WOI-TV News Clips - Iceberg Utilization Conference (1977)

the iceberg was plucked out of the ocean in Alaska then flown from there to Minneapolis and trucked from there to ames as part of the first international conference on iceberg utilization the conference begins today drawing some 200 scientists from 20 countries around the world and Saudi Arabia's prince mohammed al faisal the major underwriter of the conference feisal put up to 7,500 dollars to transport the iceberg and is also putting half the bill for the conference the Prince wants to prove the theory that icebergs from Antarctica could be towed by ship to provide water for his parched country well what we are trying to do is to confirm our opinion that the iceberg can be transported and that it can be done without any ecological difficulties at costs that are reasonable and in quantities that make a difference to transport the first one which includes all the research and studies that have to be made in the engineering and the purchases of all equipment and all that would probably cost in the neighborhood of 80 to 100 million dollars the organizers of this event are serious about icebergs but icebergs in Iowa cannot be taken with complete seriousness after the tests are run the iceberg will be chipped down and used to cool martinis for a conference cocktail party dick Voss reporting from Ames Iowa don't be too hasty in thinking the icebergs only purpose is to provide fresh water to arid territories of the world icebergs can do that and much more theoretically according to professor of oceanography dr. Charles Goldman the iceberg can be harnessed to provide many services including cold production farms for oysters and lobster modification of dry lands to grow crops that otherwise could not grow there or for the more recreation minded the cold from the ice berg could be harnessed to provide the aquatic climate necessary to produce trout in high and medium latitudes dr. Goldman says for the most part those technologies are ready for experimentation I would say within within this decade and conceivably within the next two or three years there will be a serious attempts to move icebergs out of the Antarctic pack and and who warmer seas dr. Goldman says before any production experimentation can be done a process for towing icebergs to warmer climates must be perfected but even so it appears the day of the iceberg has arrived dean bunting news 5 i'm one of the highlights of the social hour is this tugboat carved by a member of the university's Memorial Union food staff the ship took four hours to carve out of ice but much to everyone's surprise it was not made out of the one-ton iceberg imported for the conference the iceberg get stowing however is drinks served at this evenings cocktail party will also contain chips from the iceberg which was imported to Iowa at a cost of several thousand dollars creating a rare situation when the ice cubes are worth more than the drink Phil Bell news 5 it's all over tomorrow the world's first international iceberg utilization conference is over tomorrow that is the conference and the iceberg it brought to central Iowa has been a big topic of discussion around Iowa and the world and not just by the big scientific minds it seems that almost everyone has an opinion on whether it's feasible to use the iceberg to help solve some of the world's water problems I personally think that the present time it does seem a long way off and does seem very expensive but we've seen things as great as this happened in the last 20 years for sure well I think it's kind of crazy idea but they need the waters and I don't see where else you're gonna get it Alan what do you think of the iceberg do you think this is the way to get water to the rest of the world no because it's too big too big but he should do well we should chip it into pieces so we can I water too as for Iowa's iceberg well it's destined to go where all icebergs go when they run out of cold when it will be gone is still uncertain but until it melts away it will continue to draw the attention of countless passers-by and the thoughts of many dean bunting News 5 near what's left of an iceberg in Ames Prince Feisal says he got more than he anticipated from the three-day conference and aims although he says the fanfare created by bringing an iceberg to a cornfield interfered with the conference more than he would have liked as for the practicality of towing icebergs to his arid country as a fresh water source feisal says he still thinks it's a good idea but that the engineering aspects will still have to be looked into the only question is when is it feasible and that might be the difference between some of the scientists and others you know and remember also i think the engineering side of this project has not been presented to much in this conference so the engineers have to say they're worried about it too when asked feisal jokingly told reporters the next iceberg utilization conference would be held on an icebreaker but later in a more serious manner he did say expected the next meeting to be on the high seas although he declined to say where the Saudi prince says the thousands he invested in the conference were not wasted because for the first time people are looking at iceberg utilization more seriously Phil Bell News 5 Prince Feisal also visited fellows elementary school and aims today as he left he extended his thanks and a check for two thousand dollars feisal also toured Ames senior high school today John McCreery reports Prince Feisal received a warm greeting at the Ames High School Auditorium today feisal told students it cost nearly 100 million dollars to ship a one-ton block of ice from the Arctic Circle to Saudi Arabia but the print says as the practice becomes more common the cost would not run nearly as high the prince was made an honorary student of ames high and students presented him with a moped motorbike in appreciation for his visit the moped gets 150 miles to the gallon and the cost of fuel in Saudi Arabia is only seven cents a gallon well I like it very much when we'll test it as a means of transporting works through John McCrory News 5