Moving forward, Iceland chooses a different path
Keeping an eye on Iceland, which was hard hit early on in the 2008 financial crisis, I saw this article today at The National (“Iceland looks to green, innovative income sources” by Ben Quinn, Feb 19, 2010).
The small country is now plotting a comeback with some new and different ways, according to Quinn. Excerpt:
Over the past 12 months, scores of businesses have gone bust, unemployment has gone from being virtually non-existent to over eight per cent and the misery from a wave of home repossessions has been allayed only by a government moratorium.
According to entrepreneurs like Guðjón Már Guðjónsson, however, the very fact that Iceland’s economy is starting almost from scratch makes it the perfect laboratory for green ideas.
“We are rebooting the complete financial and political system of an entire western European country, so we have some unique opportunities,” said Mr Guðjónsson, the founder of Ministry of Ideas, a think tank dedicated to finding innovative ways to lift the country out of its predicament.
