William Seward was Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson. Seward proposed and led the U.S. effort to buy Alaska from Russia who sought to keep it out of the hands of Great Britain. These negotiations actually began during the administration of James Buchanan but were delayed due to the American Civil War.
There were questions about the purchase, especially the resources and the ability to populate the territory. The ratification vote was close and decided by only one vote. The value of the land was not really understood until the late 1890s when gold was found in the Klondike.
Consider the value of Alaska today. Oil has followed gold as an important resource, and the state is priceless in terms of value. What might be priceless in 2030 are underground seabed claims and unclaimed islands.
Claiming Arctic (and Antarctic lands) now may seem a far-off dream but these lands will grow in value over time. Like Seward’s Folly U.S. diplomatic effort should have a substantial focus on claiming Arctic areas as part of U.S. territorial integrity.
There are plenty of issues of concern to U.S. national interest. How many of them concern the territorial integrity of the county? There are five issues of concern to the United States.
a. Navigation rights: Are the Northwest and Northeast Passages (through Canada and Russia) international waters.
b. Offshore claims: What are the limits fo Alaska’s sea bed?
c. Island claims: Which bodies of territory are unclaimed?
d. Migration and Trans-migration: Many people will enter the U.S. in order to migrate even further north. This could be problematic for issues if crime and terrorism.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Climate Change and Cities: The Social Tension Factor
Climate Change, Social Tension, and Cities
New York Mayor Bloomberg plans to attend the upcoming U.N. climate change conference in Bali. “It’s time for America to re-establish its leadership on all issues of international importance, including climate change”, Bloomberg declared at a recent United States Conference of Mayors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/nyregion/03mayor.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=nyregion&adxnnlx=1194136220-Jm7VgEJ1RtrckOEzUvJ1gg
What is the link? The Kyoto protocol can also be ratified and signed/ratified by other governmental entities, including cities. In the United States, 600 cities have signed the agreement. New York is not a signatory, but many big and small cities have, including Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Signing the agreement is one thing but doing something about it is something else. Cities’ first impulse will be to deal with or counteract the affects of climate change. This can only be partially successful since the enduring trends of climate change will become am increasingly greater tax on city services and operations. Some cities will see more climate change than others and result in a wide gamut of impacts.
Cities will be short sighted if they limit their response to solely counter-acting the change in climate. The change in climate will influence many areas of social policy, including economic development, community health, and social tension, among others.
Social tension may adversely affect economic development and community health by forcing transitions in lifestyles and occupant communities in neighborhoods. Migration impacts from suffering area of climate change will push trends while changes in eco-systems will pull them.
Urbanization of the world is fast proceeding and now, for the first time, more people live in cities than in the country. This trend in the United States and worldwide will tend to aggravate problems in city environments. Climate change will add its own weight to city concerns.
Jim Lee
New York Mayor Bloomberg plans to attend the upcoming U.N. climate change conference in Bali. “It’s time for America to re-establish its leadership on all issues of international importance, including climate change”, Bloomberg declared at a recent United States Conference of Mayors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/nyregion/03mayor.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=nyregion&adxnnlx=1194136220-Jm7VgEJ1RtrckOEzUvJ1gg
What is the link? The Kyoto protocol can also be ratified and signed/ratified by other governmental entities, including cities. In the United States, 600 cities have signed the agreement. New York is not a signatory, but many big and small cities have, including Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Signing the agreement is one thing but doing something about it is something else. Cities’ first impulse will be to deal with or counteract the affects of climate change. This can only be partially successful since the enduring trends of climate change will become am increasingly greater tax on city services and operations. Some cities will see more climate change than others and result in a wide gamut of impacts.
Cities will be short sighted if they limit their response to solely counter-acting the change in climate. The change in climate will influence many areas of social policy, including economic development, community health, and social tension, among others.
Social tension may adversely affect economic development and community health by forcing transitions in lifestyles and occupant communities in neighborhoods. Migration impacts from suffering area of climate change will push trends while changes in eco-systems will pull them.
Urbanization of the world is fast proceeding and now, for the first time, more people live in cities than in the country. This trend in the United States and worldwide will tend to aggravate problems in city environments. Climate change will add its own weight to city concerns.
Jim Lee
Friday, October 19, 2007
Implications of U.K. Claims to Off Shore Antarctic Areas
The United Kingdom is claiming 385,000 square miles of seabed offshore of its existing land claim in Antarctica. The U.K. claims overlap those of Chile and Australia. Under Article 76 of the Law of the Sea Treaty, a country can claim mineral rights out to 350 nautical miles. The claim is contingent on proving that the continental shelf associated with the claim extends out into the sea.
The U.K. claim follows similar actions by Australia and New Zealand under the Law of the Sea treaty (UNCLOS). Under UNCLOS, countries have until 2009 to submit claims. The actions under UNCLOS either challenge or add to the protections of the Antarctic Treaty, depending on viewpoint. The 1959 Antarctic treating, and the codicil in 1991 regarding environmental protection, does not explicitly address off shore claims.
