'Jaap Krater'
Tag Archive
Sep 18 2008
1 Comment
Actions, ALCOA, Bakki, Century Aluminum, Dams, Denmark, Geothermal Energy, Greenwash, Jaap Krater, Rio Tinto Alcan, Saving Iceland
Today we received a letter from Denmark:
This morning, big banners were hanged on a building in Copenhagen saying: ,,Aluminium Industry is destroying all major Icelandic rivers!” A big advertisment from Icelandair Airline Company, showing Icelandic rivers, was hanging on this same wall last week.
The construction of the planned new Century aluminium smelter in Helguvík and Alcoa’s smelter in Húsavík, will lead to damming of more glacial rivers and geothermal areas. Today it looks like dams will be built in Þjórsá River, Tungnaá, Skjálfandafljót and Jökulsá á Fjöllum; only for further heavy industry projects.
Read More
Sep 15 2008
Ecology, Jaap Krater, Kárahnjúkar, Laws, Pollution, Saving Iceland
In a special report on the environment, Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, minister for the environment in Iceland, says that Icelandic nature has suffered from aluminium production and needs increased protection. “It is time to correct the injustice nature and environmental protection has faced because of heavy industry,” says the report.
She says Iceland’s nature is valuable, and conserving it is a way of utilising the resource. In the past Iceland’s nature, it’s rivers and geothermal fields have been seen as ‘unutilised resources’ that are almost asking for exploitation. This view, held by many Icelandic politicians and entrepreneurs, is a modern interpretation of 17th century Cartesian thought. Read More
Aug 22 2008
ALCOA, Bakki, Gjástykki, Jaap Krater, Jökulsá á Fjöllum, Krafla and Þeistareykir, Saving Iceland, Skagafjörður, Skjálfandafljót
Jaap Krater, Morgunbladid – Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir’s has said the environmental impact of Alcoa’s planned Bakki smelter and the associated energy production needs to be considered jointly (1). This poses the question whether or not new dams will be needed for heavy industry in the north. Looking at what can be realistically realised from geothermal plants, it becomes clear that a number of hydro projects will inevitably be necessary to power the Bakki smelter, and they should be taken into the assessment. In this article Jaap Krater analyses the energy calculations for the smelter and potential power plants.
Read More
Aug 22 2008
4 Comments
Hengill, Jaap Krater, Reykjavik Energy, Workers Rights
Two days ago two Romanian workers suffocated while wielding pipes for the geothermal expansion project at Hellisheidi, east of Reykjavik (1). The Hellisheidi power plant is being expanded by Reykjavik Energy company. The campaign group Saving Iceland believes that serious accidents are almost unavoidable due to the extreme circumstances the Eastern European workers in Iceland are forced to work in.
At the construction site for the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant expansion, the labour intensive work is done by Polish and Rumanian workers. These live in a work camp on the construction site. The Rumanian pipe wielders of which two died are working for Altak, a contractor of Reykjavik Energy.
Read More
Aug 11 2008
ALCOA, Century Aluminum, Cultural, Hengill, Jaap Krater, Jökulsá á Fjöllum, Kárahnjúkar, Krafla and Þeistareykir, Landsvirkjun, Media bias, Saving Iceland, Skagafjörður, Skjálfandafljót, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago
Jaap Krater, Iceland Review – As someone who has been active with Saving Iceland for a number of years, I read
James Weston’s column about media coverage on our campaign with much amusement. Many of his comments are not only funny but also have a ring of truth.
For me, they also illustrate something that is quite sad. People watch TV and see others chaining themselves to machines, according to polls most might even agree with them that they do not want more dams or smelters, and they get bored.
Read More
Jul 28 2008
7 Comments
Actions, Century Aluminum, Geothermal Energy, Hengill, Jaap Krater, Miriam Rose, Reykjavik Energy, Saving Iceland
“Reykjavik Energy Sponsors Human Rights Abuse in Yemen”
HELLISHEIDI (ICELAND) – This morning the direct action campaign Saving Iceland has occupied one of the main geothermal drill sites in Hengill where the Hellisheidi power plant is being expanded by Reykjavik Energy. 20 activists have chained themselves to machinery and have climbed the drill to hang up a banner saying “Reykjavik Energy out of Hellisheidi and Yemen”. They have also occupied the power control room of the drill site. The power to the drill was shut off and drilling was stopped for the rest of the day. Seven people got arrested. The protest was aimed at Reykjavik Energy supplying electricity to aluminium smelters in Iceland, destruction and pollution of the Hengill area and RE’s sponsoring of severe human rights abuse in Yemen.
