The Arctic dilemma

The football field-size CCGS Amundsen, breaking through the icy waters of the Northwest Passage, came to a halt. Traversing one of the most unexplored regions of Earth’s oceans, the Canadian coast guard vessel found itself amid ice 10 feet thick. It reversed course, turned 30 degrees, and proceeded forward again, trembling along the way.

This icebreaker’s objective was to carry scientists into little-charted seas high in the Canadian Arctic. There they planned to map regions of the seafloor at high resolution and pull up a sample that could reveal what happened here at the close of the last ice age, 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

But the dilemma the scientists on this vessel faced had less to do with ancient history than the near future. By helping to map a region that’s only now becoming navigable, thanks to climate change, they’re part of a broader opening of one of Earth’s most untouched environments to a growing volume of ship traffic.

Read The Washington Post story - “The Arctic dilemma.”

Melting Ice Allows Northwest Passage Cruise -- But At What Cost?

The first passenger cruise through the storied Northwest Passage arrives in New York this weekend. The trip onboard the Crystal Serenity has been billed “the ultimate expedition for the true explorer.”

But critics have called it the most dangerous cruise on Earth.

They say serious issues surround every aspect of the sail, from its interactions with indigenous communities to the dangers (to passengers and ecosystems) when a 69,000-ton, 14-deck luxury cruise liner sails through largely uncharted waters.

Crystal Cruises CEO Edie Rodriguez said two years of research went into making the cruise environmentally friendly, and that "I can assure you that we have done everything possible to ensure that we do not further contribute to the problem."

University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers has been writing about the Crystal Serenity, and he joins Here & Now's Robin Young to discuss issues of law, environment and the ethics of what some are calling "extinction tourism."

Read the Here&Now story - “Melting Ice Allows Northwest Passage Cruise -- But At What Cost?”

A Cruise Ship Just Sailed the Northwest Passage, Thanks to Climate Change

The famed Northwest Passage is being
opened up because of climate change.

The Northwest Passage originated as an unattainable and lethal legend when Europeans arrived in the Americas and longed for an easy sea route across North America. Now, a cruise ship has successfully traversed the route in only a month.

It wasn’t until 1906 that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen successfully — but with extreme difficulty — navigated what had, until then, been a theoretical journey. In the years since, heavily fortified ships with icebreakers could only make it through the floes of the Arctic in summer, when sea ice was at its lowest.

Now, a massive 14-deck cruise ship has completed the journey that was a pipe dream just over one hundred years ago — and it’s raising a lot of concerns.

It took the Crystal Serenity just a month to glide through the waters from Alaska to New York — Amundsen needed three years.

What made this speedy voyage possible?

Read the Care2 story - “A Cruise Ship Just Sailed the Northwest Passage, Thanks to Climate Change.”