Friday, August 23, 2013

The Northeast Passage

If Columbus had found this, things would be much different today:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/russia-moves-to-promote-northeast-passage-through-arctic-ocean-a-917824.html


It is clear that ice will continue to disappear in the Arctic. Experts believe that the North Pole will be completely ice-free in the summer months by as early as 2030, while others say that this won't happen until 2050 or 2080. In that case, both the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage, north of Alaska, which remains frozen today, will be open to shipping.

The seaway across the pole would then be the shortest route between continents. And it would come with another advantage: No country could claim it exclusively for itself. [That is, the route is not dependent on something like the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal.]

Who says climate change is bad?

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