Fighting over the Arctic

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Fighting over the Arctic

Barren and uninhabited, Hans Island is very hard to find on a map.

Yet these days the Frisbee-shaped rock in the Arctic is much in demand - so much so that Canada and Denmark have both staked their claim to it with flags and warships.

The reason: an international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen north.

More...

A fascinating read!

Race, indeed.

so there fighting in space and in the polar cool^^

Another great thread loam - and this bit really set me on my butt:

Global warming is also bringing an unexpected bonus to American transportation company OmniTrax Inc., which a decade ago bought the small underutilized Northwest Passage port of Churchill, Man., for a token fee of $10.

The company, which is private, won't say how much money it is making in Churchill, but it was estimated to have moved more than 500,000 tons of grain through the port in 2007.

Managing director Michael Ogborn said climate change was not something the company thought about in 1997.

1. In 1997, climate change was already evident in the Arctic, and had already led to opening up Canada's Yukon for homesteading - so the boyz knew the Port would soon be very profitable. Whatever they say now.

2. A "token" fee of $10??? I'm thinkin' MAJOR kickbacks here.

3. Gary Filmon's Conservative Party government brokered this deal.


I consider myself unfortunately jaded - then I learn something like this and realize I am still quite innocent...