Brian+&+Hae+Song

=**1AC - Methane Hydrates**= = = =**Solvency/Inherency**=

Funding for the Methane Hydrate Research and Development Act were cut – replacement is uncertain Congressional Research Service, January 24, 2011 [Peter Folger, staff writer specializing in energy and natural resources policy, Gas Hydrates: Resource and Hazard, http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=924a328e-1628-4380-9696-0680d061555f, June 30, 2014] KF

Government research is necessary for methane hydrate development – empirical examples proves
Arango May 7 2013 [writer for CBC news, []]

US methane hydrate research is misfocused – focusing on commercial development is key to massive reserves
Greimel 2003—staff writer of the Los Angeles Times (Hans, **“**Japan to Plumb Depths for Energy; The resource-poor nation gears up to pull methane hydrate from sea beds, hoping to convert the frozen fuel to a usable form’’, Los Angeles Times, Proquest, 20 July 2003, Accessed 24 June 2014)DZ

A national effort is necessary to overcome tech challenges – petroleum proves
Pellenbarg and Max ’14-, At Naval Research Laboratory and MDS Research

Additional research promotes Methane hydrates with carbon sequestration
Pellenbarg and Max ’14-, At Naval Research Laboratory and MDS Research

=Plan Text – the United States federal government should substantially increase funding and incentives for offshore methane hydrate research and development using carbon injection.=

=Energy Dependence=

US energy dependence is increasing because consumption is increasing despite prices
Wescott, 2013 - President of Keybridge Research [Robert, Phillip L. Swagel, Jeffrey Werling, Douglas Meade, Brendan Fitzpatrick,, Oil and the Debt, Keybridge Public Policy Economics, Sept. 23 2013, http://www.aei.org/files/2013/09/23/-oil-and-the-debt_174003485289.pdf, Acc. Jun 25 2014] LS

Remaining dependent cripples the US economy – it leaves us vulnerable to oil shocks
Blair 14- Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a former director of National Intelligence (Dennis, Michael W. Hagee, Adm. Dennis C. Blair, a former director of National Intelligence and former commander in chief of the United States Pacific Command, and Gen. Michael W. Hagee, the 33rd commandant of the United States Marine Corps, serve as co-chairmen of the Commission on Energy and Geopolitics, a project of Securing America’s Future Energy, Tempering Oil Dependence, New York Times, FEB. 25, 2014 []) HL

Economic crises will result in global war
Mead 2009 - senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Walter Russell Mead, The New Republic, “Only Makes You Stronger,” February 4 2009. http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=571cbbb9-2887-4d81-8542-92e83915f5f8&p=2 AD 6/30/09)

Dependence kills US hegemony – it fuels opposition to the US, prevents alliances and causes agreements that constrain US influence
Schlesinger 2006 -- Chair of the Defense Policy Board ( James, He is also a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense, the nation’s first Secretary of Energy, October, 2006, council on foreign relations, [], 6/24/14) HL

Loss of hegemony causes nuclear conflicts.
Foster 2009 (March 16, 2009, John Bellamy Foster, A Failed System: The World Crisis of Capitalist Globalization and its Impact on China, International Debt Observatory, http://www.oid-ido.org/article.php3?id_article=808)

Energy shortages cause conflicts – they destabilize economies and regions
Sweeney, 2011 - Center for Naval Analyses [Kevin, Ralph Espach, Marcus King, William Komiss, Hilary Zarin, Leo Goff, Ensuring America’s Freedom of Movement, Center for Naval Analyses, October 2011, [], Acc. Jun 25 2014] LS

Methane hydrates can solve energy dependence – massive quantities that are in more stable locations
Pellenbarg and Max ’14-, At Naval Research Laboratory and MDS Research

Methane hydrates solve dependence – they provide massive amounts of energy
Plumer 13 – Washington Post Reporter (Brad Washington Post, March 12, 2013 “Are methane hydrates the next big energy source? Japan hope so.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/12/japan-tries-to-unlock-the-worlds-biggest-source-of-carbon-based-fuel/))RF

Methane hydrates are key to energy wars – exploiting them solves all shortages
Fitzpatrick, 2010 – Science reporter for the BBC [Michael, methane release looks stronger, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8437703.stm]

=Methane Bursts=

Current Warming is releasing Arctic methane from hydrates – this will trigger runaway warming and extinction
Song 11 – Pulitzer prize winning reporter for Inside Climate News (Lisa Mar 3, 2011, Accessed June 25, 2014. “Up to 40% of Gulf Oil Spill Was Potent Methane Gas, Research Shows” Inside Climate News http://insideclimatenews.org/author/lisa-song)

Explosive methane bursts cause human extinction – the signs are appearing now
Aym 2010 [Terrence [] Doomsday Methane Bubble Rupture?: How the BP Gulf Disaster May Have Triggered a ‘World-Killing’ Event

Rapid Warming causes international conflicts – instability, terrorism and forced migration
Weiss, 10 -- Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and Director Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress **.** (Daniel, Senior Fellow and Director Climate Strategy at the Center for American Progress, Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit, Center for American Progress, January 13, 2010, [], 6/24/14) HL

Methane release from Hydrates is inevitable and will cause catastrophic warming – mining it is the only solution
Anderson 14 – BBC News Business Reporter (Richard BBC News, Published April 16, 2014 “Methane Hydrate: Dirty Fuel or Energy Saviour” []) RF