Cuba Environment Disadvantage - Harvard 2013

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Cuba Environment DA
1NC
Unique link Cuba has managed to conserve its environment because of seclusion
from economic development repealing the embargo would destroy its environment
Dean 7 (Cornelia Dean, NYTimes, Conserving Cuba, After the Embargo December 25, 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/science/25cuba.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)
Through accidents of geography and history, Cuba is a priceless ecological resource. That is why many scientists are so
worried about what will become of it after Fidel Castro and his associates leave power and, as is widely anticipated, the
American government relaxes or ends its trade embargo.
Cuba has avoided much environmental degradation in recent decades, but now hotel developments are seen extending into the
water in Cayo Coco. More Photos >
Cuba, by far the regions largest island, sits at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea. Its mountains, forests, swamps, coasts and marine areas are rich in plants and animals, some seen
nowhere else.
And since the imposition of the embargo in 1962, and especially with the collapse in 1991 of the Soviet Union, its major economic
patron, Cubas economy has stagnated.
Cuba has not been free of development, including Soviet-style top-down agricultural and mining operations and, in recent years,
an expansion of tourism. But it also has an abundance of landscapes that elsewhere in the region have been ripped up, paved over,
poisoned or otherwise destroyed in the decades since the Cuban revolution, when development has been most intense. Once the
embargo ends, the island could face a flood of investors from the United States and elsewhere, eager to exploit those
landscapes.
Conservationists, environmental lawyers and other experts, from Cuba and elsewhere, met last month in Cancn, Mexico, to
discuss the islands resources and how to continue to protect them.
Cuba has done what we should have done identify your hot spots of biodiversity and set them aside , said Oliver
Houck, a professor of environmental law at Tulane University Law School who attended the conference.
In the late 1990s, Mr. Houck was involved in an effort, financed in part by the MacArthur Foundation, to advise Cuban officials
writing new environmental laws.
But, he said in an interview, an invasion of U.S. consumerism, a U.S.-dominated future, could roll over it like a
bulldozer when the embargo ends.
Cuba is a keystone environment the center of all biodiversity in the Caribbean

EDF 00 (Environmental Defense Fund, Cuba, "Crown Jewel Of Caribbean Biodiversity," Threatened, November 30,
2000, http://www.edf.org/news/cuba-crown-jewel-caribbean-biodiversity-threatened)
Our work in Cuba: A new era for ocean conservation

Cuba has one of the Caribbean's most diverse marine environments, with massive reefs that exceed the Florida Keys
and serve as spawning grounds for many species of fish. Environmental Defense scientists and attorneys and their Cuban
colleagues are working to protect these marine treasures by reducing overfishing and helping design protected areas for marine
life. In addition to publishing marine research and building education programs with Cuban scientists, Environmental Defense
will co-sponsor the Fifth Cuban Marine Science Congress, December 4-8 in Havana. " Cuba is the Caribbean's biological crown
jewel," said Environmental Defense scientist Dr. Ken Lindeman. "With over 3,000 miles of coastline and 4,200 islets and
keys ? Cuba is literally teeming with marine and terrestrial treasures. Cuba is also at a historic crossroads: coastal
development and overfishing have begun to damage these resources. Environmental Defense and our Cuban
colleagues are working to ensure Cuba's resources are preserved for future generations." In December, 500 managers
and scientists from Cuba and the rest of Latin America, North America and Europe will gather in Havana for the Fifth Cuban
Marine Science Congress to present the latest research on marine conservation. Environmental Defense scientists and Cuban
colleagues will present research on innovative designs for marine protected areas that can benefit local fishers. Environmental
Defense experts also will present lessons learned in coastal protection along the US Atlantic coast, where water pollution, habitat
destruction and overfishing also threaten marine life. " Cuba is the environmental keystone of the Caribbean. This
conference is a crucial gathering of knowledge that can help preserve the marine treasures of the greater Caribbean for years to
come," said Environmental Defense scientist Dr. Doug Rader.
That causes extinction

