***OIL SPILLS ADV***

OIL SPILLS - AFF

Oil Spills – 1ACOffshore oil drilling is inevitable in Cuba – lifting the embargo is key to prevent and contain spills Forbes 12/12/2011 “U.S. Should Drop Cuba Embargo For Oil Exploration” http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2011/12/12/u-s-should-drop-cuba-embargo-for-oil-exploration/In a few months Spanish oil company Repsol will start drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba, in a spot just 70 miles south of Key West. Soon Repsol–and its JV partners Norway’s Statoil and India’s ONGC–will be joined by rigs from PetroVietnam, Malaysia’s Petronas and Venezuela’s PDVSA. But you won’t see any U.S. companies there. Inexplicably, the U.S. maintains its economic embargo against the Castro regime.

This wrong-headed policy represents a dangerous threat to the environment and a huge missed opportunity to the U.S. oil industry. The U.S. embargo will do nothing to prevent oil drilling from taking place in Cuban waters. But it will prevent that work from being done by the most experienced companies with the highest-quality equipment. Norway’s Statoil is a proven operator with a long history in the North Sea and the Gulf. The rest of those companies are just getting started offshore.A group of U.S. lawmakers in September urged Repsol (ticker: REPYY.PK) to call off its Cuba plans or face the threat of U.S. lawsuits. Repsol wisely called that bluff.At least the Obama administration is doing something to ensure that Repsol’s drilling rig is up to snuff. According to an excellent article from Bloomberg today, Repsol’s Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig will soon by boarded by four U.S. inspectors (two from the Coast Guard, two from the Dept. of Interior) who will do what they can to check out the rig and watch some drills. But, according to the article, there will be real limits to what the inspectors can inspect. They won’t get to check the rig’s all-important blowout preventor, or the well casing or drilling fluids that are to be used. Though the U.S. inspectors will discuss any concerns they have with Repsol, they will have no enforcement authority.Although the offshore industry’s best service companies and parts manufacturers are right here on the U.S. Gulf coast, Repsol will have to train its people and scrounge for spare parts from the rest of the world.But here’s something that completely blows my mind. The administration, again, according to the Bloomberg article, has granted some U.S. companies the license to respond to an oil spill were it to occur in Cuban waters. The government won’t say how many companies have that license or who they are, but there’s at least two of them: Wild Well Control and Helix Energy Solutions Group. Helix plans to stage a subsea containment cap on the U.S. coast so it can quickly respond to any Cuban blowout.Of course it’s smart and safe for the U.S. government to put defensive measures in place in the event of a spill, but the message to the industry is clear: we refuse to give superior U.S. operators the license to drill for oil in Cuba, but we want to make sure you’re ready to clean up any problems.

And the message to Cuba: we’re not going to let you use our engineers, just our janitors. Knowing that a top-notch American clean-up crew is on standby in case of a blowout is not a big incentive for Cuba to keep its own regulators on top of things.

US expertise is key to prevent an oil spill Zakaria PhD in Political Science 2011 Fareed “Why our Cuba embargo could lead to another Gulf oil disaster” CNN World 9/19 http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/why-our-cuba-policy-could-lead-to-another-gulf-oil-spill/But what struck me this week is that we have a new dangerous drilling zone right on our doorstep - Cuba. Estimates suggest that

the island nation has reserves of anywhere from 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of oil. The high end of those estimates would put Cuba among the top dozen oil producers in the world.Predictably, there's a global scramble for Havana. A Chinese-constructed drilling rig is owned by an Italian oil company and is on its way to Cuban waters. Spain's Repsol, Norway's Statoil and India's ONGC will use the 53,000 ton rig to explore for oil. Petro giants from Brazil, Venezuela, Malaysia and Vietnam are also swooping in.Of course, we can't partake because we don't trade with Cuba. But what about at least making sure there are some safety procedures

that are followed that would protect the American coastline? You see at 5,500 feet below sea level, these oil rigs off Cuba will go even deeper than the Deepwater Horizon rig that blew up on our coast last year, and the coast of Florida, remember, is just 60 miles away from Cuban waters.What happens if there's another oil spill? Will it be easy and quick to clean up? No. You see, the nearest and best experts on safety procedures and dealing with oil spills are all American, but we are forbidden by our laws from being involved in any way with Cuba. Our trade embargo on Cuba not only prevents us from doing business with our neighbor but it also bars us from sending equipment and expertise to help even in a crisis. So, if there is an explosion, we will watch while the waters of the Gulf Coast get polluted. Now, this is obviously a worst case hypothetical, but it's

precisely the kind of danger we should plan for and one we can easily protect against if we were allowed to have any dealings with Cuba.

The embargo limits and delays US response to spills – the plan is necessary for sustained involvement in safety and regulations across the region Tampa Bay Times 10/18/2011 “Oil spill from drilling in Cuban waters could have limited U.S. response” http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/water/oil-spill-from-drilling-in-cuban-waters-could-have-limited-us-response/1197425WASHINGTON — As exploratory oil drilling is set to begin in December off the coast of Cuba, the U.S. government acknowledged Tuesday that because of chilly diplomatic relations, it could have a limited ability to control the response to an oil spill there, let alone one the magnitude of last year's Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.U.S. regulators said their main leverage to encourage safe drilling practices in Cuba is with the company doing the first round of offshore exploration in the communist country: Spain's Repsol oil company. Because of its other extensive U.S. interests, Repsol is likely to exercise caution in a prospect less than 100 miles from the Florida coastline, said Michael Bromwich, director of the agency that oversees offshore drilling here, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.Repsol's wide U.S. interests have likely "played a significant role in why they've been as cooperative as they have," Bromwich told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday morning.Bromwich also said the company has pledged publicly that it will adhere to U.S. regulations and the highest industry standards while working in Cuban waters. The company has given U.S. regulators permission to inspect the rig it will be using, Bromwich said, although that inspection will have to be done before it enters Cuban waters. The agency, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, has already participated in a mock response drill at Repsol's facilities in Trinidad.Regulators have made it clear they expect the company "to adhere to industry and international environmental, health, and safety standards and to have adequate prevention, mitigation and remediation systems in place in the event of an incident," Bromwich said.But others at the hearing warned that spilled oil knows no political boundaries — or embargoes. And while Congress is most curious about Cuba because of the limited information available about the country's plans, other Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico neighbors are also exploring for oil near U.S. waters. They include Jamaica, the Bahamas and ongoing operations in Mexico."If we just kind of close our eyes to it here, and say 'it's not going to happen here,' we're fooling ourselves," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "If there is a spill, the impact doesn't necessarily stop at our borders."How U.S. companies are allowed to respond to any potential spill in Cuban waters could be vital in protecting Florida and the Bahamas, said Paul Schuler, the president and CEO of Clean Caribbean and Americas, a Fort Lauderdale-based oil-spill response consortium funded by oil companies. He called for a "loosening up" of the red tape required for U.S.-based companies to have any sort of involvement with the communist government.Schuler's organization, which responded to the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has been involved in Cuba since 2001, when Repsol and Brazil's Petrobras were first doing work there. CCA applied for and received licenses from the Treasury and Commerce departments to travel to and export equipment to Cuba. They've been to Cuba recently to work with Repsol and Petronas, the state-owned Malaysian oil company also exploring in Cuba, Schuler said.One of the foremost experts in Cuba's oil drilling capabilities, Jorge Piñon, warned the committee the United States

shouldn't "bully" Repsol, which is not the only oil company to explore in Cuban waters. Piñon pointed out that the United

States doesn't have the leverage with state-owned entities like Petronas that it does with publicly traded companies with U.S. interests, such as Repsol.

"Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas are in the process of implementing the most advanced and up to date drilling regulations and standards," said Piñon, a former Amoco executive and a visiting research fellow with Florida International University's

Latin American and Caribbean Center's Cuban Research Institute. "But do they have the resources, capabilities, assets, personnel, and experience to enforce them? Can these countries' regulatory agencies appropriately police the operators? These are issues for debate."

Cuban oil spills collapse Floridian ecosystems – the plan prevents and mitigates the impact to spillsStephens and Colvin 11 (Sarah – Executive Director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, and Jake – Vice President for Global Trade Issues at the National Foreign Trade Council, “US-Cuba policy, and the race for oil drilling”, 9/29, http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/184661-us-cuba-policy-and-the-race-for-oil-drilling)To protect the national interest — and for the sake of Florida's beaches and the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem — it is time to stop sticking our heels in the sand when it comes to U.S.-Cuba policy. Before the end of the year, a Chinese-made drilling platform known as Scarabeo 9 is expected to arrive in the Gulf. Once it is there, Cuba and its foreign partners, including Spain’s Repsol, will begin using it to drill for oil in waters deeper than Deepwater Horizon’s infamous Macondo well. The massive rig, manufactured to comply with U.S.-content restrictions at a cost of $750 million, will cost Repsol and other companies $407,000 per day to lease for exploration. They are taking this financial risk because Cuba needs the oil and its partners — Spain, Norway, Russia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, Angola, Venezuela, and possibly China — believe that drilling in waters said to contain undiscovered reserves of approximately 5 billion barrels of oil is good business. In virtually every other country in the world, developments like these would prompt high-level discussions about how to exploit these resources safely or to anticipate a crisis were a disaster to strike. Experts who have studied the currents say a spill in Cuban waters would send 90 percent of the oil into the Keys and up the East

Coast of Florida. But the embargo leaves Florida’s sensitive coastal resources defenseless. Due to the fact that the drilling involves Cuba, American companies and workers cannot lend their expertise to what could be a risky operation . U.S. economic sanctions prevent our private sector from helping Cuba drill safely and paralyze the U.S. government,

which ought to be convening bilateral discussions on best practices and coordinating disaster response. In fact, the U.S. has no emergency response agreement with Cuba for oil spills. While some specific licenses have been granted to permit U.S. firms to conduct limited

transactions with Cuba, current sanctions bar the U nited S tates from deploying the kind of clean-up equipment, engineers, spare parts for blow-out prevention, chemical dispersants, and rigs to drill relief wells that would be needed to address an oil crisis involving Cuba. One welcomed development came earlier this month, when William Reilly, a former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and co-chair of the Commission that investigated the Deepwater Horizon disaster, led a group of experts to Cuba to take a look at their plans. While the administration has done well giving permission to Mr. Reilly, as well as to

other experts, to discuss the problem with Cuban counterparts, it should move more aggressively to work with the Cuban government to cooperate on plans for safe drilling and responding to a possible crisis. Rather than moving forward, some in the U.S. Congress would make the problem worse. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-R), who criticized Mr. Reilly’s visit to Cuba as “giving credibility to the regime’s dangerous oil-drilling scheme,” has offered legislation to try and stop Repsol from drilling. Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL-R) would deny Repsol the right to drill in U.S. waters if it helped Cuba drill in its waters. Thirty-four members of both parties have written Repsol directly, threatening the company if it drills with Cuba. Yet this tactic can’t work. Even if they could deter Repsol from drilling – which is unlikely – they cannot stop Cuba and partners from countries like China, Russia, and Venezuela, from using the rig and searching for oil. At some point, it is likely that drilling will begin and the United States ought to do what it can to prepare for that eventuality. The U.S. government should facilitate access by Cuba and its drilling partners to the resources they need to drill safely. President Obama should instruct the Treasury Department to issue a blanket general license now that would allow private industry to provide what oil expert Jorge Piñon calls ”any conceivable response” in the event of a crisis.

Florida is a unique biodiversity hotspotAlles 7 (David L. Professor of Biology – Western Washington University, “Biodiversity Hot Spots: The Florida Everglades”, 3-7-2007, http://www.biol.wwu.edu/trent/alles/Everglades.pdf) "Biodiversity hot spots are areas where endemic species with small ranges are concentrated . Not all are in the tropics, but

most are. Hot spots can be extraordinarily concentrated; thousands of species may be found within a relatively small area. Species with small ranges are particularly vulnerable to impacts. Nature has put her eggs in a small number of baskets, and we are in danger of dropping them. On land, worldwide 25 areas are recognized as hotspots which contain concentrations of endemic species that are disproportionately vulnerable to extinction from regional habitat destruction. These areas retain less than 10% of their original habitat and have unusually high human population

densities." (Pimm, 2001) The Florida Ev erglades contains one of the highest concentrations of species vulnerable to extinction in the United States. The 5,000-square-kilometre wetland in southern Florida is home to at least 60 endangered species, including the American crocodile (Mason, 2003). And the area retains less than 10% of its original habitat as the human population density of southern Florida threatens to over-run one of the most unique habitats in North America. Nourished by the rain soaked Kissimmee River Basin and stretching south from 700 square mile Lake Okeechobee (left center), the Everglades are a wide slow moving river of marsh and saw grass covering some 4,500 square miles, flowing slowly towards the mangrove estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico (right below center). The Everglades are a unique habitat ; there are no other everglades in the world . No other place combines a subtropical

climate, a broad, shallow river, and a stunning diversity of plants and animals into such a complex and fragile ecosystem . No other place is so dramatically defined by annual rhythms of drought and flood, fire and sunshine and torrential rain. Everglades National Park is the largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the United States. Its abundant wildlife includes rare and endangered species, such as the American crocodile, Florida panther, and West Indian manatee. Alligators, like the one shown above, are an important part of this ecosystem, and are regarded as a “keystone” species of the Everglades. The Florida Everglades ecosystem is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The American crocodile, shown above, was listed as an endangered species in Florida in 1975. It’s numbers had dropped dramatically because of hunting and loss of habitat. Today, it’s estimated that between 500 to 1,200 crocodiles live in Florida, up from approximately 200 to 400 two decades ago. They are found in the U.S. in the remaining tidal marshes in the Everglades along Florida Bay and in the Florida Keys. Though the species resemble one another, crocodiles vary greatly from the more than 1 million alligators found in Florida. Crocodile color ranges from olive green to gray compared with the black hue of alligators. Their snouts are narrower, and the bottom and top teeth are visible from the side when the mouth is closed; only the upper teeth are seen on an alligator. Adult crocodiles are 7 to 15 feet long and weigh 150 to 450 pounds. Decidedly less aggressive than the infamous Nile and Australian crocodiles, American crocodiles are rarely seen by people. The West Indian manatee is a large, herbivorous, aquatic mammal. These gentle creatures are endangered throughout their range. High annual mortality, primarily associated with human activity, as well as a low reproductive rate and loss of habitat continue to keep the number of manatees low and threaten the species’ future. The manatee population has long been the focus of battles between conservationists and boaters. Boating kills dozens of manatees a year, crushing or gashing the slow-moving mammals as they rise to the surface to breathe. Red tide algae blooms have been another cause of mortality for manatees along Florida's south-central Gulf Coast. The one-cell organism that causes red tide releases a toxin when it dies, sickening manatees. Once the toxin is in the animal, it affects their coordination and causes paralysis (Flewelling, et al., 2005). "Manatees on Florida’s Gulf coast are frequently exposed to brevetoxin, a potent neurotoxin produced by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, during red tide events. In 1996, 151 manatees were documented to have died in southwest Florida from brevetoxicosis. This epizootic was particularly detrimental to the manatee population because more adults were killed than any other age class. Other red tide epizootics in 1982, 2002, 2003,

and 2005 resulted in the deaths of 37, 34, 96, and (preliminarily) 81 manatees, respectively. There is no clear evidence that these events have been increasing in frequency along Florida’s coast, but certainly the impact on the manatee population has increased over the past two decades. Viewed globally, harmful algal blooms have been increasing over the past 25 years in frequency and in their impacts on the economy, public health, and marine life." In addition to rare and endangered species, the Everglades are rightly famous for the profusion of bird species found there, with 347 species recorded within the Park boundaries. The mangrove estuaries of Florida Bay, in particular, are a breeding habitat for Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Stork, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, and eleven species of egrets and herons. Once, water flowed freely from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay in a “river of grass”, Florida environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas's poetic phrase. It is a river that is 120 miles long and 50 miles wide, but less than a foot deep. In this flat landscape, even a few inches of elevation meant the difference

between wet marsh and dry ground. Today, the Everglades is an ecosystem in danger of extinction . Canals and levees capture

and divert its water for human use, including drinking water, irrigation, and flood control. Often, too much water is withheld from the Everglades during the wet season, or too much is diverted into it during the winter drought, disrupting the natural cycles of feeding and nesting which depend on these patterns. Much of the time the water is contaminated by pollutants.

