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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

matduggan.com

171–180 of 352 posts

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#171
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly my thoughts. I think US ownership (not necessarily of land) is inevitable, but it is going to take a couple of decades of these kind of polarising pieces.

US ownership would be pointless. The US already has relatively free access to its ally Greenland for military purposes. See for example the US base in Pituffik (formerly Thule). Proposing to annex your allies is a bit rude, to say the least... If a country other than Denmark was to claim Greenland, either Iceland or Canada would make more sense.

As a Canadian I really can't imagine why we would be a better country for Greenland to be part of then Denmark. Unlike Denmark (and the other nordic countries) we don't have any historical connection to it... nor is it part of our landmass, or really anything else other than vaguely near by.

We're also really not interested in annexing random things.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know how people in the olden days survived. Maybe they found a material they could smear on their body. For a similar example, I have a friend who spends a lot of time hiking and camping. He tells me that the first day, he needs to apply sunscreen. The next day onward, he doesn't need to anymore, as his body oil and sweat seems to do the job. It makes sense that our skin has not evolved to be cleaned every…

Most people don't have nearly that good luck. I'm fortunate that they just don't like me as much as some of the people I've done week+ hiking/camping trips with. I was ok with deet. Some folks still got dozens of bites even after it.

I think you overlooked the mention of sunscreen.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#173
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been to Greenland recently, I found his description of it similarly flawed.

In what way/ways?

> The first thing you notice when you land in Greenland is there are no trees or grass. There is snow and then there is exposed rock.

This is only true of the area around the airport. Even his pictures further into the article show how misleading this description is. I was actually very surprised how little snow/ice there was. Now when I think of Greenland, I think of something similar to [1].

Of course, in the winter, it's a completely different story (I was there in July). But he was there during the warm period as well (as is obvious from his photos).

> The city itself sits in a landscape so dramatically inhospitable it makes the surface of Mars look cozy.

If you look at a map, you will notice that Nuuk is at the same latitude as Reykjavik. There's a common meme about Iceland being green and Greenland being icy, and that's definitely true if you compare inland or northern Greenland with Iceland during summer (during winter, both are icy and dark), but hiking around Nuuk is a very "green" experience. Yes, there's a ton of mosquitoes, but nature itself is very inviting. I did not get any of the "inhospitable" vibes he mentions.

> But again even riding the bus around it is impossible to escape the feeling that this is a fundamentally hostile to human life place. The sun is bright and during the summer its pretty hot, with my skin feeling like it was starting the burn pretty much the second it was exposed to the light. It's hard to even dress for, with layers of sunscreen, bug spray and then something warm on top if you suddenly got cold.

This whole section is just overblown BS.

All in all, I enjoyed it a lot. Compared to Iceland, it's definitely a lot less "user friendly" and you need to prepare better, but I have never been to a place that is less affected by humans, and in our age, that is something worth experiencing.

[1] https://truewindhealingtravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08...

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#174

"The fact is, that among his hunters at least, the whale would by all hands be considered a noble dish, were there not so much of him; but when you come to sit down before a meat-pie nearly one hundred feet long, it takes away your appetite." Moby-Dick Herman Melville

I've had whale when I went to Norway. Was it good? It was OK. Would I have it again? Probably not. Still a nice experience. Also trying cured reindeer, moose and seal slices was pretty unique.

Whale meat is so iron rich. Basically eating liver.

Now reindeer steak — that’s excellent!

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#175
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been to Greenland recently, I found his description of it similarly flawed.

I’ve never been to Greenland or (to my knowledge) met anyone who has. What is/was your experience like?

I tried explaining in the other comment here. In summary, it's beautiful, raw nature, that's different from anything else I've seen. It takes some preparation, but I haven't experience any of these "sun will kill you and ice will kill you too" vibes that the article suggests. It felt like one of the last places on Earth not affected by humans (at least directly through resource exploitation, as it definitely is affected by the warming - but that's another discussion).

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the subsidy is required. The net deficit is small. Some Swedish regions also have a net deficit relative to other Swedish regions, but that doesn't mean that they don't work out economically. After all, not all economic activity in region is taxed there. A firm in Örnsköldsvik pays their taxes to the Swedish government, and then the Swedish government distributes part back to the region. It's around 600…

10k.

Ah, you're right. So an order of magnitude higher. Miscalculated.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the subsidy is required. The net deficit is small. Some Swedish regions also have a net deficit relative to other Swedish regions, but that doesn't mean that they don't work out economically. After all, not all economic activity in region is taxed there. A firm in Örnsköldsvik pays their taxes to the Swedish government, and then the Swedish government distributes part back to the region. It's around 600…

> I don't think the subsidy is required. The net deficit is small. Continuing to lose money leads to bankruptcy.

They would presumably just cut their government budget if it weren't for the subsidy.

It would probably be fine. Furthermore, I don't think Denmark plans on dropping it. They want reasonably strong government services also in this sparsely populated arctic region.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#178
I've spent quite a bit of time in kangerlussuaq while on route or on my way back from summit station. Would love to explore more of the country, but even just kangerlussuaq is quite beautiful. I've seen pictures from the east Coast from some pilots based out of Akureyri who were assisting some geologists at Summit one year and it looks absolutely gorgeous.

Greenlandic hot dogs are delicious too, similar to Iceland.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#179
post #83

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times. It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there. Places that are so distant, with such harsh…

And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past. Norway: 15 people per sq km. Alberta: 6.7 British columbia:…

[deleted]

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#180
post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a similar feeling in the Faroe Islands. Even in mid summer the weather was rather inclement. But the landscape was breathtaking, and the locals friendly in a low key way. I’d love to go back.

More wind means less mosquitos. One step forward and one step back. Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. Fly atlantic airways, they have equipment to fly through the fog or they will refuel in iceland and try again same day.

What do you mean with "they have equipment".
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