Saving Iceland

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On Friday night the 9th of November a dramatic and theatrical action took place outside the Icelandic parliament, in which politicians who voted for the environmentally disastrous Kárahnjúkar project, were ridiculed and cursed. The event marked the turning on of the power station and first turbines in Fljótsdalur on Monday the 5th, and serves as a reminder to the Icelandic government that we have not forgotten their corrupt behavior towards this unrivaled magical wilderness. Read More

To all those struggling against heavy industry in India, we at Saving Iceland wish you are solidarity and strength. To have 30,000 persons on a blockade must be an incredible feeling, and a product of incredible organisation and will.

Resisting Liberalisation, Privitisation & Globalisation

Biggest civil disobedience movement since Independence
7th Novemeber, Sambalpur

History was made yesterday when more than 30,000 (some say there were almost 50,000) people representing the farming community of western orissa descended upon Burla and marched on to Hirakud dam protesting against the sale of water to companies like Bhusan [Steel], Vedanta [Aluminium] and [Aditya Aluminum]. These farmers had come from villages in the districts of Bargarh, Sambalpur, Nuapada, Bolangir, Sonepur & Jharsuguda. They came in trains, trucks, and jeeps despite all attempts by the police to detain them en route to Burla on the pretext of violation of motor vehicles regulations, etc. The protestors sang songs, shouted slogans, laughed, danced and celeberated all along making it one of the most peaceful and unique protests ever. The police shuddered at the sight of this mammoth rally and every blockade they had put up vanished into thin air. Read More

Mines Minerals and PEOPLE Excellent news section.

Photos from everyday life and resistance in Kashipur

www.kashipur.info

Geothermal waterfall at Klambragil in Reykjadal, Hengill area

Saving Iceland
8 November 2007

A new national record in criticizing a power plant has been set.

Following negative reports from environmental engineers, objections to the Bitru and Hverahlíð geothermal power plant expansion have grown to over 678. Residents, scientists and town authorities are concerned with how close the power plant is planned to be to the town of Hveragerði. They are also afraid that it will harm future tourism, and obstruct land for outdoor activities. Read More

photo by Tom Olliver

Saving Iceland
7 November 2007

Only two days after the glorious inauguration of the turbines at Kárahnjúkar dam, further structural problems are already emerging.

Icelandic paper Morgunbladid revealed today that severe leakages in the tunnels leading to the turbines are releasing 200 litres of water per second onto the ground surface, forming a swamp currently about a third of a hectare in size. When asked to comment on the situation, Kárahnjúkarvirkjun spokesperson Sigurdur Arnalds said the water loss was of no consequence.

Regardless of whether or not we should believe Arnalds, the revelation that tunnel water is reaching the ground water breaches one of Siv Fridleifsdottir’s [ex-Minister of Environment who pushed through the project] fundamental stipulations (no. 14):
That Kárahnjúkarvirkjun should NOT interfere with ground water levels. Read More

There will be more dates forthcoming in 2008

Roll up, roll up! Activists from around Europe, come to a social centre near you for a chance to meet some wandering Icelanders who’ll tell you a story about Europe’s last wilderness that will surely make you so angry that you’ll be fighting the aluminium industry alongside them in 2008!

Here are the confirmed listings, keep your eyes peeled for more information.
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At Saving Iceland we are very aware that our presence in Iceland is surrounded by mystery, rumours, spectacle and a general otherness. We feel like we are as weird and wonderful as anyone else but we recognise that being interpreted by the TV and bloggers means that we can seem quite strange.

For this reason we decided to hold monthly old fashioned coffee evenings in Reykjavik where you can meet some of us, meet each other, meet other people who have opinions about dam, aluminium, heavy industry, etc. Read More

Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens – Brasil or Movement of Dam Affected People – Brasil

Dettifoss

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 flood could pose a great danger to the surrounding farming communities and hikers, who will be almost untraceable in the great wilderness. Eight hours notice would not be enough time to warn people and secure the wilderness say rescue services.

So, it turns out that the Kárahnjukar project, which so far has entailed the complete destruction of two of Iceland’s major glacial rivers, Jökulá á Brú and Jökulsá á Fljótsdal, just to run an aluminium smelter owned by arms manufacturer ALCOA, is in fact likely to destroy the third major glacial river, the magnificent Jökulsá á Fjöllum.

Members of parliament have repeatedly claimed that they wanted to protect the whole of Jökulsá á Fjöllum, even ALCOA have paid lip service to the proposal.

Jökulsá á Fjöllum hosts Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss. The river runs through the protected canyon of Jökulsárgljúfur National Park and past the magical area of Hljóðaklettar, much loved by tourists. All this is now threatened by the man-made eruption.

Some would say that this is vandalism of catastrophic proportions.

See also: >Imminent Man-Made Volcanic Eruption Courtesy of ALCOA and Icelandic Government