ExtinctionNautiyal & Nidamanuri 10 (Sunil and Rama Rao – Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources @ Institute for Social and Economic Change & Department of Earth and Space Sciences @ Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, “Conserving Biodiversity in Protected Area of Biodiversity Hotspot in India: A Case Study,” International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 36 (2-3): 195-200, 2010)The hotspots are the world’s most biologically rich areas hence recognized as important ecosystems not

important¶ only for the rich biodiversity but equally important for the human survival as these are the homes for more

than¶ 20% of the world’s population. India got recognition of one of the mega-diversity countries of world as the country¶ is home of the two important biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya in north and the Western Ghats in the southern¶ peninsula. Policy makers and decision takers have recognized the importance of biodiversity (flora and fauna) and¶ this has resulted to segregate (in the form of protected

areas) the rich and diverse landscape for biodiversity¶ conservation. An approach which leads towards conservation of biological diversity is good efforts but such¶ approaches should deal with humans equally who are residing in biodiversity hotspots

since time immemorial. In¶ this endeavor, a study was conducted in Nagarahole National Park of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, in Karnataka. Our¶ empirical studies reveal that banning all the human activities in this ecosystem including agriculture, animal¶ husbandry has produced the results opposite to the approach ‘multiple values’ of national park. To monitor the¶ impact, existing policies have been tested from an economic and ecological view-point. Unfortunately, the local¶ livelihoods (most of them belongs to indigenous tribes) in the area have received setbacks due to the¶ implementation of the policies, though unintentionally. However, the ecological perspective is also not showing¶ support for the approach and framework of the current policies in the hotspots. Satellite data showed that the¶ temporal pattern of ecosystem processes has been changing. An integrated approach for ecosystem conservation and¶ strengthening local institutions for sustainable ecosystem management in such areas is therefore supported by this¶ study.

AT: Status Quo Solves Absent the plan any response to a spill would be too slow – advanced coordination is key Bert and Clayton 12 (Captain Melissa –2011-2012 Military Fellow, U.S. Coast Guard, and Blake – Fellow for Energy and National Security, “Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill”, March, http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)Defending U.S. Interests An oil well blowout in Cuban waters would almost certainly require a U.S. response .

Without changes in current U.S. law, however, that response would undoubtedly come far more slowly than is desirable. The Coast Guard would be barred from deploying highly experienced manpower, specially designed booms, skimming equipment

and vessels, and dispersants. U.S. offshore gas and oil companies would also be barred from using well-capping stacks, remotely operated submersibles, and other vital technologies. Although a handful of U.S. spill responders hold licenses to work

with Repsol, their licenses do not extend to well capping or relief drilling. The result of a slow response to a Cuban oil spill would be greater, perhaps catastrophic , economic and environmental damage to Florida and the Southeast. Efforts to rewrite current law and policy toward Cuba, and encouraging cooperation with its government, could antagonize groups opposed to improved relations with the Castro regime. They might protest any decision allowing U.S. federal agencies to assist Cuba or letting U.S. companies operate in Cuban territory. However, taking sensible steps to prepare for a potential accident at an oil well in Cuban waters would not break new ground or materially alter broader U.S. policy toward Cuba. For years, Washington has worked with Havana on issues of mutual concern. The United States routinely coordinates with Cuba on search and rescue operations in the Straits of Florida as well as to combat illicit drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. During the hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides Cuba with information on Caribbean storms. The recommendations proposed here are narrowly tailored to the specific challenges that a Cuban oil spill poses to the United States. They would not help the Cuban economy or military. What they would do is protect U.S. territory and

property from a potential danger emanating from Cuba. Cuba will drill for oil in its territorial waters with or without the

blessing of the U nited S tates. Defending against a potential oil spill requires a modicum of advance coordination

and preparation with the Cuban government, which need not go beyond spill-related matters. Without taking these precautions, the United States risks a second Deepwater Horizon, this time from Cuba.

AT: US Not Key US expertise is essential to prevent and contain spills Bert and Clayton 12 (Captain Melissa –2011-2012 Military Fellow, U.S. Coast Guard, and Blake – Fellow for Energy and National Security, “Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill”, March, http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)Washington cannot count on the technical know-how of Cuba's unseasoned oil industry to address a spill on its

own. Oil industry experts doubt that it has a strong understanding of how to prevent an offshore oil spill or stem a

deep-water well blowout . Moreover, the site where the first wells will be drilled is a tough one for even seasoned response teams to operate in. Unlike the calm Gulf of Mexico, the surface currents in the area where Repsol will be drilling move at a brisk three to four knots, which would bring oil from Cuba's offshore wells to the Florida coast within six to ten days. Skimming or burning the oil may not be feasible in such fast-moving water. The

most, and possibly only, effective method to respond to a spill would be surface and subsurface dispersants. If dispersants are not applied close to the source within four days after a spill, uncontained oil cannot be dispersed, burnt, or skimmed , which would render standard response technologies like containment booms ineffective.

US expertise in Cuban drilling operations is necessary to prevent oil spillsHelman 11 (Christopher – Forbes, “U.S. Should Drop Cuba Embargo For Oil Exploration”, 12/12, http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2011/12/12/u-s-should-drop-cuba-embargo-for-oil-exploration/)In a few months Spanish oil company Repsol will start drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba, in a spot just 70 miles south of Key West. Soon Repsol–and its JV partners Norway’s Statoil and India’s ONGC–will be joined by rigs from PetroVietnam, Malaysia’s Petronas and Venezuela’s PDVSA. But you won’t see any U.S. companies there. Inexplicably, the U.S. maintains its economic embargo against the Castro regime.This wrong-headed policy represents a dangerous threat to the environment and a

huge missed opportunity to the U.S. oil industry. The U.S. embargo will do nothing to prevent oil drilling from taking place in Cuban waters. But it will prevent that work from being done by the most experienced companies with the highest-quality equipment. Norway’s Statoil is a proven operator with a long history in the North Sea and the Gulf. The rest of those companies are just getting started offshore. A group of U.S. lawmakers in September urged Repsol (ticker: REPYY.PK) to call off its Cuba plans or face the threat of U.S. lawsuits. Repsol wisely called that bluff. At least the Obama administration is doing something to ensure that Repsol’s drilling rig is up to snuff. According to an excellent article from Bloomberg today, Repsol’s Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig will soon by boarded by four U.S. inspectors (two from the Coast Guard, two from the Dept. of Interior) who will do what they can to check out the rig and watch some drills. But, according to the article, there will be real limits to what the inspectors can inspect. They won’t get to check the rig’s all-important blowout preventor, or the well casing or drilling fluids that are to be used. Though the U.S. inspectors will discuss any concerns they have with Repsol, they will have no enforcement authority. Although the offshore industry’s best service companies and parts manufacturers are right here on the U.S. Gulf coast, Repsol will have to train its people and scrounge for spare parts from the rest of the world. But here’s something that completely blows my mind. The administration, again, according to the Bloomberg article, has granted some U.S. companies the license to respond to an oil spill were it to occur in Cuban waters. The government won’t say how many companies have that license or who they are, but there’s at least two of them: Wild Well Control and Helix Energy Solutions Group. Helix plans to stage a subsea containment cap on the U.S. coast so it can quickly respond to any Cuban blowout. Of course it’s smart and safe for the U.S. government to put defensive measures in place in

the event of a spill, but the message to the industry is clear: we refuse to give superior U.S. operators the license to

drill for oil in Cuba , but we want to make sure you’re ready to clean up any problems. And the message to Cuba: we’re not going to let you use our engineers, just our janitors. Knowing that a top-notch American clean-up crew is on standby in case of a blowout

is not a big incentive for Cuba to keep its own regulators on top of things. Think about Cuba in relation to U.S. oil adventures in the rest of the world. Even if Cuba really were a tyrannical threat to U.S. interests, there’s myriad countries where U.S. oil companies have done business that are no more democratic than Cuba. They include Venezuela, Saudi Arabia,

Burma, Libya, Equatorial Guinea and Kazakhstan. The Castros’ days as rulers of Cuba are numbered. The embargo stick hasn’t brought regime change, and has only forced Cuba into the arms of autocrats like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Better to use the carrot of capitalism to gradually bring Cuba into the U.S. sphere of influence . The oil industry is a great place to start.

Biodiversity ExtCuban oil spill destroys Florida’s ecosystem Allen 12 (Greg – NPR, “U.S. Watches Closely As Oil Drilling Begins Off Cuba”, 2/13, http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146635957/u-s-watches-closely-as-oil-drilling-begins-off-cuba)There are big plans for oil exploration in the Caribbean, not far off the coast of Florida . A Spanish company recently

began drilling in Cuban waters — just 55 miles from Key West. The well is the first of several exploratory wells planned in Cuba and the Bahamas. The drilling has officials and researchers in Florida scrambling to make plans for how they'll respond in case of a spill. The U.S. currently doesn't allow any drilling for oil off its Atlantic coast or in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. One reason is what's at stake. Florida's tourism-based economy depends on its beaches, fishing and clear Caribbean water. Environmental Concerns The U.S. ban on drilling off of Florida, however, doesn't affect America's Caribbean neighbors . The exploratory well being drilled off of Cuba has many here concerned, including people like Richard Dodge. Dodge is the dean of Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, near Fort Lauderdale, and what he's really concerned about is coral. At the school, Dodge and his graduate students raise staghorn coral in outdoor saltwater tanks. Live coral grow in the crystal-clear water, some just finger length. "These are relatively new ones that we're starting out," Dodge says. "But over here, these are ones we'll be transplanting to the wild." In

another tank, large branches of coral will soon be used to help restore damaged reefs. Florida is home to more than three-quarters of the nation's coral reefs — and they haven't been doing so well. Development and warming oceans have already weakened many. On a

map, Dodge points out the location of what he believes is an even bigger potential threat — the spot where Cuba has

approved offshore oil drilling. "The site that will be drilled," he says, "is only about 50 miles from Key West." The rig

drilling off Cuba's northern coast is operating in water that is more than a mile deep. But it's not the depth that concerns Dodge. In the case of a blowout, it's the operation's proximity to the Gulf Stream . "We're worried that it could get into that stream fast and

therefore, within days, impact our coastal ecosystem and coastline," Dodge says. A spill could potentially affect

hundreds of miles of beaches, mangroves and estuaries from the Keys to Palm Beach. Dodge and other marine scientists

in Florida are asking the federal government to fund research that would help identify the resources most at risk, and develop guidelines to protect them. Embargo Could Complicate Cleanup Complicating matters is the fact that this new well is being drilled in the waters of a country that's under a strict U.S. embargo. Unless they apply for and receive special permission from the government, U.S. companies are banned from doing any work on the well — even if there's a spill.

A Cuban oil spill destroys multiple marine ecosystems – proximity and modeling proveORR 12 (Office of Response and Restoration – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Getting Ready for Offshore Oil Drilling in Cuba and the Bahamas”, 4/27, http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/getting-ready-offshore-oil-drilling-cuba-and-bahamas.html) For the past year, NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard have been studying the possible threats that new offshore oil

drilling activity near the Florida Straits and the Bahamas pose to Florida. For example, the proximity of Cuba's oil fields to U.S. waters has raised a lot of concerns about what would happen if a spill like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon/BP oil well blowout

happened. If a large oil spill did occur in the waters northwest of Cuba, currents in the Florida Straits could carry the oil to U.S. waters and coastal areas in Florida. However, a number of factors, like winds or currents, would determine where any oil slicks

might go. NOAA's National Ocean Service has more information about how we're preparing for worst-case scenarios there: The study focuses on modeling the movement of oil in water to predict where, when, and how oil might reach U.S. shores given a spill in this region of the ocean. Models help to determine the threat to our coasts from a potential spill by accounting for many different variables, such as the weathering processes of evaporation, dispersion, photo-oxidation, and biodegradation—all of which reduce the amount of oil in the water over time. Currents and winds also play a role in determining where oil will move in water. For

example, there are three major currents that would dominate movement of spilled oil near the Florida Straits: Loop

Current, Florida Current, and the Gulf Stream. If oil did reach U.S. waters, marine and coastal resources in southern

Florida could be at risk , including coral reefs and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary , located north of

the Cuban drilling sites. We'll be watching the drilling activity there very carefully. If a spill does happen, NOAA will be ready to share our scientific expertise on oil spill response with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Spills risk destruction of key ecosystemsPadgett 12 (Tim, “The Oil Off Cuba: Washington and Havana Dance at Arms Length Over Spill Prevention”, 1/27, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2105598,00.html)

On any other occasion that might have raised the ire of the Cubans, who consider Washington their imperialista enemy. But the U.S. examination of the Scarabeo 9, which Repsol agreed to and Cuba abided, was part of an unusual choreography of cooperation between the two countries. Their otherwise bitter cold-war feud (they haven't had diplomatic relations since 1961) is best known for a 50-year-long trade embargo and history's scariest nuclear standoff. Now, Cuba's commitment to offshore oil exploration — drilling may start this weekend — raises a specter that haunts both nations: an oil spill in the Florida Straits like the BP calamity that tarred the nearby Gulf of

Mexico two years ago and left $40 billion in U.S. damages. The Straits, an equally vital body of water that's home to some of the world's most precious coral reefs , separates Havana and Key West, Florida, by a mere 90 miles . As a result, the

U.S. has tacitly loosened its embargo against Cuba to give firms like Repsol easier access to the U.S. equipment they need to help avoid or contain possible spills. "Preventing drilling off Cuba better protects our interests than preparing for [a disaster] does," U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida tells TIME, noting the U.S. would prefer to stop the Cuban drilling — but can't. "But the two are not mutually exclusive, and that's why we should aim to do both."

Cuba Says YesCuba says yes to US expertise New York Times 9/09/2011 “U.S. Is Urged to Plan to Aid Cuba in Case of an Oil Spill” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/world/americas/09cuba.html?_r=0HAVANA — The United States should urgently make plans for helping Cuba in the event of an offshore oil spill as it

prepares to begin exploring fields opposite Florida this year, William Reilly, the co-chairman of a commission that examined the Deepwater Horizon spill, said during a visit here.

Mr. Reilly, who met with Cuban officials, said they were hungry for expertise about offshore oil development and happy to get it from the United States. “It seems to me to be profoundly in the interest of the United States to ensure that, if there should be a spill in Cuban waters, all efforts are undertaken by both government and private entities in the United States

to assist in responding,” he said Wednesday.

