Oil and gas gold rush in the melting Arctic

“‘You may begin,’ said Putin. Miller relayed the message; an engineer tapped a key. With that, Arctic gas began owing down a 700-mile pipeline into Russia’s sprawling network. The Yamal Peninsula, a thumb of at tundra jutting north into the frozen Kara Sea, was known until recently for its nomadic reindeer herders, the Nenets, and under Joseph Stalin for its brutal prison camps. But by 2030, Gazprom estimates, the region will supply more than a third of Russia’s gas production and a lot of its oil . . . As global warming thaws the Arctic, Russia is leading the rush to exploit the region’s resources. ”