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| Global warming is thawing the waters around Greenland, opening its vast mineral wealth. The potential windfall has emboldened
the island's push for independence from Denmark. NEWSCOM |
As a land thaws, so do Greenland's aspirations for independence
As global warming makes Greenland's mineral wealth more accessible, talk of independence from Denmark is also heating up.
from the October 16, 2007 edition
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Aqqaluk Lynge, head of the Inuit Circumpolar Council's Greenland chapter, agrees. "We are afraid that the United States will take over Greenland if the Danes get out," he says. "If Americans can take Iraq, then why not Greenland?"
Indeed, sources say that even if Greenland becomes independent – an event supporters see as at least a decade away – it will keep very close ties to Denmark, in large part out of fears of US hegemony.
The US military has been active in Greenland since World War II, when it occupied the island to prevent it from falling under Nazi control and to provide mid-Atlantic refueling bases for ships and aircraft. During the cold war, radar stations were added to detect incoming missiles, and Thule Air Force Base in northernmost Greenland is expected to play a central role in plans for a national missile-defense system.
Svend Auken, a veteran Danish politician and former energy minister, says the Greenlanders are right to be concerned. "In the long run, the ideal would be for them to be recognized as an independent state in the United Nations, but in close contact with Denmark," retaining the Danish queen, currency, and defense cooperation, he says. Otherwise, "they will be very dependent on the Americans and they know the welfare society and wages wouldn't be on the same Scandinavian level."
Meanwhile, Greenland is exploring a major expansion in hydropower, a potentially lucrative industry that Copenhagen has no claims over. In May, the government here signed an agreement with Pittsburgh-based aluminum production company Alcoa to investigate the feasibility of building a new hydroelectric plant to power a large smelter. Alcoa would get cheap electricity – the biggest expense in producing the metal – from a renewable source.
"The future lies in hydropower," Ms. Hammond says, noting that the proposed smelter would likely employ 3,500 people, equivalent to a tenth of Greenland's workforce. "The waterways will soon be clear year-round for transportation," she says. Other dams and energy-intensive industries may follow.
This plan is not without its critics, who worry about the impacts of pollution and – especially – the guest workers heavy industry will inevitably bring. Greenland's indigenous people, the Inuit, make up 90 percent of the population. "Right now we enjoy being a majority in our own lands," says Mr. Lynge, "but in one or two generations we could see the population develop in a direction that is not in our favor."
For this reason, Mr. Rosing thinks it would be far better to deliver electricity to distant consumers than to have them move their industry here. "It would be much better to wait until there are transatlantic transmission lines so you could export the power," he says, noting that neighboring Iceland is considering an undersea line to Britain.
However it's underwritten, Hammond is sure Greenland will one day stand on its own. "It's a natural thing for a population to run their own country," she says, especially after nearly 300 years of dependence.
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