Diner, Major & Instructor, Judge Advocate General School 94
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[David, Military Law Review, Winter]
By causing widespread extinctions, humans have artificially simplified many ecosystems. As biologic
simplicity increases, so does the risk of ecosystem failure . The spreading Sahara Desert in Africa, and the dustbowl
conditions of the 1930s in the United States are relatively mild examples of what might be expected if this trend continues.
Theoretically, each new animal or plant extinction, with all its dimly perceived and intertwined affects, could
cause total ecosystem collapse and human extinction. Each new extinction increases the risk of disasters.
Like a mechanic removing, one by one, the rivets from an aircraft's wings, mankind may be edging closer
to the abyss.
*Uniqueness
Conservation Now
Cuba is instituting environmental protections now trying to correct for global
warming
Rodriguez 13 (ANDREA RODRIGUEZ June 12, 2013, Associated Press, Cuba girds for climate change by reclaiming
coasts http://news.yahoo.com/cuba-girds-climate-change-reclaiming-coasts-182238464.html)
CAYO COCO, Cuba (AP) After Cuban scientists studied the effects of climate change on this island's 3,500 miles (5,630
kilometers) of coastline, their discoveries were so alarming that officials didn't share the results with the public to avoid causing
panic.
The scientists projected that rising sea levels would seriously damage 122 Cuban towns or even wipe them off the map.
Beaches would be submerged, they found, while freshwater sources would be tainted and croplands rendered infertile. In all,
seawater would penetrate up to 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) inland in low-lying areas, as oceans rose nearly three feet (85 centimeters)
by 2100.
Climate change may be a matter of political debate on Capitol Hill, but for low-lying Cuba, those frightening
calculations have spurred systemic action. Cuba's government has changed course on decades of haphazard coastal
development, which threatens sand dunes and mangrove swamps that provide the best natural protection against
rising seas.
In recent months, inspectors and demolition crews have begun fanning out across the island with plans to raze
thousands of houses, restaurants, hotels and improvised docks in a race to restore much of the coast to something
approaching its natural state.
"The government ... realized that for an island like Cuba, long and thin, protecting the coasts is a matter of national
security," said Jorge Alvarez, director of Cuba's government-run Center for Environmental Control and Inspection.
Cuba is protecting the environment now lifting the embargo will make it impossible
PBS No Date (Cuba: The Accidental Eden http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/cuba-the-accidental-eden/a-
brief-environmental-history/5830/)
A dramatic shift toward agriculture, industry, and the environment appeared after the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991. With shortages in fossil fuels and the disappearance of 80% of both imports and exports, Cuba entered the
Special Period, an economic depression that required new techniques to help the country become more self-
sustaining. Although Cuban beaches were opened to international tourism, an environmentally significant aspect of the Special
Period was the adoption of permaculture agriculture and land use strategies.
Circumstances since the 90s have led the Cuban government to take a stronger legislative and rhetorical stance
toward environmental management. Although initially centered around the human species, Fidel Castros 1992 address to the
UN Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro expresses this attitude of environmental awareness and urgency:
An important biological species is in danger of disappearing due to the fast and progressive destruction of its natural living
conditions: mankind. We have now become aware of this problem when it is almost too late to stop it. Tomorrow it will be too
late to do what we should have done a long time ago.
Today Cuba exhibits thriving natural diversity, though it may be tenuous. Agricultural pollution, habitat
destruction, and significantly tourism all threaten the islands plants and animals and compete for land and water
use.
Every moment brings Cuba closer to the possibility of a lifted U.S. embargo, which would dramatically affect
Cubas economic possibilities and thus its wildlife. One of the many mixed blessing would be increased tourism.
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Marine conservationist Fernando Bretos notes that The tourism impact has really been minimal in Cuba, but thats
going to change. When you go from 2 million tourists a year to 4 to 6 to 8, everything will change.
Cuba just reaffirmed its commitment to defending the environment

