On Monday, Aug. 27, the New York Times carried a story describing how the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean is currently at its lowest recorded level, and we still have a month of melting to go before it starts its seasonal build-up.Much of the story focused on comments from scientists blaming human activity for the melting. What really stood out, however, was this sentence in the second half of the story:
"The melting does, however, offer some potential benefits, including new shipping routes and easier access to oil and other mineral deposits. A rush is on to stake claims and begin mineral exploration in the Arctic."
Great! One of the benefits of melting, which was caused by human activities, is that it opens up more areas for oil extraction.
Does anyone else see the problem here?
I believe that one of the basic qualities of being human is the ability to recognize a paradox. Well, with this article, we just got a little less human.
No comments:
Post a Comment