I clearly recall the factoid from high school geography, that Iceland was purposefully deceptively named and is actually quite green, and that Greenland is largely a huge slab of ice. Though not quite as icy as it used to be. But more on less ice later.
Greenland, lodged conveniently between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, is the world's largest island, though quite sparsely populated in part due to the frigid climate. Technically, part of the North American continent, it has historically been most associated with Europe and specifically Denmark. Greenland is one of two autonomous territories of the Kingdom of Denmark, the other being the Faroe Islands. Residents of both territories are full citizens of Denmark and the European Union. The capital and largest city is Nuuk, which rhymes with book. Most of Greenland's population live near its southwest coast (just under 57,000 residents in 2022), as three quarters of Greenland is covered by ice and permafrost.
Norsemen settled the southern part of Greenland, as well as nearby Iceland, in the beginning of the 10th Century. The 13th century there witnessed the arrival of the Inuit Indians, who do also live in the more northern climes of the huge ICE island. When Norway and Denmark split in 1814, Greenland was ceded to the Danish Crown, where it has remained since. In 1953, it was more fully integrated into the Constitution of Denmark, and in 1979, Greenland was given Home Rule. Greenlanders furthered that independence with a 2008 self-governance referendum. Our U.S. Military has two bases of operation in Greenland - Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, and Camp Century, primarily used for Arctic research, and largely abandoned in 1967 due to ice flow movement.
Much of the permafrost and thick ice across Greenland is melting. Temperatures are rising there at a rate four times faster than most of the rest of the world. If the bulk of Greenland's ice were to melt and continue falling into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, it is estimated that world sea levels would rise by 24 feet. reshaping coast lines across the eastern seaboard and Europe. Since 1992, Greenland has lost roughly 182 billion tons per year, with that number accelerating. In 2019, the measured loss of ice flow was 489 billion tons. As Greenland ice has melted, rare earth and rich mineral deposits, including uranium, as well oil and natural gas have become accessible for mining and export. A majority of those rare earth minerals are now largely being sourced out of China.
Greenland and its large ice mass also serve as the key engine as well as on/off switch for a massive global current that influences earth's climate, particularly winter storm and hurricane activity. It is called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC in meteorological terms, and it is slowing down due to all the fresh water dumping into the North Atlantic by Greenland's melting ice-flows. A shutdown of the AMOC could result in prolonged freezes over large parts of North America, as temps drop into the teens and lower this week across Georgia, perhaps consider a screening of the 2004 movie, "The Day After Tomorrow."
From space, Greenland is also changing color from white ice to the blue and green of the surrounding oceans and land mass underneath the ice. These darker hues also absorb more energy and heat, not unlike a dark car seat, further melting the ice, from above and below.
Scientists and researchers already familiar with Greenland speak of Empire State Building size hunks of ice just crumbling off jagged coastal cliffs and falling into the ocean. As the Trump Inauguration is being moved inside in anticipation of the latest massive freeze gripping the nation, I can't help but think freshly Inaugurated President Trump will make visits to Greenland and Denmark early priorities, and that given that the people of Greenland and Denmark largely look to the U.S. for their own national defense, those U. S. mission expansion talks will be productive.
I do not believe that Greenland or Canada will become U.S. states, or that the Gulf of America will come to fruition. Trump is a brander and a deal maker, proposing the outlandish to gain attention and leverage. Kickstarting the U.S. economy, and a number of already stated priorities will likely top his second term agenda, and as he has also talked about restarting or expanding again old industries, if he is successful on his renaming/rebranding tour, we may need a bunch of new globe and map makers.
