Iceland Gives Up Gasoline!

Iceland is a picturesque country, judging from the picture above. It's also a country whose government has decided to totally eliminate dependence on oil. Picturesque, and a leader in the transition to an oil-free future.

Heating? The whole country is one boiling cauldron of hot water. You see, Iceland was formed by volcanoes and those volcanoes are still at work heating vast amounts of water. Low-cost hot water heating for homes and businesses keeps the people toasty warm during the long, cold winter. That same water turns giant turbines that supply the country with electricity. That only leaves gasoline.

Now the Icelanders (Icelandics?) get creative. They're turning water into hydrogen to be used as a fuel to run the country's vehicles. Hydrogen fuel is three times as expensive as gasoline, but vehicles get three times the mileage, so the cost balances out.

The timetable for creating this oil-free society? Mid-century.

Heck, by that time, the world may have run out of oil anyway. That's the peak oil argument that's made its way into debates over energy policy. Click here if you want to read an apocalyptic vision of life without oil. Warning: The author doesn't paint a pretty picture of life in the future. Bear in mind, though, that 30 some odd years ago the scientists making up the Club of Rome predicted the world would be out of everything by now. Wrong!

Then again, if you like apocalyptic visions of the future, there's always a TV preacher or a science fiction writer to scare the pants off everyone. Economists, you know those devils practicing "the dismal science," would paradoxically keep their wits and smile a cheerful smile even if it could absolutely be proved that the world was running out of resources. The ability of science to find and develop substitutes, the incentives provided by profit, and a resilient market economy have proven effective in the past in promoting ever higher standards of living. Thus, the post-oil era might not be so bad after all.

Of course, a happy ending isn't what the apocalypse crowd is selling. Will Iceland show the way to a happy energy future? Time will tell.

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