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Chasing Icebergs: How Frozen Freshwater Can Save the Planet
A deeply intelligent and engrossing narrative that will transform our relationship with water and how we view climate change.
The global water crisis is upon us. 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water; nearly 1 million people die each year as a result. Even in places with adequate freshwater, pollution and poor infrastructure have left residents without basic water security. Luckily, there is a solution to this crisis where we least expect it. Icebergs—frozen mountains of freshwater—are more than a symbol of climate change. In his spellbinding Chasing Icebergs, Matthew Birkhold argues the glistening leviathans of the ocean may very well hold the key to saving the planet.
Harvesting icebergs for drinking water is not a new idea. But for the first time in human history, doing so on a massive global scale is both increasingly feasible and necessary for our survival. Chasing Icebergs delivers a kaleidoscopic history of humans’ relationship with icebergs, and offers an urgent assessment of the technological, cultural, and legal obstacles we must overcome to harness this freshwater resource.
Birkhold takes readers around the globe, introducing them to a colorful cast of characters with wildly different ideas about how (and if) humans should use icebergs. Sturdy bureaucrats committed to avoiding another Titanic square off against “iceberg cowboys” who wrangle the frozen beasts for profit. Entrepreneurs selling luxury iceberg water for an eye-popping price clash with fearless humanitarians trying to tow icebergs across the globe to eradicate water shortages.
Along the way, we meet some of the world’s most renowned scientists to determine how industrial-scale iceberg harvesting could affect the oceans and the poles. And we see firsthand the looming conflict between Indigenous peoples like the Greenlandic Inuit with claims to icebergs and the private corporations that stand to reap massive profits.
As Birkhold shepherds readers from Connecticut to South Africa, from Newfoundland to Norway, to Greenland and beyond, he unfurls a visionary argument for cooperation over conflict. It’s not too late for icebergs to save humanity. But we must act fast to form a coalition of scientists, visionaries, engineers, lawyers and diplomats to ensure that the “Cold Rush” doesn’t become a free-for-all.
The global water crisis is upon us. 1 in 3 people do not have access to safe drinking water; nearly 1 million people die each year as a result. Even in places with adequate freshwater, pollution and poor infrastructure have left residents without basic water security. Luckily, there is a solution to this crisis where we least expect it. Icebergs—frozen mountains of freshwater—are more than a symbol of climate change. In his spellbinding Chasing Icebergs, Matthew Birkhold argues the glistening leviathans of the ocean may very well hold the key to saving the planet.
Harvesting icebergs for drinking water is not a new idea. But for the first time in human history, doing so on a massive global scale is both increasingly feasible and necessary for our survival. Chasing Icebergs delivers a kaleidoscopic history of humans’ relationship with icebergs, and offers an urgent assessment of the technological, cultural, and legal obstacles we must overcome to harness this freshwater resource.
Birkhold takes readers around the globe, introducing them to a colorful cast of characters with wildly different ideas about how (and if) humans should use icebergs. Sturdy bureaucrats committed to avoiding another Titanic square off against “iceberg cowboys” who wrangle the frozen beasts for profit. Entrepreneurs selling luxury iceberg water for an eye-popping price clash with fearless humanitarians trying to tow icebergs across the globe to eradicate water shortages.
Along the way, we meet some of the world’s most renowned scientists to determine how industrial-scale iceberg harvesting could affect the oceans and the poles. And we see firsthand the looming conflict between Indigenous peoples like the Greenlandic Inuit with claims to icebergs and the private corporations that stand to reap massive profits.
As Birkhold shepherds readers from Connecticut to South Africa, from Newfoundland to Norway, to Greenland and beyond, he unfurls a visionary argument for cooperation over conflict. It’s not too late for icebergs to save humanity. But we must act fast to form a coalition of scientists, visionaries, engineers, lawyers and diplomats to ensure that the “Cold Rush” doesn’t become a free-for-all.
- GenresScienceNonfictionNature
239 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2023
4 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 18, 2023
Like an iceberg, this book has high highs and low lows. The stories the author shares from his encounters with individuals in and adjacent to the iceberg industry and culture/communities are very interesting and insightful. I really enjoyed that. I also enjoyed the author's speculations -- at times. However, by the end of the book, the author was beating a dead horse. I found that he kept repeating the same point over and over again in different words. Don't get me wrong, he's a good writer -- great prose! But I understood and remembered the message when he stated it in the prior chapters. Getting through the conclusion and seeing that there was an epilogue, in which, as predicted, he repeated the same exact thing, was wholly unnecessary. Some editing would really have helped bring out the gems of this book.
September 6, 2024
3/5
This is an interesting read on something I never even knew about: harvesting icebergs for freshwater. It is cool to read about the uses, history, culture, ethics, positives and negatives of icebergs and act of towing them. There are some parts that seem to go into the details heavily to where it can be difficult to follow but otherwise it’s quite the educational read into how and why we should harvest icebergs for the sake of our planet’s water crisis.
This is an interesting read on something I never even knew about: harvesting icebergs for freshwater. It is cool to read about the uses, history, culture, ethics, positives and negatives of icebergs and act of towing them. There are some parts that seem to go into the details heavily to where it can be difficult to follow but otherwise it’s quite the educational read into how and why we should harvest icebergs for the sake of our planet’s water crisis.
Want to read
April 23, 2023Excerpt here, from a Newfoundland "Iceberg cowboy":
https://nautil.us/the-iceberg-cowboys...
-- which goes on & on. Title is a very old idea, but maybe there has been progress? Tempting, if it could be made to work!
Maybe? Published February 7, 2023
https://nautil.us/the-iceberg-cowboys...
-- which goes on & on. Title is a very old idea, but maybe there has been progress? Tempting, if it could be made to work!
Maybe? Published February 7, 2023
March 21, 2024
author didn’t really have a side or give their opinion, just told the facts
author loved the phrase res nillius
thought it would be a more scientific book, was more political
author loved the phrase res nillius
thought it would be a more scientific book, was more political
September 21, 2024
About 1/4th of this book is about ‘how frozen freshwater can save the planet’, the rest being unrelated and irrelevant rambling. I don’t feel like I gained much from this book, but still worth it for the relatively quick read and nice legal summary at the end. Lots of questions left unanswered and no good context or assessment of the problem.
January 4, 2024
Amazing fantastic incredible book everyone go read it NOW!
April 2, 2024
Well researched and well-written, I hope future generations can benefit not only from this book but from the Earth it could save
November 16, 2024
Very interesting book about an industry/concept that I had no idea existed (but it makes a lot of sense why it does)! Very thought provoking as we look to the future of climate change.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews