[Alan]

I have to say No. If we would like to designate, say, 98% of the coastline and the maritime environment a World Environmental Park, I would not have a major problem with that. However, it is downright silly to consider "saving" an environment which has virtually no life, as most of the continent does not. If I had to decide between mining in Antarctica, where there will be next to no impact on animal or vegetable life, or mining in a jungle, swamp, woodlands, grasslands, etc. most anywhere else in the world, the environmentally right thing to do would be to mine in Antarctica (excepting coastal and maritime areas).

Of course, it would be wonderful to do this in as clean and efficient a manner as possible, but people will continue to need natural resources for a long time to come, and if it is economically feasible to do so, Antarctica would be a better choice than most other places. What is more, if there is a demand it will be met, one way or another, and keeping everything transparent and legal means that the environment can be better protected.