Greenland ends ban on uranium mining

This is good news for Greenland:

Greenland's parliament has voted to end a decades-long prohibition on mining for radioactive materials like uranium, further opening up the country to investors from Australia to China eager to tap its vast mineral resources.
The move will not only allow the mining of uranium deposits, but also of rare earths, minerals used in 21st century products from wind turbines to hybrid cars and smart phones and that are currently mostly extracted by China.
With sea ice thawing and new Arctic shipping routes opening, the former Cold War ally of the West has emerged from isolation and gained geopolitical attention from the likes of Beijing and Brussels thanks to its untapped mineral wealth.
"We cannot live with unemployment and cost of living increases while our economy is at a standstill. It is therefore necessary that we eliminate zero tolerance towards uranium now," Greenland Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond was quoted as saying by local newspaper Sermitsiaq during the debate.
Hammond's government won the heated debate by 15-14 votes.

Read the entire article here

Danish scientist: Climate change "will provide new opportunities for the Greenlanders"

A hint to investors: Time to invest in beach side property in Greenland?
(image Wikipedia)

A bright future is in store for Greenland thanks to climate change:

Climate change could bring about the greening of Greenland by the end of the century, scientists predict.
Today only four indigenous tree species grow on the island, confined to small areas in the south. Three-quarters of Greenland, the world's most sparsely populated country, is covered by a barren ice sheet.
But by the year 2100 swaths of verdant forest could be covering much of its land surface, according to experts.
"Greenland has .. the potential to become a lot greener," said lead scientist Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, from Aarhus University in Denmark. "Forest like the coastal coniferous forests in today's Alaska and western Canada will be able to thrive in fairly large parts of Greenland, for example, with trees like sitka spruce and lodgepole pine.
"It will provide new opportunities for the Greenlanders."
The research showed that with expected levels of warming a majority of 44 species of North American and European trees and bushes will be able to thrive in Greenland.
Many species could already flourish in Greenland today, according to the analysis published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

And this is not all. Greenlanders also have a chance to enjoy economic prosperity in the near future:
Bright future for Greenland: World's largest deposits of rare earth metals likely to be opened up for mining soon

Bright future for Greenland: World's largest deposits of rare earth metals likely to be opened up for mining soon

Danmark's image as a green, anti-nuclear energy country, full of swivelling wind turbines, could according to the Danish weekly Weekendavisen soon change, if the autonomous Greenland government, as expected, decides to say yes to mining of Uranium and rare earth metals in the world's largest island.

The Australian mining company GME, in charge of preparatory work, is enthusiastic about the prospects:

The mining project at Kuannersuit is a unique project in southern Greenland. The mining preparatory work that has been in operation since 2007, has unveiled the world's largest deposits of rare earth metals including uranium and zinc. --

Kvanefjeld has the potential to meet the world's rapidly growing demand for rare earth metals, and thus can contribute strongly to the Greenlandic economy for many decades to come.
Greenland Minerals and Energy believes that Kvanefjeld can be the starting point for a mining area in the world that can be developed in a responsible and environmentally friendly way and become one of the world's leading sources of rare earth metals.

The ore in Kvanefjeld contains a number of elements with a very high commercial value. The rare earth metals are the primary product and the uranium is extracted as a byproduct. The potential annual production of rare earth metals are more than 40,000 tonnes, which is ten times more than the production of the byproduct uranium oxide.

Greenland decided more than 30 years ago that there should not be exploration or mined uranium and other radioactive elements. This political decision remains valid - the so-called zero tolerance.
But the Greenlandic authorities have eased zero-tolerance a little bit and changed the standard conditions for mineral exploration, so Greenland Minerals and Energy has been allowed to continue test drilling and complete exploration work on Kvanefjeld, although there is uranium in the ore. --

The US and the EU - as well as China - are closely watching the development of the Kvanefjeld project:

China accounts for nearly 95 percent of world production of rare earth metals. The national demand is so high that the majority is consumed in China, and only a relatively small proportion is available for export. China has slowly but surely reduced its export quotas and increased their export tax knowing that the rare earth metals in the degree is a strategic commodity.
 
