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- Coral reef destruction destroys ocean biodiversity and causes warming
- Ocean biodiversity collapse causes extinction
- 1AR Internal Link EXTN
- 1AR Impact EXTN
2AC Coral Reefs Add-OnOTEC is key to prevent coral reef collapseBinger 4 [Al, Visiting Professor at Saga University Institute of Ocean Energy, Director of the University of West Indies Centre for Environment and Development, “Potential and Future Prospects for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) In Small Islands Developing States (SIDS),” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization] The Maldives’ economy is based primarily on fishing and tourism; consequently, it depends on the extensive coral reef ecosystem. During 1999 to 2001, there was a two degree Celsius increase in the average temperature in the Indian Ocean. As a result, there was a significant ongoing reduction in the marine catch, as shown in Figure.6. This reduction in catch is due to the physiology of the coral reef ecosystem in which a number of symbiotic relationships exist between different biological organisms. An increase in temperature by a few degrees changes the relationships and the coral’s ability to convert sunlight into biomass, which provided the energy for the entire ecosystem including fish. This phenomenon is described as coral bleaching and this ends only when the seawater temperature returns to normal range. Recovery, also shown in Figure 6, takes much longer. OTEC takes heat from the surface as well as bring the cold water to the surface, so this could be utilized to help control bleaching of critical coral reef systems, potentially giving SIDS an option that is now not available. Coral reef destruction destroys ocean biodiversity and causes warmingHopenstand 2 [Danfa, from the University of Wisconsin law school, Wisconsin Environmental Law Journal, “Global Warming and its Impact on Near-Shore Communities: Protection Regimes for Fish and Coastal People Affected by Coral Reef Damage,” Spring, p. 90-930] Coral reefs serve several important ecological and economic functions, and are thus especially vulnerable to destruction by human over-exploitation. Fish that live in coral reefs are an essential component of Pacific Island inhabitants' lives because they provide up to ninety percent of their protein needs. n38 Since coral reef growth is close enough to the surface to break waves, coral reefs further function as buffers against storm surges and daily erosion. n39 Coral reefs also serve as "carbon sinks" by absorbing carbon, thereby reducing the level of carbon in the atmosphere. n40 In addition, selling reef fish serves as an important export income for island nations. n41 Cut coral serves as construction material for families and businesses n42 and crushed coral is a major ingredient of cement. n43 Coastal people also rely on the marine life that live in coral reefs for medicinal purposes. n44 For example, the venom from tropical cone snails substitutes morphine, and coral skeletons may replace bone grafts. n45¶ C. Implications of Coral Reef Destruction for Fish and Coastal People¶ The destruction of coral reefs has serious implications. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Second Assessment Report in 1995, the most pronounced impacts of global warming will be related to water resources. n46 Entire species will either shift to new locations and adapt to new habitats, or face localized and potentially widespread extinction. n47 Under either scenario--moving or dying--coastal people face a serious threat. In addition, as species [*92] respond to climate change, the productivity of ecosystems such as coral reefs declines. n48 This results in the reduction of marine biodiversity, the services marine ecosystems provide marine life, and the services marine ecosystems provide human society. n49¶ The death of coral reefs and rise in sea levels could disrupt ocean life severely. Species may be forced to change feeding and breeding grounds, causing fishery stocks to shift. The repercussions of this shift could be enormous on island nations that depend on fish in their waters as a food source and for export. n50 In the Federated States of Micronesia, for example, the marine environment and its resources are considered the basis of local culture. n51 Besides using the ocean for recreation and cultural events, Micronesians rely on coral reef resources for in-shore and near-shore fishing. Locals trade fish as part of the nation's commerce and consume it as an essential source of nutrition. n52 However, fish stocks in certain reef areas in Micronesia are now already seriously depleted, forcing locals to find alternative sources of fish and other foods. n53¶ Whether the cause of a food shortage is fish migration or local death, the result is the same for coastal people. Food shortages in nations