- Trumped - 25th September 2026
- Travel ban lifted - 25th September 2026
- Lookie-likies… - 24th September 2026
During a 23 year career with the BBC, and 43 years in journalism, (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), our Editor Phil Parry, has always understood ease of travel is vital, but now comes more disturbing news that as climate change increases, two autocratic regimes are turning to sea routes through polar ice caps, supposedly to make their journeys easier (China and Russia), but other countries believe it’s not about that at all.
Getting from A to B is important.
As a young reporter in news I had to get to the scene very quickly in order to beat the competition, and meet the looming deadline.
Even in Current Affairs (CA) timings (while seemingly less critical) were central, otherwise if you didn’t arrive promptly the person may be so annoyed that he or she might not do the interview AT ALL!
When I started in journalism in 1983, using public transport was almost NEVER an option, so I would have to travel to the job by car, and traffic has increased exponentially since then.
Traffic levels rose by 2.5 per cent between 2024 and 2025, and last year car traffic on UK motorways was 50.8 billion vehicle miles, with car traffic on ‘A’ roads 117.1 billion vehicle miles, 45 per cent of total car miles.
Perhaps this incredible growth may be about to slow a little, as more people turn to public transport which emits less Carbon Dioxide per person travelled, and awareness increases of the problems with climate change.
However even if this is the case [and electric vehicles (EVs) become more popular], it will only mean a slight DECREASE in the rise of gases which heat up the earth’s atmosphere, and much of the damage may already have been done.
This is why countries are now looking to alternative routes for travel through the melting North polar ice cap – particularly China and Russia. The so-called Northern Sea Route (NSR), runs through the Bering Strait, over the top of Russia, and is an early test of China’s Arctic ambitions.
In 2018 the country outlined plans to develop shipping routes, mining and infrastructure in the Arctic, hoping to take advantage of rapidly receding polar ice.
Many of the plans, which are marketed collectively as a “polar silk road”, have met resistance.
Seven of the eight countries with Arctic territory are Western democracies. They worry that China is working closely with Russia in the region and that Chinese activities there could be useful for future military purposes, such as operating submarines. Some bridled at China, whose northernmost point is on about the same latitude as Hamburg, declaring itself a “near-Arctic state”.
Thanks to climate change, conditions for the NSR are likely to grow more favourable.
The minimum summer extent of Arctic ice has been shrinking by more than 12 per cent a decade.
In March the maximum extent of winter ice reached its lowest level since records began in 1979, and on August 16, the latest available reading, Arctic ice covered a diminishing 5.5 million square kilometres. That is well below the median extent of ice on the same date in the years between 1981 and 2010 with the lowest ever extent, recorded in 2012.
Issues are significant, and one Welsh journalist is watching what happens with concern.
If only I knew what would happen, when I started out on a story in the petrol-driven office car in 1983…
The memories of Phil’s decades long award-winning career in journalism (which DIDN’T involve criminal activity!) as he was gripped by the rare neurological condition, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’, (which includes details of stories where travel was essential). Order it now!
Next week – MORE on Russian methods, and disturbing news that the Royal Household has been forced to make security upgrades in countering the cyber threat from Russia, highlights how The Eye too has been targeted.
