A year ago, Paul Bierman wrote:

Donald Trump has a thing for Greenland. First, he wanted to buy the Arctic island. Then, his son visited for a photo-op. Now, he refuses to rule out using the U.S. military to seize it.

Decades ago, the value of Greenland was indeed its strategic location between superpowers and its unique mineral resources. No longer. Today, Greenland’s value is the ice that covers 80 percent of the island. Keeping Greenland’s ice frozen preserves at least a trillion dollars of wealth generation, according to a 2020 study, and would help prevent trillions of dollars in estimated losses by 2100. If we let all that ice melt, global sea level will rise 24 feet higher than it is today. Low-lying farm fields, factories, homes, and large swaths of cities including New Orleans, Miami, Jakarta, and Mumbai will mostly vanish beneath the waves unless we spend even more building barricades to keep the ocean out.

What matters now is cooling Earth’s climate to preserve Greenland’s ice and with it, our collective coastal future. Yet, the president continues to view the island nation through an antiquated lens of power: possessing the land of others to generate wealth and to keep perceived enemies at bay.

Trump’s fascination with Greenland is not a new idea. For more than a thousand years, colonial aspirations have shaped the island’s history. The Norse, Danes, Nazis, and Americans came to Greenland chasing territory and natural resources, and for military domination of the Arctic. [Continue reading…]