Saving Iceland

Yesterday, Friday August 7th, Saving Iceland protested by the Ministry of Industry. At the same time inside the building, a financial contract was signed between the government and Norðurál/Century Aluminum, concerning the latter’s smelter in Helguvík. When the protest was about to end, the police showed up, arrested 5 individuals and aggressively roughed up one of them. Most of the media has spoken about the event but not mentioned the police brutality at all. Instead, the media has unsparingly published the police’s smear about us: that a policeman was kicked in the head and that we threatened the police with iron sticks, without any evidence showing that anything like this ever took place. Saving Iceland rejects these accusations and renounces the media’s one-sided reports.

The contract that was signed today includes state support for the aluminium smelters in the form of a tax discount that amounts to 16,2 million US dollars – two billion Icelandic krónur – and gives Norðurál/Century exemptions from paying industry fees, market fees and electricity safety fees. Special rules will also apply concerning stamp duty and planning fees, and about new taxes. The emission permits that are now valid permit a 150 thousand ton smelter in Helguvík; the Environmental Impact Assessment permits 250 thousand tons, but Century/Norðurál plans to build a 360 thousand ton smelter and today’s contract gives the company the right to do so. (1) The energy for the smelter has not been found and Svandís Svarvarsdóttir, the minister of environment has officially said that enough energy to run the smelter does not exist in the Reykjanes peninsula. (2) At the same time, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, the minister of industry, has agreed with ideas about Landsvirkjun selling energy from the planned dams in Þjórsá river to Helguvík. (3) Read More

Last Tuesday, August 4th,  Saving Iceland targeted the aluminium producer Alcoa. We knocked on the doors of the company’s office by Suðurlandsbraut but nobody answered, so the green skyr (traditional dairy product – historical for being used in protests) and other filthy stuff we had, ended up on the door, walls and the floor in front of the office. Compared to Alcoa’s role in the destruction of Iceland’s wilderness and other environmental and human crimes across the globe, this was a minimum punishment.

Though Alcoa’s aluminium smelter in Reyðarfjörður (east of Iceland) is now working with full force, driven on by the highly critical Kárahnjúkar Dam, there is still a fair reason for attacking the company. The smelter in Reyðarfjörður was the beginning of the heavy industry madness, the first sign of how effect the government’s advertisement campaign about the country’s cheap energy and people’s little as no resistance, was. (1) The smelter in Reyðarfjörður was the ball the pushed forward the idea that aluminium production is the premise for life. After the construction of the Kárahnjúkar Dam, all other energy projects look so small that only very few people seem to see a reason for fighting against them. And the police’s mistreatment towards those who dared to put their feet in between the construction, did for sure not encourage many to continue the resistance.  Read More

In the night of July 30th, HRV’s headquarters were attacked because of its part in the destruction of the Icelandic wilderness.

HRV is a company that holds serious responsibility for the destruction of wilderness – not less then the aluminium and energy companies. On its website, the company proudly states that it is “one of the leading project management and consulting engineering companies within the primary aluminium production sector.” HRV has taken part in the construction process of Alcoa’s, Rio Tinto-Alcan’s and Century Aluminum’s smelters here in Iceland, as well as the Kárahnjúkar power plant. The company’s work of engineering and designing has according to itself “added some 700,000 tpy [ton per year] of primary aluminium production capacity to the world market.”  Read More

Dear Iceland(ers).

This morning we, the Aluminium Industry, hung a banner on Hallgrímskirkja (the biggest church in Iceland) to finally express cleary what we have been trying to tell you all of the time. We decided that the methods of greenwashing and manipulation are no longer needed, since we obviously managed to convince you already about the glory of heavy industry. 

We wanted the Icelandic Nation to fully understand, that we don’t care about anything else than our own advantages and of course our profit. We don’t care about the impacts of our actions, on people here in Iceland or elsewhere in the world. Many lives, human and non-human, have been effected by our work all over the globe:

• Whole tribes of indigenous people have lost their lives and/or livelihoods through a cultural genocides caused by our projects; bauxite mining, alumina refining, aluminium production, and transportation between continents. (1) (2)
• Earth-damage and pollution are constantly increasing as we keep trying to fulfill our never satisfying greed. 
• Due to our major role in warfare and the military industry many people could feel the impact of aluminium on their own bodies… (3)
• We do not take responsibility for any of these things. (4) Read More

This afternoon, Saving Iceland received a letter and photos from a group titled A.S.Ö. According to the letter the group targeted the house of Friðrik Sophusson, the director of Landsvirkjun (Iceland’s national energy company) with paint and glue. The letter is here in full length:

We want our lives back. Our freedom. Our wilderness.

