Antarctica Conservation Vs. Exploitation
Antarctica: Conservation versus Exploitation
INTRODUCTION
Antarctica, the last virgin spot of land on earth. It takes 20 days on a ship to get to Antarctica but only half as many hours in an airplane.
Size: It is twice the size of Australia at 14 million sq km (est.) land area, its coastline is17,968 km.
Climate: severe low temperatures Change depending on your latitude, elevation, and how far away from the ocean you are; Eastern Antarctica is colder than Western Antarctica because it is higher; The Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coastline and are normally just below freezing.
Terrain: About 98% thick is continental ice sheet and 2% of it is barren rock, with average height between 2 000 and 4 000 meters. Mountain ranges go up to up to 4 897 meters high; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound. Glaciers form ice shelves along half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves make up 11% of the area of the continent.
This huge island is at the centre of one big and very important argument. Whether it should be exploited for its possible rich mineral content. Or whether it should just be left alone and made a world park.
In this barren desert for half the year it is light and the other half it is dark.
The Ownership of Antarctica.
Many country's claim to own Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 does not deny of accept any of these claims and so has avoided disputes over the matter.
The Argument for Development
Antarctica is very rich in minerals and has hidden in it gold, silver, nickel, tin and many other things. It has a commercial amount of coal so coal miners are attracted come and mess up Antarctica.
Antarctica exists today in an ice age. Future economic development of the ice-covered land mass is not very likely. Resource exploitation on the continental shelf is possible but certainly not for many years to come, sea life in the waters surrounding Antarctica is currently being developed economically. This sea life includes whales and a tiny shrimp look-alike animal called krill.
The Russian Expedition survey predicted that the scale of diamond in the huge continent was similar to the amount found in South Africa and Yakutia, in Russia’s far east.
So...