original: John Newton (1725-1807)
revised: danny bloom (1949-2032)
SUNG TO THE OLD TUNE OF ''AMAZING GRACE''
Amazing Race
-- new lyrics for an old song --
Amazing race, how cool we are
A long-lived family tree.
We are one on Earth unbound
Once born, we breathe, we see.
O human race there's naught to fear
life's one sweet journey true
How precious is each day we live
You! and you! and you!
Though many dangers, toils and snares
Lurk behind the doors of fear
Yes, we ARE one amazing race
and science brings us nearer.
There is no God and that's okay
We just must stand up tall
And fight injustice where'er it lies.
We're connected, one and all
But when our flesh and hearts do fail,
As mortal life does end,
The human race goes on and on
and love wil last, my friend.
We've been here tens of millions of years
And more, till the end of time.
So wipe away those silly tears
Be strong, be good, be kind.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Israel and climate change in the future: will there even be an Israel there? Most likely not. Wake up, o ye of little vision! COMMENTS WELCOME TOO! ALL POV WELCOME
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2011/10/29/beware-the-globally-warmed-future/
excerpt
In two important news articles about climate change (“How much more proof is needed for people to act” and “Ignoring the future — the psychology of denial”), the importance of facing major issues that will confront the future of the Jewish people were emphasized. Not only is the state of Israel threatened by climate change and rising sea levels, but the descendants of Jews around the world — wherever they live: North America, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Latin America — will be under threat.
Climate change is indeed an issue that is on everyone’s mind today, and Jewish scientists and Jewish thinkers will be on the front line of
these issues in the future, too.
The world as we know it today may very well not be the world of tomorrow, and the very survival of the Jewish people, as a people, will be at stake. And more: the very existence of the human species, our kind, homosapiens, will be on alert.
Despite most observers thinking that solutions lie in mitigation ideas, there are a growing number of Jewish climatologists and scientists who believe that the A-word — adaptation — must be confronted head-on, too. The fact is, despite the head-in-the-sand protestations of climate denialists, we cannot stop climate change or global warming.
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Jewish people must face scenario of 'climate change' chaos in future times
The Jewish people must face the very real scenario of millions of 'climate change
refugees' in dire peril in future times
In two important news articles about climate
change ("How much more proof is needed for people to act" and
"Ignoring the future -- the psychology of denial"), the importance of
facing major issues that will confront the future of the Jiewsh people
were emphasized. Not only is the state of Israel threatened by climate
change and rising sea levels, but the descendants of Jews around
the world -- wherever they live: North America, Europe, New Zealand,
South Africa, Australia -- will be under threat.
Climate change is indeed an issue that is on everyone's mind today,
and Jewish scientists and Jewish thinkers will be on the front line of
these issues in the future, too.
The world as we know it today may very well not be the world of
tomorrow, and the very survival of the Jewish people, as a people,
will be at stake. And more: the very
existence of the human species, our kind, homosapiens, will be on alert.
Despite most observers thinking that solutions lie in mitigation
ideas, there are a growing number of Jeiwsh climatologists and
scientists who believe that the A-word -- adaptation -- must be
confronted head-on, too. The fact is, despite the head-in-the-sand
protestations of climate denialists -- which some observers compare
Holcaust deniers as well -- we cannot stop climate change or global
warming.
The Earth's atmosphere has already passed the tipping point, and in
the next 100 to 300 years, temperatures will rise considerably, sea
levels will rise considerably and millions, even billions, of people
from the tropical and temperate zones of the Earth will be forced to
migrate north in search of food, fuel and shelter. This is where Jews
in particular, will play central roles.
By the year 2200, Israel could be no more. The entire Middle East will
have been abandonned for polar cities up north in Scandanavia, Russia
and Canada. Alaska, too.
Alaska and New Zealand and Tasmania could be home to millions, even
billions, of climate refugees from India and China and other Asia
nations who will have migrated north and south, seeking safe harbor
from the devastating impact of global warming in those future times.
Are the Jewish people, in Israel and in the Diaspora, ready for this?
Many parts of the world's coastlines will be under water, and many
northern countries will find themselves home to new kinds of visitors
from Asia and Europe. Just ask
Laurence C. Smith at UCLA; he wrote a book about this, setting his
story in 2050. These climate refugees won't be coming on cruise ships
or airplanes, since there will be no fuel for such services. They will
be coming by rudimentary sailing vessels and barges. Prepare
yourselves. It could be Noah's Ark all over again. It could be God's
Judgement all over again, if you
believe in such things.
