North by Northnorth
Lifelike Pundits says that since the Russians have claimed the North Pole by planting their flag, then the Moon belongs to the United States. But first, to the matter of the North Pole.
Russia claims that the Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain range crossing the polar region, is an extension of its territory. The UN has rejected Moscow's 2001 claim to the ocean bed, which it says is part of its continental shelf under international law but the Russians are due to resubmit their case to the committee administering the Law of the Sea. ...
But four other countries - the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark - also have claims on the ocean floor which could hold as much oil and gas as Saudi Arabia. According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic seabed and subsoil account for 25 per cent of undiscovered oil and gas reserves.
The Russian convoy, consisting of a research vessel and a nuclear-powered ice-breaker, and the two submersibles which had been used in the filming of Titanic, set sail from the northern Russian city of Murmansk last week, catching the world by surprise. Initial concerns that the expedition could be thwarted by thick sea ice proved unfounded, although the research vessel, the Akademik Fyodorov suffered from engine trouble on the journey.
How long, I wonder, before the Russian claim is blamed on Global Warming or the War in Iraq?
Nothing follows
posted by wretchardthecat at 8/02/2007 06:44:00 PM
8 Comments:
"How long, I wonder, before the Russian claim is blamed on Global Warming or the War in Iraq?"
They get a free pass until 2009-Jan-20.
The Russians might be the best candidate to develop the North Pole for oil reserves. God forbid the U.S. should try to drill those dirty oil wells in that pristine habitat. But if the Russians do it, well, there's just no stopping THOSE guys. And besides, more oil is better for the world's economy. We'll just buy the oil we need from them, right? Right?
dewage,
Right. Maybe that is the only way to get oil out of the arctic. It's a dictum in some places that if you don't develop a property eventually somebody will squat on it and you'll have eviction problems. How often have we heard that the "seas are the heritage of all mankind". Well I guess the Russians will argue that they are part of mankind and it's their heritage. Ha-ha.
But if you prohibit the development of a valuable resource then you have to protect it from poachers. Who can keep the Russians from simply starting to drill? And here is where environmentalists must be choking on their tofu. The Russian Navy, even in its sad decline, is still more potent that the Greenpeace Navy.
How ironic it is that only the evil United States Navy has the horsepower to enforce the edicts of environmentalism and the International Order. And it will probably get worse in the coming century when the Chinese start landing rockets on the Moon and doing business from there. That too is part of the Heritage of all Mankind. And while there's already an American Flag on it, I doubt the United Nations would take a positive view of a US claim on it. But if the Chinese were to land on it ... watch for the stern appeals to duty. There's a saying in Spanish about dogs who guard turnip patches. They neither eat what they guard nor let others eat it. Could make a good motto for Greenpeace.
Planting a flag somewhere doesn't mean squat. To make the property yours, you have to occupy it, make use of it, and be prepared to defend it. If the Russians are going to do that with the Arctic, then it's theirs.
"To make the property yours, you have to occupy it, make use of it, and be prepared to defend it."
Indeed. The Environmentalists will complain that the Russians are despoiling the a natural preserve, but god forbid military force be used to stop them.
Based on the above criteria, I'm betting the Moon will be roughly split two ways. Half will belong to the Chinese. The other half will belong to an independent, English-speaking nation founded by Burt Rutan.
The world is slowly coming to an end. Its helpful to remember three principles even before the great off world migrations begin in 40-100 years.
1.) Off world emmigrants need to be self supporting.
2.) A path toward independence needs to be provided for.
3.) Earth needs to be protected.
....................
Finally it needs to be said that space is not heaven. However, it can be properly said that the deeper the peace on earth --the deeper the peace in space...ie the less chance there will be for ...blow back.
However, peace is not necessarily peaceful any more than freedom is free.
I guess this means that the Russians have no expectation or interest in resolving the Global Warming issue. Interesting, though, that the US doesn't seem all that interested, assuming perhaps that we will, sooner rather than later, come up with a fix and the Arctic will again be inaccessible.
Bah humbug.
The flag planting never happened!
Everybody knows it was all just staged in a studio in Murmansk!
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