AT: US Makes Exceptions NowExceptions aren’t sufficient – broad licensing is key New York Times 9/09/2011 “U.S. Is Urged to Plan to Aid Cuba in Case of an Oil Spill” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/world/americas/09cuba.html?_r=0Repsol, the Spanish oil company, plans to dig at least one well using a Chinese-built rig, which is set to reach Cuba in November. A significant discovery would greatly change Cuba’s economic prospects, but the possibility has also raised concerns about potential ecological disasters.Cuba produced about 50,000 barrels of oil a day in 2009, according to Cuban government figures, and imported 120,000 barrels more a day from Venezuela.Members of the delegation said it was not clear how drilling companies working in Cuban waters would be able to obtain safety equipment from the United States, like capping stacks or blowout preventers, to prevent spills or mitigate their effect.The Treasury Department has said it will issue licenses to allow American companies to operate in Cuba under the economic embargo on a case-by-case basis, but experts contend that the licenses need to be broad in their scope.

Cuba Solves - ExtTraining of Cuban officials and international regulations solveTC 11 (Television Camaguey, “Cuban Specialists Receive Training on Safe Oil Drilling “, 6/8, http://www.tvcamaguey.co.cu/english/index.php/science-and-technology/35-science/92-cuban-specialists-receive-training-on-safe-oil-drilling-.html)Cuban specialists who are going to participate in the drilling of deep-water exploratory wells in Cuban waters in the

Gulf of Mexico recently participated in courses on safety and environment protection as part of preparations for such activities. A total of 120 Cubans including executives, officials and technicians of enterprises involved in the oil industry participated in three seminars on the topic taught by Norwegian experts. Manuel Marrero, chief oil and gas specialist of the Basic

Industry Ministry, told ACN the several-day training is vital to undertake the deep- and ultra-deep-water drillings scheduled to begin in

a few months. Current international regulations for this kind of operations are very rigorous in an effort to protect the

environment and avoid accidents such as the one that recently occurred in the British Pretroleum platform.

Status Quo Solves – ExtUS inspections of Cuban drilling equipment prevents spills – ensures complianceWSJ 12 (Wall Street Journal, “Cuba - Repsol's Cuba drilling rig complies with safety standards”, 1/10, http://www.bpcplc.com/media-centre/non-company-press-releases/cuba-repsol%27s-cuba-drilling-rig-complies-with-safety-standards.aspx)U.S. officials said Monday a rig operated by Spain's Repsol YPF that is expected to drill offshore Cuba in the coming months

complies with international and U.S. safety standards . 'U.S. personnel found the vessel to generally comply with existing international and U.S. standards by which Repsol has pledged to abide,' the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in the press release. The agency, however, noted that the vessel review 'does not confer any form of certification or endorsement under U.S. or international law' and that the U.S. has no legal or regulatory authority over the rig. The vessel, named Scarabeo 9, was inspected off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago and it will begin drilling a deep-water oil well later this year about 100 kms off the Florida Keys. Repsol, which does business in the U.S., had agreed to let U.S. federal regulators inspect the rig before it enters Cuban waters. The rig's

review was aimed at minimizing the possibility of a major oil spill, which would hurt U.S. economic and environmental

interests, the regulatory agency said. While aboard the Scarabeo 9, U.S. officials reviewed vessel construction, drilling equipment, and safety systems--including lifesaving and firefighting equipment, emergency generators, dynamic positioning systems, machinery spaces,

and the blowout preventer, according to agency. In anticipation of increased drilling activities in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. is in discussions with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico on a broad range of issues, including drilling safety, ocean

modeling, and oil spill preparedness and response, in order to reduce the impact of a major pollution incident, the agency said.

US standards are met – solves the impact Geman 12 (Ben, “Interior: Cuba-bound drilling rig ‘generally’ meets US standards”, 1/9, http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/203161-interior-cuba-bound-drilling-rig-generally-meets-us-standards)The deepwater drilling rig that Spanish oil giant Repsol will use for planned oil exploration off Cuba’s coast is getting

a clean bill of health from U.S. officials. The United States has no regulatory authority over the drilling, but an Interior Department and Coast Guard team was invited to inspect the Scarabeo 9 rig by Repsol, a check-up that comes as planned drilling

off Cuba’s coast draws criticism from several U.S. lawmakers. “The review compared the vessel with applicable international safety and security standards as well as U.S. standards for drilling units operating in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

U.S. personnel found the vessel to generally comply with existing international and U.S. standards by which Repsol

has pledged to abide,” the U.S. agencies said in a joint statement Monday upon completion of the review. The U.S. team reviewed drilling equipment, safety systems such as firefighting equipment and the unit’s blowout preventer and other aspects of the rig. A number of U.S. lawmakers critical of the Cuban government have criticized Repsol’s planned project, noting it will bring revenues to the Cuban regime and that a

spill could threaten nearby U.S. shores. More on that here, here and here. “The review is consistent with U.S. efforts to minimize

the possibility of a major oil spill , which would hurt U.S. economic and environmental interests,” Interior and the Coast

Guard said of the inspection, which occurred off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago.

Bio-D Defense – ExtSpecies extinction in certain areas come back – either through human intervention or nature.Doremus in ’99 Holly Doremus, Acting Professor of Law, University of California at Davis. “RESTORING ENDANGERED SPECIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING WILD.” The Harvard Environmental Law Review. 1999. LexisSimilar reasoning applies even following local extirpation of a species. The loss of a species from a region might seem to remove it from the background of natural hazards in the region, making its reintroduction equivalent to the import of an exotic species. But nature is not static. Any species not extinct in the wild could return without human intervention. Even a long absence does not mean that nature will not bring back the species. Wolves, for example, returned on their own to northern Montana after an absence of fifty

years. n300 Like restocking, reintroduction therefore does not qualitatively change the natural dangers to which property is exposed. Moreover, the same practical problem of distinguishing natural from introduced wildlife damage applies. It is often difficult to determine whether a species has truly been extirpated from a region, n301 or whether it has returned on its own before or after a deliberate human reintroduction. n302 Distinguishing harm caused by remnant or naturally dispersing animals from that caused by those imported by human efforts may be virtually impossible.

There were already several mass extinctions – there was no permanent extinction of life.Kunich ’94 John Charles Kunich, udge Advocate specializing in environmental law and with Highest Honors 1993 George Washington University School of Law. Environmental Law. Spring 1994. “SPECIES & HABITAT CONSERVATION: THE FALLACY OF DEATHBED CONSERVATION UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.” LexisMore dramatically, mass extinctions have occurred at a few points in earth's history, when many species, even the majority of [*510] all species on the planet, became extinct during a relatively brief span of time. n20 Although there is some scientific debate as to whether the extinction rates during these periods significantly exceeded the usual background rate, it is generally accepted that the fossil record evidences heavy extinction in at least five geologic ages. n21 Given the huge number of species terminated by the various mass

extinctions, one may be surprised to learn that, devastating as these events were, their victims are outnumbered by the species that have expired during less remarkable epochs. Most of the literally millions of extinct species perished in relative isolation, each

failing to adapt to changing conditions that threatened only a few, or even only one species. n22 Almost all of the species that ever existed on this planet have long been extinct by no act of humans, and yet more species are currently living than at any time in the past.

No Environment Impact - ExtNo extinctionEasterbrook 3 (Gregg, Distinguished Fellow – Fullbright Foundation, “We’re All Gonna Die!”, Wired Magazine, July, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.07/doomsday.html?pg=1&topic=&topic_set=)If we're talking about doomsday - the end of human civilization - many scenarios simply don't measure up. A single nuclear bomb ignited by terrorists, for example, would be awful beyond words, but life would go on. People and machines might converge in ways that you and I would find ghastly, but from the standpoint of the future, they would probably represent an adaptation. Environmental collapse might make parts of the globe unpleasant, but considering that the biosphere has survived ice ages, it wouldn't be

the final curtain . Depression, which has become 10 times more prevalent in Western nations in the postwar era, might grow so widespread

that vast numbers of people would refuse to get out of bed, a possibility that Petranek suggested in a doomsday talk at the Technology Entertainment Design conference in 2002. But Marcel Proust, as miserable as he was, wrote Remembrance of Things Past while lying in bed.

Oil Spills Add-On

Embargo prevents access to US oil technology and expertise. This makes spills likely. Davenport 2011 energy and environment correspondent for National Journal.[Coral Davenport July 28, 2011 Cuba is about to drill for offshore oil with “second-tier parts” because of the trade embargo. That’s not good news for U.S. beaches.http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/will-sloppy-drilling-off-the-coast-of-cuba-threaten-florida-gulf-beaches--20110728)]

Sometime over the next three months, if all goes according to plan, Cuban workers on a Chinese-built, Spanish-owned rig will start drilling for oil in the mile-deep waters just off the north coast of Cuba, 70 miles from the Florida Keys. If the drill hits a major oil deposit—and all geologic signs indicate it will—the discovery will unleash a cascade of developments with profound political, environmental, and economic consequences. The Cuban government has long wanted to extract the rich reserves of oil and natural gas believed to lie off its shores. Estimates for oil range from 5 billion to 20 billion barrels, while the estimate for natural gas is 8.6 billion cubic feet. Unlocking that oil could jump-start a nascent Cuban offshore-oil industry—and free the island nation from its energy and political dependence on Venezuela, from which it imports 60 percent of its oil today. A newfound independence from its socialist neighbor and its mercurial president, Hugo Chavez—coming at a time when the Cuban leadership is facing change with the eventual demise of Fidel Castro—is an appealing prospect to the United States. But the potential of a closer relationship with Cuba comes with a terrifying specter: An oil blowout in Cuban waters could reprise the nightmare that was last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and send crude spewing to the beaches of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. And the likelihood for such a disaster is very real, say oil industry experts, thanks in part to Washington’s 49-year-old embargo on Cuba. Because of the embargo, U.S. companies cannot drill in Cuba, supply equipment to Cuba, have any say over safety regulations in Cuba, or even take part in helping control a blowout and spill in Cuba. As the island prepares to begin offshore drilling, it has signed contracts with oil companies from Brazil, India, Italy, Russia, and Spain—and is in talks to lease major portions of its coastal water to Chinese companies (continuing China’s pattern of pursuing oil exploration in countries where U.S. drillers aren’t welcome). Under the embargo’s terms, the oil drilling and safety equipment used by those companies must be less than 10 percent U.S.-made. But all of the most technologically advanced equipment for drilling and preventing or stopping oil spills is made in the United States or by U.S. companies. “There are not international suppliers of this level of equipment. They will have to buy copycat or second-tier parts,” Lee Hunter, president of the Houston-based International Association of Drilling Contractors, told National Journal. Hunter and other experts say that, to date, it appears that the Cuban government, fearful of the devastation an oil spill could wreak on its economy, wants to use the lessons learned from the BP oil disaster to develop a rigorous safety and oversight program. But it will be nearly impossible for drillers in Cuba’s waters to legally use the safest equipment. “The Cubans want to use good technology; they want to drill safely,” Hunter said. “But … their ability to drill safely is extremely compromised.” Also deeply compromised is their ability to respond to a disaster should it occur. Even if oil from a Cuban spill laps at Florida’s shores, the U.S. agencies and oil companies that have all-too-hard-won expertise in wrestling a spill—the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Interior Department—would be banned from crossing into Cuban waters to help. And experts say that the Cuban oil industry and government don’t yet have a fraction of the resources and expertise they would need to deal with such an event on their own.

Delayed response to Cuban oil spills guarantees environmental catastrophe.Bert and Clayton ‘12[Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, 2011-2012 Military Fellow, U.S.Coast Guard, and Blake Clayton, Fellow for Energy and National Security 2012 Publisher Council on Foreign Relations Press Release Date March 2012 Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 15 (http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)]

An oil well blowout in Cuban waters would almost certainly require a U.S. response. Without changes in current U.S. law, however, that response would undoubtedly come far more slowly than is desirable. The Coast Guard would be barred from deploying highly experienced manpower, specially designed booms, skimming

equipment and vessels, and dispersants. U.S. offshore gas and oil companies would also be barred from using well-capping stacks, remotely operated submersibles, and other vital technologies. Although a handful of U.S. spill responders hold licenses to work with Repsol, their licenses do not extend to well capping or relief drilling. The result of a slow response to a Cuban oil spill would be greater, perhaps catastrophic, economic and environmental damage to Florida and the Southeast.¶ Efforts to rewrite current law and policy toward Cuba, and encouraging cooperation with its government, could antagonize groups opposed to improved relations with the Castro regime. They might protest any decision allowing U.S. federal agencies to assist Cuba or letting U.S. companies operate in Cuban territory.¶ However, taking sensible steps to prepare for a potential accident at an oil well in Cuban waters would not break new ground or materially alter broader U.S. policy toward Cuba. For years, Washington has worked with Havana on issues of mutual concern. The United States routinely coordinates with Cuba on search and rescue operations in the Straits of Florida as well as to combat illicit drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. During the hurricane season, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides Cuba with information on Caribbean storms.

Oil Spills Coming

Cuba drilling risks oil spillsBert and Clayton2012[Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, 2011-2012 Military Fellow, U.S.Coast Guard, and Blake Clayton, Fellow for Energy and National Security 2012 Publisher Council on Foreign Relations Press Release Date March 2012 Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 15 (http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)]

The imminent drilling of Cuba's first offshore oil well raises the prospect of a large-scale oil spill in Cuban waters washing onto U.S. shores. Washington should anticipate this possibility by implementing policies that would help both countries' governments stem and clean up an oil spill effectively. These policies should ensure that both the U.S. government and the domestic oil industry are operationally and financially ready to deal with any spill that threatens U.S. waters. These policies should be as minimally disruptive as possible to the country's broader Cuba strategy.

