Iceland a paradise for cryptocurrency miners but uses huge amounts of power

Iceland is experiencing a boom in bitcoin mining a boom for the economy but also a huge drain on power resources in the country.

Snorri Sigurbergsson, an employee of the energy company HS Orka, claims the consumption of energy by cryptocurrency miners is likely to double to 100 megawatts this year. This is greater than Icelandic households use according to the national energy authority. There are 340,000 people in Iceland.

Bitcoin mining

Every ten minutes a miner wins a price of 12.5 bitcoins — still worth over a hundred thousand dollars in spite of a huge decline of more than half of bitcoin's value. But this process demands an incredible amount of power.

In Iceland power consumption by mining has overtaken its other productive uses. The reason is simple. Iceland has a great deal of energy with geothermal and electric plants around the island that is has many volcanoes. Miners look worldwide for cheap and plentiful sources of power. The arctic air cools the server rooms instead of expensive air-conditioning as the chips used to mine produce huge amounts of heat.

For now mining facilities are increasing power consumption fast in Iceland

Sigurbergsson said that for now there is exponential growth in energy consumption by mining centers. He does not see this stopping at present. He claims that he is getting many calls from investors wanting to build centers in Iceland. However, there are doubters as to the value to Iceland of the increased mining activity.

Smari McCarthy an MP from the Pirate Party said: "Cryptocurrency mining requires almost no staff, very little in capital investments, and mostly leaves no taxes either. The value to Iceland... is virtually zero."

Previously published in Digital Journal

Zero percent of Icelanders under 25 believe Biblical story of creation

A new poll suggests that Iceland is becoming more secular. Religious belief among young people in particular appears on the decline as the poll found zero percent of Icelanders under 25 believed in the Biblical account of creation.

Results of poll

The poll was taken by the Icelandic polling company Maskina for the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Associaton. No details are given about the methodology.

Less than half of Icelanders polled claimed to be religious with more than 40 percent of those under 25 claiming they were atheist. 46.4 percent of Icelanders as a whole identified as religious the lowest percentage to date.

The least religious Icelanders are young people and inhabitants of the capital and main city Reykjavik.

Results vary with age

80.6 of those older than 55 identify as Christians and only 11.8 percent said they were atheists.

Only 42 percent under 25 said they were Christian.

Rural residents more religious than urban dwellers

There was an astonishing difference between Icelanders in rural areas and those in the main city and capital Reykjavik.

READ MORE: Elon Musk's top eight areas of interest revealed

In Reykjavik 56.2 percent identified as Christian and 31.4 as atheist. However, outside of they city 77-90 percent identified as Christian and 7.1 to 18 percent were atheists. These figures appear to conflict with only 46.4 percent of Icelanders identifying themselves as religious. However, it is quite possible that many who identify as Christians do not consider themselves religious but just as nominal Christians.

Belief that God created the universe increases with age

Age was an important factor in belief that God created the world. Of those between 25 and 44, 77.7 percent believed in the big bang theory and 10.1 believed God created the world. However with those over 55 only 46.1 percent accepted the big bang theory while 24.5 percent believed God created the world.

The oldest group though also had the most doubts with 16.6 percent saying they did not know or had no opinion on the creation of the world.

Separation of Church and State

Of those expressing an opinion on the subject, 72 percent supported a full separation of church and state while 28 percent opposed the separation.

The present Icelandic constitution makes the Church of Iceland, the Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Church is the state church.

The state church may itself become more liberal of late as it has agreed to perform same sex marriages.

The fastest growing Icelandic religion Zuism

Zuism is an ancient Sumerian religion. People have been registering as Zuists in order to protest current Icelandic law and state funding of religious groups. The Zuists are basically a protest group. A history of the Zuist church in Iceland dates back to 2010 and in 2013 it became a government recognized religion.

The group leaders intend to refund the parish fees people are charged as part of their income taxes, fees used to fund recognized religious groups. On their website the group make it clear that their main aim is political change.

The group demands that any law granting religious organizations privilege whether financial or otherwise be repealed. The group also wants the government registry of religious groups abolished.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Iceland's radical Pirate Party top polls as election approaches

The radical Pirate Party which favors legalizing drugs and offering asylum to Edward Snowden looks set to win the most seats in the national election to be held in October.

