The
oyals
ac oss
the
wo ld
a e
k ow
to
pull
ume ous
ext avaga t
moves
with
a
aim
to
imp ess.
While
Cleopat a
made
guests
di e
o
gold
plates,
Ki g
He y
VIII
of
E gla d
a d
Ki g
F a cis
I
of
F a ce
built
tempo a y
palaces
of
b ick
a d
glass
fo
a
meeti g.
But
i
mode
times,
such
g a d
gestu es
have
bee
slightly
u called
fo ,
especially
whe
they
a e
poi ti g
at
somethi g
the
wo ld
is
t yi g
ha d
to
ig o e,
climate
cha ge.I
1977,
Saudi
p i ce
Mohammed
bi
Faisal,
so
of
the
eig i g
ki g
a d
head
of
Saudi
A abia’s
Sali e
Wate
Co ve sio
Co po atio
paid
to
tow
a
chu k
of
Alaska
icebe g
to
a
co fe e ce
i
la dlocked
Iowa,
se vi g
guests
4,000-yea -old
ice
i
thei
d i ks
to
p ove
his
pla
of
shippi g
icebe gs
to
A abia
fo
d i ki g
wate .
The
chu k
had
bee
ext acted
f om
the
Po tage
Glacie
ea
A cho age
a
few
days
ea lie
by
a
team
of
US
Navy
scuba
dive s,
hoisted
out
by
a
helicopte ,
flow
to
A cho age
ai po t,
put
o
a
comme cial
flight
to
Mi eapolis
a d
the
t ucked
the
last
th ee
hu d ed
miles
to
Ames,
as
pe
a
epo t
by
Scie ce
Blog.This
was
whe e
a
co fe e ce
hosted
by
the
42-yea -old
p i ce
was
taki g
place.
The
delegates
a ivi g
i
Ames
o
Octobe
2,
1977,
fo
the
Fi st
I te atio al
Co fe e ce
o
Icebe g
Utilisatio
we e
g eeted
by
chips
of
the
two-to e
icebe g
bei g
used
to
chill
thei
d i ks.
The
d i ks
themselves
we e
ap icot
ecta ,
i
defe e ce
to
the
p i ce’s
eligious
obse va ce.
La ge
hu ks
of
Po tage
Glacie
ice
we e
placed,
somewhat
a tlessly,
i to
pu chbowls.
The
ice
was
app oximately
4,000
yea s
old.
Why
impo t
a
icebe g
to
Iowa
I te esti gly,
this
was ‘t
a
supe ficial
show
of
wealth
o
a
lo g-time
fa cy
bei g
fulfilled.
The
p i ce
pulled
the
stu t
to
make
a
poi t.
Mohammed
bi
Faisal
had
spe t
the
p evious
decade
u i g
Saudi
A abia’s
atio al
desali atio
p og am.
He
was,
at
the
time
of
the
Iowa
co fe e ce,
a guably
the
pe so
who
had
do e
the
most
a ywhe e
i
the
wo ld
to
i dust ialise
the
ext actio
of
d i ki g
wate
f om
seawate .
Saudi
A abia’s
ability
to
sustai
a
mode
populatio
i
a
cou t y
with
almost
o
atu al
f esh
wate
was,
a d
still
la gely
is,
the
di ect
esult
of
the
desali atio
i f ast uctu e
he
built.
But
he
also
k ew,
f om
expe ie ce,
how
expe sive
desali atio
was.Removi g
salt
f om
seawate
equi ed
e o mous
e e gy
i puts.
I
Saudi
A abia,
that
e e gy
came
f om
bu i g
oil
—
oil
the
cou t y
was
othe wise
selli g
o
i te atio al
ma kets
fo
ha d
cu e cy.
Eve y
gallo
of
desali ated
wate
ep ese ted,
i
effect,
a
gallo
of
fo ego e
oil
eve ue
plus
the
substa tial
capital
a d
ope ati g
cost
of
the
desali atio
pla t.
Ove
the
yea s,
as
the
cou t y’s
populatio
g ew,
so
did
its
dema d
fo
wate
alo g
with
the
eco omic
cost
of
u i g
desali atio
at
such
a
la ge
scale.The
p i ce
had
bee
lo g
looki g
i to
alte atives
a d
i
the
1970s,
o e
specific
alte ative
was
bei g
take
ve y
se iously
by
a
small
g oup
of
e gi ee s
a ou d
the
wo ld:
ha vesti g
the
e o mous
qua tities
of
f eshwate
that
we e
cu e tly
melti g
uselessly
i to
the
ocea
eve y
yea
as
icebe gs
calved
off
A ta ctica
a d
G ee la d.The
math
suppo ted
the
equatio .
A
si gle
la ge
A ta ctic
icebe g
co tai s
mo e
f eshwate
tha
most
cities
use
i
a
yea .
If
o e
could
be
eliably
towed
to
a
cou t y
depe de t
o
desali atio ,
w apped
i
i sulatio
to
slow
melti g
du i g
the
voyage,
a d
the
melted
dow
i
a
co t olled
way
at
the
desti atio ,
the
esulti g
wate
could
i
p i ciple
be
cheape
tha
desali atio .The
specific
p oposal
P i ce
Mohammed
was
p omoti g
called
fo
a
85-millio -to e
A ta ctic
icebe g
to
be
towed
app oximately
5,000
miles
th ough
the
I dia
Ocea
a d
Red
Sea
to
Saudi
A abia.
