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But converting from a hydrocarbon burning society to one that runs on cleanly generated electricity will not be simple or painless. And the switch will demand metals - lots of metals. Those metals have to be mined. According to a study by British merchant bankers, the Fortis Group, over 1,000 tonnes of silver will be used in 2008 to manufacture solar panels. That's twice the amount of silver that was used in 2002 by the solar industry. Silver is the most conductive of metals and that quality makes it a necessary element in solar equipment. More and more silver will be mined for the solar energy ramp up in coming years.

Solar panels are depleting silver resources. Matt Savinar, Political Science from the University of California at Davis, J.D. from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law, "The Peak Oil and Die-Off," 2004, ACC. 6/7/2008, http://www.unicamp.br/fea/ortega/eco/traducao-DieOff.pdf, p. 58 Virtually all solar panels currently on the market are made with silver paste. The world, however, is in the midst of a massive silver shortage that is likely to be greatly exacerbated in the years to come. Of all metals, silver is the best conductor of electricity. This has made it a crucial component of all computers, communications, and electrical equipment. As technology has spread, silver reserves have plummeted. 26 The current shortage of silver is so severe many experts feel the price of silver will skyrocket from its August 2004 price of $6.50 per ounce to as high as $200 per ounce.141 This will drive up the cost of solar power. To make matters worse, the only silver left is very difficult to extract and requires the use of heavyduty, energyintensive, oil-powered machinery. As oil becomes more expensive, so will be the discovery, mining and transporting of silver, which will drive up the price of solar power even more. Furthermore, much of the world’s silver reserves are located in highly unstable and unfriendly parts of the world such as the former Soviet Union. The same fundamentals are also true (albeit to a lesser degree) for copper, which is frequently used to conduct electricity.

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Link- Solar (2/2) Solar energy requires silver Steve Gelsi, Staff writer, June 9, 2008, MarketWatch,"DuPont eyes generating $1 billion in solar-related revenue," http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dupont-eyes-generating-1-billion/story.aspx?guid= %7B6B005474-1006-4B80-BA45-78799D5A874E%7D&dist=msr_8 Rob Cockerill, photovoltaic marketing manager for DuPont's microcircuit materials business, said the company's Solamet metallization paste, which is made from silver and other materials, collects electricity produced by the photovoltaic cell and transports it out of the cell. The metal paste has applications both with traditional solar modules as well as newer, thin film solar arrays

The need for silver is growing preciousmetalinvestment.com, 8-21-06, “Silver Uses in Industry” http://silver.preciousmetalinvestment.com/silver/uses/silver-uses-in-industry/ The number of applications that need silver is enormous and constantly growing. Think of catalysts, mirrors and other reflective coatings, water purification, solar panels, brazing and soldering, light sensitive spectacles and you will still only be just scratching the surface.

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Ext. Silver in Short Supply Inventory is being depleted, the world has lost 3/4s fourths of its total stockpile in 1980. Theodore Butler, Silver Analyst for Investment Rarities, Inc., 4/22/08. “Then and Now,” http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1208878782.php MH There is a lot less world silver inventory today than there was in 1980; billions of ounces less. In very broad terms, there were close to 4 billion ounces of available world silver inventories in 1980. Over the next 28 years, because of the silver deficit, roughly 3 billion ounces (a little over 100 million ounces annually) were removed from inventories and industrially consumed or put into a form that prevented it from coming back to the market, except at extraordinary high prices. In other words, 75% of world silver inventories were consumed over the past 28 years, leaving us with one billion ounces remaining. On a per capita basis, the reduction in world silver inventories is even more dramatic, because the population of the world grew by almost 50% over that time span. In 1980, there was almost one full ounce of silver inventory for every person on the face of the earth. Today, only a small fraction, 15% of an ounce, remains.

The silver market is in danger. Theodore Butler, Silver Analyst for Investment Rarities, Inc., 4/15/08. “Super Concentration,” http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1208285314.php MH But beneath the surface, an entirely different picture has emerged. In spite of the recent reduction in the number of contracts held short in the commercial category, the true concentrated short position held by the largest traders in COMEX silver and gold, in percentage terms, has reached a dramatic new level. Never have the four and eight largest short traders in COMEX silver and gold held a larger percentage of these markets. Please allow me to explain how I arrived at this conclusion and why this super concentrated position not only continues to prove an ongoing manipulation, but also continues to represent a clear and present danger to the integrity of the market itself.

Now is the key time for the silver market. Eric Roseman, Investment Director and editor of Commodity TrendAltert, May 23, 2008, Vol. 10, No. 123, ACC. 6/7/2008, http://www.sovereignsociety.com/offshore2652.html Commodities are governed by supply and demand - more than any other variable. Just take a look at the precious metals bull market we've enjoyed since 2001. Right now some metals are poised to reach new alltime highs because of production deficits (aka lack of supply), while other metals still remain hostage to an onslaught of new supplies - so their prices are dropping. Silver falls in that "too much supply" camp. More than any other precious metal this year, silver's prices will be put to the test. We're all waiting to see if silver's price can hold up under the growing bombardment of new production.

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AT: Silver Surplus Now There is no silver surplus now- it’s a balance, there’s a deficit and there is no excess production. Jason Hommel, Silver Stock Reporter, 2008. The Silver Stock Report. “There is no silver surplus,” http://silverstockreport.com/2008/surplus.html MH Recently, a few groups have begun talk of a "silver surplus". It started with the CPM group a few years ago. There was both a deficit, and surplus at the same time, and yet the market was in balance. Investors began to enter the silver market, buying up about 50 million ounces. This new action, a change of a mere 5% of world silver movement, was called a "surplus". The world "surplus" is misleading in three ways. First, you cannot have either a deficit or surplus, everything must balance in real silver, so the term is only a technical term referring to a part of silver movement. Second, you cannot have both a surplus and a deficit simultaneously, of course. Third, the word "surplus" has somewhat frightening connotations to investors. The world "surplus" conjures up images of unwanted silver lying around on some pallets somewhere outside a warehouse, with no buyers anywhere in sight. If there is such a thing as "surplus silver" then please, will someone tell me where it is. I'll be there, anywhere in the world, in less than 3 days to haul it away for free. Since I'm sure I'll never get that call, you can be sure there is no such thing as a surplus of silver.

