Watching head of the Navy on C-Span last night. [August 19] He said the Arctic will be an open ocean in 25 years; that this is one of the major events of the 21st Century, and that a broad series of adjustments are necessary, and are being implemented.
Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations:
The region is “extraordinarily important for our Navy, for our military, and for our nation.
“There is a phenomenal event taking place on the planet today. We haven’t had an ocean open on this planet since the end of the Ice Age.
“So, if this is not a significant change that requires new, and I would submit, brave thinking on the topic, I don’t know what other sort of physical event could produce that.”
Previous news release: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64474