Cadena Agramonte 6/26/13 (Radio Cadena Agramonte, based in Camaguey, Cuba, Cuba Affirms Commitment to
the Environment http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/index.php/show/articles/14774:cuba-affirms-commitment-
to-the-environment)
Cuba affirmed its commitment to the defense of the environment, during an international forum on environmental
sustainability, underway in El Salvador.
The head of the North, Central America and Mexico Area of the Cuban Communist Party International Relations Department,
Alberto Prieto, put forth the Cuban position at the forum.
Prieto said that Cuba is determined to develop a more efficient and sustainable economy in the benefit of the people
and in full harmony with the environment.
The official said the strategic guidelines of the Cuban Revolution include the design of an integral scientific,
technological, innovative and environmental policy in correspondence with the countrys social and economic
development.
This policy aims at meeting the needs of the people and at encouraging their participation in the construction of the
socialist society by protecting the environment, the national heritage and culture, Prieto explained.
The guidelines, adopted by the latest congress of the Cuban Communist Party, also include the development of
comprehensive research to protect and rehabilitate the environment and adapt policies to the new economic and social
scenarios.
No Drilling Now
No offshore drilling now their evidence is just hype
Claver-Carone 8 (Mauricio Claver-Carone is a director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC in Washington and
formerly served as an attorney with the U.S. Treasury, How the Cuban embargo protects the environment July 25, 2008,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/opinion/25iht-edcarone.1.14793496.html?_r=0)
The premise of the argument, however, is just not true. Chinese companies are not drilling in Cuba's offshore waters.
Nor do the Chinese have any lease agreements with Cuba's state-owned oil company, Cupet, to do so. As a matter of
fact, the last drilling for oil off Cuba's coast took place in 2004 and was led by the Spanish-Argentine consortium
Repsol YPF. It found oil but not in any commercially viable quantity. Inactivity since suggests that Repsol YPF is not
eager to follow up with the required investment in Castro's Cupet.
For almost a decade now, the Castro regime has been lauding offshore lease agreements. It has tried Norway's
StatoilHydro, India's state-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Malaysia's Petronas and Canada's Sherritt International. Yet, there
is no current drilling activity off Cuba's coasts. The Cuban government has announced plans to drill, then followed
with postponements in 2006, 2007 and this year.
*Link
General
The Cuban environment is healthy and important lifting the embargo would be
devastating
PBS 10 (Cuba: The Accidental Eden, premieres Sunday, September 26, 2010 on PBS,
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/cuba-the-accidental-eden/introduction/5728/)
Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years, but its borders have remained open to
wildlife for which Cubas undeveloped islands are an irresistible draw. While many islands in the Caribbean have
poisoned or paved over their ecological riches on land and in the sea in pursuit of a growing tourist industry, Cubas
wild landscapes have remained virtually untouched, creating a safe haven for rare and intriguing indigenous animals,
as well as for hundreds of species of migrating birds and marine creatures. Coral reefs have benefited, too .
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Independent research has shown that Cubas corals are doing much better than others both in the Caribbean and around
the world.
Scientific research in Cuba on creatures such as the notoriously aggressive jumping crocodile, and the famous painted snails,
paired with long-term ecological efforts on behalf of sea turtles, has been conducted primarily by devoted local experts.
Conservation and research in Cuba can be a constant struggle for scientists who earn little for their work. But their work is their
passion, and no less important than that of those collecting larger salaries. NATURE follows these scientists as they explore the
crocodile population of Zapata swamp, the birth of baby sea turtles, and the mysteries of evolution demonstrated by creatures that
travel no more than 60 yards in a lifetime.
As the possibility of an end to the U.S. trade embargo looms, Cubas wildlife hangs in the balance. Most experts
predict that the end of the embargo could have devastating results. Tourism could double, and the economic
development associated with tourism and other industries could change the face of what was once a nearly pristine
ecosystem. Or Cuba could set an example for development and conservation around the world, defining a new era of
sustainability well beyond Cubas borders.
Ending the embargo interferes with Cuban renewable development, would make it
drill, and increases tourism
Barclay 4 (Eliza Barclay, truthout.org, 11 June 2004, Tourists and U.S. Embargo Threaten Cuba's Environmental
Gains, http://www.truth-out.org/archive/item/48343:tourists-and-us-embargo-threaten-cubas-environmental-gains)
These achievements in energy, agriculture, and coastal protection may be on the verge of taking on some unprecedented
challenges. Despite its commitment to renewable energy, the Cuban government has set ambitious goals for oil production in the
next two years. According to the Ministry of Energy, domestic oil production has increased by a factor of six between 1991 and
2000. By December 2004, the Ministry projects that the country will only be importing 3.7 percent of its fuel, despite the fact that
Cuban oil has high sulfur content and a history of low marketability.
Still, Bruno Henr quez, of the Renewable Energy Group at CubaEnergia and founding editor of Energia y Tu magazine, said, " I
don't believe that in the future we [Cuba] will abandon renewable techniques due to the limited tenure of petroleum.
We are looking toward sustainable development and a more efficient way to use energy ."
The trickle of exports allowed into Cuba from the United States through the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export
Enhancement Act (TSRA) has the potential to turn into a heavy flow, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic
Council. And, as William Kennedy wrote in the introduction to the book Cuba on the Verge, " Billions of American investment
dollars are hovering, waiting to rain on Cuba."
Approximately 1.7 million tourists visited Cuba in 2002. Cuban ecologists and policy makers may have to reconcile
tourism increases and the subsequent encroachment of hotels and resorts with significant impacts to sensitive and
valuable coastal ecosystems. "It is too early to predict what the long-term impacts of the substantial increase in tourism will
be," said Lindeman.
Tourism
Increased tourism would destroy the environment Florida keys prove
For Dr. Guggenheim, the best lessons for Cubans to ponder as they contemplate a more prosperous future can be seen 90
miles north, in the Florida Keys. There, he said, too many people have poured into an ecosystem too fragile to support
them.
As Cuba becomes an increasingly popular tourist resort, Dr. Guggenheim said, we dont want to see and they dont
want to see the same mistakes, where you literally love something to death.
Repealing the embargo would increase tourism a ton