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Ext. Econ Internal Link Decline in silver supply kills the economy. Jason Hommel, Editorial writer for Gold-Eagle, 2005, Gold-Eagle, “Silver Users Fear Silver Shortage”, NM, http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/hommel102505.html Will higher silver prices hurt the economy? The SUA also says: "This removal of large quantities of physical silver [through a silver ETF] could have a negative impact on silver-industry specific employment as well as the overall economy, both through job losses and inflation." However, higher silver prices will also create jobs in the silver mining industry, which has been devastated by low silver prices. In fact, currently, there are no profitable public silver mining companies in the U.S. And of about 80 silver companies that I follow, there are only about 2 or 3 that are making any profits in 2005 so far, because oil and energy prices (which are a large part of mining costs) have risen faster than silver prices. Thus, once again, if silver prices are below the cost to mine, silver price remain at historic lows.

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AT: Econ Low Now The economy is only hanging on because silver is stable and can stop the credit crisis. If silver collapses so will the economy. James R. Cook, President of Investment Rarities Incorporated 12-26-2001, “Weekly Commentary” http://doomgloom.com/12-26-01.html Gold and silver play identical roles when conventional investments go sour. They act as a storehouse of value. Whenever currencies fail and economies contract, people turn to gold and silver. Whenever bankruptcies and defaults sweep through a nation or a credit collapse shakes the financial foundations, people rush into precious metals. Gold and silver protect against loose money and credit. Silver acted as a perfect hedge against the inflation of the 1970s. Silver promises to act as a bulwark against inflation, a falling dollar and depression. That’s a primary reason to buy silver. It’s one of the best means of preserving capital. Any pending price rise because of short supply and industrial demand is a bonus. Silver will let you keep what you have in the face of today’s unfolding economic problems. Ten to twenty percent of your net worth in silver will keep you hedged, keep the rest of your wealth insured and keep you partially outside the paper and credit woes of a highly leveraged financial system.

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Econ ! T/ Solar Affs Economic downturn stops our investment in solar power. J. Peter Lynch, Independent Wall Street Analyst, Renewable Energy World Online, 1/25/2008. “How would recession affect the solar industry,” http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/ate/story?id=51229 MH I think a recession and other factors can complicate this transition process and cause a number of problems for the industry in general and specific stocks in particular. For example: 1. A recession normally causes a drop in demand for oil worldwide. If the price of oil starts to drop we could see a continued adverse reaction in solar stocks. It will mean ZERO long term, but it could cause considerable short-term pain. 2. The supply of silicon is dramatically expanding and producers are rapidly moving forward with new factories and supplies. Meanwhile, demand has not been growing as fast as hoped and decreasing incentives (Germany) and failed legislation (principally in the U.S.) has once again highlighted the fossil fuel tinted and myopic vision of the current administration. This situation could increase manufacturer's inventory levels and put downward pressure on manufacturer's margins resulting in lower than projected profits for 2008 and especially 2009. Wall Street would view this unfavorably and "punish" those companies. 3. When economic times are poor, the government is less likely to institute any new tax benefits. This may cause the solar credits to be postponed until 2009 when a new administration comes to power. I certainly hope that this will not be the case, but it just illustrates the inherently risky nature of this emerging industry and that investors need to be aware of these risks and NOT be blinded by the great potential for reward.

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Genocide ! Module A. The U.S. will resort to genocide to control access to key minerals in the Third World Matt Savinar, Political Science from the University of California at Davis, J.D. from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law, “The Peak Oil and Die-Off,” 2004, ACC. 6/7/2008, http://www.unicamp.br/fea/ortega/eco/traducao-DieOff.pdf, p. 58 Our government’s other solution to the coming oil shortages is forced depopulation (genocide) of oil-rich areas. This policy is nothing new and not unique to any one political persuasion. In 1968, environmentalist Dr. Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb, which sold about 20 million copies and exerted a huge influence upon policy makers. According to Ehrlich: Our position requires that we take immediate action at home and promote effective action worldwide. We must have population control at home, hopefully through a system of incentives and penalties, but by compulsion if voluntary methods fail. We can no longer afford merely to treat the symptoms of the cancer of population growth; the cancer itself must be cut out. Dr. Ehrlich goes on to say that compulsory birth control could be imposed by governments via the addition of “temporary sterilants to water supplies or staple food.” A few years later, the brutal methods advocated by Ehrlich were officially discussed in the highest levels of our government. In December 1974, the US National Security Council completed a classified 200-page study, “National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for US Security and Overseas Interests (NSSM).” The study explained that the US needed to control populations in third world countries in order to maintain access to certain resources: The location of known reserves of higher-grade ores of most minerals favors increasing dependence of all industrialized regions on imports from less-developed countries. The US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from lessdeveloped countries. That fact gives the US enhanced interest in the political, economic, and social stability of the supplying countries. Wherever a lessening of population pressures through reduced birth rates can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resource supplies and to the economic interests of the United States.