The claims include areas for possible oil and gas exploitation although technologies for extraction at such ocean depths do not currently exist. No doubt, they will exist at some point in the future.
The U.K. is also working on two other continental shelf claims around southern Atlantic territories: the Falklands and South Georgia Islands. The U.K. has, similar to Russia, sent a submersible to explore the deep-sea area around the continental shelf.
The claim and others that are sure to follow raise at least three key questions about the future of Antarctica in a period of high climate change.
1. Will all seven countries that claim land in Antarctica follow through with off shore claims?
Clearly yes. In fact, three of the seven will have now filed offshore claims. All of these countries will develop undersea vehicles for exploration in anticipation of the expiration of the Antarctic Treaty in 2042.
Brazil proposes delimiting claims using meridians that would give territories to Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador.
2. Will countries that have claimed islands in the zone also act to secure offshore rights?
The action by the United Kingdom virtually assures this. The Antarctic Treaty area covers out to 60 degrees South parallel. This area includes the Orcadas or South Orkney Islands claimed by Argentina, King George Islands claimed by several countries, and Peter I Island, claimed by Norway. Peter I Island is the only non-sector claim under the treaty.
If countries claim offshore waters then it is possible that some claims from countries out to 50 degrees South parallel will also intrude on the Antarctic Zone. This group includes the Macquarie, Heard, and MacDonald Island (Australia), Campbell and Auckland Islands (New Zealand), the South Georgia and Sandwich Islands (like the Falklands, disputed between the United Kingdom and Argentina), and Bouvet Island (Norway).
Just outside this zone are French claims to Kerguelen Island and Iles Crozet and South African claims to Prince Edward Island.
3. How will countries who have signed the Antarctic Treaty, but do not claim land, react? Many reserve the right to claim lands in the future?
Consider the list of treaty adherents. Russia and the United States reserve the right to claim Antarctic territory. Other members may follow suit including China, India, and Japan who have economic interests. South and North Korea could continue their cold war in Antarctica. Papua New Guinea in 50 years might be a far different country
Climate change will do more than just raise the temperature. It will lead to a cascading of claims to new lands. This change, in both climate and the politics of it, is happening much faster than originally anticipated.
Jim Lee
The U.K. claim follows similar actions by Australia and New Zealand under the Law of the Sea treaty (UNCLOS). Under UNCLOS, countries have until 2009 to submit claims. The actions under UNCLOS either challenge or add to the protections of the Antarctic Treaty, depending on viewpoint. The 1959 Antarctic treating, and the codicil in 1991 regarding environmental protection, does not explicitly address off shore claims.
The claims include areas for possible oil and gas exploitation although technologies for extraction at such ocean depths do not currently exist. No doubt, they will exist at some point in the future.
The U.K. is also working on two other continental shelf claims around southern Atlantic territories: the Falklands and South Georgia Islands. The U.K. has, similar to Russia, sent a submersible to explore the deep-sea area around the continental shelf.
The claim and others that are sure to follow raise at least three key questions about the future of Antarctica in a period of high climate change.
1. Will all seven countries that claim land in Antarctica follow through with off shore claims?
Clearly yes. In fact, three of the seven will have now filed offshore claims. All of these countries will develop undersea vehicles for exploration in anticipation of the expiration of the Antarctic Treaty in 2042.
Brazil proposes delimiting claims using meridians that would give territories to Uruguay, Peru, and Ecuador.
2. Will countries that have claimed islands in the zone also act to secure offshore rights?
The action by the United Kingdom virtually assures this. The Antarctic Treaty area covers out to 60 degrees South parallel. This area includes the Orcadas or South Orkney Islands claimed by Argentina, King George Islands claimed by several countries, and Peter I Island, claimed by Norway. Peter I Island is the only non-sector claim under the treaty.
If countries claim offshore waters then it is possible that some claims from countries out to 50 degrees South parallel will also intrude on the Antarctic Zone. This group includes the Macquarie, Heard, and MacDonald Island (Australia), Campbell and Auckland Islands (New Zealand), the South Georgia and Sandwich Islands (like the Falklands, disputed between the United Kingdom and Argentina), and Bouvet Island (Norway).
Just outside this zone are French claims to Kerguelen Island and Iles Crozet and South African claims to Prince Edward Island.
3. How will countries who have signed the Antarctic Treaty, but do not claim land, react? Many reserve the right to claim lands in the future?
Consider the list of treaty adherents. Russia and the United States reserve the right to claim Antarctic territory. Other members may follow suit including China, India, and Japan who have economic interests. South and North Korea could continue their cold war in Antarctica. Papua New Guinea in 50 years might be a far different country
Climate change will do more than just raise the temperature. It will lead to a cascading of claims to new lands. This change, in both climate and the politics of it, is happening much faster than originally anticipated.
Jim Lee
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