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Table of Contents
Offshore Wind 1ac...................................................................................................... 6
Plan......................................................................................................................... 7
Plan 2...................................................................................................................... 8
Plan 3...................................................................................................................... 9
Inherency (1ac)..................................................................................................... 10
Warming Advantage (1ac)..................................................................................... 11
Soft Power Advantage (1ac).................................................................................. 13
Oceans Advantage (1ac)....................................................................................... 17
Competitiveness Advantage (1ac).........................................................................19
Economy Advantage (1ac).................................................................................... 23
Energy Independence Advantage (1ac).................................................................26
Solvency (1ac)....................................................................................................... 29
InherencyNo Offshore Wind Now........................................................................32
InherencyBackground Info on Cape Wind Project............................................33
InherencyFacts About the Turbines.................................................................34
Solvency Extensions.............................................................................................. 35
Offshore Wind Can Provide Enough Power.........................................................36
SolvencyPlan Done By Executive Order..........................................................37
SolvencyAT: Bureaucracy...............................................................................38
SolvencyCoastal Zone Management Act Needed to Solve..............................39
SolvencyOffshore Provides Massive Renewable Energy..................................40
SolvencyPlan Solves........................................................................................ 41
Public Trust Plan Solvency.................................................................................. 43
Warming Advantage Extensions............................................................................44
Warming Coming Now........................................................................................ 45
Warming is Anthropogenic................................................................................. 46
Warming: AT: Too Far Gone...............................................................................47
Warming: Cant Adapt....................................................................................... 48
Warming Kills Economy...................................................................................... 49
Warming: Laundry List Impacts.........................................................................50
Warming: Now Key............................................................................................ 52
Warming: Ocean Acidification Add-On...............................................................53
Warming Causes Species Extinction...................................................................54
Plan
The United States federal government should provide an
explicit mandate for offshore wind power development, require
revisions in states Coastal Zone Management Plans in
accordance with the mandate, and provide incentives for
offshore wind power development.
Plan 2
The United States federal government should provide an
explicit mandate for offshore wind power development, and
require revisions in states Coastal Zone Management Plans in
accordance with the mandate.
Plan 3
The United States federal government should remove barriers
to offshore wind power.
Inherency (1ac)
(--) Offshore Wind Farms Could Supply Much of the U.S.'s
Electricity but Isnt Being Implemented Now
Woody 5/8/14 (Todd, Offshore Wind Farms Could Supply Much of the
U.S.'s Electricity (If They Ever Get Built) While Europe powers ahead, the U.S.
government tries to jumpstart offshore wind technology. TODD WOODY is an
environmental and technology journalist based in California. He has written
for The New York Times and Quartz, and was previously an editor and writer
at Fortune, Forbes, and Business 2.0 ZJN)
When I flew into Copenhagen in 2007, the jet passed over a gleaming array of white wind turbines arranged in a necklace in the
a small step on Wednesday, however, to spur offshore wind, awarding $47 million for three experimental projects to test new
technology to take advantage of the strong winds that blow in coastal waters. A New Jersey company called Fishermens Energy
scored cash to build five, 5-megawatt turbines three miles off Atlantic City. The project will test a twisted jack foundation, which is a
new type of offshore platform that is cheaper to make and install than traditional platforms. On the West Coast, Seattle-based
Principle Power will deploy five 6-megawatt turbines 18 miles off Coos Bay, Oregon, to test its semi-submersible floating wind
turbine platform. Developing such technology is crucial if wind farms are going to be built in the deep waters off the West Coast,
where anchoring platforms to the seabed would be prohibitively expensive. According to the Energy Department, more than 60
percent of the U.S.s offshore wind capacity is in the deep ocean. The Principle Power turbines, for example, will be installed in the
ocean where depths reach 1,000 feet. Even further from shore, Dominion Virginia Power will test a hurricane-proof design for two 6megawatt turbines and platforms to be built 26 miles off Virginia Beach as well as demonstrate the viability of installing, maintaining
and operating projects so far from land. All the projects will deploy next-generation direct drive turbines from Alstom, Siemens and
XEMC that use fewer moving parts than conventional geared turbines. Given the high cost of fixing turbines far from shore, the
Similar trends have also been confirmed in the oceans . Again, independent datasets identify
2013 as being in the top ten hottest years on record for sea surface temperatures. This warming extended to the
Arctic, where sea ice extent recovered slightly from a record low in 2012 but was still at its sixth lowest since
satellite observations began in 1979. Driven by ice melt in the Arctic and elsewhere, global mean sea level
administrator Kathryn Sullivan. But perhaps most concerning of all is that the concentration of atmospheric carbon
the greenhouse gas largely responsible for global warming reached a historically high global average of 395.3
parts per million (ppm) over 2013. April of this year proved to be the first month in human history in which levels of
CO2 averaged at over 400 ppm, suggesting the trends observed in State of the Climate 2013 are only set to grow
more severe. The
take-home message here is that the planet its state of the climate
is changing more rapidly in todays world than at any time in modern
civilization, Tom Karl, director of NOAAs National Climatic Data Center, told Climate Central. If we want to
do an analogy to human health, if we are looking at our weight gain and we are trying to maintain an ideal weight,
Australian National
University Emeritus Professor Anthony McMichael , Canberra University Professor Colin Butler and
Canberra University's Associate Dean, Research, Helen Louise Berry say the crucial impact on human
life has been sidelined. At potential risk is the survival of the species. The three
bushfire seasons, and storms and flooding of increasing severity and intensity. But
academics were contributors to the report on the impact of climate change on human health. "Public discussion has
focused narrowly on a largely spurious debate about the basic science and on the risks to property, iconic species
and ecosystems, jobs, the GDP and the economics of taking action versus taking our chances," they wrote in The
Conversation. Waves broke over Porthcawl Harbour, South Wales, when the UK was battered by high winds and
heavy rain in February. "Missing from the discussion is the threat climate change poses to Earth's life-support
system - from declines in regional food yields, freshwater shortage, damage to settlements from extreme weather
events and loss of habitable, especially coastal, land. "The list goes on: changes in infectious disease patterns and
the mental health consequences of trauma, loss, displacement and resource conflict. " In
short, human-
driven climate change poses a great threat, unprecedented in type and scale, to well-being, health
and perhaps even to human survival ." They wrote that over the next few decades climate change would
hit mainly in poorer and vulnerable communities already suffering high rates of illnesses such as under-nutrition
and diarrhoeal disease. Researchers in many countries had already reported increases in heat-related illnesses and
deaths, changes in the distribution of water-borne diseases and the insects that carry them, and reduced food
yields. By 2100, when according to some computer models the planet will have warmed by an average 4C, "people
won't be able to cope, let alone work productively, in the hottest parts of the year. "Some regions may become
uninhabitable," they wrote. "Impacts on mental health could be similarly extreme, further limiting our collective
capacity to cope, recover and adapt." The increasing frequency of extreme heatwaves and bushfires pose
significant risks to life, property damage and the economy, with more frequent and intense flooding. But one of the
report's lead authors, Macquarie University Professor Lesley Hughes, said action could still be taken to avoid the
worst: "It's not all doom and gloom if we get a wriggle on and do a lot about it." " This
risks for everyone and no place in the world is immune from them," said Professor Neil Adger of Exeter
University, one of the many lead authors of the report. Nearly 2000 experts from around the world
contributed.
centers, and thus to help reduce the ongoing and projected economic, health, and
environmental damages from climate change. Wind speeds over water are
stronger and more consistent than over land, and have a gross potential
generating capacity four times greater than the nations present electric
capacity.119 The net capacity factor120 for offshore turbines is greater than standard land-based turbines, and
their blade-tip speeds are higher than their land-based counterparts.121 Offshore wind turbine substructure designs
mainly fall into three depth categories: shallow (30 m or less), transitional (30 m to 60 m), and deep water ( greater
than 60 m).122 Most of the grid-scale offshore wind farms in Europe have monopole foundations embedded into the
seabed in water depths ranging from 5 m to 30 m;123 the proposed American projects such as Cape Wind in
Massachusetts and Block Island in Rhode Island would likewise be shallowwater installations.124
climate, Christiana Figueres, the head of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) used even
stronger language, speaking of the tragedy of the U.S. position: The tragedy of the position that the U.S. is taking is that not only
vision of Americas foreign policy assetsparticularly in the key cases of Iran, Russia, and Egyptsuggests that he
feels the country has so declined, not only in real power but in the power of example, that it lacks the moral
authority to project soft power. In the 1970s, many also considered the US in decline as it grappled with
counterinsurgency in faraway lands, a crisis due to economic stagnation, and reliance on foreign oil. Like Obama,
Henry Kissinger tried to manage decline in what he saw as a multipolar world, dressing up prescriptions for policy
as descriptions of immutable reality. In the 1980s, however, soft power played a crucial part in a turnaround for US
foreign policy. Applying it, President Reagan sought to transcend a nuclear balance of terror with defensive
technologies, pushed allies in the Cold War (e.g., El Salvador, Chile, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Philippines) to
liberalize for their own good, backed labor movements opposed to Communists in Poland and Central America, and
called for the Berlin Wall to be torn downover Foggy Bottom objections. This symbolism not only boosted the
perception and the reality of US influence, but also hastened the demise of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. For
Barack Obama, this was the path not taken. Even the Arab Spring has not cured his acute allergy to soft power. His
May 20, 2011, speech on the Middle East and Northern Africa came four months after the Jasmine Revolution
emerged. His emphasis on 1967 borders as the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace managed to eclipse even his
broad words (vice deeds) on democracy in the Middle East. Further, those words failed to explain his deeds in
continuing to support some Arab autocracies (e.g., Bahrains, backed by Saudi forces) even as he gives tardy
rhetorical support for popular forces casting aside other ones. To use soft power without hard power is to be
The threat of nuclear terrorism looms much larger in the publics mind than the threat of a full-scale
nuclear war, yet this article focuses primarily on the latter. An explanation is therefore in order before proceeding.
Albright, a former weapons inspector in Iraq, estimates those odds at less than one percent, but notes, We would
never accept a situation where the chance of a major nuclear accident like Chernobyl would be anywhere near
1% .... A nuclear terrorism attack is a low-probability event, but we cant live in a world where its anything but
include estimating the risk of nuclear terrorism as one component of the overall risk. If that risk, the overall risk, or
both are found to be unacceptable, then the proposed remedies would be directed to reduce which- ever risk(s)
warrant attention. Similar remarks apply to a number of other threats (e.g., nuclear war between the U.S. and China
over Taiwan). his article would be incomplete if it only dealt with the threat of nuclear terrorism and neglected the
threat of full- scale nuclear war. If both risks are unacceptable, an effort to reduce only the terrorist component
societys almost total neglect of the threat of fullscale nuclear war makes studying that risk all the more important . The cosT of World War iii
would leave humanity in great peril. In fact,
The danger associated with nuclear deterrence depends on both the cost of a failure and the failure rate.3 This
section explores the cost of a failure of nuclear deterrence, and the next section is concerned with the failure rate.
While other definitions are possible, this article defines a failure of deterrence to mean a full-scale exchange of all
nuclear weapons available to the U.S. and Russia, an event that will be termed World War III. Approximately 20
million people died as a result of the first World War. World War IIs fatalities were double or triple that number
chaos prevented a more precise deter- mination. In both cases humanity recovered, and the world today bears few
scars that attest to the horror of those two wars. Many people therefore implicitly believe that a third World War
would be horrible but survivable, an extrapola- tion of the effects of the first two global wars. In that view, World
War III, while horrible, is something that humanity may just have to face and from which it will then have to recover.
In contrast, some of those most qualified to assess the situation hold a very different view. In a 1961 speech to a
joint session of the Philippine Con- gress, General Douglas MacArthur, stated, Global war has become a
No
longer does it possess even the chance of the winner of a duel. It contains now only
the germs of double suicide. Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ex- pressed a similar view:
Frankenstein to destroy both sides. If you lose, you are annihilated. If you win, you stand only to lose.
If deterrence fails and conflict develops, the present U.S. and NATO strategy carries with it a high risk that
Western civilization will be destroyed [McNamara 1986, page 6]. More recently, George Shultz,
William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn4 echoed those concerns when they quoted President Reagans belief
that nuclear weapons were totally irrational, totally inhu- mane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of
life on earth and civilization. [Shultz 2007] Official studies, while couched in less emotional terms, still convey the
horrendous toll that World War III would exact: The
precedent. Executive branch calculations show a range of U.S. deaths from 35 to 77 percent (i.e., 79-160 million
dead) a change in targeting could kill somewhere between 20 million and 30 million additional people on each
side .... These calculations reflect only deaths during the first 30 days. Additional millions would be injured, and
many would eventually die from lack of adequate medical care millions of people might starve or freeze during
the follow- ing winter, but it is not possible to estimate how many. further millions might eventually die of
latent radiation effects. [OTA 1979, page 8] This OTA report also noted the possibility of serious ecological damage
[OTA 1979, page 9], a concern that as- sumed a new potentiality when the TTAPS report [TTAPS 1983] proposed
impact winter caused by ash and dust from a large asteroid or comet striking Earth. The TTAPS report produced a
heated debate, and there is still no scientific consensus on whether a nuclear winter would follow a full-scale
modern megacities. While it is uncertain how destructive World War III would be, prudence dictates that we apply
the same engi- neering conservatism that saved the Golden Gate Bridge from collapsing on its 50th anniversary
and assume that
enough, as am I, to remember that some 150,000 human beings were evaporated in August 1945. What is not
generally realised is that the weapons used in Japan were mere firecrackers compared to what is available today.
We must now consider the instantaneous deaths of millions. The cause of non-proliferation was greatly hampered
by the lies of Bush and Blair over Iraq. But there is a real and increasing threat. There is no military need or use for
the horrible instruments. Not from Israel, and certainly not from the UK, where 25bn is foolishly allocated for their
renewal. Israel is the only country with such arms whose very existence has been threatened by Iran. And Iran has
directly violated the non-proliferation treaty for decades, not years, as carefully documented by David Albright and
colleagues at the Institute for Science and International Security. The poison of weapon development has spread
from North Korea to Libya, even to Syria, all regimes with the blood of their citizens on their hands.
It is
proliferation that is the huge threat. Every country that develops these
weapons represents a huge increase in the threat to civilisation. Every weapon
produced increases the possibility of their use, whether on purpose, by accident, or
by terrorism. It is unlikely that Iran's programme can be stopped, and military action is useless, stupid and
counterproductive. But no country should be allowed such production with immunity. Some international actions,
influenza can spread quickly, this lag time could potentially lead to a global influenza pandemic, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (9). The most recent scare of this variety came in 1918 when bird flu
managed to kill over 50 million people around the world in what is sometimes referred to as the Spanish flu
pandemic. Perhaps even more frightening is the fact that only 25 mutations were required to convert the original
viral strain which could only infect birds into a human-viable strain (10).
the federal government recognizes the urgent need to move away from
conventional energy resources and move toward alternative renewable energy
resources such as offshore wind farms . Several issues arising under the new legislation have been
identified and must be improved upon if the United States is serious about becoming a
global leader in the offshore wind energy industry. While an OZMP is one
sign that
recommendation for how the federal government may attempt to streamline the regulatory process and [*247]
plan for cumulative impacts, there are certainly other viable options that the government should take into
The Commission
is calling for world governments to take immediate action in stopping those
industrial practices that pose the greatest threat to our oceans. "Unless we turn the
tide on ocean decline within five years, the international community should consider
turning the high seas into an off-limits regeneration zone until its condition is
restored," suggested Jos Mara Figueres, co-chair of the Commission and former president of Costa Rica.
those with the money and ability to do so, with little sense of responsibility or social justice".
Although there are a handful of regulations and agencies governing commercial access to the high seas, the
Commission has outlined "serious gaps in the global ocean governance system" that "add up to a systemic
weakness that allows threats such as illegal fishing and the destruction of marine biodiversity to continue". Perhaps
the most worrying finding outlined in the report is the acceleration of the exploitation of these regulatory gaps, and
the dramatic impact this is having on fish stocks. At the time the UN approved the Convention in the 1980s, 39% of
fish species were classified as exploited, overexploited or collapsed. Three decades later, this number has spiked to
87%. This is partly due to technological innovation that has allowed the fishing, mining, and oil and gas industries to
exploit what were once inaccessible areas of the oceans. The high seas, once protected by their inhospitable
remoteness, have been systematically transformed into what Commission co-chair David Miliband has dubbed
"plundered territory". The high seas, once protected by their inhospitable remoteness, have been systematically
transformed into plundered territory. In an effort to rectify the damage caused by our "Wild West" approach to high
seas resource management, the Global Ocean Commission has launched the Mission Ocean initiative. Their eightpart solution, intended to be rolled out over the next five years, aims to put a stop to overfishing, as well as clamp
down on illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing around the globe. They aim to close regulatory gaps through
robust enforcement of current international agreements and establish binding environmental standards for offshore
oil and gas industries. Although much of the report focuses on the kinds of things that must be done by
international regulatory bodies in order to save our oceans, there is one area where the average citizen can play a
role: the reduction of plastic in our oceans. According to the report, "plastics are by far the most abundant and
problematic type of marine debris". Recent reports suggest that plastic waste causes $13 billion in damage to
marine ecosystems each year. Reducing our reliance on plastics something that individuals can do on a daily basis
is a simple step all of us can take to halt our rush toward marine collapse.
values for marine ecosystems have been calculated in the wake of marine disasters, like the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. n861
Similar calculations could derive preservation values for marine wilderness. However, economic value, or economic value
equivalents, should not be "the sole or even primary justification for conservation of ocean ecosystems. Ethical arguments also have
considerable force and merit." n862 At the forefront of such arguments should be a recognition of how little we know about the sea and about the actual effect of human activities on marine ecosystems. The United States has traditionally failed to protect marine
ecosystems because it was difficult to detect anthropogenic harm to the oceans, but we now know that such harm is occurring even though we are not completely sure about causation or about how to fix every problem. Ecosystems like the NWHI coral reef
we are doing to
should be preserving marine wilderness whenever we can - especially
when the United States has within its territory relatively pristine marine ecosystems that
may be unique in the world.
ecosystem should inspire lawmakers and policymakers to admit that most of the time we really do not know what
the sea and hence
Casey 12 (Zo, 12/4/14, Offshore wind farms benefit sealife, says study,
http://www.ewea.org/blog/2012/12/offshore-wind-farms-benefit-sealife-saysstudy/, Senior Communication Officer and Blog Editor for European Wind Energy Association, mls)
Offshore wind farms can create a host of benefits for the local marine environment ,
as well as combatting climate change, a new study by the Marine Institute at Plymouth
University has found. The Marine Institute found that wind farms provide shelter to
fish species since sea bottom trawling is often forbidden inside a wind farm, and it
found that turbine support structures can create artificial reefs for some species. A
separate study at the Nysted offshore wind farm in Denmark confirmed this finding
by saying that artificial reefs provided favourable growth conditions for blue mussels
and crab species. A study on the Thanet offshore wind farm in the UK found that some species like cod
shelter inside the wind farm. One high-profile issue covered by the Marine Institute study was that of organisms
colliding with offshore wind turbines. The study, backed-up by a number of previous studies, found that many bird
species fly low over the water, avoiding collision with wind turbine blades. It also found that some species, such as
Eider ducks, do modify their courses slightly to avoid offshore turbines. When it comes to noise, the study found no
significant impact on behaviour or populations. It noted that a separate study in the Netherlands found more
porpoise clicks inside a Dutch wind farm than outside it perhaps exploiting the higher fish densities found.
study also said that offshore wind power and other marine renewable energies
The
should be rolled out rapidly in order to combat the threats to marine biodiversity ,
food production and economies posed by climate change. It is necessary to rapidly deploy large quantities of
marine renewable energy to reduce the carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning which are leading to ocean
acidification, global warming and climatic changes, the study published said. EWEA forecasts that 40 GW of
offshore wind capacity will be online in European seas by 2020 which will offset 102 million tonnes of CO2 every
year. By 2030, the expected 150 GW of offshore capacity will offset 315 million tonnes of CO2 annually thats a
significant contribution to the effort to cut carbon. It is clear that the marine environment is already being
damaged by the increasingly apparent impacts of climate change; however it is not too late to make a difference to
avoid more extreme impacts, the study said. If
Whether a
nation is competitive hinges instead on its long-run productivity that is, the value of goods
firms short-term costs, then, actually work against the true competitiveness of the United States.
and services produced per unit of human, capital, and natural resources. Only by improving their ability to
transform inputs into valuable products and services can companies in a country prosper while supporting rising
wages for citizens. Increasing productivity over the long run should be the central goal of economic policy. This
requires a business environment that supports continual innovation in products, processes, and management.
