Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Iceberg Harvesting Off Newfoundland's Coast
Ed Kean has been harvesting ice bergs off the northern coast of Newfoundland, Canada for many years.
(Iceberg harvesting off Newfoundland's coast)
Every summer, Mr. Kean, a 53-year-old, fifth-generation sea captain, heads out into the North Atlantic to capture chunks of icebergs that have cleaved off Greenland glaciers and floated southwest. He harvests the ice for a local vodka maker, a brewer, a winery and a bottled-water outfit.The companies use the water, which has been trapped in glaciers for thousands of years, in their products, marketing it as the purest on the planet. Demand is growing, the companies say, but getting the prized ice is becoming more difficult.
The process at sea includes massive nets, a giant, ship-mounted hydraulic arm and, sometimes, a rifle and chain saw. Mr. Kean now also has to contend with erratic iceberg drifts, increasing fuel costs and some tourist outfits that complain he is chipping away at their iceberg-sighting business.
I believe that this idea had been around for a short while before Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven decided to use it in their 1981 novel Oath of Fealty. However, as is often the case, the first time I (and perhaps most people) had heard about it was in a science fiction novel. On a somewhat larger scale than Mr. Kean can do:
"The iceberg." ...Five hundred billion gallons worth of Antarctic iceberg had been towed into Santa Monica Bay. Los Angeles water had never tasted better; Arizona, San Francisco, and the sea gulls of Mono Lake had never been happier. The berg sat out there in a kind of tub. There were teams of climbers going up two faces, and a dozen Boy Scouts glissading down snow near the bottom. "Romulus Corporation tows the icebergs here..."
(Read more about iceberg harvesting)
Via Wall Street Journal.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/5/2013)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Food ")
Can We Grow Crops On Mars?
Does Martian soil require remediation?
Rich (and Regular) People Should Stop Eating Meat, Says Bill Gates
'You can get used to the taste difference.' - Bill Gates, 2021.
Autonomous Russian Greenhouse For ISS Wheat
'We saw the gardens, flooded with artificial sunlight, planted with everything imaginable, that supplied the necessary food.' - Harley S Aldinger, 1932.
OK, NASA 3D Printer Of Food Not Yet Star Trek Food Synthesizer
Maybe not, but we're seeing definite progress.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Monarch Tractor - It's Electric, Autonomous and Smart
'Driver-optional' and follows gestures.
'Seabreeze' Apple And UCLA Project To Beat Depression
'It's illegal to hold back information during a psyche test,' the machine said peevishly.'
Hovermap By Emesent Autonomous Mapping Works Indoors - and Out
Perfect for exploring ancient artifacts on distant planets.
Sono Motor's Sion Sun-Powered Car
'...six square yards of sunpower screens on its low curved roof.'
LEONARDO Robot Has Legs And Thrusters, Can Skateboard, Slackline
'a walking balloon proceeded with long strides of its aluminum legs over a slant of steep upland.'
Xavier Robots On Patrol For 'Anti-Social Behavior'
'This was as close as a robot could get to a cop in uniform.'
Rotating House in Bosnia
'... feel free to turn the house on your own.'
Ingenious Engineer Creates DIY Feeding Robot
'Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.'
SpaceX Creates 'Tholian Web' Mega Constellation Of Satellites
'We shall not see home again!'
Do Smart Glasses Need Forward-Facing Cameras?
'They were stylish, with yellow-tinted lenses and hip frames, but the posts were unusually thick.'
Adorable One-Seater Electric Car From Wuxi Sinotech
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
Zoom Adds Real-Time, Live Translation
'He immediately turned the small shining disc of the Language Rectifier..'
It's Spacewalk Sunday, Thanks To The ESA
'The delicious, indescribable pleasure of being a little planet swinging through space...'
Pengxing Intelligent Robot Horse You Can Ride
'The horse reared up, pawing the air, then sprang into a gallop.'
Tesla Bot Humanoid 'Robot' Vs. Boston Dynamics Atlas Parkour Robot
'...most jobs that require a human form are better done by those organic alternatives.'
Altos Labs' Bezos Wants An Anti-Agathic (To Live Forever)
'So what we're looking for now is... an anti-agathic, an anti-death drug.'