Oil spills spread fast and could travel all the way to Florida. NOAAA 2012[APRIL 27, 2012 Getting Ready for Offshore Oil Drilling in Cuba and the Bahamashttp://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/getting-ready-offshore-oil-drilling-cuba-and-bahamas.html)]

APRIL 27, 2012 -- For the past year, NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard have been studying the possible threats that new offshore oil drilling activity near the Florida Straits and the Bahamas pose to Florida.¶ For example, the proximity of Cuba's oil fields to U.S. waters has raised a lot of concerns about what would happen if a spill like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon/BP oil well blowout happened.¶ If a large oil spill did occur in the waters northwest of Cuba, currents in the Florida Straits could carry the oil to U.S. waters and coastal areas in Florida. However, a number of factors, like winds or currents, would determine where any oil slicks might go.¶ NOAA's National Ocean Service has more information about how we're preparing for worst-case scenarios there:¶ The study focuses on modeling the movement of oil in water to predict where, when, and how oil might reach U.S. shores given a spill in this region of the ocean. ¶ Models help to determine the threat to our coasts from a potential spill by accounting for many different variables, such as the weathering processes of evaporation, dispersion, photo-oxidation, and biodegradation—all of which reduce the amount of oil in the water over time.¶ Currents and winds also play a role in determining where oil will move in water. For example, there are three major currents that would dominate movement of spilled oil near the Florida Straits: Loop Current, Florida Current, and the Gulf Stream.¶ If oil did reach U.S. waters, marine and coastal resources in southern Florida could be at risk, including coral reefs and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, located north of the Cuban drilling sites. We'll be watching the drilling activity there very carefully. If a spill does happen, NOAA will be ready to share our scientific expertise on oil spill response with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Oil Spill Impacts

Oil spill would devastate Florida’s economy and key coral reefs.Newswise ‘12[Nova Southeastern University 1/30/2012 Long-Term Response Plan for Cuban Oil Spill (http://www.newswise.com/articles/long-term-response-plan-for-cuban-oil-spill)]

Newswise — FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE Fla. — Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and Florida International University (FIU) researchers have drafted a plan to best prepare South Florida for an oil spill off the coast of Cuba.¶

The proximity of intended Cuban oil drilling and production puts the U.S. coastal zone at risk from Florida to the Carolinas and northward. Oil from a spill would quickly enter the Gulf Stream and reach Florida's shores in hours or days with potentially devastating effects on the densely populated South Florida coastline and its coastal ecosystems. South Florida's accounts for 3.4 million jobs and 45 percent of the $587 billion contribution to Florida's GDP generated by coastal and ocean economic activity. ¶ A likely first impact of a major spill would be the iconic and economically valuable Florida Reef Track, a coral reef ecosystem that stretches from the Dry Torgugas in the Keys to Palm Beach County. Effects could be devastating to the ecology of the reef, Florida's beaches, coastal property and South Florida’s economy.¶ The sustainability plan calls for a partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard, other federal agencies, and a consortium of South Florida academic institutions, including Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center, Florida International University, other schools, and private industry. The Coast Guard is the designated operational leader in any response to a Cuban oil spill.¶

Oil spills devastate the environment.Weber andCrew 2000[J. M. Weber University of Kaiserslautern, Germany and R. E. Crew, Jr Deterrence theory and marine oil¶ spills: Do coast guard civil penalties¶ deter pollution?¶ J. M., Jr Journal of Environmental Management (2000) (http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0301479799903262/1-s2.0-S0301479799903262-main.pdf?_tid=22c20598-ddd9-11e2-afcb-00000aab0f26&acdnat=1372193723_e832ee536908d9fa2114f5c01a283d79)]

Oil pollution continues to play a prominent role in degradation of the marine environment, both in the United States and elsewhere. Catastrophic oil spills such as the 11 million gallon discharge by the tankship Exxon Valdez in 1989 (ARLIS,¶ ¶ 1997a) have immediate environmental consequences. While there is no conclusive estimate of the impact of this spill on marine life, popular and scientific research suggests an enormous loss. In addition to the immediate closing of the Alaskan commercial salmon fisheries, an estimated 300 harbor seals, 2800 sea otters, 250 000 seabirds and possibly 13 killer whales were lost (ARLIS, 1997b). Other major oil spills have taken somewhat similar tolls on the environment. (National¶ ¶ Research Council (NRC), 1985) As devastating as these one-time events are, however, they should not divert attention from the routine oil spills that strike the environment every day. The long-term¶ ¶

impacts of such spills can have huge consequence for marine ecosystems. In 1985, the¶ ¶ US National Research Council estimated that¶ ¶ 73% of oil spilled in marine transportationcomes from sources other than tankships.¶ ¶

(NRC, 1985) This means that a substantial¶ ¶ volume of oil is spilled into the marine environment from sources that gather little public¶ ¶ or media attention. While society can and¶ ¶ should expend effort to prevent the Exxon¶ ¶ Valdez-type oil spills, it should be just as¶ ¶ vigilant in reducing the chronic pollution of¶ ¶ smaller vessels and land-based facilities.¶ ¶ The US government has long been engaged in efforts to prevent oil spills.

AT: Deepwater Horizon Empirically Denies

South Florida spill would have a far greater impact than Deepwater Horizon.Sun Sentinel 2012[Sun Sentinel New oil spill plan needed April 22, 2012 http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-04-22/news/fl-cuba-oil-editorial-dl-20120422_1_deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-oil-spill)]

There's little debate that a major oil spill off the coast of Cuba could be a disaster for Florida. What's up for more serious discussion are plans to contain the spill, and to minimize the ecological damage from an oil spill reaching our shores.¶ Setting up booms and dropping dispersants onto massive oil slicks threatening South Florida's shores would be a painful reprise of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon debacle that devastated the Gulf Coast.¶ Such tactics, however, are really the last line of defense in bulwarking shorelines and waterways against unwanted oil. And, unfortunately, they are susceptible to winds, currents and tides— and aren't guaranteed to succeed.¶ The first line of defense begins with a proactive policy of environmental and safety cooperation between the United States, Cuba and the foreign companies operating the platform. Exploratory drilling in an area that is said to contain over 5 billion barrels of oil and 8.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas has already begun, and time is of the essence since chances for major mishaps in deepwater operations usually occur during exploratory drilling.¶ What's problematic for many environmentalists and U.S. policymakers is that the sites of these new wells are less than 60 miles from Key West. Their being so close to Gulf Stream means an oil rig mishap could produce an ecological disaster along hundreds of miles of Florida coastline.¶ The good news is there has been progress in forging a working relationship, and a plan of action, to bolster environmental cooperation.¶ That's a major accomplishment given the past bitter political history — and current friction — between the United States and Cuba. In the past, Washington and Havana have found ways to cooperate on immigration issues and curbing drug trafficking. Protecting the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from a blowout is no less important.¶ The initial oil-spill containment plan unveiled recently by the U.S. Coast Guard emphasizes shielding inlets and intracoastal waterways to protect more vulnerable parts of South Florida's coastlines over the region's beaches. That approach won't sit well with local businesses and interest groups that rely on the beaches to fuel the region's vibrant tourism industry.¶ The dismay among tourist officials is understandable, but putting priorities on Florida's most sensitive environs is necessary. The region's bays, lagoons and mangrove forests are far more susceptible to the toxic impact of an oil spill. Those ecological nooks and crannies, and spawning zones, would be more difficult to clean than a beach.¶ In an ideal world, the federal government would muster all the resources at its command to protect all of South Florida's rich and diverse environment from a massive spill. The real world is a very different place.¶ Credit the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Coast Guard for their work with the Cuban government on a comprehensive disaster response system that hopefully will never have to be used.

Oil spills would damage beaches and key turtle habitats – Deepwater Horizon was just likely timing.Gibson 2012[William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau sun-sentinel Drilling off Cuba prompts disaster plan¶ Officials stress inlets, not beaches¶ April 15, 2012 (http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-04-15/news/fl-cuba-oil-drilling-local-spill-plan-20120415_1_inlets-and-intracoastal-waterways-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill/2)]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials, game-planning for a potential oil spill off the shores of Cuba, are preparing to leave South Florida's beaches exposed while shielding inlets and intracoastal waterways to protect the most vulnerable parts of the state's coastline.¶ ¶ Two years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster underscored the damage to marine life and tourism of a massive oil spill, Cuban-sponsored drilling less than 60 miles from Florida has raised new alarms. In response, the Coast Guard has devised an elaborate plan to contain the damage if an oil slick rushes north on the Gulf Stream, the powerful current that runs along the East Coast.¶ Broward and Palm Beach county officials feel better prepared because of lessons from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which erupted on April 20, 2010. But they are not so confident that their beaches, reefs and bays -- and the tourism dollars they generate -- can be fully protected.¶ "If we do have a large spill, I'm not sure we have the capability of intercepting all of it," said Eric Myers,Broward County's natural resources administrator. "It will go to the beaches. And quite honestly, I think

that most of the plans assume that a lot of oil can be collected from the beaches, which is what they did in the upper Gulf Coast."¶ U.S. officials are increasingly confident that Cuban authorities would allow Americans to enter Cuban waters to help contain a major spill at its source. They plan to skim oil from the ocean surface, contain it, burn it or disperse it with chemicals before it comes near land.¶ But if a slick heads for South Florida, the Coast Guard plan calls for a series of booms to block surface oil from entering inlets and intracoastal waterways, especially near Port Everglades, Hillsboro Beach,Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Jupiter. Officials would not try to screen off beaches, which are much harder to protect but easier to clean up.¶ "We're telling people not to expect a cocoon around the coast of Florida, because it's not practical. And with the fast currents we have here, booms all along the beaches really wouldn't be that effective," said Capt. John Slaughter, chief of readiness at the Coast Guard's 7th district in South Florida.¶ "Our priority is going to be to protect the inlets," he said. "The beaches are incredibly important to us, but inlets are what allow water to get into inland areas where the most sensitive environmental areas are."¶ The Coast Guard plan focuses on protecting bays, mangrove forests and lagoons – rich spawning grounds, where oil would cause great damage and be very difficult to remove. Local officials generally support the plan but say they can only hope to minimize damage if a slick arrives.¶ "We've looked at their [Coast Guard] response capabilities, which honestly are somewhat limited," Myers said. "The main thing they have the ability to do is to boom certain areas and try to deal with floating near-surface oil. Anything that's down deeper than that, nobody seems to have a way to manage that much volume of water."¶ "I would hate to see our beaches covered with tar balls or oil," he said. "We know that if that were to occur it would be a real mess for our whole tourism and recreation interest."¶ Plans include rounding up hundreds of volunteers to clean up beaches if they are slathered. Both counties are updating computer lists of those who offered to help when the Gulf spill raised fears that a slick would ride the Loop Current through the Florida Keys and up the southeast coast.¶ In fact, oil streamers were headed for the Keys but were shut off by eddies, smaller cross-currents.¶ "We got lucky that time," said Dan Bates, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Resources Management in Palm Beach County. "Deepwater Horizon was a wake-up call for many folks who didn't realize that what may happen a long distance away could have dramatic effect locally."¶ "If it happens during sea-turtle nesting season, that's a huge potential impact," he said. "That's an endangered species, and we're one of the primary nesting habitats in the world. In shore, we have all the nursery habitats we've worked very hard to enhance. Many tens of millions of dollars have been spent on that habitat, and we certainly want to protect that investment." Cuban drilling plans raised new alarms because the sites are much closer to Florida and very near the Gulf Stream. Frosty relations between the United States and Cuba have complicated contingency plans. Repsol, a Spanish company that has contracted with Cuba, has been using a new self-propelled rig called the Scarabeo 9 to search for oil since January. The company hopes to tap a reservoir before turning the rig over to a Malaysian company, Petronas, to dig exploratory wells in Cuban waters farther west, probably in late May or June. The exact location has not been disclosed.¶ Repsol has been delayed by minor equipment problems on the new rig and has not hit the expected reservoir, said Jorge Pinon, a former oil executive and energy expert at the University of Texas, who is familiar with the drilling operation. The Petronas site, he said, is farther from Florida but closer to currents that flow toward the state.¶ ¶ "If you move that prospect further west, a greater area could be impacted, including Florida Bay and the Florida Keys," he said.¶ To coordinate emergency-response plans in the Caribbean, U.S. officials met in Jamaica last week with energy experts from Cuba and Mexico, as well as from the Bahamas and Jamaica, which are considering offshore drilling. Slaughter, who attended the meetings, was hopeful that Cuba would allow a multi-national response in case of disaster.¶ "I certainly can't speak for Cuba," Slaughter said, "but I would say they understand that a spill of Deepwater Horizon magnitude is beyond one country's ability to address."¶ "I think Deepwater Horizon really opened everybody's eyes to the magnitude of the challenges," he said. "We have to set a lot of things aside to make sure the response is done to protect everybody's interests. Based on the vibes I've gotten from the meetings, everybody feels that same way."

Removing Embargo Solves Oil Spills

Embargo prevents safe drilling with the best tech from U.S. companies. Helman 12/12/11 (Christopher-Forbes Staff, “U.S. Should Drop Cuba Embargo For Oil Exploration”, http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2011/12/12/u-s-should-drop-cuba-embargo-for-oil-exploration/)

This wrong-headed policy represents a dangerous threat to the environment and a huge missed opportunity to the U.S. oil industry. The U.S. embargo will do nothing to prevent oil drilling from taking place in Cuban waters. But it will prevent that work from being done by the most experienced companies with the highest-quality

equipment . Norway’s Statoil is a proven operator with a long history in the North Sea and the Gulf. The rest of those companies are just getting started offshore.A group of U.S. lawmakers in September urged Repsol (ticker: REPYY.PK) to call off its Cuba plans or face the threat of U.S. lawsuits. Repsol wisely called that bluff.At least the Obama administration is doing something to ensure that Repsol’s drilling rig is up to snuff. According to an excellent article from Bloomberg today, Repsol’s Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 rig will soon by boarded by four U.S. inspectors (two from the Coast Guard, two from the Dept. of Interior) who will do what they can to check out the rig and watch some drills. But, according to the article, there will be real limits to what the inspectors can inspect. They won’t get to check the rig’s all-important blowout preventor, or the well casing or drilling fluids that are to be used. Though the U.S. inspectors will discuss any concerns they have with Repsol, they will have no enforcement authority.Although the offshore industry’s best service companies and parts manufacturers are right here on the U.S. Gulf coast, Repsol will have to train its people and scrounge for spare parts from the rest of the world.

The embargo prevents effective oil spill clean up.Bert and Clayton2012[Captain Melissa Bert, USCG, 2011-2012 Military Fellow, U.S.Coast Guard, and Blake Clayton, Fellow for Energy and National Security 2012 Publisher Council on Foreign Relations Press Release Date March 2012 Addressing the Risk of a Cuban Oil Spill Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 15 (http://www.cfr.org/cuba/addressing-risk-cuban-oil-spill/p27515)]

Deep water drilling off the Cuban coast also poses a threat to the United States. The exploratory well is seventy miles off the Florida coast and lies at a depth of 5,800 feet. The failed Macondo well that triggered the calamitous Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010 had broadly similar features, situated forty-eight miles from shore and approximately five thousand feet below sea level. A spill off Florida's coast could ravage the state's $57 billion per year tourism industry. Washington cannot count on the technical know-how of Cuba's unseasoned oil industry to address a spill on its own. Oil industry experts doubt that it has a strong understanding of how to prevent an offshore oil spill or stem a deep-water well blowout. Moreover, the site where the first wells will be drilled is a tough one for even seasoned response teams to operate in. Unlike the calm Gulf of Mexico, the surface currents in the area where Repsol will be drilling move at a brisk three to four knots, which would bring oil from Cuba's offshore wells to the Florida coast within six to ten days. Skimming or burning the oil may not be feasible in such fast-moving water. The most, and possibly only, effective method to respond to a spill would be surface and subsurface dispersants. If dispersants are not applied close to the source within four days after a spill, uncontained oil cannot be dispersed, burnt, or skimmed, which would render standard response technologies like containment booms ineffective. Repsol has been forthcoming in disclosing its spill response plans to U.S. authorities and allowing them to inspect the drilling rig, but the Russian and Chinese companies that are already negotiating with Cuba to lease acreage might not be as cooperative. Had Repsol not volunteered to have the Cuba-bound drilling rig examined by the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to certify that it met international standards, Washington would have had little legal recourse. The complexity of U.S.-Cuba relations since the 1962 trade embargo complicates even limited efforts to put in place a spill response plan. Under U.S. law and with few exceptions, American companies cannot assist the Cuban government or provide equipment to foreign companies operating in Cuban territory.

