Natural Gas Tanker Attempts First Winter Arctic Crossing

The Ob River, the ship cited in the BBC report.
(photo: Gazprom)

For the first time in recorded history, the Arctic passage between Europe and Asia is navigable during November. According to a BBC report, a Greek-owned liquified natural gas carrier is currently making the inaugural attempt to sail from Norway to Japan. The sailing, if successful, will trim the standard transportation time by twenty days. More significantly, the voyage demonstrates how climate change is impacting formerly frozen Siberia. What the world may gain some advantage in freight passage, it may dramatically lose in the planet's potential to sustain human life.

Winter Arctic Ice Coverage Tied for Historic Low

The blog's title sums up a piece that appeared, ironically, in today's Miami Herald. Among the disastrous impacts of the melting ice is a reduction of the environment where polar bears live. These creatures require solid ice for their survival. Most scientists attribute the diminished ice to the effects of global warming, which have been particularly pronounced at the poles.

Polar bears remain some of the world's most popular animals in captivity. Every zoo I've visited in the United States (ok, it's less than ten) included a polar bear. I don't recall seeing one at the Rome Zoo, a sorry Italian institution unworthy of the animals in its care. (It did have the distinction of placing the exhibit of deer next to that of the wolves -- a characteristically Roman touch.)

I wouldn't want the polar bear population limited to those in captivity. For everyone's sake, polar bears need to be in the wild and live freely.