Moji Motions

In recent years, the floods in canal cities have become more frequent and severe because of sea-level rise, sinking ground, saltwater intrusion, and strong tides from the sea. The floods usually last only a short time (2-4 hours), but they can still damage buildings, disrupt daily life, and make it harder for people and tourists to move around the city. Climate adaptation means policies or physical changes designed to allow people and cities to "live with floods" rather than trying to prevent seawater intrusion at all costs. Methods include, but are not limited to, raising the ground level of public squares, waterproofing and elevating architectural structures, replanning urban spaces, and even establishing localized, decentralized drainage systems. Traditional flood defences are hard-engineering measures that try to keep water out, such as barriers, gates, dikes, and seawalls. The best-known example, in Venice, is the MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) system, a mobile barrier at the lagoon inlets, which has quickly protected the city in several high-tide events but is also criticized for cost, maintenance, and ecological impacts

Solution journalism is an approach that focuses on identifying and proposing responses to complex social problems. Instead of merely highlighting problems, it seeks out constructive stories about solutions that have been successfully implemented, with the aim of inspiring action and encouraging positive social change. The goal of solution journalism is to promote improvement and progress in society. Traditional watchdog journalism is aimed at monitoring and checking power. It focuses on scrutinising the actions of governments, organisations, and powerful individuals in order to ensure transparency, honesty, and accountability in how they govern and operate. Traditional watchdog journalism reports on wrongdoing, corruption, abuses of power, and other unlawful or unethical activities.

Degrowth involves a planned decrease in the size of economic production and consumption occurring within a given economy (often measured via GDP). It could involve prioritizing less emissions-intensive industries, imposing heavy taxes or limits on emissions, implementing shorter workweeks, and encouraging voluntary reductions in consumer spending.

You have been an active debater for nearly two years. Debating has taken up a substantial amount of time in your life due to its commitments for training and tournaments, leading you to have had less time for other hobbies (such as non-competitive activities, non-debate relationships, and leisure time). As of now, you are a decent debater in your local circuit with some achievements, but you have not won or performed exceptionally well at a tournament.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot with advanced natural language processing (NLP) that allows you to have human-like conversations to complete various tasks. The generative AI tool can answer questions and assist you with composing text, code, and much more. It's currently open to use for free.

A sin tax, also known as a sumptuary tax or vice tax, is an excise tax applied in some countries to certain goods considered potentially harmful, such as alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks, fast food, and gambling.

Nationalism is the idea that a person's nation is superior to all others. It is the emergence of a group identity based upon a shared sense of history, cultural, ethnic, or linguistic ties. The difference between nationalism and patriotism is the feeling of superiority; in the eyes of nationalists, loyalty to and pursuing the interests of the nation are more important than anything else. States often curate nationalism by incorporating nationalist ideas in school curriculums, national symbols, monuments, etc.

For the purposes of the debate, 'radical environmentalism' refers to the use of aggression or disruption (e.g. vandalism, sabotage, civil disobedience) in the name of environmentalist campaigns. An example of 'radical environmentalism' was when members of the Just Stop Oil campaign vandalized Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in the National Gallery and subsequently glued their hands to the wall in 2022.