Saving Iceland

Sól a Suðurlandi, the local grass roots resistance group to the projected dams in Lower Thjorsa (Þjórsá) river, call a solidarity meeting tomorrow, March 2, in Reykjavik. The meeting will focus on demands that the three projected dams be stopped and that reconciliation be reached in communities that have been split for many years because of the plans for the dams. Read More

Following is a short clip from the documentary ‘Dreamland’, made by Andri Snær Magnason and Þorfinnur Guðnason in 2009. Here you can see Friðrik Sóphusson, then head of Landsvirkjun (Icelandic Power Company), telling the American ambassador in Iceland how they are “bending all the rules, just for this” referring to the Alcoa project in Reyðarfjörður.

Reception and presentation by Samarendra Das in Centenary Hall, St. Mary’s College, Thursday Oct. 1st, from 18:30 to 21:00.

Mr. Samarendra Das is an Indian national, global activist and research scholar based in London and Orissa. He has been involved for the last sixteen years in grassroots activism with the ‘Dongria Kondh’ and ‘Mahji Kondh’, tribal communities who have lived sustainable and self-sufficient lives for centuries in the mountains of Orissa. Kondh values and their mountains are in risk from multinational companies seeking to capture iron ore and bauxite  for the metal industries. Mr. Das has developed extensive knowledge of transnational corporations, NGO’s and the institutional architecture of the global elite who wield power over the earth’s resources. His academic backgrounds include a ‘first’ first class honors in  mathematics and a master of computer science with distinction. Mr. Das has co-produced films with his brother Amarendra, published books and written over 200 papers in his  mother tongue, Oriya. His work is both technical and artistic, covering culture, identity, conflict and political economy. His recent film with Amarendra, Sept. 2005, Wira Pdika (Earth Worm: Company Man) is feature-length campaign documentary on the resistance of the Orissa Kondhs.

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Join us from 18th July to resist the industrialisation of Europe’s last remaining great wilderness and take direct action against heavy industry!

The Struggle So Far

The campaign to defend Europe’s greatest remaining wilderness continues. For the past four years direct action camps in Iceland during the summer have targeted aluminium smelters, mega-dams and geothermal power plants.

After the terrible destruction caused at Kárahnjúkar and Hengill, it is time to crush the ‘master plan’ that would have seen every single major glacial river dammed, every substantial geothermal field exploited and the construction of aluminium smelters, oil refineries and silicon factories, as well as a significant increase in Iceland’s greenhouse gas emissions.

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The Saving Iceland gathering will take place during the weekend of November, 7th – 9th, in Ghent in Belgium. Every activist who was involved in the Saving Iceland Campaign in the past, and everybody who wants to join the campaign in the future is welcome. For practical reasons we need to know how many people will come. So subscription is necessary. Let us know by sending an email to savingicelandinfo@gmail.com. Ask by mail for more information about the exact location and the timetable.

On Wednesday July 23, 19.30 h. Saving Iceland will hold a conference with the Indian writer, scientist and aluminium expert Samarendra Das and ‘Dreamland’ author Andri Snær Magnusson, on the influence of the aluminium industry in the third world. Also, the concept of aluminium as a ‘green’ product will be examined. The evening is organised jointly with Futureland. It will take place at the Reykjavikurakademian house on Hringbraut 121. Read More

During our protest camp this summer, that starts 12th of July, a week of international solidarity actions will take place from July 21st to 27th.
People who can not come to the camp but want to support the resistance against heavy industry in Iceland, should take a look at Saving Iceland’s target brochure (which can be found here) and use their imagination. Read More

On Sunday the 20th July Saving Iceland and members of Sól á Suðurlandi and the Icelandic Mountain Guides will team up to lead a public tour around areas of Þjórsá threatened by three planned dam projects. A coach will leave Reykjavík at 12:00 noon and return by 18:00, costing 500 kr for the whole tour.
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Icelandic Economy Suffers as Century Shareholders Make Record Profit
By Jaap Krater

As inflation rates in Iceland soared to 8.7% and the Icelandic krona lost a third of it’s value, US-based Century Aluminum started construction of a much disputed aluminium smelter at Helguvik, southwest of the capital Reykjavik. The Icelandic economy is suffering from overheating as billions are spent on construction of new power plants and heavy industry projects. The central bank raised the overnight interest rate to a whopping 15% to control further price increases as Icelanders see their money’s value disappearing like snow. It would seem that the last thing the tiny Icelandic economy needs is further capital injections.

But Icelandic investors are making record profits from the new projects. The value of shares sold to them by Century less than a year ago to finance the Helguvik smelter has increased by 33%, though the company has not made a profit in years. Read More

Begins on 11th July 2008 in Chimalkhedi, Nandurbar District, Maharashtra.

No doubt every monsoon brings along with it a new lease of life and a green glitter. But, however, it also brings in a threat and a challenge for people in the Narmada valley as in the other river valleys, where the rivers are dammed and damned and the people and the natural environs are doomed and drowned. Even after 24 years of struggle, the adivasis in the Satpudas and Vindhyas and the
farmers, fish workers and others in the Nimad region of Madhya Pradesh have had to continue to struggle for their rights. Their battle is also for the rightful share for dalits adivasis, farmers, fish workers and all those who toil with nature and their own labour, harnessing and developing the natural resources in the human society. Read More