NEGATIVE CASE
RESPONSES
Rich Edwards
Baylor University
2014-15 National Policy Topic
Resolved: The United States federal government should
substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or
development of the Earth’s oceans.
Law of the Sea
Denise Russell, (Research Fellow,
Philosophy, U. Wollongong,
Australia), WHO RULES THE
WAVES: PIRACY, OVERFISHING,
AND MINING THE OCEANS, 2010,
99. The Law of the Sea may be
another part of the problem,
unwittingly promoting
exploitation rather than putting a
curb on it. This follows for several
reasons . . .
Ocean Energy
Matt MacDonald, (Consultant, International
Energy Agency), OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY:
ACCELERATING THE DEPLOYMENT OF OFFSHORE
WIND, TIDAL, AND WAVE TECHNOLOGIES, 2012,
162. The rapid expansion of the renewable energy
technologies industrial sector has led to an
increasing demand for a qualified and
experienced workforce at all qualification levels.
Skills shortages, particularly in relation to
engineering (structural, electrical, mechanical,
offshore), construction and project management
disciplines have been identified by industry as
posing potential serious barriers to the
development of renewable energy technologies,
in general, and offshore renewable energy
technologies, in particular.
EXPLORATION CASES
Leah Ceccarelli, (Prof.,
Communication Studies, U.
Washington), ON THE FRONTIER OF
SCIENCE: AN AMERICAN RHETORIC
OF EXPLORATION AND
EXPLOITATION, 2013, 64. A different
way of thinking about science is to
imagine it as a collaborative
endeavor in which researchers,
irrespective of national background,
work together to solve the problems
that face humankind. In this view,
knowledge is not a finite territory
that can be owned only by the
winner of a global competition, but a
conceptual product of shared effort
that is unlimited in its potential for
distribution.
Rare Earths
NEW ZEALAND HERALD, May
17, 2013. Retrieved Apr. 4,
2014 from Nexis. The rare
earths industry produces
heavy metals and radioactive
waste. Processing deposits
from mud, using acid leaching,
is easier. But big pitfalls
remain. Critically, life in the
ocean deep is sulphur-, not
oxygen-based, provoking
concerns about damage to fish
stocks if sulphite particles
enter food chains, driving
acidification.
Emily Coppel, (Research
Assistant, American Security
Project), RARE EARTH METALS
AND U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY,
Feb. 1, 2011, 4. The U.S. is
currently working on reopening
the mine at Mountain Pass,
California, and expects it to be
fully operational by the end of
2012. Experts believe that North
American mines alone could
produce as much as 40,000
metric tons of rare earth metals
per year, or double what the
U.S. currently uses.
Seaports
Shelly Sigo, (Staff), BOND BUYER,
Oct. 18, 2012, 1. The competition
is fierce among ports to be postPanamax-ready with channel
depths of 50 feet and sufficient
dock and crane capacity. On the
West Coast, ports at Seattle,
Oakland, Los Angeles and Long
Beach already have 50-foot
channels. Along the Atlantic
Coast, Baltimore and New York
have, or will soon have, 50-foot
channels, and Norfolk already has
the required depth, according to
the Corps report.
Dan Chapman, (Staff), ATLANTA
JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, Apr. 3,
2012, 1A. Will U.S. ports
cannibalize one another at the
expense of taxpayers? No federal
authority weighs the potential
benefit of expanding one, two or
10 ports against the billions of
U.S. taxpayer dollars needed to
do the work.
Coral Reefs
National Science Foundation, US OFFICIAL NEWS, Jan. 20, 2014.
Retrieved Apr. 16, 2014 from Nexis. The new research results,
published in a paper in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of
the American Geophysical Union, explain the biological and
geomorphological causes of the more acidic waters near Palau's
Rock Islands. The paper also describes a surprising second finding
— that the corals living in those more acidic waters were
unexpectedly diverse and healthy. The unusual finding, contrary to
what has been observed in other naturally low pH coral reef
ecosystems, has important implications for the conservation of
corals in all parts of the world. "When you move from a high pH
reef to a low pH neighboring reef, there are big changes, and they
are negative changes," said Cohen, a co-author of the paper and
principal investigaor of the project. "However, in Palau wherever
the water is most acidic, we see the opposite. There's a coral
community that is more diverse, hosts more species and has
greater coral cover than in the non-acidic sites.
AquaCulture
Garret Wheeler, (J.D. Golden Gate U. College of
Law), GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW JOURNAL, Spr. 2013,
298. Sustainable, land-based aquaculture
technologies, including recirculating systems,
promise to provide environmentally sound
aquaculture methods that are in many ways
legally and economically preferable to oceanbased technologies. These systems are not only
feasible, but essential to achieving an
environmentally sustainable aquaculture
industry. The implementation of such
technologies should therefore be encouraged
through the introduction of new law and policy
initiatives.
OverFishing
Ray Hilborn, (Prof., Aquatic Science, U.
Washington), OVERFISHING: WHAT
EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW, 2012, 124.
As concerns the management of yield
overfishing, the United States, New
Zealand, Norway, and Iceland stand out.