The embargo stops oil spill clean up-Lack of US equipment and supplies.Randy Grice 2013 [Randy Grice reporter for the Miami times: Critics say spill could cause irreparable harm

Monday, June 24, 2013( http://miamitimesonline.com/cuba-to-start-oil-drilling-next-month/)]

http://miamitimesonline.com/cuba-to-start-oil-drilling-next-month/This December, exploratory oil drilling is set to begin off the coast of Cuba — a mere 90 miles away from Florida’s most southern point. Repsol oil company, based in Spain, will be doing the first round of offshore exploration. And while U.S. officials say they are focusing on making sure the drilling is done safely, Paul Schuler, president/CEO of Clean Caribbean and Americas (CCA), a Fort Lauderdale-based oil-spill response consortium funded by oil companies, admits that there are potential dangers connected to drilling.¶ “When you think about it, South Florida in about the same amount of danger as Louisiana is in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. “If there were a blow out [oil spill] in Cuba, there could be a big problem. I think everyone is concerned about what could happen during drilling. When you have a disaster like what happened in the Gulf everyone is looking a little closer at what is going on.”¶ Schuler’s organization, which responded to the 2010 BP (British Petroleum) spill in the Gulf of Mexico, has been involved in Cuba since 2001, when Repsol and Brazil’s Petrobras first began working there.¶ Jorge Piñon, a former Amoco executive and a visiting research fellow with Florida International University’s Latin American and Caribbean Center’s Cuban Research Institute, warns that if a spill were to occur, politics could play a major roll in containing the situation.¶ “The danger that Florida faces is the lack of an oil spill agreement between the U.S. and Cuba,” he said. “Due to the embargo, the lack of access to U.S. equipment and supplies by international oil companies drilling in Cuba in case of an accident, would hinder cleanup efforts. It seems to me that some South Florida politicians are more focused on keeping their South Florida Cuban constituency content, than safeguarding the economic survival of Florida’s tourism industry which would impact all 19 million Florida residents.”¶ This past May, BP was held responsible for allowing close to 200,000 gallons of oil to contaminate the ocean as a result of an explosion at an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A recent estimate of the cost to clean up BP’s oil spill was around $4 billion — just slightly higher than the cost of rebuilding New Orleans and its environs after Hurricane Katrina.¶

The US is missing oil opportunities in CubaChristopher Helman 2011 Forbes Staff (U.S. Should Drop Cuba Embargo For Oil Exploration 12/12/2011¶

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2011/12/12/u-s-should-drop-cuba-embargo-for-oil-exploration/)]

In a few months Spanish oil company Repsol will start drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba, in a spot just 70 miles south of Key West. Soon Repsol–and its JV partners Norway’s Statoil and India’s ONGC–will be joined by rigs from PetroVietnam, Malaysia’s Petronas and Venezuela’s PDVSA. But you won’t see any U.S. companies there. Inexplicably, the U.S. maintains its economic embargo against the Castro regime.This wrong-headed policy represents a dangerous threat to the environment and a huge missed opportunity to the U.S. oil industry. The U.S. embargo will do nothing to prevent oil drilling from taking place in Cuban waters. But it will prevent that work from being done by the most experienced companies with the highest-quality equipment. Norway’s Statoil is a proven operator with a long history in the North Sea and the Gulf. The rest of those companies are just getting started offshore.

Embargo prevents oil spill cooperation. LaGesse 2012 [David LaGesse Journalist for national geographic For National Geographic News Published November 19, 2012 Cuba's Oil Quest to Continue, Despite Deepwater Disappointment (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/11/121119-cuba-oil-quest/)]

But an energy-poor Cuba also has its risks. One of the chief concerns has been over the danger of an accident as Cuba pursues its search for oil, so close to Florida's coastline, at times in the brisk currents of the straits, and without U.S. industry expertise on safety. The worries led to a remarkable series of meetings among environmentalists, Cuban officials, and even U.S government officials over several years. Conferences organized by groups like the nonprofitEnvironmental Defense Fund (EDF) and its counterparts in Cuba have taken place in the Bahamas, Mexico City, and elsewhere. The meetings included other countries in the region to diminish political backlash, though observers say the primary goal was to bring together U.S. and Cuban officials.

EDF led a delegation last year to Cuba, where it has worked for more than a decade with Cuban scientists on shared environmental concerns. The visitors included former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator William Reilly, who co-chaired the national commission that investigated BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and spill of nearly 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. (Related Quiz: "How Much Do You Know About the Gulf Oil Spill?") They discussed Cuba's exploration plans and shared information on the risks."We've found world-class science in all our interactions with the Cubans," said Douglas Rader,   EDF's chief oceans scientist . He said, however, that the embargo has left Cubans with insufficient resources and inexperience with high- tech gear. Although the United States and Cuba have no formal diplomatic relations , sources say government officials have made low-profile efforts to prepare for a potential problem. But the two nations still lack an agreement on how to manage response to a drilling disaster, said Robert Muse, a Washington attorney and expert on licensing under the embargo. That lessens the chance of a coordinated response of the sort that was crucial to containing damage from the Deepwater Horizon spill, he said."There's a need to get over yesterday's politics," said Rader. "It's time to make sure we're all in a position to respond to the next event, wherever it is."In addition to the environmental risks of Cuba going it alone, there are the political risks. Piñon, at the University of Texas, said success in deepwater could have helped Cuba spring free of Venezuela's influence as the time nears for the Castro brothers to give up power. Raúl Castro, who took over in 2008 for ailing brother Fidel, now 86, is himself 81 years old. At a potentially crucial time of transition, the influence of Venezuela's outspoken leftist president Hugo Chávez could thwart moves by Cuba away from its state-dominated economy or toward warmer relations with the United States, said Piñon.

The embargo complicates oil spill cleanup Allen 2012[Greg Allen NPR's Miami correspondent U.S. Watches Closely As Oil Drilling Begins Off Cuba February 13, 2012 4:24 PM Embargo Could Complicate Cleanup(http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146635957/u-s-watches-closely-as-oil-drilling-begins-off-cuba)]

Complicating matters is the fact that this new well is being drilled in the waters of a country that's under a strict U.S. embargo. Unless they apply for and receive special permission from the government, U.S. companies are banned from doing any work on the well — even if there's a spill. ¶ Jorge Pinon, a former oil company executive and now a research fellow at the University of Texas, says if there's a blowout, the U.S. president is sure to immediately lift the embargo for companies that respond. ¶ Pinon also says the Spanish company doing the drilling, Repsol, has a lot of experience with deep-water drilling in the Gulf. And, he says, the company has upgraded its procedures to incorporate lessons learned in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.¶ But Pinon sees another problem. Because of the 50-year-old embargo, the U.S. and Cuban governments have almost no contact. "There is no agreement of cooperation of who's going to do what during an incident like this," he says.¶ After the Deepwater Horizon blowout, Pinon notes Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen was put in charge of the cleanup — coordinating industry and government efforts.¶ "That's not going to be the case here," Pinon says. "And here particularly, it's between two countries that have not spoken to each other in 50 years."

Embargo Deters InvestmentEmbargo deters international investment in Cuban oil

Krauss 11/10/12 (Clifford- Authour for the New York Times, “Cuba’s Prospects for an Oil-Fueled Economic Jolt Falter With Departure of Rig”, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/world/americas/rigs-departure-to-hamper-cubas-oil-prospects.html?_r=0)

The potential for Cuba’s oil reserves, like nearly everything involving Cuba, has been a matter of dispute. Cuban officials had predicted that oil companies would find 20 billion barrels of oil reserves off its northern coast. The United States Geological Survey has estimated Cuban oil reserves at 5 billion barrels, one quarter of the Cuban estimate.The best-case scenario for production, according to some oil experts, would be for Cuba to eventually become a medium-size producer like Ecuador. But as the three dry holes showed, far more exploration effort would be needed, and that presents a challenge for a country with limited resources and the hurdle of American sanctions. There are many offshore areas that are competing with Cuba for the attention of oil companies, particularly off the coasts of South America and East and West Africa.In Cuba’s case, the American embargo makes it far more difficult for companies seeking to explore Cuban waters. The Scarabeo 9, the rig set to depart, is the only one available that is capable of drilling in deep waters and complies with the embargo. To get it built, Repsol, the Spanish oil giant, was forced to contract an Italian operator to build a rig in China to drill exploration wells.Cuban officials have also run into environmental concerns in the United States. The prospect of drilling only 50 miles from the Florida Keys had worried ocean scientists, who warned that if the kind of blowout that occurred on the BP rig in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico was repeated in Cuban waters, it could send oil spewing onto Florida coastlines in as little as three days. If the oil reached the Gulf Stream, the powerful current that passes through the area, oil could flow up the coast to Miami and beyond.Still, Cuba has been bullish about oil since plans for the rig’s arrival were first made several years ago. Cuba produces a small amount of oil and relies on Venezuela to provide around 115,000 barrels a day at highly subsidized rates, in exchange for the services of Cuban doctors and other professionals. Venezuelan production has been sliding steeply in recent years, and Cuban officials have been unnerved by the health problems of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, a crucial ally for the island.

Oil – L.A. Relations Internal Link U.S.-Cuban oil cooperation spurs U.S.-Latin American energy cooperation.Benjamin November 2006 (Jonathan- Professor at University of Nebraska Omaha, “The Current Status and Future Prospects for Oil Exploration in Cuba: A Special Report for the Cuban Research Institute, Florida International University, http://cri.fiu.edu/research/commissioned-reports/oil-cuba-alvarado.pdf)

Finally, the cost is significant and it stands to reason that the longer one waits to address the challenge at hand the higher the cost of modernizing the energy sector. For this reason alone, the American role in assisting Cuba in this effort will be significant and every day that the task is put off, it increases the long-term cost of the effort. This should serve as an obvious point of entry into cooperation with the Cuban government and perhaps can serve as a catalyst for promoting confidence, trust and cooperation in this critical issue area across the region.

Oil Cooperation Solves U.S. –Cuba RelationsUS companies looking to invest in Cuba.Frank 1/17/12 (Marc, author at Financial Times, “US frets at Cuba oil exploration”, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed255d6a-4129-11e1-8c33-00144feab49a.html#axzz2XLf7HYli)

Despite the sanctions, Washington has engaged both with these foreign companies and the Cuban government after the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling recommended such co-operation to protect “fisheries, coastal tourism and other valuable US natural resources”.US officials inspected the rig in Trinidad and Tobago this month before it left for Cuban waters, and in December held talks with Cuba, Mexico and the Bahamas in Nassau on emergency planning in the gulf. A second round of talks is scheduled for February.Experts are divided on whether significant oil discoveries would spur or slow Cuban economic reforms.“With or without oil, the Cuban economy sorely needs an environment in which businesses and individuals feel confident to invest,” said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a Cuban academic at the University of Denver.But most agree the prospect has brought Havana and Washington closer as they look to safeguard their mutual economic and environmental interests.“The meeting between US and Cuban officials on environmental co-operation ... is an example of new bridges of communication, which if it wasn’t for oil and gas development would not have happened,” said Jorge Piñón, former president of Amoco Corporate Development Company Latin America and now a research fellow at Florida International University.Just as “ping-pong diplomacy brought the US and China together, oil might very well bring Cuba and the US together”.

US investment in Cuban Oil can improve relationsMiroff 5/16/2009 ( Nick-Washington Post Staff Writer, Cuba's Undersea Oil Could Help Thaw Trade With U.S.”, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp -dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051503416.html)

Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, an end to the 1962 U.S. trade embargo against Cuba may be lying untapped, buried under layers of rock, seawater and bitter relations.Oil, up to 20 billion barrels of it, sits off Cuba's northwest coast in territorial waters, according to the Cuban government -- enough to turn the island into the Qatar of the Caribbean. At a minimum, estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey place Cuba's potential deep-water reserves at 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, stores that would rank the island among the region's top producers.Drilling operations by foreign companies in Cuban waters are still in the exploratory stage, and significant obstacles -- technological and political -- stand between a U.S.-Cuba rapprochement eased by oil. But as the Obama administration gestures toward improved relations with the Castro government, the national security, energy and economic benefits of Cuban crude may make it a powerful incentive for change.Limited commercial ties between U.S. businesses and the island's communist government have been quietly expanding this decade as Cuban purchases of U.S. goods -- mostly food -- have increased from $7 million in 2001 to $718 million in 2008, according to census data.Thawing relations could eventually open up U.S. investment in mining, agriculture, tourism and other sectors of Cuba's tattered economy. But the prospect of major offshore reserves that would be off-limits to U.S. companies and consumers has some Cuba experts arguing that 21st-century energy needs should prevail over 20th-century Cold War politics.

Cuban Oil Reserves Large

Cuba has large oil reserves.Carroll 10/17/08 (Rory, Latin America correspondent, “20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/18/cuban-oil)

Friends and foes have called Cuba many things - a progressive beacon, a quixotic underdog, an oppressive tyranny - but no one has called it lucky, until now .Mother nature, it emerged this week, appears to have blessed the island with enough oil reserves to vault it into the ranks of energy powers. The government announced there may be more than 20bn barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico, more than twice the previous estimate.If confirmed, it puts Cuba's reserves on par with those of the US and into the world's top 20. Drilling is expected to start next year by Cuba's state oil company Cubapetroleo, or Cupet."It would change their whole equation. The government would have more money and no longer be dependent on foreign oil," said Kirby Jones, founder of the Washington-based US-Cuba Trade Association. "It could join the club of oil exporting nations.""We have more data. I'm almost certain that if they ask for all the data we have, (their estimate) is going to grow considerably," said Cupet's exploration manager, Rafael Tenreyro Perez.Havana based its dramatically higher estimate mainly on comparisons with oil output from similar geological structures off the coasts of Mexico and the US. Cuba's undersea geology was "very similar" to Mexico's giant Cantarell oil field in the Bay of Campeche, said Tenreyro.A consortium of companies led by Spain's Repsol had tested wells and were expected to begin drilling the first production well in mid-2009, and possibly several more later in the year, he said.Cuba currently produces about 60,000 barrels of oil daily, covering almost half of its needs, and imports the rest from Venezuela in return for Cuban doctors and sports instructors. Even that barter system puts a strain on an impoverished economy in which Cubans earn an average monthly salary of $20.

Cuban oil reserves could decrease U.S. dependence on Middle East.Carroll 10/17/08 (Rory, Latin America correspondent, “20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/18/cuban-oil)

"This news about the oil reserves could not have come at a better time for the regime," said Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, a Cuba energy specialist at the University of Nebraska.However there is little prospect of Cuba becoming a communist version of Kuwait. Its oil is more than a mile deep under the ocean and difficult and expensive to extract. The four-decade-old US economic embargo prevents several of Cuba's potential oil partners - notably Brazil, Norway and Spain - from using valuable first-generation technology."You're looking at three to five years minimum before any meaningful returns," said Benjamin-Alvarado.Even so, Cuba is a master at stretching resources. President Raul Castro, who took over from brother Fidel, has promised to deliver improvements to daily life to shore up the legitimacy of the revolution as it approaches its 50th anniversary.Cuba's unexpected arrival into the big oil league could increase pressure on the next administration to loosen the embargo to let US oil companies participate in the bonanza and reduce US dependency on the middle east, said Jones. "Up until now the embargo did not really impact on us in a substantive, strategic way. Oil is different. It's something we need and want."

Licensing Oil Companies SolvesLicensing US oil companies for Cuban operations would improve US influence, helps contain Venezuela, and limit Russian influence.

