The hearings convened by Sen. Lisa Murkowski on August 20th keep bearing fruit. Here, from "Examiner.com", comes the statement of Sean Parnell, the new governor of Alaska. This news from Alaska somehow qualified as local DC news, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth:
Foreign Policy For much of its history, the Arctic has been both ungoverned and ungovernable. Even as the eight Arctic nations have increased economic activity, the Arctic climate has impeded economic and social development, transportation, and research. That era must end.
I strongly urge the Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Once ratified, the treaty will allow us to claim jurisdiction over the offshore continental shelf behind the 200-mile limit. U.S. boundaries could grow into areas that may hold large deposits of oil, natural gas and other resources. Russia, Canada, Denmark, and Norwayhave claims to Arctic territory under the auspices of the Law of the Sea. Without ratification, the U.S. cannot fully participate in adjudication of these claims.
Foot notes: You will find the foreign policy comment on page 3 of the <a href="http://www.oceanlaw.org/downloads/Parnell_testimony-20Aug09.pdf" target=_blank>written testimony.
