OPINION: Arctic race is on

Most Canadians have never heard of Artur Chilingarov even though he is a Hero of the Russian Federation.  This title was awarded to the polar explorer and oceanographer in 2008 after he piloted a Mir submersible 14,000 feet down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted a titanium Russian flag at the North Pole.

It was a bold, controversial move at the time (also very dangerous) and it represented a Russian claim that the arctic is an extension of her continental shelf.  Claims have also been made by four other bordering nations including Canada, Norway, the U.S. and Denmark, the owner of Greenland. In view of recent unexpected events these claims are suddenly very important.

On Aug 26  the Arctic sea ice melted and retreated to its smallest size on record.  It wasn’t supposed to melt so quickly and so soon.  Scientists are alarmed because they don’t know what’s going on.

Until now it was expected that the Arctic region would be ice-free sometime later this century, if at all.  These days the most optimistic forecast has the ice cap melting in 2030 and some say it will be gone by the end of this decade or even sooner.  If you have an ice fishing hut anywhere on the Arctic Ocean you better get it out of there before it sinks out of sight.

There are some researchers who claim this is a global emergency.  They say we have already passed the tipping point for Arctic sea ice and soon we will push Greenland into an irreversible melt that will continue for centuries resulting in a four to nine metre rise in ocean levels. 

The polar ice cap acts as a planetary air conditioner. Once it disappears scientists foresee an accelerating trend with profound implications. It could affect ocean currents like the Gulf Stream and change the path of the Jet Stream in the atmosphere. 

Environmentalists predict that much of the Northern Hemisphere will experience an increase in the amount and severity of extreme weather.   They say we already have a growing number of deadly typhoons and hurricanes, tornadoes, devastating floods, extended drought, heat waves and wildfires. Let’s look on the bright side.

Much of the civilized world including us, is lining up for the economic opportunities and untold treasure that can be realized by exploiting the resources hidden for so long beneath the ice. 

Why, right at our very doorstep the ice cap has been hiding 25 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. 

If you think the tar sands was something to behold, just wait until you see the tar tundra. 

I mean it’s only tundra, right?  Who cares what gets spilled on it. It’s just going to melt and leak greenhouse gases into the air anyway. 

Besides, it’s already starting to look like tundra in Northern Alberta so we might as well extend the devastation all the way to the former Arctic Ocean.

If we play our cards right we can continue our dependency on fossil fuels for 10 more years or so.  Why, the boom could last well into the next decade.  By then the nouveau riche Inuit all across the north will be driving F-150s with Skidoos in the back. 

They may not even notice that their culture and way of life has disappeared, too. I wonder how much they’ll get for it.  Will it be enough to buy a new one?

I know the North Pole is doomed but I have one nagging concern, trivial but far-reaching. What happens to Santa Claus?

Future children are bound to ask questions. It will be hard to explain what happened to Santa’s workshop when the ice melts. 

I can’t think of a single story that a six-year-old would buy.  That could be a big problem.

Comrade Chilingarov invites other nations to plant their flags as well.  The North Pole is 14,000 feet straight down. The race is on.

There’s money to be made but there are bound to be consequences.

I’m sure we can cope with the negative fallout and a few will actually benefit from the future hardship and disaster but some things will not survive.  Some things will become extinct and others, perhaps Santa Claus himself, will disappear and be forever irreplaceable.  That’s what makes me sad.