Pascual 2009 vice president and Director of Foreign policy The Brookings institution[Carlos Pascual Report of the Brookings Project on US Policy Toward a Cuba in Transition, 2009, Cuba: A New Policy of Constructive and Critical Engagementhttp://www2.fiu.edu/~ipor/cuba-t/BrookingsCubaReport-English.pdf ]

Licensing U.S. companies to provide services for ¶ ¶ the development of Cuban offshore oil and gas ¶ ¶ would provide benefits to the United States and ¶ ¶ Cuba. (At this point it should be noted that the ¶ ¶ Secretary of Treasury has always had and continues to have the authority—as embodied in OFAC ¶ ¶ regulations—to license any transaction found to ¶ ¶ be in the U.S. national interest. This power has ¶ ¶ been used over the past fifteen years by various ¶ ¶ republican and Democratic administrations to ¶ ¶ license a variety of commercial transactions between the United States and Cuba). The following ¶ ¶ are some of the reasons we might wish to become ¶ ¶ engaged in developing Cuba’s offshore oil and ¶ ¶ gas. First, if U.S. and other reputable companies ¶ ¶ are involved in Cuba’s offshore oil development ¶ ¶ it would reduce Cuba’s dependence on Venezuela ¶ ¶ for two-thirds of its oil imports. Second, it is preferable that U.S. oil companies with high standards ¶ ¶ of transparency develop these resources rather ¶ ¶ than, for example, russia’s notoriously corrupt ¶ ¶ oligarchy. Third, U.S. influence in Cuba is likely ¶ ¶ to increase if U.S. companies have an economic ¶ ¶ relationship on the ground. Fourth, U.S. companies have the technology and expertise to develop ¶ ¶ Cuba’s offshore oil and gas. ¶ ¶

The US is key to oil spill clean up in Cuba-with out the US oil spills have greater environmental consequences.Homeland Security News Wire 2011[Homeland Security News Wire Emergency cleanup plans for potential Cuban oil spill¶ Published 12 September 2011 http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/emergency-cleanup-plans-potential-cuban-oil-spill)]

With Cuba set to begin offshore drilling, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pressing the United States to immediately begin developing emergency plans to assist Cuba in the event of a major oil spill. “It seems to me to be profoundly in the interest of the United States to ensure that, if there should be a spill in Cuban waters, all efforts are undertaken by both government and private entities in the United States to assist in responding,” said William Reilly, the administrator of the EPA under President George H. W. Bush and the co-chair of the commission that examined the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.¶ Reilly warns that ostracizing Cuba as it readies the launch of its first offshore oil rig could jeopardize environmental safety along the coast of the United States.¶ The remarks come after a meeting with Cuban officials last week. Cuba is determined to begin offshore drilling and Reilly said officials there are looking to obtain expertise and technology from the United States.¶ Respol, a Spanish oil company, has plans to dig at least one oil well off the coast of Cuba in November using a Chinese-built rig.

Currently Cuba produces about 50,000 barrels of oil a day and imports nearly 120,000 barrels from Venezuela, so a discovery of significant oil reserves could greatly change Cuba’s economic fortunes. Reilly visited Cuba as part of a delegation organized by the Environmental Defense Fund and the International Association of Drilling Contractors who worry about the prospects of Cuba beginning to drill without proper access to safety equipment.¶ Members of the delegation are particularly concerned about how drilling companies working in Cuban waters will obtain safety equipment like capping stacks or blowout preventers from the United States to prevent spills or mitigate their effect.¶

The U.S. Treasury Department has said that it will allow American companies to operate in Cuba despite the economic embargo, but it will only issue licenses to do so on a case-by-case basis. Industry experts say the licenses need to be broad in their scope.

**Oil Spills**

Module – Oil Spills

The Embargo prevents cooperation on oil spills – Cuba needs US equipment. Removing the embargo is key.Stephens, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas focused on U.S.-Cuba relations, 11(Sarah, 3/14/11, Los Angeles Times, “Like Oil and Water in the Gulf,” http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/14/opinion/la-oe-stephens-cuba-oil-20110314, 6/26/13, ND)

Thanks to the U.S. embargo against Cuba — a remnant of the Cold War — the risks to the United States begin the moment the first drill bit pierces the seabed. And we are utterly unprepared.¶ Not only does the embargo prohibit U.S. firms from joining Cuba in any efforts to extract its offshore resources, thus giving the competitive advantage to foreign firms, but

it also denies Cuba access to U.S. equipment for drilling and environmental protection — an especially troubling policy considering the potential for a spill. The embargo also compels Cuba's foreign partners to go through contortions, such as ordering a drilling rig built in China and shipping it nearly 10,000 miles to Cuban waters, to avoid violating U.S. law.¶ Most important, the failed policy of isolating Cuba has the U.S. paralyzed: It stops us from engaging Cuba in meaningful environmental cooperation and prevents us from addressing in advance the threat of potential spills caused by

hurricanes or technological failures, which could put our waters, fisheries and beaches at peril.¶ As Cuba gets ready to drill, the Obama administration has limited options. It could do nothing. It could try to stop Cuba from developing its oil and natural gas, an alternative most likely to fail in an energy-hungry world. Or it could use its executive authority to cooperate with Cuba, despite the embargo, to ensure that drilling in the gulf protects our mutual interests.¶ Since the 1990s, Cuba has showed a serious commitment to the environment, building an array of environmental policies, many based on U.S. and Spanish law. But it has no experience responding to major spills. And, like the U.S., Cuba has to balance its economic and environmental interests, and the environmental side

will not always prevail.¶ Against this backdrop, cooperation and engagement is the right approach, and there is already

precedent for it.¶ During the BP spill, Cuba permitted a vessel from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to look for

damage in Cuban waters. The Obama administration declared its willingness to provide limited licenses for U.S. firms to respond to the BP spill, and to others in the future that threaten Cuba. It also provided visas for Cuban scientists to attend an important

environmental conference in Florida. But these modest measures are not sufficient.¶ Members of Congress from Florida have introduced bills to impose sanctions on foreign oil companies and U.S. firms that help Cuba drill for oil, and to punish those foreign firms by denying them the right to drill in U.S. waters. These proposals will not stop Cuba from drilling; if enacted, Cuba's partners will disregard them, and they will make cooperation to protect our mutual coastal environment even more difficult.¶ Energy policy and environmental protection are classic examples of how the embargo is an abiding threat to U.S. interests. It should no longer be acceptable to base U.S. foreign policy on the illusion that sanctions will cause Cuba's government to collapse

— or stop Cuba from developing its oil resources. Nor should this policy or the political dynamic that sustains it prevent the U.S. from addressing both the challenges and benefits of Cuba finding meaningful amounts of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.¶

Increased ties are key to biodiversity – the embargo limits interaction and destroys the environmentBoom 12 (Brian M. Boom, Director of the Caribbean Biodiversity Program, September 2012, “Biodiversity without Borders: Advancing U.S.-Cuba Cooperation through ¶ Environmental Research,” Science & Diplomacy, Vol. 1, No. 3 (September 2012*). ¶ http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/article/2012/biodiversity-without-borders. Accessed June 24, 2013, RJ)THE ever-increasing challenges to the biodiversity shared by Cuba and the ¶ United States provide the opportunity and the need for the two nations to take ¶ an enhanced collaborative, bilateral approach to addressing shared issues. Cuba ¶ lies a mere ninety miles south of the U.S. state of Florida, and the two countries’ ¶

territorial waters meet in the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. Cuba and ¶ the United States thus share much biodiversity—ranging from varied populations ¶ of organisms to diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Native species migrate, ¶ exotic species invade, disease-causing species disperse, and rare species go extinct ¶ in the face of growing habitat modification. The living components of this shared ¶ environment are dynamically impacted, sometimes unpredictably so, by natural or ¶ man-made environmental disasters. Nature does not respect political

boundaries ¶ nor do such potential disasters as oil spills, toxic releases, hurricanes, and tropical ¶ storms. Such events provide the sine qua non for greater bilateral cooperation. ¶ Governments around the world routinely collaborate on shared environmental ¶ concerns bilaterally or multilaterally, depending on the situation being addressed. ¶ Environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from local to international ¶ levels often work in partnership with governments to solve environmental problems ¶ that extend beyond national boundaries. Such public/private arrangements work well in most circumstances, and there are many effective mechanisms in place to ¶ deal with challenges ranging from endangered species and ecosystems to oil and ¶ toxic waste spills.¶ However, a lack of formal diplomatic relations can limit desirable cooperation ¶ on shared environmental issues. The U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba —¶ which was instituted in 1961 by the Kennedy administration in response to ¶ Cuba’s nationalization of U.S. businesses’ properties in Cuba during the Cuban ¶

Revolution—and subsequent regulations have thwarted the efforts of Cuban and ¶ U.S. scientists to collaborate on environmental or other professional and academic ¶ matters.1¶ There is essentially no intergovernmental environmental interaction ¶ between the United States and Cuba . The shared

biodiversity of these countries, ¶ and in some cases that of other nations in the Caribbean and Gulf of

Mexico ¶ regions, suffers as a result . ¶ Fortunately, some NGOs in the United States have had success over the years in ¶ working collaboratively with their Cuban counterparts on shared environmental ¶ issues. The experiences of such NGOs can inform a way forward in structuring ¶ an enhanced mechanism for bilateral cooperation. Also fortunately, on January 14, ¶ 2011, the Obama administration announced new rules that ease some restrictions ¶ on U.S. citizens’ travel and remittances to Cuba, which will collaterally encourage ¶ more bilateral environmental collaboration as well. While these steps have created ¶ some space, given the political realities, a targeted environmental agreement is ¶ required to facilitate further mutually beneficial study, monitoring, and protection ¶ of shared biodiversity.

Ext – Oil Rigs Expanding

Oil rig count is increasing in the status quoOGJ, The Oil & Gas Journal is a leading petroleum industry weekly publication with a worldwide coverage, 5/31(Oil and Gas Journal, 5/31/13, “US drilling rig count climbs 9 units to 1,771,” http://www.ogj.com/articles/2013/05/us-drilling-rig-count-climbs-9-units-to-1-771.html, 6/26/13, ND)

The US drilling rig count was up 9 units during the week ended May 31, reaching a total of 1,771 rotary rigs working, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.¶ Land-based drilling increased by 6 units from a week ago to 1,691 rigs working. The offshore count gained 4 units to 55, while inland water drilling dropped to 25, down 1 unit. Of the rigs drilling offshore, 52 were in the Gulf of Mexico, up 4 units from a week ago.¶ Rigs drilling for oil climbed by 8 units to 1,410, while those targeting gas were unchanged this week at 354 rigs working. Seven rigs were considered unclassified, an increase of 1 unit from a week ago.¶

Oil rig count increasing in status quo – multiple warrantsBeaubouef, managing editor for “Offshore” magazine, 6/1(Bruce, Offshore Magazine, 6/1/13, “Gulf Drilling Rebounds to pre-Macondo levels,” http://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/print/volume-73/issue-6/gulf-of-mexico/gulf-drilling-rebounds-to-pre-macondo-levels.html, 6/26/13, ND)

Drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico is rebounding slowly but surely from the events of 2010, and is part of a general recovery

in E&P activity taking place in the Gulf in the wake of Macondo.¶ The increase in drilling is driven by sustained high oil prices, new lease sales, the promulgation of a new safety regime, fiscal stability, and the fact that the pace of permitting has finally returned to pre-spill levels. Since October 2012, 55 wells have been cleared for drilling.¶

In the first half of this year, the Gulf of Mexico is expected to have 46 competitive deepwater rigs, and this number is projected to increase by mid-2014 to just over 50 competitive deepwater units, according to Rigzone's RigLogix Database.¶ Last year, eight newbuild floaters entered the Gulf of Mexico with another eight expected to enter in 2013. Thus far, five newbuild floaters are forecasted to enter the 2014 GoM market with only one new unit projected for 2015.¶ The deepwater rig count for 2013 is forecasted to be the highest it has been in five years. The overall floater fleet is set to expand by 31% with the newbuild plans, while the jackup fleet will expand by 18%, according to an analysis conducted by Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.¶ Looking at announced contracts in 2013 and 2014, analysts believe that there will be 45 to 50 rigs in the deepwater GoM through 2014, with the possibility of more. Additionally, development drilling activity is expected to reach a new peak in 2013, which will then likely be superseded in the following two years, according to a Wood Mackenzie report.¶ Some analysts describe the Gulf as the fastest growing deepwater market in the world today, one that will continue to grow into 2014. Optimistic projections hold that the Gulf rig count could double by 2017, with predictions that oil service companies alone could see revenue from the Gulf rise from $4 billion in 2011 to $12 billion in 2015.

Ext – Embargo K/

The Embargo denies Cuba access to US technologies that could greatly reduce the risk of oil spills and decrease effectiveness of spill cleanupCDA, conducts research on the effects of the US embargo, 11(2011, Center for Democracy in the Americas, “As Cuba plans to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, US policy poses needless risks to our national interest,” http://democracyinamericas.org/pdfs/Cuba_Drilling_and_US_Policy.pdf, pg. 1, 6/26/13, ND)

The U.S. embargo against Cuba, a remnant of the Cold War, is an obstacle¶ to realizing and protecting our interests in the region. Not only does it prohibit¶ U.S. firms from joining Cuba in efforts to extract its offshore resources,

thus¶ giving the competitive advantage to other foreign firms, but it also denies¶ Cuba access to U.S. equipment for drilling and environmental protection—an¶ especially troubling outcome in the wake of the disastrous BP spill, the embargo compels Cuba's foreign partners to go through contortions—such¶ as ordering a state of the art drilling rig built in China and sailing it roughly¶ 10,000 miles to Cuban waters—to avoid violating the content limitations¶ imposed by U.S. law.¶ Most important, due to the failed policy of isolating Cuba, the United¶ States cannot engage in meaningful environmental cooperation with Cuba¶ while it develops its own energy resources. Our government cannot even¶ address the threat of potential spills in advance from the frequent hurricane¶ activity in the Gulf or from technological failures, either of which could put¶ precious and environmentally sensitive U.S. coastal assets—our waters, our¶ fisheries, our beaches—at great peril.

Embargo threatens oil drilling safety

Bolstad, environmental correspondent at McClatchy, 2012[Erika, 5-10-12, McClatchy, Cuba embargo could threaten oil-drilling safety, expert says, http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/10/148433/cuba-embargo-could-threaten-oil.html#.UdDq7T773iQ, 6-30-13, GZ]The 50-year-old U.S. embargo of Cuba is getting in the way of safety when it comes to deepwater drilling in Cuban waters, an expert on the communist country’s offshore drilling activity said Thursday.¶ Lee Hunt, the former president of the International

Association of Drilling Contractors, warned that Cold War-era economic sanctions threaten not only Florida’s economy and environment but that of Cuba, too, in the event of a major disaster on the scale of 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The worst-case scenario is "state-sponsored chaos at a disaster site," Hunt said during an event sponsored by the Center for International Policy, a Washington think tank that advocates for a foreign policy based on human rights.¶ The U.S. Coast Guard has extensive response plans, as does the state of Florida. But Hunt said he would give prevention efforts an "F" grade. He likened the work to stocking body bags for a plane crash – but not training pilots to fly safely or to maintain aircraft properly.¶ "We’re getting ready for what will inevitably happen if we don’t take the right proactive steps," Hunt said.¶ His warning and that of other experts came as the Spanish oil company Repsol is about to tap an offshore reservoir beneath 5,600 feet of seawater and about 14,000 feet of rock.

