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Polar Politics
The “Ice Curtain” and the Future
The slow reduction of the sea ice surrounding the North
Pole in the Arctic, thanks to climate change, is leading
to other potential problems. In 1996, eight nations with
interest in the region formed the Arctic Council. Like its
Antarctic counterpart, the group seeks to work
cooperatively in the best interests of the natural world and
of science. However, in 2014 and 2015, Russia, a council
member, began sending more and more ships into areas
that were once not navigable due to the ice pack. With those
routes clear, Russian government and private industries
wanted to seek more ways to mine and find oil in the area.
Russia’s moves have upset the United States and other
nations, who are racing to catch up and fear that Russia
might draw an “Ice Curtain” over the Arctic. Russian
industry has not shown much interest in environmental
safety, and the fear is that their search for oil in the “wild
West” of the Arctic could bring great harm.
In 2015, Barack Obama became the first sitting US
president to travel above the Arctic Circle. He did so to
draw attention the worldwide need for attention and action
on climate change, the most obvious effects of which are
seen in the Arctic.
Scientists and visitors need to respect both the Arctic
and Antarctic environments. The Arctic and Antarctic are
still largely untouched compared with developed countries.
We should make sure that no more than a few footprints
are left in the snow when we leave.
S
eptember 1991; white area is hole
S
eptember 2014; purple area is hole
The Ozone Hole
The layer of ozone in the atmosphere
is thinnest at the poles . . . and most
vulnerable. Scientists have been studying
what they found as a hole in our ozone
atmosphere centered on the South Pole.
The hole, as the images show, has been
expanding. Ozone protects us from
harmful rays in sunlight. Some of the
chemicals we use are destroying the layer
of ozone. We notice it because our skin
is damaged more easily by the Sun now.
Animals and plants cannot use sunscreen
like we do. They are also damaged by
the harmful rays in sunlight. Each of us
can help by only using things that do not
harm the ozone layer.
T
he US Coast Guard icebreaker
Healy
reached the North Pole in 2002, a
show of force that is part of an ongoing dispute about control of the Arctic.