THE US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo looked on the bright side of 'global warming', telling partisan environmentalists that it is was less of a threat and more of an opportunity for world shipping and mining.
Speaking at the Arctic Council meeting in Finland, he saw an Arctic meltdown as a 'wonderful economic opportunity for international trade,' reported Counterpunch of Petrolia. California.
An ice-free Arctic, he said, would reduce transit time for shipping lanes between Asia and the West by three weeks, which qualifies as one of the biggest transport revolutions since cargo planes first crossed the Atlantic in the early 20th century.
'Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st century Suez and Panama canals. Mr Pompeo also called the region, which has lost nearly 90,000 square miles of sea ice since last year, the forefront of opportunity and abundance,' he said.
'It houses 13 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 per cent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore,' he said.
The Arctic is the newest frontier for commercial interests, drilling, mining, and fishing galore, with remarkably little concern for spills or accidents in one of the harshest yet most sensitive ecosystems on the planet, said the ecology-minded journal.
WORLD SHIPPING
Speaking at the Arctic Council meeting in Finland, he saw an Arctic meltdown as a 'wonderful economic opportunity for international trade,' reported Counterpunch of Petrolia. California.
An ice-free Arctic, he said, would reduce transit time for shipping lanes between Asia and the West by three weeks, which qualifies as one of the biggest transport revolutions since cargo planes first crossed the Atlantic in the early 20th century.
'Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st century Suez and Panama canals. Mr Pompeo also called the region, which has lost nearly 90,000 square miles of sea ice since last year, the forefront of opportunity and abundance,' he said.
'It houses 13 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 per cent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore,' he said.
The Arctic is the newest frontier for commercial interests, drilling, mining, and fishing galore, with remarkably little concern for spills or accidents in one of the harshest yet most sensitive ecosystems on the planet, said the ecology-minded journal.
WORLD SHIPPING