By Jared Gudnason 

Writer/Reporter 

I urge everyone to take Environmental Communication with Metro State’s Dr. Ailesha Ringer. Truly one of the best classes I’ve ever enrolled in.  

It’s somewhat astounding just how interconnected our world is regardless of whether people take notice. As a small child, every single time I went with Mom to buy groceries, the fish we purchased was North Atlantic cod. Once the most popular industry from the country of Iceland, it has since been eclipsed by tourism, which is largely communicated through digital avenues.  

The Icelandic Seafood Company has been incorporated in the US since 1945. A member of my extended family actually helms a trawler, and at this point the trade is mostly genetic. My dad’s side was born and raised in Iceland, and my grandfather made it his career in the mid-20^th century.  

America consumes the third most fish in the world at 15 percent, behind the UK at 16 percent, and surprisingly, number one is France at 21 percent. In addition to cod, Icelandic Seafood harvests herring, historically nested on the North Coast. Dad’s hometown of Siglufjörður is host to the National Herring Era Museum. The museum serves two purposes, primarily to educate those unfamiliar with the industry, but simultaneously generates tourism, the number one Icelandic business.  

It’s almost unfathomable (pun definitely intended) how powerful ocean currents are. It is a primary reason I mess with it, but only close to shore. Me in a submarine? Cruise ship? Hard pass. Regardless, without revenue, the tourism enterprise Iceland generates would possess less ability to aid the citizenry when disaster strikes. As the land of fire and ice, even more dangerous than the current sucking you or me out to sea if you get to close on the beach, the ground under your house can blow up.  

As a socialist democracy, the federal reserves exist because between 2022-23, an eruption displaced an entire village on the south coast, and, free of charge, new homes were provided. The autonomy of earth’s resources, instead of being exploited, developed countries could harvest them in sustainable practices, but inarguably capitalist endeavors have a much higher priority, especially in the United States.  

Volcanic activity is among the most monitored in Iceland; so much so, that when the last significant eruption happened in December 2023, the nearest populated area was evacuated 10 days beforehand. Like any place of work or education, emergency drills are carried out, so the citizenry remains safe from lava flowage. Because this is the 21^st century, moving into the future it is completely plausible that the country will use analytical AI for magma activity. Of course, while scientifically different, the entire nation state is comprised of both oceanic and geologic environments. Geologists have designed emergency response systems based on fault behavior, enabling them to serve the general public better. In a hybrid of both rock and precipitation, faults also possess the ability to trigger avalanches. However, avalanches present far less danger than volcanoes. 

At the end of the day, the natural dangers posed to Iceland’s citizenry are healthily mitigated by safeguards. Which, again, to state the obvious, is funded in part by the tourist economy. Not unlike our country’s tornado alley, volcanic activity is traceable, ensuring the least amount of damage to human lives.