If we manage to create twenty companies with staff of 50, similar to Össur, Marel, CCP, and Actavis in the next 7 years, we will have created considerable more value, a stronger economy, in addition to having established less debt without sacrifice. The large scale industry’s offer to make Iceland one of the largest aluminium plants in the world, is of the same cloth as when the banks became 10 times bigger than Iceland. It is the desire for a strong leader, the protection of a superpower, a noble mogul or giant corporation that people can point to because they don’t dare to stand on their own two feet.

Andri Snær Magnason, author of the best-seller book Dreamland analyses Iceland’s economic situation and the “final solution” called The Aluminium factory

In these turbulent times interested parties use the opportunity to offer us “solutions” and relief. This time around it involves “alleviating all restrictions” and putting public energy companies up as 300 – 400 milliard collateral for two to three new aluminium plants. This is what is on the drawing board when the total debt of OR and LV (the central public energy institutions) are already at a dizzying 550 milliards – mostly because of Alcoa and Norðurál (Century Aluminum). This is why the banks always preached large-scale industry policies – more debt – more joy. It’s down to the price of aluminium to repay these loans, but aluminium prices are plummeting and a level of overproduction has already been reached. The nation believes that the magic term EXPORT EARNINGS is money that will end up in the nation’s pocket. (more…)

Sigurður Jóhannesson, one of leading economist of Iceland, member of the Economy Institution of the University, asks if the heavy industry has prevented miscellaneous and profitable economy in Iceland

Nothing happened in the project financing plan for power plants. The explanation could be seen in the morning paper, Morgunbladid 6. august 2001. There the chief financial officer of Landsvirkjun says for example: “… if Landsvirkjun was going to build their projects on [project financing] it would mean that the energy prices would be so high that we would not be competitive for heavy industry … [But] we should use sources of energy to sell electricity to heavy industry, we can not see, at the moment, according to present situation, what else is going to secure a decent economic growth for the years to come.” Some still spoke of new procedures. Friðrik Már Baldursson, later a prof. of energy, said in a lecture held at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Iceland 2001, e.g.: “It has been said that project financing is inoperable because of higher interest. With same reasoning you could say that the state should also lower the interest costs of heavy industry [with collaterals] … The main thing is that a risk includes a cost, that one can evaluate in prices, and a efficient result is only possible if this price, this cost, is taken into account.” Friðrik also recommended that damage made to the environment should be evaluated with a conditional values. Due to disputes over the profitability of the power plant at Kárahnjúkar, a committee of specialists reviewed the profitability and gave a report in early 2003. (more…)

Carbon recycling International captures carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and converts carbon dioxide to ultra clean fuel. The sources of emissions are from basic infrastructure industrial processes including aluminum smeltering, ferro silicon manufacturing, cement production and coal fired power generation.

The fuel is high octane gasoline, ultra low sulfur diesel and methanol for existing automobiles and future hybrid flexible automobiles. The recycling of carbon dioxide results in a net reduction of carbon dioxide and the cost effective conversion enables a sustainable production of synthetic fuel.

The technology is available today and is a viable solution for transport fuel in lieu of hydrogen fuel and carbon sequestration and in complement with oil based fuel.

http://www.carbonrecycling.is/

WELLNESS COUNTRY ICELAND

by Vatnavinir ( Waterfriends )

Water is an artery of life

Wellness country Iceland is a concept to promote health related tourism in Iceland.  The abundance of water and geothermal energy is a unique resource  of Iceland.  The network of water arteries in nature offer an inspiration to join efforts in a network supporting interrelated initiatives for future economic regeneration.

Forming of interdependent alliences of interest will support innovations in water related treatment centres locally and nationally.  The network of treatment centres and communities will maintain, develop and proliferate their own identities in mutually enriching ways.  The centres can be found in semi-urban, rural or natural settings, by the shoreline, in the countryside or the mountains.

By treading lightly the human footprint is minimized.  The unique natural setting of Iceland demands unique responses,  with respect for nature and local context guiding any interventions.  Thus every centre will be unique in nature and experience providing multiple choices of journeys between differenct wellbeing centers across Iceland.
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The Náttúra Song by Björk is now out and available from here right now! And iTunes!.  All proceeds from the track will go towards the Nattura Campaig run from this site.

The single is now available and we have also setup donation page for the Náttúra Campaign.

The single was composed specifically to encourage active support for the Náttúra campaign, which aims at collating and providing sustainable and eco-friendly options suitable for Iceland, and generating alternative ways to utilize it’s natural resources. People will be able to submit their ideas on the website for sustainable green workplaces for Icelanders.
According to Björk, “It is now more important than ever before to emphasize a respect for nature…I believe that profits, technological advances and working together with nature can all go hand in hand. None need to be sacrificed at the expense of the others.”

