What Future, Whose Future and at What Cost?

The question of the future can be addressed in the local and intimate realm as much as in the all encompassing, unbearably overwhelming and almost phantasmagoric realm of ideology. This short paper addresses three distinct but interrelated matters of environmental concern, migration and political action in academia. First of, let’s consider an environmental disaster and the subsequent response of political elites.

On Monday, September 26, 2022 signs of sabotage in the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea were identified. Following, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and NATO framed the event as deliberate sabotage. The Nord Stream pipeline linked Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was intended to supply Europe with Russian gas. At least two explosions caused three methane leaks off Bornholm, a Danish island. Photos shared by the Danish Defense Command circulated through media outlets worldwide.

On the following Tuesday, preliminary investigations were announced by the Swedish police of what has been framed as the worst ecological disaster of the century. Leaks of unprecedented environmental disaster as tons of methane - responsible for a quarter of global warming - were released into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas with greater warming capacity than carbon dioxide (CO2). Nord Stream pipeline 1 and 2 were not operational but contained natural gas for technical reasons.

Western Elite Response

Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO) framed it as a hybrid attack, referring to it as critical infrastructure and the act of sabotage as a deliberate act. Hybrid attacks refers to hybrid warfare, a concept which entails military and non-military means of confrontation. These can be mixed tactics such as cyberwarfare, political and conventional warfare, staged electoral results, and fake news among other methods.

The concept is often associated with Russia by Western experts. For example, Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain, Teresa Ribera, described the event as showing how Putin plays the provocation card. Outspoken Western political commentators followed the line of reasoning that Russia was the likely culprit. The exception was former Polish Foreign Minister, and husband of American journalist Anne Applebaum, Radek Sikorski, who in a lapse of judgment reposted a picture from the Danish Defense Forces on twitter with the accompanying text:

“Thanks, USA. Nord Stream's only logic was for Putin to be able to blackmail or wage war on Eastern Europe with impunity. Now $20 billion of scrap metal lies at the bottom of the sea, another cost to Russia of its criminal decision to invade Ukraine” (Twitter)

The post was since been deleted from Twitter. The Former Foreign Minister’s comments seemed out of tune with his European counterparts. An odd position but still coming from a staunch ally of the USA in the region. And if that was not enough, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken declared the event to be a tremendous opportunity for Europe (2022, September 30). In fairness, this was said in context to decreasing Russian gas dependence and transitioning towards renewable energy. Be that as it may, the ecological disaster of the century and tremendous opportunities are rarely words found in the same sentence.

The statement was made during a joint press conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly (2022, September 30). On the occasion both parties reiterated their commitment to assist Europe’s transition to renewables in the long-term. In short, Canada and the USA promised to deliver the energy Europe needs right now and initiate a long-term partnership towards green energy.

Hypocrisy and Farse: Towards Greener Pastures

It is 2023, the world is in disarray with an impending war in the outskirts of Europe, the biggest mass flight migration in recent history, widespread inflation, housing crisis, and lumping ecological disasters. In the midst of that, a comforting news is revealed. The US and Canada will foster the green energy transition in the European continent. This news should be celebrated but should we?

Yes, one needs to discount that this is the same country and administration that has recently approved The ConocoPhillips' Willow Project which is said to create a third of the emissions created from all of the coal plants across US territory. Or take for instance the case of the Dakota Access Pipeline with five oil spills within six months of operation. It is said to be severely impacting the lives of local farmers. The pipeline requires an average of 20 million liters of water, 235 tons of sand and 1,200,000 liters of chemical additives to increase the viscosity of the water. After high pressure injection of this cocktail to fracture the rock, a liquid waste, composed among After high pressure injection of this cocktail to fracture the rock, a liquid waste, composed among other things of hydrocarbons, radioactive heavy metals extracted from the earth's crust and saline aquifers trapped under the shale, bubbles up to the surface at the same time as oil. Thus affecting adjacent pastures with farmers reporting a strange illness of cows loosing weight and tails. While researchers taking air sample above the farms found neurotoxicity associated with the extraction of hydrocarbons by hydraulic operations including in the brain of a farmer.

Today, ecological disaster poses an imminent threat. Much has been said already about plastic ingestion of fish. Few weeks ago Brazilian scientists identified pollution from mainly fishing nets as the cause of the formation of plastiglomerates. Plastic rocks, now “naturally” occurring from the combination of melted plastic and the beach’s natural material in the a Trindade Island. While in Slovenia, researchers have found plastic in hailstorm (!). Concluding that ice balls formation can be partially caused by the increased presence of micro-plastic in the air. Spark outrage, meager reaction.

Old Grievances: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

The US has shown interest in the Nord Stream pipeline before. Back in 2019 German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on the construction of two LNG regasification terminals on the German coast on the condition that Washington ceased interfering with the Nord Stream pipeline. The positioning of Putin’s opponent, Navalny, and the election of Joe Biden has given opponents of the pipeline a fresh impetus to their cause. This impetus is now rebranded with the skills and eloquence of a snake-oil merchant and repacked as the US green gift to Europe.

On a more problematic note

On another note, it is at least odd that the explosion of the Nord Stream did not receive higher scrutiny from the media or grassroots movements. If there is anything like a consensus around the event is that it was a necessary evil to finally undercut Russian influence in the region. This is a paradigm shift in international relations but a valid position. But if that’s so, and one accepts the deliberate sabotage of the Nordic Stream as a casualty of war, what does it mean for the efforts towards alleviating the effects of climate change? Doesn’t it represent an act of terror towards the environment of the likes of ecocide? And is Europe to trust that the same parties that carried this attack will be the ones to come up with renewable solutions for the future? Is Europe prepared to accept the comeuppance of this environmental degradation? Recent rhetoric shift in the German Green Party (Die Grünen) suggests it is possible to accommodate several antagonistic views within the same political package.

