U.S. Denies "Ice Highway"
in Antarctica is for Military

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SOUTH POLE (AMP) - Environmental watchdogs are charging that a U.S. expedition in Antarctica to promote alternative fuels is merely a cover story for the further militarization of the peace continent.

Later this year a U.S. team will drive alternative fuel vehicles 1,000 miles from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole on a newly built "ice highway." According to Nick Baggerly, executive director of the Zero South expedition, the official purpose of the ten-day journey is to promote the use of alternative fuels.

But the Vatican's top linguist and the U.N.'s most strident environmentalist, Doctor Serena Serghetti, charges that Zero South is yet another front to hide U.S. military activities in Antarctica under the guise of scientific research.

"First there was the secret U.S. military base at Lake Vostok," Serghetti said. "Then there was the secret U.S. military dig for artifacts under the ice. Now we've got an ice highway to cut back on cargo plane landings and take-offs, which are much easier for the international community to monitor. The American can literally fly under our radar."

The National Science Foundation, which funded the ice highway, says the highway indeed was built to enable crawler tractors and sleds to supply its science base at the pole without air support. But the NSF insists there was nothing nefarious about the decision and that it was driven purely by logistics.

For his part, Baggerly says that Zero South is no military cover but a partnership of top researchers, environmental leaders and institutions, including leading scientists from Caltech, JPL and NASA.

One of those scientists is rumored to be astro-archaeologist Doctor Conrad Yeats, the world's foremost expert on megalithic architecture. He is also the son of USAF General Griffin Yeats, who reportedly died in Antarctica under circumstances the Pentagon still classifies as Top Secret.

Baggerly refused to comment on Doctor Yeats or specify which types of vehicles will be driven on the ice highway or what types of alternative energy sources those vehicles will use. He only promised that "this is a science education program that will illuminate the importance of replacing fossil fuels with alternative energy sources."

@lantisTV will be providing ongoing coverage of this story in the months ahead. Stay tuned.