Using a comprehensive
dataset on trade policies provided by the Global Trade Alert, we consider a wide
array of trade barriers which stretch be- yond traditional dimensions of
protectionism, in particular \murky" measures (such as state aid measures involving local content
trade policies of G20 economies for the time period during the Great Recession.
requirements) which have been quan- titatively important during the Great Recession. Despite the observed
restraint in trade protectionism, we find that the relationship between domestic growth, compet- itiveness and trade
protectionism documented for the decades prior to the financial crisis continued to hold during the Great Recession:
than-friendly nations. Whether involving raw materials used in strategic industries or basic necessities such as food,
water, and energy, efforts to secure adequate supplies will take increasing precedence in a world where demand
instances, economic conditions will serve as a convenient pretext for conflicts that stem from cultural and religious
Terrorists
employing biological or nuclear weapons will vie with conventional forces using jets,
cruise missiles, and bunker-busting bombs to cause widespread destruction. Many will interpret steppedup conflicts between Muslims and Western societies as the beginnings of a new
world war.
also degenerate quickly, spurring the basest of human instincts and triggering genocidal acts.
1929 stock crash and whose father won praise over decades for anticipating turns in the business cycle, often
against conventional wisdom. Mr. Levys forecast for a global recession is extreme, but its worth considering given
how much is riding on the dominant view that economies are healing. Investors have pushed U.S. stocks to record
highs, and Fed estimates have the United States growing at an annual pace of at least 3 percent for the rest of the
year and all of 2015. Investors also have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into emerging market stock funds
Business debt is too high. And confidence is fleeting, as investors saw earlier this month when stocks sold off on
worries over the stability of Portugals largest bank. In China and other emerging markets, the problem of relying on
indebted Americans to buy more of their goods each year and not selling enough to their own people means a glut
of underused factories. The
Treasurys, a haven in troubled times, like never before. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves
opposite to its price, is likely to fall from 2.5 percent to less than 1 percent an unprecedented low. In 2012, when
investors feared a breakup of the euro-currency bloc, the 10-year yield fell to 1.4 percent.
decline and the security and defence behaviour of interdependent stales. Research in this vein has been considered
at systemic, dyadic and national levels. Several notable contributions follow. First, on the systemic level. Pollins
rhythms in
the global economy are associated with the rise and fall of a pre-eminent power and
the often bloody transition from one pre-eminent leader to the next. As such, exogenous
shocks such as economic crises could usher in a redistribution of relative power (see also
Gilpin. 19SJ) that leads to uncertainty about power balances, increasing the risk of
miscalculation (Fcaron. 1995). Alternatively, even a relatively certain redistribution of power could lead to a
(20081 advances Modclski and Thompson's (1996) work on leadership cycle theory, finding that
permissive environment for conflict as a rising power may seek to challenge a declining power (Werner. 1999).
Separately. Pollins (1996) also shows that global economic cycles combined with parallel leadership cycles impact
the likelihood of conflict among major, medium and small powers, although he suggests that the causes and
connections between global economic conditions and security conditions remain unknown. Second, on a dyadic
level. Copeland's (1996. 2000) theory of trade expectations suggests that 'future expectation of trade' is a
significant variable in understanding economic conditions and security behaviour of states. He argues that
interdependent states arc likely to gain pacific benefits from trade so long as they have an optimistic view of future
trigger for decreased trade expectations either on its own or because it triggers protectionist moves by
interdependent states.4 Third, others have considered the link between economic decline and external armed
conflict at a national level. Mom berg and Hess (2002) find a strong correlation between internal conflict and
Economic conflict lends to spawn internal conflict, which in turn returns the favour. Moreover, the presence of a
recession tends to amplify the extent to which international and external conflicts self-reinforce each other
(Hlomhen? & Hess. 2(102. p. X9> Economic decline has also been linked with an increase in the likelihood of
terrorism (Blombcrg. Hess. & Wee ra pan a, 2004). which has the capacity to spill across borders and lead to
external tensions. Furthermore, crises generally reduce the popularity of a sitting government. " Diversionary
theory" suggests that, when facing unpopularity arising from economic decline, sitting
governments have increased incentives to fabricate external military conflicts to create a
'rally around the flag' effect. Wang (1996), DcRoucn (1995), and Blombcrg. Hess, and Thacker (2006) find
supporting evidence showing that economic decline and use of force arc at least indirecti) correlated. Gelpi (1997).
Miller (1999). and Kisangani and Pickering (2009) suggest that Ihe tendency towards diversionary tactics arc greater
for democratic states than autocratic states, due to the fact that democratic leaders are generally more susceptible
to being removed from office due to lack of domestic support. DeRouen (2000) has provided evidence showing that
periods of weak economic performance in the United States, and thus weak Presidential popularity, are statistically
linked lo an increase in the use of force. In summary, rcccni economic scholarship positively correlates economic
connection between integration, crises and armed conflict has not featured prominently in the economic-security
debate and deserves more attention.
The Turning Point for Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy includes details on the key milestones each Atlantic Coast state
Offshore
wind energy will be an economic powerhouse for America. Harnessing the 52 gigawatts of
already-identified available Atlantic offshore wind energy just 4 percent of the estimated
generation potential of this massive resource could generate $200 billion in economic
activity, create 300,000 jobs, and sustain power for about 14 million homes. (Europe
already produces enough energy from offshore wind right now to power 4 million homes.) America is closer
than ever to bringing offshore wind energy ashore . Efforts are underway in 10 Atlantic Coast
and along with the wind potential and the economic benefits. Among the highlights of the report:
states, with over 2,000 square nautical miles of federal waters already designated for wind energy development off
of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Environmental reviews finding no
significant impacts have been completed, and leases are expected to be issued for some of these areas by the end
Despite this progress, leadership is urgently needed at both the state and
federal level to ensure offshore wind energy becomes a reality in America: President
Obama should set a clear national goal for offshore wind energy development, and
each Atlantic state governor should also a set goal for offshore wind development off their shores. These goals
must be supported by policies that prioritize offshore wind energy and other efforts to
of the year.
foreign resources for several decades. Our dependence has not been on just any ol country.
Specifically, we have been dependent on the Organization of Exporting Countries for our yearly imports of
To be more specific, the latest data from the United States Energy
Information Administration shows that we imported 5.83 million barrels of petroleum
a day from OPEC countries or 55 percent of our net imports for 2012. This fact quickly
petroleum.
answers the previous question of why our market is disrupted by Middle Eastern instability. Naturally, looking at this
data, it would be accurate to say that energy independence needs to occur sooner than late r.
Although this is an accurate statement, the broader scope of energy security cannot be ignored. No one would
argue that the United States is a world super power. However, as instability continues in the Middle East, and the
demand for natural resources in America grows, an obvious tie between our power and our natural resource
stability can be seen. As the oil and natural gas supply increases with each new day here in the United States, it is
vital that our federal government and our individual states recognize the importance of free enterprise. Rather than
hamper new development and exploration, our nation should be doing everything possible to encourage new oil
and gas business. Will oil and gas be the fuel of the future? Authorities on all fronts argue this issue daily. For today,
oil and natural gas are the leading fuels that literally power our country. Petroleum products can be found in nearly
any item you pick up. What are the tangibles of energy security? For starters, the U.S. Department of Defense relies
on petroleum for more than 75 percent of its needs. Another example of energy security is the fact that nearly
every farming and manufactured food and household product is made through the use of petroleum. Just as Russia
has done with the Ukraine by cutting off natural gas supplies, similarly, if Saudi Arabia decided to diminish their
imports to the United States, immediate chaos would be thrown into the U.S. trade market. What is the solution to
achieving energy independence and security? The United States is on the right path. Developing our own
technologies and our own natural resources will only speed up the process of establishing our long-term energy
security. The ripple effect, however, on our energy security and independence starts small. For example, when a
local or parish/county government overregulates or prohibits oil and gas operations, even this action decelerates
our long-term safety and strength as a nation.
foreseeable future, the U.S. military will most likely be involved in protecting access
to oil supplies - including the political independence of oil producers - and the global movements of using oil to help sustain
the smooth functioning of the world economy. The security challenges associated with preserving access to oil are complicated by
geographical "chokepoints," through which oil flows or is transported, but which are vulnerable to piracy or closure. n75
"Flashpoints"
The
Turkish Straits and Caspian Oil. The term "Turkish Straits" refers to the two narrow
straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which connect the Sea of Marmara with the
Black Sea on one side and the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea on the other. Turkey and Russia have been
locked in a longstanding dispute over passage issues involving the Turkish Straits.
the [*991] Yom Kippur War in 1973, Egypt closed the strait as a means of blockading the southern Israeli port of Eilat. n87
n88 The 1936 Montreux Convention puts Turkey in charge of regulating traffic through the straits; n89 yet Turkey has been hard
pressed to stop an onslaught of Russian, Ukrainian, and Cypriot tankers, which transport Caspian Sea oil to markets in Western
Europe. n90 Because of the very heavy shipping traffic and very challenging geography, there have been many collisions and
groundings in the past, creating terrible pollution incidents and death. n91 Thus far, none of these incidents have been attributed to
state-on-state-conflict or terrorism; n92 however, the confined waterway is an especially attractive target because of the grave
economic and environmental damage that would result from a well-timed and well-placed attack on a loaded tanker. The issues
surrounding the straits are also a subset of larger problems associated with the exploitation of Caspian oil, including severe pollution
of the Caspian Sea as a result of imprudent extraction techniques, as well as the ever-present potential for conflict among the
various claimants to the Caspian's hydrocarbon resources due to an inability of the various Caspian littoral states to agree on their
because both claimants have, in the past, used modern military platforms to patrol the areas of their claims in which there are
suspected oil and gas deposits in the seabed. n94 In September 2005, for example, China dispatched five warships to disputed
waters surrounding its oil and gas platforms, which were spotted by a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft. n95 There have been other
similar military-to-military encounters. n96 Given the fact that both countries have modern armed forces and are comparatively
reserves are projected to be in the region (including 13 percent of the world's petroleum and 30 percent of natural gas)." n97 However, given the very
small margins that transporters earn transporting oil from point A to B, n98 shipping companies are always in search of shorter routes to transport oil to
market. As the thawing of the Arctic Ocean continues as a result of climate change, n99 this may create new shipping routes that transporters of [*993] oil
and other goods will use to maximize their profits and minimize their transit times. As supplies of readily exploitable crude oil are reduced, the probability
increases that some of this trade will result from exploitation activities in the land and littoral areas adjacent to the Arctic Sea. This development is
concerning for a number of reasons: (1) the area is very remote and could provide a safe haven to pirates seeking to hijack cargoes; (2) the environmental
sensitivity of the area, and the concomitant difficulty of mounting a cleanup effort, means that an oil spill in that marine environment will be much more
persistent than an oil spill in temperate waters; n100 (3) the Arctic presents unique navigational difficulties due to the lack of good charts, navigational
aids, and communications towers, as well as the impacts of extreme cold on the operational effectiveness of systems; n101 (4) the unsettled nature of
claims by various countries, including the United States, to the seabed continental shelf resources in the littoral areas off their coastlines creates the
potential for military competition and conflict over these claims. n102 The International Maritime Organization ("IMO") is now circulating draft guidelines
for ships operating in Arctic areas to promote - but not require - ship hardening against an iceberg strike, better crew training, and environmental
protection measures. n103 These guidelines are merely advisory and can only be implemented via the flag states. n104 Also, neither IMO nor any of the
UN Law of the Sea Institutions have mandatory jurisdiction over any of the flashpoint issues relating [*994] to competing continental shelf claims in the
The
OCS final rules are important in that they create the potential for renewable energy
to displace a portion of U.S. fossil fuel use. Such a shift will generate environmental
benefits, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy, and create
new renewable energy jobs.
developers to initiate projects on the OCS with newer technologies, such as tidal, wave, and thermal energy.
Solvency (1ac)
(--) The plan is necessary to bolster support for offshore wind
power in the United States:
Erica Schroeder, J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law,
2010 (California Law Review, 2010, Turning Offshore Wind On,
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu /cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1069&context=californialawreview; Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
C. Suggested Revisions to the CZMA Despite its ineffectiveness to date, the
some measure of control, but the broader benefits of offshore wind power development would be integrated into both the CZMA and the CZMPs. As noted previously,
CZMPs revised in favor of offshore wind would also give proponents of development
more statutory support in any state litigation by offshore wind opponents and may
even deter such litigation altogether. 3. Increase Funding and Incentives for Offshore Wind As previously discussed, a federal
agency, MMS, is responsible for siting 272 and permitting offshore wind power generation facilities. Although the CZMA alludes to the ability of the federal
government to play another role by encouraging energy facility development through "financial assistance,"273 it is once again vague. Congress
would
need to back up its commitment to offshore wind power development-and
renewable energy, in general-with funding increases and incentives for such
development in particular. Such assistance could include incentives for not only generation facilities, but also transmission and distribution
lines, and any other related works necessary for functioning offshore wind farms. Funding could be dependent on state CZMP revision, as described above, to
encourage prompt revision. Congress has already recognized the importance of tax incentives for renewable energy in its renewal 274 of the Production Tax Credit
through 2012. Other studies
assert itself and the benefits of offshore wind in state and local decision making.
Solvency Extensions
Offshore wind power is a relatively newer technology , especially deep-water floating projects,
and is presently less cost-competitive than onshore wind.20 However, because wind speeds are on
average about 90% stronger and more consistent over water than over land, with
higher power densities and lower shear and turbulence ,21 Americas offshore
resources can provide more than its current electricity use.
promising resource. This failure can be ascribed in part to the unevenly balanced distribution of the costs and
benefits of offshore wind technology, as well as to the incoherent regulatory framework in the United States for
managing coastal resources.1 7 While the most compelling benefits of offshore wind are frequently regional,
national, or even global, the costs are almost exclusively local. The U.S. regulatory framework is not set up to
handle this cost-benefit gap. As a result, local opposition has stalled offshore wind power development, and
inadequate attention has been paid to its wide-ranging benefits. The Cape Wind project in Massachusetts is a stark
example of how local forces have hindered offshore wind power development. The project is expected to have a
maximum production of 450 MW and an average daily production of 170 MW, or 75 percent of the 230-MW average
demand of Cape Cod and neighboring islands.' 8 In addition to this electricity boon to energy- constrained
Massachusetts,' 9 Cape Wind will reduce regional air pollution and global carbon dioxide emissions.20 Nonetheless,
local opponents to Cape Wind protest its effect on the surrounding environment, including its aesthetic impacts. 2 '
Without an effective way to champion the regional, national, and global benefits of offshore wind, policymakers
have been unable to keep local interests from controlling the process through protest and litigation. After about ten
years of waiting and fighting, Cape Wind developers have still not begun construction.
SolvencyAT: Bureaucracy
(--) The plan solves for existing bureaucracythats why we
streamline the Coastal Zone Management Act thats our
Schroeder evidence.
(--) Bureaucracy for offshore wind being streamlined:
Andrew Campbell, 2013 (Houston Law Review, Winter 2013,
COMMENT: YOU DON'T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE
WIND BLOWS?*: AN ARGUMENT FOR OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO** Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
Recently, the DOI took another major step, adding more efficiency to the permitting
process for offshore wind [*911] development in federal waters. n80 The "Smart from the
Start" initiative identified several key problems with the federal leasing process and
implemented two strategies to streamline Atlantic offshore wind projects . n81 First,
the initiative identifies the best Atlantic coastal regions for offshore wind
development, designated "Wind Energy Areas" (WEAs). n82 These regions are identified based on several factors, including the areas'
wind energy potential (strong winds) and geographic considerations that would reduce cost, such as the depth of the ocean floor. n83 The
DOI plans to consolidate environmental and financial information from various
governmental entities and make this information available in a centralized format . n84
This will allow potential investors to quickly make informed business decisions . n85
Second, the initiative streamlines the environmental review process. n86 Through the
environmental information gathered for the WEAs, the DOI will conduct initial environmental assessments under NEPA. n87 After developers
submit proposed construction plans, the DOI will determine [*912] whether an EIS will be needed. n88 One chief criticism of the federal offshore
leasing program was the requirement that some firms might have to conduct more than one EIS, which could result in a seven to ten year delay
before construction could begin. n89
The
federal government needs a stronger role in the process to counteract narrowminded state and local opposition. With a well-integrated federal perspective, agencies and developers
could properly weigh regional, national, and global benefits of offshore wind against its limited local costs. The
CZMA presents an obvious starting point for a revised regulatory framework. It already
development, and the potential for local interests to hijack state and federal processes and stall a project.
covers the states' coastal zones-that is, the area three miles or less from the shore-and leaves states with
substantial power. 2 2 7 However, it currently does not give sufficient weight to the national interest in the benefits
of offshore wind power. Some academics have come to a similar conclusion, but their revisions are tentative and
minor.228 Now is a time for more decisive and bold action . With the change in the United States'
administration, the deteriorating climate situation, and the nation's ongoing energy and economic crises, the
country has both the opportunity and the need to make effective changes. However, setting up an entirely new
regulatory scheme, as some have suggested, 2 2 9 goes too far: it fails to acknowledge what Congress can
With some
strengthening revisions, the CZMA might become the simple solution that helps
the United States turn offshore wind on.
realistically accomplish and ignores the tools we already have in our hands in the CZMA.
energy to supply all but two of these coastal states with at least 20% of their electricity needs. n17 "For most
coastal states, offshore wind resources are the only indigenous energy source capable of making a significant
energy contribution." n18 Offshore wind is a viable resource located in close proximity to areas of the country where
electricity is highest in demand. Why, then, are there no commercial offshore wind farms along the United States'
coasts?
SolvencyPlan Solves
will likely put pressure on federal and state politicians to increase government incentives for
offshore wind. Such pressure may be what the industry needs in order to achieve the
long-term financial guarantees it desires. n156 Long-term guarantees will then lead
to even further investment.