The new single is written and produced by Björk and features Radiohead’s Thom Yorke on backing vocals, Brian Chippendale (Lighting Bolt) on drums, Matthew Herbert on synth/bass, and Mark Bell on additional electronic beats. Opening with a huge elemental swirl, “Náttúra” then fires up an incendiary and fierce tribal rhythm. The song sees Björk firmly on the march in celebration of her homeland, in hopes that Icelanders harness its energy in a sustainable way.

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Fjölblendir is a research and development company which has invented and developed a new carburetor built on the novel TCT technique. (Total Combustions Technology).

The TCT was invented by Kristjan B.Omarsson who also is our lead designer. Our objective is to create fuel systems which are simpler to make, quicker and easier to put into production and produce less pollution than existing fuel systems. (more…)

After touring for 18 months I was excited to  return home 8 weeks ago to good, solid Iceland and enjoy a little bit of  stability. I had done a concert there earlier this year to raise awareness  about local environmental issues – especially alternatives to aluminium  smelters – and 10 per cent of the nation came to it; but I still felt it  wasn’t enough.

So when I got home I decided to contact people all over  the island who had attempted to start new companies and bring in new ways of  working, but had not succeeded. For a long time Iceland’s main income had been  fishing, but when that become uneconomic, people started looking for other  ways to earn a living. The conservatives in power thought that harnessing  Iceland’s natural energy and selling it to huge companies such as Alcoa and  Rio Tinto would solve the problem.

Now we have three aluminum smelters,  some of the biggest in Europe; and in the space of the next three years they  want to build two more. A lot of Icelanders are against this. They would  rather continue to develop smaller companies that they own themselves and keep  the money they earn. Many battles have been fought in Iceland on these  issues.

In one of these battles  the Minister for the Environment forced Alcoa to include the impacts of energy  exploiting in their Environmental Impact Assessment. The smelter would need  energy from a handful of new geothermal power plants and possibly also some  dams. This would damage pristine wilderness, hot springs and lava fields. To  take this much energy from the geothermal fields is not even sustainable.

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From A Turnup of an ideological system

Sigurður Jóhannesson, one of leading economist of Iceland, member of the Economy Institution of the University, asks if the heavy industry has prevented miscellaneous and profitable economy in Iceland.

Senior officials in energy affairs say that it is the moral duty of Icelanders to harness hydro power for heavy industry. In Iceland people are used to believe what they are told. In such environment it can be useful to look at what foreign institutes of finances have to say about this. They have the advantage over Icelandic institutes of being independent of the Icelandic government. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has, in recent years, had some concerns in their reports on Iceland, that the support of heavy industry in the form of official collaterals for power plants and tax rebate, prevent the development of knowledge industry in the country. At that time, OECD said it would have been better to let a private company build the power plant at Kárahnjúkar. That way the taxpayers had been rid of the risk of that project “and we could have tested the profitability of the power plant on the free market”. (more…)

Guðfrídur Lilja Grétarsdóttir
writes from the front lines of the struggle in Iceland and says that we cannot delay.

I never tire of quoting Jóhanna Jóhansdóttir from Hamarsheidi in Gnúpverjahreppur, she has lived with Thjórsá River for almost a century:
“The beauty was absolute. I thought of Landsvirkjun that might drown the hayfields of Hagi, this beautiful estate from the time of Settlement, drown it in such a way that it will no longer be habitable – and then no one will sit by a window and admire this beauty, or enjoy the fruits of the earth. It is a great authority that a few greedy men take into their own hands.”
There is a tendency to brand the struggle for nature preservation as extremist or unrealistic. Jóhanna Jóhannsdóttir, former farmer in her 90s is no extremist. Her fellow farmers, who valiantly fight for the preservation of Thjórsá, are no extremists either. These are normal Icelanders with different interests, different political backgrounds, who have different outlooks on life. They do, however, share the wish to protect their country – our country.
For more than four decades the locals around Thjórsá have stood guard and fought the Thjórsárver plant. These people have sacrificed precious time, energy, and even health, for the cause, and future generations shall forever be in their debt. (more…)

Björk Guðmundsdóttir calls for workshops gathering individuals who have worked on proceeding self-sustainable companies and aim for innovation. Among these are start-up companies and post-seed companies, representatives for economic and social development, academics, inventors and investors.

The workshop’s conversation deals on possible progress, on obstacles, and various ways to connect inventiveness, innovation, start-up companies, and to activate the interconnection to other clusters of similar relations and to the motive power of international expertise and market forces.

Icelanders stand at crossroads: Are we going to choose a single-track industry or administer to diversity and openness to other ways? Permanent and fertile diversity exclude quick-fix-solutions that economically, socially and environmentally deplete the resources that are fundamental for a self-sustainable development.

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