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Here’s a story that made me wonder about an interesting, if unintended, consequence of global warming…

The arctic is one of the earth’s last energy frontiers. So… Some estimates put ten billion tons of oil & gas in about 460,000 square  miles of the Arctic shelf. As the Arctic’s ice melts & recedes, presumably due to global warming, it is becoming more likely those waters can be navigated & that oil & gas extracted.

Russia wants to send a miniature sub to the seabed under the North Pole & leave a titanium capsule containing the Russian flag - a symbolic claim of the Arctic Ocean floor for Russia. Russia has claimed this polar region since at least the days of Bolshevika & stated that claim in 2002 in an application to the U.N. committee that administers the Law of the Sea. The U.N. rejected that application citing lack of evidence. This expedition is scientifically important as well as politically important. Russia’s claim to the Arctic floor riches may depend on whether the expedition, subject to dispute & verification of course, determines that the Arctic’s ocean floor in that area is a continuation of the Lomonosov Ridge, a 1,240 mile underwater mountain range connecting Russia & Greenland.

I’m doing some of the simpler things, striking a balance with nature if you will. I drive a hybrid car; my family has a recycle garbage can along with a regular & a yard waste garbage can; I use compact fluorescent light bulbs wherever they will work in my home. Many weeks there’re 3 different colored garbage cans outside our house.

Our recycle garbage is always full & sometimes we even have to sneak a few pieces into the neighbor’s recycle can. In actual fact, I bet we recycle more than twice or two times what goes in the black, non-recyclable can. Oftentimes, our black can has only one lonely bag from the kitchen garbage representing our 7-person family’s entire non-recyclable garbage for a whole week.

Though it may sound like it, I am actually not a fanatic about global warming & environmental issues. Clear? I believe global warming is real. I believe people play a role in that & I believe we should do what we can about it… On the other hand, I do not believe global warming is a big crisis, I do not believe people are as responsible as the alarmists would have us believe, & I really do not believe we can completely go back to the lifestyle that would be required to really make a difference.

I tend to believe things usually work out pretty much the way they should - whether by nature’s hand or God’s. Our earth has an amazing way of renewing, cleansing & taking care of itself & us. And people have an incredible way of inventing what’s needed when it is needed to solve the problems of the day. I think if we all balance our actions without worrying too much about using the earth’s resources, we will have enough of what we need.

The battle over the Arctic’s resources could start a new cold war, but that is a problem with people, not with nature.

Could this be the silver lining in the global warming phenomenon? Off the top of my head, I think it just might be.

Elizabeth Kibitz is an average American trying to leave the world a better place by giving back more than she takes. Her thoughts on everyday subjects & current events can be easily found in her blog, http://www.offthetopofmyhead.wordpress.com

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