9781422279267

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Introduction

difficult in the extreme climate of Antarctica.The rush to kill whales and seals on the islands and in the waters around that frozen continent did not begin until the early 19th century. Exploration of Antarctica itself came later in the century. As the whaling industry grew, first Great Britain and then other countries staked claims to parts of the continent. ButAntarctica did not have indigenous people who could take part inmajor trading oper- ations, as was true in the Arctic. And the continent itself did not seem to be a rich source of minerals or other valuable resources. By the end of the 20th century, theArctic lands of the northmade up part of the territory of six different northern nations. By international agreement,on the other hand,Antarc- tica was set aside for scientific study and other peaceful pursuits. But by then, seven nations had claimed parts of the continent for themselves, and others have opened bases there.Even more so than in the past, the world realized that the polar regions, espe- cially the Arctic, contain important natural resources. Climate change, the rising of theworld’s temperatures, is making it easier in some places to access those resources. At the same time, the climate change in the polar regions is affecting sea levels and

weather patterns around the world. TheArctic andAntarctica are not just cold,distant regions of theplanet.They are essential to what will happen on Earth in the decades to come. Amajor question for this century is, will the world’s most powerful na- tions work together while extracting the polar regions’ resources? Can the Arctic nations avoid conflict if they have competing claims to control parts of the region? In the Antarctic, can the cooperation that has developed around scientific research continue? Andanother questionarises:Will com- petition in those regions lead togreater environmental problems? If so, will countries and companies be willing to limit their commercial activities for the sake of the environment?The polar regions are part of the world economy like never before.What does the growing effort to control their resources mean for their future?