No more smelters in Iceland, says Bjork
p2pnet news view | P2P | Music:- “After touring for 18 months I was excited to return home a few weeks ago to good, solid Iceland and enjoy a little bit of stability,” writes Icelandic singer Bjork in a Times Online editorial.
Iceland’s main source of income was from its fishing industry, ” she says, but when that became uneconomic, “people started looking for other ways to earn a living” and, “The ruling conservatives thought that harnessing Iceland’s natural energy and selling it to huge companies such as Alcoa and Rio Tinto would solve the problem.”
Now, she goes on, the country has three aluminium smelters, the biggest in Europe, and the country’s government wants to build two more over the next 36 months.
“The smelters would need energy from a handful of new geothermal power plants and the building of dams that would damage pristine wilderness, hot springs and lava fields,”says Bjork, going on:
“A lot of Icelanders are against the building of these smelters. 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. One resulted in the Environment Minister insisting for the first time that an environmental impact assessment should be carried out before any smelters or dams were built.
Enter the George W. Bush economic crisis.
“Usually I don’t notice politics,” Bjork continues. “I live happily in the land of music-making. But I got caught up in it because politicians seem bent on ruining Iceland’s natural environment. And I read last week that, because of the crisis, a number of Icelandic MPs are lobbying for the environmental assessment to be ignored so that the dams can be built as quickly as possible to give Alcoa and Rio Tinto the energy they need for the two new smelters.”
No way, she says, and with that in mind, she’s giving all proceeds from her new song, Nattura, to the Nattura Campaign.
“Iceland can be more self-sufficient and more creative – and still have an approach that is more 21st than 19th century,”declares Bjork, adding:
“It can build fewer, smaller and greener dams. Let’s use this economic crisis to become totally sustainable. Teach the world all we know about geothermal power plants. Support the Icelandic seed companies. Support the grass roots. It may take longer to build and deliver profits but it is solid, stable and something that will stand independently of the rollercoaster rides of Wall Street and volatile aluminium prices.
“And it will help Iceland to remain what it is best at: being a gorgeous, untouched force of nature.”
Times Online – After financial meltdown, now it’s smeltdown, October 28, 2008
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