万花筒 kaleidoscope2007-08-13&08-14, 北极资源, 先下手为强（在线收听）

A new cold war may be erupting over one of the coldest places on earth and there are billions of dollars at stake. NBC's Kerry Sanders is On The Money tonight at the North Pole.

The Arctic cap, a vast white blanket of ice the size of a continent, home to polar bears. But oil? It's a question that may have already been answered. Earlier this week, the Russian government launched two subs at the geographic North Pole. In the depths of the Arctic Ocean two and a half miles down, crews symbolically planted a Russian flag. A Kremlin spokesman said it's like planting the flag on the Moon.

When the Russians say that this is the equivalent of planting the flag on the surface of the Moon. Again, this is something to me that, that smacks more of a political maneuver than a substantive maneuver.

Russia claims its continental shelf reaches the North Pole. If the rest of the world were to recognize that claim, Russia would control 700,000 square miles of Arctic seabed and whatever oil and natural gas is underneath.

They're really doing some research to, to map the bottom to see what is there and they will try to come up with a, a good picture for the Continental Shelf Commission. But I think others are going to, wanna see the evidence. The Canadians, the Danes, the Norwegians, the United States, all the Arctic countries will want to have a say.

With oil nearly 80 dollars a barrel, experts say although it would be harsh conditions, drilling the Arctic would still be profitable even if the price of a barrel dropped in half.

We go to some far reaches of the Earth right now to extract oil. And given where oil prices are right now, where they're expected to be and go to, this is definitely a profitable frontier that's been opened up.

American oil companies long ago laid claim to drill here. It's been a patient wait for permission. Still unresolved claims date back to an....