Slashdot Mirror
Northern Sea Route Through Arctic Becomes a Reality
Hugh Pickens writes "Andrew Revkin writes in the NY Times that since 1553, when Sir Hugh Willoughby led an expedition north in search of a sea passage over Russia to the Far East, mariners have dreamed of a Northern Sea Route through Russia's Arctic ocean that could cut thousands of miles compared with alternate routes. A voyage between Hamburg and Yokohama is only 6,600 nm. via the Northern Sea Route — less than 60% of the 11,400 nm. Suez route. Now in part because of warming and the retreat and thinning of Arctic sea ice in summer, this northern sea route is becoming a reality with the 12,700-ton 'Beluga Fraternity,' designed for a mix of ice and open seas, poised to make what appears to be the first such trip. The German ship picked up equipment in Ulsan, South Korea, on July 23 and arrived in Vladivostok on the 25th with a final destination at the docks in Novyy Port, a Siberian outpost. After that, if conditions permit, it will head to Antwerp or Rotterdam, marking what company officials say would be the first time a vessel has crossed from Asia to Europe through the Arctic on a commercial passage."
Yeah well, I would love to get my hands on Volkswagen's new 250mpg commuter car (to be released end-of-this-year), but they refuse to sell it outside Germany. They are deliberately limiting access.
So instead I settle for a mere 70mpg Honda Insight. But I can't recommend it to friends, because it's no longer available. Honda discontinued it and replaced it with a standard 4-door version that gets a mere 45mpg.
So yes we CAN blame the industrialists, if only because they refuse to sell any cars higher than 45-50mpg to U.S. citizens.
Aside-
Yes Al Gore is a hypocrite. He's done nothing to change his lifestyle, still drving SUVS everywhere, while telling all the rest of us to stop consuming so much energy. But then that's typical of kings, nobility, and other leaders. They believe the rules don't apply to them, because they are in a separate, better class than us mere commoners. i.e. Non-equality.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
what the hell are you talking about? The sun's output is variable. There's no averaging it when trying to model future climate change. And if the sun's output was higher in the '80s and '90s than it is in the 2000s, WHICH IT WAS, why does that article state that the sun's output hasn't increased since 1978?