Arctic Region Case Study

Due to the receding Arctic ice there is now a partially open route through the Northwest Passage during certain parts of the year, which could pose a possible threat to Canada. According to the Canadian Ice Service and the US National Ice Center, the passage is almost clear and more than ever since the beginning of routine monitoring in 1972 (The Northwest Passage: In Dispute and Navigable). The opening of this passage has now sparked the interest of the US and Russia in wanting it to be officially deemed as international waters. The Northwest Passage is 7000km shorter than the Panama Canal from Europe to Asia (Byers). This would mean that international shipping companies would be able to save a great deal of time and money. There could also be the possibility to use super tankers to transport oil which is impossible to do through the Panama Canal (Byers). There are ship manufacturers that are currently designing and building vessels that would be able to withstand ice (Byers). The cruise ship industry is also interested in the use of the passage (Byers). There is a Russian

The Cold War was a state of political and military conflict that tested the vigor and fortitude of a multitude of United States presidents. Throughout the Cold War, various different strategies and foreign policies were tried and tested by US presidents. However, the environment in which these policies operated in did not stay consistent. Correspondingly, the Soviet Union’s potency fluctuated consistently, meaning that during some periods the “Red Scare” was not nearly as threatening as others. The ever-changing state of affairs throughout the Cold War was spawned from a number of reasons, including both the belligerency of what was then the current Soviet administration and the acting effects of previously implemented American foreign policy.

As the Russian Federation get the economic benefits form the melting of the ice in the Arctic with the open of the commercial shipping routes Northern Sea Route, Canada also get the economic benefits through the NWP. If comparing the distance that would be through from East Asia to Europe and the east coast of the United States and Canada using Panama Canal, NWP provides a significantly shorter route. More over, through the NWP the transit fees are not imposed. Canada is seeking to extend its limits of its shelf to underwater Lomonosov Ridge by filling a request with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, while Russian Federation also prepare the same request that the first request by Russia has been rejected by CLCS due to the lack of evidence

Commitment to international security has been a point of conflict between Russia and the U.S. Historically the U.S. has abided by an ideology of universalism, “by which all nations share a common interest in all the affairs of the world” whereas Russia, formerly the USSR, has abided by the sphere-of-influence view, “by which each great power would be assured by other great powers of predominance in its own area of special interest” (Origins, p.26). Therefore, it is imperative that U.S. leadership protects the sovereignty of

Humans have been interacting with the Arctic tundra for centuries now. They have used the land to explore and race, for example, the infamous race between Admunsen and Scott to the South pole. However, the human civilisation on the Arctic tundra have had their implications, both severe and light. Humans have slaughtered whales and seals since very early days, for food as well as commercial and self-profiting purposes. The most recent and paramount problem is global warming and pollution, which is harming the Arctic Tundra far more than the sealing and whaling ever did.

As global warming has helped dissipate the glaciers and icebergs of the Arctic region, new areas are becoming accessible for commercial shipping, fishing and energy development. The Arctic Council (since 1996) has therefore taken up the challenge of mapping out sovereign bodies to legally allocate and utilize the Arctic region’s vast bounds of natural resources; to settle territorial disputes between the primary Arctic Nations. Today, countries such as the UK are discontented by the fact that the Arctic is not being treated as a country which should be divided among the international community.

The increasing global temperatures have caused many problems in Arctic ecosystems. The increasing warmth has caused ice caps to melt, and permafrost to thaw, causing shifts in the ecosystems around them. 1According to Harris (2005) “Permafrost is soil, rock or sediment that is frozen for more than two consecutive years. In areas not overlain by ice, it exists beneath a layer of soil, rock or sediment, which freezes and thaws annually and is called the "active layer".” (p. 17). While the melting of ice may not seem like a big issue at first glance, its effects are truly catastrophic. Many professionals in this field, such as Houghton (2009) have said 2“Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic, with the continuing retreat of

America needs to take advantage of the melting ice in the Arctic to access the massive energy resources there and utilize those energy resources to buy itself time to develop sustainable large-scale energy options including nuclear fusion. We simply need more time to develop a good plan, one that can be well executed and will give America a chance to avoid dependency on other countries in order to meet its energy needs. The strategy of utilizing Arctic energy will enable America to maintain a standard of living that is equivalent to what the present generation of Americans enjoy and is an obligation we owe to future generations.

First things first how is Canada going to lay claim to the fact that any oil they find is rightfully ours if the Arctic is so vast and no real boundaries are drawn. Also don’t think for

So legally we do own parts of the Arctic but what about after 12 miles? Well there is another set of laws in the UNCLOS act. There is a 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone around

The polar ice caps are melting at a pace few nations can afford to ignore, which is yielding potentially profitable sources of energy, minerals, and shipping. But debate is building over whether the Arctic can be developed peaceably. In the 21st century, many experts believe that climate change, technological advances, and ever increasing global demand for resources unlock the economic potential of the Polar North. The melting of Arctic sea ice to record lows in recent years has motivated many nations, mainly those with Arctic Ocean coastlines, such as the United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, and Greenland to reassess their engagements and interests in the icy polar reaches. Canada’s

Since the start of the 21st Century, countries that border the Arctic Ocean have begun to claim sections of the Arctic seabed as their sovereign territory in hopes of obtaining potential oil and gas that may exist there. As a result of this trend, cartographers created maps to show the regions claimed by those countries, though not all maps succeed in presenting the territorial rights in an understandable way. Of the two maps analyzed, the Arctic Sea Routes map triumphs in depicting the regional disputes in a simple way, while the Durham Arctic Map is better suited for someone who desires to understand the conflict beyond basics.

It is now evident that with the warming up of the Arctic Ocean, naval forces of the littoral states can penetrate easily at least during the summer months on the pretext of protecting the explored resources. Also, some scholars predict that the contested sovereignty among the various states will essentially lead to more military presence. Militarization is thus one of the major challenges the region might face in the near future. Norwegian foreign secretary Jonas Gahr Stoere has expressed that the presence of military, navy and coastguard in the region is necessary. Canada has planned to develop deep water naval facility at Nanisivik which lies in the disputed Northwest Passage; to build armed ice-breakers and deployment of patrol ships. Canada

As important as it is, Arctic coastal sea ice plays a vital role in dynamics of the coastline, covers stretches of open water which serve as important biological habitats, and serves as a platform for a broad range of activities by residents and industries (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Sea ice is also important because it is used as a platform for harvesting seals and whales in spring, transport of personnel and supplies to camps, and as a network of trails (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Dangerous effects of climate change include “ice breakouts” which are when large chunks of ice that whalers are using as working areas break off of the main ice blocks and take whaling camps out to sea (Druckenmiller et al.,

The Arctic is global warming’s canary in the coal mine. It is a highly sensitive area which is profoundly affected by the changing climate. The average temperature in the Arctic is rising twice as fast as elsewhere in the world (nrdc.org). Because of this, the ice cap is getting thinner, melting away, and rupturing. Here is an example of this; the largest ice block in the Arctic, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, had been around for 3000 years before it started cracking in 2000 (nrdc.org) By 2002, the Ward Hunt has cracked completely through and had started breaking into smaller pieces. The melting ice caps are affecting the earth and its inhabitants in many ways. In this paper, the following concepts and subjects will be