The first Arctic Summit was touted to be a meeting on how to preserve the Arctic region and investigate / slow down or stop global warming.
Three years later we find out through our friends at Wikileaks that the “environmental” summit was a gigantic lie. Instead of trying to preserve the last pristine ecosystem on our planet and investigating global warming, it appears that 5 governments and many multinational corporations are greedily awaiting the meltdown of the arctic.
It is a travesty in a number of ways. The polar ice regulates the ocean currents, controls ocean depths and sustains a unique ecosystem. The loss or pollution of this area would eliminate several species such as the orca, narwhal, seals and the polar bear to name only a few of the hundreds. Currently the polar bear is facing problems in getting to their food source. A problem that costs the lives of many of the cubs. Where they used to walk, they now have to swim.
The distances involved and the water temperatures kill many cubs and more than a few adults. As the territory shrinks there is backlash in the other animals of the area as well.
Aside from that, the radiation reflection of the ice is about 85%. This is what helps regulate the temperature regions of the earth as well.
The summit, as it turns out, was a meeting between Russia, Greenland, Norway, Canada and the United States on how not to go to war over the region. Why? We have a theory that 25% of all the oil and natural gas resources on the earth, additionally as that pesky ice melts away, they want to open up new shipping lanes and install nuclear reactors. That’s right. Nuclear power plants in the Arctic Ocean. Huge floating ones like this:
Floating Nuclear Reactor
Once again we are reminded of the two faced nature of our government. On one hand we have the EPA and several other regulatory agencies tearing into businesses in the United States to limit the use of chemicals and processes that they believe cause global warming. On the other hand you can be assured that the governments involved and the corporations are slavering with anticipation as those very ice caps that they tout to preserve, melt away allowing them access to the resources underneath.
In fact all of the nations involved are moving military forces into the ready in case of a fight. A cable leaked to Wikileaks shows that the Norwegian Foreign Minister sarcastically thanked his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for making the purchase of new fighter jets “so much easier to justify… to the Norwegian public.”
Russia has begun mobilizing military hardware in the region, even going so far as to plant a Russian flag on the bottom of the ocean beneath the ice cap. Canada is having none of that
“This isn’t the 15th century,” said Peter MacKay, Canada’s Foreign Minister, at the time. “You can’t go around the world and just plant flags and say, ‘We’re claiming this territory’,” he said in a BBC broadcast report from Friday.
The melting of sea ice will result in more shipping, fishing and tourism and the possibility to develop newly accessible oil and gas reserves,” Clinton said.
Additionally, regarding the emerging independence of Greenland,
With Greenlandic independence glinting on the horizon, “the U.S. has a unique opportunity to shape the circumstances in which an independent nation may emerge,” said one WikiLeaks dispatch from US diplomats, that also quoted an official stating: “We have real security and growing economic interests in Greenland.”
Security and economic interests. As Greenland emerges unto itself there will be a number of countries courting it. At the same time militarization continues. The United States Navy is developing new subs and ships to support combat in the region. Alterations to the Navy’s planes also start to take shape to adapt to the challenges of fighting in the area.
The United States isn’t the only power gearing up its navy for a new ocean frontier. Russia is developing and testing its new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile, while Norway and Denmark have been bolstering their militaries with Arctic-capable ships and planes. Canada is developing a military training center in the Arctic and building a new port that will house icebreakers and a fleet of Arctic patrol ships.
A 35 page memorandum acquired from the department of the Navy outlining the programs is found here.
The proposed division and immediate drilling looks like this:
The areas to be drilled are in deep ocean….
This now gives us another thing to think about. What was the urgency for using a dangerous rig like the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf? There are plenty of oil reserves in shallower waters.
Now we know.
All the countries involved are mobilizing military into the region, refining their cold weather capabilities, building floating reactors and deepwater drilling equipment. So whether we face the exploitation and destruction of a pristine and very important ecosystem, or a war between nations for the treasures buried beneath remains to be seen.
Of course none of this is published in our M$M here in the states. We have to go to European and other sources to find it out. Great job on protecting our environment and running a transparent government Mr. Obama.
Goodnight America, I Love You
Grumpy
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