The company, the first of many set to drill for oil off Cuba’s coast, is working just 77 nautical miles from Key West. ¶ Workers are about a week from completing their drilling and are beginning the technically demanding phase of capping the well and preparing it for possible production, the panelists at the event said.¶ Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief William Reilly, who along with former Florida Sen. Bob Graham co-chaired the presidential commission that examined BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill, said that in his most recent visit to Cuba he was reassured that Repsol was moving slowly in Cuban waters to avoid any surprises. Dan Whittle of the Environmental Defense Fund said that in his visits to Cuba, well-thumbed copies of the commission’s report looked as though they were "read even more in Havana than here."¶ Reilly also noted that Cuban officials are regular readers of daily bulletins from U.S. agencies on U.S. oil drilling regulations. He said he urged them to follow Mexican offshore guidelines – which he said are based on U.S. rules.¶ "Nobody is predicting a catastrophe in association with anything that the Cubans are overseeing," Reilly said. "In every way, the Cuban approach to this is responsible, careful and attentive to the risks that they know they’re undertaking."¶ "Nevertheless, should there be a need for a response . . . the United States government has not interpreted its sanctions policy in a way that would clearly make available in advance the kind of technologies that would be required," Reilly said.

Without removing the embargo, an oil spill would leave the entire Gulf of Mexico vulnerable to detrimental oil spillsCDA, conducts research on the effects of the US embargo, 11(2011, Center for Democracy in the Americas, “As Cuba plans to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, US policy poses needless risks to our national interest,” http://democracyinamericas.org/pdfs/Cuba_Drilling_and_US_Policy.pdf, pg. 23-24, 6/26/13, ND)

The embargo prevents Cuba from having adequate access to the range of ¶ tools needed to drill safely or respond to emergencies should one develop. ¶ The embargo restricts Cuba’s access to knowledge and associations that would help it plan for or react to a spill. The embargo prevents meaningful ¶ participation by U.S. private sector firms in planning for reaction, containment, or remediation efforts. ¶ While licenses allowing otherwise prohibited U.S. participation in such ¶ activities can be granted by OFAC to address exigent circumstances on a ¶ discretionary basis under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the embargo has ¶ forced Cuba to seek access to ¶ drilling equipment and support by convoluted means.49¶ U.S. policy also subjects ¶ the adjacent waters of the ¶ Gulf of Mexico and the ¶ Florida Straits to entirely ¶ different regulatory schemes, ¶ leaving Florida with significantly less than adequate protection. Finally, the ¶ policy limits the ability of the U.S. to plan for disasters like the BP spill or to ¶

cooperate with Cuba in anticipation of them.

Ext – Cuban Oil Expanding

Cuba plans to allow 5 more oil rigs into the gulf posing a risk to Floridian tourism and natural resourcesBrett, Gulf Coast Director at Snook and Gamefish Foundation, 11(Jon, National Wildlife Federation, 6/1/11, “Proposed Drilling Operations in Cuba Threaten the Gulf of Mexico,” http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/media-center/news-by-topic/wildlife/2011/05-31-11-proposed-drilling-operations-in-cuba-threaten-the-gulf-of-mexico.aspx, 6/26/13, ND)

More than a year since the Gulf oil disaster, the rush to pursue expanded deepwater drilling is picking up momentum. The long-

term impacts of the nearly 206 million gallons of spilled oil are still unclear. New concerns regarding wildlife species continue to arise. But another threat has also emerged. In an effort to discover new reserves of oil and gas, Cuba plans to drill five deepwater oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico this summer.¶ Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, believes the risk is far too great. “Florida’s coastal environment and our many natural resource-based jobs are extremely vulnerable to oil spills. A major spill in Cuba’s northern waters would quickly appear on Florida’s beaches and shores, wreaking havoc on fishing, tourism, and our entire coastal economy.”¶ There are a number of concerns regarding this endeavor, but the most significant are the proposed drilling depth and proximity of the sites to Florida.¶ The wells would be in waters ranging from 400 meters to 1,500 meters (1.6 miles) deep, an additional 600 feet deeper than BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf. According to NWF Senior Scientist Doug Inkley, “If we learned anything from the Gulf oil disaster, it is that drilling safely a mile deep really is beyond current technological capabilities. The potential rig in Cuba and other deepwater wells are high risk, another reason we must transition quickly to a new energy future that reduces our addiction to oil.”¶ The northernmost tip of Cuba is located less than 100 miles from Key West, but the rig would stand on the outer edge of Cuba’s territorial waters, just 50 miles off Florida’s coast. In the case of a spill, conservative estimates predict it would take just three days for oil to reach U.S. shores.¶ This proximity is of particular concern because of the potential impacts on tourism. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, “Outdoor recreation in Florida including recreational fishing, hunting and wildlife-viewing alone generate an economic impact of $10.1 billion annually.” From an economic standpoint, it is vital to protect Florida’s delicate coastal environment.¶ Sarasota Representative Vern Buchanan (FL-13th) recognizes this threat.¶ “As we have learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, an oil spill can devastate a regional economy and impose serious long-term environmental damage to precious natural resources. We’ve got to have clean water, clean beaches, and a pristine environment if we want to keep attracting people,” said Buchanan.

Ext – Cooperation Key

Cuba and the US must work together on oil – save the environment and Cuba’s tourism industryConell, Research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 9(Christina, “The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?“, http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/, 6/25/13, AZ)

Oro Negro and Dinero¶ The recent discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the Florida straits in Cuban waters has attracted foreign oil exploration from China and India, both eager to begin extraction. Offshore oil and gas development could threaten Cuba’s and Florida’s environmental riches. Together, Cuba and the U.S. can develop policies to combat the negative results coming from the exploitation of these resources. The increased extraction and refining of oil in Cuba could have detrimental effects on the environment. Offshore drilling is likely to increase with the discovery of petroleum deposits in the Bay of Cárdenas and related areas. Excavation increases the possibility of oil spills, which would in turn destroy the surrounding ecosystem, including fisheries and coral reef formations. The amount of pollutants released into the air from refining crude oil and the amount of wayward oil residuals would also increase with drilling and extraction. Those conversant with the very sensitive habitat issues are calling for immediate consultations aimed at anticipating what should be done.¶ However the U.S.’s enormous oil usage and its development requirements will cultivate economic growth on the island. Washington must work with Cuba to create an ecological protection plan not only to establish an environmentally friendly public image, but to make it a reality as well. Degradation of the environment will deprive Cuba, in the long run, of one of its most important sources of present and future revenue: tourism. Consequently, it is in the mutual interests of the U.S. and Cuba to develop a cooperative relationship that will foster tourism and growth in a sustainable manner.¶ \

Emba Cooperation Between the U.S. and Cuba necessary—Oil Spills ProvePiñon and Muse, Writers for the Brookings Institute, ’10 (Jorge and Robert, 5/’10, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2010/5/18%20oil%20spill%20cuba%20pinon/0518_oil_spill_cuba_pinon, accessed 6/30/13, ARH)As Cuba continues to develop its deepwater oil and natural gas reserves, the consequence to the United states of a similar mishap occurring in Cuban waters moves from the theoretical to the actual. The sobering fact that a Cuban spill could foul hundreds of miles of American coastline and do profound harm to important marine habitats demands cooperative and proactive planning by Washington and havana to minimize or avoid such a calamity. Also important is the planning necessary to prevent and, if necessary, respond to incidents arising from this country’s oil industry that, through the action of currents and wind, threaten Cuban waters and shorelines. While Washington is working to prevent future disasters in U.s. waters like the Deepwater Horizon, its current policies foreclose the ability to respond effectively to future oil disasters—whether that disaster is caused by companies at work in Cuban waters, or is the result of companies operating in U.s. waters.

rgo holds back the oil clean up in the GulfDlouhy energy reporter for the Houston Chronicle 11(Jennifer, “Embargo may block U.S. response to Cuban oil spill”, http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/06/06/embargo-may-block-u-s-response-to-cuban-oil-spill/, 6/24/13, AZ)

With oil exploration set to begin in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters, pressure is mounting on the administration to relax a politically sensitive embargo that would prevent U.S. firms from responding swiftly to potential oil spills roughly 50 miles from Florida beaches.¶ The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba generally bars U.S. commerce with the nation and caps at 10 percent the portion of American-made components in offshore

drilling equipment used in Cuba.¶ That means containment equipment developed after last year’s oil spill would be off-limits — at least initially – if the same thing happened in Cuba’s part of the Gulf. Oil spilled there could reach the U.S. in three days.¶ The embargo also would forbid use of chemical dispersants to break up oil, boom capable of corralling it and other spill response equipment manufactured in the United States. Nearby drilling rigs in the Gulf also would be barred from working on relief wells in Cuban waters.¶ But with companies planning to begin exploratory drilling off Cuba as early as September, industry and environmental interests alike are pressing the Obama administration to modify the embargo’s restrictions for firms that could respond to a disaster.¶ “Embargo or not, we cannot ignore Cuba drilling in the Florida Straits,” said Lee Hunt, the head of the Houston-based International Association of Drilling Contractors. Hunt said he is trying to persuade political leaders to prepare now by coordinating with companies that could help in an emergency.¶ Help a long way off¶ If there were an accident under the current system, Cuban officials and the oil companies “simply won’t be able to pick up the phone and call the nearest responders in the U.S.,” said Dan Whittle, a senior attorney and director of the Cuba program for the Environmental Defense Fund.¶ Instead of flying technicians and parts from New Orleans and Houston, oil companies drilling in Cuban waters would have to seek resources from North Sea or South American operations, said Jorge Piñon, an expert on Cuba’s energy sector who spent three decades working for Shell, Amoco and BP.¶ Repsol, a publicly traded oil company based in Spain, is preparing to drill an exploratory well near the Florida Straits this fall, after Saipem’s Scarabeo 9 rig arrives there. Partners on the project include Norway’s Statoil and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp.¶ Other firms – all foreign-owned national oil companies – are lined up to use the Scarabeo 9 to explore their offshore Cuba leases afterward, with drilling on as many as seven wells reportedly planned during the next four years.¶ Political challenge¶ Under the embargo – imposed administratively since the early 1960s and by law since 1992 – companies can ask the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for licenses to travel to or do business with Cuba. At least two U.S. companies specializing in spill response already hold such permits.¶ Advocates of a looser policy want the administration to issue a general license for a broad class of oil service companies to share safety information now and do business with Cuba in case of an emergency.¶ Another option is a presidential executive order issued after a disaster, though that would not remove barriers on sharing information in advance.¶ Piñon notes that company-specific licenses have a political virtue: They can be issued quietly. By contrast, a general license for all oil response and service firms – even limited to emergencies – would be seen by some hard-line embargo supporters as “the first crack in the embargo wall,” Piñon said.¶ That presents a political challenge for the administration and for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where the conventional wisdom is that any move to relax the trade policy could alienate a powerful voting bloc of pro-embargo Cuban-Americans in South Florida.¶ Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who represents many such embargo supporters in Miami’s Little Havana and the Florida Keys, wants the U.S. to do more to thwart Cuban offshore drilling.¶ “The Cuban tyranny will say and do anything to persuade others to invest in its oil sector in order to stay afloat,” she said. “It is in our national security interests to deter others from participating in these reckless schemes. We cannot allow the Castro regime to become the oil tycoons of the Caribbean.”¶ Cuban promises¶

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said his agency and the State Department are working to ensure that Cuban drilling is as safe as possible.¶ The Interior Department, which oversees drilling in U.S. waters, has been working with Mexico to develop what Salazar calls a single “gold standard” governing oil and gas exploration in the Gulf.¶

Department officials have drawn leverage from Repsol’s leases in U.S. Gulf waters and pushed the Spanish company to follow American standards when drilling in Cuba. Salazar pressed the issue with Spanish authorities and Repsol representatives during a trip to Spain last week.¶ In a conference call Friday from Oviedo, Spain, Salazar said Repsol has volunteered to comply with U.S. environmental regulations for any of its Gulf drilling – even near Cuba.¶

During an International Association of Drilling Contractors conference last month in Trinidad, six Cuban officials said their country is following IADC, American Petroleum Institute and United Kingdom models for managing the risks of drilling operations.¶ Information sharing¶ IADC’s Hunt said Cuba is requiring Repsol and other operators “to demonstrate the extent of their compliance with U.S. regulations.”¶ He said Cuban officials also have studied the report by the U.S. presidential commission that investigated last year’s oil spill, and have expressed interest in talking with the U.S. government about oil spill preparation and coordination.¶ The Environmental Defense Fund’s Whittle argues that by working together now – before drilling begins – Cuba and the U.S. could share information on standards and science.¶ “The Cubans would have a lot to learn on how to build out an infrastructure to accommodate oil and gas,” Whittle said. “From an environmental perspective, I wish this issue would transcend politics and the relative government agencies could work together.”¶ The United States already has plans with Mexico and Canada for handling oil spills in shared waters.¶ The U.S. needs a similar accord with Cuba, said Thad Allen, the former Coast Guard admiral who headed the Deepwater Horizon response.¶

“We need to figure out what are the barriers that might prohibit us from being more effective in a response

with Cuba and start attacking those now from a legislative and statutory standpoint,” Allen said in an interview. “Right now we’re pretty much prohibited from doing anything.”

US and Cuba can cooperate on oil drilling Whittle Cuba Program Director for the Environmental Defense Fund 12(Daniel, “Not Like Oil and Water – Cuba and the US Can Cooperate on Drilling”, http://cubacentral.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/not-like-oil-and-water-cuba-and-the-us-can-cooperate-on-drilling/, 6/25/13, AZ)The Environmental Defense Fund recently released a report called Bridging the Gulf in which we concluded that “current U.S. foreign policy on Cuba creates a conspicuous blind spot” that is detrimental to the interests of both countries. A failure to cooperate on oil spill planning, prevention, and response in the Gulf of Mexico could result in devastating environmental and economic impacts on a scale greater than the 2010 BP oil disaster.¶ Recently, I witnessed a potential bright spot in US-Cuba relations that could lead to real and meaningful cooperation in protecting Cuban and American shores from future oil spills.¶ As the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA was preparing to drill off of Cuba’s northwest coast in August, U.S. and Cuban negotiators met in Mexico City to discuss how to work together to prevent and respond to future oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The meeting was the fourth in a series of landmark talks hosted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and included officials from Mexico, Jamaica, Bahamas, and other countries in the region. I was among the handful of industry and environmental representatives invited to attend.¶ I was struck by the candid back-and-forth discussions on the risks involved in deep water oil drilling and by the constructive exchanges between delegates from Cuba and the United States. I came away convinced that negotiators from both countries are operating in good faith and are committed to making progress on this issue.¶ That being said, more needs to be done.¶ Attendees agreed that the BP oil disaster was a wake-up call and that failure to heed the lessons learned from it would be an inexcusable and costly mistake. Chief among those lessons is that oil spills do not observe political boundaries and, as such, joint planning among all countries in the region is critical. The event also taught us that sufficient public and private resources must be available to contain and clean-up oil pollution as soon as possible. In fact, the scale of response needed for the BP spill was unprecedented—6,500 vessels, 125 planes, 48,000 responders, and equipment resourced globally.¶ Several presenters in Mexico City emphasized that full and timely access to private sector equipment and response personnel, wherever they are located, is fundamental to responding effectively to future oil spills.¶ This lesson is particularly relevant to the current U.S.-Cuba talks.¶ If a major oil spill were to occur in Cuban waters anytime soon, the U.S. Coast Guard—as incident commander—would be able to marshal the resources needed to address oil pollution after it enters our waters. The agency has neither the authority nor the mandate, however, to support response and clean-up activities in Cuban waters. Furthermore, the Cuban government would be hamstrung in its ability to solicit direct help from private sector oil spill response companies in the United States. Currently, only a few American companies are licensed by the U.S. government to work in Cuba (actual names and numbers of license holders are not a matter of public record.).¶ The Obama Administration could solve this problem by directing the Treasury Department to adopt a new category of general licenses to allow U.S. individuals from qualified oil services and equipment companies to travel to Cuba and provide technical expertise in the event of an oil disaster. The Administration should also direct the Commerce Department to pre-approve licenses for the temporary export of U.S. equipment, vessels, and technology to Cuba for use during a significant oil spill.¶ The U.S. and Cuba have laid an unprecedented foundation for cooperation on offshore oil safety and environmental protection. They should continue their talks in earnest and produce a written agreement on joint planning, preparedness and response as soon as possible.

