[REDRAFT] Convention on International Oil Spills

[Rovikstead]

I want to begin by sincerely apologizing to the people of the World Assembly for the submission of a clearly incomplete and rushed proposal to be voted into a resolution. There are many flaws ranging from simple grammar errors to content that, as a consequence of poor wording, has had its legality questioned extensively. While I stand firmly behind the conviction that oil spills in oceanic and international waters is an issue that should concern the World Assembly, I believe that the resolution, “Convention on International Oil Spills,” fails to effectively deal with this issue, necessitating its repeal. I know a handful of instant repeals have been proposed, but I endorse Lord Dominator's as it provides the strongest arguments for its repeal in great detail.

In anticipation of this repeal, I have begun to craft its replacement. The first draft of the replacement retains many characteristics of the former resolution, but attempts to remedy its grammar mistakes and ambiguities, and takes ideas and constructive criticism from CoIOS.

I strongly encourage everyone to share their thoughts. I will take weeks if not several months to get this proposal to where it needs to be.

Convention on International Oil Spills
A resolution to increase the quality of the world’s environment, at the expense of industry.
|Category: Environmental | Industry Affected: Mining | Proposed by: Rovikstead |

The World Assembly,

Recognizing oil as a natural resource that is relied upon by many as a common source of fuel and energy, and as a good that forms the basis of an extensive, lucrative industry for most member nations;

However concerned with the hazards of unsafe extraction of oil in oceanic bodies, especially with the consequences it may have on marine ecosystems and the quality of nations’ water sources, posing health risks including but not limited to:

1. Poisoning and killing off maritime life;
2. Spurring unnatural growth in certain algae populations that could threaten underwater plants’ ability to produce oxygen;
3. Stunting the larval development and growth of maritime creatures;
4. Contaminating member nations’ water, causing the spread of hazardous carcinogens and cancer-causing agents;

Further concerned by the demanding, nearly insurmountable task of cleaning up after an oil spill and the inevitable consequences that come with it;

Desiring to establish effective preventative measures to decrease the likelihood of oil spillage in international waters, and to facilitate their clean-up through comprehensive legislation and through the dedication and work of the World ASsembly Disaster Bureau;

Hereby:

1. Obligates member nations to establish appropriate legislation prohibiting the usage of faulty equipment in maritime oil extraction, to create and uphold standards of safety in oil extraction operations, and to design oil spill emergency response plans in the event of an oil spill;

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

3. Mandates that all oil extraction operations working in international waters take the following precautions to prevent oil spillage:

1. Inspect these operations thoroughly and check for any deterioration and leaks in equipment annually, especially oil drums, generators, and associated plumbing;
2. Test oil containers for integrity regularly (at least semi-annually);
3. Clean oil tanks every two to three years to prevent corrosion and rusting o the tank;
4. Ensure that spill kits are easily accessible at oil extracting operations;

4. Mandates that member nations, in the event of an oil spill, do the following:

1. Make a reasonable effort to close off and contain the oil spill to prevent its spread;
2. Deter wildlife from entering oiled areas from the spill to the best of the nation’s ability;

5. Strongly urges that member nations, in addition to the above provisions, do the following in an event of an oil spill:

1. Spray dispersants, a type of chemical agent that makes oil molecules more easily biodegraded, on the area of spillage;
2. Use biological agents (enzymes, nutrients, etc) to further facilitate in the biodegradation of oil molecules;
3. Set booms made of absorbent material in the water along the edges of the oil spillage to attempt to close off the oil and prevent it from spreading;
4. Rinse oiled shorelines and ruses using hoses that supply low or high-pressure water streams, and collect the runoff with plastic-lined trenches and sorbent material
5. Till and rake the shores and land penetrated by oil so that it can be exposed and evaporated, left to degrade naturally, or washed with pressure hoses;

6. Extends the authority of the World Assembly Disaster Bureau to:

1. Launch extensive relief efforts in the event of an oil spill in international waters;
2. Investigate allegations of dangerous and reckless mismanagement of a maritime oil extraction operation at the request of the member nation;
3. Aid in the rehabilitation of the wildlife ecosystems that were damaged from the oil spill at the request of the member nation;
4. Finance national projects that aim to establish more safeguards against maritime oil spills at the request of the member nation.

