Bjork’s Mother Still on Hunger Strike

Protest against development of Icelandic wilderness area:

The mother of pop singer Bjork says she is frail but determined to continue her hunger strike against a plan to develop the Icelandic highlands.

Hildur Runa Hauksdottir stopped eating Oct. 7 to try to persuade Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc. to pull out of the plan to build an aluminum smelter and hydroelectric plant in the wilderness area.

Environmentalists say the project will ruin the area above Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier, in east Iceland.

Hauksdottir, 56, said Sunday she had lost more than 14 pounds, had difficulty remembering certain words and felt very tired.

That happens when you don’t eat for three weeks. I looked through no less than ten accounts of this story until I finally found a little more information on the planned project beyond this statement: “Environmentalists say the project will ruin the area above Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier, in east Iceland.”

“Ruining the area” is rather vague. I found this in What’s On In Iceland:

The Icelandic Government and the US smelter company ALCOA have been negotiating opening a smelter plant in the Eastern region of Iceland. The smelter business requires tremendous amount of energy there for creating a demand for a hydroelectric plant to supply that energy. The building of such a plant will create thousands of jobs over a specific period of time boosting the labour market in the East part of Iceland. But it comes at a price, a price higher than many Icelanders are willing to pay.

In order to build the hydroelectric plant a vast wilderness area has to be put under water and powerful glacial rivers have to be moved from their course. One of the main feeding grounds for Icelandic Reindeer will go under water and as will the spectacular Dark Canyons (Dimmugljufur) be flooded.

This is the old debate between nature conservatism and labour conservatism so to speak. Icelanders are divided into at least two opposing sections over this issue holding their breath until the Government issues the final outcome in the matter.

Hmm, that’s a tough one.

UPDATE
It’s over:

The mother of pop singer Bjork has ended a hunger strike against a plan to develop the Icelandic highlands.

Hildur Runa Hauksdottir said Tuesday that she began eating again on Sunday evening.

….Hauksdottir, 56, said she quit because she was satisfied that her message was having a global impact.

Plus she was hungry.