Painting by Olof Arborelius, 1870. PHOTO: HANSA ANDERSSON, DALARNAS MUSEUM

Essays The climate shift. Icebreakers versus the art of sledge driving,

President Trump wants to build 40 new icebreakers to conquer the ice around Greenland, according to the news, May 2025. Interestingly, Finland might play a part in the production of these ships.1 There is a deep historical dimension here and in this essay I return to a time before the icebreaker, that is, before the 1850s, and look into how we related to ice and snow then. It turns out that in the centuries preceding the late 19th century, people in Sweden had an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards ice and snow. In fact, these elements were crucial for the whole Swedish society. Today it is the opposite, as the icebreaker illustrates. I argue that between these two historical temporalities lies the climate shift, which has an ontological dimension to it.

Published in the printed edition of Baltic Worlds BW 2025:2, pp 64-72
Published on balticworlds.com on September 23, 2025

abstract

President Trump wants to build 40 new icebreakers to conquer the ice around Greenland, according to the news, May 2025. Interestingly, Finland might play a part in the production of these ships.1 There is a deep historical dimension here and in this essay I return to a time before the icebreaker, that is, before the 1850s, and look into how we related to ice and snow then. It turns out that in the centuries preceding the late 19th century, people in Sweden had an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards ice and snow. In fact, these elements were crucial for the whole Swedish society. Today it is the opposite, as the icebreaker illustrates. I argue that between these two historical temporalities lies the climate shift, which has an ontological dimension to it.

KEYWORDS: Climate change, ice and snow, combustion engine, icebreaker, sledge

1 “After Trump’s promise of 40 ‘big’ icebreakers, Coast Guard says it’ll take eight or nine for polar ops”. Accessed May 4, 2025. https:// breakingdefense.com/2025/04/after-trumps-promise-of-40-bigicebreakers- coast-guard-says-eight-or-nine-will-do/.

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Johan Hegardt