The Antarctic treaty came into force in 1961. There are some finer points, but it basically says that Antarctica will be a nature preserve until the treaty comes up for renegotiation in 2048. What would happen if instead the date was set to June 23, 2011, 50 years after the treaty came into force? Would anything noteworthy likely happen at the presumptive conference to renegotiate the terms? Would there be ripple effects?