One of your whacko liberal bureaucracies getting its funding cut is the US Coast Guard, which has been operating in the high Arctic since the 1880s. The USCG currently has ONE icebreaker, medium-duty, operating in the far north, and is begging Congress for enough money to rebuild one of their two old heavy icebreakers. The Russians have twenty five: six active heavies plus two mothballed heavies, fifteen others, and two leased from the Netherlands. The Russians expect that the next big military confrontation probably will be in the Arctic; a recent stunt was planting a Russian flag made of titanium on the seabed at the north pole. Other countries are nervously preparing: Finland and Sweden each have seven icebreakers, Canada has six and hopes to find funding for another six. Lisa Murkowski, Republican senator from Alaska has spoken out about Chinese marine activities in the Arctic, saying, "We don't think that they're just sightseeing". Evidently not; China is now building its first icebreaker.
None of this would be happening but for Arctic ice thinning dramatically in recent years, as the Coast Guard knows . . .knows better than all other parties offering commentary on the situation, having been operating in the region for some 130 years. NOBODY else (including, by its own admission, the US Navy, which is war-gaming Arctic scenarios and not telling us anything else about them) has anything like the credibility of the USCG and its scientists on this matter. The Coast Guard's one active icebreaker, the "Healy" (named for Michael Healy, captain of the "Bear" which was the first and longest-operating icebreaker) is a medium-duty vessel designed specifically for Arctic research. When the scientists of the "Healy" tell us global warming is a con-job, I'll believe it.
But of course the Coast Guard scientists are dupes or liars, in on the con so they can keep their cushy jobs and get us to buy them more boats. Right.
Bookmarks