Jews must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. By 2500, millions,
billions of people will have been forced to leave their home countries
in the tropical and temperate zones and migrate south en masse to
faraway southern regions to find shelter in United Nations-funded
climate refuges in northern places. Lifeboat Israel? Forget it.
Israel will be no more, if
climate chaos gets as bad as British scientist James Lovelock says it
well. Lovelock is 90, and he says he's ''an optimist''. Say that
again? Is he using Jewish humor there
It won't be a pretty picture -- what's coming, that is. Am I a
prophet? No. Am I a visionary? No. I am just a Jewish realist looking
directly at what's most likely coming our way in the distant
future. I'm prepared. My Jewish upbringing and Jewish education has
prepared me to face reality. I realize not everyone agrees with me on
these ideas, but that's par for the course when you
go out on a limb and try to sound the alarm. And I am not talking
about a posh golf course here. Enough of that! I am talking about the
future of our people Israel! Is anyone concerned about that?
Humans cannot engineer our way out of global warming, although
scientists who believe in geo-engineering have offered their theories
on how to do it. There are no easy fixes.
Humankind has put too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the
result of the industrial revolution that gave us trains, plans and
automobiles - and much more to live comfortable and trendy lives - and
now there is so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the Earth
cannot recover. Forget trying to be more "green" in our daily lives.
Israel and the Jewish people is doomed, like the rest of the world, to
a very bleak future. The Bible does not even come close to what is in
store for us all.
What we need to focus on now is preparing future generations for what
our world will become in the next 100 to 300 years and how best to
survive it. The national legislatures of all countires need to start
thinking about these issues. Now. In many ways, it's already too late?
How's that for optimism? And I am an optimist, yes!
For the next 100 years or so, life will go on as normal in Israel and
North America, so don't worry too much. There is nothing to worry
about now. For the next 100 years, posh department stores will
continue to hawk their trendy items, international computer firms will
continue to launch their latest cell phones and tech gadgets, and
airline companies will continue to offer passengers quick passage here
and there, to the Maldives and to Manhattan, for business and for
pleasure.
But in the next 500 years, according to Lovelock and other scientists
-- many of whom are Jewish -- who are not afraid to think outside the
box, things are going to get bad. Unspeakably bad. Those of us who are
alive today won't suffer, and the next few generations of humans will
be fine, too. The big troubles will probably start around 2200 -
Lovelock says sooner - and last for some 300 years or so. By 2200,
Israel and the entire Middle East will be uninhabitable and
uninhabited. Mark my words. I am not joking here.
Prepare yourselves, o ye who think this is all science fiction. In
fact, this is science fact!
We are entering uncharted waters, and as the waters rise and the
temperatures go up as well, future generations of the Jewish people
will have some important choices to make: where to live, how to live,
how to grow food, how to power their climate refugee settlements, how
to plan and how to pray. Alaska will be on the front lines of this new
world. Canada and Russia, too. The question is: will the human race be
ready for what is going to be the most trying time of our very
existence on this Earth?
NOTE:
This blog is the founder of the Polar Cities Project, (http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
). It would be nice to say the author here is kidding,
but apparently he's not.
refugees' in dire peril in future times
In two important news articles about climate
change ("How much more proof is needed for people to act" and
"Ignoring the future -- the psychology of denial"), the importance of
facing major issues that will confront the future of the Jiewsh people
were emphasized. Not only is the state of Israel threatened by climate
change and rising sea levels, but the descendants of Jews around
the world -- wherever they live: North America, Europe, New Zealand,
South Africa, Australia -- will be under threat.
Climate change is indeed an issue that is on everyone's mind today,
and Jewish scientists and Jewish thinkers will be on the front line of
these issues in the future, too.
The world as we know it today may very well not be the world of
tomorrow, and the very survival of the Jewish people, as a people,
will be at stake. And more: the very
existence of the human species, our kind, homosapiens, will be on alert.
Despite most observers thinking that solutions lie in mitigation
ideas, there are a growing number of Jeiwsh climatologists and
scientists who believe that the A-word -- adaptation -- must be
confronted head-on, too. The fact is, despite the head-in-the-sand
protestations of climate denialists -- which some observers compare
Holcaust deniers as well -- we cannot stop climate change or global
warming.