The United States in particular is the
only country that has formally defined
overfishing and has strict laws that
require actions to be taken with
violators. In January 2011, Steve
Murawski from the University of South
Florida and former chief scientist for the
U.S. national fisheries management
agency announced that overfishing in
U.S. federally managed fisheries had
ended. No other country can make that
claim.
Michael Conathan, (Analyst, Center
for American Progress), THE
POLITICS OF THE OCEANS, 2011,
151. Eric Schwaab, the
administrator of the National
Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS,
stood before a crowd of fisheries
experts on Monday at the Boston
Seafood Show. Schwaab had made
many forays to New England—
home of some of the squeakiest
wheels in our nation's fishing
industry—since taking over the job
about a year ago. But this time was
different. He came bearing a
remarkable message: We are
witnessing the end of overfishing
in U.S. waters.
Whales
Randall Luthi, (Pres., National Offshore
Industries Association), NATION CANNOT
AFFORD TO DELAY ATLANTIC SEISMIC, 2013.
Retrieved Apr. 10, 2014 from
http://www.noia.org/the-nation-cannotafford-to-delay-atlantic-seismic/. Evidence
from decades of worldwide seismic
surveying activity and research has shown it
causes no injury to marine mammals
(“Debate over seismic air guns should wait
until science has spoken,” Sept. 5). In fact,
last year in the Federal Register, the
Administration acknowledged that, “there
is no evidence that serious injury, death, or
stranding by marine mammals can occur
from exposure to airgun pulses.”
William Pike, (Staff), WORLD
OIL, June 2013. Retrieved Apr.
11, 2014 from Nexis. Industry
pointed to a study by San Diego
scientists in which
experimenters could not
induce temporary losses in
hearing sensitivity in dolphins
after exposing them to 10 air
gun impulses. In fact, the
scientists could not identify any
significant behavioral reactions
to the air gun exposures in
dolphins and, therefore,
concluded that the risk of harm
to the mammals is minimal.
Invasive Species: More
Species Is Better
Martin Schlaepfer, (Prof.,
Biology, State U. of New York,
Syracuse), CONSERVATION
BIOLOGY, 2011, 429. Not all nonnative species cause biological or
economic harm, and only a
fraction become established and
have an effect that is considered
harmful. But non-native species
can also have desirable effects
on an ecosystem.
Martin Schlaepfer, (Prof.,
Biology, State U. of New York,
Syracuse), CONSERVATION
BIOLOGY, 2011, 429. Non-native
species contribute to local
species richness and thus may
also contribute to ecosystem
resilience and stability.
Marine Cables
Clay Dillow, (Staff, Popular Science),
UNDER THE SEA, Feb. 28, 2012.
Retrieved Apr. 11, 2014 from
http://www.popsci.com/technology/arti
cle/2012-02/under-sea-age-wirelesscant-we-do-better-intercontinentalfiber-optic-cables. "If you look at the
U.S., we have cable landing sites at
many different places, from Florida to
Maine and all up and down the West
Coast as well," [Cargenie Mellon
University professor, Marvin] Sirbu says.
"Given the interconnection of networks
around the world, if fiber going into one
landing location is broken there is fiber
landing at other locations that will still
be operational.
Iron Fertilization of the Oceans
Rosemary Rayfuse, (Prof., Law, U. of
New South Wales, Australia),
CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE
OCEANS: GAUGING THE LEGAL AND
POLICY CURRENTS IN THE ASIA
PACIFIC AND BEYOND, 2012, 238.
Preliminary conclusions drawn from
the results of the most recent
LOHAFEX ocean iron fertilization
experiment conducted in 2009
indicated that the CO2 drawdown
effect of ocean iron ferilization was
low. The efficacy of this technique
in sequestering anthropogenic
carbon has therefore been
questioned.
Callum Roberts, (Prof., Marine
Conservation, U. of York), THE
OCEAN OF LIFE: THE FATE OF MAN
AND THE SEA, 2012, 282. Another
possible downside of fertilization
is the effect on deep water
oxygen. As I have already
explained, when dead plankton
sinks beneath the mixed surface
layer of the sea it falls into a world
where oxygen is scarce. Rotting
plankton will use up precious
oxygen and could enlarge the area
of the ocean where there is too
little to sustain anything but the
simplest life-forms.
Rule of Law: Law of the Sea is a
Poor Start
Denise Russell, (Research Fellow, Philosophy, U. Wollongong, Australia), WHO
RULES THE WAVES: PIRACY, OVERFISHING, AND MINING THE OCEANS, 2010,
35. Instead of promoting international co-operation, the Law of the Sea
encourages international competition, and competition based on a geological
determination that may always be difficult to establish with any certainty. It
gives the Arctic Rim states a vast quantity of the oceans' resources, locking out
the rest of humanity. Also, allowing these states to make claims to a distance
of 350 nautical miles acts as an incentive to exploitation of undersea resources
that has the grave potential for environmental pollution in environments that
are relatively pristine, and that are undervalued by the majority who live in a
temperate world.
