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Geo Thermal 1
Tue Apr 13, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Geothermal energy plants tap into hot water deep underground to produce electricity
and heat. Since they release little to no carbon dioxide, these plants can help countries
like Iceland reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The
Weather Notebook's Global Climate Change series.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Trish Anderton reports:
Imagine yourself in a luxurious outdoor spa. Hot mineral water from underground
springs bubbles all around you. As you relax deeper into the water, you just notice
through the steam something that looks like smokestacks. In that moment it hits you.
This is a power plant. And the effluent? Relax -- you're soaking in it.
Iceland's Blue Lagoon geothermal plant pumps salty mineral water from as deep as
6,000 feet underground. The water starts out at around 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It's
used to heat clean water that's then piped to nearby towns and cities to heat
houses.
After it goes through the system, the mineral water pours out into this big outdoor lava
basin at a toasty hundred degrees or so. Much of the country gets its heat from plants
like this.
Professor Ingvar Fridleifsson leads the United Nations Geothermal Energy Training
Program in Reykjavik.
Here in Iceland we have achieved what is to many countries almost unbelievable, that
nearly 90 percent of the houses in the country are heated by geothermal.
It's easy to see why Iceland would be a rich source of geothermal energy. Everywhere
you look you see volcanoes, lava fields and hot springs. But Fridleiffson says as many
as 80 countries, on every continent, are potential geothermal hotspots.
That means someday more parts of the world may be able to have their power plant,
and bathe in it too.
Trish Anderton reported from Reykjavik. The Weather Notebook is funded by the
National Science Foundation and Subaru of America.
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