Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.08.2011, Blaðsíða 40

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40
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2011
were washed. You would also see sailors from for-
eign ships going there with their garments. The re-
mains of the washing springs can still be seen at
Laugardalur, not far from the national football sta-
dium, and of course Laugavegur itself also takes its
name from these springs.
NORWEGIAN HOUSES
In recent years, many of the old timber houses have
been rebuilt, some of them quite beautifully, but it
should be mentioned that these houses are not es-
pecially Icelandic. The oldest style of buildings (see
Bernhöftstorfa) is Scandinavian and some of the
larger ones, built in the early twentieth century, are
in fact catalogue houses in the so called ‘Sveitser’
style from Switzerland, which were imported from
Norway where it was popular at the time.
The only buildings that can be called truly Ice-
landic are the old turf houses, which the nation lived
in for centuries. Few of these turf houses are left
today as most people wanted to erase the memories
of these dwellings.
Icelanders have never had enough wood to
build houses from, and one still wonders how the
beams for the huge cathedral that stood at the
bishop’s seat at Skálholt in the twelfth century were
transported. Also Icelanders never mastered the art
of building houses from hewn stone—knowledge
imported from Denmark in the late eighteenth cen-
tury.
REBUILDING IN THE OLD TIMBER STYLE
Today, people seem to favour the timber houses,
rather than for example, the Reykjavík classic style.
There have been three projects in the last few years
wherein houses were rebuilt in the old timber style
or adapted freely from the buildings that were once
there. One is at Laugavegur 4–6, another is on the
corner of Austurstræti and Lækjargata, and a third
one is on Aðalstræti.
Generally this has been considered a success.
People seem to like these buildings, even if some of
them are not especially practical. But this mixture
of old and modern is a delicate balance, and some
might consider it a bit kitsch.
Continued from page 8
As usual, 68-year-old, Kristján Loftsson (owner
of Iceland’s largest whaling company, Hvalur) rears
his head in the Independent piece, agreeing that de-
mand for whale meat has diminished since the disas-
ter in Japan. “Demand has shrunk [but] it will pick
up.” According to Kristján, there are up to 60,000
minke and fin whales in Icelandic waters, “So if we
take 150 a year, that’s nothing,” he says.
We’ll have to see just how headstrong the Icelan-
dic Ministry of Fisheries turns out to be. Somehow
I have a feeling that with pressure from the White
House and the Hollywood lobby, even they will have
to bow down.
Isn’t Iceland trying to promote itself as an ideal
filming location? Wasn’t the James Bond movie Die
Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan, filmed at
Jökulsárlón in Iceland?
Just in case the whale issue weren’t enough, the
mackerel policy is resurfacing. European Fisheries
Commissioner Maria Damanaki very recently met
with delegates from Norway and the EU to get Iceland
back to the mackerel-negotiating-table. FISHupdate.
com reported that “Brussels…called for immediate
inspections in Iceland…with regard to illegal and
unregulated fishing.” And furthermore, “the EU has
been asked to ‘freeze’ Iceland’s membership talks un-
til the [mackerel] issue is settled.”
Pressure from the EU may not move mountains,
but if the unfettered voice of Hollywood has its say,
things are surely about to change. In Pierce Brosnan’s
words: “You can be sure that Iceland will not end the
abhorrent practice of whaling until it is forced to do
so. Let’s fight ‘em. Again and again.”
It strikes me that Kristján may have finally met
his match. Besides, the IWC hasn’t given him the li-
cense to kill.
Continued from page 12
Continued from page 14
The culture is different, they don’t all share the
same religion and I don’t think that many Italians
understand the Finnish language without studying
it very carefully: you get the point. Even though the
European Union member countries are richly di-
verse they share the same ideas and are united in
their commitment to keep peace, democracy and the
rule of law in the continent just as well as over the
borders of Europe. They share the respect for hu-
man rights, equality, freedom, the values of coop-
eration, welfare, better environment and the rights
of not only their citizens but the whole world, which
can be seen in the fact that the European Union is
a major donor of humanitarian assistance and de-
velopment aid.

Is Iceland European?
So why do I believe that Iceland should be the next
member state of the European Union? Iceland is a
European country, not only geographically but also
historically and politically. The history of Iceland
is a part of the European history. Iceland has close
relations with Europeans and Iceland is very con-
nected to Europe through the European Economic
Area, which gives Iceland a place at the inner market
of the European Union and a great amount of Euro-
pean Union law, but without the ability to have any-
thing to say about them of course, since we are only
“visitors” of the area, but the voice we need within
the Europe would come with a membership.
