Pykrete is a mix of ice and sawdust that takes much longer to melt than ice because it acts as an insulator.

The proposal is relatively simple... instead of burning sawdust and wood waste we bundle it up and ship it to the Arctic where it is mixed with water during winter and allowed to freeze into massive blocks.

Those blocks can then be set afloat in the Arctic Ocean, creating longer-lasting ice floes for the benefit of the critters who rely upon ice for a certain portion of the year.

It might still require Polar Bears to "turn brown" if they are to rely upon natural camouflage to hunt seals. ;)
-- UnaBubba, Apr 11 2012

Perhaps you'd 'just' have to steadily blow the sawdust over the landscape whenever it snows, so that it becomes naturally incorporated into the ice. That way you avoid the cost of handling the relatively massive water/ice component.
-- spidermother, Apr 11 2012


Would this cause global warming by reducing albedo? How about burying it or covering it in a CFC, cooling it by evaporation?
-- nineteenthly, Apr 11 2012


I'm in for Pykrete alone, much less keeping the arctic frozen. As for the polar bears, they're turning brown already.
-- Alterother, Apr 11 2012


//albedo// Add something white to the mix. A mole or two of flour should do it.
-- spidermother, Apr 11 2012


I thought most sawdust was being used to make particleboard these days? Since there is money in selling particleboard, and you have to spend money to ship sawdust to the Arctic, it seems this Idea will have significant trouble getting anywhere.
-- Vernon, Apr 11 2012


Betcha they burn shitloads of it in Russia, [Vernon].
-- UnaBubba, Apr 11 2012


Don't know how far north trees get but there seems to be a source of sawdust fairly close.
-- nineteenthly, Apr 11 2012


//natural camouflage to hunt seals. ;)//

[ubie], was that a smiley you used there? Are you going soft in your old age?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Apr 11 2012


Can we bleach the sawdust white first?
-- baconbrain, Apr 11 2012


It was a sop to Sarah Palin and her ilk, [Max].

I don't see why not, [bacon]. I'm used to sawdust being dark red, as hardwood species are more common here than conifers. Bleach would probably prolong 'berg life.

[bigsleep], the energy to freeze it is provided by winter. Making it whiter would help.
-- UnaBubba, Apr 12 2012


//Add something white to the mix. A mole or two of flour should do it.//

D'ough!
-- ytk, Apr 12 2012


Add a mole of sugar, just in case of global warming, in which case one could have a very large Arctic cake. (Are recipes forbidden on the HB?)
-- sqeaketh the wheel, Apr 12 2012


The moles will all be hibernating.
-- UnaBubba, Apr 12 2012



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