The Best Part About Global Warming

Mystified at how the presidents of the United States and Exxon/Mobil can continue to poo-poo global warming in the face of conclusive evidence?

Well let’s think about this. For what would these greedy bastards be willing to throw away the planet? That’s right — money, money, and more money. The Week:

With average temperatures in the Arctic rising twice as fast as elsewhere in the world, climate scientists predict the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by the summer of 2050…

The melting of the ice could shut down the Gulf Stream and wreak havoc with the world’s coasts and climate. It would spell potential disaster for traditional Arctic communities, for ecosystems, and for plant and animal species—polar bears would drown or starve, and the species could become extinct.

That sounds awful. But wait, there’s an upside. Or should I say, an angle?

The melting ice cap represents a colossal commercial opportunity. Russian icebreakers are already preparing to take tourists to the Pole for $30,000 each this summer, and the thaw could open up some highly lucrative shipping routes. A northeast sea route, north of Siberia, would allow shipping to sail from Europe to northeast Asia, cutting the journey by a third; and the fabled Northwest Passage through Canada’s Arctic archipelago could be open to shipping in a few decades, cutting the journey from Europe to East Asia (now routed through the Panama Canal) by 4,000 miles. The greatest profits, however, are likely to be found under the ice.

Hmmm…and what could they be?

Oil and natural gas. A quarter of the world’s untapped fossil fuels (including 375 billion barrels of oil) are thought to lie under the Arctic, and will become accessible as the ice melts. Industry experts now talk of a “black gold rush,” as companies such as BP Amoco, Statoil of Norway, and the Russian giant Gasprom all race to tap already discovered reservoirs in the region. The Arctic, says Moscow-based energy analyst Christopher Weafer, “is the next energy frontier.”

Oh, this is just too depressing. The writers go on to explain the standing whereby countries that border the North Pole — including us — will stake claims to all that treasure. Everyone has until 2009 to call dibs with the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Connect: