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The inhabitants of Antarctica are the least of our concerns. Millions of people around the world will be flooded out of their homes

tomkinstinch 11y ago
Additionally, the ice and snowpack of Antarctica contain ~70% of the fresh water available on the entire planet.
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago
  For some definition of "available". If I actually want to use fresh water, Antarctica's ice is not available at all - at least not until we start towing icebergs to Saudi Arabia or something...
- gus_massa 11y ago
  Unless you were planning to transport a giant iceberg with a boat, it doesn't matter that there is a lot of fresh water in Antarctica. Water is very cheap, people need it. The important thing is to have available water near the people that is easy and cheap to process. So it's important to keep the big rivers as clean as possible, and use that water efficiently. If tomorrow all the ice in Antarctica magically disappears, it would not change the problems of the people that need water to drink or cultivate plants. (If the ice magically disappears, it will create other problems changing the climate patterns. If it just melt instead of truly disappearing, it will cause floods.)
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  Maybe I'm missing something, but what does that do for us? It's not like you or I are drinking antarctic water. For it to get to us, it has to melt into the salty ocean, evaporate, and then rain.
- jcranmer 11y ago
  Antarctica exists basically in two separate ice sheets, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the first of which consists of 90% of the sheet. The collapse of ice in Antarctica is basically limited to the tinier West Antarctic Ice Sheet, with the EAIS expected to make a more or less neutral balance (perhaps even slightly positive).
radarsat1 11y ago
Sorry you misinterpreted me, I am not worried about the inhabitants. I was wondering if anyone has claim to the land.
- norea-armozel 11y ago
  I believe a UN treaty officially treats the land of the Antarctic as unowned even by private parties.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  Plenty of countries have claimed overlapping areas of Antarctica. Currently an international treaty reserves Antarctica for mostly science and nature (no military, no mining) but the treaty isn't permanent. https://youtu.be/DbKNlFcg02c https://youtu.be/DbKNlFcg02c

tomkinstinch 11y ago

Additionally, the ice and snowpack of Antarctica contain ~70% of the fresh water available on the entire planet.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago
For some definition of "available". If I actually want to use fresh water, Antarctica's ice is not available at all - at least not until we start towing icebergs to Saudi Arabia or something...
gus_massa 11y ago
Unless you were planning to transport a giant iceberg with a boat, it doesn't matter that there is a lot of fresh water in Antarctica. Water is very cheap, people need it. The important thing is to have available water near the people that is easy and cheap to process. So it's important to keep the big rivers as clean as possible, and use that water efficiently. If tomorrow all the ice in Antarctica magically disappears, it would not change the problems of the people that need water to drink or cultivate plants. (If the ice magically disappears, it will create other problems changing the climate patterns. If it just melt instead of truly disappearing, it will cause floods.)
sliverstorm 11y ago
Maybe I'm missing something, but what does that do for us? It's not like you or I are drinking antarctic water. For it to get to us, it has to melt into the salty ocean, evaporate, and then rain.
jcranmer 11y ago
Antarctica exists basically in two separate ice sheets, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the first of which consists of 90% of the sheet. The collapse of ice in Antarctica is basically limited to the tinier West Antarctic Ice Sheet, with the EAIS expected to make a more or less neutral balance (perhaps even slightly positive).

radarsat1 11y ago

Sorry you misinterpreted me, I am not worried about the inhabitants. I was wondering if anyone has claim to the land.

norea-armozel 11y ago
I believe a UN treaty officially treats the land of the Antarctic as unowned even by private parties.
nommm-nommm 11y ago
Plenty of countries have claimed overlapping areas of Antarctica. Currently an international treaty reserves Antarctica for mostly science and nature (no military, no mining) but the treaty isn't permanent. https://youtu.be/DbKNlFcg02c https://youtu.be/DbKNlFcg02c