In the mission against climate change, innovative futuristic designs are surfacing from some of the world’s brightest minds. One of these ideas was shared with us this week by an Optimist reader and appeared at an international design competition: iceberg producing submarines. The project, created by architect Faris Rajak Kotahatuhaha, involves submarines which capture polar seawater, filter out the salt, and eject a hexagonal iceberg one month later.

While the idea has been questioned in terms of large scale feasibility, Kotahatuhaha says the project is less about high volume ice production and more about encouraging people to think about climate solutions more creatively. 

Using geoengineering to solve climate change has been discussed more and more in the scientific community. Concepts such as “cloud brightening”, or using salt water to increase the amount of sunlight clouds reflect, was first introduced in 1990 as one of the initial geoengineering projects. Of course, we must proceed with caution when we consider ideas that tinker with nature.

Focusing on reducing carbon emissions is the most effective first step to mitigating the effects of climate change, but as this story shows, giving thought to innovative solutions can be another effective for getting people to think outside the box about our warming Earth and could lead to new ways of mitigating climate change.