In April this year, the prime minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson stepped down after demonstrations against him. The Panama Papers revealed that his family had millions in offshore tax havens. He and his family were accused of hiding millions in the offshore accounts. Iceland's ruling coalition and the opposition agreed to hold early elections probably on October 29. Although Gunnlaugsson no longer owned any offshore investments his wife still did.

The Pirate Party's platform also includes direct democracy, greater government transparency, and a new national constitution. The Party has been at or near the top of the polls for over a year now. The party also want to persuade the company developing Pokemon Go in Iceland to turn polling stations into Pokestops!

Birgitta Jonsdottir, who leads the Pirate parliamentary group said to the Guardian:“It’s gradually dawning on us, what’s happening. It’s strange and very exciting. But we are well prepared now. This is about change driven not by fear but by courage and hope. We are popular, not populist.”The prime minister was replaced by the agriculture and fisheries minister Sigur Johanson and elections were promised before the end of the year.

The Pirate Party was found in 2012 by a group of hackers and activists who were part of an an international anti-copyright movement. In the 2013 elections, the party captured five percent of the vote and won three seats in the 63 member parliament.

Evan Onnudottir, a political scientist at the University of Iceland said:“Then, they were clearly a protest vote against the establishment. Three years later, they’ve distinguished themselves more clearly; it’s not just about protest. Even if they don’t have clear policies in many areas, people are genuinely drawn to their principles of transforming democracy and improving transparency.”

The Icelandic public has been outraged by the cronyism in Icelandic politics and the ability of the wealthy few to avoid responsibility for their actions. A poll in June by the Social Science Research Institute at the University of Iceland showed that the Pirate Party had the support of 29.9 percent of voters a gain of 1.6% since the last poll. The next largest party the Independence Party had just 22.7 percent a drop of 5.5 percent since May. The Independence Party is that of the former prime minister. While the lead appears to have narrowed recently, most analysts sill think the Pirate Party will take the most seats, between 18 and 20 in the parliament. The party says it will be willing to form a coalition with any party which subscribes to an agenda of "fundamental system change". Jonsdottir said: “I look at us and I think, we are equipped to do this. Actually, the fact we haven’t done it before and that we won’t have any old-school people telling us how, means we’ll do it more carefully. We will be doing things very differently.”

The party believes that new technologies can help promote political engagement, and make government more transparent and accountable to the people. The party also believes citizens should be able to propose legislation and have it decided by a national referendum. It also proposes increased taxes on the wealthy, Internet freedoms and reform of copyright laws. Onnudottir said that the success of the party depended on their performance but with their strong voter support they risked becoming part of the establishment.

Iceland is known for its social-democratic type government with an extensive social welfare system even though taxes are relatively low. It is famous also for its reaction to a financial crisis, which ended up with many prominent bankers being sent to jail and the country defaulting on some debts. Wikipedia sums up:Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries.[9] It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.[10] Iceland ranks high in economic, political and social stability and equality. In 2013, it was ranked as the 13th most-developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index.[6] Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy. Affected by the ongoing worldwide financial crisis, the nation's entire banking system systemically failed in October 2008, leading to a severe depression, substantial political unrest, the Icesave dispute, and the institution of capital controls. Many bankers were jailed,[11] and the economy has made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism.[12][13][14]

Global conflict estimated to have cost an estimated $13.6 trillion last year alone

The Global Peace Index claims that political instability, terrorism, and conflict cost the global economy a humongous $13.6 trillion last year alone. The report for this year can be found here.

The 2016 index analyzed 163 countries and territories. Syria was rated the least peaceful country. South Sudan was next and then Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia. On the opposite end of the scale are Iceland first, then Denmark, Austria, New Zealand and Portugal. While 81 countries improved their scores this was offset by greater deterioration in 79 other countries.