Public Trust Doctrine One unaddressed advantage for offshore wind in Texas is
the potentially lower risk of litigation. Constant litigation undoubtedly slowed the
Cape Wind project. n105 Litigants advanced numerous legal [*914] theories to enjoin
the construction of the Cape Wind project. n106 Surprisingly, Texas's greatest
advantage for offshore wind is not the state's leasing and permitting programs . n107
Rather, it is the case law surrounding an ancient theory of liability: the public trust
doctrine. n108 The doctrine's application has taken many fact-specific forms since its origins in ancient Roman law. n109 Broadly, the
doctrine limits the government's ability to convey state-owned lands that the state has held for public use and enjoyment. n110 Traditionally, the
public held rights in fishing and navigation on public trust lands. n111 These rights function as a minimum standard that a state may not
eliminate, but a state is permitted to bolster public trust rights, by providing a right to ecological protection, for example. n112 The creation of
additional public trust rights has received considerable scholarly attention. n113 In 1970, Professor Joseph Sax published a law review article
citing the doctrine's power to encompass environmental concerns in the face of a state's relinquishment of public land. n114 More importantly, the
California Supreme Court adopted these ideas in National Audubon Society v. Superior Court (Mono Lake), creating a judicial check on
environmentally harmful government [*915] action. n115 In Mono Lake, the court found that the state had an affirmative duty to consider the
Mono Lake's ecological importance before granting to the Los Angeles Water District an unfettered right to grant water licenses to private
entities. n116 State courts have also drawn on additional sources of law to buttress public trust rights. n117 For instance, some states have
constitutional provisions that guarantee the protection of scarce natural resources. n118 Some state courts have then construed these legislative
commands as a source of rights in publicly held lands. n119 A. The Development of the Public Trust Doctrine in American Law The
U.S.
Supreme Court played a crucial role in defining the early contours of the doctrine .
n120 In 1892, the Court issued an opinion that solidified the doctrine's role in enjoining state action inconsistent with publicly held rights. n121
The case pitted the State of Illinois against a private railroad company. n122 The Illinois state legislature conveyed harbor-front property in
Chicago to a private railroad company. n123 The conveyance gave fee simple to the railroad company but restricted the company from later
conveying the submerged land to another party. n124 Ultimately, the railroad company was given unrestricted authority to construct "bridges,
dams, embankments, engine-houses, shops and other [*916] buildings necessary for completing, maintaining and operating the road." n125
Warming is Anthropogenic
(--) Warming is anthropogenic:
Jeffrey THALER 12 Visiting Professor of Energy Policy, Law
& Ethics, University of Maine School of Law and School of
Economics (Jeff Thaler, FIDDLING AS THE WORLD BURNS: HOW CLIMATE
CHANGE URGENTLY REQUIRES A PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE PERMITTING OF
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS, Jeff Thaler University of Maine School of
Law September 17, 2012 Environmental Law, Volume 42, Issue 4,
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2148122, Accessed
7/27/2014, rwg)
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that it is
very likelyat least 90% certainthat humans are responsible for most of the
unequivocal increases in globally averaged temperatures of the previous fifty
years.
temperatures were the tenth highest on record and [were] higher than any previous year with a La Nina event,
which [normally] has a relative cooling influence.32 The warmest thirteen years of average global temperatures
also have all occurred in the [fifteen] years since 1997.33 Global emissions of carbon dioxide also jumped 5.9% in
2010500 million extra tons of carbon was pumped into the airthe largest absolute jump in any year since the
Industrial Revolution [began in 1750], and the largest percentage increase since 2003.34
Hurricane Sandy),8 public health is increasingly threatened by disease and mortality from our over-reliance on fossil
fuels and from their resulting emissions,9 and U.S. national security is increasingly at risk from having to protect
more foreign sources of fossil fuels and from resource-related conflicts resulting in more violence and displaced
persons.
the future of the planet Earth. Bryan Walsh, Q&A: The U.N.s Ban Ki-Moon on Climate Change, TIME, Dec. 11, 2009,
http:// www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1929071_1929070_1947173,00.html (last visited Nov.
18, 2012) (quoting U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon).
naturally emerging and synthetic disease outbreaks means whole areas could be laid waste before anyone realised what was
happening, warns Laurie Garrett, author of a ground-breaking book on the burgeoning of infectious disease. All this on top of the fact
the past decade, Garrett's book charts the history of our age-old battle against the microbes, and concludes that we are beginning
to cede the advantage to the disease-carriers. The optimism born out of defeating smallpox in the Sixties was dangerously
premature. Everything from overuse of antibiotics to increased promiscuity have helped smooth the path for the microbes ever
since. "The survival of the human species is not a pre- ordained evolutionary programme," warns Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg
in The Coming Plague.
This acidification has serious implications for the calcification rates of organisms
Coral reefshabitat for over a million marine speciesare
collapsing, endangering more than a third of all coral species .96 Indeed, temperature
thresholds for the majority of coral reefs worldwide are expected to be exceeded,
causing mass bleaching and complete coral mortality .97 [T]he productivity of plankton, krill, and
fueled] industrial era.95
marine snails, which compose the base of the ocean food-chain, [also] declines as the ocean acidifies,98 adversely impacting
populations of everything from whales to salmon99species that are also are being harmed by the oceans warming.100
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that a large fraction of species
around the globe face increased extinction risk under projected climate change
during and beyond the 21st Century particularly when the synergistic effects of climate change with
other anthropogenic impacts such as habitat loss and fragmentation and invasive species are taken into account.
levels averaged greater than 400 parts per million in the atmosphere. It's an arbitrary but ominous milestone,
according to experts, who forecast concentrations of the greenhouse gas will surpass 550 parts per million within
the next 40 years. Both food crops and their weedy nemeses thrive on carbon dioxide . It's
the core ingredient of photosynthesis, the process by which a plant coverts energy from the sun into sugar to grow.
Yet some plants turn the gas into a competitive edge more efficiently than others. "A lot of
our worst weeds benefit the most from high carbon dioxide ," said David Wolfe, an expert in
climate change and plant physiology at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. What's more, many weeds are
incredibly adaptive to environmental changes -- warmer temperatures, or extreme events such as
droughts or floods -- which may help them further choke out critical crops, experts noted.
Still, Ziska said he sees a "silver lining" in weeds' resiliency. "Many of these adaptive weeds are cousins to crops,"
he said. "So, we're trying to identify their beneficial characteristics and then transfer them into crops such as wheat,
Insect pests, even more than weeds, thrive in warmer temperatures, which can
and the chances that their progeny
will survive to continue feeding on and infecting crops with harmful bacteria , viruses
oats, barley or rice."
and fungi. Some of the pests are already expanding into territories -- such as the Northeast -- that were once too
cold to host them, Wolfe said. 'KILLING THE PESTS' Dealing with these weeds and bugs creates a two-fold threat to
public health: The increased use of herbicides and insecticides. More chemical dousing means higher costs to
farmers -- the U.S. already spends more than $11 billion a year to control weeds -- and greater contamination of
soil, food and water. The National Climate Assessment adds that there may be toxic effects for farmers,
farmworkers and consumers exposed to these chemicals. The report also notes that "the most widely used
herbicide in the United States, glyphosate (also known as Roundup and other brand names), loses its efficacy on
weeds grown at CO2 levels projected to occur in the coming decades." Tom Helscher, a spokesman for Monsanto,
the manufacturer of Roundup, criticized the statement. "The phrasing 'loses its efficacy' seems to exaggerate what
the referenced study described as 'slightly increased' in tolerance to glyphosate," Helscher told The Huffington Post.
Ziska authored a 1999 paper on glyphosate and carbon dioxide that was referenced in this week's climate
assessment. He has published a handful of other studies since on the same subject, nearly all reaching the same
conclusion: Glyphosate is less effective at higher concentrations of carbon dioxide. "It takes more chemicals to kill
the weeds," Ziska said. Further, noted Ziska, that escalating need for more chemicals comes on top of already
growing use of glyphosate and other herbicides in the U.S. Much of the increase has been linked to evolving
resistance among weeds to the widely used chemicals. Many farmers are then driven to apply greater quantities of
A study
published in the journal Nature on Wednesday warns of yet another public health
threat from rising carbon dioxide: Fewer nutrients in important food crops , including
glyphosate, or supplement with other -- often more toxic -- herbicides such as 2,4-D. A DROP IN QUALITY
wheat, rice and soybeans. In other words, it's not just quantity, but also quality that is at stake .
Researchers simulated conditions expected by mid-century and found significant reductions in zinc, iron and
protein.
to establish whole communities of herbivores and natural enemies in a laboratory setting. What is needed are field
Field
experiments which elevate CO2 in natural communities have been set up by Dr. Bert
experiments, which elevate CO2 over whole communities. These experiments are very costly and very rare.
Drake, of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center at Edgewater, Maryland. On the shores of the
Chesapeake, Dr. Drake has investigated the effects of elevated CO2 on salt marsh communities for nearly twenty
years. In Florida, he established eight elevated CO2 chambers, and eight ambient CO2 chambers as controls, over
the scrub-forest at Kennedy Space Center, in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (as shown in the above
photo). The forest, being fired maintained, is of low statue, 3-4m, and is small enough to be enclosed by hexagonal
chambers into which CO2 is pumped to near twice-ambient levels, about 700ppm. These are the levels generally
The most common plant species are myrtle oak, Quercus myrtifolia, sand-live oak, Q. geminata, Chapman oak, Q.
chapmanii, the shrub Vaccinium myrsinites, and the nitrogen-fixing vine, Galactia elliottii. Results showed an
increase in plant growth for Q. myrtifolia and Q. chapmanii and a decrease in leaf nitrogen. Q. geminata growth was
not increased. Against this backdrop my lab has studied the effects of elevated CO2 on insect herbivores and their
natural enemies, especially leaf miners (as shown in the photographs, the bottom photo shows the caterpillar with
the top part of the mine removed). This was possible because the chambers are open-topped, and allow access to
the full complement of herbivores.
increased per capita leaf consumption because of lowered leaf nitrogen levels.
Host plant induced mortality increases, possibly induced by decreased foliar
quality. Parasitoid induced death of insects increased four fold possibly because insect herbivores take longer to
grow. Insect densities per 200 leaves decreased in elevated CO2. Such results were consistent from 1996, when the
densities were still lower per m2. However, the difference between herbivore densities in ambient and elevated CO2
became smaller each year and by 2002 the increased biomass in the elevated CO2 was sufficient to cause elevated
herbivore densities per m2, despite lower foliage quality. This difference increased every year until 2007, when the
CO2 was turned off and the experiment ended. This work illustrates the value of long-term funding for global
change studies since initial results may change over loner periods of time.
the end of 2009, enough to power roughly 9.7 million homes. As of September 2008, the United States led the world
One source with the potential for significant energy production and
comparable elimination of fossil fueled GHGs near major American and global
population centers is offshore wind.
energy sources.
Lower
greenhouse gas emissions will help to combat climate change , effects of which will be felt
traditional air pollutants means fewer air quality-related illnesses locally and regionally. 6 3
locally and around the world. 6 4 According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the effects of
climate change will include melting snow, ice, and permafrost; significant effects on terrestrial, marine, and
freshwater plant and animal species; forced changes to agricultural and forestry management; and adverse human
wind energy does not degrade our air or water, and it avoids the
detrimental environmental effects associated with mining and drilling. n5 The
expanded use of wind energy also slows the impacts of climate change by removing
greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere . n6
[*1150] Indeed,
a new Environment America Research & Policy Center report today showing how current power
generation from wind energy prevents as much global warming pollution as taking
13 million cars off the road each year. With the fiscal cliff and the expiration of key tax credits for
wind power quickly approaching, Environment America is urging Congress to extend critical federal
incentives for wind powerthe renewable energy production tax credit and the offshore wind investment
tax creditbefore they expire at the end of the year. Our message to Congress is clear: Dont throw wind
power off the fiscal cliff, said Courtney Abrams, Clean Energy Advocate for Environment America. Our clean
released
air, water, and childrens future are too important to blow it now. U.S. Senators championing wind energy and the wind tax
extensions expressed their support this morning along with the report release: "Extending
wind PTC is
a commonsense way to support clean energy and to reduce our carbon emissions. It is
critical that Congress extend the PTC ASAP and support clean, renewable wind energy."
Wind energy is a win for the economy, a win for the environment, and a win for New Jersey, stated
also
U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. We will
continue fighting in Congress to extend the wind production tax credit and support the kind of energy development that is needed to
create jobs, clean up the air our children breathe, and move America to a clean energy future.
The Energy Department has given a conditional $150 million loan to the Cape Wind
project in Massachusetts in a move to fund the first offshore wind farm in the United
States. Cape Wind will receive the $150 million loan after it secures $2.6 billion in financing, according to the
Energy Department. Once it has secured the balance of the funding, it will get taxpayer dollars to help
construct 130 wind turbines that will have a capacity of 360 megawatts of power . If
built, the Cape Wind Project could transform the fishing ports and manufacturing towns in Eastern
Massachusetts into a hub for a vibrant U.S. offshore wind industry , said Peter Davidson, executive
director of the DOEs loan program in a statement. The lessons that could be learned from this project can help
catalyze similar projects in other areas of the U.S. with excellent offshore wind resources. Massachusetts
Democrats hailed the loan as a boom to the state and a step in the right direction in fighting global warming.
Offshore
wind will not only provide a new, clean source of energy for the United States, it
will reduce American reliance on fossil fuel, mitigate climate change and jump start
a new U.S. industry that will create thousands of clean energy jobs , said
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. This funding will help Massachusetts make energy history and continue
our leadership as a clean energy jobs hub for the entire nation, said Sen. Ed Markey.
power demand by 30% and requires only 0.41% and 0.59% more of the worlds land for footprint and spacing,
respectively. We suggest producing all new energy with WWS by 2030 and replacing the pre-existing
energy by 2050. Barriers to the plan are primarily social and political, not technological or
economic. The energy cost in a WWS world should be similar to that today. A solution
to the problems of climate change, air pollution, water pollution, and energy insecurity
requires a large-scale conversion to clean, perpetual, and reliable energy at low cost together with
an increase in energy efficiency. Over the past decade, a number of studies have proposed large-
scale renewable energy plans. Jacobson and Masters (2001) suggested that the U.S. could satisfy
its Kyoto Protocol requirement for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by replacing 60% of
its coal generation with 214,000236,000 wind turbines rated at 1.5 MW (million watts). Also in
2001, Czisch (2006) suggested that a totally renewable electricity supply system, with intercontinental transmission
lines linking dispersed wind sites with hydropower backup, could supply Europe, North Africa, and East Asia at total
costs per kWh comparable with the costs of the current system. Hoffert et al. (2002)
suggested a portfolio of
solutions for stabilizing atmospheric CO2, including increasing the use of renewable energy and
nuclear energy, decarbonizing fossil fuels and sequestering carbon, and improving energy efficiency.
the University of Canberra, said while the Earth has been warmer and colder at different points in the planet's
history, the rate of change has never been as fast as it is today . ''What is remarkable, and
alarming, is the speed of the change since the 1970s, when we started burning a lot of fossil fuels in a massive
''We can't possibly evolve to match this rate [of warming] and, unless we
get control of it, it will mean our extinction eventually.'' Professor Berry is one of three leading
way,'' she said.
academics who have contributed to the health chapter of a Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
report due on Monday. She and co-authors Tony McMichael, of the Australian National University, and Colin Butler,
of the University of Canberra, have outlined the health risks of rapid global warming in a companion piece for The
Conversation, also published on Monday. The three warn that the adverse effects on population health and social
come from undernutrition and impaired child development from reduced food yields;
hospitalisations and deaths due to intense heatwaves, fires and other weatherrelated disasters; and the spread of infectious diseases . They warn the ''largest
impacts'' will be on poorer and vulnerable populations , winding back recent hard-won gains of
social development programs. Projecting to an average global warming of 4 degrees by 2100, they say ''people
won't be able to cope, let alone work productively, in the hottest parts of the year'' .
They say that action on climate change would produce ''extremely large health
benefits'', which would greatly outweigh the costs of curbing emission
growth. A leaked draft of the IPCC report notes that a warming climate would lead to fewer cold weather-related
deaths but the benefits would be ''greatly'' outweighed by the impacts of more frequent heat extremes. Under a
high emissions scenario, some land regions will experience temperatures four to seven degrees higher than preindustrial times, the report said. While some adaptive measures are possible, limits to humans' ability to regulate
heat will affect health and potentially cut global productivity in the warmest months by 40 per cent by 2100. Body
temperatures rising above 38 degrees impair physical and cognitive functions, while risks of organ damage, loss of
with temperature thresholds for key sowing stages near or below 35 degrees, the report said.
people
who don't understand how the climate or modeling work have used the surface
warming slowdown to incorrectly argue that climate models aren't reliable and that
global warming is nothing to worry about. This new study shows once again that climate
models are indeed reliable, and if we don't soon act to slow down human-caused
global warming and the risks it poses, we're likely headed for a very bleak future .
leading to accelerated warming of global surface temperatures. It's unfortunate that in the meantime,
between El Nio and La Nia are frequent. But there is also a long-term cycle called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
(PDO), which switches from a warm (or positive) phase to a cool (negative) one every 20 or 30 years. The positive
phase encourages more frequent, powerful Nios. According to Kevin Trenberth and John Fasullo of Americas
National Centre for Atmospheric Research, the PDO was positive in 1976-98a period of rising temperaturesand
negative in 1943-76 and since 2000, producing a series of cooling Nias. But that is not the end of it. Laid on top of
these cyclical patterns is what looks like a one-off increase in the strength of trade winds during the past 20 years.
According to a study in Nature Climate Change, by Matthew England of the University of New South Wales and
others, record trade winds have produced a sort of super-Nia. On average, sea levels have risen by about 3mm a
year in the past 30 years. But those in the eastern Pacific have barely budged, whereas those near the Philippines
have risen by 20cm since the late 1990s. A wall of warm water, in other words, is being held in place by powerful
winds, with cool water rising behind it. According to Dr England ,
absorb heat as long as the pump sending it to the bottom remains in working order. But that is not all there is to it.
Gravity wants the western-Pacific water wall to slosh back; it is held in place only by exceptionally strong trade
failing to act on
global warming, many leaders are putting jobs and economic prosperity at risk ,
according to recent studies. It's suicidal, both economically and literally, to focus on
the fossil fuel industry's limited, short-term economic benefits at the expense of
long-term prosperity, human health and the natural systems, plants and animals
that make our well-being and survival possible . Those who refuse to take climate change seriously are
subjecting us to enormous economic risks and foregoing the numerous benefits that solutions would bring. The World Bank
-- hardly a radical organization -- is behind one study . While still viewing the problem and solutions through the lens of
outmoded economic thinking, its report demolishes arguments made by the likes of Stephen Harper. " Climate change
poses a severe risk to global economic stability ," said World Bank Group president
Jim Yong Kim in a news release, adding, "We believe it's possible to reduce emissions and
deliver jobs and economic opportunity, while also cutting health care and energy
costs." Risky Business, a report by prominent U.S. Republicans and Democrats,
concludes, "The U.S. economy faces significant risks from unmitigated climate
change," especially in coastal regions and agricultural areas. We're making the same mistake with
going to take actions that are going to deliberately destroy jobs and growth in their country." But in
climate change we made leading to the economic meltdown of 2008 , according to Henry
Paulson, who served as treasury secretary under George W. Bush and sponsored the U.S. bipartisan report with former hedge fund
are
losing their full-time jobs, housing is terrible, the price of food and utilities are rising.