More importantly perhaps, like I mentioned before,
for me the European Union is not only a business
machine with its own market and currency (which
by the way Iceland really needs), not only a bureau-
cracy that would lower the price of food in Iceland,
lower the taxes and make it easier (and cheaper) for
people to study and live in other European coun-
tries, it is also a very strong ideological power, and it
is the ideology behind the foundation of the Union
that makes me believe that Iceland belongs among
the other 27 countries. The European Union is a
unique thing that has only been growing stronger
since its foundation. How can someone not want to
be a part of such a success story like the European
Union, which is good for the member states, good
for the citizens of the Union and good for the rest
of the world?
I think that the words of the great Jean Monnet, the
founding father, back in the year 1952 says it all:
“We are not bringing together states, we are unit-
ing people.”
The lupine | Controversy
ALASKAN “WOLF” INVADES ICELAND
The battle for land in Iceland
Invasive species or non-native
plants present a problem all over
the world. For instance, the ragweed
in Europe can cause serious allergy
problems and the zebra mussel in
the North America colonises rapidly,
clogging water intakes that support
drinking water supplies and pow-
ers hydroelectric plants. In Iceland,
that invasive species is the Alaskan
lupine, which was brought into the
country in 1885.
Then in 1960, the Icelandic Forestry
Service began actively spreading the
plant, and by 1986, the Soil Conserva-
tion Service was using it for land rec-
lamation and to stop soil erosion. Soil
erosion has been a problem in Iceland
since the early settlers cut down most
of the country’s trees for building homes
and firewood. “The forest cover was sig-
nificantly reduced from 25 percent since
settlement to 1.1 percent in recent de-
cades,” according to Björn H. Barkarson
and Magnús H. Jóhannsson, who co-
authored “Arctic Land Care.”
THE CONTROVERSY
The Alaskan Lupine seemed the ideal
plant to correct the soil erosion. Head
of the Environmental Studies Program at
Franklin College Switzerland, Dr. Brack
Hale, explains that while other plants
take nitrogen from the soil, the lupine
species actually put nitrogen back into
the soil, which makes them well suited
for restoring the soil in the barren land-
scapes, such as those of Iceland. But
along with this nitrogen fixing quality,
there is the fact that the Alaskan lupine
spreads like a wild fire, outcompeting
Iceland’s established plants.
Thus, members of the political and
scientific community believe the Lu-
pine must be controlled. Among them
is Iceland’s Minister for the Environ-
ment Svandís Svavarsdóttir. She sees
the rapid expansion of the lupine being
problematic. “The Alaskan lupine can
become invasive, expanding beyond the
eroded areas, and competing with natu-
ral vegetation,” she says.
One of the plants in danger is the bil-
berry (which people often confuse with
the blueberry). “People hate it because
it spreads everywhere ruining favourite
spots for berry picking,” says Specialist
at the Soil Conservation Service of Ice-
land Magnús H. Jóhansson.
Borgþór Magnússon of the Icelan-
dic Institute of Natural History, who
authored “Nobanis – Invasive Alien
Species Fact Sheet” on the Alaskan Lu-
pine, points out that the spreading of the
Alaskan lupine can be difficult to handle.
“Early action is necessary if plants are
to be eradicated from an area,” Borgþór
writes. “It has proven very difficult to
manage the species after it has started
to spread in an area and formed a seed
bank.”
At the same time, there are those
who think the Alaskan lupine is a wel-
come addition to Iceland. In 1988, Ævar
Jóhannesson started producing a drink
that contains Alaskan lupine, which was
used to help patients through their can-
cer treatments. The drink strengthens
the immune system, which chemothera-
py weakens. In the early years, Ævar dis-
tributed this drink to anyone who asked,
absolutely free.
Now, the drink is available commer-
cially. “The drink has proved beneficial
for people suffering from asthma, ar-
thritis, as well as other inflammatory
symptoms, such as aching joints and
even healthy individuals, as an overall
immune booster,” Fríða Brá Pálsdót-
tir says, an employee at Heilsuhúsið in
Smáratorg.
A SOLUTION?
Despite its positive traits, the Alaskan
lupine’s quickly expanding nature calls
for a change in dealing with the soil ero-
sion problem. “There is a constant work
to develop new and improved methods
to tackle this important environmental
issue,” Svandís Svavarsdóttir said.
Though grasses and fertilizer are not
necessarily nitrogen fixers, they can still
be implemented to reclaim land. Mag-
nús H. Johansson, for instance, lists al-
ternatives such as grasses (lyme grass,
Kentucky blue grass, red fescue, and
Italian ryegrass), legumes (clover, vetch,
and sea pea), and fertilizer with no seed.
In the meantime, the Alaskan lupine
continues to threaten areas where no
soil conservation is needed, outcompet-
ing natural Icelandic vegetation, such
as moss and the bilberry. Without the
bilberry, the “blueberry” soup, loved by
Icelanders and foreigners alike, may
cease to exist: a favourite Icelandic
cuisine reduced to memory and recipe
books.
S. ALESSIO TUMMOLILLO
NATSHA NANDABHIWAT
A View From The Curch Tower
Revoked: License To Kill
The New Idea Of Europe: United In Diversity