Photo: Bob Strong/Reuters
The Christian Science Monitor has a great staff who deal with environmental/energy issues. In the November 3rd issue, there is a cover article detailing Iceland’s plan to be 100% energy independent by 2050. This is in a country with only one usable natural resource: geothermal energy. In 30 years, they’ve gone from 75% reliance on imported coal to 82% self-sufficiency with geotherm and hydro power.
As CS writer Jonas Moody points out, geothermal heating has been used in Iceland for many centuries, mostly as a great place for the restorative hot soak. But now, they’ve got this energy source that won’t quit, and that energy independence has enabled them to continue their progress toward 100% self-sufficiency despite the global economic troubles.
Now they are moving to all-electric cars in an attempt to cut off use of imported oil. The first hydrogen car filling station was built in 2003, and they plan multi-fuel stations for methane, hydrogen, and plug-in electrics. The main pollutant from all of this is water vapor, which does make up the huge bulk of greenhouse gas. But that’s an easy one to fix, and when all of this becomes more widespread, the water vapor problem will, well, evaporate. The freedom that comes from independence is well worth the effort.
Check out the great article at CS Monitor’s bright green blog.