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As expected, a volcano located on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula has erupted, sending geysers of molten lava blasting as high as 330 feet in the air.

Following a series of earthquake tremors reported there in recent months, the volcano has finally broken open as many speculated it would, creating issues for the nearby town of Grindavk as well as the nearby Svartsengi geothermal power plant and Blue Lagoon Hot Springs tourist attraction.

“We are looking at a worst-case scenario,” commented Icelandic volcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson. “The eruption appears big, and only about two kilometers from major infrastructure.”

Two kilometers is the rough equivalent of around 1.24 miles, which is nothing when dealing with a volcano erupting at this magnitude and force.

Thousands of earthquakes have occurred in and around the volcano and its fissures in recent months. Many people had to evacuate their homes and roads were damaged as a result of all the shaking.

The situation has so deteriorated that Icelandic authorities have declared a state of emergency in Grindavk, the closest sizable town to the eruption and home to more than 3,000 people.

(Related: The crop failures being reported around the world are not happening because of global warming, but rather because of volcanic sulfur dioxide, according to David DuByne.) Iceland’s most populated corner, including capital Reykjavik, facing eruption threat

Grindavk was evacuated on November 11, according to reports, as authorities announced that the country of Iceland was “highly prepared for such events.” What Iceland may not be as prepared for is the location of this particular eruption, which is occurring in “Iceland’s most populated corner and home to its capital,” to quote one media source.

“Iceland has one of the world’s most effective volcanic preparedness measures,” reads a local website about the matter.

As volcanic ash continues to spew into the sky, creating additional threats for other nearby towns and cities, including the capital city of Reykjavik, authorities have raised the aviation alert to orange in anticipation of aircraft flying in the North Atlantic and encountering spewing ash.

Some will remember the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano back in 2010 that left an ash cloud over much of Europe for an entire week, stopping air travel. Prior to that eruption, Eyjafjallajokull was dormant for nearly two centuries.

There are around 130 volcanoes in Iceland, which is home to about 400,000 people. Since the 19th century, not a single decade has gone by in which there was not a volcanic eruption, meaning they are common and “entirely random,” according to Iceland’s tourism website.

“Iceland also has extremely tough immigration laws, has no diversity enrichment, and is extremely safe with low crime,” one commenter noted about Iceland.

“That solar storm rang the earth like a bell two days ago,” wrote another about what might have finally triggered the volcano to erupt. “It’s not random.”

“Volcanic ash may well cool the earth,” wrote another. “Manmade ‘climate change’ is a myth.”

Someone else pointed out that the amount of ash and toxic gas emitted from this latest volcanic eruption will be a whole lot more damaging to the environment than many decades’ worth of human industrial activity.

“There go the carbon net zero targets for the next 10 years,” one said.

“What are they going to do with all that CO2?” asked another, referring to the carbon dioxide the volcano is releasing. “Who are they going to tax?”

“One volcano emits more carbon than all of mankind combined over a hundred years,” suggested another. “That is one of those inconvenient truths that Al Gore never mentions.”

If you enjoyed reading this story, you will find more like it at Environ.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
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South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

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South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

After nearly a year of legal proceedings, a South Korean court acquitted former Wemade CEO Jang Hyun-guk of market manipulation charges.

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Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules?

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Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules?

Are Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules quite as iron clad as she insists?

How tough is her armour really? And is there actually scope for some change, some loosening to avoid big tax hikes in the autumn?

We’ve had a bit of clarity early this morning – and that’s a question we discuss on the Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast today.

Politics Live: Reeves to reform financial regulations

And tens of billions of pounds of borrowing depends on the answer – which still feels intriguingly opaque.

You might think you know what the fiscal rules are. And you might think you know they’re not negotiable.

For instance, the main fiscal rule says that from 2029-30, the government’s day-to-day spending needs to be in surplus – i.e. rely on taxation alone, not borrowing.

And Rachel Reeves has been clear – that’s not going to change, and there’s no disputing this.

But when the government announced its fiscal rules in October, it actually published a 19-page document – a “charter” – alongside this.

And this contains all sorts of notes and caveats. And it’s slightly unclear which are subject to the “iron clad” promise – and which aren’t.

There’s one part of that document coming into focus – with sources telling me that it could get changed.

And it’s this – a little-known buffer built into the rules.

It’s outlined in paragraph 3.6 on page four of the Charter for Budget Responsibility.

This says that from spring 2027, if the OBR forecasts that she still actually has a deficit of up to 0.5% of GDP in three years, she will still be judged to be within the rules.

In other words, if in spring 2027 she’s judged to have missed her fiscal rules by perhaps as much as £15bn, that’s fine.

Rachel Reeves during a visit to Cosy Ltd.
Pic: PA
Image:
A change could save the chancellor some headaches. Pic: PA

Now there’s a caveat – this exemption only applies, providing at the following budget the chancellor reduces that deficit back to zero.

But still, it’s potentially helpful wiggle room.

This help – this buffer – for Reeves doesn’t apply today, or for the next couple of years – it only kicks in from the spring of 2027.

But I’m being told by a source that some of this might change and the ability to use this wiggle room could be brought forward to this year. Could she give herself a get out of jail card?

The chancellor could gamble that few people would notice this technical change, and it might avoid politically catastrophic tax hikes – but only if the markets accept it will mean higher borrowing than planned.

But the question is – has Rachel Reeves ruled this out by saying her fiscal rules are iron clad or not?

Or to put it another way… is the whole of the 19-page Charter for Budget Responsibility “iron clad” and untouchable, or just the rules themselves?

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Is Labour plotting a ‘wealth tax’?

And what counts as “rules” and are therefore untouchable, and what could fall outside and could still be changed?

I’ve been pressing the Treasury for a statement.

And this morning, they issued one.

A spokesman said: “The fiscal rules as set out in the Charter for Budget Responsibility are iron clad, and non-negotiable, as are the definition of the rules set out in the document itself.”

So that sounds clear – but what is a definition of the rule? Does it include this 0.5% of GDP buffer zone?

Read more:
Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn
Tough decisions ahead for chancellor

The Treasury does concede that not everything in the charter is untouchable – including the role and remit of the OBR, and the requirements for it to publish a specific list of fiscal metrics.

But does that include that key bit? Which bits can Reeves still tinker with?

I’m still unsure that change has been ruled out.

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LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

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LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

The Justice Department says two LA Sheriff deputies admitted to helping extort victims, including for a local crypto mogul, while working their private security side hustles.

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