Unless large and stable detection of rare earth metals outside of China happen, foreign companies may be forced to relocate their production to China to get access to the rare earth metals. In the light of that the deposit on Kvanefjeld plays a significant strategic role, and the mining project will be followed with great attention in the EU and the U.S. and multinational industrial groups.

Greenland was in 1979 granted self-government by the Danish parliament. In 2009 Greenland acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs, including the right to decide about use of raw materials.

Arctic seabirds doing fine despite of "global warming"

Little auks doing fine in Greenland 

Another  hugely  disappointing  study  for  true  believers  in  the  global  warming  religion: 

Arctic  seabirds  adapt  to  climate  change

The planet is warming up, especially at the poles. How do organisms react to this rise in temperatures? An international team led by a CNRS researcher from the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology has shown that little auks, the most common seabirds in the Arctic, are adapting their fishing behavior to warming surface waters in the Greenland Sea. So far, their reproductive and survival rates have not been affected

Surprisingly, the birds have managed to make up for the warming of surface waters in the Greenland Sea by altering their diet and extending the duration of their foraging trips at sea. They travel further and for longer in order to feed in areas where foraging is more successful.

So far, little auks have therefore managed to adapt to the effects of warming surface waters in the Greenland Sea.

Not surprisingly, the scientists behind the study felt that they had to provide some consolation for members of the climate cult: 

 Yet it seems that little auks have reached the limits of their physiological and behavioral capacities. More intense warming could therefore cause their decline as well as a major disruption of marine ecosystems in the Arctic.

Read the entire article here

(image by wikipedia)

An "anthropological examination of climate change" in Greenland

Modern Greenland: Upernavik first day in class 2007 (image by Wikipedia)

An American writer by the name of Gretel Ehrlich has written a book, "In the Empire of Ice", which has been described  as an "anthropological rather than scientific examination of climate change" in some arctic areas.

According to this reviewer, the "saddest part of this book comes when Ehrlich journeys to Greenland, a place she dearly loves and has written about before". She seems to be particularly fond of the Greenland hunters, whom she has accompanied on several trips "out onto the sea in pursuit of walrus and narwhals".

Historically the sea has given up enough bounty to all but eliminate the need for cash. Now, however, the sea ice vital to these subsistence practices no longer arrives. Within just a few years it went from 6 feet thick and solidly in place throughout the winter to inches thick and intermittent at best. Men whose entire lives and sense of identity revolve around their ability to provide food for their families and communities are now unable to do so. With no cash economy to speak of, their choices will be to starve or to leave.

A proud way of life is being erased by climate change. As Ehrlich writes, “Bands of ice that protected Inuit people for thousands of years, ensuring a continuity of language and life ways and a meta-stable climate, have been assaulted from above and below, inside and out. Pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, the crushing demands of sovereignty and capitalism, war and religion have severed the strong embrace of ice.”

Ehrlich is another writer in the long line of the western "progressives" who have idealised and romanticised the "noble natives" in different exotic areas of the world.

It is quite possible that a handful of Inuit whalers are not happy with their situation, but the great majority of Greenlanders have a different view:

for the 56,000 people who live on the giant Arctic island, climate change is now being seen as an opportunity rather than a threat: a passport to prosperity, perhaps even independence.
--
On and off, it has been under Danish control for more than 400 years, officially becoming part of the kingdom of Denmark in 1953 before opting for devolution in 1979. But potential oil revenues have raised the prospect of Greenland being able to go it alone in 15 to 20 years.

"The development of the oil industry is one of the most important components in Greenland's effort to establish a self-bearing economy," Kim Kielsen, Greenland's minister of mines and petroleum, has said.

