Trump Says Climate Change Is A Hoax. But That's Partly What Got Him So Obsessed With Greenland

Donald Trump's desire to seize Greenland is likely less
about national security and more about mining the 
island's riches, and climate change. 

If I had a penny for every time Donald Trump said climate change is a hoax, I'd be as rich as he claims to be. 

And yet. Trump's latest foolishness with Greenland has been brought about in large part by the very climate change he denies. 

Let's set the scene: 

As you may have heard, Trump is insisting that the U,S. annex Greenland. He keeps yakking about "national security," that Russia or China will arrive in take over Greenland in about an hour unless the U.S. does so first.

In reality, it probably isn't so much about security. Existing security agreements, and NATO, preclude Russia and China from causing too much trouble in Greenland.

Remember, the basis of NATO is if one member is attacked, the whole organization is attacked. So in a world without Trump, if somebody invaded Greenland,  U.S. and NATO forces would defend the Arctic island. 

I don't believe China or Russia would take such a big risk. I've seen a lot of analysis out there that says the same thing. 

Of course, if the U.S. attacked Greenland, that would be a war against Denmark. As PBS notes, NATO has no obvious way of dealing with open conflict among its members. 

That's why an American invasion or non-consensual takeover of Greenland would probably end NATO.

Here's why Trump might want to see NATO go the way of the dinosaurs: 

Trump and his oligarch cronies really want to exploit the natural resources up there in Greenland, including diamonds, lithium and copper.  These minerals are super valuable nowadays because we need them to build things like batteries and smart phones.

I also surmise that Trump sees NATO as an obstacle to obtaining those riches. He's probably looking for a convenient way to put NATO into the garbage dumpster of history.

Or something like that. 

Trump doesn't even have to take over Greenland for "national security." 

A 1951 treaty with Denmark gives the U.S. military carte blanche to do pretty much whatever we want in Greenland's territory. We could send thousands of troops up there tomorrow if we need to. So, as futurism.com tells us, there's no national security need for us to take over Greenland. 

Which means "national security" is just a fig leaf for Trump and his gang to make more money off his presidency. It's all transactional. 

IT'S CLIMATE

The Washington Post had a nice analysis of the situation in Sunday's editions. This one paragraph helps crystalize the situation. And tells us why climate change matters in all of this.  

"The prospect of the United States using military force against the NATO ally, as Trump has floated, could end the decades-old defense pact. His bid for the territory is one of the most concrete examples of how climate change is influencing geopolitics. As the northernmost parts of our planet continue to warm, the effects could change the ways the international community operates."

 The Arctic is warming at four times the rate of the rest of the world. The extent of Arctic sea ice is declining. That, in turn is exposing some potential tantalizing sea routes on top of the planet. 

 Here's how WaPo lays out the stakes:

"'The freeing of the Arctic from sea ice, at least seasonally, will create an entirely new theater for economic and security competition,' said Joseph Majkut, director of the energy security and climate change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'And while we've know that is going to be the case for some time, it seems we're at an inflection point.'"

A study in the journal Nature said that if the planet warms by a total of 2 degrees Celsius over the average in the late 19th century, the open water period in the Arctic would increase to 63 days each summer.  If that warming goes above 3,5 degrees above the Victorian Age climate, the Arctic could be open for shipping at least three months out of the year.

Of course we don't know how long it will take to get that warm, so all bets are off. 

There's another issue related to the climate change that Trump says is a hoax. As Greenland's vast ice cap inexorably melts, the diamonds, lithium and copper Trump and his billionaire buddies covet become more accessible.  

"His fixation on Greenland is an admission that climate change is real," John Conger, and advisor to the Center or Climate and Security said in the New York Times, as futurism.com points out. 

Trump probably also wants Greenland so he can change the rules up there. 

The New York Times notes that Greenland has banned uranium mining. Uranium is often found right alongside rare earth minerals like lithium. The ban is already facing legal challenges, and if Trump takes over Greenland, that no uranium rule would be gone in a flash.

It turns out Trump thinks climate change is real. The "hoax" language he uses for our warming world is just one of many ploys to gin up his cup. 