By some estimates, tourism in Cuba is increasing 10 percent annually. At a minimum, Orlando Rey Santos, the Cuban lawyer who
led the law-writing effort, said in an interview at the conference, we can guess that tourism is going to increase in a very
fast way when the embargo ends.
It is estimated we could double tourism in one year, said Mr. Rey, who heads environmental efforts at the Cuban
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ministry of science, technology and environment.
More Drilling
The embargo makes it economically impossible to drill
Clearly, foreign oil companies anticipate political changes in Cuba and are trying to position themselves accordingly. It
is equally clear they are encountering legal and logistical obstacles preventing oil and gas exploration and
development. Among the impediments are well-founded reservations as to how any new discovery can be turned into
product. Cuba has very limited refining capacity, and the U.S. embargo prevents sending Cuban crude oil to American
refineries. Neither is it financially or logistically viable for partners of the current Cuban regime to undertake deep-
water exploration without access to U.S. technology, which the embargo prohibits transferring to Cuba. The
prohibitions exist for good reason. Fidel Castro expropriated U.S. oil company assets after taking control of Cuba and has never
provided compensation.
No one can get the equipment to drill because of the embargo

LA Herald Tribune 11 (Latin America Herald Tribune, October 24, 2011, Cuba: U.S. Embargo Delaying Offshore
Oil Search http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=435906&CategoryId=1451)
Cuba is blaming the 49-year-old U.S. economic embargo for delaying the start of oil exploration efforts in the
Communist-ruled islands territorial waters.
An article published Monday in the official weekly Trabajadores refers to countless cases over the past two decades in
which the United States obstructed Cubas quest for a domestic oil industry.
The embargo makes it harder and more expensive for Cuba to obtain needed equipment, the magazine said, while
also accusing Washington of pressuring and blackmailing foreign energy companies interested in doing business on
the island.
Cuba needs the latest technology for deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, but, because of the embargo,
cannot use any equipment that has more than 10 percent U.S. content.
Finding gear that meets both of those requirements is difficult in a world where the transnationals of that country (the
United States) have wide predominance, Trabajadores said.
Embargo means the political risks of drilling in Cuba remain too high
Equally important, foreign companies trying to do business with Cuba still face a lot of expenses and political risks. If,
or when, the Cuban regime decides again to expropriate the assets of these companies, there is no legal recourse in
Cuba.
A2 Cuban Environmental Laws Check Damage

