The Þeistareykir blue effluent lagoon, with stream coming from boreholes.

23rd June 2008

A recent exploration of the geothermal drilling sites in the North of Iceland by some members of Saving Iceland, uncovered shocking evidence of pollution and ecological damage at the Þeistareykir geothermal area near to Husavík.

Þeistareykir is one of three sites in the North currently being test drilled and researched to power the upcoming 250,000 tonne ALCOA smelter proposed at Bakki in Husavík. The area is about an hours drive from the main road down a rough track, and is located about half way between Husavík and Krafla (the biggest geothermal zone in the North, where extensive expansion to the current power plant is also taking place). Þeistareykir was first drilled in August and now contains three pods which belch huge quantities of Sulphurous steam and make a sound similar to a jet taking off, which shakes the surrounding ground. Below the two most active pods, and in front of a small sleeping hut for tourists is a huge blue lagoon, the source of which can be easily traced to a steaming outlet pipe from the drill pods. The pool has no outlet stream to drain the water away, and therefore must be continually expanding as more effluent water runs into it. This new lake is not shown on maps, and comparisons to photos taken in 2004 confirm that this is an utterly new phenomenon.

Saving Iceland
26 October

Dettifoss, Europe's most powerful waterfall

In an interview on the radio program 'Spegillinn' on 23 October geophysicist Páll Einarsson said that an eruption in Upptyppingar would probably disrupt the flow of the immense glacial river Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Upptyppingar volcano lies on the bank of Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Einarsson said that the first effects of the eruption would be that the river would evaporate from the heat of the lava. Running lava would block the course of the river so that when the river would materialize again it would collect in a lake that would then overflow with unknown consequences.

This declaration was made in consensus by dozens of people attending the first Saving Iceland conference, 'Global Consequences of Heavy Industry and Large Dams' on July 7-8, 2007. [Video report part 1 | 2]
Photo gallery of the conference.

We are gathered in Olfus, Iceland, we are people from more than fifteen different countries and five continents. We are here to share our experiences of heavy industry, dams, transnational companies and other expressions of globalisation, in Iceland, in Brazil, in South Africa, in Denmark, in Canada, in England, Germany, India, Trinidad and Tobago and many other countries.
We are not professional protestors. Unlike the well-paid corporate lobbyists and spindoctors that try to sell you heavy industry, none of us gets payed to be here. We are ordinary people, we are teachers, nurses, youth workers, students, shopworkers, fathers, mothers. We are here because we care. The Icelandic wilderness is unique. It is the largest in Europe and one of the few wild places left on this continent. It’s beauty and uniqueness and fire and ice are a heritage we must preserve and must defend. It is the heritage and responsibility and privilege of all Icelanders, and all Europeans, and all humans...

Jamaica Bauxite Environmental Organization - Excellent video section showing the horrors of the mining of bauxite...

Glacial rivers are not only the lifeblood of Iceland, but also of the whole planet.

River water contains sediment in suspension and various substances in solution; glacial rivers, especially, carry a large amount of sediment which increases as the atmosphere grows warmer.

Jaap Krater
Earth First Journal
3 August, 2007

Summer of Resistance in Iceland - An overview

This year, Iceland saw its third Summer of direct action against heavy industry and large dams. In a much-disputed master plan, all the glacial rivers and geothermal potential of Europe’s largest wilderness would be harnessed for aluminum production (see EF!J May-June 2006). Activists from around the world have gathered to protect Europe’s largest remaining wilderness and oppose aluminum corporations.

The Ecologist, October 2007
Krater, J., Rose, M., Anslow, M.

The gates of a geothermal power station are not where you would expect to find environmental activists. But the morning of 26th July 2007 saw the access road to Hellisheidi power station in Hengill, South-West Iceland, blockaded by a group of protestors from the campaign group ‘Saving Iceland’. After a brief demonstration, nine activists were arrested and several now face legal action.

