Moon Viewed as Policy Battleground

space.com ^ | 17 Jul 04 | Leonard David

[frithguild]

Antarctic sites have generally been for scientific research, not commercial venture..

Can't think of one single reason to go to the trouble of trying to even start a commercial venture there..

Makes no sense..

We don't even have a clue what wealth the Antartic may contain. Kaktovik, Alsaka is 70 deg. north latitude, so I don't think temperature is a total impediment, if there is a fortune to be made. The point is nobody will try to find out what wealth Antartica has because this type of treaty regime is toxic to devlopement.

[SunkenCiv]

It used to be that Spitzbergen was the most northerly permanently occupied place on Earth, but there's an economic reason for its existence. Same goes for Alaska I suppose (oil?). Antarctica appears to have very little in the way of natural resources, and is even less inviting than the Arctic.

[frithguild]

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/science/threats_mining_oil.htm

It's the ice that's the problem.

[LibWhacker]

. . . and presumably is able to defend that claim against any one trying to take it.

Only states are that powerful. Certainly the average guy isn't.