Environmental laws will be eroded, wont prevent damage
But there are people skeptical that Cuba will resist this kind of pressure. One of them is Mr. Houck.
The environmental laws he worked on are a very strong structure, he said, But all laws do is give you the
opportunity to slow down the wrong thing. Over time, you can wear the law down.
That is particularly true in Cuba, he said, where theres no armed citizenry out there with high-powered science
groups pushing in the opposite direction. What they lack is the counter pressure of environmental groups and
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environmental activists.
A2 Global Warming Alt Cause

The environment is still preserved despite warming tourism presents the greatest
threat to the environment
Like corals elsewhere, those in Cuba are suffering as global warming raises ocean temperatures and acidity levels.
And like other corals in the region, they reeled when a mysterious die-off of sea urchins left them with algae
overgrowth. But they have largely escaped damage from pollution, boat traffic and destructive fishing practices.
Diving in them is like going back in time 50 years, said David Guggenheim, a conference organizer and an ecologist and
member of the advisory board of the Harte Research Institute, which helped organize the meeting along with the Center for
International Policy, a private group in Washington.
In a report last year, the World Wildlife Fund said that in dramatic contrast to its island neighbors, Cubas beaches,
mangroves, reefs, seagrass beds and other habitats were relatively well preserved. Their biggest threat, the report
said, was the prospect of sudden and massive growth in mass tourism when the U.S. embargo lifts.
*Impact
Biodiversity Impacts
Oceanic biodiversity prevents collapse of the entire life system
Cousteau President, Ocean Futures Society, 00
[Jean-Michel, What We Can't See Can Hurt Us, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/14 p. A11]
Loss of oceanic biodiversity means loss of genetic diversity. Losing species is like removing rivets from the
airplane in which we are flying. As in any Boeing airplane, nature has some built-in redundancy. Not all species are needed
to keep it going. But just as passengers don't know which rivets are the important ones, we do not know which
species can be lost without endangering our own life-support system . The North Pacific and its once amazingly
productive estuaries, including Puget Sound, are hardly immune from the vastly destructive impact we humans are having upon
the life of the seas. Here salmon are already on the endangered species list. Many marine fish that spend their entire lives in Puget
Sound, such as herring, cod and rockfish, are in shocking population declines that will put them on that list, too. Puget Sound's
famous orcas - the killer whales - are so laced with PCBs (built-up from their salmon and seal-rich diet) that they are now the most
chemically contaminated mammals on the planet, putting their immune, neurological and hormone systems at risk. Puget Sound's
shoreline habitats, the nursery for many species, are being decimated by an insidious process of one more dock, one more
bulkhead all the while ignoring the deadly cumulative impact. When I look to the ocean or the Sound, like most people I see the
beauty of light on the water, but I am also aware that my actions on land affect what goes on beneath the surface. The oceans
are not as vastly productive as they once were. Nor are nearshore marine habitats anywhere near as
healthy as their surface beauty might suggest. The oceans and their fragile reefs and estuaries have real
biological limits, and we have reached them. Out of sight is no longer out of mind.
And, single species extinction can cause waves of cascading secondary extinctions.
Santos, Professor, Natural Sciences, CUNY-Baruch, 99
[Miguel A., The Environmental Crisis, p. 35-36]
In view of their ecologic role in ecosystems, the impact of species extinctions may be devastating. The rich diversity
of species and the ecosystems that support them are intimately connected to the long-term survival of
humankind. As the historic conservationist Aldo Leopold stated in 1949, The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth
century is not television or radio but the complexity of the land organisms..... To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of
intelligent thinking. An endangered species may have a significant role in its community. Such organism may
control the structure and functioning of the community through its activities . The sea otter, for example, in
relation to its size, is perhaps the most voracious of all marine mammals. The otter feeds on sea mollusks, sea urchins, crabs, and
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fish. It needs to eat more than 20 percent of its weight every day to provide the necessary energy to maintain its body temperature
in a cold marine habitat. The extinction of such keystone or controller species from the ecosystem would cause
great damage. Its extinction could have cascading effects on many species, even causing secondary
extinction.
Species loss risks complete eco-system collapse and human extinction.

