ITEM#1: LINK: https://theconversation.com/as-sea-levels-rise-are-we-ready-to-live-behind-giant-walls-137976

QUESTION: WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THE SEA LEVEL RISE ISSUE IN CLIMATE CHANGE? SHOULD WE BUILD HUGE WALLS?

COMMENT; CURRENTLY THE CLIMATE SCIENCE FORECAST FOR SEA LEVEL RISE IS 10 CENTIMETERS. THE ARGUMENT IS THAT IT WILL CAUSE A LIFESTYLE DISCOMFORT FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON COASTAL LOWLANDS BECAUSE THEY WILL SUFFER FLOODING DURING HIGH TIDE. THIS IS NOT A FORECAST FOR WHICH WE NEED TO BUILD “HUGE WALLS”.

ITEM#2: LINK: https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-a-security-threat-the-government-keeps-ignoring-well-show-up-empty-handed-to-yet-another-global-summit-158702

PROBLEM STATEMENT: AUSTRALIA’S CLIMATE RISK IS THAT AMONG THE RICH WESTERN COUNTRIES AUSTRAILA FACES A UNIQUE PROBLEM IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUE BECAUSE THEY ARE A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO THE THIRD WORLD IN SOUTHEAST ASIA BECAUSE THERE WE HAVE THESE WORTHLESS PEOPLE UNABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES AND SUBJECTED TO THINGS LIKE SEA LEVEL RISE, TROPICAL CYCLONES, FAMINES AND SUCH THAT WILL LEAD TO CLIMATE MIGRANTS. ALL THESE CLIMATE HORRORS ARE A LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME FOR AUSTRALIA. THIS SITUATION POSES AN EMERGING THREAT TO THE AUSTRALIAN WAY OF LIFE BECAUSE OUR THIRD WORLD LOCATION, WITH ALL THESE THIRD WORLD PEOPLE SO CLOSE TO US, IS A SECURITY THREAT.

COMMENT: OUR HEART GOES OUT TO THOSE UNLUCKY AUSTRALIANS DOOMED BY CIRCUMSTANCES TO THIS GEOGRAPHICAL HORROR OF BEING SO CLOSE TO THE THIRD WORLD DURING CLIMATE CHANGE THAT MAY IMPOSE ON THEM THE TRAGIC ROLE OF EITHER WATCHING THEM BEING DESTROYED OR HAVING TO HELP THEM IN SOME MANNER. OH THE HORROR! THE HORROR!

ITEM#3: LINK: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_4

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Climate change makes the Arctic ocean accessible for a range of human activities, such as shipping or hydrocarbon extraction OMG! OMG!,

This can severely damage the fragile natural environment. OMG! OMG!

The emergence of a ‘new ocean’ raises the question whether existing international legal norms are sufficient to adequately govern the Arctic ocean.

COMMENT: THIS IS OF COURSE, THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE DOOMOLOGY DISCUSSED IN A RELATED POST ON THIS SITE: LINK: https://tambonthongchai.com/2020/07/17/the-northwest-passage-doomology/

THE ISSUE IS THAT GLOBAL WARMING IS BLAMED FOR LOW SEPTEMBER MINIMUM SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC AND LOW SEPTEMBER MINIMUM SEA ICE IN THE ARCTIC IS BLAMED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF RE-OPENING THE SHORTER SHIPPING ROUTES THROUGH THE ARCTIC CALLED THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE THAT CONNECT THE MAJOR NORTHERN HEMISPHERE CONTINENTS AS SHOWN IN THE DIAGRAM BELOW. THE USE OF THE ARCTIC FOR SHIPPING IS THOUGHT TO BE PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE THERE IS NO GOVERNMING BODY FOR THE OPEN SEA OF THAT REGION THAT CAN REGULATE SHIPPING AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF WHAT IS THOUGHT TO BE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREA. THESE CONCERNS ARE NOT REALLY ARGUMENTS AGAINST OPENING OF THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE BUT SIMPLY IMPORTANT DETAILS OF HOW THAT SHOULD BE DONE. WE WOULD NEED SOME KIND OF INTERNATIONAL GOVERNING BODY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS TO REOPEN THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE BUT THESE CONCERNS DO NOT SERVE AS ARGUMENT AGAINST THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE. THE REAL CONCERN IN THE WEST MAY BE THAT IT WILL SERVE CHINA AND RUSSIA WITH A HUGE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE.

NORTHWEST PASSAGE NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE: LINK#1: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/exhibitions/northwest-passage/northwest-passage-matter-national-security

In the context of the Northwest Passage, security priorities have been extended from traditional concerns to newer ones related to the changing environment. The result of this is the systematic consolidation of nature as a military entity. The early period of the Cold War saw attempts to overcome what was perceived to be a hostile environment. As Kenneth Eyre observes, “neither the United States nor Canada looked on the North as a place to be protected because of some intrinsic value. Rather it was seen as a direction, as an exposed flank. As the polar ice recedes, the exploitation of resources increases, and the Arctic is a vast territory that is rich in oil and minerals. It is traversed by national boundaries and commercial shipping lines, but is also a vulnerable and changing ecosystem that is home to unique fish and wildlife populations. The real conflict in the Arctic today is not, in fact, between military forces, but rather between the competing needs of resource exploitation and environmental protection. The Canadian government aims to play the leading role in the region, but in order to be successful it must also demonstrate its ability to guarantee the security of the area—something that is more than a matter of simply patrolling the coasts.

LINK#2: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-42671-2_4

Climate change makes the Arctic ocean accessible for a range of human activities, such as shipping or hydrocarbon extraction, which can severely damage the fragile natural environment. The emergence of a ‘new ocean’ raises the question whether existing international legal norms are sufficient to adequately govern the Arctic ocean in light of this changing situation. Looking at the work of existing institutions, initiatives by Arctic States and applicable legal norms, the authors investigate the suitability of the current international legal framework for the governance of the Arctic ocean in general and the protection of the marine environment in particular. In the absence of a regional seas agreement for the Arctic ocean, particular attention will be given to the work of the Arctic Council and to potential future developments of the international legal framework governing in particular the high seas part of the central Arctic ocean.

There are two issues in he Northwest Passage question. They are (1) Environmental concern that the Arctic is a fragile and unexploited region that will become open for exploitation and (2) Political and legal concern about how this newly created commercial territory will be governed. And unsaid in these articles but understood is the fearful role that China will surely play as the Northwest Passage gives China direct sea route to Europe and North America.