The “Jerusalem Hand”, Israel’s rescue organization, whose mission is to protect the environment, support and rehabilitate people who was victimized by natural disasters, as well as provide the latest information on natural disasters in the world, is concerned about the fate of the drifting iceberg, which is code-named A68.
We recall that it broke away from the ice shelf in Antarctica in 2017 and is recognized as one of the largest in recorded history. The area of this block of ice is 6,000 square kilometers, and its weight is about one trillion tons. Now it is heading towards the British island of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Scientists fear that it could endanger the life of the local fauna. The devastation of the bottom would cause the destruction of sea sponges, starfishes, worms, sea urchins, and, in turn, king penguins and seals will simply have nothing to feed their babies. If the iceberg stops off the coast, it will melt only after 10 years. During this time, enormous damage will be caused not only to the entire ecosystem, but also to the economy of the islands.
The resources of public organizations, movements and local initiatives are clearly insufficient to tackle tasks of this magnitude. The chairman of “Jerusalem Hand” organization Baruch Leviev said: Israeli rescuers appealed to the relevant departments of their country and, by virtue of the normalized political relations, sent a letter to the United Arab Emirates. They also call upon Russia to participate in this ambitious project because Russia is one of the few powers in the world that has its own icebreaker fleet, which has no analogues in terms of both quantity and quality (for example, one of the main advantages of nuclear-powered icebreakers is that they don’t need regular refueling, so vessels can remain in the ice for a long time).
With their help, the iceberg can be moved not just to a safe corner of the earth, but to the place where it may be vital! One of the UAE consulting companies had already created a project to tow ice floes from Antarctica. It would provide the local population with fresh water for five years. The arrived cooling mountain would not only amaze tourists, but also affect the climate bringing rains that would irrigate regional deserts. Besides, according to experts, such delivery will be cheaper than maintaining available desalination plants.
For Israel, such a gift couldn’t be more appropriate as well. There are also very few freshwater sources in the country. Meanwhile, polar observers recorded two more large icebergs which are going to break away from the ice sheet in the near future…
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