Iceland: Another Banana Republic?

A group of 1,000 protesters rallied against the Kárahnjúkar hydro-electric power project in eastern Iceland last week, marching through Reykjavik and throwing bananas at Iceland’s House of Parliament.

They also constructed a “banana monument” to symbolize Iceland’s future as a “banana republic” if the construction of the controversial $3-billion project goes ahead.
Kárahnjúkar is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs and between 600 and 1,000 permanent jobs.

The plan calls for the damming of two rivers, draining them through 24 miles of tunnels, and then pouring the water through turbines to generate 700 megawatts of electricity. When finished, the plant would sell power to an aluminum smelter owned by Alcoa, the world’s largest aluminum company.

In addition to other protests, nine organizations and over 680 individuals, both foreign and Icelandic, have already sent Iceland’s prime minister letters against Kárahnjúkar.