Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-06-10)

likefliestothehoneypot.It’sembarrassing.”

Eventually, PrinceMohammedstopped

funding polar research, but attempts to

accessicebergwatercontinued.Today,in

Newfoundland,a handfulofsmallCanadian

companies, including onecalled Iceberg

Vodka,hireso-calledicebergcowboys,who

usechainsaws,articulatedclaws,andeven

riflestotakeoffchunksofpassingArctic

bergs,sotheycanbenetted,melted,and

usedtodistillpremiumalcohol.(Icebergs

formfromcompactedsnow,andtheirwater

isuncommonlypure.)Thisspringthieves

made off with 8,000gallons of Iceberg

Vodka’s water, siphoning it from a large

tank.“Oursuspicionisthatwhoevertookit

thoughtit wasvodka,”saidChiefExecutive

OfficerDavidMeyers.BergWater,another

Newfoundlandcompany,sells12-packsof

“15,000-year-old”waterforasmuchas$180.

More urgently,interestis beingfueled

bytheworld’sincreasinglydireshortages

offreshwater.Today,asmanyas2.1billion

peopleworldwidelackaccesstosafedrink-

ingwater, accordingtotheWorld Health

Organization,andtheUnitedNationssays

global waterdemandwilloutstrip supply

by40%assoonas2030.Theproblemisthe

resultofpoorgovernmentoversight,frack-

ing,pollution,andfailinginfrastructure.Even

intheU.S.,leaksandtheftaccountforan

estimatedlossof16%offreshwater,writes

David Wallace-WellsinTheUninhabitable

Earth:LifeAfterWarming. InBrazilandother

places,thelossis ashighas40%.

There’s nomagic fix.Desalinationisa

poorsolution—it’sexpensiveandenergy-

intensiveandproducesmorechemical-laced

brinethanpotablewater.Muchofthatbrine,

whichis extra-saltyandcontainspotentially

harmfulsubstancesnecessaryforthedesali-

nationprocess,includingcopperandchlo-

rine,ispumpedbackintotheocean.There,

itsdensitycausesit tosinktotheocean

floor,whereit depletesoxygenanddestroys

marinelife.Accordingtoa 2019UNreport,

globaldesalinationplantsalreadyproduce

51.8billioncubicmetersofbrineannually,

enoughtocovertheentirestateofFlorida

a foot deep.Last yeara studyofalmost

180,000peopleinIsraellinkeddesalinated

watertoa 6%to10%increaseinheartdis-

ease.Plus,it tastesterrible.

Meanwhile,morethan100,000Antarctic

icebergs melt into the oceaneach year.

Theyrangefrommerelylargetocountry-size

(thebiggestseenrecentlywasthesizeof

Jamaica),andbysomecalculationstheycon-

tainmorethantheannualglobalconsumption

offreshwater.Ratherthanletthatwaterslip

away, severalgroupsare vyingfor berg-

towingfundsandknow-how.TheEuropean

Union in 2010 received a proposaltopull

icebergsfromNewfoundlandtotheCanary

Islands,whichhavelongbeenshortonfresh

water;andtheUnitedArabEmiratesplansto

testitsprospectsofimportingicebergsby

bringingonefromtheAntarctictoAustraliaor

CapeTownbylate2020.InGermany,a com-

panycalledPolewaterGmbhsaysit’sspent

$2.8million over the past six years hiring

experts to complete a strategy for getting

Antarctic iceberg water to drought-stricken

areas, with an emphasis on minimizing envi-

ronmental impact. Having won the blessing of

some Greenpeace officials, Polewater says it

Bloomberg Businessweek | Sooner Than You Think June 10, 2019

Sloane, master marine

salvager and would-be

iceberg transporter

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRYAN SCHUTMAAT FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

68