Day 25

My week started with the Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, the President of Iceland. At the Alaska World Affairs Council, he spoke powerfully on what the financial crisis teaches us about the importance of relying on sustainable Renewables, rather than the financial sector. He said that an economy based on resources is seen by most as an “old economy”. Financial sector growth has been the pillar of almost all booming economies in the past decades, and for that reason, countries continue to expand their financial sector. If the financial crisis taught us anything, he said, it should be independence from a sector that is hyper-inflated by speculation. A “future economy”, in that sense, would be one that is reliant on a growing human resource base and the expansion of real, un-speculative sectors. This “future economy” idea stuck with me, mostly when President Ragnar said “Countries world-wide need to stop trying to be Wallstreet”, and that the financial sector should not be used as a matching formula to promote the economic growth of countries. Realistically, though, reliance on speculative financial activities seems to be the fastest, easiest way to grow for budding economies. Right? Perhaps. But, it is the fastest way to grow, not develop, and is thus limiting.

He also talked about how a big financial sector, even if it is successful, will hinder the development of innovative, technological sectors. I think that this is partially true when it comes to allocating funding and capital. More importantly, however, is that financial institutions within finance-reliant countries actually seek out the best engineers, software designers, and high-tech innovators. These innovators also seek out financial institutions because they are the most profitable lines of business. I had elaborated this point in an earlier post, but it is worth mentioning again that inventive industries need to be more rewarded within communities as an incentive for engineers and innovators.

Post-financial crisis, Iceland gradually recovered by investing in clean energy and the IT sector. In general, Iceland’s renewable energy record is more than apt. I didn’t believe that stats at the talk. Checking them online later confirmed that, indeed, 66% of Iceland’s primary energy supply comes from local geothermal energy, 15% from hydropower, and only 19% from fossil fuels. Electricity production is powered by 100% renewable energy (70% hydropower, and 30% geothermal power)! Sorry for the inundation of numbers, but wow.

And then, there’s this: http://www.iea.org/stats/pdf_graphs/BHELEC.pdf

The International Energy report (from 2010).
100% of Bahrain’s electricity generation is by fuel. I am glad we don’t have any purple (coal) on that graph, but blue, yellow, and red, are yet to even show a slight tint.

Meeting with President Grimsson at ION

Tuesday afternoon, President Grimsson came into the office for a meeting. I liked him, and thought that he was a modest, intelligent man. It made me smile to see a president with a schedule brimming with actual work, who gave forth specific tasks and plans- specifying his involvement in them. For some reason, I’ve always had this image of high-ranking government officials holding nominal, gestural meetings, rather than actually doing anything prolific. During the meeting, we discussed how Alaska could develop its geothermal energy use and the involvement of locals in the development of resources. We also discussed the passing on of ownership obligations to the next generation. President Grimsson seemed to strongly believe that inter-generational drastic change was achievable. I think this is because he is the president of Iceland, a country that shifted from fossil fuel to green energy dependence within a generation. He also has a lot of respect and admiration for Walter J. Hickel (the founder of the Institute of the North). Hickel’s approach emphasized the management of the “commons” by the commons. Unfortunately, this worldview has been marginalized in Alaska for a more laissez-faire, capitalistic model. We debated in the meeting whether these two models necessarily contradict one another, but one thing was for certain- they are two completely different models. There are plans in the works to create a movie about Hickel’s worldview. Steven Spielberg and George Clooney are on the list for possible contributors.

On Tuesday, I shifted gears- from brain to muscle. At 9pm, I began my ascent up Flat Top Mountain. Flat top is the most hiked mountain in Anchorage. There IS a route that is considered fairly feasible by most people. The route we took however, had only a few other people on it. Many of my coworkers laughed when I told them which route we had chosen for the hike, asking me if I knew that there was a route dubbed “fairly feasible” that I decided not to take. Although I had been warned that it was very, very steep, I was up for the challenge. I put on my extra-grip, North Face, lightweight hiking boots, I started my incline. At some points, I found myself wondering how this was considered just an “incline”, and not just a straight-up vertical hill slope. It took a lot of muscle work. Quads, lower back, upper back, shins, the Glutes- you name it. At some points I was on all fours, using my anterior core muscles for stability. We would stop every 15 minutes or so to get a glimpse of the view below, but after a while our elevation made me light-headed. It might be my desert-born nature, but every time I would look down I would feel a sharp tingling from my stomach to my head. My heart would race. I would have to grip onto the inclining ground harder. The sharp inclination meant every 15 minutes of distance gain was also a large height gain.

Ali, Flat Top Mountain

View from Flat Top Mountain

Almost sunset. Flat Top Moutain

Flat Top Mountain

Sunset on Solstice Day, Flat Top Mountain

Very cold. Flat Top Mountain

Moment on the edge, Flat Top Mountain

At around 11pm, I reached the top, and it was almost an hour until sunset. We sat around, sang songs on a guitar, and huddled in the chilly zephyr. The view was absolutely breathtaking. I do not want to describe it for fear of my inability to convey it truly. All I can say is that it was very green, high, and surrounded by other mountains. You could also very easily stand on the edge of a cliff. I did that, looked down, my altophobia was off the charts. One of my hiking mates was trying to ask me who else in my family was altophobic, since it is known to be mainly hereditary. I was too stupefied to tell him that pretty much all five of us hyper-ventilated on family ascents up the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State building, and the Sagrada Família. I went back to the middle of the flat top, and tried to think of the highest altitude drop I encounter in Bahrain. The only thing I could think of was the road going down when coming from البديع to مدينة حمد.

The sun set at around 11.45 pm, ending the longest day of the year. We began our hike downwards past midnight. If the ascent was rock-climbing, the descent was trying really hard not to roll all the way down the steep incline. I decided to try to keep my balance by embracing the momentum but still controlling my descent with my core. I found that I had much preferred the ascent, which was much more muscle-intensive, but did not give me the vista of the steepness below. I must say that the descent makes you feel quite adventurous and free. I was smirking as I landed on the flat earth.

Post- sunset. Flat Top Mountain

Project-wise, both my AEN and Renewable Energy Grant Fund projects are progressing well and on track. Yesterday, I went to a presentation held by Commonwealth North (another institution founded by Walter J. Hickel) on alternative energy for rural Alaska.

On the taste bud arena, I had the best calamari (in the world, yes) and ahi (yellowfin tuna) at the Glacier Brewhouse. They were both juicy and utterly fresh tasting. I always thought calamari was made to be crunchy, but this was just undeniably delicious, succulent bursts of savory tenderness.