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Capitalizing on Melting Polar Ice

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the 05ers-just-doesn't-have-the-same-ring dept.

efuzzyone writes "As an affect of global warming, the polar ice caps seem to be slowly receding, what do you do? The NYT reports it is a gold rush, 'the Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars.' Also, 'polar thaw is also starting to unlock other treasures: lucrative shipping routes, perhaps even the storied Northwest Passage; new cruise ship destinations; and important commercial fisheries.'"

3 of 505 comments (clear)

  1. Nah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sacramento is in the middle of a valley with a big river (coincidentally *also* called Sacramento) running through it. If anything, Sacramento will be on the bottom of the California Archipelago's Great Central Sea.

  2. Re:Anyone.. by Yorrike · · Score: 5, Informative
    Having almost finished a geology degree (3 exams to go), I've run through the exercise of calculating exactly how high the ocean would go if the ice caps melted many a time.

    Here's the thing, if there's more water, there's more weight on the crust, which will subside a bit. Cutting a long story short and without explaining the ins and outs of crustal isostasy, if your house, water source and farmland is above 75m in elevation, you'll be alright.

    Otherwise, to quote Tool's very appropriate song Aenima, learn to swim.

    --

    Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?

  3. Re:Yep by jcr · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, the Kyoto treaty was unanimously rejected by the senate. See Senate Resolution 98 (1997).

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."