Climate and Politics

Here lies a titanium Russian flag embedded in the North Pole Seabed, another Russian power move. Out of the entire population of the Arctic, about four million, about half live in Russia alone. Maybe Santa is Russian. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, is trying to take control of portions of the Arctic to gain resources such as oil and gas. Of course, this must be done by military force. Putin states, “Natural resources, which are of paramount importance for the Russian economy, are concentrated in this region.”(The Washington Times, Putin's’ Arctic land grab). Navigating through the Arctic waters requires giant ships called icebreakers. The engines drive over the ice and break it up to create channels for boats to access. Apparently, the United States has one, the Polar Star, while Russia is believed to have forty-one and counting. The US Coast Guard is trying to get funding to build more icebreakers but it must pass through Congress for funding, but the US-Mexico border wall is more of a priority.

The Arctic Council

Finland decided to hold a meeting with the entire eight nations of the Arctic in 1991; thus forming the Arctic

Council. “The council has created oil-spill readiness plans and scientific endeavors, and it has divided areas of

search-and-rescue responsibilities among its member nations.” (Bloomberg, How a Melting Arctic Changes

Everything). Many other nations want to become “observers” to these bi-annual meetings. For example, China

and the UK are permanent observers. Other nations must apply to become observers, in 2015 they did not accept

any applicants. They also have organizations as observers like National Geographic and the World

Meteorological Organization. As you can tell, the Arctic Council intrigues many other nations since the Arctic

is considered to be the Top of the World and rich in resources.

When there are disagreements within the Arctic, they are usually settled with “good faith” since it is such a

confined region. In the final days of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the United States were able to come to

an agreement over boundaries in the Bering Strait. “Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both

supported Senate ratification of the Law of the Sea treaty, which provides the framework for countries’ maritime

claims. Not joining the treaty, the White House has argued, might prevent the U.S. from gaining access to

economic resources it could otherwise claim rights to.” (Bloomberg, How a Melting Arctic Changes Everything).

Below is a map of military facilities in the Arctic Circle. As you can see, Russia appears to be large and in

charge. Russia definitely holds the upper hand in this region compared to any other country.

Tragedy

The Arctic is heating up faster than anywhere else on the planet. “Some researchers believe that you

might be able to kayak to the North Pole as early as 2030; others think the sea ice might last until 2040

or longer.”(Rolling Stone, The Melting Arctic Is a Real-Time Horror Story — Why Doesn’t Anyone

Care?). There are alarming consequences for the melting Arctic. Animals are losing habitats, sea levels

are rising rapidly, thawing permafrost could add to the warming, and exposing more fossil fuel reserves.

There are also many protests against companies drilling for oil in the Arctic. For example, in 2015 in

Elliott Bay, Seattle, hundreds of activists sat in their kayaks in the bay protesting the plans for Shell to

drill for oil in the Arctic.

Search and Rescue Territory Division Russian Military Base on Alexandra Land Island

Military Facilities in the Arctic

Sources

“Putin's Arctic Land Grab.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 7 Oct. 2018,
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/7/vladimir-putins-arctic-land-grab-for-russia/.

Rosten, Eric, and Blacki Migliozzi. “How a Melting Arctic Changes Everything.” Bloomberg.com,
Bloomberg, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-arctic/the-political-arctic/.

Micallef, Joseph V. “Polar Politics: The Competition to Control the Arctic Heats Up.” The Huffington Post,
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017,
www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/polar-politics-the-compet_b_11920192.html.

Goodell, Jeff. “The Melting Arctic Is a Real-Time Horror Story - Why Doesn't Anyone Care?” Rolling
Stone, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2018, www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/arctic-ice-melting-716647/.

“Five Reasons Why the Speed of Arctic Sea Ice Loss Matters.” Carbon Brief, Carbon Brief, 29 Oct. 2018,
www.carbonbrief.org/five-reasons-why-the-speed-of-arctic-sea-ice-loss-matters.