Breaking the Ice

Back in April I reported on an article in Foreign Affairs that discussed the implications of global warming making the Arctic Ocean more accessible. The subject has finally reached the mass media. And it tells basically the same story - we are just not ready to compete in this market.

Our long-time competitor, Russia, is better prepared than we are. They have more ice breakers, seven to our two. Their nuclear-powered ice breakers are bigger and better than ours, they can move through nine feet of solid ice, we have trouble at 6.5 feet. All of which translates to their being better prepared to tap the resources that are acknowledged to be significant, as much as one-fourth of the undiscovered oil and natural gas.

Durham University in England has created a map that shows areas claimed by the competing nations. A larger version can be found here.