Honnold, attorney-Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, 95
[Douglas, Federal Document Clearing House, 4/26]
In the hustle and bustle of the making and enforcement of laws, it is important to stop and ponder: why protect endangered
species? One answer is suggested by Dr. Paul Ehrlich, who has compared the loss of species to the loss of
rivets in an airplane. See P.R. Ehrlich & A.H. Ehrlich, extinction, Random House (1981) at i-xii. We may lose one, two, or
even several rivets without affecting the ability of the plane to fly, but eventually the loss of rivets puts the
entire enterprise of flight at risk. This metaphor aptly conveys the insight that species -- both charismatic and
mundane -- serve critically important functions in the complex web of life, the loss of which might prove
disastrous. Through the loss of species, ecosystems, and ecological functions we put at risk the very planet
as a place that humans can comfortably inhabit . Put less poetically, species serve numerous ecological functions that we
are only beginning to understand. We don't yet understand how the loss of one or several species will affect the
persistence and survival of other species and natural processes. Carelessly discarding life's rivets , to borrow
Ehrlich's metaphor, is not an experiment that a wise society knowingly engages in . As Aldo Leopold observed in
Round River, one of his classic essays: If the biota, in the course of eons, has built something we like but do not understand, then
who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts. To keep every cog, and wheel is the first precaution of
intelligent tinkering. A second Justification for the protection of endangered species is perhaps more readily grasped: nearly
1/4 of the prescription medicines distributed annually in the United States are based on substances derived from nature. Many
common treatments for heart disease, for example, were derived originally from chemicals produced by plants. Two recent
scientific discoveries drive home this point. The bark of the Pacific yew, a tree of no apparent commercial value that was
historically treated as a "weed tree" suitable only for destruction, was found to contain taxol, a potent drug against ovarian and
breast cancers. Just this year scientific researchers revealed that a substance from birch trees can shrink malignant melanoma
tumors. Malignant melanoma is one of the many life-threatening diseases whose incidence is increasing, but whose treatment
options are limited. Are we as a society willing to gamble that the next species that we consign to extinction may hold the cure for
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or other ailments? In addition to these utilitarian notions, many people believe strongly that man
has a moral and/or ethical duty to refrain from destroying the plant and animal communities with which we share the planet.
Whether from a Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or more agnostic,perspective, millions of Americans question by what right
humans can purposefully and knowingly drive other species into the abyss of extinction.
Loss of biodiversity will cause human extinction
Levin, Prof., Ecology, Princeton Univ., in 99

