Being a resident of Iceland I would like to offer my perspective on the current situation and future, regarding oil, pollution, renewable energy, hydrogen etc.
Those hydrogen buses, about 2 or 3 of them, have been in testing for nearly 2 years now. Supported by Shell and DaimlerChrysler (I believe) they are performing well in our cold climate. I haven't been on them, since I own a car and don't really bother myself with public transport:)
Yes, we are very lucky with our geo-thermal energy and hydro-electricity. If we didn't have those things I doubt anyone could live here, at least not in a modern civilization. The winters are harsh and the summer is short and moderate. When you can live in a sunny climate you wouldn't really bother with Iceland's harsh climate.
However, we still have pollution problem in our capital area! About 180.000 of the 300.000 residents in Iceland live in towns in the same area which we call the capital area, surrounding Reykjavik. There seem to be news about pollution reaching record levels every year. Mainly because of our car fleet, but for a country of 300.000 you'd think 180.000 cars are quiet enough.
The largest industry here in Iceland is fishing, and our fishing fleet uses oil, and I believe it uses more oil than all of our cars. I could be wrong, but I'm at least far off.
Simply said, we rely on oil just as much as the next country. And in MY opinion, the government or other companies are taking no steps to transform from oil to hydrogen. They might be open to it, but they will only convert to it if it becomes feasible, technology-wise and money-wise.
And also, I'd say more people are looking forward to low-cost diesel vehicles than hydrogen cars.
You give us too much credit. Our ancestors settled here because there was free land, not much did they know of the harsh winters, but somehow today about 300.000 people are stranded here. If it wasn't for our geo-thermal and our glaciers that give you hydro-eletricity we would all be long gone.
And also, it's not us that are inventing all that hydrogen-technology stuff, it seems to be mostly done by companies and scientists in europe, japan, and the united states.
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Being a resident of Iceland I would like to offer my perspective on the current situation and future, regarding oil, pollution, renewable energy, hydrogen etc. Those hydrogen buses, about 2 or 3 of them, have been in testing for nearly 2 years now. Supported by Shell and DaimlerChrysler (I believe) they are performing well in our cold climate. I haven't been on them, since I own a car and don't really bother myself with public transport :)
Yes, we are very lucky with our geo-thermal energy and hydro-electricity. If we didn't have those things I doubt anyone could live here, at least not in a modern civilization. The winters are harsh and the summer is short and moderate. When you can live in a sunny climate you wouldn't really bother with Iceland's harsh climate.
However, we still have pollution problem in our capital area! About 180.000 of the 300.000 residents in Iceland live in towns in the same area which we call the capital area, surrounding Reykjavik. There seem to be news about pollution reaching record levels every year. Mainly because of our car fleet, but for a country of 300.000 you'd think 180.000 cars are quiet enough.
The largest industry here in Iceland is fishing, and our fishing fleet uses oil, and I believe it uses more oil than all of our cars. I could be wrong, but I'm at least far off.
Simply said, we rely on oil just as much as the next country. And in MY opinion, the government or other companies are taking no steps to transform from oil to hydrogen. They might be open to it, but they will only convert to it if it becomes feasible, technology-wise and money-wise.
And also, I'd say more people are looking forward to low-cost diesel vehicles than hydrogen cars.
You give us too much credit. Our ancestors settled here because there was free land, not much did they know of the harsh winters, but somehow today about 300.000 people are stranded here. If it wasn't for our geo-thermal and our glaciers that give you hydro-eletricity we would all be long gone.
And also, it's not us that are inventing all that hydrogen-technology stuff, it seems to be mostly done by companies and scientists in europe, japan, and the united states.