Anthropogenic

Caused by human activity. Never have used the word prior to to-day but it relates to a story which has been in the Canadian media these days as the dog days of summer come upon us. Russia recently dropped its flag 450 metres deep by submarine at the North Pole to make a statement about its claim to territory. Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, has just come back from Lancaster Sound announcing Canada is building a deep water port in the Arctic, our first. What is behind this flurry of activity (pun intended) in the Great White North? The Law of the Sea and climate change. Ironically as the polar regions melt owing to the burning of fossil fuels, the search for oil and gas intensifies in the relatively untapped north. The Law of the Sea has given states ten years to map the sea beds and stake their underwater mineral rights. If you can believe this, the USA has not ratified the treaty and may be sidelined as a result. Sounds a bit dangerous to me. Meanwhile Canada and Russia are leading the charge to bolster claims to the Northwest Passage and other Arctic regions. Norway is also more than a bit player since it now has more than a fourth of arctic oil and gas, the world's greatest energy frontier.
Source: CBC Newsworld documentary, Aug 10th, 2007.