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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.

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. 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.

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. Seaports Shelly Sigo, (Staff), BOND BUYER, Oct. 18, 2012, 1. The competition is fierce among ports to be post-Panamax-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.

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 ocean-based 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.

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. 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.

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-cannot-afford-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. Whales

Invasive Species: More Species Is Better 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. Martin Schlaepfer, (Prof., Biology, State U. of New York, Syracuse), CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, 2011, 429. Not all non-native 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.

Marine Cables Clay Dillow, (Staff, Popular Science), UNDER THE SEA, Feb. 28, 2012. Retrieved Apr. 11, 2014 from http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-02/under-sea-age-wireless-cant-we-do-better-intercontinental-fiber-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.

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. 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.

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.

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. Arctic Resources

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. Desalination

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. PeitroParravano, (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. National Ocean Policy

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. Sea Turtles

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. Dead Zone in the Gulf

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. Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Available at: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/2014/07/04/great-pacific-garbage-patch-hoax/12229645/

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. Illegal Fishing

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. Ban Bottom Trawling

Available at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/bottom-trawling-may-be-good-for-fish-study-suggests-1.1356917

NEGATIVE CASE RESPONSES