---------------------------------------- Green Energy in Iceland February 18th, 2020 ---------------------------------------- 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]. (HTM) 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. (HTM) 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. (HTM) Icelandic Fishing Company Engaged In Bribery, Tax Evasion, Plundering African Resources