Iceland review - 2015, Page 34

32 ICELAND REVIEW
fossil fuel is the alternative—which is not at all environmentally
friendly. But we should call geothermal what it is.” Although a
geothermal area offers not only the potential for energy, it may
prove more valuable in the long run if left untouched, she says.
“Pristine nature is a resource too.”
Guðrún is passionate about electrifying Iceland’s car fleet. “A
decision must be made regarding transport. Norwegians have
decided to go electric and established a system encouraging
people to buy electric cars.” She admits that electric cars have
their cons too. For example, the batteries are expensive both
financially and environmentally, she says, but solutions to these
problems are under development. Guðrún encourages the
authorities to take the necessary steps, referencing the paradigm
shift which occurred in Iceland mid-last century, when the
decision was made to use hot water for house heating instead of
imported oil. “At the time, Reykjavík was already a big city and
this called for major operations. Every street had to be dug up.
I remember as a girl when the oil tank at my parents’ was lifted
up from the ground. There were lots of people who thought
this was complete nonsense, too expensive, a waste of money.
The first geothermal Christmas it was freezing inside, everyone
was sitting in their parkas and Jóhannes Zoëga was called ‘Jack
Frost,’” Guðrún says of Reykjavík’s first director of geothermal
heating. “It took vision and courage. Imagine how much it
would have cost this nation if everyone was still heating their
houses with oil. [A paradigm shift] is what we need for transport
on land, but the government is still too preoccupied with the
income from taxes on oil and cars.”
ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY
Guðrún is concerned about the condition of Icelandic nature.
“We have to tread carefully. We were given this valuable land,
ocean and atmosphere and we have to treat it with respect.
Icelanders tend to think they are so environmentally friendly
but we have one of the biggest ecological footprints in the
world,” she states. “Why? We consume immense amounts of
energy. Our fishing fleet runs on oil and the air transport is
extremely energy intensive. And we waste energy. Tourists
fall asleep when they visit us because our houses are so warm.
We turn up the heat and open the windows. We let the water
run to make it cooler instead of placing a jug of this fantastic
resource of ours in the fridge to keep it cool.” Icelanders are not
half as resource-conscious as most of our neighboring nations,
she adds, highlighting that pollution, particularly by the ener-
gy-intensive large-scale industry, is by far the biggest factor in
Iceland’s ecological footprint.
ISS is about to launch an extensive research project on air
quality and public health in cooperation with the other Nordic
countries, having received a grant from NordForsk for that
purpose. “It’s about people’s equal right to good health, specifi-
cally studying the connection between air pollution and health.”
One of the questions asked is whether all citizens have the same
access to clean air, or whether there are social disparities, such
as in terms of real estate prices that subject some sectors of
society to poorer air quality than others, as Guðrún explains.
“Icelanders have a certain misconception about the environ-
ment’s condition. Air pollution is a big health problem in urban
SCIENCE
Hverarönd geothermal area in Mývatnssveit, Northeast Iceland.