The report says:"The historic 10-year deterioration in peace has largely been driven by the intensifying conflicts in the Mena region. Terrorism is also at an all-time high, battle deaths from conflict are at a 25-year high, and the number of refugees and displaced people are at a level not seen in 60 years. Notably, the sources for these three dynamics are intertwined and driven by a small number of countries, demonstrating the global repercussions of breakdowns in peacefulness.”

​"Mena" refers to Middle East North Africa. Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) the think tank that produces the index claimed that the conflicts within Mena countries are being felt beyond their borders. He says that external bodies are becoming increasingly involved and have the potential for producing "proxy wars". Libya is a good example.

Increasing conflicts produce huge increases in refugee. The report claims that in 2015 a record 59.5 million people were either refugees, internally displaced or seeking asylum. Nine countries now have more than ten percent of their population displaced. In South Sudan and Somalia 20 percent have fled their homes. In Syria more than 60 percent have abandoned their residences.

The sums lost to conflict represent 13.3 percent of global GDP. Per person the cost is $ 1,876. The amount is eleven times that spent on foreign and direct investment.

The UN expects to spend $8 billion on peacekeeping this year, actually an increase of 17 percent from last year. However, this is about one percent of the US defense budget. Killelea argues that the sums spent on peacekeeping are quite small compared to the savings that peace brings. He notes: “Addressing the global disparity in peace and achieving an overall 10% decrease in the economic impact of violence would produce a peace dividend of $1.36tn. This is approximately equivalent to the size of world food exports.” The Peace Index was first published in 2008 and ranks nations on a peace scale according to safety, security in society, levels of domestic and international conflict, and militarization.

Wikileaks wins legal case against credit card company in Iceland

  In Reykjavik the capital of  Iceland, the district court ruled that Valitor, formerly VISA Iceland, violated contract law. The company blocked credit card donations to Wikileaks. The news is reported via Wikileaks Twitter account.
   The court ruled as well that the donation gateway must be again opened within a period of fourteen days. If Valitor fails to comply it will face a fine of $6,200 daily.
    Julian Assange remarked: "This is a significant victory against Washington's attempt to silence WikiLeaks. We will not be silenced. Economic censorship is censorship. It is wrong. When it's done outside of the rule of law its doubly wrong. One by one those involved in the attempted censorship of WikiLeaks will find themselves on the wrong side of history." Iceland generally has supported Wikileaks. The article does not mention legal cases being pursued in other countries but perhaps there are.
   When donors were prevented from making donations through credit cards donations declined by over 95 per cent. In Iceland in June Datacell the Icelandic based company that processes donations for Wikileaks filed a case against Valitor for  "unlawfully suspending financial services".


   Olafur Sigurvinsson director of  Datacell said:. "I can support Al-Qaida, the Ku Klux Klan, buy weapons and drugs and all kinds of porn with my Visa card. There is nobody investigating this, but I cannot support a human rights organisation which is fighting for freedom of expression," One might be charged for some of those actions I expect but his point is no doubt correct. The U.S. government no doubt put considerable pressure on credit card companies not to process donations for Wikileaks.  For more see this article.

Wikileaks wants U.S. to stop spying on its operations

Given that it is regarded as a threat by the U.S. government it is unlikely that this will happen. More likely the site will go broke first! The founder is trying to make Iceland a base for investigative journalism. That would be a great step forward. This is from rawstory.

Whistleblower site demands that US ’stop spying’ on its operations

By Muriel Kane


In an extraordinary editorial, the whistleblower site WikiLeaks has demanded that the United States "stop spying" on its operations.

"Over the last few years, WikiLeaks has been the subject of hostile acts by security organizations," founder Julian Assange writes. "We've become used to the level of security service interest in us and have established procedures to ignore that interest. But the increase in surveillance activities this last month, in a time when we are barely publishing due to fundraising, are excessive."

On Tuesday evening, followers of the WikiLeaks Twitter feed were startled to read, "WikiLeaks is currently under an aggressive US and Icelandic surveillance operation." This was followed a few minutes later by "If anything happens to us, you know why: it is our Apr 5 film. And you know who is responsible." A succeeding message warned, "We have airline records of the State Dep/CIA tails. Don't think you can get away with it. You cannot. This is WikiLeaks."

