Fuelling irony and the cost of knowledge

Consider the irony of rising fuel costs making research to distant locations like Antarctica more expensive.

Climate change recently offered a resounding reminder of its presence when a gigantic, four-square-kilometre arctic shelf broke away in the Canadian North. It seems cruelly poetic, then, that missions to study the effects of climate changes largely brought about by our use of greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels require the same fuels to make their trips. It’s a catch-22 that draws out one of the central dilemmas of any climate change argument, namely that no matter what we do, whether it’s researching melting polar shelves or walking to the corner store for milk, our activities have measurable effects on our environment.

The rising cost of fuel coupled with the increased price of doing business also demonstrates that if there’s any recurring theme in energy and climate change it’s of unintended consequences (or, sometimes, benefits). From biofuels increasing the price of food to kidney stones as a result of warmer climates, the unpredictability of climate and business makes for a frustrating combination.

It’s a complex, interconnected system of energy, costs and benefits, but if we’re going to be analyzing it any further we’d better hope the answers aren’t too far away. We can’t afford the trip.