Mon Apr 14 00:42:00 UTC 2025: ## Greenland’s Risky Riches: Trump’s Desire for the Island Ignores Grave Geohazards

**A geoscientist warns that exploiting Greenland’s resources, as desired by former US President Trump, is fraught with peril due to climate change-exacerbated hazards.**

Nuuk, Greenland – Former US President Donald Trump’s ambitions to control Greenland, fueled by its valuable rare earth minerals and strategic location, disregard significant geological hazards, according to a recent article in The Hindu. These risks, many worsened by climate change, threaten any attempts at resource extraction or military expansion on the island.

Professor Paul Bierman, a geoscientist at the University of Vermont, highlights Greenland’s unique and challenging environment. The island’s frigid climate, massive ice sheet, and steep, rocky coastline create inherent dangers. He points to historical examples, including WWII plane crashes in fog, and the sinking of ships by icebergs, underscoring the inherent risks of operating in this environment.

Bierman emphasizes the escalating threat of rockslides, triggered by melting permafrost. The 2017 rockslide in northwestern Greenland, which caused a tsunami devastating two villages, serves as a stark warning. Such events, he notes, pose a significant danger to coastal infrastructure, including potential mining operations and seaports.

The thawing permafrost is also affecting the US military base in Greenland, causing damage to runways and buildings. The increased calving of icebergs due to glacial melt poses another risk, particularly to oil rigs in the region. While Greenland banned fossil fuel drilling in 2021, Trump’s interest in resuming exploration remains, despite high costs and existing dangers.

Bierman argues that the long-term consequences of ignoring these risks are severe, not only for Greenland but for the global community. Melting ice from Greenland raises global sea levels, causing coastal flooding and potentially triggering massive human migration. He concludes that Greenland’s strategic value lies not in its resources but in its ice, whose melting threatens global stability. The short-sighted pursuit of Greenland’s resources, he warns, could lead to disastrous consequences.

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