We are witnessing a change worldwide from an anti-nuke stance towards some nukes, “tactical nukes”. Parallels could be easily traced to the post-9/11 era and the rhetoric of surgical and “preemptive” strike. Which to a large extent entailed applying a scientific discourse of precision to mask acts of barbarism. What is likely to be forgotten in these performative signs of virtue in the diplomatic realm are how political decisions have a real impact on the lives, especially the marginalized ones. And how real political interventions can in fact take place. Our culture is marked by virtue signaling and performative activism. And I would like to elaborate on these ideas with two practical examples. First, I would like to consider migrant lives as sustainable resource.

Linocut by Regn Sólmundur Evu

Migration: Soulless Working Machines and the Western Tyrannical Desire for More

Migrant workers are often times considered disposable or replaceable. Alien in the sense that they are not part of society but are externalized, ostracized. The figure of the migrant in the popular imaginary is that of able-bodied, willing to work for less, under precarious conditions, living in a basement with poor ventilation or a recently refurbished former stable for horses. I ground this assessment on real stories confided to me as I complete 18 years as a migrant in Europe, a European tax payer nonetheless. With the risk of sounding as a provocateur, a true European in a sense.

I refer to migrant worker as in working class. It comes as no surprise that Iceland is no cheap country to live in. The composition of the migrant population is most likely of people who held privileged positions in their countries of origin. Possibly with emotional and financial support structures. Save, sporadic workers and few brave souls who venture in the dream to make a new home for themselves.

That said, there will be always people willing to come and contribute to the country. Greed and exploitation leads to sucking the life out of already marginalized people who are silenced by either the inability to communicate the language of the dominant power or due to the lack of a platform. Those struggle breaking the glass ceiling of native gatekeepers while dodging gatekeeping tactics of migrants from earlier waves of migration now somewhat settled. Stress-induced disorders, burnouts, mental or physical disabilities are seen as something that can be dealt with when the migrant returns to their place of origin.

Migrants and their work are treated as a commodity. That can exist without formal recognition of their humanity, and contribution as an integral part of the affluence of Western societies. Sold to the cheapest bidder. Lives are destroyed, years of productive life wasted away, future plans put on halt permanently. There is no future for those caught in the entanglement of cold and detached bureaucratic decisions. What is left are broken bits and pieces of lives lost and wasted.

The need for qualified professionals is a common topic. Followed by the odd conclusion: “Let’s import them by making the country more attractive to them”. As if an army of folks sporting Harvard sweaters and fuzzy hair would be the cure for all illnesses. These are accompanied by symbolic gestures. Rarely one hears about utilizing the potential of the existing migrant population with the same fervor that one talks about circular economy. Those who have committed to a life in the national boundaries of a specific territory and aspire for a future that one day they can call the hosting country home. Often to a degree that is uncomfortable, experts will talk about certain migrant groups instead of actually accessing if there are experts within that group that can give a more detailed and nuanced account.

The visa regime is cruel, unfair and most of all, outdated and counterproductive. People who can work, contribute to society, pay taxes, and bring new ideas are kept at the margin, if not worse. Although significant improvements were done to accommodate the last mass flight in Europe. There was a belief that last year’s events would spur a wave of solidarity irrespective of country of origin and color of the skin. Sadly, tougher migration laws are settling in.

One still remembers former Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen defense of a law allowing border authorities to seize valuables of people fleeing their country of origin. At the time there were talks in the public discourse of seizing “golden teeth” and “bag of diamonds” to pay for their stay as they crossed the border. Or former Danish Minister Inger Stoejberg decision to separate asylum seeking families.

What if instead one considers migration as the norm in human societies and instead stasis as the abnormal phenomenon. Migrant labor as a resource to be cherished. Efforts put in place to ease the transition between initially being a foreign worker and becoming a fully-fledged member of society with the rights and obligations entailed to it.

We often hear of the impending death of Icelandic language as if the other small States of Europe such as Estonia or Slovenia do not go through the same tragedy. Little is talked about new ways of integrating migrants. Even less about the deficit of progressive policies towards non-EU migrants. Language cannot be learned in a social, cultural and economic vacuum.

These discussions much like migration penalize fragile populations. Do not take into account real and palpable problems created by those well off, the transnational capital. Those who decide to settle in a new territory after a “country-shopping” adventure. Without investing their blood and sweat day-in day-out. To those, the sky is the limit. Locals will be willingly play the role of colonial brokers, salmon rivers and iconic mountains are for sale. While migrants, including low-class students, only wished they could work more than the 40% VSMT allows. Which only allows one to momentarily raise the head above sea level and take a last gulp of air. Fear-mongering has led recently to discussions about economic migrants. As if pursuing economic viability contradicts the aspirations of a nation.

University: A Beacon of Light in the Darkest Hour of the Human Soul

In the academic realm, we need less moderate, anodyne and commonsensical takes in most issues while prepping up for a political career. Instead we need political action, intervention and innovation. Less performative acts and a broader understanding of the environment we live in and its population. Acknowledge of interdependence in our ecosystem. Identifying old political maneuvers by archaic elites, causality in our decisions and questioning of allegiances. Restructuring and deconstructing old ways of being towards holistic views of social and environmental interactions.

These themes are highly contentious. Geographically, politically and electorally divisive. But it is about fairness, living with dignity and mutual respect in the very limited time we have in this planet. The political elites that govern my future and yours will be meeting in Reykjavík this May to promote “democracy and justice” in Europe. I believe there is much they could learn from socially embedded solidarity practices that exist in society already. Only lacking political and institutional support. Willingness to accommodate the population needs and demands. Political change is a bargain to pay for political order.