B. Genocide is the most important impact.

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Ext. Genocide Internal Link Seizure of minerals in South and Centeral American countries causes genocide Brenda Norrell, Jul 26, 2006, writer Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, jc proquest The longtime exploitation of indigenous peoples' land and water resources in the Americas by governments and corporations has resulted in "energy genocide" for indigenous peoples; now, this energy genocide is unleashing an environmental movement, with Native people taking on governments and holding corporations accountable, according to the Indigenous Environmental Network. Tom Goldtooth, executive director of IEN, said the seizure of land, mineral and water rights, particularly in Central and South America, has resulted in the rape, torture and murder of indigenous peoples. Goldtooth said globalization, pushed by countries like the United States, has allowed U.S. corporations to come into the territories of indigenous communities of Central and South America in need of minerals, oil, gas, water, trees and the medicinal knowledge of indigenous peoples. "This market-based system has created privatization of land and competition of natural resources, causing our indigenous brothers and sisters of the Latin American countries to organize and resist. Indigenous peoples are mobilizing against mining companies in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Panama. "There are wars fueled by mining companies such as Denver-based Newmont that cause mine workers to fight local communities, of which many are indigenous peoples," Goldtooth told Indian Country Today. Where there is mining within remote rural communities in Latin American countries, he said, there are rapes and abuses of indigenous women. "Racism is alive and well in many of these countries where tribal people are discriminated."

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Iran Impact Module (1/2) A. A silver depletion will cause U.S. to invade Iran Charles Savoie, professional Jewelist, 10-8-2004, silver4India, NM, http://www.silver4india.com/silver4india/modules/news/article.php?storyid=63 Attempts may be made to force silver holders to sell metal to Uncle Sam. Media will depict those holding for better prices as unpatriotic profiteers. They would not do so at all, if we were members of approved organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations; Newcomen Society; English Speaking Union; British North American Committee; Bilderberg; Knights of Malta; Trilateral Commission; Bohemian Club; Mont Pelerin Society; Foreign Policy Association; U.N. Association; Rhodes scholars; Yale super-fraternities such as Skull & Bones; Wolf's Head Society; Berzelius Society; Scroll & Key; and Book & Snake---all interlocked with The Society. The Plan is for the "right people" to increase in wealth, and everyone else to decline! However, since these groups, with all their

fantastic power, still face limitations, any Federal silver price cap will eventually fail because it will cause shortages. Miners in other nations will sell wherever they can get the best price. We cannot justify invading Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina to get at their silver. However, there is a 300 to 500 million ounce silver resource in Iran at just one location, and there are at least 11 other copper sites, which should have meaningful silver credits. You have to suspect that control of that resource, along with petroleum, is a prime motive for invasion! As the Commercial & Financial Chronicle, a publication usually on the wrong side of issues, said (November 29, 1945, page 2620)---

B. Strikes cause Syria to retaliate against Israel with smallpox Corsi ’07 (Jerome,- writer for Wordnet daily, citing Jill Bellamy-Dekker, director of the Public Health Preparedness program for the European Homeland Security Association under the French High Committee for Civil Defense “Syria ready with bio-terror if U.S. hits Iran” http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54542)

An American biodefense analyst living in Europe says if the U.S. invades Iran to halt its nuclear ambitions, Syria is ready to respond with weapons of mass destruction – specifically biological weapons. "Syria is positioned to launch a biological attack on Israel or Europe should the U.S. attack Iran," Jill Bellamy-Dekker told WND. "The Syrians are embedding their biological weapons program into their commercial pharmaceuticals business and their veterinary vaccine-research facilities. The intelligence service oversees Syria's 'bio-farm' program and the Ministry of Defense is well interfaced into the effort." Bellamy-Decker currently directs the Public Health Preparedness program for the European Homeland Security Association under the French High Committee for Civil Defense. She anticipates a variation of smallpox is the biological agent Syria would utilize.

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Iran Impact Module (2/2) C. The impact outweighs nuke war Singer ’01 (Clifford,- is a professor of nuclear engineering and director of the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security at the University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign “Will Mankind Survive the Millennium?” http://www.acdis.uiuc.edu/research/S&Ps/2001-Sp/S&P_XIII/Singer.htm) In recent years the fear of the apocalypse (or religious hope for it) has been in part a child of the Cold War, but its seeds in Western culture go back to the Black Death and earlier. Recent polls suggest that the majority in the United States that believe man would survive into the future for substantially less than a millennium was about 10 percent higher in the Cold War than afterward. However fear of annihilation of the human species through nuclear warfare was confused with the admittedly terrifying, but much different matter of destruction of a dominant civilization. The destruction of a third or more of much of the globe’s population through the disruption from the direct consequences of nuclear blast and fire damage was certainly possible. There was, and still is, what is now known to be a rather small chance that dust raised by an all-out nuclear war would cause a so-called nuclear winter, substantially reducing agricultural yields especially in temperate regions for a year or more. As noted above mankind as a whole has weathered a number of mind-boggling disasters in the past fifty thousand years even if older cultures or civilizations have sometimes eventually given way to new ones in the process. Moreover the fear that radioactive fallout would make the globe uninhabitable, publicized by widely seen works such as "On the Beach," was a metaphor for the horror of nuclear war rather than reality. The epidemiological lethal results of well over a hundred atmospheric nuclear tests are barely statistically detectable except in immediate fallout plumes. The increase in radiation exposure far from the combatants in even a full scale nuclear exchange at the height of the Cold War would have been modest

compared to the variations in natural background radiation doses that have readily been adapted to by a number of human populations. Nor is there any reason to believe that global warming or other insults to our physical environment resulting from currently used technologies will challenge the survival of mankind as a whole beyond what it has already handily survived through the past fifty thousand years. There are, however, two technologies currently under development that may pose a more serious threat to human survival. The first and most immediate is biological warfare combined with genetic engineering. Smallpox is the most fearsome of natural biological warfare agents in existence. By the end of the next decade, global immunity to smallpox will likely be at a low unprecedented since the emergence of this disease in the distant past, while the opportunity for it to spread rapidly across the globe will be at an all time high. In the absence of other complications such as nuclear war near the peak of an epidemic, developed countries may respond with quarantine and vaccination to limit the damage. Otherwise mortality there may match the rate of 30 percent or more expected in unprepared developing countries. With respect to genetic engineering using currently available knowledge and technology, the simple expedient of spreading an ample mixture of coat protein variants could render a vaccination response largely ineffective, but this would otherwise not be expected to substantially increase overall mortality rates. With development of new biological technology, however, there is a possibility that a variety of infectious agents may be engineered for combinations of greater than natural virulence and mortality, rather than just to overwhelm currently available antibiotics or vaccines. There is no a

priori known upper limit to the power of this type of technology base, and thus the survival of a globally connected human family may be in question when and if this is achieved.

