Michael McCarthy: The scramble for the arctic is already underway
Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy, formerly the Independent’s longstanding Environment Editor, now its Environment Columnist, is one of Britain’s leading writers on the environment and the natural world. He has won a string of awards for his work, including Environment Journalist of the Year (three times) and Specialist Writer of the Year in the British Press Awards in 2001. In 2007 he was awarded the Medal of the RSPB for “Outstanding Services to Conservation,” in 2010 he was awarded the Silver Medal of the Zoological Society of London, and in 2011 the Dilys Breeze Medal of the British Trust for Ornithology. In 2009 McCarthy published Say Goodbye To The Cuckoo (John Murray), a study of Britain’s declining migrant birds.
Friday 22 June 2012
Related articles
It is just beginning to become clear that an ominous new age is dawning for Arctic, one of the world most unspoiled ecosystems: a stampede for the region’s minerals and other natural resources, oil and gas above all, as the exploitation of them is being made possible by the rapid melting of the Arctic Ice by the warming climate.
You could compare this to the American gold rushes, but perhaps in its scale it resembles even more the “scramble for Africa” at the end of the 19th century, when European powers led by Britain, France, Germany and Belgium rushed to divide between them the African continent, then being opened to outsiders in a similar way.
The scramble for the Arctic will involve both giant corporations such as Shell and Exxon and also nation states, especially the Arctic countries which surround the North Pole, and which, as our graphic shows, are already staking their territorial claims.
Greenpeace has accurately shaped the aims of its new campaign: to internationalise the region, as the Antarctic has been internationalised, and to keep out industrialisation and unsustainable fishing – the very developments which are likely to come along very soon. But it is not only spot-on in its aims, it is spot-on in its timing: Shell begins drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean next month. It is a historic moment, and the environment movement, in the shape of Greenpeace, has grasped it.
From the blogs
The day the police came for the man who now runs the Care Commission
David Prior's very personal reason for thinkg that investigators need appropriate expertise
Million pound investment to bring Liverpool homes back into use
Dozens of empty homes in two of Liverpool’s most deprived areas will be brought back into use thanks...
Dish of the Day: The Reluctant Vegetarian’s recipe for Triple the Greens Risotto
As a reluctant vegetarian (so reluctant that I'm not vegetarian at all) and a reluctant risotto eate...
“I’m not going to do ANYTHING for you”
Time for the monthly treat from David Hayes, who writes about British politics for the Australian In...
-
Lord Lawson's climate-change think tank risks being dismantled after complaint it persistently misled public
-
'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull
-
Mind how ewe go: the sheep-eating killer plant that’s ready to bloom
-
The 10 best folding bikes
-
10 best hiking boots
- 1 Serena Williams apologises after comment that rape victim 'shouldn't have put herself in that position'
- 2 Disability campaigners celebrate 'victory' after government rethink over plans to make it more difficult to claim disability benefits
- 3 Bankers could face jail after report urges the Government to introduce new criminal offence for reckless management
- 4 Breaking the Silence: In the reality of occupation, there are no Palestinian civilians – only potential terrorists
- 5 We never knew Nigella Lawson - and we still don’t
How will you make today delicious?
Tell us how you plan to make today delicious and you could win a £50 M&S gift card.
Win a Nook® Simple Touch eReader
Find out how Nook® is supporting the Evening Standard's Get Reading campaign - and your chance to win one.
Free reading festival for families
Follow The Standard's campaign to get London's children reading - and experience this unique event at Trafalgar Square on 13 July.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
iJobs General
FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer
£500 - £600 per day: Orgtel: FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer - Ba...
Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT
£600 - £700 per day: Orgtel: Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT C...
Lighting Design Engineer
£33000 - £35000 Per Annum: The Green Recruitment Company: The Green Recruitmen...
Are you an Primary NQT looking for your first role in Essex?
£21000 - £22000 per annum: Randstad Education Chelmsford: NQTs required now fo...
First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention
Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title


Comments