Melting of Arctic Ice due to Climate change

Part 1

The changes arising from the climatic disorientation appear to have very serious consequences on the livelihoods of individuals living around areas where a climatic change has occurred. These climatic changes have resulted to the melting of the arctic ice and other effects such as overflowing of the Ninglick River. The changes appear to have been brought about by human actions that have degraded the Arctic Circle and which can be related to a rise in global temperatures and subsequent warming of waters. There changes also involve the eating away the lands near the Ninglick River a process that has occurred for some period. There are also storm charges affecting the various towns and cities around the Arctic regions such as hurricane Sandy (Myers & Krauss, 1).

The shrinking of ice coverage has lead to the opening up of new routes for trade which has allowed shipping companies to use shorter routes in their voyage. The retreating ice of the Arctic sea comes with many unexpected challenges that interfere with livelihoods of people living in such areas. While the melting of ice may appear to be opening up of new opportunities, the changes associated with it can cause havoc peoples’ lives or the projects undertaken by the Arctic nation’s government (Goldernberg, 1).  The effects of the changes can be perceived from an economical, social or political angle. The economical effect related to the changes increased interest for oil exploration driven by the significant melting of ice which opens up new oil fields. The melt down can be said be triggering another cold war among nations bordering the Arctic area. It has lead to shift in energy economy around the world. The changes have also lead to increased activism from environmentalists who are against the Arctic waters that are ecologically fragile. The other effects include possible displacement of villagers near the areas given the rising water level with some areas expected to be submerged by 2017 disrupting the social lives of such individuals. The political effect involves increased interest for the Arctic resources that become more accessible with continued melting of the ice.

Part 2

The nations around the Arctic have increased their interest in the potential natural resources in the regions which have seen many of the nations allow and support the exploration of oil. The nations whose borders touches on the Arctic region includes Canada’s sovereign territory , Finland , Denmark ,Iceland ,Russia Sweden , Norway and the United States of America (McFadden, 1). These countries form the Arctic Council, which is an international organization. The council members have entered into agreement on the exploration of natural resources that can be found in this region. The United States under the Obama administration has placed sanctions on energy products that are obtained from the arctic region, which seems to be direct towards the Russian exploration efforts (Myers & Krauss, 1). The most active nations are the Arctic five which includes the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway.

The changes associated with the melting of ice appear to benefit only the companies involved in the exploration and drilling efforts. Thought the communities in these areas eagerly wait for resources to change their economic status, this end up not happening. However, even the exploring companies do not benefit much from the changes as seen in the case of Shell sinking $ 7 billion in the exploration in Russia Arctic regional and has failed to fetch any substantial benefits from it. In Teriberka village residents did not realize any benefits from the Gazprom’s plans in the times of Soviet Union(Myers & Krauss,1). The monopoly firms end up benefiting from the resources at the expense of the local villagers welfare. However, the changes end up affecting the local community negatively. This seen in the case of the Alaska residents that have continued to bear the cost of adverse economic changes as seen in changing climate patterns which is interfering with their normal way of life. The poor in this community continue to suffer given the consequences of raising water levels, the extinction of their business activities such as fishing and the possibility of relocating to higher grounds.  

Part 3

With the current trend, the future for the Arctic region should be expected to be very different from the way it currently appears. More melting of ice is expected to be seen in the future with significant effects on the lives of those people living around the areas. The temperatures are expected to continue rising with increased emission of greenhouse gases which means arctic wildlife is also going to start leading lives which are altered (American Security Project,1). Moreover, information from most quotas presents the arctic future as being bleak with various reports suggesting that the rising of temperatures is happening at a higher rate around the globe. The government represents the future as continuing to change with increased altering of the global temperatures. The sentiments are also shared by most scientists and the military organizations.  The arctic paradox in this scenario is that melting of ice is presenting a lot of opportunities for more resource exploration. However, these opportunities are marred with various controversies and challenges which make exploration of natural resources from the arctic region unviable.

References

Goldernberg ,Suzanne.America's first climate refugees. Newtok, Alaska is losing ground to the sea at a dangerous rate and for its residents, exile is inevitable. 2013. Available at. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2013/may/13/newtok-alaskaclimate-change-refugees

Myers, Steven & Krauss, Clifford.Melting Ice Isn’t Opening Arctic to Oil Bonanza. New York Times .2015.Available at. www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/world/europe/melting-ice-isnt-opening-arctic-to-oilbonanza.Html