The Earth's atmosphere has already passed the tipping point, and in
the next 100 to 300 years, temperatures will rise considerably, sea
levels will rise considerably and millions, even billions, of people
from the tropical and temperate zones of the Earth will be forced to
migrate north in search of food, fuel and shelter. This is where Jews
in particular, will play central roles.
By the year 2200, Israel could be no more. The entire Middle East will
have been abandonned for polar cities up north in Scandanavia, Russia
and Canada. Alaska, too.
Alaska and New Zealand and Tasmania could be home to millions, even
billions, of climate refugees from India and China and other Asia
nations who will have migrated north and south, seeking safe harbor
from the devastating impact of global warming in those future times.
Are the Jewish people, in Israel and in the Diaspora, ready for this?
Many parts of the world's coastlines will be under water, and many
northern countries will find themselves home to new kinds of visitors
from Asia and Europe. Just ask
Laurence C. Smith at UCLA; he wrote a book about this, setting his
story in 2050. These climate refugees won't be coming on cruise ships
or airplanes, since there will be no fuel for such services. They will
be coming by rudimentary sailing vessels and barges. Prepare
yourselves. It could be Noah's Ark all over again. It could be God's
Judgement all over again, if you
believe in such things.
Jews must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. By 2500, millions,
billions of people will have been forced to leave their home countries
in the tropical and temperate zones and migrate south en masse to
faraway southern regions to find shelter in United Nations-funded
climate refuges in northern places. Lifeboat Israel? Forget it.
Israel will be no more, if
climate chaos gets as bad as British scientist James Lovelock says it
well. Lovelock is 90, and he says he's ''an optimist''. Say that
again? Is he using Jewish humor there
It won't be a pretty picture -- what's coming, that is. Am I a
prophet? No. Am I a visionary? No. I am just a Jewish realist looking
directly at what's most likely coming our way in the distant
future. I'm prepared. My Jewish upbringing and Jewish education has
prepared me to face reality. I realize not everyone agrees with me on
these ideas, but that's par for the course when you
go out on a limb and try to sound the alarm. And I am not talking
about a posh golf course here. Enough of that! I am talking about the
future of our people Israel! Is anyone concerned about that?
Humans cannot engineer our way out of global warming, although
scientists who believe in geo-engineering have offered their theories
on how to do it. There are no easy fixes.
Humankind has put too many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the
result of the industrial revolution that gave us trains, plans and
automobiles - and much more to live comfortable and trendy lives - and
now there is so much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that the Earth
cannot recover. Forget trying to be more "green" in our daily lives.
Israel and the Jewish people is doomed, like the rest of the world, to
a very bleak future. The Bible does not even come close to what is in
store for us all.
What we need to focus on now is preparing future generations for what
our world will become in the next 100 to 300 years and how best to
survive it. The national legislatures of all countires need to start
thinking about these issues. Now. In many ways, it's already too late?
How's that for optimism? And I am an optimist, yes!
For the next 100 years or so, life will go on as normal in Israel and
North America, so don't worry too much. There is nothing to worry
about now. For the next 100 years, posh department stores will
continue to hawk their trendy items, international computer firms will
continue to launch their latest cell phones and tech gadgets, and
airline companies will continue to offer passengers quick passage here
and there, to the Maldives and to Manhattan, for business and for
pleasure.
But in the next 500 years, according to Lovelock and other scientists
-- many of whom are Jewish -- who are not afraid to think outside the
box, things are going to get bad. Unspeakably bad. Those of us who are
alive today won't suffer, and the next few generations of humans will
be fine, too. The big troubles will probably start around 2200 -
Lovelock says sooner - and last for some 300 years or so. By 2200,
Israel and the entire Middle East will be uninhabitable and
uninhabited. Mark my words. I am not joking here.
Prepare yourselves, o ye who think this is all science fiction. In
fact, this is science fact!
We are entering uncharted waters, and as the waters rise and the
temperatures go up as well, future generations of the Jewish people
will have some important choices to make: where to live, how to live,
how to grow food, how to power their climate refugee settlements, how
to plan and how to pray. Alaska will be on the front lines of this new
world. Canada and Russia, too. The question is: will the human race be
ready for what is going to be the most trying time of our very
existence on this Earth?
