European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Discarded can right for disturbing evidence of mans increasing presence in a Region of killer resource hungry world eyes by Warren Leary associated press Antarctica is the most cold most inaccessible end of the it was the one everyone that All the nations could but As Man consumes More and More of the resources of his he is turning new eyes to this ancient the land of whales and ice is seen As a potential land of Coal and the Haven for scientific studies and International cooperation is envisioned As a possible its Long fuse sizzling toward explosive nationalistic at Mcmurdo the main Antarctic scientists and officials talk of decades of tranquil re search and sharing among they speak of men and women bound by the hostile an explorer spirit and a love for science working together through cold and hot next to the Mcmurdo Headquarters of the National science which runs Antarctica Active is a Flag encircled Park dedicated to Richard Evelyn Byrd and his idealistic under a bust of who led five Antarctic expeditions and was the first to Fly Over the South pole in is his charge to those who follow him i am hopeful that Antarctica in its symbolic Robe of White will Shine Forth As a continent of peace As nations working together there in the cause 01 science set an example of International the sentiments Are but can they survive in a world starved for Energy and minerals no one knows what the Mineral potential of Antarctica says Tucker director of the state departments office of oceans and Polar but there certainly is More Scully Contin its not just a scientific and geological Issue any its now a political beneath thousands of feet of ice covering 98 percent of the along the Mountain ranges that Cut the Conti nent and offshore in the icy Are believed to be vast deposits of minerals and areas in and around Antarctica geologically resemble parts of other continents where Gas and minerals exist in Small scale scientific Core drilling by the United states hints at possible hydrocarbon deposits Large deposits of Coal and Iron have been discovered on As Well As concentrations of uranium and other metallic although none yet has proved commercially the rising costs of Energy and raw materials is increasing pressure to find a japanese geological Survey ship recently began a three year program to look for signs of Oil in Antarctic the sponsored jointly by the government and will not involve but the Hakubei Maru will do Bottom depth and seismic reflection and other tests in the Weddell and Ross seas the most promising potential Oil the United West Britain and other countries have conducted similar surveys in the same Waters for stated scientific but few deny commercial interest in the until the harsh environment of Antarctica made exploitation economically this is changing with rising prices and new tech nolo and environmentalists and Antarctic scientists Are Many scientists Are very uneasy about the minerals says Frank chief scientist for the Nofs division of Polar Antarctica is a unique scientific resource and they dont want to have anything Messing it worldwide environmental groups also Are suspicious about Mineral saying that Antarctica is one of the last virtually unpolluted sanctuaries on groups such As the Sierra club and the International Institute for environment and devel in see inevitable conflict Between environmental and commercial they Point out that there must be some exploration and studies to see what resources Are in Antarctica and to assess the environmental Impact of exploiting Oil development causes the most concern because of fears about most Antarctic such As Birds and clusters along the coasts and could be greatly of there is evidence Oil does not break up or degrade As fast in cold climates As in warmer environmentalists and a spill could prove More damaging in Antarctica than but they fear that the results of fac finding ultimately could encourage beneath the thousands of feet of ice Are believed to be vast deposits of minerals and scientists taking soundings to determine Antarctica underlying researchers Camp in one of Antarctica ice free for Edward Zeller and Gisela Dresch physicists at the University of Are Survey ing the radioactivity of Antarctic they want to find out what is the natural background radiation on the continent and also use this information for geological we Are frequently accused of being but we Are Zeller the scientists say thorium and other potentially exploitable radioactive materials exist in Antarctica and they wont Overlook them if i  want to see commercially recoverable uranium found but we cant close our eyes to what is adds from the Point of View of a i think it would be wrong for the United states to go into negotiations about minerals and not know what we have on this she most of what goes on and Antarctica is tied to a landmark 1959 treaty that set the continent aside As a scientific the 12 original signatory who were later joined by administer the continent jointly and have closed it off to military nuclear weapons testing and radioactive waste the treaty also sidesteps land some of which new Zea Britain claim but the other overseeing countries South the soviet Union and the United states Nei ther make nor recognize such in the summer of these countries will meet in Buenos and will decide whether to earnestly negotiate a minerals Scully of the state department and think a pact is possible and look to the recently signed Conven Tion on protecting Marine life in the Antarctic As a Possi ble this signed by 15 nations last september and yet to be ratified by allows for setting up seafood harvesting quotas and policing them by a commission representing All when the convention goes into a main concern will be developing a policy for harvesting a shrimp like crustacean that is the major food source for much of the life in Antarctic including Baleen several nations Are fishing Krill As a source of human and it is estimated that a sustainable take of Krill could be up to 150 million tons a double the world fish catch the issues of sea life and minerals Are substantially different because minerals Are not renewable and dont move Scully but i think the parties being Able to Deal with one resource Issue is a Good precedent for another resource Scully says there is incentive to Deal with the Issue before larger scale Mineral exploration starts since test drilling and mining raises the same environmental and proprietary questions As actual development there is pressure to get an Accord in place dealing with these issues before exploration and development take he it May be impossible to Deal with these issues after the Scully says Mineral development int Likely in the near future for various and that buys a Little aside from the fact that no one knows whats in and under the technology does not exist to get it out for the Waters around the continent Are Only free of ice for about three months out of a for Oil drilling and this would mean new types of equipment for storing and transporting the whether this is economically desirable also will de Pend on resources available As prices of Energy go Industry May determine that its easier and cheaper to go after Oil and minerals in other parts of the world that previously we rent Worth the Edward director of the Nofs Polar programs agrees with this the economics Are such that As prices lower Grade resources will be exploited first in other coun he this will act As a Buffer for ant another disincentive to Industry is the political uncertainty surrounding Todd says business is unlikely to invest Large amounts of capital into Wells and mines if territorial claims Are other experts say that even private exploration May be hampered somewhat because of the Antarctic which requires that All research results be made corporations May be reluctant to spend millions to gather information that competitors then can get Todd and others caution that concerns about Antarctic exploitation Are if not new testing and drilling methods Are being devel oped and breakthroughs quickly could change the economic picture particularly if Large deposits of Oil and Gas Are there is a Long Range interest now in Antarctic re but things can change very rapidly these Todd Page 12 the stars and stripes february the stars and stripes Page 13