Public concerns about warming in the arctic were readily apparent on Tuesday evening as Bowers auditorium filled with students, faculty and other interested individuals to hear Dr. Walter B. Parker speak. Dr. Parker’s background and extensive experience as a scholar and influential policy maker in the arctic made him a great fit for the series’ first lecture.

His presentation began appropriately with a broad overview of important issues in the arctic. Dr. Parker first described the key countries in the circumpolar region as well as the sought after resources that are at stake, primarily hard minerals and oil. He went on to explain how the arctic was experiencing rapid changes in climate conditions, specifically rising ocean temperatures and record summer lows of ice extent and thickness.

The redundant sea ice extent on September 11, 2007, documented by satellite imagery, showed an unprecedented record of arctic summer ice retreat. The decline and thinning of arctic ice would subsequently accommodate shorter, more navigable shipping routes from Europe or Russia to Asia. Much of the shipping industry has already started thinking about ways to cut costs and cater to a wider array of regions by exploiting this situation.

Currently, the two primary shipping routes in the arctic are the Northwest Sea Passage and the Northwest Sea Route. The Northwest Sea Passage meanders around the islands north of Canada. The Northwest Sea Route, a more travelled route than the Northwest Sea Passage, follows the Russian Coastline. The Northwest Sea Passage typically sees more cruise ships while the Northwest Sea Route is primarily used by large container carrying ships. However with thinning or in most cases retreating ice cover, more potential shipping routes are becoming available and facilitating the crossing for less specialized ships. The Central Arctic Ocean route is one potential new shipping route recently mapped by shipping proponents. The Central Arctic Ocean route which would pass near the North Pole would allow ships to significantly cut down on the traveling distance, or cost and time, between ports in Europe and China.

While it was interesting to hear about the ways in which the warming arctic would alter shipping routes it was equally interesting to hear many of Dr. Parker’s unique anecdotes. Dr. Parker shared many short stories during the lecture and during the dinner following the lecture, about Inuits that he had fished with or Russian skippers he had worked with. Dr. Parker’s reputation clearly precedes him, he is an individual who has accomplished a great deal for the people of the arctic and Alaska. I also praise him for his consistent involvement with policy making in the arctic, a contribution that the entire planet undoubtedly benefits from.

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