The
estimated
cost
fo
this
would
be
about
90
millio
dolla s.
What
happe ed
ext
The
pla
did
ot
p oceed.
At
the
closi g
of
the
Iowa
co fe e ce,
the
p i ce
told
the
delegates:
“We
ca
do
it
if
we
put
the
effo t
i to
it.
Pe haps
we
will
tow
a
icebe g
i
th ee
to
five
yea s.”
A
Time
magazi e
epo t
f om
the
same
mo th
quoted
him
p edicti g
a
icebe g
would
each
A abia
withi
th ee
yea s.
But
eithe
happe ed.The
specific
e gi ee i g
challe ges
of
towi g
a
hu d ed-millio -to e
floati g
block
of
f eshwate
8,000
kilomet es
ac oss
wa m
equato ial
wate s
tu ed
out
to
be
substa tially
mo e
difficult
tha
the
i itial
modelli g
had
suggested.
The
i sulatio
p oblem
was
pa ticula ly
ha d.
A y
w ap
that
could
su vive
the
voyage,
keep
e ough
of
the
icebe g
i tact
th ough
weeks
i
t opical
wate s,
a d
emai
eco omical
at
scale
had
ot
bee
developed.
The
p opulsio
p oblem
was
also
se ious,
o
available
tugboat
could
pull
a
mass
of
that
size
at
a y
mea i gful
speed
agai st
eal
ocea
cu e ts.F e ch
e gi ee
Geo ges
Mougi ,
who
had
bee
pa t
of
P i ce
Mohammed’s
o igi al
team,
kept
wo ki g
o
the
p oblem
quietly
fo
the
ext
thi ty
yea s.
He
eve
eally
let
go
of
it.
I
2011,
usi g
3D
modelli g
softwa e,
updated
ocea
cu e t
data
f om
satellites,
a d
imp oved
i sulatio
mate ials
that
had
ot
existed
i
the
1970s,
he
a
ew
simulatio s.
His
co clusio ,
p ese ted
at
va ious
tech ical
co fe e ces,
was
that
icebe g
t a spo t
was
mo e
feasible
tha
the
1977
attempt
had
bee
able
to
demo st ate,
but
still
expe sive,
still
isky,
a d
still
equi i g
specific
political
a d
fi a cial
commitme t
that
o
cou t y
had
bee
willi g
to
make.At
the
time,
the
idea
dived
i to
the
depths
of
the
labs
a d
esea ch
pages
a d
is
o ly
ow
bei g
evived
to
the
su face.
Why
the
tu back?
Ove
the
past
few
yea s,
desali atio
has
ot
gotte
cheape
as
fast
as
o igi ally
hoped.
Newe
eve se-osmosis
systems
have
d ive
costs
dow
substa tially
si ce
the
1970s,
but
the
e e gy
i put
equi ed
to
emove
salt
f om
seawate
emai s
fu dame tally
la ge,
a d
cou t ies
whose
f esh
wate
depe ds
o
desali atio
co ti ue
to
look
fo
alte atives.Howeve ,
the
icebe gs
melti g
i to
the
ocea
have
accele ated.
A ta ctic
a d
G ee la d
ice
mass
loss
has
i c eased
sig ifica tly
si ce
the
1990s.
The
specific
f eshwate
that
P i ce
Mohammed
was
p oposi g
to
captu e
a d
use
is,
bei g
eleased
i to
the
salty
ocea
at
highe
ates
tha
at
a y
poi t
i
eco ded
histo y.I te est
i
the
idea
esu faced
du i g
Cape
Tow ‘s
seve e
wate
c isis
i
2018,
whe
seve al
p oposals
we e
floated
to
tow
a
A ta ctic
icebe g
to
the
South
Af ica
coast.
A
sepa ate
p oposal
i
2019
ta geted
the
UAE.
Neithe
p oject
moved
beyo d
feasibility
studies.
But
both
showed
that
the
idea
has
ot
died.A
A cho age
Daily
News
piece
published
this
week
evisited
the
Po tage
Glacie
sto y
f om
the
Alaska
a gle,
oti g
that
e gi ee s
i
seve al
cou t ies
a e
o ce
agai
u i g
the
umbe s
o
icebe g
t a spo t
as
a
pote tial
espo se
to
wo se i g
f eshwate
sca city
i
the
A abia
Pe i sula,
southe
Af ica,
a d
pa ts
of
Asia.While
othi g
has
bee
fo malised,
commissio ed
o
built
yet,
the
idea
that
P i ce
Mohammed
was
p omoti g
some
48
yea s
ago,
is
ot
dead.
It
is
bei g
looked
at
agai ,
by
people
who
thi k
that
the
ci cumsta ces
might
call
fo
it
a d
the
logistics
might
be
mo e
achievable
tha
back
the .
The
p i ce
died
i
2017,
without
eve
havi g
see
a
icebe g
each
A abia.
The
e gi ee s
who
succeeded
him
a e
still
doi g
the
math.
Go to Sou ce
