The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st Century Frontier between East and WestThe Bering Strait Crossing is the epic story of the Intercontinental Divide. The ancient waterway - when the fog clears over the Diomede Islands - is among the world’s most stunning vistas. This is where the 53-mile wide strait, named for Danish explorer Vitus Bering (1681-1741), separates four continents across the Europe-Asia landmass and the Americas. Extremes of climate, isolation, and geopolitical tension have all interfaced to create the perception of a frozen limbo at the edge of the world. Yet the Bering Strait is the world’s geographical crossroads - linking East with West - for nowhere else on the globe is it possible to cross the Pacific Rim between Asia and the Americas. In the modern era, various schemes have been proposed - rail, ferry, tunnel - by which to cross the strait. Since the end of the Cold War, a scheduled air service has been in place. The strait remains undefeated in terms of a terrestrial link between the USA and Russia - so far. The author uncovers a world-shaping revelation: that the Bering Strait has the potential to become a global shipping nexus via the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route between Europe, North America, and Asia. The self-induced amnesia of the long Cold War years is yielding to a fresh outlook between East and West across the strait. In a world thirsty for energy resources and trade, the prospect for US-Russian cooperation across the northern Pacific Rim is tantalising in its multiplicity - and vastness - with profound implications for the global economy. In this twenty first century, the Beringia corridors (N-S, E-W) have the potential to unite the world. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 37
... reached over six billion; by mid-century, a population of anywhere between 9-12 or more billion is projected.2 'Non-linear growth' is not academic mantra; it is practical in its assessment, and simply means the doubling-time, say, of a ...
... reached between the USA and Russia to allow a limited number of passenger flights between Alaska and Chukotka . Diplomatic relations surrounding air transport across the strait continue to evolve . As these words find their way onto ...
... reached almost every corner of the globe, including, towards the end of that same second period, the Bering Strait land bridge. After the many glacial periods, the last of the great ice sheets retreated, and the shallow ledge, an E-W ...
... reached as far as Hawaii , but perhaps not beyond , after about c . 100 BC - thousands of years after the Bering Strait crossing . Beyond Hawaii , moving east , the pattern of islands - ' stepping - stones ' - disappears , such that the ...
... reached manhood , Russia , as the new contender among the European powers , had gained a degree of stability in international affairs , and the tentacles of the State were reaching out across the lands to the east . In 1630 , Dezhnev is ...
Contents
11 | |
19 | |
31 | |
40 | |
A Footnote to Gvozdev | 55 |
Captain Cooks Third Voyage | 61 |
Beyond the Two Islands Return to the Sandwich Islands | 73 |
W H Seward has his Way | 89 |
Other editions - View all
The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st Century Frontier between East and West James A. Oliver Limited preview - 2006 |