| Summary: | This monograph examines the Arctic security environment, and concludes that the most significant threat to security in the Arctic rim in the year 2000 and beyond is the poor storage, handling and disposal of nuclear waste in the Russian North. The monograph gives a broad outline of the situation of the indigenous peoples of the high north, and provides examples of how western nations have given the native populations a great deal of autonomy. However, the situation for the aboriginal peoples of the Russian north is far from satisfactory. The problem of air and sea borne pollutants is of great concern on a longer time frame, with the prospect of irreversible global changes to the climate. This monograph draws the connection between the fragile ecosystem of the Polar Regions, and the world climate, and shows how the Arctic serves as a moderator for the changes in global temperature. Nuclear waste in the Russian North has not been properly stored, and both liquid and solid waste have been dumped into the Barents sea. The monograph explains how this problem may become a major concern for the population in Northern Europe. An accident involving fissionable material reaching critical levels will spread nuclear fallout through the air over large areas, posing a threat to life and health of the northern population. 'I'he monograph concludes that the solution to the most pressing security concern, nuclear waste, lies in western involvement in the disposal of the waste, both through economic aid and through technological assistance. The problem of other types of pollution, primarily the emission of climate gases such as C02, will be hard to implement, because it will mean that North Americans must change their lifestyle by reducing the use of automobiles and increasing the use of non-polluting sources of transportation and energy.
|
|---|