I just finished writing the Arctic sovereignty piece for CBJ and something stuck out to me that I didn’t elaborate on. So I thought I would do it here.

The polar ice caps are melting at alarming rates. While we don’t know for sure whether climate change is directly our fault, I suspect the way humans have treated the planet since the industrial revolution hasn’t exactly helped.

As I was researching about how countries are scrambling to claim as much territory in the Arctic Sea as possible, I realised the main reason for border extensions is for what lies beneath: black gold. Apparently, one third of the world’s undiscovered oil is covered by the Arctic waters. I may be jumping to conclusions, here. I realise it behoves all countries to have as much land as possible, but the economic benefits are clear.

For some of you, economy is reason enough. To me, booking trips to the Arctic to drill for oil–the same stuff that emits greenhouse gases, pollutes and melts ice caps–seems like a step backwards.

Maybe I’m just a bleeding heart, but I see it as insult to the Earth’s injury.