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Heg ! Module A. Silver shortages hurt military readiness and hegemony. Charles Savoie, Master of Fine Arts degree from Illinois State University, 10-8-2004, silver4India, NM, http://www.silver4india.com/silver4india/modules/news/article.php?storyid=63 Let's take a look at the need for silver as a vital resource material necessary to warfare. We won't be able to examine any detailed weapons breakdown of specific items by exact silver content from one defense contractor to another on a current basis, because that information isn't readily available. I can tell you that as of January 2, 1980---nearly a quarter century past---some 84,000 military parts (aircraft, submarines, etc.) contained precious metal, mostly silver (Wall Street Journal, January 2, 1980, page 10). American Superconductor and Intermagnetics General won't openly discuss how much silver they will need for superconducting cables. That's probably an understanding with the COMEX shorts---anything to suppress projected silver demand statistics! As you probably know, America has been without a silver stockpile for strategic defense applications for several years. We aren't swimming in silver as we were going into World War II. One of the implications could be a limitation on our ability to wage war overseas; and also spell inadequacy as to our ability to defend our shores. Silver is the most versatile metal there is, and a strategic shortage will hurt us more so than shortages of other strategic metals such as tantalum, platinum, chromium, vanadium and cobalt. America cannot produce enough silver to meet our internal needs, that hasn't happened in most of a century; therefore, silver imports are vital. Over 153 years ago, Merchants Magazine & Commercial Review (March 1851), page 280 spoke of--- "…the numerous uses to which we apply silver, beyond the uses to which we apply gold."

B. Nuclear war Zalmay Khalilzad, Senior Analyst at RAND, 1995 Washington Quarterly, Spring, Lexis Under the third option, the United States would seek to retain global leadership and to preclude the rise of a global rival or a return to multipolarity for the indefinite future. On balance, this is the best long-term guiding principle and vision. Such a vision is desirable not as an end in itself, but because a world in which the United States exercises leadership would have tremendous advantages. First, the global environment would be more open and more receptive to American values -- democracy, free markets, and the rule of law. Second, such a world would have a better chance of dealing cooperatively with the world's major problems, such as nuclear proliferation, threats of regional hegemony by renegade states, and low-level conflicts. Finally, U.S. leadership would help preclude the rise of another hostile global rival, enabling the United States and the world to avoid another global cold or hot war and all the attendant dangers, including a global nuclear exchange. U.S. leadership would therefore be more conducive to global stability than a bipolar or a multipolar balance of power system.

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Ext. Heg Internal Link (1/2) Silver depletion would shut down U.S. military – metal mines prove Charles Savoie, Master of Fine Arts degree from Illinois State University, 10-8-2004, silver4India, NM, http://www.silver4india.com/silver4india/modules/news/article.php?storyid=63 "Representative White Warns that Any Move to Cut Off Silver Market Would Cripple Defense Industries. Representative Compton R. White of Idaho, a member of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures, in a statement issued in New York on July 14, warned that any move to cut off the national market for silver at this time would force many copper, zinc and lead mines in this country to close and further cripple our defense industries. Mr. White declared the controlling factors in our national defense program were the cost of production in mining strategic war metals and the Government's profit in the silver purchase program. He said there were virtually no exclusive producing silver mines, and that in this country or anywhere else silver was a by-product of copper, zinc and lead mines and the profit received for the by-product went a long way in meeting the cost of production of strategic metals, copper, lead and zinc. He said that at a time when the Government was arbitrarily holding the price of the strategic metals down and combing the Western Hemisphere for lead and zinc, to cut off the silver market now would surely cripple defense." Summary---no silver, no defense industries. Of course the silver situation was radically different in 1941. The battle over retaining silver as a monetary base was raging in the midst of wartime debates over silver needs in manufacturing. Today we have no silver monetary base---and no silver for industrial use---not in the Treasury Department, nor in any government stockpile. The C & FC, July 19, 1941, page 330 said--- "The American Silver Producers Research Project, sponsored by several of the leading silver producing companies in the United States, has completed a year of activity at the Bridgeport (Conn.) plant of Handy & Harman. The project, formerly located at the National Bureau of Standards, Washington D.C., was reorganized June 1, 1940, and the research program and activities were transferred to the laboratories of Handy & Harman. The report, issued July 11, follows in part--- "The field of electroplated coatings continues to show promise as an outlet for silver and the project's pilot plating plant has been kept busy recently plating drums, pails and cans. At the present time one of the large can manufacturers is cooperating with the project and a chemical supply house in the development of a silver lined can for packaging chemicals. Containers with a silver plated coating also have been packed with different commodities and some experimental units have been put into service. In some instances silver lined containers are being seriously considered and tested for packaging corrosive materials because the corrosion resistance of other metals and lacquers is not adequate."

Silver depletion would result in military breakdown – war machines prove Charles Savoie, professional American Jewelist, 10-8-2004, silver4India, NM, http://www.silver4india.com/silver4india/modules/news/article.php?storyid=63 Notice that in a wartime period, silver use increases dramatically. In the nearly 63 years since that review was issued, no substitute has been found in nature for silver and its fantastic characteristics. Many revolutionary uses for silver were discovered as a consequence of war industry research, and what was true in 1942 is truer still today. A modern war machine MUST have silver to function at peak efficiency. Aerospace and jet aircraft technology could not exist without silver, nor could missiles and satellites. Countries which don't have adequate silver supplies are at serious strategic disadvantage in wartime, most likely to the point of being on the losing side. Commercial & Financial Chronicle, February 5, 1942, page 570, made reference to the same report and said--- "The substitution of silver for other metals has occurred both in industry and the arts, the purpose being to conserve scarce war materials such as copper, nickel, aluminum and tin. War requirements are also demanding millions of ounces of silver. This metal is playing an important part in the construction of ships, airplanes, tanks, trucks, guns, shells, bombs, torpedoes and a wide variety of miscellaneous equipment."

