The benefits of global warming--regardless of its causes, could well offset any theoretical negative impacts. New energy sources now accessible in the Arctic could well provide cost-effective energy supplies. Of course, there is a race to stake claims in previously inaccessible regions.
Global warming speeds up Race for North Pole
London , 15 January 2008 – Global warming is accelerating the quest for the North Pole’s vast energy resources, which are becoming accessible due to the disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, Jane’s Defence Weekly reports. Claiming Arctic sovereignty is fast becoming a high-stakes – and potentially dangerous – game.
Unsurprisingly, the Arctic nations are locked in territorial disputes. Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the USA are all vying for access. Their claims may become even more contentious should energy reserves be proven to be recoverable in the vast, unforgiving environment.
A preliminary assessment by the US Geological Survey (USGS) suggests the Arctic seabed may hold as much as 25 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and natural gas reserves. Diminishing ice coverage will make extracting resources in the North Pole more feasible.
The Northwest Passage opened for the first time in human memory in 2007 and is poised to become a premium navigation route. As an alternative to the Panama Canal, it would cut roughly 7,000 km from the traditional shipping route between Asia and Europe, saving shippers fuel and time.
No country has clear legal authority to conduct maritime interdictions, ensure safe transit of commercial shippers or conduct routine surveillance of maritime traffic. This lack of clear jurisdiction has created a major security vacuum in the waterway.
http://www.janes.com/press/press/pc080116_1.shtml
Iron Mike;
You mentioned Canada and global warming. Experts predict that if global warming did come to pass, Canada's expanses would become vast fields of agriculture. Canada would become another breadbasket of the world. Brendan is licking his lips at the thought of all those hops.
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