Arctic Ice argues its rare, pure product can be part of Greenland’s green transition and greater independence
  • fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.comEnglish
    601·
    10 months ago

    While ridiculous, there’s interesting context here.

    • Greenland has little to no economy
    • The ice is mined from ice that has already broken away from the glacier, thus not reducing any more than nature has already
    • Cargo ships bringing frozen food used to leave empty, now that same fuel is used to transport ice back instead of going to waste
    • The founder has always dreamed of a sustainable economy for Greenland
    • He is conflicted about how his work to do this in a sustainable way is being taken

    Lots of gray here.

    • Rhaedas@kbin.social
      141·
      10 months ago

      You answered all the questions I had when I saw this. It does really depend on the context. Another positive thing might be that the amount of ice they are able to transfer to be used as ice cubes in a drink is less fresh water melt that would have gone into the oceans (affecting things like the AMOC), which is one of many concerns about Greenland’s melting ice.

      • Poplar?@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        The water from the ice will find its way to the oceon whether it melts in Greenland or the UAE though?

        • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          Well, arguably, maybe not.

          Relocating it into more distant water cycles kinda dilutes the dilution, so to speak. Rather than dumping a bunch of fresh water directly into salt water, it lets it trickle back slowly and gives ocean water a bit of a buffer to disolve more saline, and gives it a chance to get stuck on terra firma somehow.

          I didnt expect a good explanation for this, but harvesting broken glacier isnt a bad idea on paper.

        • Rhaedas@kbin.social
          1·
          10 months ago

          Yes, with different effects. I’m not saying this will really have a measurable influence, but melt into Greenland waters is far worse than in most other places. Just look into papers discussing the AMOC slowdown and its causes.