LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Iceland: United States
built 202 days ago
The Karahnjukar hydropower station in the Icelandic highlands is being designed and built by Landsvirkjun, Iceland's national power company. When it takes delivery of energy from Landsvirkjun in 2007, Alcoa's aluminum facility will be the first and major customer for the power generated by the project.
Source:
The National Church of Iceland, a Lutheran body, is the state church and all Icelanders are automatically registered as members of it and therefore the following numbers do not represent actual belief. The national registry keeps account of the religious affiliation of every Icelandic citizen. In 2005, Icelanders divided into religious groups as follows:
Source:
Iceland has few proven mineral resources. Abundant hydroelectric and geothermal power sources provide for nearly 100% of electricity generation and home heating. The Kárahnjúkar hydroelectric project is the largest single station, with capacity of 690 megawatts (mw). The other major hydroelectric stations are at Búrfell (270 mw), Hrauneyjarfoss (210 mw), Sigalda (150 mw) and Blanda (150 mw). Iceland is exploring the feasibility of exporting hydroelectric energy via submarine cable to mainland Europe and ... actively seeks to expand its power-intensive industries, particularly aluminum smelting plants. Iceland-based Nordural Aluminum is a wholly owned investment by Century Aluminum of Monterey, California.
Source:
Politically, Iceland became a feudal state, and the bloody civil wars of rival chieftains facilitated Norwegian intervention. The attempt of Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) to establish the full control of King Haakon IV of Norway over Iceland was a failure; ... Haakon incorporated Iceland into the archdiocese of Trondheim and between 1261 and 1264 obtained acknowledgment of his suzerainty by the Icelanders. Norwegian rule brought order, but high taxes and an imposed judicial system caused much discontent. When, with Norway, Iceland passed (1380) under the Danish crown, the Danes showed even less concern for Icelandic welfare; a national decline (1400–1550) set in. Lutheranism was imposed by force (1539–51) over the opposition of Bishop Jon Aresson; the Reformation brought new intellectual activity.
Source:
Saving Iceland received this urgent call for help from Greenland. The sentiments here seem quite contrary to those of Alcoa's deluded CEO, Alain Belda, who intends to bring an "environmentally-friendly smelter [to Greenland] that adheres to our stringent values and delivers sustainable development"* or Alcoa's Mr Wade "Kárahnjúkar-is-not-in-the-Highlands" Hughes who stated that Alcoa "have been well accepted by the people [in Greenland]."** In Iceland we are well aware of the collusion between mega-corporations like Alcoa and the corporate media, in manufacturing consent for their projects rather than stimulating thoughtful debate. As Alcoa plan a smelter in Greenland which will start off slightly larger than their Fjardaál monster in Iceland, there is no time to lose, Greenland must be defended.
Source:
Iceland's parliament, Al�ingi, was founded in the mid-19th century as an advisory body to the Danish king. It was widely seen as a reestablishment of the assembly founded in 930 in the Commonwealth period and suspended in 1799. It has 63 members, each of whom is elected by the population every four years. The president of Iceland is a largely ceremonial office that serves as a diplomat, figurehead and head of state. The head of government is the prime minister, who, together with his cabinet, takes care of the executive part of government. The cabinet is appointed by the president after general elections to Al�ingi; ... this process is usually conducted by the leaders of the political parties, who decide what parties will form the cabinet and how the seats are distributed (under the condition that it has a majority support in Al�ingi).
Source:
MORE ABOUT
United States