Navy Secretary - Warming Means Next Gen Naval Cadets Will Live "In Different World"

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NEWPORT, Rhode Island (AFP) – International piracy and the challenges of new Arctic Ocean corridors opening up as a result of global warming topped the agenda Wednesday at a gathering of world maritime powers.

"The menaces from climate change cause growing concern," warned Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "There is a global security implication of the climate change. The North West passage will be open most part of the year, the new generation of naval students will live in a different world," he said.

A total of 101 countries are attending the 19th International Seapower Symposium, a three-day meeting occurring every two years, which aims to increase trust and confidence among naval leaders from around the world.

EDIT

Climate change has jumped to the top of this year's agenda now that global warming has opened up to exploration water channels that had been frozen solid. The conference takes place as Russia prepare to open up waters north of Siberia for exploration with major oil companies. Weather scientists have predicted the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in the summer as early as 2015 providing new access to wealth of as yet untapped natural resources and coveted marine shipping routes through the Arctic.

EDIT/END

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091007/ts_alt_afp/uswarmingclimateoceans;_ylt=AqOKdg5BbSPBLCsKM2vS5N9pl88F;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1YzE3Yzc3BGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDA5MTAwNy91c3dhcm1pbmdjbGltYXRlb2NlYW5zBHBvcwMyMQRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNtZWx0aW5nYXJjdGk-