Icebergs in the Desert?

Recently icebergs have attracted attention as a possible source of fresh water. How do people in Arab countries get fresh water from an iceberg? By lassoing the iceberg for harvest, of course. Towing icebergs is not new. Icebergs are lassoed and towed away from drilling rigs in the North Sea as a safety measure. A hundred years ago ships used to haul small icebergs. An Alaskan company harvested icebergs floating in Alaskan waters and sold the ice to a firm in Japan as a novelty. One major problem is how to tow the iceberg from the Arctic to the equatorial zone without it melting before reaching its destination. Another problem is how to harvest the fresh water from the iceberg once it arrives.

As always, when humans seek to alter nature and its natural course, questions should arise: What effect might hauling large numbers of icebergs from the Arctic have on the Arctic region? Would the temperature of the Arctic change? Would the natural salinity of the ocean in that area be affected? What questions do you have?