The economy is rolling over and the euphoric effects of cheap money are wearing
off, said Schiff. The economy is not recovering the way the Fed believes it is and all [Fed Chair Janet Yellen]
can do is buy more bonds, buy more mortgages, and print more money. This will
help in the short run but undermine the economy in the long run. In other words,
the U.S. will not be recovering from its economic downward spiral.
spending dipped 0.1% in May after falling 0.2% in April, the Commerce Department said. Reduced spending
on health care and utilities made up much of the decline. But excluding auto purchases, household consumption of
goods was weak as well. That defied the Hollywood script written by many economists. After consumer spending
rose just 1% in a first quarter battered by harsh winter weather, shoppers were expected to hit the malls with a
vengeance in the current quarter, snapping up everything from summer outfits to flat-screen TVs. But while
personal income rose solidly, rising food and energy prices prompted many Americans to rein in discretionary
purchases, Edelstein said. "The
does call
into question is this the year that's going to be the good year after all?"
Bloomberg LP in New York. The lagged effect of elevated interest rates and gasoline prices, as well as weaker equity
gains, have taken at least a temporary bite out of sentiment. Another report today showed claims for
unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week. Jobless claims increased by 28,000 to 326,000 in the
week ended May 17, Labor Department figures showed in Washington . Stocks were little changed at 9:33 a.m.,
those
said the economy was worsening, up from 31 percent in
April, while the share of respondents who saw an improvement dropped by the most since October.
Bloombergs weekly measure of the economy declined to 20.6 last week, the lowest
level since early February, from 21.5 in the prior period. The buying-climate measure, which asks
with the Standard & Poors 500 Index rising less than 0.1 percent to 1,888.48. Some 37 percent of
surveyed
consumers whether this is a good time to make purchases, dropped to a six-week low of 30.9 from 32.2. The gauge
of personal finances held at 50.8, also the weakest since the first week of April. Elevated prices at grocery stores
and gas stations are probably souring Americans views of the economy. The consumer-price index increased 0.3
percent in April, the biggest advance since June, the Labor Department said last week.
0.4 percent for a third consecutive month as the cost of meat advanced by the most since
November 2003. Gasoline Prices While gasoline prices were little changed last week from the prior period at an
average $3.65 a gallon, they were up from $3.18 six months earlier. Fuel costs reached $3.70 on April 26, the
first year-over-year decrease since October 2012. Further job gains may lay the groundwork for higher wages and
confidence. Payrolls climbed by 288,000 workers in April after a 203,000 increase the previous month that was
larger than first estimated, the Labor Department said this month. Todays figures showed sentiment fell in five of
seven income brackets last week, with those making more than $100,000 leading the decline. Sentiment among
The
gauge has declined by 9.4 points in the past month . Biggest Drop Among the regions, the South
the highest-earning Americans dropped 3.6 points to 52.9, the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 2.
showed the biggest drop in confidence, with a decline of 2.6 points to a one-month low of 35. Sentiment fell in the
Northeast and rose in the Midwest and West. This is the fourth release in which the Bloomberg comfort index has
been presented on a scale of zero to 100 rather than the previous minus 100 to 100, with the midpoint shifting to
50 from zero. The change is also reflected in the gauges components. It doesnt affect the measures relationship
to each other or their correlation with other economic indicators. Historical data has been revised and analysis of
trends, values and other variables also arent affected.
disruptions at home and weak demand abroad caused a contraction of rare severity in
the U.S. economy in the first quarter, renewing doubts about the strength of the nation's
five-year-old recovery. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across
the economy, fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.9% in the first quarter, the Commerce
Department said in its third reading of the data Wednesday. That was a sharp downward revision
from the previous estimate that output fell at an annual rate of 1%. It also represented the
fastest rate of decline since the recession , and was the largest drop recorded since
the end of World War II that wasn't part of a recession. To be sure, many signs since March, including
Weather
reports of growth in consumer spending, business investment and hiring, indicate the first quarter doesn't mark the
start of a new recession. And revisions in future years could alter the first-quarter figure. J.P. Morgan Chase
Economy Solvency
(--) Offshore wind massively boosts the economy:
The Guardian 12(Investment in offshore wind better for economy than
gas, report shows
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/dec/04/investment-windeconomy-gasThe Guardian is a British national daily newspaperIn August
2013, The Guardian in paper form had an average daily circulation of 189,000
copies.[4] Its combined print and online editions reach nearly 9 million
readers. Tuesday 4 December 2012 05.27 EST, AED)
Large-scale investment in offshore wind would generate more wealth for the
economy and create more jobs than relying on gas -fired power plants, a report suggested on Tuesday.
Substantial deployment of offshore wind by 2030 would have only a marginal impact on electricity prices but would
boost growth, cut dependence on gas imports, and reduce emissions , the report for WWF-UK and
Greenpeace said. The study by Cambridge Econometrics compared a scenario with steady growth in offshore wind capacity in the 2020s with a power system where there was no new
develop in the UK, the report claims. Exploiting unconventional shale gas through fracking will have little impact as it would be a benefit to the economy in both scenarios, used either as
a domestic gas supply or exported if the UK was relying more on wind, the report said. Environmental groups have been critical of George Osborne's backing for a second "dash for gas"
They warn
that failing to include a target to slash emissions from the power sector by 2030 in
the recently published energy bill will undermine investment in renewables after
2020, after which time support for low carbon power is unclear.
instead of aiming for low-carbon investment, with support for new gas-fired power plants and tax relief for unconventional shale gas exploration in the UK.
Offshore wind technology can help build the U.S. economy. While the U.S. has not
yet installed any offshore wind farms, Europe has been doing so for 20 years and
has become the leading supplier of offshore wind turbines. Building our own
manufacturing, operating, and servicing the wind farms. As the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) states,
the offshore wind industry has an additional employment effect due to the higher cost of
installing, operating, and maintaining offshore wind turbines than land-based ones.1 It is also likely that offshore
wind job creation will come at a time and to those places where it is particularly
needed. As the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) indicates, many of the jobs for the new offshore industry
will potentially be located in economically depressed ports and shipyards . These locations
will serve as fabrication and staging areas for manufacture, installation, and maintenance of offshore wind
These areas can particularly stand to gain jobs in a new offshore wind
industry, since they have experienced a double blow from the downturn in
manufacturing and the recent recession .
turbines.2
based on a factor of more than 20 jobs for each MW of new offshore wind, as extrapolated from a EWEA 2009
report.26 However, it should be noted that EWEA has revised its projection for MW, total jobs and jobs per MW by
2030 in its more recent 2011 publication, which could affect U.S. estimates updated in the future. Some individual
projects in the U.S. have conducted studies providing job projections. Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation
(LEEDCo) is undertaking the development of a 5,000 MW wind farm in the waters north of Cleveland, Ohio. The
stakeholders believe it could be a strong generator of jobs, partially due to the existing port infrastructure and
supply chain capacities from the areas onshore wind industry. By the time the wind farm is online, they project that
8,000 jobs will have been created. In Maine, the Deepwater Offshore Wind Plan is projected
to generate 7,000 to 15,000 jobs.
basis [17,20]
Competitiveness Advantage
Extensions
However, Europe
is still the strongest con- tinent while North America and Asia are increasing rapidly
their shares. Approximately 55% of the total installed wind capacity of the world is in Europe, 23% in America
installed capacity from 66% in 2006 to 61% in the year 2007 further down to 55% in 2008.
and 20% in Asia. In the Euro- pean Union (EU), installed wind power capacity has increased by an average of 27%
annually over the past 10 years, from 6453MW in 1998 to 65,933MW in 2008.
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1069&context=californialawreview, University of California Berkeley School
of Law, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies AS)
exists off the coasts of the United States -an estimated 98,000 MW of it in [end of pg 1632] shallow waters.14 This
shallow-water capacity could power between 22 and 29 million homes, or between 20 and 26
percent of all U.S. homes. The nation has failed to take advantage of this promising
resource. This failure can be ascribed in part to the unevenly balanced distribution of the costs and benefits of
offshore wind technology, as well as to the incoherent regulatory framework in the United States for managing
coastal resources.17 While the most compelling benefits of offshore wind are frequently regional, national, or even
global, the costs are almost exclusively local. The U.S. regulatory framework is not set up to handle this cost-benefit
Competitiveness Solvency
(--) Renewable energy incentives key to competitiveness:
USITC 13 (United States International Trade Commission, August 2013,
Policymakers often
talk about the need to improve domestic competitiveness and increase their
countrys share of the global renewable energy market . 3 Renewable energy
incentives are also used to achieve economic development, job creation, and
environmental justice (for example, reducing emissions of particulates such as soot and ash near lowincome communities). Renewable energy incentives that are sufficiently powerful can
accomplish these goals, but such goals are often in tension with each other. For example, a policy that
governments promote investment in high-tech manufacturing and other industries).
aims to deploy renewable [End of pg. 181] energy and create jobs simultaneously may cost more per job and per
kilowatt-hour (kWh) than single-focus policies.4
Practices in Promotion and Use for Latin America and the Caribbean,
https://www.competecaribbean.org/publication/renewable-energy-bestpractises-in-promotion-and-use-for-latin-america-and-the-caribbeanenglish/wppa_download, former Project Manager U.S. Peace Corps, former
Managing Director of Field Operations
ASAFO Global Medical Trust AS)
Improved Regional Economic Competitiveness A new renewable energy market can also stimulate
regional economic competiveness by inducing new private capital investments .
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in the year ending June 2011, new investment in clean energy rose 22
manufacturing firm, for example, may choose to locate in a region with abundant clean electricity to avoid costly
environmental controls or regulations. Finally, the existence of one or two renewable energy businesses in a region
can create a clustering effect of companies that operate up and down the supply chain. All this helps to make a
region more economically attractive, and therefore competitive.
long run. Similarly, the draft has also come under criticism based on the premise
that its effect in the job market may be negative rather than positive. Natural
Resources Defense Council Climate Campaign Director, Pete Altman, said that the
regulations would benefit the job market by creating jobs in the pollution-control
industry which already creates billions of dollars of export revenue for the U.S.
Protectionism = War
(--) Protectionism causes global war:
Dan Weil, 6/25/2012 (staff writer, Trade Protectionism on the Rise,
Threatening Global Economy, http://www.newsmax.com/Economy/TradeProtectionism-Global-Economy/2012/06/25/id/443299/, Accessed 7/27/2014,
rwg)
Countries around the world are adopting more and more trade-protectionist measures, and thats not good news for
the global economy. The World Trade Organization reported at the end of April that Group-of-20 (G-20) nations had
imposed 124 rules restricting trade since mid-October, according to The New York Times. Those regulations affect
about 1 percent of global trade.
protectionism, Karel De Gucht, the European Union trade commissioner, says in a recent statement. It sends the
wrong signal to global trading partners, it sends the wrong signal to investors, and it sends the wrong signal to the
business community. The fact that so many countries are dependent on trade may actually help prevent a trade
war, as governments will hopefully come to realize that their protectionism is ultimately self-defeating.
OceansAT: Resiliency
(--) Extend our Gregg 14 evidenceoceans are on the brink of
collapseyou should prefer our evidenceit is newer and cites
new trends in the oceans.
(--) Marine Ecosystems are very fragile
Peace 09 (Johanna, 12/1/09, Increasing Ocean Acidification Is Tipping Fragile Balances within Marine
Ecosystems, http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20091201/increasing-ocean-acidification-tipping-fragile-balanceswithin-marine-ecosystems, staff writer, mls)
The increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the world's oceans is shifting fragile
balances within marine ecosystems, and it could cause unpredictable changes for
sea life ranging from corals to oysters to whales, scientists say. One threat is from
acidification a chemical process that occurs when carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere is absorbed into sea water, causing the water's pH level to drop. As
acidification increases, scientists now worry its effects on marine life may be more wideranging than previously predicted. In recent months, new threats to species and signs of shifting
populations have raised alarm within the scientific community. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) took one
protective step this fall when it filed a petition to list 83 species of coral under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The group seeks to expand on its successful 2006 petition to list elkhorn corals and staghorn corals as
endangered, a landmark decision that marked the U.S. governments first official recognition of climate change as
an existential threat to a species. Over the coming year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
whose Coral Reef Watch tracks the health of corals worldwide, will review CBDs petition and determine whether to
assign endangered status to each of the 83 species on the list. Ocean Acidification Threatens Coral Reefs
Falling pH levels are particularly harmful for calcifying organisms such as coral and
shellfish, which have a harder time building and maintaining their calcium-based exteriors as the ocean grows
more acidic. A recent study of the changes in shellfish at different levels of ocean acidity found that the
concentrations of CO2 likely to be found in oceans later this century decreased the chances of survival for young
clams and scallops by more than 50%. The survivors also developed more slowly, suggesting their populations
decades, global warming and ocean acidification threaten to completely unravel magnificent coral reefs that took
cryogenically cooled coral preservation arks where polyps can be stored to stave off total extinction. London
Institute of Zoology researcher Alex Rogers explained: At the moment the concept we are actually looking at is to
literally have a frozen ark for reef-building corals. So that essentially is a lab-based project to freeze the diversity of
corals that can build coral reefs. Rogers and his team hope to have coral arks operating within two years at the
UKs Whipsnade Zoo and, eventually, at other locations worldwide. After collecting and freezing small samples of
diverse coral species from the ocean, the scientists plan to construct propagation centers where new colonies and
entire reefs can be re-built using the preserved coral tissue. Other Potential Consequences Corals arent the only
species likely to be affected by the ongoing acidification of the worlds oceans. According to marine ecologist Joanie
Kleypas, ocean acidification could affect ocean life forms ranging from tiny algae to giant whales in unpredictable
ways. For one thing, the oceans falling pH will mean that sound travels faster underwater a change that could
either help or hinder the sound-based communication of marine mammals like dolphins and whales. It could be
confusing to these mammals, making them think things are closer than they are, Kleypas said. Or it could be good
for them, helping them to communicate over longer distances. And though a rising level of dissolved CO2 weakens
the skeletons of calcifying creatures like coral, it may be a boon for other organisms that use the gas for
photosynthesis. Certain species of sea grass, for instance, may use the extra CO2 to grow faster and stronger,
eventually competing with retreating reefs for space. Its too soon to tell exactly what the impacts will be for some
entire food chain, throwing it out of balance . Consider, for example, the tiny pterapod, a marine
snail whose shell is affected by changing pH. The pterapod is an important food source for young salmon, mackerel,
herring and cod, which are important food sources for larger animals and economic sources for humans. Youre
shifting the whole balance of elements, Kleypas said. We cant yet predict how marine communities are going to
respond to that.
OceansSolvency Extensions
(--) Offshore wind energy benefits the marine ecosystem.
MUSIAL & BUTTERFIELD 06 National Renewable Energy Laboratory [W.
Musial and S. Butterfield, Energy from Offshore Wind, May 14, 2006,
http://www.nrel.gov/wind/pdfs/39450.pdf] J.L.
offshore wind energy is considered to have
relatively benign effects on the marine environment , according extensive analyses conducted by the
By comparison to other forms of electric power generation,
European Community3. However, regulatory and environmental uncertainties have hindered the approvals for the first offshore wind
projects in the United States and for the early years of development may have a greater influence over the pace of industry growth
than the technical issues presented above. Regulatory Framework for Wind Energy. Though the offshore wind industry has over a
decade of experience in Europe, the United States did not have any project proposals until 2001 with the Cape Wind Associates
project in Nantucket Sound [31]. Moreover, there were no firm national policies for offshore wind developments until the summer of
2005 with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This is a case where projects were proposed before policies were in place.
On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Energy Policy Act (EPAct 2005, PL 109-58) granting the Minerals Management
Service (MMS) within the Department of the Interior (DOI) new responsibilities over renewable energy and alternate uses of offshore
public lands [8]. Prior to the passage of this legislation, the U.S. Army of Corp of Engineers (ACE) assumed the lead for coordinating
the approval process for the first applications. For the last 40 years, MMS has regulated the offshore oil and gas industry and other
mineral extraction activities in federal waters, also known as the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This new regulatory authority
granted to MMS will evaluate compatible uses of the OCS, establish fair economic compensation for projects in federal waters,
evaluate potential impacts to marine resources, and involve other federal and state agencies in the review and approval of future
wind power permits. The new authority does not supersede or modify existing authority of any other federal agency. It does not
change any of the exclusions of the moratoria areas for oil and gas drilling. In addition, the regulatory regime will not apply to areas
designated as National Marine Sanctuaries, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, Sanctuaries, National Parks, National Wildlife
Refuges, or any National Monument. The project siting process will have to take into account these exclusion zones and a range of
legal authorities affecting the OCS [32]. Given their experience in the oil and gas program and sand and gravel mining, MMS has a
wealth of experience in siting and managing activities on the OCS. They do not, however, have a depth of understanding about wind
resources or the wind energy industry. DOE and MMS will be signing a memorandum of understanding to facilitate cooperation
between the two government entities for exchanging technical information relating to offshore wind energy R&D activities,
engineering principles of wind turbines and their components, and certification procedures for the turbines and the entire structure.
In addition to the MMS and ACE, there are two other key federal agencies involved with ocean boundary jurisdictions, including the
independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). FERC
jurisdiction stems from their authority regarding electric transmission rights for approval of power supply contracts and connecting
to the landfall cable. Most recently, FERC has assumed additional authority over ocean technology projects with a license
requirement for wave power. NOAA, within the Department of Commerce, has jurisdictional authority to protect and manage marine
sanctuaries. Any projects in or around a marine sanctuary or any protected area will be subject to NOAA review and approval. There
is a multitude of other federal and state agencies involved with ocean uses and management that have a role in the approval
process for offshore wind projects. Generally, these roles and responsibilities are well defined, but there are numerous areas where
these responsibilities overlap and even conflict. This could create a web of approvals and consultations that would delay projects
and not necessarily contribute to better siting or management of offshore wind energy projects. Now MMS has the authority to strike
a better balance between the development of the offshore wind resources and competing commercial and natural resource
interests. The new MMS authority to develop a new regulatory paradigm for offshore wind facilities, based upon Section 388 of the
EPAct 2005, includes the following responsibilities: 3 For detailed analyses comparing the lifecycle costs of fossil, nuclear and wind
power, see the EC reports at http://www.externe.info. Act as the lead agency for permitting offshore renewable energy projects,
including wind.4 Ensure consultation with states and other stakeholders. Grant easements, leases or rights-of-ways for uses of
the OCS on a competitive basis. Pursue appropriate enforcement actions in the event that violations occur. Require financial
surety to ensure that facilities constructed are properly removed at the end of their economic life (decommissioning). Regulate,
monitor, and determine fair return to the nation with a reasonable payment for sharing revenue among coastal states within 15
miles of a project. MMS is under a congressional mandate to develop new regulations by May 2006. The Advanced Notice of
Proposed Regulation was just issued in December 2005 and public comments are being sought. Potential Environmental and Socio-
project evaluation thus far is the 3800-page Cape Wind draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) prepared by Cape Wind
Associates, under the leadership of the ACE New England District. The document, released in November 2004, did not identify any
significant impacts, but a range of specific mitigation measures and monitoring studies are proposed. The ACE held several public
hearings, coordinated with 17 public agencies, and received over 5000 public comments. The extensive public involvement
requirements along with the transfer of jurisdiction to MMS have slowed the permitting process significantly. Recently, MMS required
that the Cape Wind DEIS be expanded to include construction and operational procedures, personnel safety, and decommissioning
that fit a broader cradle-to-grave approach -- reflecting the new MMS program authority. The only peer-reviewed information on
potential environmental impacts from offshore wind is based upon lessons learned from land-based projects and European beforeand-after-control-impact (BACI) studies for installed projects. Though there is over 15 years experience with offshore wind facilities in
Europe, most of the projects were quite small (less than 10 turbines) and there were not scientifically credible siting criteria, study
methodologies, and mitigation strategies established. Given the higher growth rate in Europe and significant deployment plans for
the next 10 years, there is now a proliferation of studies and standards. The most credible and broad-based environmental studies in
Europe for commercial facilities are based upon the Horns Rev and Nysted projects in Denmark. These 2 sites have 80 and 72
turbines, respectively. Both sites have government- 4 The new authorization also includes jurisdictional authority over alternative
energy, such as wave, solar, and current power as well as marine related uses of the existing infrastructure and a coastal assistance
program that are not addressed in this paper. sponsored BACI studies with oversight from an international scientific panel reviewing
the methods, design plans, and findings from three-year post-construction evaluations. The Danish studies did identify several
significant temporal impacts during the construction phase. The pile driving and increased transportation requirements, for example,
created noise and disturbance to the marine environment. Consequently, they documented short-term impacts to marine mammals
as they dispersed away from the area when noise levels increased. In order to mitigate these temporal impacts, pingers were used
before construction began to scare away any mammals in the area to reduce the impacts of the construction noise. Satellite tracking
devices and porpoise detectors were attached to the seals and porpoises to verify their movements. Since the mammals returned to
the area during the operational phase, these impacts were considered insignificant. The actual impact to the mammals for feeding
and molting is considered unknown since it is very difficult to ascertain the physical impacts on mammals in the wild and the
subjects would have to be tracked for several seasons for a more definitive survey5. There are now thousands of pages of scientific
material relating to the ecological effects of offshore wind sites in Europe and the United States. A discussion of the range of
environmental effects and findings along with issues related to the competing uses of the ocean is beyond the scope of this paper.
