Annotated Bibliography

1. European Commission Climate Action, http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/eu/index_en.htm, accessed October 18, 2010.

This website helps me to understand the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). I can access the information of almost everything pertaining to the EU ETS, including recent proposals by other countries and legal amendments. This website publishes estimates, and realities, of the fiscal benefits of implementing the EU ETS. The website also publishes reports, such as the internal working paper released in May 2010 by the European Commission which maintains that the EU member states could profit as much as €26 billion annually by 2020 through auctioning emission permits and as much as €928 million a year by 2012 through the auctioning of permits to airlines, a new addition to the Phase III of the ETS which begins January 2013. There are no specific points of view this website takes other than promoting the EU ETS. I access this website weekly.

2. Swan, Jon, “The Icelandic Rift Industry Versus Natural Splendor in a ‘Progressive’ Nation,” Orion Magazine, March/April 2004, http://www.savingiceland.org/2005/09/the-icelandic-rift-industry-versus-natural-splendor-in-a-progressive-nation-by-jon-swan/, accessed October 18, 2010.

Provides important historical information regarding Iceland’s involvement with Alcoa and the privatization of the geothermal energy. Helps to strengthen my argument on why the further privatization of Iceland’s geothermal energy would be detrimental to Iceland’s economy in the long run, which in turn further justifies my recommendation of the necessity for stricter regulation of geothermal energy. Swan draws on financial data to illustrate why heavy industry weakens the Icelandic currency, and how it contributed to the current financial crisis. Swan also draws on ecological- and case studies to exemplify the long-term dangers of executing heavy industry projects that strip the land of natural resources. I access this website weekly.

3. Iceland Nature Conservation Association, http://www.inca.is, accessed October 18, 2010.

I utilize this as a source for news and policy proposals. This site rounds up national news pertaining to the protection of Icelandic nature. The website helps me to locate the most recent national findings pertaining to the exploitation of Iceland’s natural resources, as well as the national response. Usually, the articles found on this website support more environmental regulation, and favor sustainable approaches to industry, which exclude the involvement of Alcoa. I access this website weekly.

4. BBC World News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news, accessed October 18, 2010.

I utilize this website as a means of monitoring the British take on events that are going on in Iceland. The BBC World News is especially helpful for following coverage of Iceland’s ‘fishing wars,’ and other issues pertaining to fishing stock restoration. I cite many articles from the BBC World News while discussing the necessity of fishing stock restoration. The slant of the BBC articles is arguably more sympathetic to British foreign policy, but the information is factually correct. I access this website weekly.

5. The European Union, http://europa.eu/index_en.htm, accessed October 18, 2010.

I use this website to monitor recent developments within the European Union, especially new legislation and treaties. This offers me a greater understanding of how the EU functions. I access this website bimonthly.

6. Althingi Islands (the Icelandic Parliament), http://www.althingi.is/, accessed October 18, 2010.

This is the official website of the Icelandic Parliament. I use this website to track past and current legislation, as well as to gain insight into current political trends and opinions (usually by listening to the speeches made by the heads of the main political parties). This website is important because it backs up my assertions that Iceland should join the EU as well as utilize wetland restoration as a means of meeting EU ETS emissions requirements because I can hear the politicians discussing the proposals, such as Svandis Svavarsdottir’s address on February 2, 2010 where she urges members parliament and the Environmental Planning Committee to seriously consider a complete restructuring of environmental- and energy policies in preparation for Phase III of the ETS, drawing a connection between the current financial crisis in Iceland and their involvement with heavy industry. Her speech, and other findings, helps to strengthen my thesis claim that Iceland must restructure the wetlands and fully embrace the EU ETS. (Svavarsdottir is the chair of the Left-green movement which currently holds parliamentary majority. She is also the Minister of the Environment.) I access this website biweekly.

7. Umhverfisráðuneytis (The Ministry of Environment), http://www.umhverfisraduneyti.is/, accessed October 18, 2010.

I utilize this website as a reference for environmental legislation in Iceland, as well as a source for current proposals and reports. I access this website weekly.

8. Landbúnaður (Ministry of land-use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF)) , http://landbunadur.is/landbunadur/wgsamvef.nsf/key2/index.html, accessed October 18, 2010.

I utilize this website as a reference for current legislation pertaining to the land-use in Iceland. It is a vital source for current wetland restoration proposals. I can also track the history of land permits, which helps me to understand Iceland’s history with Alcoa. I access this website bimonthly.

9. Saving Iceland, www.savingiceland.org, accessed October 18, 2010.

I utilize this site as a source for news. The web site rounds up international news pertaining to Iceland’s involvement with international corporations involved with the privatization and exploitation of natural resources. This website also helps to further my argument of why Iceland must protect its natural resources as a means to ensure biodiversity and fiscal independence. The material found on the website is always sympathetic to the environment, and critical of heavy industry and foreign control of natural resources. I access this website weekly.

10. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, “Iceland – Economic Analysis of Climate Change Mitigation Potential,” KP Workshop, Bonn, 27 March 2009, http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/1_8_iceland.pdf, accessed October 18, 2010.

A policy proposal that evaluates the environmental and fiscal motivations for why Iceland, and other small countries with industry, should focus on wetland restoration as a means of meeting their yearly EU ETS emissions requirements. Includes the scale and cost of mitigation actions, and justifications for adopting such measures. The proposal outlines why wetland life restoration is productive as a means to meet the yearly carbon emissions quota (as applicable to member states of the EU ETS), and why/how adopting such measures will promote sustainability initiatives while simultaneously generating money.

11. Tuerk, Andreas, ed. Linking Emissions Trading Schemes. London: Earthscan Publications, 2009.

This is a collection of essays by different scholars and politicians throughout the world. The articles outline how different countries are implementing the EU ETS. The research included in this book examines the economic, political and institutional implications of implementing the EU ETS. All of the articles are analytical, but some are more critical than others. The collection is most helpful to me because it explores different approaches to implementing the EU ETS, as well as how countries can link their approaches to make the ever-evolving EU ETS scheme more efficient.

12. Freestone, David and Charlotte Streck, eds. Legal Aspects of Carbon Trading: Kyoto, Copenhagen and Beyond. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

This book embraces the EU ETS, exploring the main legal issues which are raised by the explosion of carbon finance, that is the EU ETS. In addition, the Kyoto Flexibility Mechanisms are explored, which further my understanding of how wetland restoration can be applied as a means of meeting annual carbon caps. The book also gives a superb background of the EU ETS. Unlike many other sources, this one explores in detail the one of the newest phases of the EU ETS, the aircraft emissions scheme, as well as the latest mitigation actions that countries are taking in light of the increased climate change worries.