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17 Silver DA

Ext. Heg Internal Link (2/2) Silver is needed for military readiness– defense weapons and satellites prove Charles Savoie, Master of Fine Arts degree from Illinois State University, 10-8-2004, silver4India, NM, http://www.silver4india.com/silver4india/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6 "Silver is a critical metal in the defense program; it is needed as a substitute for tin; it is the best of all metals for certain important parts in the construction of ships, airplanes, tanks, trucks, guns, shells, bombs and torpedoes. Manufacturers complain of a serious shortage of the metal." Computer systems today which the World War II military would have found totally fantastic are dependent on silver. The same is true for orbiting satellites. Many other applications of silver have come about through scientific research. The tug-of-war between saving America's silver monetary base, or rather returning to it, and the need for silver in war applications, will be different in the future---it will be more intense. As people realize the worthlessness of Federal Reserve notes, pressure to return to real money will be overwhelming. The only thing I can think of that can prevent return to real money, is if we continue to give up freedoms in the name of Fatherland Security. Americans must continue to own guns, and guns should be purchased by anyone legally able to do so. Guns are necessary to defeat an enemy in warfare. They also appear to be indispensable in preventing one's own government from becoming truly tyrannical. We must fight any Federal attempt to require "domestic passports" restricting movement of citizens within our borders, or on travel abroad. We must resist any new attempts to curtail our liberties in the name of wartime security. We must act through channels to restore our rights.

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18 Silver DA

Readiness Key to Heg Military readiness is key to hegemony Jack Spencer, Policy Analyst – Heritage Foundation, 2000, “The Facts About Military Readiness”, 9-15, jlk, http://www.heritage.org/Research/MissileDefense/BG1394.cfm Military readiness is vital because declines in America's military readiness signal to the rest of the world that the United States is not prepared to defend its interests. Therefore, potentially hostile nations will be more likely to lash out against American allies and interests, inevitably leading to U.S. involvement in combat. A high state of military readiness is more likely to deter potentially hostile nations from acting aggressively in regions of vital national interest, thereby preserving peace. Readiness Defined. Readiness measures the ability of a military unit, such as an Army division or a carrier battle group, to accomplish its assigned mission. Logistics, available spare parts, training, equipment, and morale all contribute to readiness. The military recognizes four grades of readiness. 7 At the highest level, a unit is prepared to move into position and accomplish its mission. At the lowest level, a unit requires further manpower, training, equipment, and/or logistics to accomplish its mission. There is evidence of a widespread lack of readiness within the U.S. armed forces. Recently leaked Army documents report that 12 of the 20 schools training soldiers in skills such as field artillery, infantry, and aviation have received the lowest readiness rating. They also disclose that over half of the Army's combat and support training centers are rated at the lowest readiness grade. 8 As recently as last November, two of the Army's 10 active divisions were rated at the lowest readiness level, and none were rated at the highest. 9 Every division required additional manpower, equipment, or training before it would be prepared for combat, due largely to the units' commitments to operations in the Balkans. 10 And 23 percent of the Army's Chinook cargo helicopters, 19 percent of its Blackhawk helicopters, and 16 percent of its Apaches are not "mission-capable." 11 In other words, they are not ready. The Facts about Military Readiness The reduction in forces of the U.S. armed forces began in the early 1990s. After the end of the Cold War, the Bush Administration began to reduce the size of the military so that it would be consistent with post-Cold War threats. 12 Under the Clinton Administration, however, that reduction in forces escalated too rapidly at the same time that U.S. forces were deployed too often with too little funding. The result was decreased readiness as personnel, equipment, training, and location suffered. Since the Persian Gulf War in 1991, the U.S. military has been deployed on over 50 peacekeeping and peaceenforcement operations. 13 Yet the resources available to fund these missions have steadily decreased: The number of total active personnel has decreased nearly 30 percent, and funding for the armed services has decreased 16 percent. The strain on the armed forces shows clearly now as the reduced forces deploy for too long with insufficient and antiquated equipment. The result is indisputable: Readiness is in decline. Because the security of the United States is at stake, it is imperative to present the facts about military readiness: FACT #1. The size of the U.S. military has been cut drastically in the past decade. Between 1992 and 2000, the Clinton Administration cut national defense by more than half a million personnel and $50 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. 14 (See Table 1.) The Army alone has lost four active divisions and two Reserve divisions. Because of such cuts, the Army has lost more than 205,000 soldiers, or 30 percent of its staff, although its missions have increased significantly throughout the 1990s. In 1992, the U.S. Air Force consisted of 57 tactical squadrons and 270 bombers. Today the Air Force has 52 squadrons and 178 bombers. The total number of active personnel has decreased by nearly 30 percent. In the Navy, the total number of ships has decreased significantly as well. In 1992, there were around 393 ships in the fleet, while today there are only 316, a decrease of 20 percent. The number of Navy personnel has fallen by over 30 percent. In 1992, the Marine Corps consisted of three divisions. The Corps still has three divisions, but since 1992, it has lost 22,000 active duty personnel, or 11 percent of its total. The Clinton Administration also cut the Marine Corps to 39,000 reserve personnel from 42,300 in 1992. Effect on Readiness. In spite of these