[Simon, Fragile Domination, p. 6-9]
What is different now, however, is the magnitude of the problem, the fact that we may have something to
do with the present and impending extinctions, and the reality that we ourselves are possible among the
endangered species. Our turn for extinction will also come, but we should avoid speeding its arrival. Our
own existence is not independent of that biodiversity: we rely on a wide range of services that other species
provide, and their demise hastens our own. In her recent book Nature's Services, the Stanford ecologist Gretchen Daily
has assembled critical essays by some of the leading experts on our dependence on natural systems. Her book provides the best
summary available of what humanity is given by nature. At one level, these services are obvious. We cannot eat plastic, and hence
we depend on plants and animals for our very nourishment, as well as for materials for building shelter and powering our
machines. Less appreciated, perhaps, is the degree to which we depend on natural products for medicines. Two-fifths of all
prescription drugs in the United States contain active ingredients originally derived from nature, and these products represent
only a small portion of what could be discovered. Antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, birth control pills, and a whole range of products
derive from natural plants, which still hold many secrets for dealing with human disease and frailty. As we destroy these natural
storehouses, we bury forever their potential to provide remedies to ameliorate the human condition. Just as we will never hear any
of the symphonies or concerti Mozart would have composed had he not met an untimely death, so too will we never know what
treasures lie in those species prematurely eradicated. What pain not to hear the gems that Wolfgang surely would have produced;
how much greater the ache to see human suffering that might have been prevented had the secrets locked up in extinct species not
been lost. Less obvious than the direct services that ecological systems provide humans in the way of food, fuel, fiber, and
pharmaceuticals are the indirect services we receive through the maintenance of natural ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems
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dilute, detoxify, and sequester poisons that could otherwise cause untold damage to human and other animal populations. As
Sandra Postel and Stephen Carpenter argue in Nature's Services, waterborne diseases are the major source of mortality among the
poor of the world, primarily because those people lack to safe drinking water. Concern for the quality and quantity of water is
paramount on any list of environmental problems that society must address. Just maintaining water supplies is not sufficient; the
natural communities that live in freshwater must also be sustained to keep water supplies pure . Aquatic biodiversity is
essential to human health. Soil loss and degradation represent a global threat not far behind water on the list of endangered
natural resources. The activities of humans have led to huge soil losses in the last half-century, with consequent leakages of water
and nutrients, leading to the potential for declining agricultural productivity and increasing desertification. In Indonesia, about
one-fifth of the country has been lost to erosion; the effects have been particularly devastating on the island of Java, which in the
late 1980s was losing the capacity to satisfy the needs for rice of more than 10 percent of its population every year. As with water,
maintenance of soil as a source also requires safeguarding its quality by preserving the natural communities of organisms in the
soil. Natural systems help secure the very conditions that permit our survival , moderating weather, stabilizing soil,
coastlines, and climate; influencing our atmosphere; and in general making it possible for humans to exist and persist .
They do not maintain those conditions in order to preserve the world for Homo sapiens; rather, Homo
sapiens exist because those conditions permit it to do so. The subtlety of this distinction should not disguise the
importance of the lesson. That is we cannot count on the biosphere to maintain the biota and environment to our specifications;
the world is constantly in transition, more so today than ever before in recorded history. Biodiversity is being lost at
alarming rates, and with it the services that sustain the human population . Should we care? We had better care if
we care about our own survival. But what can we do about the problem? Aldo Leopold, in his elegant plea for rationality in dealing
with biodiversity loss, said, "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering." But the global ecosystem
is not a machine just out of warranty; rather, it has been out of warranty since Eve met the serpent in the Garden of Eden. It has
survived because of functional redundancies)that is, the existence of multiple species that fill similar ecological roles. This form of
diversity, a level up from diversity within species, provides the biosphere with the potential for alternative ways to maintain its
functioning even in the face of changes. This stability is termed homeostasis, meaning the maintenance of state. Why the Earth
enjoys those redundancies is a problem worthy of deep examination, and one that admits no easy solution. At this point, we should
simply rejoice that it does benefit from them, and recognize the potential consequences of their loss. To understand the
generation, maintenance, and importance of structure, of heterogeneity, and of redundancy of function is foundational to the
theory of all complex adaptive systems, from individual organisms to whole economies. Hence, the incentive is strong for
exploring biodiversity within the context of the analysis of such systems; indeed, this orientation provides the central theme for
the rest of this book. Dissecting Biodiversity - To say that not every cog or wheel or rivet is essential does not imply that none are.
Paul and Anne Ehrlich, eloquent campaigners for common sense in preserving our environment, have provided a potent and oft-
cited metaphor that emphasizes this point: Ecosystems, like well-made airplanes, tend to have redundant subsystems and other
"design" features that permit them to continue functioning after absorbing a certain amount of abuse. A dozen rivets, or a dozen
species, might never be missed. On the other hand, a thirteenth rivet popped from a wing flag, or the extinction of a key species
involved in the cycling of nitrogen, could lead to a serious accident.
Keystone Species Laundry List

