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Anchor Marco Werman talks with Iceland’s President Olafur Grimsson about the Eyjafjallajokull ash cloud and the disrupted European air travel.
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MARCO WERMAN: The President of Iceland is Olafur Radnar Grimsson. President Grimsson, the big story is how the volcanic ash has been disrupting air travel in and out of Europe, but how has this volcanic affected people in Iceland?
PRESIDENT OLAFUR GRIMSSON: The paradox is that for most of Icelandic society these have been normal times, except for the farmers in the local community close to the volcano where of course there has been a major disaster for the farming and also psychological pressure caused by having, through entire days, to be in complete darkness created by the enormous ash cloud that has come into the farming community. Whereas we have seen in the media, and heard about difficulties in transport and air transport all over the world, especially in Europe, life in Iceland has been surprisingly normal.
WERMAN: As far as those farmers, I saw pictures of some cattle farmers in Iceland trying to get their herds inside because of fears of sulfur in the fallout from the volcano. Is this going to hurt one of Iceland’s major industries?
PRESIDENT GRIMSSON: Well it will definitely hurt the localized farming, but for farming in Iceland as a whole, it is not a great threat. But we don’t know yet how this will treat the farms, not only the animals but also the fields because the fields are covered with ash and once it starts raining, as it did a few days ago, this ash turns into almost solid concrete. Many of the farmers are frustrated and disappointed, although it’s also inspiring to hear young people say that my ancestors have been here for centuries despite volcanic eruptions and we will definitely continue.
WERMAN: Now the current situation is, of course, the result of natural forces. But regardless of that, the volcano cannot have been very good for Iceland’s image. How do you respond to the people out there, not in Iceland, who are angry at Iceland for what’s happened?
PRESIDENT GRIMSSON: Well I would say with all due respect, there is no point in being angry at Iceland because we learn at school that there is a huge fireball inside the earth. What has simply happened is that this fireball comes out here in Iceland and creates this enormous of ash that the winds spread to other countries. This is something which the combined human power of the entire globe cannot do anything about, unfortunately. And it’s also forces which the combined scientific knowledge of mankind cannot predict. We are simply in a situation both as a nation as well as others to have to face up to it. There are still forces of nature that are beyond our control.
WERMAN: Hopefully air travel will be getting back to normal soon, but there are other volcanoes in Iceland that could erupt in the near future and cause similar or even greater problems, aren’t there?
PRESIDENT GRIMSSON: Yes indeed. I mean what has happened is that modern air traffic has been primarily created in the post World War years. And especially in recent decades, the highly sophisticated global air transport has been built on the premise that things like this do not happen. But when we look at history, and we look at the scientific research, it is clear that every now and then, maybe once a century or so, powerful mountains in this country and elsewhere can erupt. They can have these tremendous consequences for a time. Not forever, but for a time. On the highly sophisticated technological modern air transport, so simply we have to face that this is the first time in human history, after the great technological revolution, that we see this happening. That’s why I have encouraged governments in Europe and elsewhere and aviation authorities and air companies to start looking at contingency plans. We should be ready when this happens so it does not have the same impact on ordinary people as it had in recent days, in the same way as we here in Iceland have created in the last ten years or so extensive civil plans and rescue plans in the eventuality of these eruptions taking place.
WERMAN: Finally, President Grimsson, the volcano that erupted is called Eyjafjallajokull. I have to hear from the President, how did I do pronouncing it on a scale of zero to ten?
PRESIDENT GRIMSSON: Pretty good compared to many of your colleagues. I think you are excellent.
WERMAN: Okay. The President of Iceland, Olafur Radnar Grimsson, thank you very much for speaking with us.
PRESIDENT GRIMSSON: Thank you.
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