Riches await as Earth's icy north melts

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070324/ap_on_sc/arctic_bonanza;_ylt=As3FCXkhXz8g3svSm1hrUKNxieAA
Riches await as Earth's icy north melts


By DOUG MELLGREN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Mar 24, 6:34 PM ET



HAMMERFEST, Norway - 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.

The latest report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the ice cap is warming faster than the rest of the planet and ice is receding, partly due to greenhouse gases. It's a catastrophic scenario for the Arctic ecosystem, for polar bears and other wildlife, and for Inuit populations whose ancient cultures depend on frozen waters.

But some see a lucrative silver lining of riches waiting to be snatched from the deep, and the prospect of timesaving sea lanes that could transform the shipping industry the way the Suez Canal did in the 19th century.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic has as much as 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas. Russia reportedly sees the potential of minerals in its slice of the Arctic sector approaching $2 trillion.

[havocmom]

1. Swell, global warming is good for extraction industries.

Probably good for arms dealers to. Looks like there will be whole new land areas to have wars over.

Did any of the corporate geniuses think to bottle the water from all that melting ice? Potable water gonna be MUCH more important than oil pretty damned soon. Wondering if EXXON has tanker ships full of the stuff anchored somewhere... waiting.