drastic force reductions, missions and operations tempo have increased, resulting in decreased military readiness. Because every mission affects far greater numbers of servicemen than those directly involved, most operations other than warfare, such as peacekeeping, have a significant negative impact on readiness. For each service[person]man who participates in a military operation, two others are involved in the mission: one who is preparing to take the participant's place, and another who is recovering from having participated and retraining. Therefore, if 10,000 troops are on peace operations in the Balkans, 30,000 troops are actually being taken away from preparing for combat. Ten thousand are actively participating, while 10,000 are recovering, and 10,000 are preparing to go. Coupled with declining personnel, increased tempo has a devastating effect on readiness. Morale problems stemming from prolonged deployments, equipment that wears out too quickly, and decreased combat training levels heighten when troops are committed to non-combat operations. Further exacerbating the military's declining readiness is the tendency to take troops with special skills from non-deployed units. Thus, a mission may affect non-deployed units as well because they will not be able to train properly. The soldiers integral to the non-deployed mission are not present, and there is no one to take their place. A mission's spillover effects are clearly illustrated by a July 2000 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) on the U.S. commitments in the Balkans: In January 2000 ... four active divisions and one Guard division were affected by these operations [in the Balkans]. Among the active divisions, the 1st Cavalry Division was recovering from a 1-year deployment in Bosnia, the 10th Mountain Division was deployed there, and elements of the Guard's 49th Armored Division were preparing to deploy there. At the same time, the European-based 1st Infantry Division was deployed to Kosovo, and

deployment of key components-especially headquarters--makes these divisions unavailable for deployment elsewhere in case of a major war. the 1st Armored Division was preparing to deploy there. Although none of these divisions deployed in its entirety,

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19 Silver DA

Disease ! Module A. Silver is needed to prevent widespread disease Steve Arizona, writer for American Free Press, 5-6-2008, Daily Paul, Preventing hospital infections -- from such stubborn bugs as Staphylococcus aureus -- could get a little easier with a new non-toxic, silver-based material. Used in coating, it helps keep hospital air ducts bacterium- and fungus-free. The material is also used in a number of products including athletic footwear, door hardware, pens and business supplies. DUARTE, Calif.--For more than 6,000 years, humans have used silver to fight germs, also known as microbes. Now, some hospitals are using a silver compound to reduce hospital infections. You can't see them, but millions of microorganisms are living quietly among us, in places where we least expect them.

B. Extinction John Steinbruner, Director of the Center for International and Security Studies @ Maryland, 1998 Winter Foreign Policy) It is a considerable comfort and undoubtedly a key to our survival that, so far, the main lines of defense against this threat have not depended on explicit policies or organized efforts. In the long course of evolution, the human body has developed physical barriers and a biochemical immune system whose sophistication and effectiveness exceed anything we could design or as yet even fully understand. But evolution is a sword that cuts both ways: New diseases emerge, while old diseases mutate and adapt. Throughout history, there have been epidemics during which human immunity has broken down on an epic scale. An infectious agent believed to have been the plague bacterium killed an estimated 20 million people over a four-year period in the fourteenth century, including nearly one-quarter of Western Europe's population at the time. Since its recognized appearance in 1981, some 20 variations of the HIV virus have infected an estimated 29.4 million worldwide, with 1.5 million people currently dying of AIDS each year. Malaria, tuberculosis, and choleraonce thought to be under control--are now making a comeback. As we enter the twenty-first century, changing conditions have enhanced the potential for widespread contagion. The rapid growth rate of the total world population, the unprecedented freedom of movement across international borders, and scientific advances that expand the capability for the deliberate manipulation of pathogens are all cause for worry that the problem might be greater in the future than it has ever been in the past. The threat of infectious pathogens is not just an issue of public health, but a fundamental security problem for the species as a whole.

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20 Silver DA

Ext. Disease Internal Link Silver is needed to prevent disease spread – hospitals prove Steve Arizona, writer for American Free Press, 5-6-2008, Daily Paul, Dr. James Miser, Chief Executive Officer at City of Hope National Medical Center, says, "The room which we are currently standing is as free of germs as medically possible in a hospital." This is possible because the ducts delivering air to patients' rooms are coated with a silver-based anti-microbial compound called AgION. It can kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. Jeffrey Trogolo, Chief Technology Officer at AgION Technologies, Inc. in Wakefield, Mass., says, "When the conditions are right, it turns on, and that's where the silver comes out." Agion technologies is using silver, a centuries-old germ killer, in a unique compound to coat surfaces and instruments that could spread disease. When bacteria are detected, the compound releases silver ions to the surface, killing existing microbes and any new ones that come along. "We have virtually no organisms grown," Dr. Miser says.

Silver is needed to make everyday products disease free Steve Arizona, writer for American Free Press, 5-6-2008, Daily Paul, It's potent enough to kill germs, but is safe to use on virtually any surface. Trogolo says, "It's less toxic than table salt and less irritating than talcum powder. Ultimately we hope this will result in less infections and actually better outcomes for the patients." The silver compound can also kill germs in your kitchen, on shopping cart handles, even in your sneakers. It's already used in a number of products including athletic footwear, door hardware, pens and business supplies.

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21 Silver DA

Aff - Demand Inevitable Alt causes to silver demand. Mike Caggeso, Associate Editor, 7/8/08. Straight Stocks. “Silver Prices Ready to Rocket; Four Reasons Why and Two Ways to Buy,” http://www.straightstocks.com/current-market-news/silver-prices-ready-to-rocket-four-reasonswhy-and-two-ways-to-buy/ MH Silver prices have vaulted an extraordinary 106% in the past two and a half years. More impressive, silver prices have gained 33% since mid December. Now, compare that to how U.S. stocks have fared since then: The Dow Jones Industrial Average has plunged 13.6%; The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 10.5%; The S&P 500 Index has fallen 11.1%. Like gold, silver is a safe haven from inflation and a weak dollar. The prices of the two metals often move parallel to one another. However, silver is poised to rocket - handing investors not only gains in our bear-market economy, but steeper gains than gold. James Turk, founder of GoldMoney, said in his annual forecast that the U.S. economy “will get much worse in 2008, making gold the premier asset of choice, but not the best performing precious metal. That honor will go to silver, which I expect will clear $30 in 2008.” From silver’s current price of $18.33 an ounce, $30 an ounce would be a 63.7% gain. And here are four reasons why that’s more than probable: * Supply and Demand: Silver, quite simply, has

