Up to half of the heating that is provided for schools in the city is generated from burning trash, and there is simply not enough trash to meet demand.

For several years the city has discouraged landfills as a means of disposing waste, in favour of modern incinerators that safely burn it to produce some 1.5 terawatts of hourly power output, sufficient to power 150,000 homes.

However, the plan didn’t reckon on the insatiable thirst for rubbish that such energy creation needs, and now has to consider the absurd scenario of importing trash from outside of the city, or even from abroad.

One company, Hafslund, aims to phase out all fossil fuel energy by 2016, but presently it relies on it during peak loads. Companies in other Northern European countries are starting to follow suit.

Sweden, which practices a similar plan, now plans to import 800,000 tonnes of garbage a year to meet demand. Some of it might come from Italy where chronic trash disposal problems have blighted cities like Naples for years.

Hvalur plans to use its quota of 154 whales, following a two-year break after its market in Japan was disrupted by the tsunami there. Japan is the predominant consumer of whale meat and one of only three countries still hunting these endangered mammals.

Iceland, Norway and Japan have chosen to ignore a global moratorium on whaling laid down by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. Iceland resumed whaling in 2006 but has come under intense international pressure to stop.

Chief Executive Kristjan Loftsson said Hvalur will commence in June and the meat would be exported to Japan. “Things are improving there… everything is recovering.”

“The quota is 154 whales plus some 20 per cent from last season possibly,” he added.

In 2010, Iceland fulfilled its quota at a time when President Obama had to personally intervene and back away from proposed sanctions, pressuring the government in Reykjavik instead.

Meanwhile, Japan continues to hunt a quota of some 1,000 whales in the open seas of the Antarctic Ocean, much to the chagrin of the Australian government, and has become the subject of Whale Wars, a TV documentary where urban eco warriors aboard the Sea Shepherd ships clash with whaling ships in an attempt to disrupt their activities.

The captain, Paul Watson, has so far not concerned himself with Icelandic whaling despite it being in the neighbourhood of this famous Canadian activist.

According to the Police, the conditions last night were far from ideal for a successful rescue,  with high winds and strong surf. Two of the killer whales died during the night, a calf and an adult.  Jón said that many people volunteered to save the animals. An excavator was brought to the beach to dig around the whales with hopes that it would facilitate their return to the sea.

The only surviving killer whale of the ordeal had already swum ashore three times yesterday before successfully swimming back into the ocean last night.

The third party technical review, which Oceans North Canada and Inuit Circumpolar Council-Greenland commissioned in 2012 and released last week, also said more participation from the public and stronger independent scrutiny were necessary during the offshore drilling regulatory process.

ICC-Greenland said in the report’s introduction, “Although the technical review showed that indeed some best practices were followed, there are still an overall need for strengthening the procedures and practices.”

Cairn Energy PLC halted the two-year oil exploration drilling programme in 2011 after failing to find any significant commercial gas or oil deposits in western Greenland’s waters. ICC-Greenland said this pause provided an opportunity to properly analyse the programme’s planning and execution, as well as its strengths and weaknesses.

The report’s conclusion said one of the programme’s greatest weaknesses was its 2011 prevention and contingency plan in terms of oil spills, saying Cairn Energy PLC significantly underestimated the amount of oil which would flow into western Greenland’s marine environment after a serious oil spill.

The report also compared the Cairn Energy PLC programme to similar projects in other Arctic regions, saying third party participation during the environmental impact assessment process is especially important.

“When it comes to reducing the risk of environmental damage caused by offshore drilling, a more transparent process can only result in stronger protection of our marine environment,” ICC-Greenland said.

ICC-Greenland also said they were frustrated by the lack of information provided to them during the Cairn Energy PLC programme. Much of this unavailable information can now be found in the report.

In a recent Sermitsiaq AG newspaper interview, Greenland natural resources minister Jens-Erik Kirkegaard defended Cairn Energy PLC by saying, “Cairn Energy had a response that was larger than the worst-case scenario they had described. Aircraft and ships were ready to intervene if the worst should happen.”

