Saving iceland

Wednesday October 12, 2005 11:43

by saving iceland

direct action against massive dam building program in iceland

HELP! NATURE UNDER ATTACK!STOP THEM KILLING ICELAND!
Stop the Icelandic government and Alcoa destroying Europe’s last remaining wilderness for an aluminium plant!
Be aware of the ‘master plan’ to ‘develop’ Iceland’s beautiful nature into a heavy industry hell servicing the greed of multinational vandals!

It has already started. The Karahnjukar dam project in the Icelandic highlands is well under way... But it can be stopped!

The Icelandic highlands are the last great expanse of true wilderness left in Western Europe. Now the country’s hydro-electric potential has been targeted by multinational corporations, who intend to establish large scale heavy industry in these hitherto pristine hinterlands.

These multinational vandals - willingly helped by the Icelandic government - are about to produce an environmental catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.
A series of gigantic dams is already under construction at Karahnjukar, in the eastern highlands of Iceland. These dams are designated solely to generate energy for one massive Alcoa aluminium smelter to be built by war-profiteers Bechtel in the pristine fjord of Reydarfjordur, due to be operational in 2007. The national grid will not derive a single kilowatt for domestic use. The natural habitat of many rare and endangered plants and animals will be submerged, lost, destroyed.
Other aluminium corporations - such as Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) - are greedily lining up for the cheap energy supply promised by future hydro-electric dam projects planned all over the Icelandic highlands.

Incredibly, some areas earmarked for destruction - such as Kringilsarrani and Thjorsarver in the southern highlands - are protected under Icelandic and international law. All are of outstanding natural beauty and their unique botanical, geological, biological and ecological characteristics are of universal scientific importance.
Thus far the Icelandic government has not hesitated to use tactics such as personal threats and professional persecution against individuals who oppose its energy policies, and Icelandic environmentalists are preparing for a difficult battle that they predict will not be won overnight. There is a growing awareness amongst the Icelandic population that the Karahnjukar dams are ill-fated. The immense problems in their construction and the massive scale of the ensuing environmental destruction is becoming clearer every day. Furthermore, the dam is being built right in a seismically unstable area and would present a great threat to the local population.
However it is not too late: The Karahnjukar dam construction is already falling behind schedule. Experts concur that 90% of the irreversible environmental damage will be done only when the water floods the land - projected for 2006 but now likely to be later.
The longer the construction of the dams goes on the less time the land destroyers have and the more time WE have to stop them.
Nobody can afford to allow the divine Icelandic dragon of flowers and ice to be devastated by corporate greed.
The largest unspoiled highland area in Europe is being destroyed NOW by Landsvirkjun, ALCOA and Impregilo.

More info can be found at: wwwsavingiceland.org

HOW TO HELP

By doing solidarity actions against the companies involved.Some addresses are listed below.

By raising awareness about what is happening in iceland.

By coming to the action camp in iceland next year.

CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONAL PROTEST GATHERING IN ICELAND SUMMER 2006

Join us in the dam-affected areas and make your oppposition to this environmental apocalypse felt!

Dates will be announced in early 2006. To indicate your interest in joining us please email
savingiceland@riseup.net

Also there will be a gathering in england to talk about what can be done to support those in Iceland.

The proposed date for the get to together / gathering / meeting is the weekend of the 28th, 29th and 30th of November in nottingham.

. There will be a small fee for meals, and accommodation and
meetings will be in the factory at Neds.
Vegan food by Veggies will be from friday night, breakfast, lunch dinner on Saturday
and breakfast on Sunday. This will be about 10 pound but of course there is
flexibility and meal by meal thing going on as per normal.

Addresses for Mott Mcdonald in Ireland.

They are involved in the construction of the dam.