Friday's editorial finally fills in the background of those cryptic messages. Assange apparently believes that his group is under close surveillance by US intelligence because of its planned release of "a classified U.S. military video showing civilian kills by U.S. pilots" under the command of General David Petraeus.

Most of the incidents that he cites, however, have occurred in Iceland, where WikiLeaks representatives have been holding discussions with members of the Icelandic parliament about the possibility of turning that nation into a haven for investigative journalism.

Story continues below...


"We have discovered half a dozen attempts at covert surveillance in Reykjavik both by native English speakers and Icelanders," Assange writes. "On the occasions where these individuals were approached, they ran away. One had marked police equipment and the license plates for another suspicious vehicle track back to the Icelandic private VIP bodyguard firm Terr."

Assange also notes that when he flew from Iceland to Norway last week to speak at an investigative journalism conference, "two individuals, recorded as brandishing diplomatic credentials checked in for my flight at 12:03 and 12:06 under the name of 'US State Department'. The two are not recorded as having any luggage."

In addition, "a WikiLeaks volunteer, a minor, was detained by Icelandic police on a wholly insignificant matter. Police then took the opportunity to hold the youth over night, without charge--a highly unusual act in Iceland. The next day, during the course of interrogation, the volunteer was shown covert photos of me outside the Reykjavik restaurant 'Icelandic Fish & Chips', where a WikiLeaks production meeting took place on Wednesday March 17--the day before individuals operating under the name of the U.S. State Department boarded my flight to Copenhagen."

It is important to note that there has so far been no outside confirmation of Assange's charges, and the Icelandic government has already denied his suggestion that it might be aiding in the surveillance. According to IceNews, "An assistant to the Minister of Justice said the ministry and its staff would like to distance themselves from the Wikileaks editor’s allegations and said that any such action, if it took place, would have been a police matter." The Reykjavik chief of police, however, insists "that Icelandic police have not been working with the American secret services."

The Australian-born Assange launched WikiLeaks in January 2007, and it has been a thorn in the side of governments ever since. In late 2008, for example, Raw Story reported on an attempt by the German intelligence service to force WikiLeaks to remove files revealing its bungled false flag operation in Kosovo.

Two years ago, Wired.com reported, "When online troublemaker Julian Assange co-founded Wikileaks, the net's premiere document-leaking site last year, some were skeptical that the service would produce anything of interest. Now, after 18 months of publishing government, industry and military secrets that have sparked international scandals, led to takedown threats and briefly gotten the site banned in the United States, Assange says Wikileaks is just getting started changing the world."

Last week, Wikileaks released a March 2008 document (pdf) suggesting that the United States was concerned about "the possibility that current employees or moles within DoD or elsewhere in the U.S. government are providing sensitive or classified information to Wikileaks.org" and was considering an attempt to "damage or destroy" the site by exposing or taking legal action against its sources.

The introduction to the document comments dryly that "as two years have passed since the date of the report, with no WikiLeaks’ source exposed, it appears that this plan was ineffective." If Assange's current charges are justified, however, it would seem that the US government has continued to regard WikiLeaks as a genuine threat -- one which might be intensified if Assange's hopes to establish a "journalism haven" in Iceland are realized.

"In my role as WikiLeaks editor, I've been involved in fighting off more than 100 legal attacks over the past three years," Assange wrote last month. "To do that, and keep our sources safe, we have had to spread assets, encrypt everything, and move telecommunications and people around the world to activate protective laws in different national jurisdictions. We've become good at it, and never lost a case, or a source, but we can't expect everyone to make such extraordinary efforts."

"That's why I'm excited about what is happening in Iceland, which has started to see the world in a new way after its mini-revolution a year ago," he continued. "Not surprisingly, the foreign press has developed an interest in the proposal. All over the world, the freedom to write about powerful groups is being smothered. Iceland could be the antidote to secrecy havens, rather it may become an island where openness is protected -- a journalism haven.

Icelandic-Backed company to develop Geothermal power in Leyte, Philippines

This is from Marketwatch.
Talk about globalisation. Here is an Icelandic company developing geo-thermal energy in the Philippines. The Philippines already has developed a considerable amount of Geo-thermal energy especially from the Mayon volcano near Legazpi. Of course Iceland also has plenty of geothermal energy resources and no doubt a great deal of expertise in developing them.

