BeIR/webis-touche2020 huggingface dataset:
Antartica: A common heritage to the benefit of mankind

In the XVIth century, countries would make territorial claims around the world by planting a flag on an island or a whole continent, disregarding anything else. Those colonial times are well gone and a great chunk of the Earth's land doesn't have an official ownership and shall be just a common heritage for the benefit of all mankind.instead of being left as a waste of territory, because Antartica shall not just be claimed without arguments by a state, but rather become a reserve and economic boost through its peaceful use. This is not only fair, but also beneficial in a utilitarian perspective. We agree with mankind using the resources that we need in order to make a profit and provide economic boost. Antartica would be no different here, with special provisions being taken in order to avoid major environmental impacts (such a the cal for bids tat would take that into consideration) plus the fact that the majority of Antartica is uninhabited by living species would mean that there would be no impact to them whatsoever. In order to exploit Antartica's resources we would need to study and have a very specific framework (such as the one provided by the Convention on Regulation of Antartic Mineral Resource Activities) to proceed with the necessary ecological guidelines and in the future when technologies allow it to make it possible for resources such as gas and oil to be exploited (such a now happens normally in the Artic). Such as Russia and Canada have the Artic and they take advantage of its resources being under their territory, it would only be fair to the whole of humanity to gain an economic boost off a zone that is a heritage of all. For many poor states that are under grave economic conditions, they will be greatly benefited not only from the profit shares that they will acquire on these resources but also on the specific resources, since the scarcity of many minerals (or fish) has been a problem that may now no longer be for many of them. Fair and good!
The success of Antartic resource exploitation

The Proposition shamelessly argues: because fishing and touring under effective regulation are only causing minor environmental harm (which is a false premise), opening Antarctica up for further exploitation will not be a problem. They purposefully understate the side-effects of both activities in Antarctica. They ignorantly assume that extraction of resources will not trigger a chain reaction for businesses eager to profit out of the “resource treasure”, under which regulations will prove futile, and cause a large-scale ecological crisis. Not to mention, their poor syntax makes it harder for us to make sense out of their already-nonsensical arguments. First, tourism and fishing are not equivalents of resource exploitation in the sense of extracting oil and water. Whereas the regulations on two activities are meant to be sustainable, other resources the Prop speaks of are finite and exhaustible. As mentioned earlier, the status quo with oil being drained out tells us that our current system is such. When applied to Antarctica, there is no guarantee that [[http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica]] that we will soon run out of resources there as well. At the same time, we will be losing an ecological heritage. Second, even tourism and fishing under strict restrictions have entailed severe side-effects. The Prop kindly mentioned that species have gone extinct thanks to fishing. Even with systemic monitoring, fishing of certain species like the Krill or Patagonian toothfish has been a dire concern[[http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica]]. Overfishing not only endangers that particular species, it affects its prey and predator species, disturbing the entire ecosystem. With tourism, accidents frequently occur. This compels us to ban fishery altogether and thereby maintain the natural ecological order. Tourism was not without accidents, either. Te oil spill after grounding of Bahai Paraiso, a tourist ship, as well as other cruise ships have inflicted damage
World's most important reserve of fresh water

Fundamental problem with Prop. is that they fail to consider the compatibility of their own arguments. If the resource problem is as big and urgent as Prop. claims then their argument for orderly, eco-friendly exploitation doesn’t stand because: 1. large lack of resources calls for large scale exploitation, leading to large scale disturbance of Antarctic ecosystem. 2. urgency of the matter hinders planned exploitation with long-term consequences in thought. In large scale projects such as the exploitation of a continent with little research done on its ecology, years of simulation results are required to properly take into consideration the impact of human activity. According to Prop. we don’t have time for such procedures. This also negates the Prop.’s later claim “we are not certain about this and if it were to happen it wouldn’t be on the immediate future”. On one paragraph they argue for urgency. On the other they say it won’t be in the immediate future. CHOOSE YOUR STANCE. Moving beyond the self-contradictions, Prop. has got the wrong problem again. The PRIMARY reason for lack of fresh water is underdeveloped aqua-infrastructure. There is water in Africa, we just don’t have the infrastructure to use them. Building irrigation system, placing pipes to draw up subterranean water supply, establishing sanitation facilities to purify contaminated water are all procedures that can be done with much less cost and effort then an expedition into Antarctica as they can be done inside Africa instead of 5000 miles away from the site of problem. Also technology for such procedures already exist instead of being “under research” in some remote laboratory. As for technologies DESALINATION which is much more feasible and has almost infinite resource in the form of ocean and RAINWATER HARVESTING which is also much more feasible—with actual application in Singapore, Japan, Germany etc.—and eco-friendly are better alternatives than exploiting Antarctica.
Feasibility, and Efficacy

