[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.