War over the Arctic? Global warming skeptics distract us from security risks.

Biased and bordering on ridiculous journalism. This writer makes it sound like the arctic ice is melting and going away forever. In truth the arctic ice recedes every summer and every summer the tundra becomes impassable - this is nothing new. Yes, the arctic ice after 1995 did recede by almost 40%, but what he does not tell the readers is that almost all of it has grown back in recent years. This is all old rehashed alarmism that has been exhaustively discredited. We have been exploiting resources in the arctic regions ever since World War Two and for anybody that is paying attention it is much easier to drill when the weather is cold. Northern sovereignty has always been an issue for Canada because we don’t have a substantial population based in the north. It is highly unlikely that Canada would ever choose a military option in a border dispute with the United States or even Denmark. Russia may cause mischief but she would not set off an international incident unless it was clearly in her national interest – which it is not.

This will only cease to be an issue for Canada when we build an infrastructure in the north that allows Canadians to live and work there. The Dominion Frontier Project which proposes building hydro electric dams in the great rivers that flow into Hudson Bay to produce hydrogen fuel, would rapidly create such an infrastructure.


Global warming skeptics must recognize that real -- not predicted -- climate change is already turning the Arctic into a potential military flash point.
Washington

Skepticism about climate change is going mainstream, and that is worrying. One-third of Americans now say global warming doesn’t exist – triple the percentage of three years ago.
This defiance of science isn’t just harmful for the environment. It’s also distracting us from growing threats to US national security. Actual – not theoretical – effects of climate change are turning the Arctic into a potential military flash point. Please tell us what those actual effects are so we can check your data. Is he blaming the summer on global warming?

Expected melting of summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean means greatly expanded access to increasingly scarce fossil fuels. It also means tensions over Arctic real estate. What the Middle East was to the second half of the 20th century, the Arctic could be to the first half of the 21st. Because America has been so slow to wake up to climate change, it’s lagging behind in protecting its Arctic interests.
“Since 1995 we have lost 40 percent of the North Pole’s icecap,” said Professor Robert Huebert, of the University of Calgary and an adviser to the Canadian government. Mr. Huebert and other experts spoke at a recent conference on climate change security risks hosted by the Center for National Policy. “It is not a matter of if, but when, the ice will be gone,” he said. Read more.