Melting Point | Arctic Change | Business RC

What happens when environmental catastrophe and strategic opportunity converge in the same melting landscape? As Greenland’s ice sheets recede at unprecedented rates, should we focus exclusively on the climate crisis, or must we also grapple with the economic and geopolitical realignment this transformation precipitates? Today’s passages explore how policymakers navigate the dual reality of Arctic change.

Read these difficult to read RC passage(s) in Business, Economy, and Governance and answer the question(s) that follows. You can choose the GMAT style Reading Passage and the question or the GRE RC variant and answer the GRE-style question. Even better, you could solve both.

GMAT Reading Practice | Hard | ~220 words

Greenland’s accelerating ice sheet deterioration — 105 billion metric tons lost between August 2024 and August 2025 — generates consequences extending far beyond immediate sea-level concerns. Accelerated polar amplification, proceeding at 2.5 times the planetary mean warming rate, contributes 0.4 millimeters of annual sea-level rise while compromising thermohaline circulation through salinity dilution. The consequent weakening of density-gradient-driven ocean currents — responsible for poleward heat redistribution — threatens shifts in mid-latitude jet stream positioning and established weather patterns.

This thermal reconfiguration paradoxically enhances commercial navigation opportunities. The Northern Sea Route, transiting Russia’s Arctic coastline, achieves 40% distance reduction for Europe-Asia containerized freight relative to Suez Canal trajectories when ice-free conditions permit passage, translating into 20-30% operational cost advantages through combined fuel consumption decreases and capital productivity gains from voyage compression. Such accessibility economics drive infrastructure capitalization among logistics competitors while simultaneously rendering previously inaccessible mineral deposits economically viable.

Greenland’s exposed terrain, harboring concentrated neodymium and dysprosium reserves alongside cobalt and graphite formations critical for renewable energy technologies and semiconductor manufacturing, presents supply chain diversification opportunities. Current rare earth element extraction exhibits dangerous geographic concentration, with 63% of global refining capacity controlled by a single state actor. The confluence of navigational feasibility and resource availability thus compels policymakers to balance alliance commitments with territorial ambitions, as demonstrated by intensifying diplomatic activity regarding Arctic governance frameworks and competing sovereignty assertions.

Question Type: Inference | Question Difficulty: Medium-High

Based on the passage, which of the following can most reasonably be inferred about the relationship between climate change impacts and geopolitical strategy in the Arctic region?

1. Economic advantages of Arctic shipping will outweigh climate-related weather disruptions.
2. Nations with Arctic claims face pressure to reconcile alliances with resource opportunities.
3. Current rare earth refining concentration resulted from superior Arctic mineral access.
4. Policymakers view Arctic governance as more important than environmental concerns.
5. Greenland mineral extraction viability depends more on technology than on accessibility.

GRE RC Practice | Challenging Passage | ~130 words

Climate scientists characterize Greenland’s accelerating ice loss — contributing approximately 0.7 millimeters annually to global sea-level rise — as an unambiguous harbinger of cascading environmental collapse, noting that complete dissolution would inundate coastal metropolises worldwide. This alarmist framing, however, elides the more nuanced geopolitical calculus confronting policymakers. The receding ice sheet has rendered previously inaccessible lithium and rare earth deposits economically extractable, resources indispensable for decarbonization technologies.

Furthermore, emerging trans-Arctic shipping corridors promise to reconfigure global trade networks, potentially displacing traditional chokepoints. While dismissing environmental ramifications would be imprudent, characterizing Arctic transformation solely through a catastrophist lens obscures legitimate strategic imperatives. Nations must simultaneously mitigate climate drivers and pragmatically navigate the geopolitical realignment Arctic accessibility precipitates — a duality requiring sophisticated policy synthesis rather than rhetorical absolutism about planetary doom or unfettered resource exploitation.

Question Type: Vocabulary | Question Difficulty: Medium-High

In the context of the passage, “rhetorical absolutism” most nearly means:

1. Uncompromising discourse that rejects nuanced or moderate positions
2. Empty language designed solely to persuade without substance
3. Authoritarian control over public communication and debate
4. Universal principles applicable across all argumentative contexts
5. Dogmatic commitment to a single theoretical framework