Envent to Develop a Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte, Philippines
Iceland-Backed Company to Accelerate Utilization of Geothermal Resources in the Philippines
Last update: 2:02 p.m. EDT July 11, 2008
MANILA, PHILIPPINES, Jul 11, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Envent Holding Philippines Incorporated announced today the signing of a Geothermal Service Contract for Biliran Island in Leyte, Philippines. Envent is a renewable energy business dedicated to the exploration and development of geothermal sources in the Philippines.
Envent is currently working on several geothermal projects in the Philippines and is committed to contributing to the Philippine government's target of an additional 1,200 MW of renewable energy by 2013. Envent's key shareholders are Reykjavik Energy Invest and Geysir Green Energy, both global leaders in developing the renewable energy sector, with specific focus on geothermal energy. Both companies are based in Iceland where an impressive 100% of the power capacity is derived from renewable sources (23% geothermal and 77% hydro).
The Biliran Geothermal Development Project is located on the island of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. An island province, Biliran lies just a few kilometers north of the island of Leyte. One of the smallest provinces in Philippines, Biliran is 555km2, with a population of 140,000 (2000 census). Its capital is Naval. The mountainous island is considered a compound volcano with a single historic eruption in 1939. It is estimated that Biliran has at least 100 MW of geothermal energy.
The upstream part of the project will be executed by Envent's associate company Biliran Geothermal Incorporated.
Comments:
Mr. Thor Gislason, Chairman of the Board, Envent:
We are pleased to have been chosen by the Department of Energy to undertake the project in Biliran. Envent's key shareholders have over the past decade established themselves as global leaders in the startup of new geothermal power plants. We are now committed to the Philippine market and the Philippine government's goal of an additional 1,200 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2013.
About Envent Holding Incorporated
Envent ( www.envent-power.com) is a renewable energy business dedicated to the exploration of geothermal resources in the Philippines as well as to the development of geothermal power plants in the region. Envent is currently working on several geothermal projects and is committed to contributing to the Philippine government's target of adding 1,200 MW of renewable power capacity by 2013. Envent's key shareholders are Reykjavik Energy Invest and Geysir Green Energy, both global leaders in the development of the renewable energy sector, with specific focus on geothermal energy. Both companies are based in Iceland, where an impressive 100% of the power capacity is derived from renewable sources (23% geothermal and 77% hydro).
About Geysir Green Energy
Geysir Green Energy ( www.gge.is) is a leading developer in the geothermal industry, investing in development projects as well as geothermal operations. Since its foundation in January 2007 Geysir has invested around USD 650 million in geothermal businesses and projects around the world. Building on the extensive experience from the Icelandic geothermal arena, Geysir has received significant attention within the industry and is being recognized as a serious and dynamic player in the field.
About Reykjavik Energy Invest
Reykjavik Energy Invest (REI) ( www.rei.is) is Reykjavik Energy's (Orkuveita Reykjavikur) ( www.or.is) international business development and investment arm. Reykjavik Energy Invest focuses on creating partnerships to develop geothermal areas. The company invests in geothermal exploitation rights, develops, constructs and operates geothermal fields, and seeks to acquire geothermal plants currently in operation. Reykjavik Energy is the world's leading authority in geothermal energy utilization. Over the past 60 years, the company has consolidated its leadership by supplying a large portion of the Icelandic population with geothermal water for domestic heating and by gradually developing new steam fields for power production.
About Biliran Geothermal Incorporated
Biliran Geothermal Incorporated is a company specifically established to undertake upstream development activities on the island of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. Upstream geothermal activities include the exploration of geothermal areas, well field construction and the extraction of steam from the area. The company is owned by Filtech Energy Drilling Corporation (Fedco) and Envent Holding Philippines. For further information, contact:
Philippines:
Dom Ligot
+63 917 5076 468
Email Contact
International:
Gudmundur F Sigurjonsson
+354 617 7713
Email Contact
SOURCE: Reykjavik Energy http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?
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