Who should own the North Pole?

[politicus]

Both Denmark and Russia now claim ownership to the North Pole and Canada is preparing a claim. Who do you think should own the Pole? Former Greenlandic Premier Kuupik Kleist wanted to make it a nature sanctuary owned by no one, but administered by all members of the Arctic Council.

http://phys.org/news/2015-08-russia-vast-swathe-arctic.html
(does not show the Danish claim or the potential Canadian on the map)

http://arcticjournal.com/opinion/1739/three-countries-one-pole

[Filuwaúrdjan]

North Pole = one of THE massive clusterfyck issues of our century.

[Mr. Reactionary]

U.S.

[Clark Kent]

U.S.

This, but out of the options given, Canada, then Denmark.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

how big is the North Pole?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

U.S.

The only choice.

[The Mikado]

Who do you think should own the Pole?

Poland.

[tpfkaw]

Who do you think should own the Pole?

Poland.

The Tsar

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Aren't 4, 5, and 6 essentially the same thing?

[Murica!]

Everyone.

[PJ]

The North Pole should be put under control of the UN as a nature reserve, and extraction of resources such as oil should be prohibited in the entirety of the Arctic Ocean.

Aren't 4, 5, and 6 essentially the same thing?

UN=/=Arctic Council

[politicus]

U.S.

The only choice.

Very patriotic, but there is no basis for that in international sea law, which is why the US hasn't claimed it and why I didn't gave it as an option.

Geologically, and therefore legally, the Danish and Russian claims are the strong ones. Harper's bid for Canada is more dubious - and it was a surprise he announced it, after Canada had earlier made an agreement with Denmark not to claim the area immediately around the Pole. The Canadian claim has not been submitted yet, and an NDP or Liberal government will most likely go back to the pre-2013 claim.

[politicus]

Given that the US has a strong interest in upholding the international sea law regime (for one: think Chinese claims in the South China Sea) and two other NATO countries have actual valid claims a US claim is considered completely unlikely by observers and experts. So if you say USA you should argue why America should make such a move.

I gave a lot of joke options, and Mikado added the old favourite Poland (even more popular in Danish where the terms for Northern Poland and the North Pole are the same), but the serious answers are either that the process follows the international sea law and after a lot of scientific studies this will eventually allocate the Pole to a nation state (and if that nation state is not Russia, we will see if the Russians accept the result..), or the less likely - but more satisfying, that it is put under international control.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Option 5.

[ingemann]

I of course would prefer Denmark claiming it, Canada have a worse claim than Denmark or Russia but I still prefer them to Russia, after which I prefer it to be co-controlled territory of the Arctic Council members. But I would rather Russia getting it than the UN, keep UN far away from the arctic.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Give it to Mongolia or Bolivia or some other landlocked place so they can have at least some territorial waters.

[DavidB.]

Denmark. When it comes to preserving the North Pole, I trust them better than Canada or Russia.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I of course would prefer Denmark claiming it, Canada have a worse claim than Denmark or Russia but I still prefer them to Russia, after which I prefer it to be co-controlled territory of the Arctic Council members. But I would rather Russia getting it than the UN, keep UN far away from the arctic.

Why do you hate Canada so much?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I of course would prefer Denmark claiming it, Canada have a worse claim than Denmark or Russia but I still prefer them to Russia, after which I prefer it to be co-controlled territory of the Arctic Council members. But I would rather Russia getting it than the UN, keep UN far away from the arctic.

Why do you hate Canada so much?

He's actually right that Canada's claim is the weakest. The underwater geological formations that these claims are based on are the least prominent ('prominent' may not be quite the right word but whatever) on the Canadian side.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I of course would prefer Denmark claiming it, Canada have a worse claim than Denmark or Russia but I still prefer them to Russia, after which I prefer it to be co-controlled territory of the Arctic Council members. But I would rather Russia getting it than the UN, keep UN far away from the arctic.

Why do you hate Canada so much?

He's actually right that Canada's claim is the weakest. The underwater geological formations that these claims are based on are the least prominent ('prominent' may not be quite the right word but whatever) on the Canadian side.

And for some reason I misread the post as saying that he'd rather want Russia to have it than Canada, while he was saying the exact opposite.

[dead0man]

I of course would prefer Denmark claiming it, Canada have a worse claim than Denmark or Russia but I still prefer them to Russia, after which I prefer it to be co-controlled territory of the Arctic Council members. But I would rather Russia getting it than the UN, keep UN far away from the arctic.

Denmark. When it comes to preserving the North Pole, I trust them better than Canada or Russia.

These are things I can get behind.  Lets just give it to Denmark/Greenland.  Let them worry about it/make money off of it.  Maybe with Canada as a minor partner for easier logistics reasons.

and yes, anybody but Russia or the UN sounds good to me.

[SteveRogers]

Write-in: Superman

[Oak Hills]

It should be a nature preserve under international administration, tho I don't particularly care which international body runs it.  Voting Arctic Council.

[WVdemocrat]

It should be a nature preserve under international administration, tho I don't particularly care which international body runs it.  Voting Arctic Council.

This. I hate the idea that the U.S. or any other country should control it. It should be kept as a a nature preserve.

[TJ in Oregon]

Turkey. Or maybe Byzantium if we want to really dream.