[Isansland]

This is a good resolution, but you should think about taking out this part as it seriously damaging economy:

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

[Rovikstead]

This is a good resolution, but you should think about taking out this part as it seriously damaging economy:

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

The real concern in this resolution is that nations are being forced to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

(OOC: As hasn’t been said, that was optional. There is no forceful requirement to comply. It also doesn’t say by how much, so reducing just one joule per decade would count. It’s one of the many ambiguities that led to Zone 71/Rovikstead wanting to repeal the resolution.)

[Isansland]

This is a good resolution, but you should think about taking out this part as it seriously damaging economy:

(OOC: As hasn’t been said, that was optional. There is no forceful requirement to comply. It also doesn’t say by how much, so reducing just one joule per decade would count. It’s one of the many ambiguities that led to Zone 71/Rovikstead wanting to repeal the resolution.)

I don't get it

[Kenmoria]

I don't get it

(OOC: It is true that the point I first made, which Rovisktead quoted, no longer applies, since the the clause has been upgraded to “Obligates”. However, the second part still stands. A nation could reduce a few joules of their fossil fuel usage every few years and it would still be a reduction, so the clause would still be complied with by the nation.)

[Isansland]

I don't get it

(OOC: It is true that the point I first made, which Rovisktead quoted, no longer applies, since the the clause has been upgraded to “Obligates”. However, the second part still stands. A nation could reduce a few joules of their fossil fuel usage every few years and it would still be a reduction, so the clause would still be complied with by the nation.)

Original

2. Urges member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, and switch to alternate, eco-friendly energy sources including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

was changed to

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

So pretty much it's even worse now.

[Ransium]

3. Mandates that all oil extraction operations working in international waters take the following precautions to prevent oil spillage:

1. Inspect these operations thoroughly and check for any deterioration and leaks in equipment annually, especially oil drums, generators, and associated plumbing;
2. Test oil containers for integrity regularly (at least semi-annually);
3. Clean oil tanks every two to three years to prevent corrosion and rusting o the tank;
4. Ensure that spill kits are easily accessible at oil extracting operations;

5. Strongly urges that member nations, in addition to the above provisions, do the following in an event of an oil spill:

1. Spray dispersants, a type of chemical agent that makes oil molecules more easily biodegraded, on the area of spillage;
2. Use biological agents (enzymes, nutrients, etc) to further facilitate in the biodegradation of oil molecules;
3. Set booms made of absorbent material in the water along the edges of the oil spillage to attempt to close off the oil and prevent it from spreading;
4. Rinse oiled shorelines and ruses using hoses that supply low or high-pressure water streams, and collect the runoff with plastic-lined trenches and sorbent material
5. Till and rake the shores and land penetrated by oil so that it can be exposed and evaporated, left to degrade naturally, or washed with pressure hoses;

I still find these provisions overly prescriptive and assumptive. I'm not a huge fan of future tech RP arguments when they are used to invalidate underlying interesting questions of scarcity economics. However, I do feel you shouldn't be making so many assumptions about the equipment being used and what the best practices for cleaning up an oil spill are. Even in modern tech, real life, these recommendations can vary in how practical they are or whether they are truly the best available practices based on local conditions, then nature of the spill etc. By making such concrete and inflexible requirements you are actually diminishing the space that decision makers have to effectively address the spill and could create a worse outcome for it. I think all this would be more artfully abstracted away. If such abstractions would leave too much overlap with existing legislation, then I question the need for this in the first place.

[Rovikstead]

I still find these provisions overly prescriptive and assumptive. I'm not a huge fan of future tech RP arguments when they are used to invalidate underlying interesting questions of scarcity economics. However, I do feel you shouldn't be making so many assumptions about the equipment being used and what the best practices for cleaning up an oil spill are. Even in modern tech, real life, these recommendations can vary in how practical they are or whether they are truly the best available practices based on local conditions, then nature of the spill etc. By making such concrete and inflexible requirements you are actually diminishing the space that decision makers have to effectively address the spill and could create a worse outcome for it. I think all this would be more artfully abstracted away. If such abstractions would leave too much overlap with existing legislation, then I question the need for this in the first place.

