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Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

gwern.net

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Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#131

Post by KozmoNau7 »

LeonidasXIV wrote: post #100
lokimedes wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Dane, I agree. Why don’t the US sell the Rust Belt to China? If people had any idea how much of the danish kingdom is already lost over the centuries, one would understand why the country will cling to the last remnants for no other reason that maintaining national cohesion.

While I see your point but as a person living in Denmark I can't help but consider the > national cohesion to Greenland and Faroe Islands for that matter to be minimal. It doesn't feel like "proper" Denmark with shipping more expensive, not being part of EU/Schengen, their own respective Kroner-like currencies. I know some Faroese coming to Denmark to study but that's about it. It is not comparable to the rust belt w…

As a Dane with Faeroese and Greenlandic friends, I consider them all as brother peoples, just like Swedes and Norwegians. Different in some ways, but connected by a common thread.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#132

Post by goto11 »

macspoofing wrote: post #124
goto11 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Denmark is a member of Nato, so the question is if Nato would be able to hold it.

Canada is a member of NATO and yet it cannot assert its sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.

Because it is water, not land. The Nato partners consider it international water and does not accept Canadas claims. I don't think Nato would go to war to prevent anybody sailing past Greenland in international waters either.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#133

Post by jonnycomputer »

nottorp wrote: post #88

Without checking who wrote the article I can see they're from the US because of the tendency to view everything just as profit/loss. Newsflash: there are things money can't buy. Even the credit card companies said so :)

That's a big bit of stereotyping you just did there. Newsflash: not all people in the US are the same.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#135

Post by jonnycomputer »

mantap wrote: post #50
madaxe_again wrote: post #10

I think, in hindsight, it will turn out to have been an exceptionally good call to retain Greenland. They have an interesting setup - there is no land ownership other than by the state, and you can only get permission to build by winning a lottery. There are minor exceptions for building small hunting cabins in the fjords, but this is negligible. The reason is to prevent private ownership from hindering possible oppo…

Fresh water literally falls from the sky unless you live in a desert. I question the value of exporting water from Greenland.

large, and very populated, parts of the world rely on slow ice-melt from winter snows on mountains (California, India). Global warming may mean that that slow-ice-melt won't be so slow any more, and that can mean possibly flooding followed by drought.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#136

Post by jonnycomputer »

username90 wrote: post #90
gwern wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget the melting - how do you even make any use of glacial fresh water? You're not going to start growing wheat in Greenland, that's for sure, so you're not getting much use out of it on the spot. Move it elsewhere? No one's ever accomplished the 'tow an iceberg to sell it' thing before (and icebergs are much more convenient than glaciers), and if they do, it'll be a relatively tiny industry since it has to compete…

> You're not going to start growing wheat in Greenland Why not? People grow wheat right now at the same longitude in Finland, all you need is for it to get a bit warmer.

soil, or the lack thereof.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#137

Post by SergeAx »

> holding on to Greenland is a bad idea

What do you mean "bad idea"? It's habitable land, there will not be more of it on this planet (except rather small landfills, and Denmark more than others knows the price of it).

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#138

Post by jonnycomputer »

notatoad wrote: post #34

The author compares Greenland to Puerto Rico, seeming to make the assumption that if somebody made a good offer, America would happily sell Puerto Rico. Can any other Americans speak to the truth of this? It seems absurd to me that a country would happily sell off a territory and make a whole bunch of citizens non-citizens just for the financial benefit. Are Puerto Ricans not Americans? Do americans really view Puert…

Well, I don't.

Puerto Ricans seem split of statehood, but full independence seems far less popular, at least based on the 2012 referendum.

I'd like them to become a US state. I feel similarly about all territories under US control. I feel it would be ultimately better for them than independence, and better for US moral character.

Re: Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?

#140

Post by fit2rule »

toasterlovin wrote: post #121
fit2rule wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about American citizens consider removing their heinously destabilising military bases from other sovereign states, and instead using those resources to make the lives of their own citizens better? The world is tired of the USA bully thug politics involved in its placement of military bases around the world, and the arrogance of those who support these imperialist actions is very telling. These bases are not maki…

America is the worst. Except for all the world powers that came before. Be careful what you wish for.

Things can get a lot, lot better than what America has to offer the world. Don't lose hope.
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