 

Trump Administration's Obnoxiousness With Greenland Is Tacit Acknowledgment Of Climate Change

The United States is again making dumb noises about
annexing Greenland, diplomacy and legality be
damned. While the Trump administration denies
climate change exists, this whole mess
is largely about climate change. 

Greenland is back in the news again, as the Trump Administration is ramping up its efforts to take control of the big Arctic ice heap.  It's a move that practically nobody else wants other that Donald Trump and his not-so-merry band of MAGA cultists. 

One irony is that Donald Trump denies the existence of climate change, yet that very real warming of the planet is a big part of what's behind all this. 

To back up here, Trump last week appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as his envoy to Greenland. Landry said he would travel to Greenland to convince people living there to become part of the United States. 

Good luck with that. 

Greenland is a self-governing Danish territory. Officials in Greenland, Denmark and the European Union unanimously condemned Trump effort to annex Greenland.  A big majority of Greenlanders want increased independence from Denmark, but they really, really don't want to become part of the U.S.

Somebody from MAGA always says the quiet part out loud, and the ever-reliable Fox host Brian Kilmeade gave us this:

"Greenland has been ignored by Denmark for decades. Now they're not, because we have shown interest. They have about 60,000 people there and we have a huge military base. Look, we are going to need their natural resources to mine them - you'll (Denmark) be able to get some of that. But in the meantime, we have to expand our base there and access to the waterways, because the Arctic is melting and we need access there. 

Russia and China is (sic) trying to dominate. Plus, what are we in, the era of the Viking? What is Denmark doing in our backyard?"

Phew! There's a lot to unpack there. Our "need" for natural resources, as if we could just go in and take them.  Sure, Donald Trump said we need Greenland for security, not minerals. But it's about the minerals as much as it is about security. Especially in the sense of  how much money the grifters associated with Trump can make from exploiting Greenland.  

Kilmeade seems to think it's horrible that puny little Greenland wants to control its own future and puny little Denmark should have the gaul to be in control of Denmark.

Greenland is in our backyard, since it's hooked on to North America. Trump is like the homeowner who sees a ball accidentally thrown into his yard by neighborhood kids. He's the type that would keep the ball instead of throwing it back over to the kids. 

CLIMATE CONNECTION

But since this is a climate and weather blog, there's one piece in Kilmeade's screed that I want to focus on. It's where he said "the Arctic is melting."

I thought all the MAGA types deny human-caused climate change. They say it's a hoax. So why is the Arctic melting? It's true that Greenland is pretty steadily losing some of its massive ice cap to a warming world. 

Maybe Kilmeade will sputter that the climate changes "naturally," but how do you explain such a massive melt that developed over decades, not centuries like most of Earth's past episodes of natural warming and cooling?

Ultimately Trump's one-sided crush on Greenland is about the climate change that he publicly denies exists. 

As Al Jazeera tells us:

"Climate change and a rapidly melting ice sheet are the main reasons the Arctic has become a geopolitical hotspot

The Arctic is heating at a rate four times faster than the global average, increasing its accessibility for maritime trade routes and resource exploration - including by non-arctic countries as well as those with an Arctic presence. 

China has deployed vessels capable of serving both military surveillance and research functions in the region. The purposes are to collect data and secure access to resources and shipping lanes, which are emerging as a result of melting ice."

In addition, Russia is deploying missile systems and weapons testing in the Arctic, and has grown its naval presence near the top of the world. Canada is planning to shore up its military and diplomatic presence in the Arctic because of those Chinese and Russian moves in and near Greenland. 

So the security risk is real, but as usual, Trump's bluster, lies and utter untrustworthiness is botching it. 

Russia and Chinese military and espionage geeks are undoubtedly loving all of this.

What probably would have made a lot more sense was to light a fire under the European Union over the Arctic security threats, then negotiate some sort of alliance involving Denmark, the U.S. and other European nations as a counterweight to Russian and Chinese threats in Greenland and elsewhere in the Arctic.  

But nope! Trump just has to be a clownish bully to appease his own fragile ego and the expense of the rest of the world. 

For years we've been told that a warming planet would make political, social and military conflicts more likely. It's too bad Trump is working os hard in aiding and abetting the "hoax' climate change to make all that happen sooner and more dangerously than most of us thought.