In the last week, Saving Iceland took action at the Glencore and ALCOA headquarters in Switzerland as well as all Swiss Icelandic consulates, the Icelandic embassy in Rome, Icelandic consulate in Milan and also the headquarters of Impregilo. In Iceland Century Aluminum and Landsvirkjun both saw two actions against them and now Reykjavik Energy was targeted. Read More
Jul 25 2008
8 Comments
Actions, ALCOA, Arms Industry, Century Aluminum, Corruption, Jaap Krater, Krafla and Þeistareykir, Landsvirkjun, Repression, Rio Tinto Alcan, Saving Iceland, Workers Rights, Þjórsá
PROTESTS AGAINST LANDSVIRKJUN’S PLANNED DAMS IN ÞJÓRSÁ RIVER AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN LANDSVIRKJUN AND ALCOA
REYKJAVÍK – Today 30 activists from the international campaign Saving Iceland have invaded the Landsvirkjun (national power company) building (Háaleitisbraut 68) to disrupt work. Earlier this morning Saving Iceland activists dammed the house of Landsvirkjun director Friðrik Sophusson and nailed an eviction notice to his door.
“We oppose Landsvirkjun’s intentions to build the four Þjórsá and Tungnaá dams for Rio Tinto at Straumsvik (1,2), despite the referendum. They are also negotiating to dam Skjálfandafljót and Jökuslá á Fjöllum for ALCOA’s planned Bakki smelter (3,4). This is on top of the mess they are making of Þeistareykir (5) and the deep drilling into Mount Krafla, right next to the tourist attraction. LV are doing this for a company that is a self-admitted arms dealer (6) and has been in the news again and again for it’s gross abuse of human rights. (7) This company should not be welcomed by Landsvirkjun,” says Jaap Krater from Saving Iceland.
Read More
Jul 21 2008
5 Comments
Actions, Century Aluminum, Congo, Greenwash, Icelandic Alloys/ELKEM, Jaap Krater, Jamaica, Mining, Miriam Rose, Pollution, Saving Iceland
GRUNDARTANGI – A short while ago 20 activists from Saving Iceland blockaded the single supply road to Century Aluminum’s smelter on Hvalfjordur and Elkem – Icelandic Alloys steel factory. They have chained themselves to each other using arm tubes to form a human blockade as well as using tripod for the first time in Icelandic history. “We protest the environmental and human health hazards Century’s bauxite mining and refining activities in Jamaica, their plans for a new smelter and refinery in West Congo. Both Century’s and Elkem’s expansion plans will also mean destruction of unique geothermal areas in Iceland and produce large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions,” says Miriam Rose of Saving Iceland (1).
UPDATE: The blockade went on for three hours. Nobody was arrested. Read More
Jul 06 2008
ALCOA, Century Aluminum, Climate Change, Economic Collapse, Economics, Jaap Krater, Kárahnjúkar, Saving Iceland
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
Sep 07 2007
Amazon, Climate Change, Dams, Ecology, Greenwash, Guðmundur Páll Ólafsson, hydropower, Jaap Krater, Kárahnjúkar, Pollution, Þjórsá
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.
Rivers of Life
Glacial rivers carry the sediment out to sea, where it takes on a new and important role in binding the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) with calcium (Ca) and converting it into calcite and other carbonate minerals, immensely important in the ocean ecosystems of the world. Thus glacial rivers reduce pollution on Earth. This effect is greatest in recently formed volcanic territory such as Iceland, and the binding effect increases with rising atmospheric temperature.
Glacial rivers bind this gas which, along with some other gases, causes global warming and threatens the future of life of Earth.
When a glacial river is harnessed to generate electricity, this important function, and the binding of the greenhouse gas CO2, is diminished. What they generate is not GREEN ENERGY, as the advocates of hydro-power plants and heavy industry maintain, but BLACK ENERGY.
Dams and reservoirs hinder the function of glacial sediment in the oceans, and hence hydro-electric power plants that harness glacial rivers are far more harmful than has hitherto been believed. Read More