Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.08.2019, Qupperneq 4

What Are Icelanders
Talking About?
Reasons for weeping and
gnashing of teeth
Words: Andie Fontaine/Valur Grettisson Photo: Creative Commons
Many Icelanders are
preoccupied with the
latest parliamentar y pol ls
suggesting that the Centre Party
is ascendent, to the point where
they are now tied for second place
with the Pirate Party. Meanwhile,
support for the Independence
Party is at a record low, indicat-
ing that some Independence Party
voters have shifted to the decidedly
populist Centre Party. Many have
speculated that their protracted
filibuster campaign over the Third
Energy Package last spring may
have helped their popularity. If so,
they’re going to need to think up
more stunts to pull to keep boost-
ing those numbers.
A mass stranding of over 50
pilot whales in Snæfellsnes has
been great cause for concern, not
least of all because no one knows
exactly why so many whales
beached themselves. Róbert Arnar
Stefánsson, a biologist and direc-
tor of the West Iceland Nature
Research Centre, told report-
ers that it is “worrying that we’re
seeing more and more of this in
the last years.” The tragedy may be
in part due to human influence,
whether from submarine sonar
attracting the whales or human-
driven climate change pushing
mackerel—a favourite of pilot
whales—into shallower waters. Of
course, it could also be a fluke of
nature, such as a sick whale leading
the rest of the pod inadvertently
onto Iceland’s shores. Whatever
the cause, it’s a pretty sad affair.
Read a detailed account on page 16.
Last June, the picturesque
Helgafell mountain became
festooned with giant dicks that
were crudely scratched into the
mountain surface by local teens.
Amazingly, they also carved their
names into the mountain, as if
they were proud of their work.
These creative efforts would all be
to naught as a group of volunteers
scrubbed the cocks and related
graffiti off of the mountains, with
the help of park rangers, restoring
Helgafell to its original wang-free
glory.
A road accident nearly led to a
natural disaster in July, as a tanker
truck crashed on North Iceland’s
Öxnadalsheiði mountain pass,
dumping 13,000 litres of fuel
into the surrounding environs.
Thankfully, road workers were
fast to respond, containing the oil
and pumping most of it up. While
ongoing clean-up operations may
continue in the weeks to come,
there is currently no sign of lasting
environmental damage from the
spill, thankfully enough.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13— 2019First
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Peens promptly peeled off prominent peak
THE HOME
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