The Prop’s failing in multiple level. 1resource exploitation is certainly not “un”evitable, 2“orderly” is not possible, 3it does not prove whether its policy is actually orderly, and 4therefore it fails to establish the link between the motion and its point. The Prop keeps hammering on is the ongoing energy crisis, yet it does not show logical steps so as to argue inevitability. Alternative energy emerged as a hot topic, and, given the rapid acceleration of technological advancement, the necessity of exploiting Antarctica is doubtful. More importantly, the very attention on Antarctica prevents inevitability. The complex discoveries, territorial proximity, and consequent chaotic territorial claims has frustrated all nations that the only thing they could all agree on was shutting down. That leads up to our second point. As the Prop thankfully explains, avaricious states beget fierce competition, and exploitation would then mean its primary dictionary definition. The Prop is naïve enough to believe the UN and international treaties can control equal distribution, and brave new world actually means a utopia, but the reality never escapes from power politics. The UN—by far the most powerful international organization—is controlled by winners of WWII: one only has to count members of the Security Council to find that out. Many of those powerful countries currently also exert major influences on Antarctica; equal distribution is not their topic of choice. Since the Prop chose to make this a policy debate, it not only has to prove benefits of advocacy but also feasibility and efficacy of its model. However the Prop proves neither of the latter. Despite unimaginable global conflicts the open access will bring, the Prop is bold enough not to propose a secure regulatory process for its model. With all the reasons above, the argument does not address any relevant point regarding the motion. A mere suggestion that “let’s do it orderly” is simply insufficien
Ecological wonder: A guardian of the Earth

Antarctica has distinct characteristics that make its harsh environment also the most fragile. Large-scale artificial changes on the continent’s vast tracts of glaciers could cause damage to the world’s environmental systems and the natural records of our world’s history. Antarctica is an ecological wonder with immense diversity that encompasses various endangered species and ancient species that help revealing the mystery of evolution. Furthermore, Antarctica has a unique natural cycle that acts the world’s environmental regulator. Seasonal changes in the icy continent cause ice shelves to melt and freeze regularly, creating a pattern of cold, fresh water released into the world’s oceans. Resource exploitation will accelerate unnatural melting that cannot be offset. Effects on ocean currents and temperature will be fatal even by the extent of current knowledge. The entire marine ecosystem will be jeopardized; resultant changes in climate will beget disasters bigger than ever before. The worst part is recovery, since less ice will remain as the buffer. We should also note that Antarctica holds an immense amount of historical climatic and evolutionary data. Not only are fossils in play here but also is accumulated ice—the vivid testimony to the climatic changes. While the proposition may again naively claim regulations will be sufficient, the fierce competition will undoubtedly devastate the ecology of Antarctica. Note that the proposition is not only talking about “collateral” damages but frontal destruction: the artificial extraction of fresh water is exactly what we should be afraid of. We should also remember that ramifications of such demolition are majorly still beyond our reach. The damage, already estimated to be fatal, can be a trigger for total annihilation of mankind. We cannot and must not make a premature judgment when we can’t even begin to comprehend the value of our heritage.
A resource treasure for humanity

Naturally as the Proposition identified the wrong problem, their solution is also misguided. Proposition said soon the world’s oil reserves are going to run out soon and therefore there is urgency for exploiting Antarctica. However, that exact urgency is what’s going to shatter the Proposition’s dream of “orderly exploitation”. Countries desperate for securing their own reserves and resources will fight over who gets the most share and the stronger ones will triumph in the end as always. But more important is the fundamental flaw in the Proposition’s solution. As they themselves admitted oil is a finite resource. This means that the reserve in Antarctica is going to run out sooner or later. Therefore, according to the Proposition’s logic, even if the countries cooperated to set a limit of exploitation initially the dwindling resources will justify them in further and further exploiting Antarctica until there is nothing left to exploit. So by definition according to their solution orderly exploitation is not possible. But what happens when all of Antarctica is exploited? What then? Well again according to the Proposition’s solution we’ll just have to look for other “heritages” of mankind to exploit and ruin. And this will continue and perpetuate into a vicious cycle where the only way for mankind to survive is to suck our planet dry until there is nothing left. A solution that is “finite” as the Proposition says cannot be an actual solution. Especially when as in the status quo the finite amount will run out soon. While the amount of oil reserve in Antarctica might seem huge, we have to think in context of the 6 billion people who will be using it. It won’t last long. And then it’s off to find another place to ruin. Opposition believes much better way to use the money, effort and international cooperation that would go into exploiting Antarctica is to fund the search for a permanent alternate fuel. We see high potentials in fields s
The success of Antartic resource exploitation

