{"id":11717,"date":"2017-05-23T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=11717"},"modified":"2020-11-04T10:09:13","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T15:09:13","slug":"iceland-progress-backdrop-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/iceland-progress-backdrop-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Iceland: Progress with a Backdrop of Beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"
Iceland: Progress with a Backdrop of Beauty<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Iceland is an island filled with mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls. It is a theme park for geologists and environmentalists. It is also one of the most advanced countries in terms of energy production and safety. Most people do not realize how energy efficient and progressive Iceland\u2019s infrastructure has become. According to Scientific American, Iceland uses renewable energy for 99 percent of its energy consumption. Geothermal accounts for a sizable chunk of that energy production. Farming has surprisingly become an important industry in Iceland, due to its geothermal powered greenhouses and fish farms. <\/span><\/p>\n
Iceland is also in the process of developing hydrogen fuel from its geothermal power plants, which could be used to powerboats and cars. If you are looking for a destination to travel abroad with the smallest amount of risk, Iceland is consistently ranked as one of the safest countries in terms of homicides, police-related violence, and drug-related crimes. In the 2011 Global Study on Homicide, conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Iceland\u2019s homicide rate from 1999 to 2009 stayed below 1.8 per 100,000 people within any given year. <\/span><\/p>\n
This is significantly lower than the U.S., which had a homicide rate from 5.0 to 5.8 each year during the same time frame. In 2013, Icelandic police shot and killed a person for the first time in the nation\u2019s history. That is a mind boggling statistic. In a BBC News Article, it is theorized that the lack of violence is due to low rates of drug use, an enormous middle class, and sensible gun ownership laws. However, the low violent crime rate is not due to low private gun ownership. In fact, Iceland ranks 15<\/span> in the world for legal gun ownership per capita. <\/span><\/p>\n