Worrisome data from Antarctica suggests that that frozen continent's two major ice-sheets are not nearly as resistant to changes in climate as once thought:

[The] research drilling program known as ANDRILL suggests that the southernmost continent has had a much more dynamic history than previously suspected ... Especially troubling, scientists see evidence in the geological data that could mean the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds at least four-fifths of the continent's ice, is less resistant to melting than previously thought.

No doubt a few of the usual suspects will presume any new geological treasures that might be uncovered would be eagerly turned over for free to the US by Australia. But glaciers have been patiently sanding off interesting sedimentary stuff, like fossil and oil bearing strata, and dumping it onto the ocean for 20 million years. Plus, much of Antarctica is weighed down by the thick ice and now sits below sea level; if the ice melted it would be underwater -- along with twenty percent of the human population due to rising sea levels -- greatly increasing the cost to mine or drill. Lastly, a rapidly melting Antarctica would just as rapidly throw the world's ocean conveyors and jet streams into chaos. Forget Drill Baby Drill for oil in Antarctica, think Fight Bitches Fight for a handful of Twinkies (Or valuable chickens!) in Bartertown.