Who needs volcanoes?
I have never been to Iceland, but I hear it is very clean not only in the well-scrubbed, orderly, Scandinavian sense of clean but also in terms of the air quality. There’s hardly any air pollution, partly due to the constant sea breezes, but also because Iceland has few manufacturing facilities, no coal-burning power plants, and doesn’t burn much oil. How is this possible in the middle of the North Atlantic? Iceland is providentially located directly above an area of the earth’s crust characterized by both active volcanoes and a vast number of hot springs. Indeed, that natural geothermal energy (“geo” meaning earth; “thermal” for heat) meets much of the country’s energy needs. Geothermal heat is used directly to heat buildings and indirectly to generate electricity, along with hydropower. In 2006 less than 0.1 percent of Iceland’s electricity was generated from fossil fuels. Many astute readers will have noted by now the utter lack of volcanoes in Vermont, not to mention a distinct dea
