The Fight For The Arctic by DW Documentary
Geschreven op 23-2-2018 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Natuur
The Arctic ice is retreating due to climate change. The region’s once inaccessible raw materials have caught the attention of major world powers.
Countries like the USA, Russia and China are positioning themselves, scouting out the land and securing the best sites for getting their hands on the raw materials.
The animals of the Arctic are also having to fight – for their survival.
Russia already has an ultra-modern nuclear-powered icebreaker in operation. The Norwegian company Statoil is conducting test drilling with its cutting-edge rig “Songa Enabler,” which was designed especially for the Arctic; it’s the most northerly drilling operation in the world. Norway hopes to discover vast natural wealth in the Arctic. But the borders in the Arctic have not yet been set, and a war over resources is always a distinct danger.
For the animals of the Arctic, including seals and polar bears, the melting sea ice is also having drastic consequences. They’re losing their habitats and their search for food is becoming increasingly difficult. In addition, the rubbish that is piling up in the Arctic only degrades very slowly and it’s poisoning the animals. Seabirds and whales are dying because they can’t digest the plastic in their stomachs. International fishing fleets are the main culprits when it comes to rubbish in the Arctic.
The ice used to be a natural barrier. Now the trawlers can penetrate further and further into the icy ocean and, as a result, catch greater quantities of fish. Overfishing is almost inevitable. Furthermore the huge trawl nets used by the industrial fishing fleets are destroying the ocean floor, an important habitat.
For years, environmental organizations such as Greenpeace have been complaining about the problems caused by fishing and raw-material exploitation in the Arctic. See: Stop Deepwater Drilling for Oil in The Arctic: It’s Time to Go Beyond Oil
See also: China’s New Silk Road by DW Documentary – Global Warning: Arctic Melt by CNN – The Battle for the Arctic by Fault Lines – TED Talk: Time-lapse Proof Of Extreme Ice Loss by James Balog – Save The Arctic from Shell and Gazprom – Stop Deepwater Drilling for Oil in The Arctic: It’s Time to Go Beyond Oil – Shell Stopt met Olieboringen in de Arctic: Winst voor het Milieu – Save The Arctic: Vicious Circle Narrated by John Hurt – Arctic Death Spiral and the Methane Time Bomb – Chasing Ice by James Balog: The Story of the Earth’s Changing Climate – The Fight For The Arctic by DW Documentary – Extreme Ice Documentary by NOVA Online: In Extremis – The Climate Cover Up Big Oil’s Campaign Of Deception by DW Documentary
Erik van Erne zegt:
18 december 2019 om 13:52 | Permalink
Melting Ice: The Future Of The Arctic by DW Documentary
Climate change in the Arctic is fueling not only fear, but also hope. Sea levels will rise and flood many regions. But the melting ice will also expose new land with reserves of oil, gas and minerals. New sea routes are also emerging.
The melting of the ice in the far north has given reason for great optimism, as newly-found mineral resources promise the Inuit a better life. But international corporations and self-proclaimed ‘partners’ such as China also have their eye on the treasures of the Arctic. Some even dream of a polar Silk Road. As large corporations position themselves to exploit the treasures of the far north, the indigenous people, the Inuit, are fighting for their independence.
Our film team spent four weeks with a geological expedition to the north coast of Canada – a place where no human has ever set foot before – and were present at the geologists world’s northernmost spring. A microbiologist with them also collected DNA samples that could help in the development of new vaccines against resistant germs. However, the most important resource in the far north is still fish: Greenland supplies half the world with it, yet it still doesn’t bring in enough to finance necessary investments in its underdeveloped infrastructure. And in Canada, the Inuit are also struggling with their government for tht to share in the wealth of their own land.