The writer is a science commentatorDam that strait. Not a misspelt venting of frustration about the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but an eye-catching proposal from climate scientists about a different waterway entirely.
Researchers in the Netherlands have floated the idea of building a dam across the Bering Strait, the shallow 85km-wide channel separating Alaska from Siberia. The closure, they suggest, could help to stabilise ocean currents crucial for regulating the climate.
In engineering terms, the proposal is not orders of magnitude adrift of other marine megaprojects, such as South Korea’s record-breaking 34km Saemangeum Seawall. In geopolitical terms, with its need for long-term American and Russian co-operation, it seems preposterous.