affected by climate change could result in food riots and the mass movement of hunger driven migrants. n54 A food shortage could require the negotiation of new treaties among nations facing different levels of fish stock or the renegotiation of current treaties between such nations. n55¶ This diminution in food supply near-shore is particularly devastating for coastal areas and island nations because of their heavy dependence on coral reefs for the supply of food. n56 One-third of the world's marine fish species are found in coral reefs. n57 Fishermen catch [*93] ninety percent of the world's fish within two hundred nautical miles of the coast, and the majority of the catch is within the first five miles. n58 These statistics are significant because coral reefs are usually found in relatively shallow, near-shore water. n59 Coral animals live in shallow waters since their symbiotic algae require sunlight for food, and sunlight does not penetrate very deep in seawater. n60 Reef fish make up ten percent of the global fish catch, and with other reef foods, support thirty to forty million people. n61 More than three billion people--the majority of humankind--occupy coastal regions. n62 This figure is expected to double by 2050. n63 By the end of the century, two-thirds of the population of all developing countries will live along coasts. n64 Half of the world's shorelines are in the tropics, and a third of those coasts are associated with coral reefs. n65 Since the population in coastal areas tends to grow faster than inland populations, n66 most coastal growth will occur in the tropics. Further, continuing population growth in coastal areas and on islands, such as the Maldives, compounds the potential food shortage crisis. n67 For example, Hanoi's population has grown from 200,000 to over three million in the last fifty years; this population growth is matched by an enormous demand for food, particularly fish. n68 Ocean biodiversity collapse causes extinctionCraig 3 [Associate Prof Law, Indiana U School Law -- McGeorge Law Review, 34 McGeorge L. Rev. 155 Lexis] Biodiversity and ecosystem function arguments for conserving marine ecosystems also exist, just as they do for terrestrial ecosystems, but these arguments have thus far rarely been raised in political debates. For example, besides significant tourism values - the most economically valuable ecosystem service coral reefs provide, worldwide - coral reefs protect against storms and dampen other environmental fluctuations, services worth more than ten times the reefs' value for food production. n856 Waste treatment is another significant, non-extractive ecosystem function that intact coral reef ecosystems provide. n857 More generally, "ocean ecosystems play a major role in the global geochemical cycling of all the elements that represent the basic building blocks of living organisms, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, as well as other less abundant but necessary elements." n858 In a very real and direct sense, therefore, human degradation of marine ecosystems impairs the planet's ability to support life.¶ Maintaining biodiversity is often critical to maintaining the functions of marine ecosystems. Current evidence shows that, in general, an ecosystem's ability to keep functioning in the face of disturbance is strongly dependent on its biodiversity, "indicating that more diverse ecosystems are more stable." n859 Coral reef ecosystems are particularly dependent on their biodiversity.¶ [*265] Most ecologists agree that the complexity of interactions and degree of interrelatedness among component species is higher on coral reefs than in any other marine environment. This implies that the ecosystem functioning that produces the most highly valued components is also complex and that many otherwise insignificant species have strong effects on sustaining the rest of the reef system. n860 Thus, maintaining and restoring the biodiversity of marine ecosystems is critical to maintaining and restoring the ecosystem services that they provide. Non-use biodiversity 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 ecosystem should inspire lawmakers and policymakers to admit that most of the time we really do not know what we are doing to the sea and hence 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.¶ We may not know much about the sea, but we do know this much: if we kill the ocean we kill ourselves, and we will take most of the biosphere with us. The Black Sea is almost dead, n863 its once-complex and productive ecosystem almost entirely replaced by a monoculture of comb jellies, "starving out fish and dolphins, emptying fishermen's nets, and converting the web of life into brainless, wraith-like blobs of jelly." n864 More importantly, the Black Sea is not necessarily unique. 