Kirkegaard did, however, welcome ICC-Greenland’s attempts to better prevent and prepare for severe oil spills. “You can always make things better, and so do we, among other things by working together with associations and organizations and talk about how we can make things better. We are a small people, and we need all the strength to make things even better,” Kirkegaard said during the Sermitsiaq AG newspaper interview.

ICC-Greenland has agreed to meet with Greenland’s home rule government to discuss environmental issues on a regular basis. Kirkegaard has also promised more open public discussions in the future.

The full “Project Review: Cairn Energy’s 2011 Offshore Drilling in West Greenland” report is now available online. Report author Susan Harvey has been a petroleum and environmental engineer for over 25 years of experience.

The European Algae Biomass Conference 2013 aims to bring together senior executives from industry and academia to discuss the latest commercial and technical developments, challenges and research breakthroughs throughout the entire algae value chain.

Representatives of Kadeco, including Kadeco’s Managing Director Kjartan Þór Eiríksson, will be exhibiting the algae biomass production opportunities at the Ásbru Enterprise Park in Iceland.

Ásbrú has available industrial lots with the possibility to develop buildings into facilities that are suitable for algae biomass production. The local facilities already build give manufactures possibilities to start production in smaller scale and gradually build up on a nearby lot.

It has previously been noted that Iceland has big advantages as a location for algae biomass production due to the country’s local geothermal renewable energy sources providing a lowered cost of production. This also results in stable grid connections and reliable delivery rates. In contrast from the U.S., Iceland can make long-term energy contracts offering a much-needed stability in productions cost.

In addition, Keilir, an educational institution located at Ásbrú, offers two multidisciplinary B.Sc. programs in co-operation with the University of Iceland; green energy technology, and mechatronics – these institutions provide opportunities regarding future Labour.

Ásbrú Enterprise Park is on the forefront of entrepreneurship, business and academic development in Iceland, with focus on technology, renewable energy, medical tourism and engineering.

For more information regarding Kadeco, and algae biomass production in Iceland, visit http://www.asbru.is/english/kadeco/.

A high level consultation known as the ‘Arctic Dialogue’ will take place on April 15^th, following a preliminary meeting between Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Össur Skarphéðinsson for the Iceland Government.

Iceland’s energy policies, specifically hydro and geothermal power generation were on the agenda, but they also discussed environmental issues such as oil spills  and cooperation on disaster preparedness. They also suggested a joint maritime service centre for economic development and monitoring in the North Atlantic and the Arctic.

Also in attendance was Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, who stressed the importance of renewable energy strategy, since 80 per cent of Iceland’s energy comes from geothermal resources and 15 per cent from hydro power. However none of this energy is exportable, being kinetic, and is only useful for local industry. More than 70 per cent of all electricity produced in Iceland goes to use in the aluminium production industry.

The talks are part of EU succession talks, involving 27 chapters, under present discussion. Iceland is an important contributor to the Arctic region conservation initiative.

This is an abrupt change of direction from the previous policy under former Premier Kuupik Kleist, but it will not affect existing licences for drilling or exploration.

Her coalition, which includes members of the Atassut and Partii Inuit parties, also plan to reconsider a recently passed law that supported large new projects that called for foreign labour.

“As our country develops toward statehood, the need for Greenlandic labour is greater than ever,” the coalition said in a statement. “The coalition emphasizes that foreign labour should be minimized.”

The new government favours encouraging mining companies to invest in more sustainable futures for the country through a skilled labour force.

“We must protect the environment, and future large-scale projects must take the utmost respect for the environment,” Hammond said.

However, their stance is somewhat contradictory, since they plan to lift a ban on uranium mining. The increase in demand for rare minerals for new consumer technologies has generated lucrative revenue possibilities from their Kvanefjeld deposits, reckoned to be the world’s second largest.

Roberts, who has filmed polar bears for about 22 years now, was working on the BBC’s production of The Polar Bear Family & Me when his presenter Gordon Buchanan sat in a Perspex box close to a den, a move the authorities objected to.

Mr Roberts has since refused to pay the fine saying the cage has caused the animals no harm. Speaking on the trouble he might have caused the animals, he told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, “I love the bears and have never bothered, disturbed or injured them,” adding that the law’s demands for protective measures were the reason why they used the cage in the first place.

Roberts has also the field producer and safety advisor for this show while Gordon Buchanan has been the anchor.