The US and Cuba are not cooperating nowConell, Research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 9(Christina, “The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?“, http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/, 6/25/13, AZ)

Through accidents of geography and history, Cuba is a priceless ecological resource. The United States should capitalize on its proximity to this resource-rich island nation by moving to normalize relations and establishing a framework for environmental cooperation and joint initiatives throughout the Americas. Cuba is the most biologically diverse of all the Caribbean Islands. Since it lies just 90 miles south of the Florida Keys, where the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico intersect, the U.S. could play a key role in environmental conservation as well as the region in general. However, when it comes to environmental preservation, the Obama administration is obstructing progress and hindering any meaningful cooperation with its current U.S.- Cuba policy.¶

Cuba is incredibly biologically diverse – critical to the health of North America’s Atlantic coastal communitiesConell, Research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 9(Christina, “The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?“, http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/, 6/25/13, AZ)

Climate change and environmental degradation are two of the most pressing contemporary issues. If President Obama is sincerely committed to environmental sustainability, he must forge international partnerships to implement this objective. Where better to begin than in the U.S.’s own backyard, where Cuba has a huge presence. Only then can Cuba and the United States move forward to find joint solutions to environmental challenges.¶

Environmental Riches and Implications¶ Cuba’s glittering white sand beaches, extensive coral reefs, endemic fauna and diverse populations of fish compose the Caribbean’s most biologically diverse island. Based on a per hectare sampling when compared to the U.S. plus Canada, Cuba has 12 times more mammal species, 29 times as many amphibian and reptile species, 39 times more bird species, and 27 times as many vascular plant species. Equally important, adjacent ocean currents and the island nation’s close proximity, carry fish larvae into U.S. waters, making protection of Cuba’s coastal ecosystems vital to replenishing the U.S.’s ailing fisheries. Therefore, preserving the marine resources of Cuba is critical to the economic health of North America’s Atlantic coastal communities.¶ The U.S. and Cuba also share an ancient deepwater coral system that stretches up to North Carolina. The island’s 4,200 islets and keys support important commercial reef fish species such as snapper and grouper as well as other marine life including sea turtles, dolphins and manatees in both countries. Fifty percent of its flora and 41 percent of its fauna are endemic, signifying the importance of protecting the island’s resources in order to safeguard the paradisiacal vision that Christopher Columbus observed when landing on the island in 1492.¶

Increased ties are key to biodiversity – the embargo limits interaction and destroys the environmentBoom, Director of the Caribbean Biodiversity Program, 12 (Brian M. Boom, September 2012, “Biodiversity without Borders: Advancing U.S.-Cuba Cooperation through ¶

Environmental Research,” Science & Diplomacy, Vol. 1, No. 3 (September 2012*). ¶ http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/article/2012/biodiversity-without-borders. Accessed June 24, 2013, RJ)THE ever-increasing challenges to the biodiversity shared by Cuba and the ¶ United States provide the opportunity and the need for the two nations to take ¶ an enhanced collaborative, bilateral approach to addressing shared issues. Cuba ¶ lies a mere ninety miles south of the U.S. state of Florida, and the two countries’ ¶ territorial waters meet in the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. Cuba and ¶ the United States thus share much biodiversity—ranging from varied populations ¶ of organisms to diverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Native species migrate, ¶ exotic species invade, disease-causing species disperse, and rare species go extinct ¶ in the face of growing habitat

modification. The living components of this shared ¶ environment are dynamically impacted, sometimes unpredictably so, by natural or ¶ man-made environmental disasters. Nature does not respect political boundaries ¶ nor do such potential disasters as oil spills, toxic releases, hurricanes, and tropical ¶ storms. Such events provide the sine qua non for greater bilateral cooperation. ¶ Governments around the world routinely collaborate on shared environmental ¶ concerns bilaterally or multilaterally, depending on the situation being addressed. ¶ Environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from local to international ¶ levels often work in partnership with governments to solve environmental problems ¶ that extend beyond national boundaries. Such public/private arrangements work well in most circumstances, and there are many effective mechanisms in place to ¶ deal with challenges ranging from endangered species and ecosystems to oil and ¶ toxic waste spills.¶ However, a lack of formal diplomatic relations can limit desirable cooperation ¶ on shared environmental issues. The U.S. embargo

on trade with Cuba —¶ which was instituted in 1961 by the Kennedy administration in response to ¶ Cuba’s nationalization of U.S. businesses’ properties in Cuba during the Cuban ¶ Revolution—and subsequent regulations have thwarted the efforts of Cuban and ¶ U.S. scientists to collaborate on environmental or other professional and academic ¶ matters.1¶ There is essentially no intergovernmental environmental interaction ¶ between the United States and Cuba . The shared biodiversity of these countries, ¶ and in some cases that of other nations in the

Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico ¶ regions, suffers as a result . ¶ Fortunately, some NGOs in the United States have had success over the years in ¶ working collaboratively with their Cuban counterparts on shared environmental ¶

issues. The experiences of such NGOs can inform a way forward in structuring ¶ an enhanced mechanism for bilateral cooperation. Also fortunately, on January 14, ¶ 2011, the Obama administration announced new rules that ease some restrictions ¶ on U.S. citizens’ travel and remittances to Cuba, which will collaterally encourage ¶ more bilateral environmental collaboration as well. While these steps have created ¶ some space, given the political realities, a targeted environmental agreement is ¶ required to facilitate further mutually beneficial study, monitoring, and protection ¶ of shared biodiversity.

I/L – Environmental Credibility

Environmental cooperation between US and Cuba sets exemplary worldwide modelsConell, Research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 9(Christina, “The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?“, http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/, 6/25/13, AZ)

Sustainability through Collaboration¶ In many parts of the country communism has inadequately acted as a seal to preserve elements of Cuba’s past as the centralized government prohibited private development by not giving special permission. A number of tourist resorts already dot the island, but Cuba has been largely exempt from mass tourist exploitation due to frozen relations with the U.S. Although the island remains underdeveloped, Fidel Castro has used his unchecked power to back policies, which have been heedless to environmental considerations, thus damaging some of the island’s pristine ecosystem that once defined the island. Roughly the size of Pennsylvania, Cuba is the largest Caribbean island, and if preservation and conservation measures are planned and carried out in a cognizant manner, it could become a paradigm for sustainable development at the global level.¶ The Obama administration’s recent easing of travel restrictions on Cuban Americans visiting relatives on the island could be of immense importance not only to Cuban families, but also to the preservation of Cuba’s unique and increasingly threatened coastal and marine environments. Such a concession on Washington’s part would mark a small, but still significant stride in U.S.-Cuba relations, yet the travel restrictions still remain inherently discriminatory. The preposterous regulations that allow only a certain category of Americans into Cuba signify only a meager shift in U.S. policy towards Cuba.¶ The 50-year-old U.S. embargo against the island has resoundingly failed to achieve its purpose. Obama’s modifications fall short of what it will take to reestablish a constructive U.S.-Cuba relationship. Cuba’s tropical forests, soils, and maritime areas have suffered degradation as a result of harmful policies stemming from a Soviet-style economic system. Cuba’s economy could be reinvigorated through expanded tourism, development initiatives and an expansion of commodity exports, including sugarcane for ethanol. U.S. policy toward Cuba should encourage environmental factors, thereby strengthening U.S. credibility throughout the hemisphere.¶ An environmental partnership between the U.S. and Cuba is not only possible, but could result in development models that could serve as an example for environmental strategies throughout the Americas. The U.S. has the economic resources necessary to aid Cuba in developing effective policy, while the island provides the space where sustainable systems can be implemented initially instead of being applied after the fact. Cuba’s extreme lack of development provides an unspoiled arena for the execution of exemplary sustainable environmental protection practices.¶

Impact – Coastal Environment

Oil spills threaten Florida’s coast which is home to sensitive resources. Removing the embargo prevents those spillsStephens and Colvin 11(Sarah, executive director of the Center for Democracy in the Americas, and Jake, Vice President for Global Trade Issues at the National Foreign Trade Council, 9/29/11, http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/184661-us-cuba-policy-and-the-race-for-oil-drilling, 6/26/13, ND)

In virtually every other country in the world, developments like these would prompt high-level discussions about how to exploit these resources safely or to anticipate a crisis were a disaster to strike. Experts who have studied the currents say a spill in Cuban waters would send 90 percent of the oil into the Keys and up the East Coast of Florida. But the embargo leaves Florida’s sensitive coastal resources defenseless. ¶ ¶ Due to the fact that the drilling involves Cuba, American companies and workers cannot lend their expertise to what could be a risky operation. U.S. economic sanctions prevent our private sector from helping Cuba drill safely and paralyze the U.S. government, which ought to be convening bilateral discussions on best practices and coordinating disaster response. In fact, the U.S. has no emergency response agreement with Cuba for oil spills. While some specific licenses have been granted to permit U.S. firms to conduct limited

transactions with Cuba, current sanctions bar the United States from deploying the kind of clean-up equipment,

engineers, spare parts for blow-out prevention, chemical dispersants, and rigs to drill relief wells that would be needed to address an oil crisis involving Cuba.¶

Wetlands solve extinctionMWP, one of South Africa's oldest and largest non-government environmental organizations, 4 (Mondi Wetlands Project, 2004, “Going to War Over Water,” http://www.wetland.org.za/news.htm=&NodeId=912&Id=24, 6-30-13)In a recent issue, Time Magazine devoted the entire magazine to the "rogue weather" lashing our planet. But the weather hasn’t changed. What has changed, is the ability of our natural resources to protect us from the vagaries of extreme weather. This is due to the fact that we are destroying the very systems that protect us from natural disaster. For instance, wetlands are seen as fair game for agriculture. Where wetlands exist, they must be drained for crops, plantations or development. They are not regarded as important to the natural balance and are regarded "simply as swamps". But these swamps are absolutely crucial to our supply of water and we cannot survive as a species without fresh water. If we preserved our wetlands, we would be less vulnerable to floods, droughts or disease. For this reason the Mondi Wetlands Project (MWP), in prepa-ration for World Wetlands Day on February 2, is lobbying for wetlands to become an integral part of water resource management in South Africa. Wetlands play a vital role in managing the limited water we do have, such as purifying it, stockpiling it, damming and slowly releasing it. The slowly growing realisation that without wetlands we will have no fresh water, has led the United Nations general assembly to proclaim the year 2003 as the International Year of Fresh Water. In the 20th century, our population trebled but our use of fresh water increased sixfold. Time is running out and so is the fresh water. The greatest irony is that sufficient water falls as precipitation but because the wetlands are disappearing, it is not retained on the land as fresh water but disappears into the sea. "There is hope though, this is not yet irreparable," says national manager of the Mondi Wetlands Project, Mr David Lindley. "If we get all the stakeholders involved in integrated water resource management we can make enormous strides in reversing the damage caused by our vanishing wetlands," he said. MWP believes that one of the most effective ways of protecting wetlands and reaping their benefits is to enshrine the wise use of wetlands in integrated catchment management programmes. A wetland is literally worth its weight in gold. A recent assessment of the global value of wetland ecosystems put them, at a conserva-tive estimate, at a whopping US$ 14,9 trillion! So, the next world war will probable not be fought over oil or ideology, it will be fought over water. Without oil your car won’t function, but without fresh water, all living things will disappear. Man could become the ultimate victim of his own foolishness.

Impact – Coral Reefs

The Embargo is preventing US-Cuba cooperation on oil spills which would have devastating effects on coral reefs and fisheriesConell, Research Associate for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 09(Christina, 6-12-09, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, “The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?,” http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/, 6/26/13, ND)The recent discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the Florida straits in Cuban waters has attracted foreign oil exploration from China and India, both eager to begin extraction. Offshore oil and gas development could threaten Cuba’s and Florida’s environmental riches. Together, Cuba and the U.S. can develop policies to combat the negative results coming

from the exploitation of these resources. The increased extraction and refining of oil in Cuba could have detrimental effects on the environment. Offshore drilling is likely to increase with the discovery of petroleum deposits in the Bay of

Cárdenas and related areas. Excavation increases the possibility of oil spills, which would in turn destroy the surrounding ecosystem, including fisheries and coral reef formations. The amount of pollutants released into the air from refining crude oil and the amount of wayward oil residuals would also increase with drilling and extraction. Those conversant with the very sensitive habitat issues are calling for immediate consultations aimed at anticipating what

should be done.¶ However the U.S.’s enormous oil usage and its development requirements will cultivate economic growth on the island. Washington must work with Cuba to create an ecological protection plan not only to establish an environmentally friendly public image, but to make it a reality as well. Degradation of the environment will deprive Cuba, in the

long run, of one of its most important sources of present and future revenue: tourism. Consequently, it is in the mutual interests of the U.S. and Cuba to develop a cooperative relationship that will foster tourism and growth in a sustainable manner.

Reefs are key to planetary survivalRomm, Ph.D. in physics from MIT, 9 (Joseph, Fellow at American Progress and is the editor of Climate Progress, “Imagine a World without Fish: Deadly ocean acidification — hard to deny, harder to geo-engineer, but not hard to stop — is subject of documentary,” http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2009/09/02/204589/a-sea-change-imagine-a-world-without-fish-ocean-acidification-film/, 6-30-13)

Other continental shelf regions may also be impacted where anthropogenic CO2-enriched water is being upwelled onto the shelf. Or listen to the Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, which warns: The world’s oceans are becoming more acid, with potentially devastating consequences for corals and the marine organisms that build reefs and provide much of the Earth’s breathable oxygen. The acidity is caused by the gradual buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, dissolving into the oceans. Scientists fear it could be lethal for animals with chalky skeletons which make up more than a third of the planet’s marine life”¦. Corals and plankton with chalky skeletons are at the base of the marine food web. They rely on sea water saturated with calcium carbonate to form their skeletons. However, as acidity intensifies, the saturation declines, making it harder for the animals to form their skeletal structures (calcify). “Analysis of coral cores shows a steady drop in calcification over the last 20 years,” says Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of CoECRS and the University of Queensland. “There’s not much debate about how it happens: put more CO2 into the air above and it dissolves into the oceans. “When CO2 levels in the atmosphere reach about 500 parts per million, you put calcification out of business in the oceans.”