U.S. National Debate Topic 2014–2015 The Ocean The Reference Shelf Volume 86 • Number 3 H. W. Wilson A Division of EBSCO Information Services Ipswich, Massachusetts 2014 GREY HOUSE PUBLISHING The Reference Shelf The books in this series contain reprints of articles, excerpts from books, addresses on cur- rent issues, and studies of social trends in the United States and other countries. There are six separately bound numbers in each volume, all of which are usually published in the same calendar year. Numbers one through five are each devoted to a single subject, provid- ing background information and discussion from various points of view and concluding with an index and comprehensive bibliography that lists books, pamphlets, and articles on the subject. The final number of each volume is a collection of recent speeches. Books in the series may be purchased individually or on subscription. Copyright © 2014, by H. W. Wilson, A Division of EBSCO Information Services, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. For subscription information, contact Grey House Publishing, 4919 Route 22, PO Box 56, Amenia, NY 12501. For permissions requests, contact proprietarypublishing@ ebsco.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data U.S. national debate topic, 2014-2015. The ocean / [compiled by H. W. Wilson]. pages : illustrations ; cm. -- (The reference shelf ; volume 86, number 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978-1-61925-434-3 (v. 86, no. 3) ISBN: 978-1-61925-261-5 (volume set) 1. Oceanography. 2. Ocean--Environmental aspects. 3. Marine resources development. 4. Marine resources conservation. 5. Marine ecology. I. H.W. Wilson Company. II. Title: US national debate topic, 2014-2015. The ocean. III. Title: United States national debate topic, 2014-2015. The ocean. IV. Title: Ocean V. Series: Reference shelf ; v. 86, no. 3. GC1015.2 .U8 2014 333.9164 Cover: Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) personnel monitor a whale shark as it swims along Manila Bay. (© Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images) The Reference Shelf, 2014, published by Grey House Publishing, Inc., Amenia, NY, under exclusive license from EBSCO Information Services, Inc. Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface: The Changing Seas ix 1 A New Evolution: Exploration and Development of the Ocean The Future of the Oceans 3 Accelerating Ocean Exploration 8 By Marcia McNutt, Science, August 30, 2013 Expanded Boundaries and Hidden Treasures 10 By Robert D. Ballard, National Geographic, November 2013 Space Exploration Dollars Dwarf Ocean Spending 12 By Michael Conathan, Center for American Progress, June 20, 2013 Implementing the National Ocean Policy 15 By Liza Johnson, NewsWave, Spring 2013 National Ocean Policy Creates More Red Tape, Hurts Economy 17 By Doc Hastings, Sea Technology, January 2013 National Ocean Policy: Plan, Schedule, but No Muscle 19 By Pietro Parravano and Zeke Grader, Fishermen’s News, June 2013 New Federal Ocean Policy Bodes Ill for Alaska 24 By Charisse Millett, Anchorage Daily News, May 11, 2013 Advocates Push for New Atlantic Offshore Drilling 26 By Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press, December 26, 2013 Proposed Energy Exploration Sparks Worry on Ocean Canyons 29 By Paul Greenberg, Yale Environment 360, January 21, 2013 2 The Exploited Seas From Collapsing Fisheries to Oil Spills 35 Deep Sea Mining: Coming Soon to an Ocean Near You 39 By Carlos Duarte and Sophie Arnaud-Haond, The Conversation, September 24, 2013 Will Deep-Sea Mining Yield an Underwater Gold Rush? 42 By Meghan Miner, National Geographic, February 1, 2013 Why Arctic Ocean Oil Drilling Is a Risky Choice 46 By Rick Steiner, The Ecologist, October 19, 2011 No More Offshore Drilling: Clean Energy Needs to Be Our Goal 49 By Jacqueline Savitz, Oceana, March 12, 2013 v vi Contents California Finds More Instances of Offshore Fracking 51 By Alicia Chang and Jason Dearen, Associated Press, October 19, 2013 The Empty Oceans Act: House Offers Draft Bill to Gut Protections for Fisheries and Fishing Economies 54 By Alexandra Adams, Switchboard, January 17, 2014 Ocean Grabbing: Plundering a Common Resource 56 By Michèle Mesmain, Slow Fish, April 26, 2013 Fish 2.0: Investing in Sustainable Oceans and Fisheries 60 By David Bank, Impact IQ, January 30, 2013 3 Sea Stewardship and the Cost of Neglect Pollution, Climate Change, and Beyond 65 Climate Change to Cause “Massive” Ocean Damage by 2100 69 Environment News Service, October 18, 2013 Ocean Acidification: The Other Climate Change Issue 71 By Ashanti Johnson and Natasha D. White, American Scientist, January/February 2014 Ocean Acidification Decreases Growth and Development in American Lobster (Homarus americanus ) Larvae 76 By Elise A. Keppel, Ricardo A. Scrosati, and Simon C. Courtenay, Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, December 2012 US Has Failed to Protect Marine Life, Say Conservationists 