Last month, climate scientists, media and 'green' tourists, ironically, were lodged in an ice jam in Antarctica while hoping to observe the effects of global warming on the South Pole. Meanwhile up north in the Arctic Circle, military scientists view the diminishing ice pack as fact. But the Navy in a soon-to-be-published Strategy Paper makes no public comment as to why climate change is happening. It don't appear to be wringing its hands in doom and angst, either, or laying blame on industrial development by humans. Instead the Navy and Coast Guard seems to be rolling up their sleeves to deal with the situation.
Climate change has had a visible and direct impact on the Arctic region, the Navy concludes in the paper, as noted in a Wall Street Journal report (January 13, 2014). "The inevitable opening of the Arctic will essentially create a new coast on America's north," says Admiral Jonathan Greenert.
The expanding navigable area of the Arctic Ocean will open up shipping lanes for faster transport of goods and commodities between China and Europe. More open seas will also give energy companies greater access to offshore oil and gas in regions controlled by the U.S., reports the WSJ. Military officials estimate the value of these activities to be $1 trillion.
When the Navy's Strategy Paper is released (in the next couple of weeks), it will be nice to read a report about global warming that doesn't lead with a homage to the modeling efforts of scientists and to the consensus of environmentalists and politicians that humans are responsible for the situation. It looks like this paper will provide a strategy for doing something, rather than to stop doing something. Subliminally the message might be about opportunity versus liability. Ironically, the easier availability of additional fossil fuels in the Artic may make coping with problems said to be caused by fossil fuels easier.
Climate change has had a visible and direct impact on the Arctic region, the Navy concludes in the paper, as noted in a Wall Street Journal report (January 13, 2014). "The inevitable opening of the Arctic will essentially create a new coast on America's north," says Admiral Jonathan Greenert.
The expanding navigable area of the Arctic Ocean will open up shipping lanes for faster transport of goods and commodities between China and Europe. More open seas will also give energy companies greater access to offshore oil and gas in regions controlled by the U.S., reports the WSJ. Military officials estimate the value of these activities to be $1 trillion.
When the Navy's Strategy Paper is released (in the next couple of weeks), it will be nice to read a report about global warming that doesn't lead with a homage to the modeling efforts of scientists and to the consensus of environmentalists and politicians that humans are responsible for the situation. It looks like this paper will provide a strategy for doing something, rather than to stop doing something. Subliminally the message might be about opportunity versus liability. Ironically, the easier availability of additional fossil fuels in the Artic may make coping with problems said to be caused by fossil fuels easier.
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