The Arctic Future: Confrontation or collaboration?

The Arctic: Confrontation or collaboration? – Russia Direct.

The Arctic conference in Moscow, “The Arctic: Region of Development and Cooperation”, which was organized by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) on Dec. 2-3, brought together politicians, diplomats, academics, businessmen and environmentalists from the U.S., Russia, Canada and Europe.

Since the conference presented a unique opportunity to address common challenges in the Arctic and foster cooperation between countries, the organizers of the conference as well as most of the participants were optimistic about the future of the Arctic.

Arctic resources: Any competitors in sight for Russia?

“The Arctic region is a laboratory of new models for international collaboration that can be applied in other [less stable] regions,” said Andrey V. Kortunov, President of the New Eurasia Foundation and the General Director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
Artur Chilingarov, the Russian President’s Special Envoy for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, doesn’t see any reason for future confrontation in the Arctic.  A large number of conferences dedicated to the Arctic indicate that there is growing interest in bringing stability to the region and more cooperation, according to him. 
The Arctic conference in Moscow indicates that there are a lot of unresolved issues that “we need to negotiate,” Chilingarov told Russia Direct.
David Balton, Ambassador for Oceans and Fisheries at the U.S. Department of State, echoes his Russian counterparts.
“I see the United States and Russia as continuing to collaborate in the Arctic for the foreseeable future because the interests of both of our nations overlap very significantly: We both want a stable and peaceful Arctic that can develop and also where we can protect the environment. So, there are no major policy differences between the U.S. and Russia or the other Arctic states.”
The militarization of the Arctic: myth or reality?Read the full story here.

Video - 7.4 cubic km of ice crashing into the ocean, It’s like watching ‘Manhattan breaking apart in front of your eyes.

It's like watching 'Manhattan breaking apart in front of your eyes', says filmmaker James Balog. He's describing the largest iceberg calving ever filmed, as featured in his movie, Chasing Ice. After weeks of waiting, the filmakers witnessed 7.4 cubic km of ice crashing off the Ilulissat glacier in Greenland. Chasing Ice, released in the UK on Friday, follows James Balog's mission to document Arctic ice being melted by climate change.HT: LiveLeak.

Greenland "Melt water Tsunami" not imminent.

Greenland "Melt water Tsunami" not imminent.(SG).According to NASA, Greenland experienced a massive ice melt last week which turned the entire country red hot and apparently melted all the ice.It is surprising that no one issued a tsunami warning, because our beaches must certainly have drowned by now. NASA also says that if this predictable, cyclical event continues to be cyclical and predictable – we should be worried. Although some of these descriptions aren’t entirely untrue, even within NASA’s own announcement of this observation, a Goddard Space Flight Center scientist said these types of melting events occur every 150 years, on average. With the last event happening in 1889, Lora Koening said “this event is right on time.” She does note that if strong melting events like this continue in future years, “it will be worrisome.” Meanwhile the latest News: Several inches of snow have accumulated since unprecedented meltdown began. No doubt NASA has a bright red map waiting in the wings to display this meltblizzard event.Read the full story here and here.

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