A welcome 25 minute run this morning after a challenging and run-less weekend.
Further north, as the Arctic sea ice retreats in response to global warming, valuable mineral resources are becoming more accessible for large scale extraction. Inevitably this brings a conflict of interest between those who benefit from the substantial financial reward and those who value the as yet undamaged environment. Some indigenous communities appear to be especially conflicted, being faced with the seductive prospect of unprecedented wealth and at the same time being justifiably fearful of the corrosive impact of such wealth on their traditions and values (ref).
The language being used to describe the mineral exploitation is interesting. In an account in yesterday’s Guardian (ref), the richest man in the UK, Lakshmi Mittal, is reported to be building the largest iron mine in the Arctic in order to feed demand from the growing economies of India & China. Feeding demand sounds like a benign, almost nurturing activity, and one with a sub-text which implies that the demand must be met, for humanitarian reasons. Perhaps greedily grabbing an opportunity to exploit a demand in order to create yet more obscene levels of personal wealth despite the environmental consequences would have been a more accurate description. At 38 billion dollars, Mr Mittal's personal wealth already exceeds the GDP of 100 entire countries, but he apparently needs more.
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