Currently there are two industries that are being exploded down in Antartica: Tourism and fishing. Both of them get use of the Antartic resources, provide an economic boost, do not have major ecological impacts and are peaceful. This is a good ground we have for expanding the kind of resources to be used. Tourism has been so successful that tenths of thousands go sightseeing yearly with the numbers rising and 95% of this touristic activity is regulated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators which have very clear guidelines, such as limiting disembarking passengers to 100 or limiting the distance on how close they can be to fauna. This not only creates empathy to people that will get the message that it is important to have good environment in Antartica, but also provides some revenue to the clever companies that have started these tours and in the future more revenue could mean that maybe part of it could be destined to scientific operations, for example. Antartica is a rich continent, and humankind should be able to enjoy it. In the case of fishing, the fact that it is illegal has imposed certain limits on the quantity of tons that can be fished, this way avoiding either overfishing or overpopulation and thanks to that there is a The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources that cares for the preservation of fish and this one setting up the Ecosystem Monitoring Programme recording changes on the population of fish and at the same time setting a cap on fishing depending on these numbers as well as monitoring illegal fishing. Unfortunately the numbers of some species have reduced but due to other factors such as changes in the ozone layer but adapting to that a cap has been set, and there is more people that can enjoy fish and also more that receive economical benefits thanks to our great Antartic treasures. These industries work good, and tat's why we should allow more and we beg you to propose this motion.
World's most important reserve of fresh water

Though the opposition has claimed that the extraction of resources from the Antarctica is avoidable, this argument proves that opposition isn’t being rational when we talk about the water issue. A report issued by the 2030 Water Resources Group in 2009 throws some shocking results. Among other information, it predicts that by the year 2030 the demand of water will have surpassed the supply by 50%. [[http://bit.ly/8GnZpu]]. If we take into consideration that the 50 % represents 2, 600, 000, 000 of persons, then we would have a third of the global population in 2030 craving for fresh water, 70% of which is located in the Antarctica. Indeed, even then resource extraction would be evitable. But the cost of doing so would be the suffering of a more than considerable number of people lacking the vital liquid, a cost which seems opposition is willing to pay. We, on the other side, do not believe that it is worth. They also argue that with the help of alternative technologies we won’t need to make use of anything that comes from Earth’s South Pole, however they didn't even present an example of how could these technologies help solving the water crisis. Instead this argument plays on our side, as technological advancements also occur in fields such as the ice treatment. The example is the Ice Research Laboratory in Dartmouth US, which investigates about ice’s properties and is constant contact with companies in order to make resource extraction much more efficient. Last but not least, we would like to cite another example for proving that water resources administration is also feasible in an ordered and equitable way. The European Union; its water supply perspective is focused on centralizing the supply of fresh water for all of the member states. Up to now there are significant advances like the Water Framework Directive which ensures the water quality and denotes will of fulfilling their ultimate goal. On these many reasons we beg you to propose.
Miscellaneous Points

Since the beginning side opposition has claimed that distribution is a major impediment for our policy to be successful. We believe it to be a very limiting argument because of two reasons. First, the motive why we are forced to seek for new resource sources is scarcity. If gold could be found anywhere across the street then we wouldn’t have to worry about it, but what we know is that we have a reduced amount of this resource and thus every extra deposit of it would come handy to mankind as a whole, at least it wouldn’t be rejectable. Same goes for oil and the rest of the minerals. This is why the food example provided at the beginning doesn’t fit in this debate. The difference between food and the resources of Antarctica is that the first is relatively easy to produce; minerals, water and oil are not. Supposing we had a perfect system for allocating this resources, we wouldn’t have enough of them to meet the demand, we would still need more of them. That confusion also gives us the clue of why desalination of water wouldn’t function neither. It is an expensive and inefficient process, the aggregate value of the entire infrastructure needed would turn into a rise of the costs and thus it would be hardly affordable for those people with few resources, the ones mostly affected by the water crisis. Second distribution isn’t the hotspot of this debate. It is true that resource extraction may only happen within a reduced number of actors, but because of the mechanism proposed at the beginning, the examples provided, and the laws of global economy we defend that all countries will get a share of it. And even if distribution isn’t equitable, opposition is missing the fact that resource extraction will create wealth in the form of new jobs, commercial boost, and the introduction of new actives to the world economy. In other words, even if resource extraction didn’t promote an equitable distribution it would still be desirable and bring along positive effe
Summary