Arctic Resources
Layer Mayer, (Dir., Center for Coastal
Mapping, U. New Hampshire), THE LAW
OF THE SEA CONVENTION: US
ACCESSION AND GLOBALIZATION, 2012,
519. As catastrophic as the Deepwater
Horizon spill was, a major spill in the
Arctic has the potential to be much
worse, impacting one of the most fragile
environments on the planet. In addition,
depending on where the spill occurred,
the counterclockwise flow of the Arctic
Ocean Boundary Current would likely
spread the spill and impact neighboring
coastal States.
Desalination
Nicole Carver, (Analyst, Congressional Research
Service), DESALINATION: SOLUTIONS AND
ROADMAP FOR AN IMPROVED WATER SUPPLY,
2011, 4. To date, the federal government has
been involved primarily in research and
development, some demonstration projects,
and select full-scale facilities, often through
congressionally directed spending. For the
most part, local governments, sometimes with
state-level involvement, have been responsible
for planning, testing, building, and operating
desalination facilities to augment community
water supplies, similar to their responsibility
for treating freshwater drinking water supplies.
National Ocean Policy
Peitro Parravano, (Staff), FISHERMEN’S
NEWS, June 2013. Retrieved Mar. 10,
2014 from www.fishermensnews.com.
The [President’s National Ocean] Plan is
to be lauded in much of its discussion of
aquaculture development, particularly in
regard to shellfish. However, it does not
draw the line at shellfish mariculture
expansion in the ocean, but would permit
open-ocean finfish farming, which is
problematic for a variety of reasons from
pollution, spread of disease and parasites
into the wild, escapes, and the navigation
hazards created by ocean pens and
cages.
Daniel Chiras, (Prof., Ecology,
Colorado College), NATURAL
RESOURCE CONSERVATION:
MANAGEMENT FOR A
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, 2010, 343. A
study published in 2006 in the
Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences USA found
that sea lice — a fish parasite —
from salmon farms along the
British Columbia coast can kill up to
95% of the wild juvenile salmon
that pass near them heading out to
sea. Biological pollution also
includes the spread of diseases
from farmed populations to wild
populations.
Sea Turtles
Bellagio Conference for Sea Turtles
Steering Committee, CONSERVATION
OF PACIFIC SEA TURTLES, 2011, 22.
Leatherback turtles nesting in South
Africa are also showing signs of
recovery. In South Africa, there has
been an increase in the nesting
population of leatherbacks since the
1970s, when beach conservation was
begun. An increasing population
trend has also occurred throughout
the Caribbean due to nesting beach
protection.
Dead Zone in the Gulf
Steve Kolian, (Dir., EcoRigs Non-Profit Corporation), ECOSYSTEM-BASED
MANAGEMENT, Apr. 29, 2011. Retrieved Mar. 10, 2014 from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ceq/ecosystem_based
_management_comments_1.24.11-4.29.11.pdf. The tremendous levels of
nutrients discharged into Louisiana’s coastal waters promote an extraordinarily
high amount of marine phytoplankton growth, which in turn, supports secondary
production, including menhaden. The Louisiana menhaden harvest is magnitudes
greater than any other Gulf state. No other Gulf state possesses a similar river
system with any level of comparability.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Richard Alleyne, (Staff), VANCOUVER SUN, Jan. 7, 2011, B6.
Environmental scientists are being accused of exaggerating the size of
an "island" of plastic waste said to be swirling around in the Pacific
Ocean after a study found it was 200 times smaller than claimed.
Claims that the Great Garbage Patch between California and Japan was
twice the size of Texas were "grossly exaggerated," said the research,
which estimated it was one per cent of that size. Further reports that
the oceans were filled with more plastic than plankton, and that the
garbage patch had been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950s,
were equally misleading, the research said. In reality, it often could not
even be seen from the deck of a passing boat, said the analysis by
Angelicque White, professor of oceanography at Oregon State
University.
Available at: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/2014/07/04/great-pacificgarbage-patch-hoax/12229645/
Illegal Fishing
Anastasia Telesetsky, (Prof., Law, U. Idaho
College of Law), MAINE LAW REVIEW,
2013, 638. The 2009 Agreement on Port
State Measures to Prevent, Deter and
Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated Fishing (IUU fishing)
encouraged states to exercise the
opportunity to close ports to vessels that
are suspected of being engaged in illegal
fishing so that they cannot offload their
fish. Presently, the Agreement is not yet in
force because there are only four members
to this Agreement: Norway, the European
Union, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Ban Bottom Trawling
Ray Hilborn, (Prof., Aquatic Science, U. Washington), OVERFISHING:
WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW, 2012, 101. The best evidence
comes from those parts of the ocean that are heavily trawled and also
well studied. Three such areas are the North Sea, the northeastern
United States (where the scallop fishery is located), and the Gulf of
Mexico. Each one of these areas has been trawled intensively for a
century. In New England, on average, every place is trawled once a
year. Some habitats are trawled many times a year, others not at all. In
the Gulf of Mexico, the average spot is trawled twice a year. But after a
century of industrial trawling, each of these places still produces
fantastic amounts of fish on a sustainable basis, and in each one the
commercially important species recover when overfishing is stopped.
Available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/bottom-trawlingmay-be-good-for-fish-study-suggests-1.1356917