We decide not to delegate to others what we believe is necessary to be done. We take the responsibility of our acts against those who are destroying and poisoning the Earth.

Thinking that someone else than you will act or that nothing can be changed, is still a choice that has consequences. We can choose between oiling the destructive machine of this society or to be the sand that blocks it!

The individual responsibility is the reason why we hit personally those who are at the head of capitalistic companies as Landsvirkjun. In the name of money and power, Landsvirkjun has actively destroyed the Icelandic wilderness. Company’s director does not change personality between his work and home. He stays the same. He is as responsible on both sides.

In the night of July 27th, we went to the house of Friðrik Sophusson, the director of Landsvirkjun. We blocked his doors with glue and threw green paint all over the walls.

Never forget that the night is on our side!

A.S.Ö.

During the last days, a number of small actions have taken place in Reykavík; banner drop in the center of Reykjavík, graffiti and stinky liquid at Jarðboranir and a nighttime shut-down of Útlendingastofnun.

This morning, July 30th, a huge banner was dropped in the center of Reykjavík, bringing attention to the connection and co-operation between the aluminium industry and the weapon industry. The banner said: “30% of all aluminium goes to the weapon industry – Stop the aluminium industry!” From the beginning of our campaign we have not only focused on the destructive environmental impact of aluminium production and big dams, but also the social and humane impacts. Alcoa in Iceland has steadily refused the connection, but with only a little look at the website of n.b. Alcoa Defense, one sees with own eyes that Alcoa does not only produce aluminium for weapon manufacturing, but proudly takes a huge part in the design of military equipment of all types. Read More

Last night Saving Iceland closed the offices of companies and institutions that are heavily responsible for extreme destruction of nature. Super-glue was put in to the locks and signs put up saying: “Closed because of destruction of nature!” Locksmiths had to be called to open the doors when workers showed up in the morning.

The companies and institutions that were targeted have all shown their determined criminal will against Icelandic nature and don’t stop at anything in their search for an easy financial growth and favourable contracts, even with companies who have scandalous history. These companies should have been closed long time ago to prevent more destruction to take place. Read More

Olafur Pall Sigurdsson

Saving Iceland applauds the symbolic hits that the three pro-heavy industry political parties were dealt in the form of liberal splashes of green skyr (traditional Icelandic dairy product) on Monday.

According to Saving Iceland’s sources, three different groups, not just one, like the corporate media have claimed, did these actions almost simultaneously. Saving Iceland has also been informed that the activists were all Icelandic. It appears that this is a powerful group of activists, fighting the heavy industrialization of Iceland. Saving Iceland declares full support with the group.

The forces that stand behind Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn (Conservatives), Framsóknarflokkurinn (Right-wing opportunists) and Samfylkingin (New Labour equivalents), are guilty of what is tantamount to high treason with their heavy industry policy. Judging from their election propaganda, there is no sign that the parties have been willing to learn anything from the economic collapse about the expansion effects on the economy by heavy industry.

At the same time as these parties’ policy of uncontrollable greed has been pursued with the consequences of immense irreversible destruction of the country’s unique nature, this policy has just as much harmed Icelandic society as a whole. Read More

Today, green ‘skyr’ (traditional Icelandic dairy product) was thrown at the election offices of three political parties, which are responsible for the invasion of the aluminium industry into Iceland. Skyr throwing is the Icelandic equivalent of pie throwing and has become a tradition in the environmental struggle; the last similar action took place only one and a half month ago.

At 11:00 this morning, people rushed into an office of Samfylkingin (the Social Democratic Alliance) in Hafnarfjörður, and threw the green liquid over the party’s propaganda, furniture and the floor. Read More

Yesterday three black dressed individuals, masked with aluminium foil, threw green Skyr (traditional Icelandic dairy product) on representatives of Icelandic energy companies during a greenwash presentation in the University of Iceland. In June 2005 Saving Iceland threw Skyr on representatives of Alcoa and Bechtel during an international aluminium conference in Reykjavík.

Gaia – the student association of Master students in Environment and Natural Resources, had organized a “Green Week” in the university. Among activities was this particular presentation by e.g. Landsvirkjun (Iceland’s national energy company), O.R. (Reykjavík Energy) and Geysir Green Energy; all companies who are involved in the development of the aluminium industry in Iceland. Read More