Prop. fails to meet burden. It misidentifies the problem and misguides a solution in multiple levels. The fundamental question: why exploit Antarctica? Prop. gives a long list of resources, some of which are essential to the modern industries. But this is not a research conference; Prop. must PROVE why we NEED TO extract resources from Antarctica. Before “why Antarctica,” let’s see why extract MORE in the first place. Prop. claims it’s for the poor; we all know better that the problem is not lack of supply but distribution. Dumbfounded Prop. gives no response to this rebuttal. So what’s left is a one-liner of “make a profit and provide economic boost.” Prop. takes the reason for exploitation granted, as it does on definition of resources and exploitation, yet its cheap emotional appeal confuses us on whether it actually knows why. And what happened to all the alternative energy in significant progress that more extraction is inevitable? Failure to prove reason for extraction alone gives the debate to us. Why Antarctica: it’s a massive storage. True: but it’s also true that Antarctica is an ecological wonder. Its own unique ecosystem, its testimony to evolutionary and climatic changes, and its role as the thermal regulator makes it invaluable. Prop’s claim so far: “the majority of Antartica is uninhabited by living species … there would be no impact to them whatsoever”. ABOMINABLE. Antarctica’s control of earth temperature, ocean current, and sea level is literally beyond imagination, and it’s crucial even by our knowledge now: and if Prop. can fake sympathy for the poor, shouldn’t it at least show respect to the living species in Antarctica? Extraction of fresh water is just another proof of the Prop’s ignorance on environment. Also global conflicts will occur. Any model will create chaos. Free competition: still vivid are Russian aggressions in the North Pole. Few powers monopolize. A more or less equal model: it’s inconsistent with what happened to Greenland (Denmark) and the North Pole (sliced in pieces); South America, Australia, etc. will object. Above all, powerful states won’t overlook; The UN Security Council still restricted to six winners of WWII, Kyoto protocol in which the US dropped out “because China wasn’t included”, and derided Copenhagen Convention are enough proofs. Yet Prop. does not care. It chooses that “ideal,” criticizes US for being picky, and even goes to say it does not bear burden to prove efficacy. When it is clear that failure of that model will bring conflicts, when the model will never pass the UN, the winners’ puppet, when even if it passes, powerful nations conspicuously won’t cooperate, as China & Russia didn’t to North Korea sanctions—when the regulation will surely work despite inevitable necessity that can break the CURRENT regulation ACCORDING TO PROP.—it has guts to say “I’m not responsible.” On that note, we rest our case.
A resource treasure for humanity

All of the non-renewable resources (including natural gas, oil and drinking water) are finite and that means that we will run out of them someday, however Antartica could provide that extra boost that humanity needs to survive for many more years, and this great reserve shall be used in the future. Oil is essential not only as a fuel but also for plastics, creams and many other goods tat are produced by it and so the great daily consumption tat it has has risked its existence, with some calculus estimating that in 10 years the supply will not be able to meet the demand and from there the reserves will drop dramatically, creating a chaos in human civilization.[[einsider.org/news/article.asp?id=0423]] and maybe not having oil at all in 20 years, with reserves of natural gas only expected to last for 20 more years. Antartica could be the solution for that. The Artic is estimated to have13% of the World's oil reserves (not contemplating Antartica)[[nytimes.com/2008/07/24/business/24arctic.html]] and we take advantage of that, and while the Antartic is even greater and could be the world's greatest resources reserve, but humanity is turning a blind eye on such a great and rich piece of land that as we said, should be a heritage for all of humankind. Let's also take the example of drinking water. Millions of people have died in the lat years because of problems related to droughts and with environmental problems increasing, the situation will be worse soon, while the majority of drinking water reserves are actually found on the ice and believe me, Antartica has lots of it. While we could save lives, we are not doing it for a childish whim of leaving Antartica untouched, just for the sake of it. That is not only inhumane but also stupid. We could also mention minerals that are very scarce (as rare sands) but could be found here. Do we really prefer people freezing to death or dying because of droughts when Antartic resources could save them? Obviously, the answer is no