Check this out - THE ARCTIC extract from the week 6/10/2014 Here is the reason: the sea ice in the Arctic is melting. This is not an opinion; it is an observed phenomenon, documented by satellite imagery. There is variation in the amount of ice from year-to-year, but the last 20 years have seen the most pronounced thawing trend in recorded human history. This is climate change, and its not just an academic point to score. A better understanding of why the thaw is happening will help us plan for a smarter, safer future. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 13 percent of the worlds remaining oil and 30 percent of its natural gas are in the region, as well as minerals important to todays high tech economy. Its not been technically or economically feasible to confirm whats there, but the surrounding geology and reserves facilitate an educated guess, and the melting ice is starting to make it possible to explore for and produce Arctic resources. Another sign that this is an economic challenge: Shell, having already spent $6 billion dollars in the Alaskan Arctic, has announced new plans to drill off Alaskas northern coast, despite a mishap in the area last year. Exxon-Mobil is drilling a $3.2 billion test well in the Kara Sea right now, though the future of the project may be at risk due to Russias invasion of Ukraine and U.S. sanctions. The area is still difficult and dangerous to transit and that is likely to be the case for some time to come, and specialized polar equipment is very expensive. Consider Canadas ambitious plans to build a new naval base at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage. As those costs ballooned past $200 million, Canada quietly scaled back to a 15-person seasonal outpost with no airstrip. For that matter, the Congressional Arctic Working Group notwithstanding, it remains to be seen if Congress is willing to foot the $1 billion bill for a single polar icebreaker. ....and so business as usual. No interest or concern about The Arctic. It is just up for grabs as soon as all, or most of the ice melts. THE TOWN OF CHURCHILL IN MANITOBA, CANADA, IS KNOWN AS THE POLAR BEAR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD Every fall, along the bay’s shore, polar bears wait for the ice to form so they can hunt seals and build fat reserves. Their diet primarily restricts them to areas that are heavily populated with ringed and bearded seals, polar bears can migrate thousands of miles during a hunting season. Their annual migration and trek onto the ice is vital for their survival, as their bodies demand a high-fat, high-protein diet to withstand the arctic winter. But because of warmer temperatures, the Canadian waters are freezing later and thawing earlier, diminishing the amount of time these bears have to hunt. scientists have determined that the current polar bear population can survive about 160 days without ice. Given the data and the prospect that conditions do not change, one of the world’s preeminent polar bear experts predicts that two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population could disappear in the next fifty years.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 01:32:41 +0000