NOTE:
This blog is the founder of the Polar Cities Project, (http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
). It would be nice to say the author here is kidding,
but apparently he's not.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
DRAFT COVER book, files PRIVATE VIEWING ONLY, ..db, april 14, 2012
A Vision of Polar Cities in Oxford, Oxfordshire by "James Lovelock's accidental studnet"
OXFORD -- A pioneering yet mostly unheralded American climate activist
told an audience in a pub last night in Oxford, Oxfordshire that the
age of ''polar cities'' is fast coming upon us. The bloke, who often
introduces himself and did last night as "James Lovelock's accidental
student" -- since his ideas of polar cities for survivors of global
warming where residents
will serve as "breeding pairs in the Arctic" -- was speaking to an
audience at Scibar, a monthly scientific moot, at the Port Mahon pub
here.
The 62 year old climate activist was presenting
ideas from his book, ''A Vision of Polar Cities'', which will come out in
paperback in March next year.
He said: “There will come a time when billions of humans will die
in a massive human die off, and the world
will be reduced to just 200,000 souls trying desperately to survive in
about 100 isolated polar cities scattered around the northern
regions."
He said that
these ideas are not original and that they are not his, and that he
owes everything to the ideas of Dr Lovelock in Cornwall, who was in
the audience last night, too. Well,
his spirit was. The good scientist was resting comfortably at his home up north.
told an audience in a pub last night in Oxford, Oxfordshire that the
age of ''polar cities'' is fast coming upon us. The bloke, who often
introduces himself and did last night as "James Lovelock's accidental
student" -- since his ideas of polar cities for survivors of global
warming where residents
will serve as "breeding pairs in the Arctic" -- was speaking to an
audience at Scibar, a monthly scientific moot, at the Port Mahon pub
here.
The 62 year old climate activist was presenting
ideas from his book, ''A Vision of Polar Cities'', which will come out in
paperback in March next year.
He said: “There will come a time when billions of humans will die
in a massive human die off, and the world
will be reduced to just 200,000 souls trying desperately to survive in
about 100 isolated polar cities scattered around the northern
regions."
He said that
these ideas are not original and that they are not his, and that he
owes everything to the ideas of Dr Lovelock in Cornwall, who was in
the audience last night, too. Well,
his spirit was. The good scientist was resting comfortably at his home up north.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
COULD THIS BE START OF REAL COLD WAR?
The US, Canada, Norway and Russia have all beefed up their naval presence in Arctic waters
Sunday October 23, 2080 AD
By Will Stewart
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
RUSSIA is to build an ultra-modern polar city on a frozen island inside the Arctic Circle in the Kremlin’s latest bid to back its claims to vast oil and gas reserves under the polar ice cap.
Named Umka after a popular Soviet-era cartoon polar bear cub, the city’s 5,000 residents will live under a vast dome to protect them from winter temperatures of well below -30C.
Architect Valery Rzhevskiy, who has shown the designs to Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin, said: “This city will be of strategic importance as Russia’s northern outpost.”
Sources say it will house soldiers, border guards and secret service officers, as well as scientists and explorers, as Moscow gets serious about its claims to Arctic mineral riches.
All will enjoy a luxury lifestyle in the cocooned city, which will have its own specially regulated climate as well as a variety of other attractive features.
Mr Rzhevskiy added: “We aim to have laboratories, houses, but also parks, an Aqua complex, hotels and a cathedral. Naturally there will be schools, kindergartens, recreation zones, a hospital and sport facilities.
“We want people who will be living and working here not to realise they are in some closed space with an aggressive Arctic climate outside.”
Nicknamed “wonder city”, it will be built at a cost of up to £4billion on the remote island of Kotelny, in the Novosibirsk archipelago, 1,000 miles from the North Pole.
Strong winds make it one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Even in July the temperature barely climbs above freezing.
The Umka designs are based on the International Space Station, but it is vast by comparison, just short of a mile long and 800 yards wide.
“So far it is the only project in the world with an artificial climate and integral life support, just like on the space station,” Mr Rzhevskiy said.
“Not only is it a new word in architecture but in human living too. We have used aero and space technologies while creating it.”
Electricity will be supplied by a floating nuclear power station. It will be totally self-sufficient with fish and poultry farms, greenhouses, a wheat processing factory and bakeries.
“There will not be any rubbish at all, as the city will have two factories converting it into all kinds of ashes.”
It will house workers for mines and oil platforms which should pay the costs of the development, it is claimed.
“This project is designed to work on any surface, even on the Moon if needed,” added Mr Rzhevskiy.
