The Globe and Mail

Before it made headlines as the epicentre of the economic crash, Iceland was known for its geysers, hot springs and ash-spewing volcanoes. But a Canadian company triggered a different kind of eruption this year when it bought two of the country’s five major geothermal power plants, which harvest heat from the Earth’s core. After Vancouver-based Magma Energy Corp. finalized its purchase of a 98.5% stake in HS Orka, operator of the Svartsengi power plant (pictured) that sits next to the Blue Lagoon spa, flamboyant Icelandic pop star Björk staged a three-day karaoke marathon to protest the sale. Still bitter over the foreign pressures that contributed to the collapse of the krona in 2008, Icelanders rallied to the cause and forced Reykjavik to try to renegotiate the Magma deal.