85 By Carey L. Biron, The Guardian, July 9, 2013 Scientists Call for Global Action on Coral Reefs 88 By Alex Peel, Planet Earth Online, August 13, 2013 Arctic at Risk from Invasive Species 90 By Christopher Ware, The Conversation, November 25, 2013 Our Trash Has Become a New Ocean Ecosystem Called “The Plastisphere” 92 By Sarah Zhang, Gizmodo, January 1, 2014 Navy Expands Sonar Testing Despite Troubling Signs 94 By Julie Watson and Alicia Chang, Associated Press, December 15, 2013 How Military Sonar May Be Harming Endangered Blue Whales 97 By Joseph Bennington-Castro, io9, July 3, 2013 Contents vii 4 Hubris on the High Seas Governing the Ocean 101 China’s Indian Ocean Strategy Not a Danger—Yet 106 By Stanley Weiss, The Huffington Post, July 8, 2013 The Road to War Is Paved with Chinese Intentions 109 By James Dunnigan, StrategyPage, January 11, 2014 ASEAN Must Show Solidarity 112 By Alejandro Del Rosario, Manila Standard Today, January 22, 2014 US Navy’s Indian Ocean Folly? 114 By James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, The Diplomat, January 4, 2011 Military Activities in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Foreign Coastal States 119 By Moritaka Hayashi, The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, December 2012 No Fishing: Row Erupts between China and US over Fishing Restrictions 127 By Reuters, NewsYaps, January 10, 2014 China’s New Fishing Regulations: An Act of State Piracy? 130 By Carl Thayer, The Diplomat, January 13, 2014 A Hidden Victim of Somali Pirates: Science 133 By Paul Salopek, National Geographic, April 25, 2013 5 Drifting Along: The Rise of the Environmental Refugee Environmental Refugees in a Changing Global Climate 139 Who Will Become the World’s First Climate Change Refugee? 144 By Robert McLeman, The Globe and Mail, November 17, 2013 What Happens When Your Country Drowns? 147 By Rachel Morris, Mother Jones, November/December 2009 Where Will We Live? 153 By Michael Le Page, Jeff Hecht, and Richard Fisher, New Scientist, March 3, 2012 The Rising Tide: Environmental Refugees 155 By Andrew Lam, New America Media, August 15, 2012 Environmental Refugees Growing in Numbers without Real Solution 158 By Trisha Marczak, Mint Press News, August 21, 2012 viii Contents Kiribati and the Impending Climate Refugee Crisis 161 By Sandi Keane, Independent Australia, December 3, 2013 Threatened by Rising Seas, Small Island Nations Appeal for More Aid at UN 164 UN News Centre, September 25, 2013 “Climate Change Refugee” Fighting to Stay in New Zealand, Argues Rising Sea Levels Makes Pacific Island Home Too Dangerous 167 By Nick Perry, Associated Press, October 1, 2013 Stop Using the Term “Environmental Refugee” 169 By Tim Kovach, Tim Kovach, May 13, 2013 What Should Be Done about Climate Change Refugees? 171 By Debra Black, Toronto Star, October 11, 2013 Artificial Island Could Be Solution for Rising Pacific Sea Levels 175 By John Vidal, The Guardian, September 8, 2011 Floating Islands to the Rescue in the Maldives 177 By Debra Black, Toronto Star, August 23, 2012 America’s First Climate Refugees 179 By Suzanne Goldenberg, The Guardian, May 30, 2013 Beyond Asylum Seeker Funerals 184 By Andrew Hamilton, Eureka Street, February 25, 2011 Bibliography 187 Websites 188 Index 191 Preface The Changing Seas The ocean covers more than 72 percent of the earth’s surface and constitutes 90 percent of all the space on Earth capable of sustaining life. All life emerged from the ocean in the distant past and is still inextricably linked to the marine ecosys- tem. Phytoplankton—a diverse group of oceanic photosynthesizing microorgan- isms—form the most basic level of the global food chain and produce more than 50 percent of Earth’s oxygen. The climate of the terrestrial environment is dependent on the ocean, which removes and produces essential gases and modulates heat to produce a productive living zone where humanity and all other terrestrial life can flourish. The oceans also constitute part of the essential structure of human culture, link- ing global economies through trade and shipping and providing food and resources for humans around the world. The economic impact of the ocean is immense, pro- viding nearly $3 trillion in goods and services each year. More than three billion people live within one hundred miles of the ocean, where the economy and the environment are dominated by marine influence. Humanity’s relationship with the ocean has reached a critical juncture in the twenty-first century, as the harvest of oceanic materials is essential to the continua- tion of society, and yet human activity has increasingly facilitated the degradation of the marine environment to the extent that many of the world’s oceanic ecosystems are on the brink of collapse. Climate change, overfishing, oceanic acidification, pol- lution, and other human-engineered changes in the oceanic environment threaten both oceanic life and the continuation of human society.