Danish study have a positive attitude towards the establishment of new offshore wind farms. There were, however, some concerns
about the visual externalities of turbines when they can be seen from the shore (generally, less than 10 km). In the case of the
Horns Rev wind site, over 1700 man-years of local jobs were created during the construction period and 2000 man-years created
over the 20-year life of the projects. Approximately, one fourth of these jobs were locally based. The multiplier effects are associated
with the construction activities and the manufacturing of materials as well as indirect effects from demands of inputs from goods
present status offshore wind energy showed the industry in its infancy but with the potential to become a major contributor in the
U.S. electric energy market. Since over half of the cost of an offshore wind energy power plant is outside the wind turbine itself, the
offshore industry would be the primary beneficiary from this new energy source. If offshore energy predictions are achieved, offshore
wind could result in over $100 billion of revenue to the domestic offshore industry over the next 30 years. The offshore would
receive this revenue in the form of construction, site assessments, subsea electrical, inspections, service, and operation contracts.
The technical issues and design challenges needed to achieve economic competitiveness for near term deployments in shallow
water below 30-m depth were described, as well as the requirements for future technologies needed to deploy systems in deeper
water beyond the current depth limits. New regulatory authority was granted to the Minerals Management Service in 2005 and this
ScienceDaily 10 (ScienceDaily, 1/19/10, Offshore wind power and wave energy devices create
artificial reefs, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100118132130.htm , science news stories
from the worlds leading universities and research organizations, mls)
Offshore wind power and wave energy foundations can increase local
abundances of fish and crabs. The reef-like constructions also favour for
example blue mussels and barnacles. What's more, it is possible to increase or decrease the
abundance of various species by altering the structural design of foundation. This was shown by Dan Wilhelmsson
strengthens the reef function," says Dan Wilhelmsson. A major expansion of offshore wind power is underway
along European coasts, and the interest is growing in countries such as the US, China, Japan, and India. Moreover,
wave power technologies are being developed very rapidly. Many thousand wind and wave power plants grouped in
large arrays that each cover several square kilometers can be expected. How marine life will react to this is not
clear, but several research projects investigating the impacts of noise, shadows, electromagnetic fields, and
changes in hydrology etc. are underway. Dan Wilhelmsson studied how offshore wind turbines constitute habitats
Blue mussels dominated on the wind turbines that appeared to offer good growth conditions. Wave power
foundations, too, constituting massive concrete blocks, proved to attract fish and large crabs. Blue mussels fall
down from the surface buoys and become food for animals on the foundations and on the adjacent seabed.
Lobsters also settle under the foundations. In a large-scale experiment, holes were drilled in the foundations, and
this dramatically increased numbers of crabs. The position of the holes also proved to be of importance for the
crabs. However, aggregations of certain species may have a negative impact on other species. The number of
predatory animals on artificial reefs can sometimes become so large that the organisms they prey on, such as seapens, starfish, and crustaceans, are decimated in the surroundings, and certain species can disappear entirely.
"With
wind and wave energy farms, it should be possible to create large areas with
biologically productive reef structures , which would moreover be protected from bottom trawling. By
carefully designing the foundations it would be possible to favour and protect important species or, conversely, to
reduce the reef effects in order minimize the impact on an area," says Dan Wilhelmsson.
will settle on hard structures and then that in turn will attract other marine species and it builds up over time.
can protect fish from the very invasive and destructive practice of using technology for sea-bottom trawling. The studys lead author
wrote,
acidification, global warming and climatic changes. Done well and sensitively its
deployment could be beneficial to marine wildlife compared to the alternative
scenario of greater levels of climate change . (Source: Friends of the Earth)
The unique characteristics of the deep sea, including remarkable habitats such as seamounts, make
the deep sea ecologically invaluable. Unfortunately, anthropogenic activities threaten
the health of the deep sea. One of the greatest threats is deep sea bottom trawling, the global
significance of which is tremendous. The ecological impact of deep sea bottom trawling is so
grave that the minimal economic benefit in no way justifies the practice.
farm could impact commercial fishing by limiting the waters open for fishing or by
influencing commercial fish stocks. Depending on the spacing between turbines, it may or may not be
possible for commercial boats employing particular types of fishing tackle to operate within the boundaries of the
facility. Submarine cables also may prevent continued trawling operations in both
the vicinity of the turbines and in areas around cables connecting the project to [*401] the grid. n125 Fish stocks
may be affected by disruptions of bottom habitat during construction and habitat creation on the marine
vertical spillovers would depend on whether facility components have the potential to influence commercial fishing
activity or particular fisheries exploited by coastal residents.
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth . Coral reefs
support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800
species of hard corals and hundreds of other species. Scientists estimate that there may be another 1 to 8 million
This biodiversity is
considered key to finding new medicines for the 21st century . Many drugs are now
being developed from coral reef animals and plants as possible cures for cancer,
arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses, and other diseases . Storehouses of
immense biological wealth, reefs also provide economic and environmental services
to millions of people. Coral reefs may provide goods and services worth $375 billion
each year. This is an amazing figure for an environment that covers less than 1 percent of the Earths surface
undiscovered species of organisms living in and around reefs (Reaka-Kudla, 1997).
(Costanza et al., 1997). boat with harvested sponges In the 1890s, harvesting sponges was second only to cigarmaking in economic importance in the Florida Keys. Nets of recently harvested marine sponges are drying on the
top of the boat's wheelhouse. Click the image for a larger vew. (photo: Scott Larosa) Healthy reefs contribute to
local economies through tourism. Diving tours, fishing trips, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses based near
reef systems provide millions of jobs and contribute billions of dollars all over the world. Recent studies show that
millions of people visit coral reefs in the Florida Keys every year. These reefs alone are estimated to have an asset
value of $7.6 billion (Johns et al., 2001). The commercial value of U.S. fisheries from coral reefs is over $100 million
(NMFS/NOAA, 2001). In addition, the annual value of reef-dependent recreational fisheries probably exceeds $100
et al., 1995). Coral reefs buffer adjacent shorelines from wave action and prevent erosion, property damage and
loss of life. Reefs also protect the highly productive wetlands along the coast, as well as ports and harbors and the
economies they support. Globally, half a billion people are estimated to live within 100 kilometers of a coral reef
and benefit from its production and protection. Natural Threats to Coral Reefs "" next page shallow water coral
Corals growing in very shallow water are the most vulnerable to environmental hazards. Shallow tides can expose
them to the air, drying the polyps out and killing them. Branching corals growing in shallow water can be smashed
by storms. Coral reefs face numerous threats. Weather-related damage to reefs occurs frequently. Large and
powerful waves from hurricanes and cyclones can break apart or flatten large coral heads, scattering their
fragments (Barnes & Hughes, 1999; Jones & Endean, 1976). A single storm seldom kills off an entire colony, but
slow-growing corals may be overgrown by algae before they can recover (UVI, 2001). Reefs also are threatened by
tidal emersions. Long periods of exceptionally low tides leave shallow water coral heads exposed, damaging reefs.
The amount of damage depends on the time of day and the weather conditions. Corals exposed during daylight
hours are subjected to the most ultraviolet radiation, which can overheat and dry out the coral's tissues. Corals may
become so physiologically stressed that they begin to expel their symbiotic zooxanthellae, which leads to bleaching,
and in many cases, death (Barnes & Huges, 1999). crown of thorns sea star In addition to severe weather, corals
are vulnerable to attacks by predators. Large sea stars like this crown-of-thorns (Acanthaster planci) slowly crawl
over coral reefs consuming all of the living coral tissue they come into contact with. Click the image for a larger
view. Increased sea surface temperatures, decreased sea level and increased salinity from altered rainfall can all
result from weather patterns such as El Nio. Together these conditions can have devastating effects on a corals
physiology (Forrester, 1997.) During the 1997-1998 El Nio season, extensive and severe coral reef bleaching
occurred in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of all shallow-water corals on many
Indo-Pacific reefs were killed. (NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 2001). In addition to weather, corals are
vulnerable to predation. Fish, marine worms, barnacles, crabs, snails and sea stars all prey on the soft inner tissues
of coral polyps (Jones & Endean, 1976). In extreme cases, entire reefs can be devastated by this kind of predation.
In 1978 and 1979, a massive outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) attacked the reef at the
Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary in American Samoa. Approximately 90 percent of the corals were
destroyed. Coral reefs may recover from periodic traumas caused by weather or other natural occurrences. If,
however, corals are subjected to numerous and sustained stresses including those imposed by people, the strain
may be too much for them to endure, and they will perish. Anthropogenic Threats to Corals "" next page grounded
ship on coral reef Ships that become grounded on coral reefs may cause immediate and long-term damage to reefs.
Click the image for a larger view. Human-caused, or anthropogenic activities are major threats to coral reefs.
Pollution, overfishing, destructive fishing practices using dynamite or cyanide, collecting live corals for the
aquarium market and mining coral for building materials are some of the many ways that people damage reefs all
around the world every day. (Bryant et al., 1998) One of the most significant threats to reefs is pollution. Landbased runoff and pollutant discharges can result from dredging, coastal development, agricultural and deforestation
activities, and sewage treatment plant operations. This runoff may contain sediments, nutrients, chemicals,
insecticides, oil, and debris (UVI, 2001). When some pollutants enter the water, nutrient levels can increase,
promoting the rapid growth of algae and other organisms that can smother corals (Jones & Endean, 1976). marine
debris on coral There are many ways that pollution can damage reefs. Debris like this plastic bag can quickly
become entangled on a coral and smother it. Click the image for a larger view. Coral reefs also are affected by
leaking fuels, anti-fouling paints and coatings, and other chemicals that enter the water (UVI, 2001). Petroleum
spills do not always appear to affect corals directly because the oil usually stays near the surface of the water, and
much of it evaporates into the atmosphere within days. However, if an oil spill occurs while corals are spawning, the
eggs and sperm can be damaged as they float near the surface before they fertilize and settle. So, in addition to
compromising water quality, oil pollution can disrupt the reproductive success of corals, making them vulnerable to
other types of disturbances. (Bryant, et al, 1998). In many areas, coral reefs are destroyed when coral heads and
brightly-colored reef fishes are collected for the aquarium and jewelry trade. Careless or untrained divers can
trample fragile corals, and many fishing techniques can be destructive. In blast fishing, dynamite or other heavy
explosives are detonated to startle fish out of hiding places. This practice indiscriminately kills other species and
can crack and stress corals so much so that they expel their zooxanthellae. As a result, large sections of reefs can
be destroyed. Cyanide fishing, which involves spraying or dumping cyanide onto reefs to stun and capture live fish,
also kills coral polyps and degrades the reef habitat (NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 2001). More than 40
countries are affected by blast fishing, and more than 15 countries have reported cyanide fishing activities (ICRI,
1995). fishing trawler Certain types of fishing can severely damage reefs. Trawlers catch fish by dragging nets along
the ocean bottom. Reefs in the net's path get mowed down. Long wide patches of rubble and sand are all that is left
in their wake. Other damaging fishing techniques include deep water trawling, which involves dragging a fishing net
along the sea bottom, and muro-ami netting, in which reefs are pounded with weighted bags to startle fish out of
crevices. (Bryant, et al, 1998). Often, fishing nets left as debris can be problematic in areas of wave disturbance. In
shallow water, live corals become entangled in these nets and are torn away from their bases (Coles, 1996). In
addition anchors dropped from fishing vessels onto reefs can break and destroy coral colonies (Bryant, et al, 1998).
Coral Diseases "" next page blackband disease This large brain coral is being attacked by black-band disease. This
is the only coral disease that can be successfully treated. Click the image for a larger view. (Photo: Andy Bruckner,
NOAA) Coral diseases generally occur in response to biological stresses, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, and
nonbiological stresses, such as increased sea surface temperatures, ultraviolet radiation and pollutants. One type of
stress may exacerbate the other (NMFS, 2001). The frequency of coral diseases has increased significantly over the
last 10 years, causing widespread mortality among reef-building corals. Many scientists believe the increase is
related to deteriorating water quality associated with human-made pollutants and increased sea surface
temperatures. These factors may allow for the proliferation and colonization of microbes. However, exact causes for
coral diseases remain elusive. The onset of most diseases likely is a response to multiple factors (NMFS, 2001).
yellowband disease Yellow-band disease can rapidly spread over a coral, destroying the delicate underlying tissues.
On the left is a massive coral in the early stages of attack by yellow band disease. On the right is the same coral
several weeks later. Note how rapidly the area of destroyed tissue has expanded. Click the image for a larger view.
(Photo: Andy Bruckner, NOAA) While the pathologies, or mechanisms by which many diseases act upon the coral
polyp are not well known, the effects that these diseases have on corals has been well documented. Black-band
disease, discolored spots, red-band disease, and yellow-blotch/band disease appear as discolored bands, spots or
lesions on the surface of the coral. Over time, these progress across or expand over the corals surface consuming
the living tissue and leaving the stark white coral skeleton in their wake. Other diseases, such as rapid wasting,
white-band, white-plague and white-pox, often cause large patches of living coral tissue to slough off, exposing the
skeleton beneath. Once exposed, the corals limestone skeleton can be a fertile breeding ground for algae and
encrusting invertebrates. The colonization and overgrowth of the exposed coral skeleton by foreign organisms often
results in the health of the entire colony taking a downward spiral from which it seldom recovers. Protecting Coral
Reefs "" next page animation of sea surface temperatures Using color enhanced images of sea surface temperature
scientists can observe how environmental changes on a global scale can affect coral reefs in specific regions. Click
the magnificent creatures that call them home are in danger of disappearing if actions are not taken to protect
world.
In 1998, the President of the United States established the Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) to protect and
conserve coral reefs. The CRTF is responsible for mapping and monitoring U.S. coral reefs; researching the causes of
coral reef degradation including pollution and over fishing and finding solutions to these problems; and promoting
conservation and the sustainable use of coral reefs. As a principle member of the CRTF, and as directed by the Coral
Reef Conservation Act of 2000,
ecosystems.
Healthy coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and economically
valuable ecosystems on earth, providing valuable and vital ecosystem services.
Coral ecosystems are a source of food for millions; protect coastlines from storms
and erosion; provide habitat, spawning and nursery grounds for economically
important fish species; provide jobs and income to local economies from fishing,
recreation, and tourism; are a source of new medicines, and are hotspots of marine
biodiversity. They also are of great cultural importance in many regions around the world, particularly Polynesia. Hanau ka
'Uko-ko'ako'a, hanau kana, he Ako'ako'a, puka. (Born the coral polyp, born of him a coral colony emerged.) Kumulipo, Hawaiian
hymn of creation "Coral
one recent estimate gave the total net benefit of the world's coral
reef ecosystems to be $29.8 billion/year . [a] For example, the economic importance of
Hawai`i's coral reefs, when combining recreational, amenity, fishery, and
biodiversity values, were estimated to have direct economic benefits of $360
million/year. [b] The global value above does not account for the economic value of
deep-sea coral ecosystems, which, while less well studied and understood, also
provide important ecosystem services. Deep-sea corals serve as hot-spots of
biodiversity in the deeper ocean and their structure provides enhanced feeding
opportunities, a place to hide from predators, a nursery area for juveniles, fish
spawning aggregation sites, and a place for sedentary invertebrates to grow, much
like their coral reef counterparts. These ecosystems have been identified as habitat
for commercially important fishes such as rockfish, shrimp, and crabs. Deep-sea
corals are also being targeted in the search for new medicines. [c] The value of
these services adds to the global value of coral ecosystems .
coral ecosystems provide,
report by the Key West chamber of commerce, tourists visiting the Florida Keys in the US generate at least US$3
billion dollars in annual income, while Australias Great Barrier Reef generates well over US$1 billion per year.
Sustainably manged coral reef-based tourism can also provide significant alternative or additional sources of
intricately woven into cultural tradtions. For these people - as well as for those who have floated with a mask and
snorkel, immersed themselves in the three dimensional wonderland of a scuba dive, or experienced these habitats
through media and books - a world without coral reefs would be an infinitely poorer place.
people on the planet depend entirely on coral reefs for their income and for their
food," Ms Newton said. The study found that 55 per cent of the 49 island nations who register their fish catch are
fishing unsustainably by taking more fish, mollusks and crustaceans than the reefs are able to replace. The
additional area of tropical coral amounting to 75,000 sq km - 3.7 times the size of the Great Barrier Reef - to make
the threat to tropical corals will lead to many inhabited island atolls being abandoned during the 21st century. Nick
Dulvy, of the Center for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture in Lowestoft, said
exploitation of coral fisheries would cause social and economic hardship.
"Alternative livelihoods will be essential for many of those currently dependent on
coral reef fisheries," he said. It is estimated that 284,300 sq km of tropical coral exist globally and that about
20 per cent have been irreversibly lost in recent decades. Another 26 per cent is at risk. Small-scale fishing
can be sustainable but population growth and the spread of unsustainable methods
of fishing - such as the use of dynamite - is damaging many reefs beyond repair .
"Once [large fish] are removed, you get various cascade effects such as a proliferation in sea urchins, which are
indiscriminate grazers," Ms Newton said.