In the shorter term, the country is relying on the rapidly expanding eco-tourism market. Business is already booming in Ilulissat, where hotels are now booked up a year in advance and unemployment is 0 per cent.

And even the self-proclaimed leader of "the fight against global warming", the European Union, now  seems to be more interested in other things in Greenland than global warming:

Europe has over the last 30 years been happy to leave Greenland in the hands of Denmark, its former colonial master. Problems such as the woefully under-educated workforce have until now been a concern for Copenhagen, not Brussels.

Greenland is however suddenly of "increased geo-strategic importance" to the commission. Brussels wants to open negotiations on a host of polices from education to the environment, energy, food safety, disaster resilience and maritime transport.

In exchange for closer ties, the commission is prepared to hand over €217.8m between 2014 and 2020, or around €4,000 per inhabitant, according to negotiating documents. The motivation is quite simple: protectionism is on the rise, and the EU wants access to Greenland's raw materials before markets are closed off elsewhere.

"The importance of Greenland for Europe in terms of raw materials cannot be overestimated. Greenland is home to vast deposits of rare earths and other minerals", Antonio Tajani, EU industry commissioner, told an MEP last month. "The EU's interest in cooperation with Greenland on raw materials is due to Greenland's geo-strategic and economic position," Tajani added in a written exchange. Of interest is Greenland's oil, aluminium, gold, "rare earth elements", rubies and uranium.

The island government is, however, playing down talk of an imminent deal. "At the moment we have a fisheries agreement with the EU. We hope to conclude a partnership on education in the spring. There might then be preliminary talks on other areas," Minninnquaq Kleist, head of office in Greenland's department of foreign affairs, told PublicServiceEurope.com.

As of last year, Greenland controls its own mineral and oil rights, having wrestled them from Copenhagen. Around 100 exploration licenses have been issued. Initial results, says Kleist, are "very promising". There are, he says, "very big deposits". Talk of a deal giving the EU access to rare earths is, for the moment, just "speculation".

So despite the fact that the minnow will be up against a bureaucratic giant in the coming negotiations, the EU is desperate, and Greenland is well placed to strike a hard bargain. Greenlanders have already shown they are willing to say no to Brussels.

"We are talking about a partnership agreement with the EU. That doesn't mean we want to join," Kleist says. "If we implemented all the EU regulations we would need 56,000 people just to govern 56,000 people." A dislike for bureaucracy was one of the reasons Greenland distanced itself from the EU 30 years ago, says Kleist. Negotiators would do well to beware of Brussels officials bearing gifts.   

Read the entire article here

PS

Neither does Queen Margrethe of Denmark share Ehrlich´s romanticised view of the native Greenlanders. This is what she said during a visit to Greenland last summer:

"You just cannot change the climate, when the climate changes itself. That you must understand."

"There is nothing to be done."

"You just cannot set off with a freezer in order to make new ice on a fjord. That´s how it is."

Finally proven: Humans behind decline of Greenland glacier

"Iluliaq Original Iceberg Water is the ideal water for distinctive gourmets and fine liquor amateurs. It will pair beautifully with the best wines too". 

Finally, there is definitive proof , (that even sceptics must accecpt) for the alarmists´ claims that Grenland glaciers are declining because of human activities. Trendhunter magazine reports:

You thought Evian was expensive, the Iluliaq Iceberg Water will make it look like a second rate brand.
According to the company, this water comes from the Sermeq Kujalleg glacier in Greenland. In other words, it’s pure, it’s icy, and it’s likely reserved for the rich and famous. This high-end drink is packaged in a crystal clear bottle that even comes with a glass cork. The Illuliaq Iceberg Water will set you back $50 so at that price it’s bound to be good… right?

More info from the producers:

It began as snow, falling from an ice age sky onto what is now the Greenland ice cap. There it remained preserved, untouched and pristine throughout the millennia. Located north of the Arctic Circle on the west coast of Greenland, the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier has been a protected site on UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List since 2004.

