Comet Cards De-extinction: Activism
Who bears the costs of de-extinction, whose priorities count, and what would responsible restoration require? Comet Cards De-extinction: Activism develops these questions into eight Lincoln-Douglas cases for the resolution "Resolved: De-extinction is unethical."
The four affirmative cases address whole-process animal welfare, protection of less-publicized living populations, continuing relationships affected by extinction, and nonhuman agency. The four negative cases examine meaningful participation, proportionate repair, accountability before irreversible steps, and a conservation strategy that compares habitat protection with restoring a missing ecological function.
Each case includes:
- An explanation of its claim, reasoning, value, criterion, comparison, and limits.
- A prepared opening with marked READ and PREP material.
- Three ready-to-read responses to specific objections: 24 response modules in the packet.
- Cross-examination prompts, a rehearsal challenge, and later-speech practice.
- Selected read-aloud evidence with citations and preparation context beside its use.
The packet also includes resolution-interpretation guidance, timing instructions, a source directory, and optional classroom exercises such as comparing conservation priorities, drafting a welfare-reporting request, and designing decision safeguards. These exercises are for learning and debate, not instructions to launch a campaign or speak for a community. The arguments distinguish proposed ethical conditions from demonstrated project outcomes, and some sources recur across cases.
Timing examples use 200 spoken words per minute: approximately six minutes for a 1,200-word affirmative opening and 3:45 for a 750-word negative case before responses. Actual delivery varies; rehearse and select responses that address the live round.
Download: CC_DeExt_Activism.zip contains the matching editable DOCX and 80-page PDF editions.
Independent educational material; no NSDA endorsement or promised competitive result. These are new companion cases, not a replacement for an earlier topic file.