Although it has no fixed timetable for opening, the ice city plans come as all countries with territory touching Arctic waters are gearing up to submit competing demands to the United Nations for underwater mineral exploitation rights. Western countries were stung when, in 2007, Russian polar explorer Artur Chilingarov planted his country’s flag in the Arctic sea bed.
“We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian land mass,” he said at the time.
A Canadian think-tank this year voiced fears of a risk of conflict over the area, saying “an arms race may be beginning”.
The US, Canada, Norway and Russia have all beefed up their naval presence in Arctic waters amid warnings of a new Cold War that really could turn out to be cold, except perhaps at Umka.
Sunday October 23, 2080 AD
By Will Stewart
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
RUSSIA is to build an ultra-modern polar city on a frozen island inside the Arctic Circle in the Kremlin’s latest bid to back its claims to vast oil and gas reserves under the polar ice cap.
Named Umka after a popular Soviet-era cartoon polar bear cub, the city’s 5,000 residents will live under a vast dome to protect them from winter temperatures of well below -30C.
Architect Valery Rzhevskiy, who has shown the designs to Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin, said: “This city will be of strategic importance as Russia’s northern outpost.”
Sources say it will house soldiers, border guards and secret service officers, as well as scientists and explorers, as Moscow gets serious about its claims to Arctic mineral riches.
All will enjoy a luxury lifestyle in the cocooned city, which will have its own specially regulated climate as well as a variety of other attractive features.
Mr Rzhevskiy added: “We aim to have laboratories, houses, but also parks, an Aqua complex, hotels and a cathedral. Naturally there will be schools, kindergartens, recreation zones, a hospital and sport facilities.
“We want people who will be living and working here not to realise they are in some closed space with an aggressive Arctic climate outside.”
Nicknamed “wonder city”, it will be built at a cost of up to £4billion on the remote island of Kotelny, in the Novosibirsk archipelago, 1,000 miles from the North Pole.
Strong winds make it one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Even in July the temperature barely climbs above freezing.
The Umka designs are based on the International Space Station, but it is vast by comparison, just short of a mile long and 800 yards wide.
“So far it is the only project in the world with an artificial climate and integral life support, just like on the space station,” Mr Rzhevskiy said.
“Not only is it a new word in architecture but in human living too. We have used aero and space technologies while creating it.”
Electricity will be supplied by a floating nuclear power station. It will be totally self-sufficient with fish and poultry farms, greenhouses, a wheat processing factory and bakeries.
“There will not be any rubbish at all, as the city will have two factories converting it into all kinds of ashes.”
It will house workers for mines and oil platforms which should pay the costs of the development, it is claimed.
“This project is designed to work on any surface, even on the Moon if needed,” added Mr Rzhevskiy.
Although it has no fixed timetable for opening, the ice city plans come as all countries with territory touching Arctic waters are gearing up to submit competing demands to the United Nations for underwater mineral exploitation rights. Western countries were stung when, in 2007, Russian polar explorer Artur Chilingarov planted his country’s flag in the Arctic sea bed.
“We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian land mass,” he said at the time.
A Canadian think-tank this year voiced fears of a risk of conflict over the area, saying “an arms race may be beginning”.
The US, Canada, Norway and Russia have all beefed up their naval presence in Arctic waters amid warnings of a new Cold War that really could turn out to be cold, except perhaps at Umka.
UMKA follows the Polar Cities meme with a nice illustration of the future of a polar city design in Russia in 2080 AD
Umla is a bold vision and bravo for this kind of foward thinking. Readers might want to google "polar cities" as a theme and topic to my designs for 144 polar cities located in
northern climes within the next 500 years, possibly as early as 2080 AD! Deng Cheng-hong, google him, did the illustrations for me, and they point in the same direction as Umka. Thing is, life in a polar city, where as James Lovellock has said, survivors of climate chaos will live in rugged tragedy as breeding pairs in the Arctic, life in these polar cities will be technicolor and grooby as these designs show, but rather life will be mean, cruel and tragic. Out of 16 billion humans, only 200,000 will survive the coming climate catatrophes headed out way. Don't bury your head in the sand. wake up. Umka is another good wake up call. Larry Smith at UCLA will love this work too. Go go go......and go visit my polar cities pages online at
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
http://www.businessinsider.com/umka-russia-arctic-2011-10#comment-4ea6acee69bedd9246000032#ixzz1bnUYgSHV
ADAM TAYLOR at BusinessInsider.com touches on the polar city meme: hat tip to Torch Pratt in Taipei for the heads up!