better supply and demand characteristics than gold. For 18 straight years now, we’ve consumed more silver above ground than we’ve been able to extract from below ground (compared to only four to five years for gold). That’s because only a portion of silver demand comes from investors. Commercial demand for silver is growing, whether for jewelry, electrical conductors, photographic film or disinfectants. And the rate at which iyndustry finds new, unique uses for the white metal is staggering compared to gold. * Above Ground Supply: Unlike gold, which has been hoarded by central banks for decades, there’s no appreciable aboveground supply of silver. Therefore, whatever is needed must be mined. And there’s very little threat of central banks selling large tranches of silver into the market, which is always an overhanging concern with gold. * Emerging Markets: Despite fears to the contrary, robust industrial demand for silver will continue even if United States slips into recession. That’s because the true driver toward higher commodity prices, in general, is emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Eastern Europe. China’s expansion alone can be compared to the industrial explosions that took place in Japan in the 1960s and the United States at the turn of the last millennium. * Market Capitalization: The silver market is much less capitalized than the gold market. Fewer dollars trade daily on the silver exchange than on the gold exchange. As a result, every dollar spent on silver will have a greater impact on the silver market than dollars spent on gold will have on the gold market. To visualize this concept, consider the relative impact of a rock tossed into a pond versus the same rock being tossed into a puddle.

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22 Silver DA

Aff- Non Unique There is no shortage of silver and demand is inevitable. Dominic Frisby, private investor in mining and energy companies, 6/18/08. MoneyWeek. “Is the world really short of silver?”, http://www.moneyweek.com/file/48969/is-the-world-really-short-of-silver.html MH To investigate further, I contacted Baird and Co, who are the UK’s biggest bullion supplier to the retail market, and spoke to the boss, Tony Baird. When I asked him if there was any truth to these rumours of a shortage, I got a resounding, “No”. “It’s all rumour,” he said. “These rumours start because people make judgements based on the markets that are available to them. (Not everyone can buy in the London Bullion Market). Then they get on the blogs and rumours spreads. What’s more there is so much misanalysis of figures. If you want silver, I can get you silver in pretty much any quantity you like. From the London Bullion Market or even elsewhere. Scrap silver is not hard to find and we refine it.” But whether you believe in the shortage of physical silver or not, you cannot argue with the fact that investor demand for precious metals is increasing steadily each year. That is a trend that is not set to change but to continue, as more and more people start talking about inflation. We saw our first programme on mainstream TV on the subject of gold last Friday on BBC1. While it didn’t really touch on the subject of “Why buy Gold?”, it is still another step in the gradual process of increasing investor awareness.” I don’t make predictions about markets,” Baird continued. “That’s sticking your neck out and asking for it to be cut off. But I’ve been in this business for 40 years. At the moment we have buyers in precious metals, but very few sellers. In the ‘70s we had a lot of sellers. People were queuing up to sell their grandmother’s cutlery and their grandfather’s teeth. But now there are very few.” That’s a view that precious metals analyst Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group confirms in his 2008 Gold and Silver Yearbooks. As central banks sell and investor demand increases, more and more gold and silver is passing into private hands. These private investors are not selling their gold and silver. They’re hoarding it.

No shortage of silver coming. Financial Express, 5/3/08. “Investment demand to drive silver prices later this year,” Lexis MH Net investor buying is expected to keep silver prices strong in 2008, although seasonal price weakness is anticipated during the second and third quarters this year, CPM Group said in its 2008 Silver Yearbook. On silver outlook for 2008, the New York-based precious metals consultants predicted that higher silver prices are expected later this year and in beginning 2009. Annual silver price volatility stood at 26.1% in 2007, down from 45% in the prior year. The research report found that the sharp increase in the price of silver last year reflected strong investment demand from many parts of the world and from many types of investors. They also found silver interesting because it has stronger fundamentals behind it. Investors were buying silver for all of the same reasons they were buying gold: As a safe haven during times of financial market distress, as an inflation hedge, as a hedge against a falling dollar, and more. Total silver fabrication demand is projected to rise modestly by 2.2% to 740.2 million ounces in 2008. Demand for silver use in jewellery and silverware is projected to rise 4.6% to 273.5 million ounces this year. In 2007, silver fabrication demand increased by 0.9% to 724 million ounces. "While higher prices should be expected to restrain the growth of silver use in jewellery and other applications, the price effect may be relatively limited," CPM report said. In 2007, total silver supply was 784.8 million ounces of which 68% came from mine production, according to CPM report. World mine production of silver increased 4.1% to a record 533.7 million ounces last year. This year total supply is projected to increase to 815.1 million ounce, a 3.9% increase mostly attributable to a sharp increase in mine production. Total mine production is projected to be 557.4 million ounces, up 4.1% from last year.

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23 Silver DA

Aff- Non Unique No shortage of silver- byproduct of mining, and recycling The International Herald Tribune. Pratima Desai, London Financial Reporter for Reuters, 4/29/2008. “Silver poised to lose its appeal for investors; INVESTING,” Lexis. MH . ''Fundamentals come into play when prices are coming down,'' said John Reade, an analyst at UBS. ''Silver doesn't have gold's fundamentals.'' Silver is often a byproduct of mining for other metals like lead, zinc and copper, and many mining companies are trying to ramp up production of those metals with some success. That means more silver on the market. Together with scrap recycling, supplies are set to jump this year, while overall demand, including from exchange-traded funds, is expected to fall. ''Silver is very dependent on one source of demand - ETFs,'' Briggs said. ''You can't get excited about silver in the same way as gold. Silver doesn't really have the same cachet.'' ''Demand from the photographic sector has been falling fast,'' he said, as consumers switch to digital photography from traditional cameras. For gold, the picture is somewhat different. Mine production is expected to hold steady this year, but analysts expect output in South Africa, a major producer, to fall over the coming years because the ore that remains is deep in the ground and expensive to access. Fabrication demand - for making jewelry and coins - is expected to continue unabated as rising incomes in emerging markets like China and India allow people to choose gold over silver.

