To the Point
Global Warming and the Rush to Claim the Arctic's Riches
CNN calls it "an irony that even Al Gore might appreciate." As global warming causes the polar icecaps to recede, frozen oceans become navigable and undiscovered oil and natural gas becomes accessible. Russia's most famous Arctic explorer, Artur Chilingarov , has placed a flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readCNN calls it "an irony that even Al Gore might appreciate." As global warming causes the polar icecaps to recede, frozen oceans become navigable and undiscovered oil and natural gas becomes accessible. Russia's most famous Arctic explorer, Artur Chilingarov, has placed a flag on the seabed beneath the North Pole. Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper is out on the Arctic Ocean making plans for an Army training center and a deep-water port. Melting ice may free up both the Northwest Passage and one quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and natural gas. It's the Wild, Wild West all over again. Will the US assert its national interests? What are the prospects for international conflict?
Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster
Dan Konecky
Producer, To the Point
Vanessa Romo
LA School Report
Karen Radziner
Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?
McKenzie Funk
journalist and author
Franklyn Griffiths
Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Toronto
Andrey Kortunov
Russian International Affairs Council