Beautiful Iceland

[Ülev]

[The Lawspeaker]

Kolbeinsey is the most northern part of Iceland, a tiny island that, according to Wikipedia, is due to disappear due to wave erosion "probably around the year 2020". Which raised an obvious question: is it still there?

THANKS TO: This video was inspired by some tweets from author Sam Hughes. You can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/qntm and read his work here:
https://qntm.org/fiction

The pilots and team at Norlandair, who sorted out a charter at very short notice:
https://www.norlandair.is/

The folks at the Hafdals Hotel, who were okay with me filming from their spectacular view!

FILMED SAFELY: see
https://www.tomscott.com/safe/

PHOTO CREDITS: Grimsey photos, in order, all licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license,
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Michael Pollak, "basaltsäulen":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michael...

John Lester, "IMG_0546":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pathfin...

Brian Gratwicke, "Puffin on Grimsey":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/briangr...

Michael Pollak, "marker":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/michael...

All photos of Kolbeinsey in 1989 and 2001 are copyright Guðmundur St. Valdimarsson, and used with permission and thanks.
Photos from 2013 are copyright of Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard), and used with permission and thanks.
And the "so I chartered a plane" gag is very heavily inspired by Matt Parker's video about stroboscopic helicopter blades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SgG9...

SOURCES and FURTHER READING:
Sæmundsson and Hjartarson (1989), "Geology and Erosion of Kolbeinsey North of Iceland",
http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/200...

Jacobsen, T., & Stone, I. (2006). Kolbeinsey: Iceland's Arctic island. Polar Record, 42(2), 167-169. doi: 10.1017/s0032247406215298
From Landhelgisgæsla Íslands (the Icelandic Coast Guard):
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmid...
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmid...
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmid...
https://www.lhg.is/frettir-og-fjolmid...

The Cod Wars, from the UK National Archives:
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...

And of course, the Wikipedia article for Kolbeinsey, which will presumably be updated shortly after this video goes live.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolbeinsey

[The Lawspeaker]

In the hot spring town of Laugarvatn, Iceland, the most pristine rye bread is baked in volcanic, muddy ground. Siggi Rafn Hilmarsson from Laugarvatn Fontana takes us through the making process step by step and welcomes us into his bakery, aka the hot springs of the lake in Laugarvatn. The sand by the lake can host from 10 to 15 tins of bread.

[The Lawspeaker]

Normally, the answer would be no. But in these very limited circumstances, at Iceland's Blue Lagoon, you can swim in geothermal power plant wastewater, and it's even healthy: although the marketing material doesn't usually mention it. Here's a story about geothermal energy, cheap heat, and how to keep some ducks warm.

Sources:
https://www.c40.org/case_studies/the-...
https://www.verkis.com/projects/utili..
. https://nea.is/geothermal/direct-util...
https://icelandmag.is/article/nine-fa...
https://askjaenergy.com/iceland-renew...
https://nautholsvik.is/en/ https://perlan.is/about-perlan/
https://www.epa.gov/coalash/coal-ash-...
Research on Blue Lagoon and a skin condition: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0738-081X(96...
Filmed safely: https://www.tomscott.com/safe/

[The Lawspeaker]

Silfra, in Þingvellir National Park in Iceland, is where the Eurasian and North American continental plates are dividing. It's a crack in the earth where you can snorkel or dive between the continents. Well, sort of. As ever, it's a bit more complicated than that. Þingvellir geology: https://www.thingvellir.is/en/history...
https://notendur.hi.is/oi/geology_of_...
Þingvellir history: https://www.thingvellir.is/en/history...
An introduction to divergent plate boundaries: https://geology.com/nsta/divergent-pl...
Articles mentioned:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20140...
https://www.businessinsider.com/scuba...
Filmed safely: https://www.tomscott.com/safe/

[The Lawspeaker]

In this video we talk about the Finnafjord in the northeast of Iceland. The reason why we focus our attention on it is because it represents a broader global challenge. While Iceland as a whole is experiencing the negative effects of climate change stronger than many other nations, this specific region actually aims to profit from the changing climate. From 2021 onwards, here at the Finnafjord, the construction of a large container port will begin, which is supposed to turn Iceland into a new hub for international merchant shipping.

[SilverKnight]

[Faklon]

[Axrael]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.

[Your Old Comrade]

We are helping reforest Iceland with our latest rewilding project! This is a special place to plant trees as they help fight against desertification and help with the much-needed habitat creation.