There’s the scientist’s way to look at ice disappearing in the Arctic—as evidence that irreversible catastrophe could soon be upon us. And then there’s the American official’s way.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), the Chairman of a House Foreign Relations subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday to look into the implications of an ice-free Arctic, one that could precipitate mass flooding, ocean acidification, and, yes, more rising temperatures.
“People have only been seeing this through the lens of global warming,” he groused in opening remarks. Instead, according to the chairman, people should be looking at this like Scrooge McDuck about take his morning swim.
“The fact remains that the arctic is more accessible now than it has been in decades. Arctic policy should not be reduced down to one particular issue especially: a disagreement on why the climate is changing.”
Rep. Rohrabacher then went on to explain all the “new opportunities” that have emerged as the planet sheds it Arctic ice cap.
“Additional arctic sea lanes have become passable for increasingly longer period of time, during the summer months, cutting 4,000 miles off the distance required to sail between Asia and Europe,” he said.
“A version of the long sought Northwest Passage may be materializing right before our eyes,” he burst forth with wonder. And he couldn’t forget that “deposits of oil, natural gas and other minerals” will soon be available when all that pesky ice gets out of the way.
Retired Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., the State Department’s Special Representative for the Arctic, testified at the hearing, and put the brakes on some of Rohrabacher’s enthusiasm.
Next year, the US will assume the chair in the Arctic Council, an organization of nations that cooperate on Arctic governance. And Papp promised that the US chairmanship would consider the adverse effects of global warming.
“Our chairmanship will continue the on-going high-level focus on the impacts of climate change, especially the drivers of change and the ways and means of addressing on-the-ground impacts,” he said.
Then, rebuffing the Chairman’s blind optimism, Pap added, “to minimize the prospect of irreparable long-term harm to the Arctic – and the globe – we need to take sustained, quantifiable measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase community resilience and preparedness.”
Then, less than five minutes later, Papp shed his cloak of responsibility and seemed to have forgotten everything he said about “irreparable long-term harm” and reducing greenhouse gasses.
“Diminishing Arctic Ocean sea ice is unlocking access to significant energy resources and other potentially lucrative natural resources,” he said. “Estimates of technically recoverable conventional oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle include 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas deposit.”
Thus, will the United States’ bid to reduce greenhouse gasses and limit the effect of rising temperatures on the Arctic be cast aside. There’s Yukon black gold to rip out of the ground and burn. And there’s still billions of dollars to be made in the unlocked ice up there, come hell or high water. Literally.