A ton of important aspects of biodiversity in Cuba
About 700 miles long and about 100 miles wide at its widest, Cuba runs from Haiti west almost to the Yucatn Peninsula of
Mexico. It offers crucial habitat for birds, like Bicknells thrush, whose summer home is in the mountains of New England and
Canada, and the North American warblers that stop in Cuba on their way south for the winter.
Zapata Swamp, on the islands southern coast, may be notorious for its mosquitoes, but it is also known for its fish, amphibians,
birds and other creatures. Among them is the Cuban crocodile, which has retreated to Cuba from a range that once ran from the
Cayman Islands to the Bahamas.
Cuba has the most biologically diverse populations of freshwater fish in the region . Its relatively large underwater
coastal shelves are crucial for numerous marine species, including some whose larvae can be carried by currents into
waters of the United States, said Ken Lindeman, a marine biologist at Florida Institute of Technology.
Dr. Lindeman, who did not attend the conference but who has spent many years studying Cubas marine ecology, said in an
interview that some of these creatures were important commercial and recreational species like the spiny lobster, grouper
or snapper.
A2 Oil Dependence Turn
8
353872073 BCC 2011-2012
Page 9 of 9
Cuban drilling wouldnt resolve oil dependence

Frankly, it is bewildering why some seem to believe that U.S. companies partnering with one more anti-American
dictatorship to explore and develop oil fields will somehow reduce fuel costs for American consumers and contribute
to U.S. energy independence. One needs only to look at the reaction of the international oil markets when Hugo
Chvez of Venezuela nationalized assets of U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Chevron.
What message would the United States be sending to oil-rich, tyrannical regimes around the world about the
consequences of expropriation if we were now to lift the embargo that was imposed after Fidel Castro expropriated
the assets of Esso, Shell and Texaco?
Impact Magnifier Cuba Modeled

Cuban practices are modeled globally ending the embargo stops that
Los Tumbos is one of thousands of rural Cuban villages with schools, doctors' offices, salas de television, and hospitals drawing
power from silicone-based solar panels. The government's initiative to electrify Cuba with solar, wind, microhydro, and
biomass energy is one of the many programs that has caught the attention of sustainability gurus around the
world, casting the country into the limelight as a model for environmental innovation.
At the same time, Cuba under Fidel Castro is still under attack from the U.S.-based exile community for political and social
oppression. In contrast, American export trade associations are also promoting Cuba as the next big market.
Throughout the spectrum, attitudes towards Cuba and predictions about the country's future remain mixed and
inconclusive.
In poorer communities like Los Tumbos, where basic human needs are just barely being met but where electricity arrived for the
first time via affordable solar panels, a better future still hinges on a more vibrant economy. As Cuba's economy responds to
the waves of tourists, consumerism, oil production, and food imports flashing on the horizon, the country's
institutional commitment to the environment will be put to the test.
***Aff
No Encroachment Cuban Law
Cuban environmental protections are strong enough to incorporate economic
development
Some leading Cuban environmental experts sense no threat from increasing international commerce. Rosa Elena
Sime n Negr n, Minister of Science, Technology, and the Environment, said that the Ministry has set up a sophisticated
system of environmental research and management institutes.
"Considering these established structures, the environment is not a transitory issue that can be brought down by
more favorable economic conditions," she said. "It's a collective commitment that will remain under any circumstance,
even when the U.S. blockade against Cuba is eliminated."

Cuba Environment Disadvantage - Harvard 2013

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353872073 BCC 2011-2012

Cuba is a keystone environment the center of all biodiversity in the Caribbean

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That causes extinction

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Species loss risks complete eco-system collapse and human extinction.

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A2 Oil Dependence Turn

Cuban drilling wouldnt resolve oil dependence

Impact Magnifier Cuba Modeled

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