greenlink%gn@cdp.uucp (10/04/89)
Via GreenLink:
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WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A U.S.-backed international agreement to
permit oil and mineral prospecting in Antarctica has come under
increasing fire from other countries, environmentalists and some
U.S. politicians who say it could spell ecological disaster for
the world's last untamed continent.
Initialed last year by 33 nations in Wellington, New Zealand,
after six years of negotiations, the agreement sought to
establish international protocols to allow for potential oil and
mineral development while safeguarding the fragile Antarctic
environment.
But last month the French and Australian governments announced
their opposition to mining in the Antarctic under any
circumstances, saying that the entire continent should be
protected as a "wilderness reserve." Although the two countries
did not explicitly reject the Wellington accord, their actions
appeared to strike it a major blow, since it requires unanimous
agreement.
Environmentalists say that mining and other human activity in
Antarctica could have consequences for the entire planet. Covered
with an ice sheet up to three miles thick, the continent is
thought to play a key role in regulating Earth's climate. It also
provides an uncontaminated laboratory for scientific experiments
on global environmental change.
On Tuesday, Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) introduced a
resolution in the Senate calling for a stronger Antarctic
agreement that would establish a "global ecological commons"
there, preserving the continent in its nearly pristine state.
"Outside of the sun's rays and the rotation of the Earth,
Antarctica is the single most powerful influence on the Earth's
global climate," Gore said in an interview. "It's a valuable
opportunity for the world as a whole to say, `We're going to do
things differently this time.' "
U.S. officials still hold out hope for the Wellington agreement,
which they described as the best vehicle for the long-term
protection of Antarctica. "We want to protect the Antarctic
environment," said Tucker Scully, director of ocean and polar
affairs for the State Department.
But U.S. officials said they oppose an outright ban on
development because, as one said, "that ban is easily
overridden," in the event that large oil or mineral deposits are
discovered. Under the Wellington agreement, oil and mineral
development could not proceed unless all signatories agreed to
it.
Moreover, Scully said, "It may be that in the future some exotic
mineral is found . . . and technology will be developed that
allows it to be extracted in an environmentally sound fashion."
It remains to be seen whether there is anything in the Antarctic
worth extracting. Shallow test holes drilled in Antarctica's
continental shelf during the last two decades have turned up no
evidence of oil, according to John Behrendt, coordinator of
Antarctic research for the U.S. Geological Survey.
On land, scientists have found traces of gold, platinum and
other minerals, but not in quantities that would justify the
expense and hardship of mining them in the harsh Antarctic
climate, Behrendt said. Coal and iron exist in somewhat larger
quantities, but again, "it would be too expensive to go under the
ice and get them," Behrendt said.
Nevertheless, environmentalists say that human activity has
begun to take a toll on Antarctica, whose climate and remoteness
make it particularly vulnerable to man-made catastrophe. Last
January, for example, an Argentine Navy ship ran aground on the
Antarctic peninsula in an area of abundant marine birds. The ship
is still leaking oil.
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Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud)
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