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24 Silver DA

Aff- No Link- Solar Energy Solar industry shifting away from silver because of high prices. Business Wire, 7-7-08, “Record-High Oil Prices a Boon to BioSolar: Company’s Cost-Saving Bio-Based Materials for Photovoltaic Solar Modules Poised to Decrease the Industry’s Oil dependency.” lexis BioSolar, Inc. (OTCBB:BSRC) reports that surging oil prices have resulted in unprecedented price hikes in photovoltaic solar module manufacturing, creating substantial growth opportunities for BioSolar. The company's breakthrough technology dramatically reduces the cost of solar modules by replacing traditional and expensive petroleum-based components, i.e. silver or plastic, with bio-based materials derived from renewable plant sources. This dramatic pricing differential is expected to accelerate demand for BioSolar's products as manufacturers scramble to control skyrocketing manufacturing and components costs. "With the silver industry tittering and the plastics industry undergoing price increases of up to 40% for petroleum-based plastics, we believe that the cost savings offered by our BioBacksheet(TM) product will accelerate manufacturers' adoption of our product into their photovoltaic modules," said Dr. David Lee, BioSolar's CEO. "The savings will reduce the final cost per watt of solar electricity by allowing manufacturers to lower the cost of their finished product without being impacted by the rising cost of petroleum." A recent article in PlasticsNews underscores how manufacturers are impacted by price increases of commodity chemicals, as well as "almost unprecedented" run-ups in energy and raw materials costs. The June 22, 2008 article notes that companies are impacted not only by rising raw materials costs, but the associated electricity and transportation costs as well. Kevin Swift, chief economist at the American Chemistry Council, says, "Each $1 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil costs the chemical industry $660 million annually ...For a $1 increase in 1 million BTUs of natural gas, it's $3.3 billion in new costs."1 "The market for solar power is already in explosive growth mode, and photovoltaic technology has progressed markedly in recent years with advances making the cells more efficient, lighter and less expensive. But BioSolar is singularly positioned to lead the development of truly sustainable and cost-effective solar technology as the first company to introduce a new dimension of cost reduction by replacing petroleum-based plastic solar cell module components with durable nonfood, bio-based materials," said Lee. BioSolar is in the process of transitioning into full-scale production of its BioBacksheet(TM) in a 60,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility operated by its contract manufacturing partner, Rowland Technologies, Inc. Enhanced Coverage LinkingRowland Technologies, Inc. -Search using: Company Profile News, Most Recent 60 Days By incorporating Rowland Technologies' world-class manufacturing capabilities with BioSolar's unique material engineering, BioSolar is producing an environmentally-friendly product with characteristics that exceed the thermal index requirements of solar module manufacturers. "We expect this breakthrough product to be rapidly accepted as the standard for the backsheet component of both traditional and certain thin-film photovoltaic modules," said Lee.

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25 Silver DA

Aff- ! Empirically Denied The US ran out of silver in 2002 and nothing happened. Jason Hommel, Editorial writer for Gold-Eagle, 2005, Gold-Eagle, “Silver Users Fear Silver Shortage”, NM, http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/hommel102505.html But what about the existing above ground supply of silver? Precious metals are held privately, and are not able to be tracked or traced, so nobody truly knows what the above ground supply of silver of might be. However, experts maintain that about 40 billion ounces of silver has been mined throughout all of human history, and that about 90% of that has been irretrevably consumed by industry, jewelry, and photography. Most of the approximately 3-5 billion ounces of silver left is in the form of jewelry, mostly held in India. Silver that is in the form of above-ground, refined, deliverable, identifiable silver is about 150 million ounces, mostly held at COMEX. The U.S. government once held up to 6 billion ounces of silver, but around 2002, the U.S. ran out, and had to buy silver on the open market for its Silver Eagle coin program. The COMEX once had up to 1.5 billion ounces of silver about 10-15 years ago, but today has less than 1/10th of that: 117 million ounces.

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26 Silver DA

Aff AT: Econ !- Turn Turn- alternative energy innovations spur breakthrough growth not decline. William B. Bonvillian, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center in D.C. Issues in Science and Technology, 2004. “Meeting the new challenge to U.S economic competitiveness,” Lexis MH A school of economic theory that has developed during the past two decades argues that technological and related innovation accounts for more than half of historical U.S. economic growth, which makes this a far more significant factor than capital and labor supply, which are the dominant factors in traditional economic analysis. These economic growth theorists see a pattern shared by important breakthrough technologies such as railroads, steamships, electricity, telecommunications, aerospace, and computing. The new technology ignites a chain reaction of related innovation that leads to a surge in productivity improvements throughout the economy and thus to overall economic growth. The most recent example is the productivity boom that occurred in the mid-1990s following the IT revolution that spread through the manufacturing and service sectors.

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27 Silver DA

Aff AT: Econ !- Uniqueness No uniqueness for the impact- the economy and industries are screwed now. Bob Chapman, staff writer, The International Forecaster, 6-15-08, “International Forecaster June 2008 (#4) Gold, Silver, Economy, and More,” http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1213545600.php The acceleration of inflation is baked into the economic cake for, at minimum, the next 12 to 18 months worldwide. Fed jawboning won't change that. Phony PPT dollar rallies won't change that. Fed rate hikes won't change that. The reduction of money and credit won't change that. Falling oil prices won't change that. Lies about economic statistics, and especially about inflation data, won't change that. So, why can't the rate of inflation be changed for the next 12 to 18 months, you might ask? The reason is because inflation is not determined by smoke and mirrors, or by gimmicks and false data. It is determined by the rate at which the total supply of money and credit is being expanded or contracted (what economists call M3), which is measured by determining how much money and credit is being fed into, or subtracted from, each nation's financial system by its central bank over the course of a given month, as compared with the amount determined for the previous month. That figure is then annualized. Basically, the annualized rate of M3 that is determined for any nation becomes that nation's rate of inflation (expansion) or deflation (contraction), with a delay that usually runs about 6 to 18 months.