SEWARD -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed speeding the acquisition and building of new Coast Guard icebreakers that can operate year-round in the nation's polar regions, part of an effort to close the gap between the United States and other nations, especially Russia, in a global competition to gain a foothold in the rapidly changing Arctic.
The president's proposal, which came on the second day of a three-day trip to Alaska to highlight the consequences of climate change and call for a worldwide effort to address the issue, touches on one of its most profound effects. The retreat of Arctic sea ice has created opportunities for shipping, tourism, mineral exploration and fishing, but the rush of marine traffic that has followed is bringing new difficulties.
"In light of the changes that are going to be taking place with vessels going through the Arctic, even if we're on top of climate change issues, change is already happening and is inevitable," Obama said Tuesday in the Southcentral Alaska community of Seward, with the waters of Resurrection Bay serving as backdrop.
"It's important that we are prepared so whether it's for search-and-rescue missions or national security reasons, whether it's for commerce reasons, that we have much greater capability than we now have," he said.
The aging Coast Guard fleet is not keeping pace with the challenge, the administration acknowledged, noting that the service has the equivalent of just two "fully functional" heavy icebreakers at its disposal, down from seven during World War II. Russia, by contrast, has 41 of the vessels, with plans for 11 more. China unveiled a refurbished icebreaker in 2012 and is building another.
Obama, who hiked to Exit Glacier while in Seward and toured Kenai Fjords National Park by boat, is seeking to accelerate the acquisition of a replacement icebreaker by two years, setting a new date of 2020. He also proposed that planning begin on the construction of new ones, asking Congress to provide "sufficient resources" to fund them.
The move fell short of guaranteeing the new icebreakers; lawmakers must approve the funding, and it would take years for the vessels to become available. But Alaska's senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, cheered the step, saying it was long overdue.
"The highways of the Arctic are paved by icebreakers," Sullivan said. "Right now, the Russians have superhighways, and we have dirt roads with potholes." Murkowski said that the icebreaker proposal was "a good first step," but that Obama should issue a comprehensive Arctic strategy that addressed opportunities in shipping, trade and natural resources.
"We need the assets to ensure we can safely operate in the Arctic," Murkowski said. "That means icebreakers, aircraft and oil spill response infrastructure." In addition, Obama announced an initiative by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard to map and chart the newly accessible Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The oceanic agency will also install new equipment in the Arctic in the "near future" to monitor climate-change effects and enhance marine safety, including stations to monitor sea-level rise and satellite measuring of sea-ice thickness, the White House said.
Some lawmakers, analysts and even government officials say the United States is lagging other nations in preparing for the new environmental, economic and geopolitical realities in the Arctic.
Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska, a political independent who traveled to Anchorage with Obama on Air Force One on Monday, said he was concerned that the U.S. military was drawing down in his state just as Russia was flexing its muscles.
"It's the biggest buildup of the Russian military since the Cold War," Walker said, noting Alaska's proximity to Russia. "They're reopening 10 bases and building four more, and they're all in the Arctic, so here we are in the middle of the pond, feeling a little bit uncomfortable." On Tuesday, Obama trekked through the Alaska wilderness to call attention to the urgency of addressing climate change. At a conference Monday sponsored by the State Department, he issued a call to action on the issue, exhorting foreign leaders at the gathering to get out and see a glacier to remind themselves of the need to preserve such places for future generations.
Rep. Don Young, Alaska's sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives, wasn't enthusiastic about Obama's comments at the conference, calling them a "song and dance on climate change" and "exactly what we didn't want from the president."
"What could have been an opportunity to highlight a wide range of Arctic needs and infrastructure was instead filled with 'sky is falling' rhetoric" typical of environmental groups, Young said in a prepared statement.
Still, Young said he was encouraged by the administration's recognition of infrastructure shortcomings like icebreakers and an Arctic deep-water port.
At Kenai Fjords, the president also announced that he was sending Congress draft legislation to upgrade and promote access to national park facilities in time for the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service next year.
The bill would support the administration's efforts "to ensure that our parks and historic sites fully represent our nation's ethnically and culturally diverse communities, and that all Americans, regardless of their background or where they live, are able to access and enjoy these remarkable places," the White House said.