As the Artic iIce melts, dreams of treasure abound . . . . . leading to some comparisons to Rudyard Kiplings reference to Great Power politics in Asia as "the great game."
The New York Times with a lengthy piece:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/science/...artner=homepage
As a sidebar note, I'm just wading through Kim Robinson's superb Red Mars with the follow-ups Green Mars and Blue Mars, from the 1990's, which might draw some comparisons - on a futuristic scale - to the rush for treasure in a once forbidden land.
Cowperson
