The Arctic Ocean is quickly changing from a place primarily used by local hunters and nuclear submarines to a major seaway for the transport of resources out of the Arctic, the transport of goods through the Arctic, and the presence of military vessels from many nations in and near the Arctic. Russia has expressed interest in controlling shipping; China was recently rebuked by Secretary of State Pompeo for claiming to be a "near Arctic Nation," and Mead Treadwell will lay out the options he believes the U.S. must pursue to ensure shipping in this new ocean is safe, secure and reliable, and not controlled by any one nation.
Meanwhile, wildfires are choking Alaska, the permafrost is melting 70 years ahead of schedule, and starving polar bears are appearing in Russian Cities, ominous signs of climate change.
Alaskan Mead Treadwell is known as one of the world’s leading Arctic Policy experts, and has helped build cooperation across the Arctic on economic, science, environmental and security issues since the early-1980’s.
The Former Alaska Lt. Governor (2010-2014) is co-chair of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Polar Institute Advisory Board and Chair of the Arctic Circle’s Mission Council on Shipping and Ports. He is an advisor and participant in several Arctic Policy and information efforts, including the Arctic Encounter, the UK-based Polar Research and Policy Institute, Arctic Today, the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Arctic, and the Hoover Institution’s Arctic Security Program. Earlier, he helped lead the effort to open the US Russia border at the end of the Cold War, 1988.
