contributions to human progress for more than four hundred years seafarer is sort of navigable route between asia and america in one nine hundred three roald amundsen led the first expedition to traverse the northwest passage pioneering spirit has helped usher in new eras in eight hundred fifty nine business men edwin l. drake became the first american to successfully drill for oil which became the fuel of industrialization but that same pioneering spirit has also heard an environmental impact the new method of oil extraction is hydraulic fracking a well stimulation technique in which rock is fractured by a pressurized liquid in the process chemicals are injected into the rock mining for gold rare rare earths and lithium also contaminates the ground but demand for these minerals and elements is vast. and today as a result of climate change the polar ice caps are melting and that's making