PS

This human induced decline of the glaciers should be good news for the climate alarmists, too: The more you drink of this unique water, the less likely the catastrophic rise of  sea levels becomes.

The only problem is that the iceberg water is so damned expensive, that only Al Gore and a few of his friends can afford it. But this need not be a serious setback: The European Union could use a tiny part of its multi million euro climate aid package to subsidise the Illuliaq. Instead of wasting money on all kinds of  more or less useless climate projects, these subsidies would make the Greenland iceberg water availaible everywhere, even the "sinking" Maldives. Something for EU climate change commissioner Connie Hedegaard to consider!

Greenpeace looses battle: The Danish government opens up Greenland for drilling -

Kumi Naidoo´s stupid stunt in Greenland was an enormous waste of time and money. The only thing it achieved, was a huge carbon footprint.

The Danish government definitively has put a stop to the desperate attempts by Kumi Naidoo and his fellow Greenpeace alarmists to deny the people of Greenland the right to exploit their natural resources:


Denmark this week launched its first formal strategy for the Arctic region, a plan intended to facilitate private investment and help international companies enter the far north as the ice melts and vast natural resources become accessible, the country's foreign minister said in an interview.
The Arctic, which covers more than a sixth of the Earth's landmass, plus the vast Arctic Ocean, has long been treated as a highly fragile ecosystem that must be protected against commercial exploitation. Denmark's new strategy marks a shift in priority to focus on economic development and improving the living standards of local people, Lene Espersen told The Wall Street Journal.
"Previously, the discussion about the Arctic region has focused on the environment, on whether we oughtn't to turn the region into one large natural preserve. But Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have agreed that we want to utilize the commercial and economic potential of the area," Ms. Espersen said.

Environmentalists and nongovernmental organizations have traditionally opposed industrial development in the Arctic, and in June, Greenpeace activists boarded an oil rig belonging to Britain's Cairn Energy in an unsuccessful attempt to block the first oil exploration drilling in offshore Greenland. But the government of Greenland, which, like the Faroe Islands, is a largely autonomous entity under the Danish throne, maintains that its people have the right to benefit from the riches of its land and waters. The new strategy makes this position Denmark's official stance.

"With the new strategy we are opening up for international corporations from the whole world to come to the Arctic and to Greenland. The signal we are sending is that we will welcome them with open arms, we are not nervous, we are not afraid of letting industry into the area," Ms. Espersen said, adding that all investments will be subject to strict environmental regulation.

Read the entire article here

PS
The greenies are of course whining, but who cares. If  Naidoo and his friends once more try entering Greenland, they will most certainly again be deported.

Good news from Greenland: 18 Greenpeace activists arrested

An example of excellent police work:

Police on Saturday arrested 18 Greenpeace activists who climbed aboard an oil rig off Greenland's coast to protest deepwater drilling in the Arctic.
The rig is operated by the Scottish oil group Cairn Energy and drilling has temporarily been suspended due to the protest. Cairn last month won permission to drill up to seven oil exploration wells off the Arctic island's west coast.
Police spokesman Morten Nielsen said activists from Britain, Finland, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands, among other countries, are being taken to Nuuk, the semiautonomous Danish territory's capital, where they will be questioned.
---

Greenland's government has called the Greenpeace action a publicity stunt that comes at the expense of Greenland's "legitimate right" to develop its economy.
Earlier this week, two Greenpeace activists were arrested under the rig, hanging just a few meters from the drill-bit. The protest prevented Cairn from starting drilling for four days.
Greenpeace says it has received a legal summons from Cairn's lawyers for having cost the company up to $4 million for every day it could not drill and could face substantial fines for the security breaches. The lawsuit will be heard Monday in a Dutch court.

Read the entire piece here

PS
Let´s hope that the Dutch court will be as effective as the police in Greenland!