Tom O`Connor

Dublin
Mott MacDonald EPO
Ewbank House
8 Fitzwilliam Place
Dublin 2
Ireland

David Martin
Belfast
40 Linen Hall Street
Belfast
Northern Ireland
BT2 8BA

t +44 (0)28 9089 5850
f +44 (0)28 9023 5145
e belfast@mottmac.com

t +353 1 6768 222
f +353 1 6623 290
e tom.oconnor@mmepo.ie

Telephone

+ 353-(0)1-6768222 (Dublin)
+353-(0)21-2302000 (Cork)

Fax

+353-(0)1-6623290 (Dublin)
+353-(0)21-2302050 (Cork)

Postal Address

8 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2, Ireland.
2 Lee House, Riverview Business Park, Blackrock, Cork, Ireland.

E-mail address

Dublin Office: engineers@mmepo.ie
Cork Office: engineers@cork.mmepo.ie

Contact Names

Dublin Office: Ms. Emma Brady
Cork Office: Mr. John Murphy

-----------------------------------------------------------

General Consulate of Iceland in Dublin, Ireland
Cavendish House
Smitfield
Dublin
Phone: (353) 1 872 9299
Fax: (353) 1 872 9877
Email: jgg@goregrimes.ie

Addresses for Alcoa in Ireland.

The dam is being built in order to provide power for an aluminium smelter that alcoa are building.

Alcoa acrhitectural products

Ballymount Road, Clondalkin
Dublin 22
Ireland

phone: 35314609800

Location Type
Fabricated Aluminum Products

Alf Automotive

Finnabair Industrial Park
Dundalk, Co. Louth
Ireland

phone: 353429339985

Location Type
Related Products

How to find us:

From the Airport of Dublin take the direction of Belfast,
Exit at Dundalk CityASA
Kiltonga Industrial Estate
Belfast Road, Newtownards
Co. Down BT23 4TJ
United Kingdom

phone: +44 (0) 28 91 844100

Location Type
Fabricated Aluminum Products

---------------------------------

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Comments (4 of 4)

So they're actually going to do it

by White Rider

Wed Oct 12, 2005 13:40

And for what? For the manufacture of fizzy drinks cans, for example? One thing we can all do is stop purchsing anything inessential that is made from aluminium. Dont buy fizzy drinks - you dont need em anyway, they're bad for ya. They are mostly what's made from aluminium the production of which is one of the most filty and energy voracious processes we have.

Here is where you can read what the industry has to say about itself and its activities:

http://www.world-aluminium.org/production/smelting/

Here is what they have to say about a proposed plant in in Malaysia:

'A major environmental and health problem associated with aluminium plants is the impact of fluoride emissions. At high levels, fluoride can cause several long-term health effects both to wildlife and humans, including severe skeletal flourosis, where fluoride causes irregular bone deposits to form, which can lead to severe pain in joints and eventual disability.

Fluoride also affects vegetation. In Norway, fluoride emissions from an aluminium smelter killed pine trees up to 13 km from the smelter in each direction up and down the river valley. All pine trees within 6km of the smelter were also killed.'

And excellent analysis of the project from Iceland itself:

http://www.mindfully.org/Water/2004/Karahnjukar-Hydroelectric-Dam1jan04.htm

Send your protests and ask you friends to do it too.

Cork Addresses?

by Roger - Spurious but serious

Wed Oct 12, 2005 16:49

Cork

Not clear what the Cork contacts refer to, can you clarify please?

let's have a look there now, "you are invited to Iceland" blah blah,"big DAM!", blah blah,"Verybad!"

by readin' glasses on the string.

Wed Oct 12, 2005 22:33

oh yes, here we are [{(halfway down the page)}]
"Addresses for Mott Mcdonald in Ireland.

They are involved in the construction of the dam."
Eh, that would be the Cork offices and adresses there. Great invite. Iceland. mmmmmm:-)

lets save Iceland!

re cork addresses

Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:58

The cork address is an address of mott mcdonald who are a large civil engineering firm who are involved with the construction of the present dam. The are more then likely to be involved with the other 9 dams which are due to be built.

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Comments (4 of 4)