Coral reefs are essential spawning, nursery, breeding, and feeding grounds for
numerous organisms. In terms of biodiversity, the variety of species living on a coral reef is
greater than in any other shallow-water marine ecosystems and is one of the most
diverse on the planet, yet coral reefs cover less than one tenth of one percent of the ocean floor. [a] Of
the 34 recognised animal Phyla, 32 are found on coral reefs , compared to only nine Phyla in
tropical rainforests. [b] In addition to scores of invertebrate species and macrofauna (sharks, sea
turtles, etc.), coral reefs support more than 800 hard coral species and more than 4,000
species of fish. [a, c] Over 25 percent of the world's fish biodiversity , and between nine and
12 percent of the world's total fisheries, are associated with coral reefs. [a] While a portion of these
diverse species are associated with reefs only to hunt or for a portion of their life cyclesuch as juveniles utilizing
reefs as a nursery and adults during spawningothers spend their entire lives in reef ecosystems. And this may
biodiversity value accounts for $5.5 billion of the total estimated annual global net benefit of coral reefs. [e] In
Hawai`i alone, a study placed annual value of biodiversity on Hawaiian reefs to be $17.84 million/year. [f ]
The
Coral Triangle is located along the equator where the western portion of the Pacific Ocean meets the Indian
Ocean; it includes all or part of the exclusive economic zones of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the
that region's coral reef ecosystems is estimated at $2.3 billion/year. [g] While less well studied than shallow-water
communities of Lophelia deep-sea corals rather than the surrounding seabed. Several deep-sea communities have
already been identified as essential habitat for federally-managed species. [h] The values coral ecosystems provide
in terms of biodiversity and habitat for other species feed into benefits for humans, such as fisheries that provide
food and income for millions, reef-based recreation like diving and fishing that provide income for local economies
and leisure to millions, and the medical potential of compounds isolated from organisms living on reefs.
Tel Aviv University 6/24 (Tel Aviv University, 6/24/14, Can coral save our oceans? Soft coral
tissue may help protect reefs against the hazardous effects of climate change,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140624172301.htm, mls)
Coral reefs are home to a rich and diverse ecosystem, providing a habitat for a wide range of marine animals. But
the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat has uncovered the
protective properties of soft coral tissue, which proved resilient when exposed to
declining oceanic pH levels. The study, published in PLOS One, provides insight into the changing face of
Center and
coral reefs threatened by dropping oceanic pH levels and may provide a new approach toward preserving the
Acidification is caused by
increased carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere due to global change, fossil
fuel burning, and other pollution. These emissions dissolve in the ocean, resulting in
a slight lowering of oceanic pH levels. This produces changes to ocean water's carbon content,
harder, calcified reef foundations. Reefs and environmental change
destroying the calcification of reef-building stony coral. "The rise in temperature and ocean acidification are the
main concerns of environmental change," said Prof. Benayahu, the Israel Cohen Chair in Environmental Zoology,
whose TAU laboratory is home to one of the world's only soft coral (octocoral) research centers. "We know the value
of reefs, the massive calcium carbonate constructions that act as wave breakers, and protect against floods,
erosion, hurricanes, and typhoons. While alive, they provide habitats for thousands of living organisms, from sea
urchins to clams, algae to fish. Reefs are also economically important in regions like Eilat or the Caribbean." At first,
the researchers examined the effects of lowered pH levels on living colonies of soft corals. Observing no significant
effects on their physiology, Gabay thought it would be interesting to consider the effects of acidification on the
skeleton of these soft corals. "We really wanted to know if something could survive dropping pH levels in the
future," said Gabay. "I was curious as to whether coral tissue could protect the inner coral skeleton, which is of most
use in terms of reef construction, so I conducted an experiment using live soft corals and soft coral skeletons, which
were placed in tanks containing ocean water with manipulated pH levels." Using state-of-the-art microscopy, Gabay
then scanned the tissue-covered skeletons and bare skeletons of soft corals exposed to experimental acidic
conditions, the same conditions the International Panel of Climate Change predicts will occur 100 years from now if
carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise. She found that the bare soft coral skeletons exhibited acidic stressed
symptoms -- large pockets burned into their microscopic corpuscular subunits -- whereas the tissue-covered
skeleton revealed almost no damage to its microscopic subunits. "We
Novacek and Cleland 01 (Michael J., Elsa E., 5/8/2001, The current biodiversity extinction
event: Scenarios for mitigation and recovery, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3055649?origin=JSTOR-pdf, Senior Vice
President and Provost of Science; Curator, Division of Paleontology, Associate Professor of Ecology, Behavior and
Evolution, mls)
The current massive degradation of habitat and extinction of species is taking place
on a catastrophically short timescale, and their effects will fundamentally reset the
future evolution of the planet's biota. The fossil record suggests that recovery of global ecosystems
has required millions or even tens of millions of years. Thus, intervention by humans, the very agents of the current
environmental crisis, is required for any possibility of short-term recovery or maintenance of the biota. Many current
recovery efforts have deficiencies, including insufficient information on the diversity and distribution of species,
ecological processes, and magnitude and interaction of threats to biodiversity (pollution, overharvesting, climate
change, disruption of biogeochemical cy- cles, introduced or invasive species, habitat loss and fragmentation
through land use, disruption of community structure in habitats, and others). A much greater and more urgently
applied investment to address these deficiencies is obviously warranted. Conservation and restoration in humandominated ecosystems must strengthen connections between human activities, such as agricultural or harvesting
practices, and relevant research generated in the bio- logical, earth, and atmospheric sciences. Certain threats to
biodi- versity require intensive international cooperation and input from the scientific community to mitigate their
harmful effects, includ- ing climate change and alteration of global biogeochemical cycles. In a world already
transformed by human activity, the connection between humans and the ecosystems they depend on must frame
any strategy for the recovery of the biota. There massive is consensus degradation in the of habitat scientific and
community extinction that of many the current of the massive degradation of habitat and extinction of many of the
Based on
extinction rates estimated to be thousands of times the background rate, figures approach- ing 30%
extermination of all species by the mid 21st century are not unrealistic (1-4), an event
comparable to some of the catastrophic mass extinction events of the past (5, 6). The
current rate of rainforest destruction poses a profound threat to species diversity (7). Likewise, the
degradation of the marine ecosystems (8, 9) is directly evident through the
denudation of species that were once dominant and integral to such ecosystems .
Earth's biota is unprecedented and is taking place on a cata- strophically short timescale.
Indeed, this colloquium is framed by a view that if the current global extinction event is of the magnitude that
seems to be well indicated by the data at hand, then its effects will fundamentally reset the future evolution of the
planet's biota. The devastating impact of the current biodiversity crisis moves us to consider the possibilities for the
recovery of the biota. Here, there are several options. First, a rebound could occur from a natural reversal in trends.
Such a pattern would, however, require an unacceptably long timescale; recoveries from mass extinction in the
fossil record are measured in millions or tens of millions of years (10). Second, recovery could result from
unacceptably Malthusian compensation - namely, marked re- duction in the world population of human consumers.
Third, some degree of recovery could result from a policy that protects key habitats even with minimal protection of
A fourth recovery
scenario involves enlightened human intervention beyond simple measures of
wilderness pres- ervation, a strategy that embraces ecosystem management and
mitigation of the current alteration of global biogeochemical cycles . Here, strong
ecosystems already altered or encroached on by human activity (i.e., protecting "hotspots").
preference is expressed for the last of these options. Clearly, the future of evolution of the planet's biota depends
significantly on what we do now to minimize loss of species, populations, and habitats. At the same time, there is
acute recognition of the challenges and potential shortcomings of many attempts at remediation and recovery. It is
hoped that this panel's consideration of major threats, their interaction, and the linkage between science and
conservation in mitigating these threats suggest some feasible recovery scenarios at several different scales
and the pattern of recovery and survival (11, 12). To what extent then does the fossil record help us in forecasting
both scenarios for extinction and recovery in the current crisis? Consideration of this question moves us to
acknowledge that there are several aspects of these past events that diminish their relevance to the current
situation. First, ancient mass extinction events have been documented over comparatively long or imprecise
timescales. The current crisis has been extended through historical times, a matter of centuries or a millennium,
with a greatly accelerated impact that began during the 20th century with the exponential increase of world human
populations. Thus, a period of only 75 to 100 years may be most critical to the transformation of the present biota.
mass extinction events of the past are typified by global scale ecological
transformation. By contrast, the current event is typified by a "patchy" pattern
involving habitat frag- mentation and loss , where impacts vary markedly for different habitats and
Second,
different regions of the world (13). There is a large body of evidence that suggests global climate changes and
alteration of global biogeochemical cycles may cause widespread transformations of ecosystems, but significant
biodiversity loss has not yet been linked to these impacts. Third, data on mass extinction events in the fossil record
the current
biodiversity crisis has one obvious biotic cause: ourselves . Moreover, the source of the trauma
often fail to provide a clear connection between a primary cause and effect (14-16). In contrast,
also has the presumed capacity to mitigate its own deleterious impact. Although the extinction of many species
may be an irreversible outcome of the current event, certain aspects of human-caused global change are reversible.
Where the
United States had previously demonstrated international leadership, other countries
some of them America's rivals for international influence now make the running. This is a small
example of what may be a troubling trend: America's fiscal predicament and the seeming inability
of its political system to resolve these matters may be taking a toll on the instruments of
U.S. soft power and on the country's ability to shape international developments
in ways that serve American interests.
U.S. government deficits and debts, support for an international body was a political nonstarter.
strikes against Iran. With America s image declining in nations like Thailand and Pakistan, it is harder for leaders in
these countries to openly embrace counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, so Washington resorts to
quiet arm-twisting and blandishments to obtain counterterror concessions. Force is not a long-term solution.
Newer, non- traditional security threats such as disease , human trafficking, and drug trafficking
can only be man- aged through forms of multilateral cooperation that depend on
America s ability to persuade other nations. Terrorism itself cannot be defeated by
force alone, a fact that even the White House recognizes . The 2002 National Security Strategy
emphasizes that winning the war on terror requires the United States to lead a battle of ideas against the ideological roots of terrorism, in addition to rooting out and destroying individual militant cells.
According to Gallup International polls, pluralities in 29 countries say that Washington's policies have had a
negative effect on their view of the United States. A Eurobarometer poll found that a majority of Europeans believes
that Washington has hindered efforts to fight global poverty, protect the environment, and maintain peace. Such
attitudes undercut soft power, reducing the ability of the United States to achieve its goals without resorting to
coercion or payment. Skeptics of soft power (Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld professes not even to
understand the term) claim that popularity is ephemeral and should not guide foreign policy. The United States,
they assert, is strong enough to do as it wishes with or without the world's approval and should simply accept that
others will envy and resent it. The world's only superpower does not need permanent allies; the issues should
from unpopular policies in the past (such as those regarding the Vietnam War), but that was often during the Cold
War, when other countries still feared the Soviet Union as the greater evil. It is also true that the United States'
sheer size and association with disruptive modernity make some resentment unavoidable today. But wise policies
can reduce the antagonisms that these realities engender. Indeed, that is what Washington achieved after World
War II: it used soft-power resources to draw others into a system of alliances and institutions that has lasted for 60
years. The Cold War was won with a strategy of containment that used soft power along with hard power.
The
United States cannot confront the new threat of terrorism without the
cooperation of other countries. Of course, other governments will often cooperate
out of self-interest. But the extent of their cooperation often depends on the
attractiveness of the United States. Soft power, therefore, is not just a matter of
ephemeral popularity; it is a means of obtaining outcomes the United States wants.
When Washington discounts the importance of its attractiveness abroad, it pays a
steep price. When the United States becomes so unpopular that being pro-American is a kiss of death in other
countries' domestic politics, foreign political leaders are unlikely to make helpful concessions (witness the defiance
weaponized). They are outliers to be sure, but history proves that they can (and will) happen. And when they do, all
There is a much more pressing medical crisis at hand - one he believes the world must be
alerted to: the possibility of a virus deadlier than HIV . If this makes Dr Ben-Abraham sound like a
prophet of doom, then he makes no apology for it. AIDS, the Ebola outbreak which killed more than 100 people in
Africa last year, the flu epidemic that has now affected 200,000 in the former Soviet Union - they are all, according
to Dr Ben-Abraham, the "tip of the iceberg". Two decades of intensive study and research in the field of virology
have convinced him of one thing:
outsmarted human intelligence. And as new "mega-cities" are being developed in the Third World and rainforests
are destroyed, disease-carrying animals and insects are forced into areas of human habitation. " This
raises the
very real possibility that lethal, mysterious viruses would, for the first time, infect
humanity at a large scale and imperil the survival of the human race ,"
he said.
a few additional
states would begin to build their own nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to distant targets, and these
initiatives would spur increasing numbers of the worlds capable states to follow suit. Restraint would seem ever less
especially the United States, were [was] no longer seen as willing to protect states from nuclear-backed aggression? At least
necessary and ever more dangerous. Meanwhile, more states are becoming capable of building nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Many, perhaps
most, of the worlds states are becoming sufficiently wealthy, and the technology for building nuclear forces continues to improve and spread. Finally, it
seems highly likely that at some point, halting proliferation will come to be seen as a lost cause and the restraints on it will disappear. Once that
happens, the transition to a highly proliferated world would probably be very rapid . While some regions might be able to hold the line
for a time, the threats posed by wildfire proliferation in most other areas could create pressures that would finally overcome all
restraint. Many readers are probably willing to accept that nuclear proliferation is such a grave threat to world peace that every effort should be made
to avoid it. However, every effort has not been made in the past, and we are talking about much more substantial efforts now. For new and substantially
more burdensome efforts to be made to slow or stop nuclear proliferation, it needs to be established that the highly proliferated nuclear world that
would sooner or later evolve without such efforts is not going to be acceptable. And, for many reasons, it is not. First, the dynamics of getting to a
highly proliferated world could be very dangerous. Proliferating states will feel great pressures to obtain nuclear weapons and delivery systems before
any potential opponent does. Those who succeed in outracing an opponent may consider preemptive nuclear war before the
opponent becomes capable of nuclear retaliation . Those who lag behind might try to preempt their opponents nuclear programme or defeat
the opponent using conventional forces. And those who feel threatened but are incapable of building nuclear weapons may still be able to join in this
arms race by building other types of weapons of mass destruction, such as biological weapons.
It would also speed up the arms race and develop the awareness that a
different type of world order is imperative if humankind is to survive. But the still
more critical scenario is if the attack succeeds. This could lead to a third world war,
from which no one will emerge victorious. Unlike a conventional war which ends
when one side triumphs over another, this war will be without winners and losers.
When nuclear pollution infects the whole planet, we will all be losers.
proliferate.
offshore wind has its own unique set of benefits . To start, wind power
generation can help meet the growing energy demand in the United States. The U.S.
wind, though
Energy Information Administration predicts that the demand for electricity in the United States will grow to 5.8
by creating a substantial number of jobs for building and operating the domestic wind energy facilities. 6 0 In an
Obama predicted
that if the United States "fully pursue[s] our potential for wind energy on land and
offshore," wind power could create 250,000 jobs by 2030 .61
April 2009 speech at the Trinity Structural Towers Manufacturing Plant in Iowa, President
Disad Answers
(--) Disads are non-unique: The Energy Department just gave
$150 million to fund offshore wind in Massachusetts
Bastasch 7/1/14 (Michael Bastasch, writer for the Daily Caller, 7/1/14, Feds Give Cape Wind
Project $150 Million Loan Guarantee, Daily Caller, http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/01/feds-give-capewind-project-150-million-loan-guarantee/#ixzz388kDOpx5, mgsk-sd)
The Energy Department has given a conditional $150 million loan to the Cape Wind
project in Massachusetts in a move to fund the first offshore wind farm in the United
States. Cape Wind will receive the $150 million loan after it secures $2.6 billion in financing, according to the
Energy Department. Once it has secured the balance of the funding, it will get taxpayer dollars to help
construct 130 wind turbines that will have a capacity of 360 megawatts of power . If
built, the Cape Wind Project could transform the fishing ports and manufacturing towns in Eastern
Massachusetts into a hub for a vibrant U.S. offshore wind industry , said Peter Davidson, executive
director of the DOEs loan program in a statement. The lessons that could be learned from this project can help
catalyze similar projects in other areas of the U.S. with excellent offshore wind resources. Massachusetts
Democrats hailed the loan as a boom to the state and a step in the right direction in fighting global warming.
Offshore
wind will not only provide a new, clean source of energy for the United States, it
will reduce American reliance on fossil fuel, mitigate climate change and jump start
a new U.S. industry that will create thousands of clean energy jobs , said
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. This funding will help Massachusetts make energy history and continue
our leadership as a clean energy jobs hub for the entire nation, said Sen. Ed Markey.
The federal government appears to recognize the opportunities and benefits that wind power offers. In
February 2009,
Congress positioned wind power generation to continue its rapid growth 5 by
renewing production tax credits for wind power projects through 2012 . Congress also gave the
wind industry options for investment tax credits or U.S. Treasury Department grants for certain wind power projects placed in service by 2012.7
In addition, in July 2009, DOE announced up to $30 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects, including wind power. President
Obama continues to promote renewable energy, including wind energy, as well. For example, in his 2010 State of the Union, the President spoke
repeatedly about the need for renewable energy investment. 9 DOE predicts that by 2030 the United States could get as much as 20 percent of its
electricity from wind, if the nation is able to overcome certain challenges to wind power progress today.' 0
(--) Non-unique: far more birds are killed from other sources:
Roger Drouin, 1/6/2014 (staff writer,
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/birds-bats-wind-turbines-deadlycollisions, Accessed 7/27/2014, rwg)
Hundreds of thousands of birds
and bats are killed by wind turbines in the US each year, including some protected
only a small fraction of the hundreds of
millions killed by buildings, pesticides, fossil-fuel power plants, and other human
causes, but its still worryingespecially as wind power is experiencing record growth.
species such as the golden eagle and the Indiana bat. That's
are members of RE-AMP, which publishes Midwest Energy News. This entry was posted in News and tagged Ohio, wind by Kathiann M. Kowalski. Bookmark
the permalink.
try to have the lowest impact on birds." The industry is collaborating with wildlife
researchers on promising technologies and approaches that are already being fieldtested, and on some experimental and even far-fetched ideas that could help
reduce mortality in the long term. "I am very optimistic we can make significant
progress," said biologist Taber Allison, director of research at the American Wind
Wildlife Institute, a nonprofit partnership of wind companies, scientists, and
environmental organizations such as the National Audubon Society and the Sierra
Club.
new danger.
A
recent, exhaustive study of the environmental impact of major offshore wind farms
in Denmark concluded that "offshore wind farms, if placed right, can be engineered
and operated without significant damage to the marine environment and
vulnerable species.,, 8 5 A final concern is that offshore wind farms are more expensive to build, and
associated with fossil fuel extraction and generation, and in a well-chosen site they can be negligible. 8 4
more difficult to install and maintain, than onshore wind farms. 8 6 The cost of an offshore wind project is estimated
to be at least 50 percent greater than the onshore equivalent. 8 7 Short- and long-term technical improvements
could help to lower offshore wind costs, however, and government assistance may help them occur more quickly.
AT: Environment DA
(--) Wind energy has minimal environmental impact:
Mehmet Bilgili, (Electrical and Energy Department, Adana Vocational High
School, Cukurova University), 2011. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 15 (2011) 905915.
