The Land of Fire and Ice has a national joke: “What should you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?” And if you’ve ever been to Iceland, you’ll know the answer: “Stand up.”

Slumped in a Keflavik bus headed to Reykjavik this past July, I glimpsed a moonscape of lava fields and craggy rocks. Lumped between the mossy mounds formed by erosion sat the sheep, in fat little groups of three. Not a tree in sight, not since the 9th century when Norwegian settlers chopped them down for firewood.

Icelanders hold their history close, but the people of modern Iceland have modern thoughts about their environmental relationship. As Aldo Leopold put it, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” The sheep may have eaten its shrubbery, but the country’s environmental awareness has been made greater by the severity of the situation.

Icelanders don’t use firewood to keep themselves warm anymore; in the 1970’s, the country revolutionized their power system, making use of the volcanic landscape. Now, there are hardly any fossil fuel burning or nuclear-powered plants left on the entire island. The geysers, hot springs, and steam pools aren’t just tourist attractions- hydroelectric generation supplies about 90% of the country’s power demand.

Brilliant in its simplicity, this alternative energy source originates at the earth’s core. The heat conducted by the core transfers to the earth’s mantle, some of which melts and turns into magma. When magma reaches the surface, it’s called lava; but most magma stays below the earth’s crust, heating rocks and water and producing steam. Geothermal power stations drill into the hot areas and purify the rising steam. The steam is used to drive turbines, which in turn drive electric generators. Derived from the Greek words for “earth” and “heat”, geothermal sources generate enough power to heat the entire city of Reykjavik, and to supply the entire island with clean, cheap, and renewable energy.

If geothermal energy was a sheep, it would be an immaculately clean specimen of alternative energy, careful not to disturb the land it grazes on. No polluted smoke would curl out of its nostrils, and no fossil fuel would be consumed. It would be a relatively small sheep, taking up a lesser amount of space compared to its fuel-powered relations. There’d be no oil spills or waste hills. Geothermal power plants are designed to run all day long, all year long. Economically, it would benefit the local region. Not even natural disasters or moronic administrations could mess with this sheep- geothermal power plants are unaffected by acquisition and transportation of fuel. However, the geothermal sheep would also need its brothers and sisters (solar sheep, hydro sheep, and so on) to provide energy for the world. The point is not that geothermal energy is the ultimate power source- its finite nature, sulfur emissions, and mineral depositions show us that it’s not. Rather, the point is that there is an urgent need to quell the use of fossil fuels.

All countries must pursue alternative energy “sheep” because eventually, fossil fuels will run out; the supply is simply limited. Political and economical ties have become tangled and are blocking progressive actions from being taken. Some companies seem to think that they are benefiting from our dependence on foreign oil, and thus vilify environmentalist efforts. However, there is no longlasting benefit of damaging our planet. As Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold (Democrat) stated during his visit to Dartmouth, “… If we’re not talking about how can we get independence from foreign countries’ oil supplies, and have our own energy policy in this country, we’re missing the vote.” And we’re missing the boat; for our environment and for ourselves, it is essential that we take pre-emptive action regarding alternative energy.

A country heavy with sheep and sagas, Iceland has been influenced by both; as historian Gudmundur Halfdanarsson points out, “People feel guilty because when you read the sagas, they say that country was covered with trees that have disappeared now.”

Though the climate is not optimal for tree growth, there has been an effort made by the Icelandic people to plant native Birch trees and import Alaskan and Siberian trees.
Another significant environmental feat is the overall effort made by Icelanders to become completely hydrogen-powered by 2045. The INE (Iceland New Energy) consortium is working on redesigning busses to run on hydrogen, and then moving on to cars and even the nation’s fishing fleet. Iceland seems to have truly evolved, from using-and-abusing to usingand-re-using. Modernity calls for awareness. We can’t keep blaming the sheep for destroying the environment (though there are a few bushes left that I wouldn’t mind the sheep doing away with.)

Some might argue that geothermal sources are easy to come by in Iceland; the country’s environmental consciousness is far less impressive when one considers the island’s history of whaling and the present disrespect for the International Whaling Commission, of which it is a founding member. In 1986, environmentalists sank two of four Icelandic whaling ships (with nobody on board). Through a loophole in the commission’s clause that permits the killing of whales for scientific research, Iceland Whaling authorities have continued to kill whales today, despite efforts of groups like Greenpeace to stop them. Whales are an integral part of our natural eco-system and the Icelandic disregard for their protection is disturbing.

However, a progressive and intelligent society analyzes environmental conditions and facts without pseudo-moralistic conclusions.
Iceland is not the ideal environmental society in every aspect. But there is an environmental effort being made by Icelanders today, an effort that should be integrated into everyday life.

To stress a point stated eloquently by John Muir, “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” There is no singularity in environmentalism. However, there is individualism. Every individual effort to enforce the connection between nature and humanity shines with significance.

Near the end of my travels in Iceland, I stayed at a youth hostel and at night, played soccer with a few college kids from the village. In the middle of the game, Pétur called a break and we lay in the grass, exhausted. Talking about Icelandic things like elves and fisherman, we sipped our beers and looked up at the midnight sun. “Want to hear a joke?” Sveein asked, in perfect English. “What should you do if you get lost in an Icelandic forest?” Pétur took Sveein’s drink, laughing. “Stand up, idiot.” Then he crushed the empty can and dumped it in a recycling bin on the way back

Lilian Mehrel is a Comparative Literature major from Miami, Florida. She likes whales, the Beastie Boys, climbing trees, music, and making movies. She is also pre-med.