A Look At 'Umka', The Domed Russian City Planned For Sub-Zero Arctic Temperatures
Adam Taylor
Oct. 24, 2080 A.D
.
Russia is planning to further it's reach in the Arctic circle, according to a statement from Vladimir Putin's website. The country has already made a bold appeal to the UN to annex some 380,000 square miles of Arctic seabed due to the existence of oil and gas in the area.
One plan for the region will involve special Arctic cities, or what Dany Bloom has been calling POLAR CITIES since he founded the Polar Cities Research Institute in 2006. GOOGLE. The first Russian polar city is proposed for a frozen Siberian island will be known as "Umka", housing 5,000 residents underneath a huge dome. The polar city will be spared from the harsh weather — -30 degrees Celsius in the winter with strong winds — by the dome, living instead in a sealed environment.
"Researchers could live there permanently rather than for short expeditions only," the developers said. "It is modeled after an imaginary Moon city or a completely isolated space station."
According to The Sunday Express in the UK, the polar city is expected to cost around US$6 billion, and will provide workers with a luxury environment.
“We aim to have laboratories, houses, but also parks, an Aqua complex, hotels and a cathedral. Naturally there will be schools, kindergartens, recreation zones, a hospital and sport facilities," one architect told the British paper.
So, Russians, how about it — a domed polar city in the Arctic circle?
http://i.nona.net/locmap_UMKA_20.1367222X44.5580556X20.4727222X44.7980556.png
Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/umka-russia-arctic-2011-10#ixzz1bnUmTIQ4
COULD THIS BE START OF REAL COLD WAR?
The US, Canada, Norway and Russia have all beefed up their naval presence in Arctic waters
October 23,2080 AD
By Will Stewart
RUSSIA is to build an ultra-modern polar city on a frozen island inside the Arctic Circle in the Kremlin’s latest bid to back its claims to vast oil and gas reserves under the polar ice cap.
Named Umka after a popular Soviet-era cartoon polar bear cub, the polar city’s 5,000 residents will live under a vast dome to protect them from winter temperatures of well below -30C.
Architect Valery Rzhevskiy, who has shown the designs to Kremlin strongman Vladimir Putin, said: “This city will be of strategic importance as Russia’s northern outpost.”
Sources say it will house soldiers, border guards and secret service officers, as well as scientists and explorers, as Moscow gets serious about its claims to Arctic mineral riches.
All will enjoy a luxury lifestyle in the cocooned city, which will have its own specially regulated climate as well as a variety of other attractive features.
Mr Rzhevskiy added: “We aim to have laboratories, houses, but also parks, an Aqua complex, hotels and a cathedral. Naturally there will be schools, kindergartens, recreation zones, a hospital and sport facilities.
“We want people who will be living and working here not to realise they are in some closed space with an aggressive Arctic climate outside.”
Nicknamed “wonder city”, it will be built at a cost of up to £4billion on the remote island of Kotelny, in the Novosibirsk archipelago, 1,000 miles from the North Pole.
Strong winds make it one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Even in July the temperature barely climbs above freezing.
The Umka designs are based on the International Space Station, but it is vast by comparison, just short of a mile long and 800 yards wide.
“So far it is the only project in the world with an artificial climate and integral life support, just like on the space station,” Mr Rzhevskiy said.
SEARCH WORLD NEWS for:
“Not only is it a new word in architecture but in human living too. We have used aero and space technologies while creating it.”
Electricity will be supplied by a floating nuclear power station. It will be totally self-sufficient with fish and poultry farms, greenhouses, a wheat processing factory and bakeries.
“There will not be any rubbish at all, as the city will have two factories converting it into all kinds of ashes.”
It will house workers for mines and oil platforms which should pay the costs of the development, it is claimed.
“This project is designed to work on any surface, even on the Moon if needed,” added Mr Rzhevskiy.
Although it has no fixed timetable for opening, the ice city plans come as all countries with territory touching Arctic waters are gearing up to submit competing demands to the United Nations for underwater mineral exploitation rights. Western countries were stung when, in 2007, Russian polar explorer Artur Chilingarov planted his country’s flag in the Arctic sea bed.
“We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian land mass,” he said at the time.
A Canadian think-tank this year voiced fears of a risk of conflict over the area, saying “an arms race may be beginning”.
The US, Canada, Norway and Russia have all beefed up their naval presence in Arctic waters amid warnings of a new Cold War that really could turn out to be cold, except perhaps at Umka.
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