Why Aren't We Colonizing the Arctic?

This week, a Hungarian documentary presented the first close-up footage of Russia’s floating nuclear power plant that keeps small workers’ towns warm in the Arctic cold. Russia’s Rosatom is employing thousands of citizens in the Arctic where they come to work in 3-month shifts.

With rising temperatures, gold mining and oil drilling around the North Pole has become a booming business. Why is the West falling behind?

Imagine that the Antarctic ice was to melt. It would reveal a fertile landmass the...