The Arctic is a rich land. Not only is its beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage, but also among the kinds of products we cherish most: oil, gas, lithium, cobalt, gold.
But those treasures aren’t good for us. As our special report on polar science reveals (see Why the Pole-Disappearing Sea Ice is a Planet-wide Crisis), it is difficult to extract the rich resources of the Arctic for commercial benefits.
Carrying oil and gas from this area is an expensive business, even the suspicious tailwinds of sea ice, which help clean new patches of the ocean for drilling. As industry and transportation gradually move towards power and hydrogen output, demand for oil decreases, making it difficult to justify costs.
The same is true for minerals. Greenland is a hotspot for demand material and perhaps one of the reasons why US President Donald Trump is actively pursuing its acquisition. But even leaving Greenland’s lack of infrastructure is difficult for roads to come to this icy island. This is a dangerous place to invest. The landscape changes rapidly as the glacier melts, revealing new, unstable coastlines that threaten landslides and tsunamis.
For hardness business executives, there are places that are easy and less dangerous to mine.
Crossing the Arctic, melted permafrost is destabilizing existing roads, buildings and industrial sites. For business executives at Hardnose, mine is easier and more dangerous.
To see the Arctic as a ticket to prosperous economic growth is a fool’s errand. Instead of viewing it as a ripe area of exploitation, we should treat it as a scientific wonder while respecting the people who live there. After all, as the fastest changing region on the planet, it is a pioneer of our climate future. And there’s still a lot to learn: how quickly does the ice disappear? How fast does the sea level rise? And what happens when the ice runs out?
In a more positive note, researchers are pioneering more inventive ways to unlock these mysteries, from new “drift” labs to ultra-deep ice training and cutting-edge submarines. The Arctic is filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery. We need to let go of the idea of monetizing them.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
