As Predicted: Norway Is Moving Closer To The Arctic; The US Will Watch While Norway, Denmark, Canada, Russia Drill The Arctic

For background, read this post.

Did you read it? In case you didn't, that post was about my hunch that Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway, and the British will start drilling the Arctic, while the US will observe, and not participate.

The AP is reporting that Norway has announced plans to start drilling along the Arctic.

Norway's Parliament has opened up a new area on the fringe of the Arctic Ocean to offshore oil drilling despite protests from opponents who fear catastrophic oil spills in the remote and icy region.

Most of the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea, which the Nordic country shares with Russia, is already open to petroleum activities.

But environmentalists and some opposition lawmakers say the risk to Arctic sea ice is higher in a Switzerland-sized area straddling the Russian maritime border, and wanted to make parts of it off limits to oil and gas drilling.

Parliament sided with the government in a vote late Wednesday and opened the entire area to drilling, with the caveat that no activity can take place within 31 miles (50 kilometers) of the ice edge.

"This is a clear break in Norwegian policy," said Nils Harley Boisen, of the World Wildlife Fund. "And moving completely against all expert advice on what is safe operations."