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The State of the Arctic

Over 100 years after the Northwest Passage was finally transformed by Roald Amundsen from the realm of legend it is once again being viewed as a gateway to riches. According to the U.S. Geological survey, the Arctic contains ¼ of the worlds undiscovered energy resources. The sovereignty of the Arctic is in dispute, with five countries - Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway and Denmark - being recognized under international law. There will be a race among nations for fish, diamonds, shipping routes and oil.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 : New York Revealed: oil-funded research in Palin's campaign against protection for polar bear   read entire article

The Republican Sarah Palin and her officials in the Alaskan state government drew on the work of at least six scientists known to be sceptical about the dangers and causes of global warming, to back efforts to stop polar bears being protected as an endangered species, the Guardian can disclose. Some of the scientists were funded by the oil industry.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008: Polar bears resort to cannibalism as Arctic ice shrinks   read entire article

Summer is over in the northern hemisphere, but it's been another chilling season for researchers who study Arctic sea ice.

Saturday, September 20, 2008 : FARNHAM, Que. Harper Arctic-Bound To Push Canadian Claims, Counter Russian Moves   read entire article

"We will continue to make our claims and continue to provide the research necessary to back our claims, and to work through the international process," Harper said Friday during a campaign swing through Quebec.

Thursday, September 4, 2008: TORONTO Massive Ice Sheet Breaks Loose   read entire article

A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists said Wednesday.

Thursday, September 4, 2008:   read entire article

The northerly route of the Northwest Passage has been declared navigable by the Canadian Ice Service.

Thursday, September 11, 2008:   read entire article

Canada is seeing an increase in Russian flights near its airspace in the Arctic as Moscow seeks to strengthen its sovereignty in the vast resource-rich region, Defense Minister Peter MacKay said.

Friday, August 29, 2008:   read entire article

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan to tighten shipping regulations in the disputed Northwest Passage has caught the attention of the U.S. government, which said Thursday that "we will be discussing the proposal with Canada" to ensure it doesn't violate international law.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008:   read entire article

Canada, pushing its claims of Arctic sovereignty, said on Wednesday it would toughen reporting requirements for ships entering its waters in the Far North, where some of those territorial claims are disputed by other countries.

Saturday, August 30, 2008:   read entire article

Struggling against the waves, this polar bear faces almost certain death after becoming lost at sea in the Arctic. It is one of a group of nine to have plunged into the ocean after the ice float they lived on melted.

Friday, August 8, 2008: OTTOWA   read entire article

Canada said Friday it had scientific proof of its territorial claims over a vast portion of the Arctic, amid debate between northern nations over sovereignty in the oil-rich region.

Friday, August 8: (Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service): U.S. waking up to Arctic competition: Coast guard chief   read entire article

In the latest sign of the rising international political stakes in the Arctic, the top U.S. Coast Guard official has revealed a planned shift in American foreign policy from scientific research to "sovereignty" and "security presence" in Alaskan waters bordering Canadian and Russian territory.

July 16, 2008: ST.PETERSBURG (Itar-Tass)   read entire article

The North Pole-35 Polar research station has ended work on drifting ice in the Arctic Ocean. At midnight Chief of the Polar research station Alexei Visnevsky lowered the Russian state flag on an ice floe 100 kilometers off the island of Victoria between Spitzbergen and Franz Josef Land.

May 30, 2008: MOSCOW (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Fednnnyashin)   read entire article

Ilulissat, Greenland, will go down in history as the polar city where the ice moved for the first time - foreign ministers and other representatives of the five Arctic nations - Denmark (Greenland is its province), Canada, Norway, Russia, and the United States met there on May 27-29 to discuss a legal division of the Arctic.

May 27, 2008: Canada to reaffirm sovereignty over High Arctic waters at conference   click here to download pdf

Greenland hosts Arctic sovereignty talks Senior officials from five Arctic countries met in Greenland on Tuesday to dis `cuss sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean, which could hold up to one-quarter of the world's undiscovered oil reserves. Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States are squabbling over huge tracts of the Arctic seabed and Denmark has called them together for talks in its self-governing province to avert a free-for-all for the region's natural resources.

January 15, 2008:

It was reported that analysts at Jane's Defence Weekly claim that “Arctic sovereignty is fast becoming a high-stakes and potentially dangerous game.”

October 24, 2007:

Canadian news reported that Canada had stationed six CF-18 fighter jets at 5 Wing Goose Bay in central Labrador in response to Russian military exercises in the Arctic. In addition, the Canadian military plans to buy a fleet of remote-controlled aircraft or UAVs to patrol the Arctic. The drones will be equipped with cameras, radar, radios, electronic sensors and possibly even weapons

September 14, 2007:

The European Space Agency reported ice loss had opened up the Northwest Passage "for the first time,” making it "fully navigable".

August 1, 2007:

Russian forces chimed in when the research ship Akademik Fyodorov set sail from the port of Murmansk to explore and claim the Arctic for the Kremlin by planting a Russian flag on the seabed at the North Pole. "The Arctic is Russian," said Artur Chilingarov, the commander of the mission. The boat developed engine problems and the mission was temporarily scrapped.

July 10, 2007:

US pledged to increase it’s presence in the Arctic. ``Will we have a constant aircraft carrier presence?” posed Rear- Admiral Timothy McGee. “I don't know, but we might.”