# Huzzah! A tunnel under the Bering Strait! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 24, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499 "2007-04-24T19:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/41 "2007-04-25T19:17:23Z")
**Leviosaurous** If this tunnel is such a great thing, and so many people are going to use it and it’s going to be such a money maker, why not let some private company do it? Recent SCOTUS decisions would imply that the government could condemn any private land and sell it to the developer, but on second thought the government probably owns most of the land already, and the Russian government could almost certainly be “persuaded” to sell the land. If it’s such a gold mine, why are there no private companies trying to exploit it, or buy up land in the area? If I thought it had a chance in hell I’d be buying land on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/42 "2007-04-25T19:44:47Z")
One thing the planners have forgotten is that they need to double the length of the tunnel to bring it back far enough from the coast line that when the ice caps melt and the oceans come up they do not simply flood the tunnels. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/43 "2007-04-25T19:51:26Z")
99% of the land in Alaska is public land, owned by the Feds, the State, localities, or native corporations. These are all sorts of things…national forests, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, national parks, state forests, state parts, state wildlife refuges, local parks, military land, just plain federal lands, just plain state lands, and on and on. Although I’m coming around to Shagnasty’s idea…some sort of car or ship that could operate over both land and sea, without requiring rails or roads. Perhaps government funding for research into such a vehicle might be a wiser investment. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/44 "2007-04-26T03:41:07Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] …The only way to beat that would be to invent some type of craft that would just rise away and ignore the land and water completely and move directly from point to point. [/QUOTE] Fool! Crazy dreamer! If God had meant Man to fly… ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/45 "2007-04-26T07:41:01Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Fool! Crazy dreamer! If God had meant Man to fly… [/QUOTE] Then he would given him the plans for a 747 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/46 "2007-04-26T16:14:46Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur866] Although I’m coming around to Shagnasty’s idea…some sort of car or ship that could operate over both land and sea, without requiring rails or roads. Perhaps government funding for research into such a vehicle might be a wiser investment. [/QUOTE] Provided it could be run on something other than hydrocarbons. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/47 "2007-04-26T17:04:22Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Provided it could be run on something other than hydrocarbons. [/QUOTE] Do you realize you made that same comment less than 24 hours earlier? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/48 "2007-04-26T17:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=Keeve] Do you realize you made that same comment less than 24 hours earlier? :dubious: [/QUOTE] It bears repeating. The advantage of trains is that they can be made to run on electricity, which can be generated in various non-fossil-fuel-dependent ways, which means we can continue to use them after the coal and oil run out. Airplanes . . . not so much. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/49 "2007-04-26T23:39:35Z")
[But soon.](http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2007/q1/070327e_nr.html) > [@](#): > > MADRID, March 27, 2007 – In an effort to develop environmentally progressive technologies for aerospace applications, Boeing [NYSE: BA] researchers and industry partners throughout Europe plan to conduct experimental flight tests this year of a manned airplane powered only by a fuel cell and lightweight batteries. > > The systems integration phase of the Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane research project, under way since 2003 at Boeing Research and Technology – Europe (BR&TE), was completed recently. Thorough systems integration testing is now under way in preparation for upcoming ground and flight testing. > > “Given the efficiency and environmental benefits of emerging fuel cell technology, Boeing wants to be on the forefront of developing and applying it to aerospace products,” said Francisco Escarti, BR&TE managing director. “The Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane project is an important step in that direction.” > > A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into electricity and heat without combustion. Fuel cells are emission-free and quieter than hydrocarbon fuel-powered engines. They save fuel and are cleaner for the environment. > > The Boeing demonstrator uses a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor, which is coupled to a conventional propeller. The fuel cell provides all power for the cruise phase of flight. During takeoff and climb, the flight segment that requires the most power, the system draws on lightweight lithium-ion batteries. Only a two-seat motor glider for now, but a major step forward anyway. Fuel cells are the ground vehicle engine of the future, and near future at that, IMHO. The nuclear engines Pratt and GE were working on in the Fifties turned out to be just too scary, not to mention impractical, but were nevertheless not hydrocarbon powered either. In the interim, expect synthetic fuels made from coal, in the familiar old Fischer-Tropsch process, to take over some of the petroleum-derived market. USAF testing is in its early stages but no problems have arisen, and the synthetic stuff actually burns a little cleaner in the bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/50 "2007-04-26T23:57:19Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] It