SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Arctic is melting rapidly. Ice and glaciers are at record low levels in the North Pole. (Photo: NASA Flickr)
Pompeo Cheers 'Opportunity' in Arctic From Climate Change as America Blocks Resolution Language
"The latest data shows that after a month of record temperatures in the Bering Sea, ocean ice in the Arctic is at an all-time record low for the date, crushing the record set … last April."
May 07, 2019
Rather than saving the Arctic from climate change, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the melting polar region should be seen as an opening for the northern hemisphere.
Pompeo's comments came during a speech to a meeting of the Arctic Council, a group of seven countries--Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S.--with interests and claims in the region.
"Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade," said Pompeo. "This could potentially slash the time it takes to travel between Asia and the West by as much as 20 days."
Reporting in The Washington Post said that Arctic Council members were "stunned" by Pompeo's remarks and the U.S. position, especially coming on the same day as a U.N. report warning of the extinction of 1 million species due to human activity and within months of a NOAA report showing that 95 percent of the region's thickest ice is gone.
The council member countries had hoped to pass a resolution calling for addressing climate change--but the U.S. killed the statement's references to the phrase.
Per the Post's PowerPost:
Pompeo suggested the Arctic Council look beyond "environmental research into events that may or may not occur in 100 years," his closest reference to the phrase "climate change."
In remarks justifying continued exploitation in the region, Pompeo extolled the virtues of potential exploitation of Arctic natural resources, listing off the untouched natural treasures that climate change is making more easily accessible to humans.
"The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance," said Pompeo. "It houses 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 percent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore."
Earlier in the speech, as Common Dreams reported Monday, Pompeo took aim at Russia and China, attacking the two American adversaries for perceived "lawlessness."
The convenience for shipping and trade that Pompeo celebrated, as environmental advocates have pointed out, is because of a bleak climate reality.
The Arctic is melting rapidly. Ice and glaciers are at record low levels in the North Pole, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Activist Bill McKibben, in April, expressed his concern for the polar region in a piece for Common Dreams.
"To invent a word, the north is rapidly slushifying, with more rainfall and fewer days of hard freeze," wrote McKibben. "The latest data shows that after a month of record temperatures in the Bering Sea, ocean ice in the Arctic is at an all-time record low for the date, crushing the record set ... last April."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rather than saving the Arctic from climate change, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the melting polar region should be seen as an opening for the northern hemisphere.
Pompeo's comments came during a speech to a meeting of the Arctic Council, a group of seven countries--Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S.--with interests and claims in the region.
"Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade," said Pompeo. "This could potentially slash the time it takes to travel between Asia and the West by as much as 20 days."
Reporting in The Washington Post said that Arctic Council members were "stunned" by Pompeo's remarks and the U.S. position, especially coming on the same day as a U.N. report warning of the extinction of 1 million species due to human activity and within months of a NOAA report showing that 95 percent of the region's thickest ice is gone.
The council member countries had hoped to pass a resolution calling for addressing climate change--but the U.S. killed the statement's references to the phrase.
Per the Post's PowerPost:
Pompeo suggested the Arctic Council look beyond "environmental research into events that may or may not occur in 100 years," his closest reference to the phrase "climate change."
In remarks justifying continued exploitation in the region, Pompeo extolled the virtues of potential exploitation of Arctic natural resources, listing off the untouched natural treasures that climate change is making more easily accessible to humans.
"The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance," said Pompeo. "It houses 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 percent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore."
Earlier in the speech, as Common Dreams reported Monday, Pompeo took aim at Russia and China, attacking the two American adversaries for perceived "lawlessness."
The convenience for shipping and trade that Pompeo celebrated, as environmental advocates have pointed out, is because of a bleak climate reality.
The Arctic is melting rapidly. Ice and glaciers are at record low levels in the North Pole, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Activist Bill McKibben, in April, expressed his concern for the polar region in a piece for Common Dreams.
"To invent a word, the north is rapidly slushifying, with more rainfall and fewer days of hard freeze," wrote McKibben. "The latest data shows that after a month of record temperatures in the Bering Sea, ocean ice in the Arctic is at an all-time record low for the date, crushing the record set ... last April."
Rather than saving the Arctic from climate change, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the melting polar region should be seen as an opening for the northern hemisphere.
Pompeo's comments came during a speech to a meeting of the Arctic Council, a group of seven countries--Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S.--with interests and claims in the region.
"Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade," said Pompeo. "This could potentially slash the time it takes to travel between Asia and the West by as much as 20 days."
Reporting in The Washington Post said that Arctic Council members were "stunned" by Pompeo's remarks and the U.S. position, especially coming on the same day as a U.N. report warning of the extinction of 1 million species due to human activity and within months of a NOAA report showing that 95 percent of the region's thickest ice is gone.
The council member countries had hoped to pass a resolution calling for addressing climate change--but the U.S. killed the statement's references to the phrase.
Per the Post's PowerPost:
Pompeo suggested the Arctic Council look beyond "environmental research into events that may or may not occur in 100 years," his closest reference to the phrase "climate change."
In remarks justifying continued exploitation in the region, Pompeo extolled the virtues of potential exploitation of Arctic natural resources, listing off the untouched natural treasures that climate change is making more easily accessible to humans.
"The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance," said Pompeo. "It houses 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil, 30 percent of its undiscovered gas, an abundance of uranium, rare earth minerals, gold, diamonds, and millions of square miles of untapped resources, fisheries galore."
Earlier in the speech, as Common Dreams reported Monday, Pompeo took aim at Russia and China, attacking the two American adversaries for perceived "lawlessness."
The convenience for shipping and trade that Pompeo celebrated, as environmental advocates have pointed out, is because of a bleak climate reality.
The Arctic is melting rapidly. Ice and glaciers are at record low levels in the North Pole, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
Activist Bill McKibben, in April, expressed his concern for the polar region in a piece for Common Dreams.
"To invent a word, the north is rapidly slushifying, with more rainfall and fewer days of hard freeze," wrote McKibben. "The latest data shows that after a month of record temperatures in the Bering Sea, ocean ice in the Arctic is at an all-time record low for the date, crushing the record set ... last April."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.