[spacebandit]

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...642905,00.html

Doesn't take a brainiac to work out which way thats going to go.

A north pole covered in oil drilling platforms and pipelines.

Still, claiming it and managing to carry it through are two different things - could get very serious very quickly

So, the Russians claimed a great scientific discovery late last month. An expedition of 50 scientists that spent 45 days aboard the Rossia nuclear ice-breaker found that an underwater ridge (the Lomonosov ridge) directly links Russia's Arctic coast to the North Pole. This, they insist, surely guarantees Russia's rights over a vast Polar territory that also happens to contain some 10 billion tons of oil and natural gas deposits.

[Dr43%er]

I heard this. Could be fun in the offing there.

[spacebandit]

the concept and consequences of melting ice caps clearly lost on anyone who would even plan to set up oil platforms and build pipelines up there.

Ah well, at least we now know the location of the first superpower oil war if people are not careful.

Forget Canada, Norway and Denmark - militarily they're either small or non-existant potatoes.

The obvious compromise - a deal betwen the US and Russia to split the profits and rape the area regardless of world scientific opinion.

I guess more people are going to have problems getting flood insurance

[Dr43%er]

At 10% more if you are with the Norwich Union from next week. Expect others to follow.