Geothermal power in Iceland is big business. Just five plants generate 3 TWh a year – more than the annual output from all the UK’s wind turbines combined (Orkustofnun 2005; BERR 2006). Geothermal power also provides at least 85 per cent of Iceland’s homes with heat and hot water. This abundance of cheap, largely CO2-free energy has attracted energy-hungry industries to the country like sharks to a carcass. Of these, by far the most energy intensive is the aluminium industry (Krater 2007; Saving Iceland 2007).

Hrafnabjargafoss

Það er von mín að sem flestir taki afstöðu byggða á raunverulegum gögnum um hvort þeir telji þessar álvershugmyndir vera velígrundaða umhverfisvæna aðgerð sem verði öllum íbúum landsfjórðungsins til heilla og ánægju. Fyrir mér vekur umtal og áróður álverssinna hinsvegar upp margar spurningar, t.d.: “Hvenær verður múgsefjun að sannleika og hvenær verður tálsýn að veruleika?”

Trouw, Netherlands
21 January 2007

Large dams have dramatic consequences. Ecosystems are destroyed and numerous people are made homeless, often without adequate resettlement. But it is yet little known that large-scale hydro-electricity is a major contributor to global warming. The reservoirs could, despite their clean image, be even more devastating for our climate than fossil fuel plants.

"The hurt many of us feel towards the developments in eastern Iceland is so great that we will never accept another aluminum smelter to be built in Iceland. We would not be surprised if the environmental NGO’s and grass root organizations would consider the proposed developments in Northern Iceland to be a serious provocation on the behalf of Alcoa."

New Scientist
* 26 February 2005
* Duncan Graham-Rowe
* Magazine issue 2488

Hydroelectric dams produce significant amounts of CO2 and methane - some produce more greenhouse gases than fossil fuel power plants.

CONTRARY to popular belief, hydroelectric power can seriously damage the climate. Proposed changes to the way countries' climate budgets are calculated aim to take greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs into account, but some experts worry that they will not go far enough.

Saving Iceland
July 2007

July 18th a number of Saving Iceland activists made a courteous -first- visit to the Reykjavik Energy geothermal power station (Hellisheidarvirkjun), at Hengill volcano, to ask questions about the expansion of the geothermal power plant to provide electricity to aluminium smelters (Source: EIB). It is striking, that although the expansion of the Rio Tinto ALCAN smelter in Hafnarfjordur has been rejected by referendum, and other smelter projects in the south west are not definite, and the current Icelandic government says to oppose more smelters, Hellisheidi is still being expanded by Reykjavik Energy - at a cost of a whopping 379.06 million dollars. The Icelandic people are again blackmailed: once the expansion is completed, this will force Iceland into more smelters because the electricity needs to be sold to get investments back. The expansion must be stopped.

Virkjanaæði stjórnvalda stefnir fiskimiðum landsins í voða

Handan stærstu stíflu veraldar, í Kína, er afkróað hráefni sem nærir heilt vistkerfi.
J. Marshall. “Þriggja Gljúfra stíflan ógnar fengsælli veiðislóð”. 2006

Þann 25. febrúar 2006 birtist sláandi grein í New Scientist um niðurstöður kínverskra náttúrufræðinga sem fylgst hafa með vistkerfi Austur-Kínahafs frá árinu 1998 með það í huga að geta sagt til um áhrif Þriggja Gljúfra stíflu á lífríki hafsins. Vatnssöfnun í lónið hófst árið 2003.

'Power Driven' appeared in The Guardian Weekend in late 2003 and rocked Icelandic complacency. Still the best main stream analysis of the issues at stake and an excellent overview of the social background.

The Guardian
Saturday November 29, 2003

In Iceland, work has already begun on a colossal $1bn dam which, when it opens in 2007, will cover a highland wilderness - and all to drive one US smelter. Environmentalists are furious, but the government appears determined to push through the project, whatever the cost. Susan DeMuth investigates.

Serves as a good update of the 'Power Driven' article in the Guardian.

SchNews.org.uk
Fri 25th Feb 2005
Issue 486

Super-cool Iceland, the eco-tourist’s wet dream, right? Maybe not for much longer if the Icelandic government has its way.