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Scientists Shocked as Arctic Polar Route Revealed
Paladin144 writes "A route unencumbered by perennial sea ice leading directly to the North Pole has been revealed by recent satellite pictures. European scientists indicated their shock as they noted a ship could sail from Europe's northern-most outpost directly to the pole, something that hasn't been possible during most of recorded human history. The rapid thawing of the perennial sea ice has political implications as the U.S., Canada, Russia and the EU jockey for control of the newly opened passages."
"something that hasn't been possible during most of recorded human history."
1. So it happened earlier in recorded human history?
2. There was technology throughout most of human history that recorded Arctic ice cover?
3. Until aircraft, nuclear submarines, nuclear icebreakers, and satellites were invented, nobody was able to say with certainty whether the Northwest Passage existed or not, which was previously the domain of people like Henry Hudson. Indeed, until the technology existed, nobody could really map the icepack with any decent accuracy.
Sweeping statements like the above are simply stupid, as there is no evidence either way. They do make for good inflammatory copy, though.
Oh yeah, in geological terms, human history is less than the blink of an eye. With fossils unearthed recently showing _tropical_ weather in Northern Canada, I think it's safe to say that the Arctic ice cap is a temporary feature.
--
BMO
Shhhh.... don't tell the big polluters about this. Soon enough we're going to be hearing about the benefits of global warming and how it is creating more jobs and empowering the consumer, or something else equally as true.
And that is pretty much what's happening here, except that between the skeptic nutters in the US, the petrochemical-funded astroturf pseudo-science that the Royal Society publicly protested about yesterday. By the time the evidence is clear that not only are massive changes occurring, but that these changes are going to kill tens or hundreds of millions of people, it will be too late.
Hence, We're all doomed. I rest my case.
Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
The real struggle will be for the oil and natural resources previously buried underneath perenial ice cover.
> Melting of the North polar ice cap makes no difference to sea levels.
Indeed.
Unfortunately, Greenland's ice glaciers are also melting, the island is getting greener every year. *That* ice cap does matter.
Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin
Close, with the vast distances to be covered and the high volume of freight, rail would be about the only choice. Even that would have difficulties some seasons and may not be practical year round. Though in the summer solar electric stations along the line could probably provide the power. Rails are more efficient than highways and able to route higher volumes of freight. They're also presumably easier for customs to monitor.
That said, passenger transport is an easy addon once the freight line is there. Personal vehicles can be stowed in car carriers. Passengers can then spend time in their cabins or the restaurant, pub, etc. Roll your car, loaded with gear, on in Portland or Vancouver and off in Anchorage, Anadyr, Magadan, Jakutsk, Wuhan or Seoul.
A highway would be a waste of resources at this point both to build, maintain and use. Just Portland to Anchorage is about 1500 miles, or about 25hrs of driving at an average speed of 60mph -- and that looks to be only about the halfway point.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
You don't need to invade, all you'd need is one dam-busting bomb.
It doesn't matter which ape activates the Monolith
Well, to be honest, human's have a strong tendancy to believe that they are the center of the Universe, and everything that takes place somehow is because we are here (since the collective "we" are _so_ special).
/. and post on here wasn't created without any CO2 being put into the ecosystem.
So by saying that _we_ are the cause of, and potentially can provide the solution to, the environmental changes on this planet, humans put themselves once again in the middle of things.
Could humans be contributing to the warming of the Earth? Sure, I'll buy that. Could it be in conjuction with a natural cycle in preperation of another ice age? Perhaps. I just don't think that pointing the finger at ourselves solves anything. I think it makes folks feel better when they can blame someone. If it's too late, it's too late and there is no value with placing blame. The system you are using to view
As soon as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts, you'll get all the ice back along with other results (human, plant, animal losses). So the Earth will take care of itself. Call it a self-cleaning system. Then the humans that remain, can rebuild and be a little more wise when doing so. But I doubt it.
There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
I never understood this conjecture. I mean, using this logic shouldn't the Netherlands pretty much never have existed?
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
I'm afraid your post will be marked redundant. This is
Most of the papers that are critical of global warming are also published by SCIENTISTS in PEER REVIEWED journals; aren't they also subject to the most rigorous scientific scrutiny? And do you really think there's no pressure for climatologists to 'toe the party line,' so to speak, when it comes to global warming? In fact, I'll go one further, and say that maybe it's because dissenters have trouble securing funding elsewhere that they have to rely on petrochemical companies, who, of course, are only too happy to spend some money muddying the waters of public consensus. Personally, I do believe human behavior is influencing the climate, but let's not pretend that the pro-warming camp doesn't have an agenda of its own.
Dude, the Soviet-Communist governments in Russia and Europe were amongst the worst polluters in history. Brown coal, Chernobyl, plenty of chemical dumps, etc.
History has shown that a standard-issue Commie government doesn't give a shit about the individual - just the power of the state or collective. So Commies don't care if a few individuals get cancer from benzine in the ground water, or chokes to death on sulfuric acid rain? The environmental horrors left behind by the Reds will be with us for a long, long time.
You're an idiot. Half the clips are from Catch Me if You Can. Hell, they even had a scene from the Incredible Hulk in there!
And not to mention that the guy in the submarine had on a pair of goggles with "Diamond Finder" written in masking tape on them...
Yeah... it's so real -_-
The bigger struggle will be for control of trade routes. Countries with the north-most land are claiming ownership of the new open water. Control of trade routes has always been a major factor in economies. Ownership of the north waters will provide a huge amount of economic and political power to a few countries.
Developers: We can use your help.
For centuries people sought the Northwest Passage alternative to the stormy Tierra Del Fuego or narrow Panama Canal. Amundson (first guy to south pole) lead the first successful sea passage exactly a hundred years ago. Now people are routinely doing this in the summer. Pretty soon it might be safe enough for summer commercial ships.
According to this article:
"The Arctic is undergoing nothing less than a great rush for virgin territory and natural resources worth hundreds of billions of dollars..."
"...In 2001, Russia made the first move, staking out virtually half of the Arctic Ocean, including the North Pole. Moscow sought to bolster its claim by sending a research ship north to gather geographical data. On Aug. 29, it reached the pole without the help of an icebreaker - the first surface ship ever to do so."