NANOOK OF THE NEW NORTH

Scientists now believe the Arctic will be "ice free" much earlier than previously

thought due to Global Warming. They are now seeing 2050 as the time frame

when this once frozen land becomes "viable" real estate ripe for ease of

exploitation. 6 northern countries are now postioning themselves for a piece

of the new Eskimo Pie! 5 NATO Countries & Russia! Throw into this mix the

Aboriginal/Inuit historical inhabitants of the land and you have all the fixings

for contention & conflicts. Will it be Hot...Cold..or a Luke-warm War?

Much is at stake. Up to 90 Billion Barrels of untapped oil! Access to untold

mineral riches as the "Fabled" NorthWest Passage becomes a viable shipping

route thru the North. Environmental concerns will show their face also.

Whales, Muskox, Polar Bears, seals, fish stocks and bird migrations will

be upset and jepordized. Much like a receding glacier reveals new lands,

so too will the polar melt contain new problems. Canada and the US are

already bickering over territorial rights and there is a movement for

Independence in Greenland that may cut tiny Denmark from the Player's

Table. Norway has decided to buy better jets for patrol of their far-flung

piece of northern pie.

This is a different situation from the other "Pole" on our Planet. Antarctica

is already deemed "International" and no one country can lay claim to

whatever treasures lay beneath. For the Arctic...let us hope "cooler" minds

prevail and the once noisy and grinding ice that hid the sinister sounds

of Nuclear Submarines will melt and bring forth co-operation for the good

of ALL Mankind....and not another load of "hot button" issues for countries

to bicker, fight and ballyhoo about!

As always..a song in the vid section!