Living on a cesspool of geothermal heat that blows from time to time does come with advantages:
“Isolated and challenged by a harsh climate and battered by the financial crisis of 2008, Iceland has successfully moved away from fossil fuels and shifted to 100% electricity production from renewable sources. The island nation has developed high-tech greenhouses to grow organic vegetables and embraced sustainable fish farming, ecotourism, breakthrough processes for carbon capture and disposal, and efforts to restore the forests that were lost in earlier centuries.”
Here are some of the great photos by Simone Tramonte:
A borehole at Hellisheiði geothermal plant, in Hengill. Hot fluid is extracted through 30 wells at a depth of 2,000 to 3,000 metres. Geodesic domes over each borehole help reduce the visual blot on the landscape.
Germàn and Adriana harvest tomatoes in Friðheimar greenhouse, Reykholt. Iceland has dramatically reduced the import of fresh vegetables, cutting down on the environmental and financial costs of transportation and preservation. More than 75% of tomatoes, 90% of cucumbers and large proportions of peppers are produced on the island.
Other sustainable stuff going on in Iceland:
Erla collects eider down in her farm in the Westfjord. Eider down harvesting is based on a sustainable relationship between the farmers and the eiders. Eider are seabirds that spend most of their lives in the Arctic Circle. In late May, they nest close to human settlements to seek shelter and protection, using down to create a nest. During the egg incubation, the farmers guard the flock from predators, and only when birds waddle back to the sea, the farmers collect the down – which is traded at about €2,000/kg. About 70% of the world down production comes from Iceland
Hrefna, a volunteer of the Icelandic forest service (IFS). A century ago, most Icelanders had never even seen a tree. Sixty years ago, few Icelanders started planting trees despite the harsh climate. Today, reforestation and afforestation are being carried out by thousands of people all over the island. Volunteers assist the forest associations by planting seedlings and by fertilising young trees. The country has a goal to create a 5% forest cover in the next 50 years.
Good work Iceland! I’d love to go to Iceland but it’s still tricky by train and boat, and not clear whether you end up beating the carbon emissions of flying or not. It depends who you believe either here or here. Iceland actually has an electric ferry on the way. But it’s for short 45 minute trips at the moment, not for getting between the rest of Europe and Iceland.
[Photography: Simone Tramonte]