Climate change has opened up a direct route from the Pacific to the Atlantic


Sorry, Panama Canal. You are no longer the only waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
For hundreds of years, European explorers sought to find the mythical Northwest Passage, a waterway linking the north of Canada to the north of America. (Henry Hudson, after which Hudson Bay takes its name, was so determined to find this passageway that he was literally mutinied by his crew). In 1903, Roald Amundsen was finally able to complete the Arctic passage, but it took him three years and he kept getting stuck in the ice.
Now that the earth is shattering heat records, traveling the Northwest Passage is no longer a feat of epic proportions but rather a jaunty little cruise. With the waterways no longer frozen solid or clogged by icebergs, the Crystal Serenity, which set sail on Aug. 16, is expected to complete the passage in only eight days, Slate reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Crystal Serenity isn't the only modern boat to take the Arctic journey, but it is the one facing the fewest obstacles as the ice has melted more and more each year. Climate scientists actually say by 2040, there won't even be ice in the Arctic during the summer.
Hudson might be vindicated at long last, but this is definitely terrifying.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
EPA is reportedly killing Energy Star program
speed read The program for energy-efficient home appliances has saved consumers billions in energy costs since its 1992 launch
-
US proposes eroding species protections
Speed Read The Trump administration wants to change the definition of 'harm' in the Environmental Protection Act to allow habitat damage
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central US
Speed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslides
Speed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progress
Speed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spread
Speed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panic
Speed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean