POLAR REGIONS

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.

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