OOC: I understand that the RP tech levels were a large point of contention for many WA members, and I will try to fix this as best as I can before submitting the replacement. Do you have any recommendations on how to adapt these clauses to make them apply to most nations regardless of tech level?

(OOC: It is true that the point I first made, which Rovisktead quoted, no longer applies, since the the clause has been upgraded to “Obligates”. However, the second part still stands. A nation could reduce a few joules of their fossil fuel usage every few years and it would still be a reduction, so the clause would still be complied with by the nation.)

Original

2. Urges member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, and switch to alternate, eco-friendly energy sources including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

was changed to

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

So pretty much it's even worse now.

OOC: As Kenmoria pointed out, while the "Obligates" clause now holds WA nations legally responsible for taking some strides in reducing fossil fuel reliance, nations can do as much or as little as they want to meet this mandate. While I do hope to make this clause less ambiguous and maybe add something along the tune of "obligates members make reasonable and environmentally-friendly strides to reduce fossil fuel reliance," but regardless, the clause will be written so that it doesn't negatively affect fossil fuel-reliant nations to anything close to a debilitating extreme.

[Rovikstead]

Bump

[Ru-]

We were opposed to the repeal mutterings initially, but now that we have had a chance to read this potential replacement, we must admit that it is significantly better and we would like to see this resolution on the books. Full Support.

We understand and somewhat share the reservations about clause 2, however as it is written it only has the WA mandating that member nations at least explore the feasibility of alternative energy options, which is something we all should already be doing on our own anyway.

[Lord Dominator]

2. Further obligates member nations to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and to instead switch to alternate, eco-friendly sources of energy including solar, wind, or geothermal energy;

"I may be being pedantic here, but I would personally suggest 'including but not limited to' as a wording."

3. Mandates that all oil extraction operations working in international waters take the following precautions to prevent oil spillage:

1. Inspect these operations thoroughly and check for any deterioration and leaks in equipment annually, especially oil drums, generators, and associated plumbing;
2. Test oil containers for integrity regularly (at least semi-annually);
3. Clean oil tanks every two to three years to prevent corrosion and rusting o the tank;
4. Ensure that spill kits are easily accessible at oil extracting operations;

"I think ambassador, you might do better to compile these into more general maintenance requirements, particularly of the first two sub-clauses. Also, your 'of' is missing an 'f' in the second sub-clause."

5. Strongly urges that member nations, in addition to the above provisions, do the following in an event of an oil spill:

1. Spray dispersants, a type of chemical agent that makes oil molecules more easily biodegraded, on the area of spillage;
2. Use biological agents (enzymes, nutrients, etc) to further facilitate in the biodegradation of oil molecules;
3. Set booms made of absorbent material in the water along the edges of the oil spillage to attempt to close off the oil and prevent it from spreading;
4. Rinse oiled shorelines and ruses using hoses that supply low or high-pressure water streams, and collect the runoff with plastic-lined trenches and sorbent material
5. Till and rake the shores and land penetrated by oil so that it can be exposed and evaporated, left to degrade naturally, or washed with pressure hoses;

"I do think these requirements are a bit much in terms of micromanagement, you might be better off using a committee or more general mandates to clean up oil spills in the most efficient and eco-friendly way available, to account for differences in tech and resources available.

Otherwise, this looks pretty good."

[Kenmoria]

“A semicolon is missing from the end of clause 5d, and needs to be added. Also, something about clause 6 doesn’t flow correctly when read aloud, although I can’t see any actual errors. I suggest adding ‘include’ after ‘to’ in clause 6 proper and changing the verbs from the subclauses to ‘-ing’ form to rectify this.”

[Araraukar]

Spurring unnatural growth in certain algae populations that could threaten underwater plants’ ability to produce oxygen;

OOC: But photosynthetic algae are not plants. Neither are things like kelp.

EDIT: I just realized this was a bump from two weeks ago... I may be a bit tardy these days when being asked to provide feedback. My apologies, if you're currently not working on this, Rovik.