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> And if the latter, why the hell haven't they removed them yet? Apparently Argentina used plastic land mines (I believe they were new at the time) which are d
by elliekelly 7y ago
> And if the latter, why the hell haven't they removed them yet?
Apparently Argentina used plastic land mines (I believe they were new at the time) which are difficult to detect. After the war Argentina gave the British military a map of where they had placed the mines but because the mines had mostly been placed in sandy or swampy terrain many of them had shifted so they’re difficult to locate safely even with a map.
This was maybe the most interesting part of visiting the Islands for me because it’s a very contentious topic among locals. Some want the mines removed (and I was told they are working on that with a specialized company from Africa but it’s apparently a slow, expensive and of course dangerous process). There has been at least one death in the removal process so a lot of the locals feel its better/safer to just leave the mines were they are and things are fine with the clearly marked signs that show which areas of the islands are off limits.
Also, in case you were concerned for the safety of the penguins like me, they don’t weigh enough to trigger the mines so they walk over them all the time without issue.
- robocat 7y agoWouldn't cows be a low-tech (although cruel) solution?
- elliekelly 7y agoI actually asked if they could drop a bunch of bowling balls from planes... like WW2 planes that dropped cannon balls instead of bombs. I was told those types solutions aren’t possible because one explosion could set off several others which then interferes with their carefully plotted (but evidently not particularly useful) map of where the mines are thought to be located. Supposedly the only way to know with 100% certainty that an area is free of land mines is to remove them individually without detonating them. I guess I understand the logic but I also can’t help but think there has to be a better way that’s both cheaper and doesn’t involve humans risking their lives. Perhaps one day.
- lazyasciiart 7y agoThere is - rats have been trained to find landmines with great success https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151006-giant-rats-landmines-cambodia-science-animals/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151006-giant... https://www.apopo.org/en https://www.apopo.org/en
- elliekelly 7y agoThis is incredible. (And those rats are massive!) You should submit that National Geographic article to the main page.
- lazyasciiart 7y agoHuh, thanks for the suggestion - done!
- SiVal 7y agoSeems as though robots would do a much better job. I'm imagining a giant spider that walks into a minefield with its armored body fairly high above the ground. The body very methodically scans, probes, digs, ...whatever works. Its probes sometimes get blown off and are replaced from a quiver. A leg is occasionally blown off, but a spider can keep working without a leg or two. At the end of its shift, it walks out and has its legs fixed. A big hook on its back can be snagged to helicopter it out in case it is immobilized by an uncaught exception.
- robocat 7y agoThe day robots beat self-replicating devices is the day we all get retired.
- dredmorbius 7y agoRotary chain flail mine clearing or MICLICs are rather more humane.
- dsjoerg 7y agoAt first I thought you were saying you were a penguin.
- DuskStar 7y ago> Also, in case you were concerned for the safety of the penguins like me, they don’t weigh enough to trigger the mines so they walk over them all the time without issue. Sounds like the perfect setup for penguins then - hard(er) for humans to destroy your nests if they can't safely walk over to them. Sort of like Chernobyl.