Cold Front Conflict Ahead in Arctic Waters

by Fairhall, David

• ISBN13: 9781582437606
• ISBN10: 1582437602
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-20
• Publisher: Counterpoint

Summary

The Arctic. Land of ice and the six–month day, irresistible goal for explorers and adventurers, enduring source of romance and mystery, and now also a poignant and unavoidable indicator of the impact of climate change.



As the ice cap shrinks, the geography of the entire Arctic region changes—clear shipping channels replace immovable ice and inaccessible oil resources become available. What will be the long–term consequences of these cataclysmic changes, not only environmentally but also socially and politically? How will the lives of the many individuals who depend upon the natural resources of the Arctic be changed? And how will the global powers that wish to exploit the region's many assets respond?



Cold Front is not just another attempt to predict the outcome of global warming. It offers a clear–sighted and penetrating investigation of the Arctic's pivotal role in international relations, placing the polar region in its historical, political, and legal context. The thawing of the ice cap creates huge opportunities for trade and transport—and therefore also for conflict between Arctic nations. This beautifully written investigation provides insight, answers, and hope for the future of the region.

Author Biography

David Fairhall spent many years reporting on every aspect of the Cold War, as well as the hotter wars that erupted along the way, as the Guardian's Defense Correspondent. His own military service was as a Russian interpreter in the Royal Navy, prompting his first book, Russia Looks to the Sea. He is also the author of Cold Front and Common Ground, among other books.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. X
List of Maps	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Foreword	p. XV
Preface	p. xvii
Introduction	p. XX
The Arctic Arena	p. 1
Thickness matters	p. 3
Coming in from the cold	p. 5
An alarming opportunity	p. 7
The barking dog	p. 10
Tipping point	p. 12
Frozen Assets	p. 15
Russian company	p. 16
Lamp oil and corsets	p. 17
Cod wars	p. 18
Striking it rich	p. 20
A state within a state	p. 23
Turning off the gas	p. 24
A different ball game	p. 25
The Law of the Sea	p. 27
An altruistic tradition	p. 28
Going to the ball	p. 29
Within cannon shot	p. 31
Rights of passage	p. 32
On the shelf	p. 32
Who owns the North Pole?	p. 33
A Russian fist	p. 37
Significant geology	p. 39
Fishing for facts	p. 41
Ice bears that go bump in the night	p. 42
Rights of access	p. 44
Cold Warfare	p. 47
The most valuable piece of real estate in NATO'	p. 48
A helping hand	p. 49
Island of the donkey's ears	p. 50
The sailor Czar	p. 51
Krushchev's herrings	p. 53
A hint of violence	p. 55
Wakening bear	p. 56
The silent service	p. 58
Polar snapshots	p. 60
Coming up for air	p. 62
East by North	p. 63
As plausible as the English Channel'	p. 63
Gin on the rocks	p. 64
Wishful thinking	p. 67
Spared the gallows	p. 68
Logistical nightmare	p. 70
Filling in the blanks	p. 72
'The man who ate his boots'	p. 74
Dip circle	p. 75
Creating a Victorian legend	p. 76
Home from home	p. 78
Ice trap	p. 80
No English gentleman...	p. 81
'My mission on earth'	p. 82
Two skeletons, some chocolate and a little tea	p. 83
Going native	p. 84
Short Cuts	p. 87
First night	p. 89
Canalside view	p. 90
Second time unlucky	p. 91
Bolsheviks in Cold Waters	p. 93
With Stalin's compliments	p. 96
Wonderland	p. 97
Wishful thinking	p. 98
'Strength through joy' for Stakhanovites	p. 99
The Bakayev plan	p. 100
Arctic gateway	p. 101
Atomic relations	p. 102
Czar Bomba	p. 103
Half-life	p. 104
'You get used to it'	p. 105
Breaking the Ice	p. 107
A nuclear pioneer	p. 109
Out of the ordinary	p. 110
A difficult birth	p. 112
Atomic takeover	p. 113 A polar
Back to front	p. 116 Nuclear
'Water where it didn't use to be'	p. 119
Ottawa's bribe	p. 121
Polar attitudes	p. 122
North-West Passage	p. 125
Inuit know-how	p. 126
An icebreaking leviathan	p. 128
Arctic surgery	p. 129
Pyrrhic victory	p. 130
'Inflamed nationalists'	p. 131
The 'arctic exception'	p. 132
'Use it or lose it'	p. 134
A political voice	p. 135
Mackenzie's oil	p. 137
What the whales will hear	p. 138
Arctic bridge	p. 139
Not just polar bears	p. 140
North-East Passage	p. 141
Baffling statistics	p. 143
Ice cellar	p. 145
Late developer	p. 146
No need to queue	p. 147
Second refusal	p. 149
Practical doubts	p. 151
Turn of the tide	p. 152
Living on borrowed time	p. 153
Eco-tourism	p. 155
Conquest and assimilation	p. 157
Great expectations	p. 158
'A resource base for the twenty-first century'	p. 159
Ice shuttle	p. 161
Mother of all icebreakers	p. 162
Across the Top of the World	p. 165
Changing course	p. 169
Reality check	p. 171
Hidden beauty	p. 172
Meltdown	p. 175
Alarm call	p. 178
Abruptness	p. 182
From meltdown to shutdown?	p. 183
Possible Outcomes	p. 187
Double negative	p. 188
Dangerous waters	p. 190
Shipping forecast	p. 194
Northern Poll	p. 197
A Chronology	p. 205
Index	p. 211
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