[HN Gopher] In case you missed it: America got much bigger conti...
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       In case you missed it: America got much bigger continental shelf
        
       Author : TaurenHunter
       Score  : 46 points
       Date   : 2024-01-28 15:49 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (bigthink.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (bigthink.com)
        
       | s1gnp0st wrote:
       | There must be oil.
        
         | lizhang wrote:
         | Yes - almost 10 billion barrels:
         | https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20125146
        
         | adventured wrote:
         | US strategic military positioning is approximately a trillion
         | times more important than a few billion barrels of oil.
         | 
         | If you had 10 billion barrels of oil, at $80, and you manage to
         | extract 3/4 of it over 30-40 years. Maybe you get a net $5-$10
         | billion per year economic benefit from that if you're lucky as
         | the US. The US military budget is $800 billion every single
         | year. The US isn't doing this for oil, it's about positioning
         | vs other world powers.
         | 
         | Military projection, global strategic positioning, always
         | trumps something like oil (especially when the US has plenty of
         | that resource).
         | 
         | The US went into Iraq because of Russia, not because of oil.
         | That was a Pentagon program to try to strip Russian influence
         | out of the Middle East, stated directly by four star general
         | Wesley Clark.
         | 
         | The US went into Syria because of Russia, not because of oil.
         | The US is still in Syria because of Russia, not oil.
         | 
         | Most (not all) of what the US does in the Middle East is a
         | power conflict with Russia.
         | 
         | Most of what the US now does in Asia is a power conflict with
         | China.
         | 
         | Oil is a little toy chip on the table compared to the real
         | stakes.
        
           | mrangle wrote:
           | While I would agree that Russia was an aspect of the
           | motivation for those incursions, I disagree that it is the
           | total explanation. Russia is an aspect of a larger picture.
           | After all, we don't go to war with Nations simply because
           | they exist or are influential anywhere. There's a larger
           | picture, just as the war in Ukraine is part of a larger
           | picture than "freedom" or any other such condescending
           | explanation.
           | 
           | The mainly-Russia explanation is also too convenient on a
           | number of counts. First, in this current era of anti-Russian
           | sentiment, it offers the large number of people that were
           | responsible for the widely panned Iraq invasion an "out" that
           | is, just now, socially acceptable.
           | 
           | These are people that are still neurotic about their
           | attachment to the accepted situation that the predicate for
           | the invasion was a lie. A neuroticism that is evident for
           | anyone paying attention to what they still write with some
           | consistency.
           | 
           | All national strength and well-being has an economic basis.
           | Especially military projection. One can't separate our
           | percieved interest in "getting Russia out of the Middle
           | East", or some such, from economic interest. Or at least from
           | economic calculus. Anyone attempting to sell such a tale
           | should be suspect (not you, necessarily).
           | 
           | There are other massive red flags that indicate what the Iraq
           | invasion was about, in terms of a larger picture. These stare
           | in the face anyone willing to look, as they hide in plain
           | sight. At the same time, at least one is inclusive of both
           | the Russia and oil angles. I won't talk about that one. Look
           | harder. Reinterpret crucial data for that era in a different
           | manner from what we are widely told its nature was (and is).
           | Its actual nature is sensible. What we are told about it is
           | not.
           | 
           | The other motivation is military positioning, but has a scope
           | that is well beyond Russia and China.
        
             | selimthegrim wrote:
             | A hint or two would be fetching.
        
             | throwaway8877 wrote:
             | This "anti Russian sentiment" is nothing new. It's what is
             | called political realism. It has always existed in Eastern
             | Europe as they were more clear eyed when it comes to
             | Russia. It has been also clearly present in US but the
             | official rhetoric has been more soporific toward Russia.
             | But it doesn't make sense to pretend anymore when Russia
             | has opened its cards wide to everyone to see.
        
             | dralley wrote:
             | >The mainly-Russia explanation is also too convenient on a
             | number of counts. First, in this current era of anti-
             | Russian sentiment, it offers the large number of people
             | that were responsible for the widely panned Iraq invasion
             | an "out" that is, just now, socially acceptable.
             | 
             | To be fair to them, the video they're referring to with
             | Wesley Clark is from 15-ish years ago.
        
       | CharlesW wrote:
       | Actual title: "In case you missed it: America just effectively
       | got much bigger"
       | 
       | This is the result of a 20-year data-collecting project to
       | measure the U.S.'s extended continental shelf (ECS), conducted by
       | NOAA.
        
       | wronglebowski wrote:
       | What is this page doing with the "back" behavior? Is this the
       | "back" redirection I've heard about? I get a blank white page
       | with four "recommended" lines.
       | 
       | The Psychological Effects of Pornography Why You Shouldn't
       | Compromise on Sex How internet porn is changing the way men and
       | women are having sex How Women's Brains React to Pornography
       | 
       | The new ways modern web pages find to be shitty is impressive.
        
         | Tempest1981 wrote:
         | I couldn't repro this... "back" worked normally
        
           | SoftTalker wrote:
           | Same. Firefox w/uBlock Origin.
        
         | zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
         | I got the same thing
        
       | zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
       | "Even though it is a non-party to UNCLOS, the U.S. has stated its
       | claim within the internationally agreed framework of that
       | Convention. That means any disputes are likely to be settled
       | according to the Law of the Sea as agreed by most United Nations
       | member states."
        
       | INTPenis wrote:
       | But what do countries do when they share a continental shelf with
       | other countries? It seems like this only applies to countries
       | that are very large.
       | 
       | And also they're basically claiming land right outside Russia at
       | a time when tensions between the US and Russia are at an all time
       | high in 40 years. Based on something they and their allies in the
       | UN signed back in 1982.
       | 
       | Maybe I'm reading this wrong but I see no indication that Russia
       | signed.[1]
       | 
       | Not trying to claim anything politically, just random thoughts on
       | this article from an IT person who is not well versed in any
       | politics.
       | 
       | 1.
       | https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsIII.aspx?src=TREATY...
        
         | goosedragons wrote:
         | U.S. didn't sign UNCLOS either. The claim here also overlaps
         | with the Canadian claim [0].
         | 
         | [0]
         | https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjes-2022-0069#se...
        
         | boomboomsubban wrote:
         | >Maybe I'm reading this wrong but I see no indication that
         | Russia signed.[1]
         | 
         | If you search on the page you linked, the Russian Federation
         | signed it on March 12, 1997. As the other commenter notes, the
         | US hasn't signed it.
        
         | l3mure wrote:
         | The Northern Sea Route has been contested for decades:
         | 
         | https://warontherocks.com/2023/10/getting-sporty-in-russias-...
         | 
         | The US is also upset that Russia had been making its own Arctic
         | ECS claims through proper legal channels:
         | 
         | > Russia has cleared the scientific burden of proof required to
         | have its extended continental shelf claim legitimized. Decades
         | of scientific research, Arctic missions, and information
         | exchanges with Denmark and Canada have resulted in the U.N.
         | Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf dubbing the
         | majority of Moscow's claim to an extended Arctic continental
         | shelf to be "valid."
         | 
         | https://warontherocks.com/2023/05/russias-gains-in-the-great...
        
           | INTPenis wrote:
           | Wow there's so much I have no idea of.
           | 
           | I just watched the video from the Guardian about Russia
           | claming their own territory based on ECS.
           | 
           | If both Russia and the US intend to exploit these resources,
           | while the public make the switch to more renewable sources of
           | energy, then this is clearly intended for military use
           | primarily.
           | 
           | I remember reading somewhere that the DoD collectively is the
           | largest producer of pollution in the world.
        
       | culi wrote:
       | Basically the US used data to enlarge its ECS by two Californias.
       | Most importantly in the arctic near Alaska.
       | 
       | > Although not a signatory to the convention itself, the U.S.
       | recognizes UNCLOS as the basis for international maritime law and
       | in 1983 declared its own 200-mile EEZ. America's EEZ was the
       | largest in the world
       | 
       | This is gonna matter a lot now that countries are starting to
       | explore mining the seabeds for minerals
        
       | netsharc wrote:
       | A Guardian video about Russia and its military build-up on the
       | Arctic coastline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZOWbWuMKDI
        
         | cpursley wrote:
         | On _its_ arctic coastline.
        
       | boomboomsubban wrote:
       | This would make a good trivia question.
       | 
       | "In 2023, which country used the Mariana Islands to infringe on
       | territory claimed by Japan? A) China B) Russia C) The United
       | Statea of America or D) Taiwan"
        
         | aragonite wrote:
         | I can't imagine Japan being too happy about it
         | (https://www.ejiltalk.org/extended-continental-shelf-of-
         | the-u...):
         | 
         | > The Executive Summary makes clear that both Canada and The
         | Bahamas have indicated they would not object to the CLCS
         | considering the U.S. submission, but it does not mention any
         | explicit assurance from Japan.
         | 
         | Indeed Japan is conspicuously left out
         | (https://www.state.gov/wp-
         | content/uploads/2023/12/ECS_Executi...)
         | 
         | > ... Canada has advised the United States that it would not
         | object to the consideration of a U.S. submission by the
         | Commission, without prejudice both to the delineation of the
         | outer limits of its own continental shelf and to the matters
         | relating to the delimitation of boundaries in this region
         | between the United States and Canada. The Bahamas has similarly
         | advised the United States that it would not object to the
         | consideration of a U.S. submission by the Commission, without
         | prejudice both to the delineation of the outer limits of its
         | own continental shelf and to the matters relating to the
         | delimitation of boundaries in this region between the United
         | States and The Bahamas.
        
       | c_o_n_v_e_x wrote:
       | Interesting timing with the recent news of Putin and the sale of
       | Alaska.
       | 
       | https://thehill.com/policy/international/4423913-state-dept-...
        
       | pjio wrote:
       | til: 1/2 Egypt = 1 California
        
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       (page generated 2024-01-28 23:01 UTC)