A very sad day for Iceland and sadder still for the world

[dropcap style=”one” color=”grey” text=”I” /]t might not make international news and get only a fleeting mention in the local news but today was a very sad day for Iceland. In fact, it might even be one of the worst of days in history.

It is the day when the Environmental Agency of Iceland announced that Myvatn lake area in the North of Iceland is now officially on danger list from the grave danger of mass-tourism and likely future geothermal energy drilling in the neighborhood.

Now, you might not have heard anything about Myvatn but in a country famed for beauty Myvatn lake and the surrounding area is in a class of its own. This place, for the majority of locals, is as valuable as Thingvellir National Park and for quite a few even the magnificent Thingvellir do not hold a candle to the beauty of Myvatn.[blockquote type=”blockquote_line” align=”right”]for quite a few even the magnificent Thingvellir do not hold a candle to the beauty of Myvatn[/blockquote]

The Myvatn lake has been deteriorating for decades since short-sighted politicians decided the lake was an excellent place for industry. Since then air pollution, oil spills and other man-made actions have depleted the lake of fish and most wildlife and one of the most amazing plant in the whole world; the Marima seaweed ball.

This weird plant is a rare growth form of the algae species where the algae grows into large green balls with a velvety appearance. These kinds of algae balls used to cover the lake bottom but only a handful are left.

Since team Total Iceland loves Myvatn we feel it our duty to bow our heads and we suggest you do so too while contemplating these beautiful images from the Myvatn area.