Of Arctic Colonialism & Unexpected Organizations

In an age where everything belongs to someone (even open source software belongs to "you and me" and has proprietary versions), the frozen arctic north has remained (in my mind at least) blissfully un-owned. Until now.

Canada, the US, Russia, Norway, and Denmark are all laying claim to parts of the oil-rich seabed under the North Pole. Read the BBC news article.

Ah, yes, oil as a proxy for $ makes the world go 'round. Wonder when Dubya is going to discover Al Quaeda underwater (as opposed to underfoot). Maybe the Aurora Borealis have been after-effects of weapons tests all along...

As a side note, did you know there is an International Seabed Authority?

While I understand the need for the ISA, it just goes to show there is an organization for everything. Ferret lovers, Coon dogs, and folks who live on land but rule the ocean floor. I bet high-volume flush toilets have an organized following too, esp. here in California where they are illegal.

So why don't you and I? Maybe because we generate more turds than we remove on a daily basis... wonder what club we could make that into :P