2008-04-10

Iceland's Energy Lessons. By Daniel Gross, Newsweek, April 14, 2008. "Iceland's economy, which until recently relied largely on fishing, has diversified... with rapid growth in tourism, manufacturing and financial services. And... much of the growth has been a happy byproduct of Iceland's decades-long strategy of tapping sources of renewable energy. Mindful of climate change and the need to limit emissions, many U.S. states have set goals of obtaining 10 or 15% of their energy from renewables at some point... and the EU has pledged to reach 20% by 2020. But Iceland is already at about 80%. All electricity on the island is generated through geothermal or hydroelectric sources -- low-emissions sources that don't use fossil fuels... To a large degree, it is the polar opposite of the U.S. Yet we -- and other developed nations -- can learn some valuable lessons from Iceland about what happens when a society commits to the systematic development of renewable energy."

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