Receding Ice sheets and ocean currents are reaching a tipping point as global heating push temperatures beyond a critical threshold, leading to accelerated and irreversible damage. Scientists in May 2021 reported that a significant part of the Greenland ice sheet was on the brink of a tipping point.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet releases fresh water into the ocean and slows the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which is driven partly by salty water being pulled down towards the ocean floor.
According to the article “Interacting tipping elements increase risk of climate domino effects under global warming” in the journal Earth System Dynamics (Volume 12 #2 2021). A weaker AMOC means that less heat is transported to the North Pole, which in turn leads to a warmer Southern Ocean which can then destabilise ice sheets in Antarctica.
A summary of the report was given in Science Daily (3rd June 2021) stated:
“Under global warming, tipping elements in the Earth system can destabilize each other and eventually lead to climate domino effects. The ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica are potential starting points for tipping cascades…. The Atlantic overturning circulation would then act as a transmitter, and eventually elements like the Amazon rainforest would be impacted. The consequences for people would reach from sea-level rise to biosphere degradation”.
Are governments alarmed? No, they are too busy taking advantage of the melting Artic ice sheets.
One of the side effects of global warming is that the northern sea ice is receding and exposing access to minerals and precious metals needed for industry and commodity production for profit. This has led to growing dispute between countries that have economic and political interests in the region, foremost Russia who wants to secure these mineral and energy resources for itself.
This is hardly surprising. World capitalism is highly competitive. Countries need to protect a constant stream of minerals and energy resources for their own industries. They do so by protecting trade routes and forming military bases and strategic spheres of influence to protect them.
Conflict is never far away. Most of the countries in the Arctic are armed to the teeth. Russia pursues its ambition to grow Russian control over global resources, the US seeks to dismantle Chinese dominance in rare earth minerals, and China looks to maintain that dominance. Is there a new Cold War fought on the geopolitical battleground of Arctic mining?
All land and seas in the Arctic are under the control of one of the eight Arctic coastal states: Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. While all these countries are equally vociferous for the potential wealth of the Arctic, it is Russia who has been singled out for wanting the largest slice of the pie.
At least that is what the propagandists in the Western media tell you (The Independent 2nd June 2021). Former President Donald Trump wanted to buy Greenland for its rare minerals. China has a foothold there. Socialists, of course, do not take sides in the squabble between countries: one capitalist nation is just as bad as the next. All capitalist countries exploit; they damage the Earth and more importantly they exploit the working class.
Russia does have the advantage in the region since its borders stretch for more than half of the Arctic Ocean coastline. It also has a population of 2 million living there. Russia has announced that it will conduct strategic military drills in the Arctic this autumn following the construction of military bases and infrastructure.
Global warming and the retreat of the ice has meant that not only energy reserves, minerals and fisheries have been exposed for commercial gain, but the Arctic is now open to shipping lanes across the region which could help re-route global trade and enable high-speed electronic communications between Europe and Asia. This gives advantage to Russia and disadvantage to the United States and its allies. More conflict for the future.
The United States is unhappy at Russia’s moves in the Arctic region. The US wants the resources and control of communication and trade routes. US Secretary of state Antony Blinken, a man who represents the interests of the capitalist class in the US, criticised Russia for its “unlawful maritime claims”. The US claims it is defending “freedom of navigation” which means freedom of navigation for US trade and interests (The Independent 3rd June 2021).
For the first time since the mid-1980s, the US conducted naval exercises in the region close to Russia. Norway has also annoyed Russia by allowing the US to build facilities at three of its airfields and a naval base.
What a dreadful uncivilised system of rapacious greed and envy. Capitalism causes global warming with all its negative effects, particularly the poor who lose their homes, livelihoods to flooding or draught while, at the same time, the rich countries squabble over resources and trade routes opened up by the consequences of global warming.
Surely this system of economic anarchy, destruction and conflict should be abolished and replaced with the sanity of production directly for social use? Surely, capitalism should be replaced with socialism, the common ownership and democratic control of the means of production and distribution as quickly as possible?
Global socialism has to replace global capitalism. Only socialism will prevent war, conflict and environmental degradation. Socialism will be a world without artificial frontiers, barbed wire and guards. There will be no nation states so there will be no national rivalry, conflict and war. The world’s resources will be held in common under democratic control. Free men and women would just produce goods and services directly to meet human need. No money and no bartering.
To use a socialist dictum:
“from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”.
Unfortunately, socialism just cannot happen. It requires the world’s working class, those forced to live off wages and salaries, to take effective democratic and political action to gain control of the machinery of government. Our interest is global: the creation of a world of human co-operation.
So, the choice for the world’s working class is more of the same capitalism with its degradation of the environment, class exploitation and war or a revolutionary socialist alternative.
