traverse the northwest passage pioneering spirit has helped usher in new eras in 859 business men edwin l. drake became the 1st american to successfully drill for oil which became the fuel of industrialization but that same pioneering spirit has also heard an environmental impact the newest method of oil extraction is hydraulic fracking a well stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a pressurized liquid in the process chemicals are injected into the rock mining for gold rare earths and lithium also contaminates the ground but demand for these minerals and elements is vast. and today as a result of climate change the polar ice caps are melting and that's making supplies of all oil and gas more accessible the race to conquer the arctic is awakening pioneering spirit the world over and a leashing new conflict in the process. so what have we learned when pioneering spirit meets business interests it often means trouble take the arctic region as we heard it's got some of the world's largest deposits of rare and precious metals not to forget oil and gas something the u.s. president donald