1AR Internal Link EXTNNatural upwelling patterns are disrupted by rising surface water temperatures - destroys reef resiliency – OTEC keyGoreau and Hayes 8 [Thomas, of the Global Coral Reef Alliance at Cambridge, and Raymond, Howard University, “Effects of Rising Seawater Temperature on Coral Reefs,” http://www.globalcoral.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/effects_of_rising_seawater_temp_coral_reefs.pdf] Ocean warming and the contributions from fossil fuel use constitute¶ real and pressing priorities requiring prompt attention. The current rise¶ of shallow water, near-shore sea temperatures in virtually all coral reef¶ habitats around the world gives reefs only a few years to a decade or¶ so before they lose their remaining living hard corals, if warming¶ continues at the present rate, less if it accelerates. The fact that all¶ major areas of coastal upwelling, responsible for the bulk of the¶ Earth’s pelagic fisheries, are warming faster than the global average¶ indicates that the growing thickness of the warm surface layer is¶ making upwelling less effective at bringing cold nutrient-rich water to¶ the surface, causing the collapse of pelagic food chains from the¶ bottom up. This will happen even in the absence of the overfishing that¶ has often been blamed as the only cause of fisheries decline. While¶ increased wind speeds in the interiors of the ocean basins may cause¶ increased wind-induced upwelling in some areas, these are biological¶ deserts and the increase in fisheries in these areas will not¶ compensate for the decline of coastal productivity, because they are¶ also very far from the coastlines, require much greater fishing effort¶ for less return, and much higher transportation costs. Global warming¶ is therefore a threat to both coral reef and pelagic fisheries, but for¶ different reasons, and serious, comprehensive, and complete global¶ efforts to reverse it are essential to preserve capture fisheries.¶ Analyses of satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) at over¶ 200 globally-distributed reef sites between 1982-2003 indicate that¶ coral reefs have not only been exposed repeatedly to high summer¶ SST anomalies, but also essential relief from thermal stress in the¶ winter is failing. Since reef organisms live very close to their¶ physiological tolerance for temperature, a mere 1.0 ºC rise in SST¶ results in stress induced bleaching of reef-building corals. Bleaching¶ results from uncoupling of the normal symbiosis between unicellular¶ algae (zooxanthellae) and coral soft tissue. Without their symbiotic¶ algae, starving corals no longer produce a skeleton, defend themselves¶ against predators, or reproduce. Warmer seas also promote microbial¶ growth, responsible for infectious diseases in reef organisms. The¶ same warming energizes intense tropical storms (hurricanes and¶ typhoons) that physically damage reefs and disrupt ecosystem¶ functions. Habitats are destroyed, pelagic organisms are dispersed,¶ biodiversity declines, and water quality deteriorates following storm¶ exposure. 1AR Impact EXTNBiodiversity key to survivalMargoluis 96 [Richard, Master of Public Health, International Health , With A Concentration of Planning and Evaluation, Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Biodiversity Support Program, http://www.bsponline.org/publications/showhtml.php3?10] Biodiversity not only provides direct benefits like food, medicine, and energy; it also affords us a "life support system." Biodiversity is required for the recycling of essential elements, such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is also responsible for mitigating pollution, protecting watersheds, and combating soil erosion. Because biodiversity acts as a buffer against excessive variations in weather and climate, it protects us from catastrophic events beyond human control. The importance of biodiversity to a healthy environment has become increasingly clear. We have learned that the future well-being of all humanity depends on our stewardship of the Earth. When we overexploit living resources, we threaten our own survival. Directory: file -> fetch fetch -> 11 th Lit Semester 1 Final Study Guide!!! fetch -> Industrial Revolution Inventors fetch -> Analysis for Galveston Hurricane of 1900 fetch -> The Illuminators (Team 2) 1900 Galveston Hurricane Cycle a team Assignment fetch -> Team csi-utb ruth Reyes Jose Ferrer fetch -> Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Cycle a-teacher as a Problem Solver fetch -> Is Climate Change Starting a New Dust Bowl? Cycle A fetch -> What makes a storm a hurricane fetch -> The 1950s were the "Happy Days" because it was a time of economic prosperity, technology development, new entertainment, new fashion and family growth. The 1950s was a great time fetch -> Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age Download 1.05 Mb. Share with your friends:
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