Furthermore,
it is well known that wind energy is one of the cleanest and most
environmentally friendly energy sources, and unlike fossil fuels, the wind will never be depleted. All forms
of energy production have an environmental impact, but the impacts of wind energy
are low, local, and manageable. These environ- mental impacts are negligible when
compared with conventional energy sources. The significance of wind energy originates from its friendly
behavior to the environment. Due to its clean, wind power is sought wherever possible for conversion to electricity with the hope that air
pollution from fossil fuels will be reduced [4]
For the first time ever, the average price for a kilowatthour (KWH)
of electricity in the United States has broken through the 14-cent mark,
climbing to a record 14.3 cents in June, according to data released last week by the Bureau of
CNSNews.com) -
Labor Statistics. Before this June, the highest the average price for a KWH had ever gone was 13.7 cents, the level it
hit in June, July, August and September of last year. The 14.3-cents average price for a KWH recorded this June is
about 4.4 percent higher than that previous record. Average Price for a KWH of Electricity Typically, the cost of
electricity peaks in summer, declines in fall, and hits its lowest point of the year during winter. In each of the first
six months of this year, the average price for a KWH hour of electricity has hit a record for that month. In June, it hit
the all-time record. Although the price for an average KWH hit its all-time record in June, the
seasonally
adjusted electricity price index--which measures changes in the price of electricity relative to a
value of 100 and adjusts for seasonal fluctuations in price-- hit its all-time high of 209.341 in
March of this year, according to BLS. In June, it was slightly below that level, at 209.144.
average price for a KWH hour of electricity has hit a record for that month. In June, it hit the all-time record.
Electricity consumers in the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions could see higher-thanaverage prices for the next several winters if last winter's bitter cold is repeated until additional
natural pipeline capacity into the region is brought into service, competitive energy retail supplier ConEdison
Solutions said in a new report. ConEdison Solution, a unit of New York-based utility Consolidated Edison, said
the
polar vortexes that blasted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic with sustained periods of brutal cold during the
2013-2014 winter led to a spike in the price generators paid for natural gas . The increase was
largely due to inadequate pipeline capacity, the report said. Gas-fired power generators, forced to buy
gas from the spot market to deal with shortages, paid prices that were in some cases 878% higher
than the 12-month average, the report said, adding that gas prices at the the Algonquin Gas Transmission
city-gates in New England hit a high of $75.48/MMBtu on January 22, compared with the 12-month average of
$8.60/MMBtu. Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Megawatt Daily Megawatt Daily Megawatt Daily
Megawatt Daily provides detailed coverage of power prices in major US and Canadian electricity markets, up-todate information about solicitations and supply deals, and information about complex state and federal power
regulations. Request a trial to Megawatt Daily Request More Information "Any proposed project to provide relief by
reducing pipeline constraints will likely take years to complete , so
AT: Intermittency
(--) Intermittency is an issue for onshore, not offshore, wind
Salih, writer for Huffington Post, July 2 (2014) (Swarah, 07/02/2014,
Will Offshore Wind Pick up the Speed?, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/swarasalih/will-offshore-wind-pick-u_b_5549967.html, GHS//TG)
Offshore wind facilities could offer a cost-effective and efficient means of drawing a highly abundant source of energy for residential
Conventional wind facilities on land, while essential for the renewable energy sector,
are troubled by the intermittency of wind strength. Sometimes the wind may blow too slowly, or it may
and commercial use.
not blow at all, casting public doubt on the reliability of terrestrial wind farms. Critics and skeptics have referenced (and often over
exaggerated) this particular issue, making it more difficult to incentivize developers. With the production tax credit (PTC) out of
effect, investors may have less overall confidence in wind energy's continued growth. Yet
maintained a steady growth rate. In 2013, wind supplied 4.13 percent of all electric capacity in the U.S., or
roughly 61,108 megawatts (MW) nationwide. Iowa and South Dakota had 27.4 and 26 percent, respectively, of their total energy
output coming from wind in 2013. Texas has the highest wind-generating capacity of all the states, with around 12,355 MW installed,
and holds six of the 10 largest wind farms in the U.S. However, this growth has still been slow, and depends heavily on the PTC,
which Congress allowed to expire four times in the past. This has put wind energy on what some experts call a "boom and bust"
cycle: in the year following each expiration, construction of wind facilities fell by over 50 percent relative to the previous year. The
However, the
wind blows constantly off the coasts, removing the intermittency factor. Countries like
Germany, England and the Netherlands generate hundreds of MW from this source. Yet there are no
lack of a tax credit, along with the intermittency and other factors, are roadblocks to the sector's development.
offshore wind facilities in the United States. In fact, the first offshore windmill was only installed last year. Studies indicate that the
Kempton and a team of scientists analyzed five years of wind data from 11
meteorological stations buoys and towers off the Atlantic coast, from Florida to Maine. They found that
combining power from all stations with a transmission cable could prevent massive
power fluctuations.
Obama has repeatedly expressed interest in a new trajectory for energy policy
in the United States that focuses on climate change , energy efficiency, renewable energy, and
energy independence. 2 6 9 Congress could take advantage of this momentum to make
these related revisions to the CZMA as well. In fact, reform of an existing, familiar set of
regulations, like the CZMA, may be more palatable to Congress, and an easy first
step to take with regard to renewable energy.
Barack
progress continues to be made in all the most problematic areas of offshore financing, construction and operation, it
will not be long before offshore development catches up with, and perhaps even outpaces, onshore wind energy
development.
Despite all the latest activity in offshore wind development that has been seen in Delaware, Rhode Island and New
project's development has been constantly delayed since a group of local residents backed by Senator Ted Kennedy
(among others) publicly opposed it due mainly to aesthetic and purported environmental and navigational
concerns. In 2007, the group filed a lawsuit challenging the state's decision to issue a final environmental report on
the project, and a judge refused to dismiss the suit. Later that year, the Cape Cod Commission rejected approval for
the wind farm on procedural grounds. The developer later sought to overturn that decision with the state Energy
Facilities Siting Board, but the Board is still reviewing that request. Between January and December 2008, the MMS,
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Coast Guard all issued reports or statements finding that the
Cape Wind project would have little or no negative impact on the [*689] environment or navigation. United States
Representative James Oberstar, D-Minn., however, delayed the process once again by asking for more time to
consider these issues before release of the final MMS report. It was not until January 16, 2009 that the MMS was
able to issue its final report, in which it confirmed that the project would have minimal impact on the environment.
But it remains unclear when the MMS will issue its decision on whether to actually grant an approved lease to the
It is hoped that the Obama administration will help speed this process
given the President's stated commitment to promoting renewable energy development
in the United States, which he repeatedly addressed during his campaign.
project. n65
California, Davis, calculated just how many hydroelectric dams, wave-energy systems, wind turbines, solar power plants and rooftop
photovoltaic installations the world would need to run itself completely on renewable energy. The article sparked a spirited debate
on our Web site, and it also sparked a larger debate between forward-looking energy planners and those who would rather preserve
the status quo. The duo went on to publish a detailed study in the journal Energy Policy that also called out numbers for a U.S.
percent offshore wind (12,700 turbines), 10 percent onshore wind (4,020 turbines), 10 percent concentrated solar panels (387 power
plants), 10 percent photovoltaic cells (828 facilities), 6 percent residential solar (five million rooftops), 12 percent government and
commercial solar (500,000 rooftops), 5 percent geothermal (36 plants), 5.5 percent hydroelectric (6.6 large facilities), 1 percent tidal
solar power, according to Mark Jacobson. The New York Times heralded the study as scientifically groundbreaking and practically
impossible. But this time Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, is digging in. He took his analysis a step
further and found a surprising way to sell his plan. And hes close to finishing a similar study for California, which will lend more
depth to his vision. I asked Jacobson why hes out to change the world, how he answers his critics and what it will take for his plans
to get traction in government.
uses use WWS power indirectly in the form of electrolytic hydrogen (hydrogen produced by splitting water with
assume would be compressed for use in fuel cells in remaining non-aviation transportation, liquefied and
shown in Table 2, the direct use of electricity, for example, for heating or electric motors, is considerably more
efficient than is fuel combustion in the same application. The use of electrolytic hydrogen is less efficient than is the
use of fossil fuels for direct heating but more efficient for transportation when fuel cells are used; the efficiency
difference between direct use of electricity and electrolytic hydrogen is due to the energy losses of electrolysis, and
in the case of most transportation uses, the energy requirements of compression and the greater inefficiencies of
fuel cells than batteries. Assuming that some additional modest energy-conservation methods are implemented
(see the list of demand-side conservation measures in Section 2) and subtracting the energy requirements of
Counterplan Answers
2005 grants the Department of the Interior (DOI) primary authority over offshore wind farm approval and
permitting.102
Section 388 specifies that the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a branch
of DOI, controls the offshore wind facility permitting process ; the Secretary of the Interior makes
the final permitting decision.103 This grant of authority extends MMS's existing authority under the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), which gives it management rights over the Outer Continental Shelf primarily
marine habitat regulation and protection. 1 0 6 Fortunately, MMS appears receptive to coordinating with other
agencies with relevant experience, like the Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service, Coast
Guard, Department of Energy, and Environmental Protection Agency, as well as appropriate state actors.1 0 7
Section 388 came in response to controversy over which federal agency had permitting authority during the early
stages of the Cape Wind project, which is described in more detail in Part IV. While Section 388 does not resolve all
of the issues relating to federal jurisdiction over offshore wind, 0 8 its designation of MMS as the primary permitting
agency marks Congress's first step toward a unified review process for offshore alternative energy.109 Nonetheless,
the current federal regulatory environment for offshore wind remains confusing . In
April 2009, President Obama took a first step toward remedying some of that confusion by announcing a
coordinated program, headed by DOI, for federal offshore renewable energy permitting. The program will cover not
only offshore wind power generation, but also other offshore renewable energy, such as electricity generated from
Climate change, fueled by carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels for energy, is the single greatest
threat facing both wildlife and people across the globe. The National Wildlife Federation is
mobilizing our millions of members and partners in support of a rapid transition to clean energy
sources. America has massive offshore wind energy resources off our coastlines ,
presenting a substantial domestic clean energy opportunity we can no longer afford to ignore .
There are more than 1,000 offshore wind turbines producing local, clean energy overseas and not one spinning here
in the United States. If America is to get serious about transitioning to clean energy, this has to change. As the
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) map shows, there are substantial wind resources off our Atlantic,
Gulf, and Pacific coasts, as well as in the Great Lakes. NREL has estimated as much as 212 GW of offshore wind
power available in shallow waters off our East Coast alone. Harnessing a fraction of Americas offshore wind
potential could power our homes, businesses, and vehicles with job-producing, clean energy. Up and down the
Atlantic coast, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is working closely with States, offshore
wind developers, and key stakeholders to advance offshore wind development. Every state with significant offshore
wind resources has some taken some steps forward on offshore wind, including key research and policy
development to facilitate offshore wind development. NWF is working closely with all involved to ensure that
offshore wind development moves forward in a manner that is protective of our coastal and marine wildlife
resources. While there is much positive momentum occurring to identify and permit appropriate sites for offshore
wind development, this new industry faces tough challenges in competing with our heavily subsidized fossil fuel
Federal financial incentives are greatly needed to bring this massive, clean
domestic energy source to market. The National Wildlife Federation, in coordination with a diverse
group of clean energy industry, environmental, and conservation organizations call on Congress to provide
tax certainty for the industry in order to reduce the costs of future projects and bring the reality of a
thriving offshore wind industry to America .
energy sources.
Kyle Aarons, a fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, said that despite Obamas high-profile
advocacy of renewable energy in his State of the Union address, only 30 states have adopted renewable energy
standards, and most states without them are Republican strongholds that soundly voted against Obama for
No two state policies are alike, and were not really anticipating much
progress on new states, Aarons said. I wouldnt say were stuck on renewables
overall. We have a lot of potential to still catch up. Onshore wind will still probably
do well, but without a national policy, I would imagine that offshore, being newer, will be
pretty slow. Rick Sullivan, Massachusetts secretary for energy and environmental
affairs, agreed, saying in a telephone interview that a national policy would likely
speed up offshore wind development. I think youd not only see more permits,
but faster permitting should allow developers to take advantage of the most up-todate wind technology out there rather than it taking years to put up something that
may be outdated, Sullivan said. Being outdated weighed heavily on the minds of participants at the offshore
president.
conference. While Cape Wind and Block Islands Deepwater Wind are finally poised to plunge their first platforms
into the water, Europe had a record year in offshore wind development, installing 369 turbines. Denmark
offshore wind projects must necessarily include transmission lines from the turbines, through state waters and onto
land. State governments control the siting and permitting of these transmission lines. 9 6
are broader, positive effects of offshore wind power developmentsuch as energy security improvement and environmental benefits like climate
change mitigation-that imply a need for stronger federal intervention to balance
appropriately the costs and benefits of offshore wind. 116 The CZMA attempts to provide a formal
structure for such balancing, but it ultimately leaves the states with too much power , and the federal
government and offshore wind farm proponents with no formal federal encouragement or support.
Commerce, however, ultimately controls final approval of any such federal license or permit, and may overrule a state's objection by finding that
"the activity is consistent with the objectives of [the CZMA] or is otherwise necessary in the interest of national security." n32
given broad discretion to create their own Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMPs) regulating the use of resources within state waters, defined
as those waters within three miles of the shoreline. n6 The federal government retains regulatory and permitting authority over all federal waters
beyond three miles of the shoreline; however, the mechanism of federal consistency review extends state power further, beyond their coastal
zones, by allowing states to review and sometimes overrule federal actions and permits in federal waters when the activity affects the state's
coastal zone. n7 Nevertheless,
The existing oil and gas industry, however, 286 will likely
have a role in the development of offshore wind energy. These industries and
related industries, for example, the submarine cable industry and the offshore maintenance industry, have
experience in siting, building, operating, and maintaining offshore structures. 287
Indeed, Congress recognized this in granting MMS, the agency that has traditionally
overseen offshore oil and gas development, permitting authority over offshore renewable
energy facilities, including offshore wind facilities . 2 8 8 Offshore wind power develop- ment may be able to
renewable energy development.
learn and profit from this existing knowledge base, and the possibility exists for combined offshore oil or gas and
renewable projects.
Permutation Extensions
(--) Extend our perm to do bothit combines the effectiveness
of incentives with state flexibility
(--) Federal incentives key to offshore wind power:
Erica Schroeder, J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law,
2010 (California Law Review, 2010, Turning Offshore Wind On,
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu /cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1069&context=californialawreview; Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
CONCLUSION A revised CZMA would provide a promising solution to the problems that offshore wind energy and
other offshore renewable energy sources have faced in the United States. Specifically, offshore wind power
development has faced repeated failures due to the mismatch between local costs and national benefits, and the
absence of a regulatory framework to reconcile them. While it may come too late to make a difference for Cape
Wind, a new CZMA could still ensure success for offshore wind power in other locations around the United States.
Still, to be truly effective, revising the CZMA needs to be just one step in a broader offshore wind or renewable
energy program. While a new CZMA would address problems related to offshore wind farm siting, this is just one
renewable energy promotion, the United States has the exciting opportunity to make great strides with offshore
wind power development and renewable energy overall. Indeed, although Congress has struggled, it continues to
debate various climate change legislative proposals, many of which relate closely to renewable energy
promotion.290 President Obama also continues to stress the 291 importance of renewable energy to the future of
the United States. Denmark exemplifies how successful offshore wind power development can be under the
influence of a government with a positive outlook on renewable energy production that pervades multiple agencies
and programs in the government.292 Indeed, President Obama has acknowledged Denmark and its successes in his
efforts to promote offshore wind power.293 Furthermore, an overarching pro- renewable policy could instigate the
development of various renewable technologies-including offshore wind power, which has seen substantial success
in not only Denmark, but in other EU countries.294 Even without firm policies in place and no projects yet built,
offshore wind project proposals are sprouting up across the United States. As of the end of 2008, eleven projects
had been proposed in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, and Maine; combined,
these projects represent a total of 2,075 MW of capacity.295 MMS has granted or is 296 expected to grant federal
approval to most of these projects. Eleven more projects were in earlier stages of development at the end of 2008.
29 Despite these promising signs, all these projects stand to face the same obstacles as the Cape Wind project as
long as the current regulatory framework remains in effect. With revisions to the CZMA, Congress can help make
sure these projects move forward, and pave the way for more in the future.
Federal incentives in the form of tax credits and accelerated depreciation are a vital part of creating these conditions, and
the recent extension of these benefits by Congress is welcome news.7 But federal support , while
necessary, has so far not been sufficient. For investment to flow to the offshore wind sector,
states also must implement policies that ensure that projects have: (1) certainty that they will receive sufficient
revenues for the energy, capacity, and other attributes they generate, and (2) sufficient access to affordable debt capital at a
time when the capacity of private sector banks to fund large projects is limited. The good news is that the emerging, state-led U.S.
offshore wind policy model contains the building blocks to satisfy these conditions. The United States has a successful
track record of deploying massive amounts of capital into onshore wind, cultivated by supportive policies like state renewable portfolio standards and
federal tax credits. But we can learn from Germany, which, up until recently, had difficulty attracting offshore wind investment relative to neighbors like
Denmark, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Frustrated by the lack of completed projects, yet convinced of the potential of offshore wind, Germany
tweaked its initially unsuccessful offshore wind investment policies in the recent past and investment started to flow. The United States can do the same.
Germany successfully addressed the revenue problem by revising its rules to ensure that any qualifying offshore wind project is entitled to a long-term
tariff that is sufficient to attract investment, but it did so in a way that also ensures that the public (ratepayers and taxpayers) get maximum value for
their money. Germany also reduced the cost and increased the availability of debt capital by creating an innovative program whereby a public bank will
match the debt provided by private banks, ensuring that projects will go forward and lowering the overall financing costs. Why should we feel confident
that this strategy will work in the United States? States routinely benefit from the experience of other states and countries that have faced similar
challenges about what does and does not work in attracting investment to new sectors, such as the offshore wind sector. While it is true that every policy
must be adapted to local conditions, it is also true that investors do not substantively change their investment requirements when they invest in a new
jurisdiction. On the contrary, investors look for places to make investments that have policy conditions that are as close as possible to those where they
have successfully invested in the past. So, whatever the differences in form among different countries or states, successful offshore wind policies must be
similar in function to attract similar types and levels of private investment. The polices that Germany put in place to unlock offshore wind are instructive to
U.S. states because they are designed to attractand are attractingthe same investors that the states want to attract: commercial banks and project
developers. It is these investors that finance, build, own and/ or operate power plants in coastal states, so policies must be designed to fit requirements of
this market while minimizing impacts on ratepayers. The German story is not a fairy tale, however. After perfecting its investment policies to stimulate an
unprecedented level of domestic offshore wind financing in 2011, major failures in transmission policy resulted in a lackluster 2012. This paper focuses on
the German policy successes and the lessons they present for the United States and also briefly examines the very unsuccessful German approach to
transmission as a cautionary tale that should not be replicated in the United States. In sum, the United States can quickly tap into this unparalleled
resource if we take the lead by: (1) ensuring revenue certainty through strategically refining the innovative Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate
(OREC) programs, such as those adopted in New Jersey, and under consideration in Maryland, and (2) leveraging the resources of commercial banks to
(--) The status quo has too much state control which prevents
federal solutions to wind power:
Erica Schroeder, J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law,
2010 (California Law Review, 2010, Turning Offshore Wind On,
http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu /cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1069&context=californialawreview; Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
A.
