professional arctic watchers like professor ron huebert, say there is another side to what's been happining in the far north. countries are devoloping militaries in the context of military protection. we saw cosidarable evidence that it wasn't just developing coast guard and constablatory capabilities, but actually developing combat capabilities. >> but no one expects a war up here. it's not hard to see why arctic countries are using their militaries to exert their sovereignty. geologists believe that vast amounts of hydrocarbons lie under the ice here. as the arctic ice melts, all of that oil and gas becomes increasingly available for exploitation the ice now covers just half of the surface area it did a few decades ago. >> the excitement about arctic oil and gas is part of a vicious cycle. the reason that we're able to access the arctic is because of climate change, and the reason we have climate change is because we've burned so much oil and gas. >> the arctic is the canary in the coal mine. >> ambassador david balton is the lead negotiator for the us state department on arctic issues. >