Post Iceland- The Reflections and After-thoughts

I have been back for a few days. I feel more culture shock coming back to the states than I did when I arrived to Iceland. Part of that must have been the excitement of being there, with the lack of it coming back. Seeing darkness again felt strange. The hot water no longer smells of sulfur- I can not register the scent of the water from which it comes. The food tastes different- more artificial with a lack of the flavor of its origins. America seems to like hiding where things come from- homogeneity is widespread. In Iceland, a country the size of Kentucky, has an incredible amount of diversity and heterogeneity that can be seen, smelled, registered throughout. I kind of miss that place and its amazing unworldly encapsulations.

So, Mr. Dan, to answer your question about the therapeutic benefits and effects from geothermal bathing..Yes, it is quite beneficial! I had always felt a difference in my body- sore muscles became loose and I felt rejuvenated each time I went. A natural boost of energy in your body happens because of the increased blood circulation. I also think the ion exchange in those waters is quite different from anywhere else, and this has its beneficial effects also. One of the lectures I attended with the school was specifically about this, and is very interesting. I recorded it and can share it with you if you'd like. However, you can get an infection also!! I find it kind of funny that this rarity has happened to me. Now, I have been able to experience and feel the living evidence of both sides of bathing in these waters- the beneficial and the 'dangers'.

I also wrote some thoughts after my last meeting with HS Orka while waiting for some pizza:

Iceland has been smart in their utilization of geothermal water and the technologies have progressed a lot since its origins as district space heating within the last century, especially in the last 50-30 years. However, all functions are still distinctively separated, with the exception of space/home heating into snow melting. Can these operations become coalesced and hybridized?
Can the water move as a step by step process rather than all having a direct relationship to its source? As it behaves now, there is more depletion of the water table, shedding light on the inefficiencies of the whole system. One may be able to create more binary, or rather, systems that have more multiplicities in them. This could even create an entire human ecosystem based on a closed cycle and re-utilization of the already used water.
The major point I have noticed is that each operation sees itself as entirely separate from the others (mostly). However, I see everything as linked within the larger system- all connected to the utilization of geothermal water. They all use it, but at different temperatures.
The used water, with a few exceptions, is dumped out into the sea, usually at temperatures warmer than the actual ocean. Sure, the water is warmer around Iceland to begin with because of the Gulf Stream, but I am sure that the excessive release of warmer water into the ocean can add up and have its effects. It maybe be helping in reducing climate change and CO2 emissions, but it may also be contributing to sea level rise and the warming of oceanic waters simultaneously. Pumping groundwater and releasing it into the ocean- this has to create an imbalance somewhere, right?
And the case with abandoned wells- I have learned that they really do not know what to do with it after, as neither do I, yet. Sure, it can become an instrument for measuring the water table, but you can't use a multiplicity of abandoned wells to do the same job. They become abandoned because production was not sufficient or, as re-injection, the bedrock's porosity becomes clogged by the minerals. What else can they be used for?

I hope to synthesize all of my findings in the next month so I can be prepared to take off with it by the beginning of the semester- we will see how things progress, and I will continue to use this as a tool of expression and as a way of keeping track of my thought process, since it has proved to be so successful in me being able to capture details I would not remember. Any advice or thoughts any of you may have is always welcome :)