The Coastal Zone Management Act: Attempting to Reconcile Local Interests with National Priorities The
overarching goal of the CZMA is "to preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance,
the resources of the Nation's coastal zone for this and succeeding generations."I 1 7 The CZMA mentions
the development of energy facilities in the Coastal Zone, but its language is vague, and generally requires
only that states undertake "adequate consideration of the national interest" in siting energy facilities, and
"give consideration" to any applicable national or interstate energy plan or program. 1 1 8 The CZMA also
mentions energy with regard to funding for development: " The
case of energy facilities, the Secretary shall find that the State has given consideration to any applicable
national or interstate energy plan or program."' 3 0 Once approved by the Secretary of Commerce,
however, state CZMPs are subject to very little federal constraint under the CZMA, leaving states with
nearly complete discretion within their coastal zones. State control is expanded by federal consistency
review, 1 3 1 a mechanism unique to the CZMA. Consistency review allows a state to review a federal
agency activity or permit within or outside of the coastal zone for compatibility with the state's CZMP when
the activity or permit affects the state's coastal zone.1 3 2 Under this mechanism, the federal agency must
submit a "consistency determination" (for an activity) or "consistency certification" (for a permit) to the
state before moving forward with the project.1 3 3 For federal permits, which would be more relevant to
offshore renewable development than federal actions, the state then has the opportunity to concur with or
object to the agency's certification.1 3 4 "No license or permit shall be granted by the Federal agency until
the state . . . has concurred with the applicant's certification."' 3 5 Thus, a coastal state's control extends
beyond its own coastal zone into federal waters, as it has the ability to review-and potentially block-any
project that affects their coastal zone. In the end, however, the Secretary of Commerce-by her own
initiative or in response to an appeal-can overrule the state's protest by finding that a permit is consistent
with the objectives of the CZMA or otherwise in the interest of national security.1 3 6 Since the passage of
the CZMA in 1972 until March 2010, states had filed 141 appeals with the Secretary protesting federal
permits affecting their coastal zones.' 3 7 States settled their issues with the federal government in 64
instances, or 45 percent of these cases.' 3 8 The Secretary dismissed or overrode state appeals in 32
instances, or 23 percent of these cases.' 3 9 Of the remaining 45 appeals that the Secretary considered for
their substance, the Secretary overrode the state's objection in 14 cases, or 31 percent of the time, and
accepted the state's objection in 30 cases, or 67 percent of the time.1 4 0 Only 19 of the 45 appeals
related to energy facilities, but all of these related to oil or natural gas projects; the Secretary overrode
these appeals about half of the time.141 Although states do not choose to use their federal consistency
review power over federal permits frequently, as these numbers show, it is nonetheless a powerful tool
control over their coastal zones through their CZMPs, with almost no role for the federal government in
Because electricity
transmission lines must necessarily run through states' coastal zones to
reach consumers, states therefore have significant control over offshore wind
projects. Through federal consistency review, their direct control can even extend into federal waters;
promoting offshore wind energy (or any kind of renewable energy).
though states have not often employed this process, the Secretary of Commerce has seemed willing to
and no guaranteed source of state support, on which to rely. Cape Wind presents a compelling and
frustrating illustration of this problem.
a primary
obstacle to offshore wind power development is the lack of a regulatory framewor k
can be minimized with careful planning and community relations. In spite of these compelling drivers,
with which to reconcile the local costs with the regional and national benefits. 9 1 The current regulatory framework
environmental impact of major offshore wind farms in Denmark concluded that "offshore wind farms, if placed right,
can be engineered and operated without significant damage to the marine environment and vulnerable species.,, 8
5 A final concern is that offshore wind farms are more expensive to build , and more difficult to
install and maintain, than onshore wind farms. 8 6 The cost of an offshore wind project is estimated to be at least
increased government
backing and support has inspired greater private sector confidence in the
offshore wind industry, thus allowing many of the challenges that are currently
preventing its growth to gradually be overcome .
scale projects for construction in the immediate future. Not surprisingly, this
is largely due to reduced wind shear and roughness on the open ocean. Wind shear and roughness refer to effects
While
long grass, trees, and buildings will slow wind down significantly, water is
generally very smooth and has much less of an effect on wind speeds . 7 2 In addition,
because offshore wind projects face fewer barriers-both natural and manmade-to
their expansion, offshore developers can take advantage of economies of scale
and build larger wind farms that generate more electricity . 7 3 Importantly, offshore wind
also could overcome the problems that onshore wind faces regarding the
distance between wind power generation and electricity demand . That is, although
the United States has considerable onshore wind resources in certain areas, mostly
in the middle of the country, they are frequently distant from areas with high
electricity demand, mostly on 74 the coasts, resulting in transmission problems. By
contrast, offshore resources are near coastal electricity demand centers . 7 5 In fact,
of the landscape surrounding turbines on the quality of wind and thus the amount of electricity produced.
twenty-eight of the contiguous forty-eight states have coastal boundaries, and these same states use 78 percent of
met on the nation's coasts, twenty-six of the twenty-eight coastal states would have sufficient wind resources to
meet at least 20 percent of their electricity needs, and many states would have enough to meet their total
electricity demand. B. Costs of Offshore Wind Whereas many of the benefits of offshore wind power are national or
even global, the costs are almost entirely local. The downsides to offshore wind that drive most of the opposition to
offshore wind power are visual and environmental. Opponents to offshore wind projects complain about their
negative aesthetic impacts on the landscape and on local property values. 7 9 They also make related complaints
about negative impacts on coastal recreational activities and tourism. However, studies have failed to show
statistically significant negative aesthetic or property-value impacts, despite showing continued expectations of
such impacts.
Offshore wind's appeal stems from the fact that it uses essentially the same technology as
onshore wind power, which is already considerably developed and widely deployed around the world, but
with some notable advantages. For instance, unlike their onshore counterparts, offshore wind
farms generally enjoy stronger and more constant breezes that can generate
greater amounts of electricity than is available with onshore wind farms. In addition, since offshore
wind turbines are not subject to the same constraints in terms of space, transport of
components for assembly, and aesthetics as those onshore, they tend to be larger and
more efficient. Another major advantage is that electricity generated by offshore
wind is transmitted directly to the coast, where most large population centers are
located, and thus does not have to be carried indirectly across long distances from
remote areas, as is often the case with onshore wind.
States.
the vast majority of wind power is generated from onshore wind farms.
However, their growth is limited by the lack of inexpensive land near major
population centers and the visual pollution caused by large wind turbines. Comparing with
onshore wind power, offshore winds tend to flow at higher speeds than onshore winds,
thus it allows turbines to produce more electricity. Estimates predict a huge increase in
present,
wind energy development over the next 20 years. Much of this development will be offshore wind energy. This
implies that great investment will be done in offshore wind farms over the next decades. For this reason, offshore
wind farms promise to become an important source of energy in the near future. In this study, history, current
status, investment cost, employment, industry and installation of offshore wind energy in Europe are investigated in
detail, and also compared to its onshore counterpart.
components and opposition due to various siting issues , such as visual and noise impacts,
can limit the number of acceptable loca- tions for wind farms . Offshore locations can take
advantage of the high capacity of marine shipping and handling equipment, which far exceeds the lifting
turbine used in projects during the late 1990s, has a 208-foot tower, blades that span 79 feet, and a rotor diameter
of 164 feet. 3 9 True to its name, the Z-750 can generate 750 kW at its peak output. 4 0 This falls in the middle of
the range in capacity for onshore, utility-scale turbines, which range from 100 KW to several MW.41 As of 2007, the
average size for an onshore wind turbine was 1.65 MW. 4 2 Offshore wind turbines can get significantly larger and
more powerful, typically ranging from 2.0 to 3.6 MW, with a 260-foot tower and a rotor diameter of approximately
295 to 350 feet. Turbines with capacities as large as 5 MW have been installed offshore,44 and in 2008, a wind
developer purchased an offshore turbine with an impressive 7.5 MW capacity. 4 5 Turbines are typically grouped
together to form larger wind farms. 4 6
stronger and steadier than onshore winds; thus, more electricity is generated and offshore wind energy is more consistent (less variable) than onshore wind farms.8 All of these factors
could expedite a transition to a clean energy economy, while at the same time reducing electricity costs. Offshore wind offers more than just clean electricity. It also can be a major
source of jobs. Manufacturing, installing, operating, and maintaining offshore wind farms can provide thousands of local jobs in coastal states. These include positions that require unique
engineering, manufacturing and maritime expertise. For example, offshore wind production requires oceanographic and ecological expertise. Experts in these fields would be needed to
collect and analyze data on areas of interest to offshore wind developers. New or retrofitted heavy manufacturing facilities would need to be built in the United States to supply offshore
turbines. Installing offshore turbines also would require maritime expertise and ships, similar to those needed by the offshore oil and natural gas industry. Specialized undersea cables
would be needed to transmit electricity from the farm to the shore. Manufacturing and installation needs in each of these areas these would create additional jobs. As a result, a variety
of long-term jobs would be created by offshore wind energy development, including electricians, meteorologists, welders, and operators among other general maintenance laborers.
Due to their size, offshore wind turbines (which currently tend to be much larger
than onshore turbines) must be built in coastal areas so that they can be shipped
out to sea. Offshore turbines are too large to transport by train or tractor trailer.
Several European ports have been revitalized due to increased investments in
offshore wind in Europe9 and similar benefits could be achieved in the United States
if the U.S. begins to invest in this growing industry.
The
lengthy NEPA process imposes a significant time and financial burden , as demonstrated
by the Cape Wind project. In 2001, Cape Wind Associates first submitted its proposal to develop the Cape Wind
project in federal waters off the coast of Massachusetts.173 An EIS was required, and the final Record of Decision on
Throughout this
process, citizen groups opposing the project initiated numerous court challenges
based on alleged NEPA violations and other grounds, further augmenting an already
time-consuming and costly process.175
the EIS was not issued, nor was the commercial lease issued by BOEM, until 2010.174
If oil shale, tar sands, natural gas, and cell and transmission towers are important enough to warrant greater federal
control to expedite their development, then so too is legislation to amend NEPA and the OCSLA to provide clear
federal policy encouraging the development of offshore wind energy projects, both generally and by streamlining
impose agency consultation and review deadlines. There must be binding time limits for each step of the NEPA and
BOEM processesfor example, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Corps, or other lead agency must turn around
the draft EA or EIS within a specific number of days, or else waive amendments or revisions. Likewise, consulting
agencies must be required to submit any comments within a specified number of days, or be precluded from
commenting.252 Precedent for such waivers exists in the CZMA.
A
large proportion of these reductions will come from the power sector, and meeting
this emissions goal will require extensive expansion of renewable energy
(Fawcett et al. 2009; Clemmer et al. 2013). Staying within the U.S. carbon budget, for example,
will require expansion of land-based wind energy from 60 GW in 2012 to 330440 GW in 2050,
and offshore wind expansion from zero currently to 25100 GW; estimates for solar energy in 2050 range
consistent with the goal of reducing U. S. emissions by 83 % below 2005 levels by mid-century (NRC, 2010).
from 160260 GW for photovoltaic and 2080 GW for concentrated solar (Clemmer et al. 2013).
Negative
Disad Links
Counterplans
engineering and management." n24 More costs arise because offshore wind turbines must be equipped to handle more
severe weather conditions than their onshore counterparts. For example, monopile foundations require stronger, more expensive materials in
order to withstand storms, waves, and the sea air. n25 Costs are also higher because offshore wind projects must be larger than onshore projects in
order to offset additional costs of cabling and installation in deeper water far from shore. n26 These added costs reduce the number of potential
investors because, absent government financial incentives, offshore wind energy cannot compete on a cost-per-kilowatt-hour basis with
traditional fossil fuels. n27
Federalism Link
Offshore wind development violates federalism:
Andrew Campbell, 2013 (Houston Law Review, Winter 2013,
COMMENT: YOU DON'T NEED A WEATHERMAN TO KNOW WHICH WAY THE
WIND BLOWS?*: AN ARGUMENT FOR OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO** Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
The GLO has developed a prominent campaign to attract offshore wind entrepreneurs to the Gulf of Mexico. n19 The
Privates CP
Private sector key to technologies to enhance offshore wind:
Michael P. Giordano, 2010 (University of Richmond Law Review, March
2010, Accessed 7/27/2014, rwg)
DOE recognizes that the advancement of offshore wind energy will require
"technologies that are substantially different from those employed in land-based
installations," and technology must "be tailored to U.S. offshore requirements, which
differ from those in the European North Sea environment." n65 Such an endeavor
will require the attention of stakeholders from public, private, and nonprofit
organizations in order to help the United States harness its vast offshore wind
resources.
States Counterplan
Text: The federal government will give coastal states
regulatory and permitting authority over proposed offshore
wind energy projects and the states will provide adequate
financing for offshore wind.
(--) The counterplan solves better than the casefosters
competition and leads to wind energy development in the most
desirable, least costly, locations:
Timothy H. Powell (J.D. Boston University School of Law)
2012 (Boston University Law Review, December, 2012, REVISITING
FEDERALISM CONCERNS IN THE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY IN LIGHT
OF CONTINUED LOCAL OPPOSITION TO THE CAPE WIND PROJECT,
Lexis/Nexis, Accessed 7/21/2014, rwg)
[*2047] This
control over the regulatory and permitting processes from the federal
government to the individual coastal states has the potential to more efficiently
allocate the United States' offshore wind energy resources in two ways . First, with
regulatory and permitting authority in the hands of the states, lobbying efforts
would be engaged in an environment of more direct political accountability: the
state legislatures. Likewise, local opposition to permitting decisions would be mounted in only one forum: the state courts.
Second, allowing states to craft their own offshore wind energy regulatory practices
could foster competition among them to encourage project development where it is
most desired, or stated equivalently, where it is least costly.
the
context of offshore wind energy there may be significant benefits to allowing
greater state control over the permitting process. First, opposition from citizen groups, like that faced by the
Cape Wind project, may be more efficiently addressed by allowing more localized control of regulations and permitting. Second, granting
states complete control over permitting may increase competition among states to
attract offshore wind energy developers and lead to a more efficient and desirable
allocation of offshore wind energy facilities throughout the United States .
explanation of the current regulatory scheme [*2028] under the CZMA and the Outer Continental Shelf Renewable
Energy Program (OCSREP). Part II provides a brief history of the Cape Wind project up to the final approval of the
project by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). Part III describes the two recent impediments faced by the
Cape Wind project: the lawsuit filed by the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe and the D.C. Circuit's rejection of the FAA's
approval of the project. Finally, Part IV evaluates the balance of federal and state interests envisioned by the CZMA
and the OCSREP, ultimately arguing for a revision to the CZMA that would increase local control over project siting
and lead to a more efficient allocation of offshore wind facilities by allowing states to compete for projects.
The experience of Cape Wind has shown that whatever its motives, local
opposition can present a very real barrier to offshore wind development. The
proposal here to shift control of offshore wind permitting to the states would more
efficiently integrate local concerns into the development process.
There need not be any concern of a "race to the bottom" among the states , whereby states
wanting desperately to attract offshore wind could so degrade their CZMPs as to render the resulting offshore wind projects somehow dangerous
to humans or the environment. All
Solvency Neg
wind is an
intermittent resource, and often it does not match electricity demand. During periods
upgraded in [*676] order to be compatible with onshore delivery systems. In addition,
when the wind happens to be strong, and an offshore farm generates more electricity than is required, the operator
of the electricity network may require the wind farm to be curtailed since there is no way of storing it for future use.
interconnect multiple offshore wind farms and decrease reliance on conventional generating plants as sources of
the intermittency of wind energy, combined with the costs and burdens of
is yet another factor that has
slowed the widespread development of offshore installations . n11
backup power. Consequently,
Long Time-Frame
The plan has a six year time-frame:
Jacqueline S. Rolleri (law degree, Roger Williams University) 2010 (Roger
Williams University Law Review, Spring 2010, Lexis/Nexis, Accessed 7/22/14,
rwg)
In addition to the NEPA environmental review process and the CZMA consistency determination, fifteen other
federal regulations must also be complied with in order for MMS to approve an offshore wind energy proposal. n91
To complicate matters, these seventeen federal regulations are administered by nine different federal agencies and
Birds Turn
Offshore wind kills birds:
Ed Feo (Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy law firm) 2009 (Roger Williams
University Law Review, Summer 2009, Lexis/Nexis, Accessed 7/22/2014, rwg)
Although offshore
wind turbines themselves do not release pollutants into the air or sea, their installation and
operation may pose risks to the marine environment. For instance, the anchoring of
the turbines' foundations and undersea cables causes sediment and noise
disturbances on the seabed and may result in the loss of habitats for marine life . And
when the turbines become operational, the rotation of their blades may pose
hazards to migratory birds, and may cause underwater vibrations that can affect fish and marine mammals. n12
Economy NEG
Wont create jobs in the US:
Jacqueline S. Rolleri (law degree, Roger Williams University) 2010 (Roger
Williams University Law Review, Spring 2010, Lexis/Nexis, Accessed 7/22/14,
rwg)
In addition to lacking a mandatory timeline, the United States does not have
manufacturing plants designed to produce offshore wind turbines and armored
submarine cables. n116 Of the total costs for an offshore wind farm, turbines
account for about 45% of all costs, and armored submarine cables, all of which are
made overseas, account for about 12% of all costs. n117 European turbine
manufacturers have expressed their disinterest in building an offshore wind turbine
manufacturing facility in the United States unless there are "advance orders for 100
turbines a year - for ten years." n118 Deepwater Wind suggests that until the U.S. is
able to provide the needed security to European manufacturers, American dollars
will be spent overseas instead of domestically where the money could be going to
American workers by creating thousands of jobs. n119
Warming NEG
Global warming does not cause extinction IPCC agrees (NEG)
Bastasch 14 (Michael Bastasch, 3-24-2014, IPCC runs from claims that global
warming will cause mass extinctions, http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/24/ipcc-runsfrom-claims-that-global-warming-will-cause-mass-extinctions/, Reporter at The Daily
Caller News Foundation, smt)
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is distancing itself from past claims
that global warming could cause mass extinctions. A leaked IPCC draft report says
that there is very little confidence that the models currently predict accurately the
risk of extinction. The leaked report, obtained by Germanys Der Spiegel newspaper, says that an
acute lack of data have added to doubts over past claims made by climate
scientists of mass extinctions in the future. [B]iological findings have increased
doubt over the expected species extinction, says the IPCC. In its 2007 climate assessment, the
IPCC said that there was a medium confidence that 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species were at risk of going extinct if
global temperatures rose between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees Celsius this century. If temperatures rose by 3.5 degrees Celsius the IPCC
predicted significant extinctions would occur between 40 and 70 percent of species. Environmental groups have also warned of
mass extinctions due to global warming. The Nature Conservancy says that one-fourth of Earths species will be headed for
extinction by 2050 if the warming trend continues at its current rate. The group adds that polar bears may be gone from the
planet in as little as 100 years and that several U.S. states may even lose their official birds as they head for cooler climates
including the Baltimore oriole of Maryland, black-capped chickadee of Massachusetts, and the American goldfinch of Iowa. But Der
Spiegel reports that the IPCC is shying away from such claims and gives no concrete numbers for how many plant and animal
However, Hansen subsequently changed his tune when, sometime after 2000,
the temperatures were adjusted to accord with the climate alarmists' fashionable
"global warming" narrative. By cooling the record-breaking year of 1934, and
promoting 1998 as the hottest year in US history, the scientists who made the
adjustments were able suddenly to show 20th century temperatures shooting up where before they looked either flat or declining. But as Goddard notes, the Environmental Protection
Agency's heatwave record makes a mockery of these adjustments. It quite clearly shows that the US heat waves of the 1930s were
of an order of magnitude greater than anything experienced at any other time during the century - far more severe than those in the
The fact that supposedly reputable scientists can make these dishonest adjustments and get away with it is, notes long-time sceptic
Christopher Booker, one of the more remarkable anomalies of the great climate change scam. When I first began examining the
global-warming scare, I found nothing more puzzling than the way officially approved scientists kept on being shown to have
finagled their data, as in that ludicrous hockey stick graph, pretending to prove that the world had suddenly become much hotter