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Green Energy in Iceland | |
February 18th, 2020 | |
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I don't complain about many things in Iceland because, frankly, | |
there aren't a whole lot of things to complain about. By almost | |
every measure, life here is superior to the United States. In | |
fact, the thing I'm about to complain about in this phlog is | |
nitpicking. The situation in the United States is worse, frankly. | |
What I'm talking about in green power, or carbon neutral power, or | |
sustainable energy, or whatever else you want to call it. You may | |
be aware that Iceland's grid is pretty much 100% renewable energy. | |
Put a period there at the end of that sentence and things feel | |
pretty damn good. The island has rich resources in terms of | |
hydroelectric power, geothermal power, and wind. You can read all | |
about it on this site [0]. | |
Why Iceland - Competitively Priced Green Energy | |
So what's the problem then? Two things. I'll call one the lesser | |
evil and the other one the great lie. | |
The Lesser Evil | |
Power distribution in Iceland is not balanced between individuals | |
and corporations. The rates are different, their power channels | |
are different, and their use and the care with which is is taken | |
is different. In short, companies can get away with some shady | |
stuff. | |
Is it as bad as the US? Oh hell no. After all, we're not dumping | |
toxic coal ash into major waterways or anything [1] here. | |
Duke Energy Coal Ash in North Carolina | |
Even so, there's some ecological impact at stake, and a misuse or | |
unbalanced use of public resources that favors large capitalist | |
enterprise without paying back into the local economy. I could go | |
into more detail here, but I'm just gonna leave it vague because | |
I really want to focus on... | |
The Great Lie | |
Iceland sells its green resources as credits that companies can | |
pay for to offset their own polluting behavior. If a shitty | |
polluter like Duke Energy wants to seem cleaner, they can pay | |
Iceland and claim the renewable energy as their own despite not | |
using it. This lowers Iceland's real contribution to the Earth in | |
a major way, all but removing it as a good from the world because | |
it allows these other companies to continue their damage while | |
claiming to be better. | |
It's a short term gain for a country that was recently in | |
a financial crisis. What a great way to bring in extra funds for | |
doing nothing, right? Except it does have a major cost to the | |
world as a whole. | |
Is this worse than what the US is doing? Well, no. The US is | |
actively polluting and subsidising fossil fuel industries. But | |
that doesn't give Iceland a pass. This country has pinned its | |
reputation in the world as a Green Nation while it makes back-room | |
deals to sell off the fruits of that labor at the cost of our | |
future. There are many MPs here who are working on this and | |
a number of other issues. Fundamental to all of these efforts is | |
the new constitution that was passed by public referendum years | |
ago but has not been ratified by the alþingi, our parliament. It's | |
a powerful document that returns natural resources to the public | |
and out of the hands of a small number of oligarchs. You can see | |
why it hasn't happened yet right there. | |
The people all want it. Many MPs want it. It will happen. These | |
petty corruptions that take advantage of the fisheries, of the | |
power systems, of plundering the Namibian fishing quotas [2], they | |
will all be outed. We'll get there. | |
Icelandic Fishing Company Engaged In Bribery, Tax Evasion, Plundering African R… |