The Arctic has been free from the ugly face of commerce for as long as history remembers. Intrepid explorers and curious scientists may have trod its ice sheets, but they left no scars. Moreover not a single ship has purged its diesel tanks in the pristine waters until recently. Now the Arctic Region is facing the possibility of becoming a main shipping route.
The Legend of the Northwest Passage Through the Arctic Region
There has been commercial trade between the East and West in the Northern Hemisphere since time immemorial. The sea route has always been slow because ships have to navigate past continents. However, explorers always believed there had to be a faster way.
That way in their minds, was north of Asia and North America. If they could find a way between Greenland and Canada past Alaska, they would not have to navigate around the tip of Africa or South America. Remember, there were no Panama or Suez Canals then. Many brave explorers perished seeking the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Region, and we salute them.
Climate Change Opens Up Where Brave Explorers Failed
Since then, the Arctic ice has been retreating in the face of global warming. The BBC reports that thousands of sea miles could be cut from journeys from China or Japan to Europe or the east coast of the US within ‘a generation’. A Canadian cargo ship delivered nickel from Quebec direct to China in 2014 when the sheets were thin.
A company spokesperson reported, “The Arctic Region trip was pleasantly boring – the ship didn’t have to spend days struggling through ice.” The trip took two weeks less than going through the Panama Canal. So this is commercially attractive proposition, but is it the right thing?
Russia is planning to develop nuclear icebreakers to open the route as soon as possible. Canada is welcoming the opportunity to redevelop its deep-water port Churchill, on Hudson Bay. However we have to ask the question, how much unique marine life will we destroy in the process? Do we really know what lies beneath the Arctic Region ice sheets? Will we wipe out something hugely significant in the bow wave of a giant ship?
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Plants Are Growing Taller in Warmer Arctic
Preview Image: Direct Route Through Northwest Passage