bears repeating. The advantage of trains is that they can be made to run on electricity, which can be generated in various non-fossil-fuel-dependent ways, which means we can continue to use them after the coal and oil run out. Airplanes . . . not so much. [/QUOTE] Coal and oil are not going to run out in 500 years I don’t know how many times I am going to have to say this on the SDMB. The Alberta Tar Sands represent at least as much oil as the entire middle-east and it is being opened now so that when oil tops $80 a barrel or so, it stabilizing the market for decades to come with nice oil at only slightly higher prices with this new supply. If the unthinkable happens, the U.S. has so much coal that you can’t even wrap your head around it. We could open up our coal mines within a decade and say fuck the rest or the world and live in (sooty) peace among ourselves for centuries. However, you seem to be making an environmentalist masturbation mistake. Building such a tunnel would would such an environmental disaster in every way that I don’t know where to begin. We would have very unnatural tunnels underwater with astronomical construction waste as well as thousands of miles of roads and supporting infrastructure. All that heavy machinery uses fossil fuels and contaminates the land as well as blocking off and disrupting wildlife. The whole strait would be contaminated for years. The Boston Big Dig took well over 20 years and still has disasters that ruin the environment and kill people. That is mere child’s play to something like this. What is the goal again? Is it to build things that look environmentally friendly on a magazine as or things that are environmentally friendly taking into account the monumental scope of such a project? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/51 "2007-04-27T00:11:36Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] In the interim, expect synthetic fuels made from coal, in the familiar old Fischer-Tropsch process, to take over some of the petroleum-derived market. USAF testing is in its early stages but no problems have arisen, and the synthetic stuff actually burns a little cleaner in the bargain. [/QUOTE] I’m betting that they’ll follow [Sir Richard Branson’s lead and go with biofuels of some kind.](http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/25/BUGRSPEIGB34.DTL) > [@](#): > > Virgin Atlantic Airways’ billionaire owner Richard Branson said Tuesday that his airline will experiment next year with biofuel in one of its jetliners in an attempt to learn how to reduce carbon emissions, and buy at least 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a plane made from light composite materials that Boeing is touting for its fuel efficiency. > > The biofuel experiment and big Dreamliner purchase are part of Virgin Atlantic’s efforts to reduce contributions to global warming, according to Branson. Branson also owns 25 percent of Virgin America, a separate, startup carrier based in Burlingame that hopes to begin flying this summer. > > In addition to buying Dreamliners, which Boeing says will burn 27 percent less fuel that other comparably sized twin-engine jets, and working to develop a biofuel alternative to jet fuel, Virgin Atlantic has conducted other experiments to reduce carbon emissions. The London airline recently tried having its planes towed to and from the runways at three large international airports. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/52 "2007-04-27T02:41:34Z")
I’d kinda like to see more research into nuclear cargo ships, myself, zipping cleaning across the oceans, refueling once a year… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/53 "2007-04-27T22:35:03Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] **Huzzah! A tunnel under the Bering Strait!** [/QUOTE] BTW, the preferred interjection in this context is [“Hurrah!”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_Through_the_Deeps) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/54 "2007-04-28T05:19:04Z")
You say tomato, I say tom_ah_to… ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/55 "2007-04-28T05:39:50Z")
my first thought, before opening the thread: **Why?** after opening the thread, & thinking about the plate tectonics involved, which apparently not as completely dire as I at first suspected: Still, **why?** ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/56 "2007-04-28T08:18:45Z")
I heard they’ll be using the expertise of engineers from Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/57 "2007-04-28T11:34:31Z")
I would like to see Calcium Carbonate production > They could line the tunnel with marble and get the greens singing for them. Realistically it is just an oil and natural gas line, the ‘tunnel’ is for maintenance and inspection. I reckon it is quite a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/58 "2007-04-28T18:35:10Z")
[QUOTE=FRDE] Realistically it is just an oil and natural gas line, the ‘tunnel’ is for maintenance and inspection. [/QUOTE] Eh? You mean, to ship oil and gas from one side of the Bering Strait to the other? But, which way? And why? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/59 "2007-04-28T20:22:32Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Eh? You mean, to ship oil and gas from one side of the Bering Strait to the other? But, which way? [/QUOTE] Why, both ways, of course! That way, we make money coming and going! ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499/60 "2007-04-29T11:31:56Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Eh? You mean, to ship oil and gas from one side of the Bering Strait to the other? But, which way? And why? [/QUOTE] From Russia (Siberia) into the Alaskan pipework system - that allows the Russians to sell to the USA as well as China and Europe - it widens their customer base Russia has shed loads of oil and natural gas and is very happy selling it to other people. Strategically it makes sense for both Russia and the USA. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huzzah-a-tunnel-under-the-bering-strait/401499.md?page=4)