The Fifty-first State

 https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-b-52-nuclear-bomber-crash-in-greenland-51-years-ago-has-ill-danes-seeking-compensation https://earthsky.org/earth/greenland-plants-discovered-melting-ice-sheet-video/ https://simpleflying.com/airbus-a330-800-airlines/ https://www.wired.co.uk/article/arctic-greenland-egrip-ice-climate https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56643429 https://www.arctictoday.com/greenlands-economy-is-poised-to-rebound-in-2021/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7720049.stm

    A U.S. military B-52 nuclear bomber crash in Greenland 51 years ago still resonates with three Danish citizens who were involved in the cleanup.     The Air Force B-52 Stratofortress with four hydrogen bombs on board crashed January 21st, 1968, 7 miles from Thule Air Base, where the Banes were working for a military contractor from Denmark.  They each now have cancer and blame their illnesses on exposure to weapons-grade plutonium scattered by the crash.     Since 2010 the three men have been pursuing benefits through a U.S. government workers' competensation program that covers foreigners who worked at a military base and were injured or disables on the job.

    Scientists announced on March 15, 2021, that an international effort to analyze Greenland ice cores left behind from the 1960s has revealed fossilized plants underneath mile-thick Greenland ice. These plants existed on Greenland - the world’s largest island - within the past million years. They show the ice sheet was melted that long ago, without help from human activities, and with carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere lower than they are today. These results suggest that Greenland’s ice is vulnerable to melting. The Greenland ice sheet covers about 656,000 square miles.

       The A330-800 is one of the rarest commercial jets currently in service. Only four aircraft have been delivered, with 11 more still on order. Let’s explore which airlines have ordered the A330-800 and why more haven’t.     Air Greenland has an order for one A330-800 but is yet to take delivery. The order was only confirmed in December 2020. Previously, it was deciding between taking the A330neo or the 787. It will replace its only long-haul aircraft, an aging A330-200, used on its route to Copenhagen.     It is likely that one of the reasons the A330-800 was chosen (over the A330-900 and the 787) is its ability to operate from shorter runways. This is an issue in Greenland, and the airline hopes to expand service to new airports.

    One largely unnoticed consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the interruption of many scientific missions in the Arctic. Remote field trips to the northernmost regions of the globe have been canceled or postponed due to travel restrictions, quarantines and other logistical measures implemented to protect local Inuit communities.          In Greenland, the question is an urgent one:according to the Centre for Polar Observation and modelling, its ice sheet is currently shrinking by 270 billion tonnes per year, as melting ice makes an intricate journey via ice streams all the way to the ocean. According to Nasa, if the island’s entire ice sheet melted, the global sea level would rise by 7.4 metres, leaving many coastal areas under water.          The pandemic prevented EGRIP’s international science team from reaching the facility at all during 2020 – which has caused the scientists con...

         Greenland's main opposition party has won an election which could have major consequences for international interests in the Arctic.     The left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit, which opposes a mining project in southern Greenland, secured 37% of votes.     The company that owns the site at Kvanefjeld, in the south of the country, says the mine has "the potential to become the most significant western world producer of rare earths", a group of 17 elements used to manufacture electronics and weapons.     However, disagreement over the project led to the collapse of Greenland's government earlier this year, paving the way for Tuesday's snap election.     Many locals had raised concerns about the potential for radioactive pollution and toxic waste in the farmland surrounding the proposed mine.     "The people have spoken," Inuit Ataqatigiit's leader Múte B...

    Greenland’s economy will contract this year as a result of a slowdown in activity related to the coronavirus outbreak, but growth can be expected to return next year, the government’s panel of independent economic advisors predicts in its most recent outlook.     “Greenland’s economy has been impacted differently by the current situation than most other countries have, given the economy’s unique structure,” Økonomisk Råd wrote in its spring report.     The conclusion reiterates the panel’s previous findings, citing fisheries and a hefty subsidy from Copenhagen — two of the most important components of Greenland’s economy — as two of the main reasons why the country will be able to avoid a long-term economic decline related to coronavirus-related restrictions on commerce and travel.     After falling by an expected 8 percent in the second quarter of this year, the overall decline in 2020 will be around 1....

The United States abandoned a nuclear weapon beneath the ice in northern Greenland following a crash in 1968, a BBC investigation has found. Its unique vantage point - perched at the top of the world - has meant that Thule Air Base has been of immense strategic importance to the US since it was built in the early 1950s, allowing a radar to scan the skies for missiles coming over the North Pole. The Pentagon believed the Soviet Union would take out the base as a prelude to a nuclear strike against the US and so in 1960 began flying "Chrome Dome" missions. Nuclear-armed B52 bombers continuously circled over Thule - and could head straight to Moscow if they witnessed its destruction. Greenland is a self-governing province of Denmark but the carrying of nuclear weapons over Danish territory was kept secret.

     In 1953 the Danish Constitution officially made Greenland a province of the country but in 1979 had granted the territory home rule which gave it many responsibilities from education to fisheries.  In 2008 a referendum was held in relation to how much autonomy Greenland should have with 75% voting in favor of more.  The coast guard, legal system and law enforcement were transferred to Greenland.  The language was officially changed from Danish to Greenlandic, and Eskimo-Aleut language of the local Inuit.  Greenland also received control over in foreign trade.  The nation has representatives in Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Brussels and Washington, D.C. A poll in 2016 showed that 64% of the island was in favor of independence but a poll in 2017 showed a stark opposition (74% against) if it meant a lowering in the quality of life. There are two factions within the serparatist movement in Greenland: “slow-independence” and “independence-now”.  T...

     Nearly all Greenlandic architecture is extremely utilitarian.  Buildings and other structures emphasize functionality over form. Greenlandic homes are typically constructed of stone, sod, or wood.  During the summers, some families live in tents made from furs or skins. Communities are typically tightly clustered together: for the Eskimo, solitude is a sign of sheer unhappiness. It is thought to be a perversion and absolutely undesirable.

     Greenland features a blend of Inuit and Danish cultures.  Many Greenlanders have expressed uneasiness with the increased Westernization of Greenland communities in recent years, and many efforts are underway to preserve and sustain traditional Inuit ways, which remain an essential part of the country’s national identity. But Greenland’s long association with Denmark has benefited the island's inhabitants in many tangible ways, such as in raising standards of living and improving health care and education. Moreover, most Greenlanders of European descent are sensitive to the importance of preserving the historical culture and perspective of the Inuit people.

     In1979 Greenland declared home rule and has been a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark and holds two seats in the Danish parliament.  Greenland’s executive branch is led by the Prime Minister of the nation and includes another six department heads which deal with culture, housing, telecommunications, education, transportation, trade and the environment.  Foreign relations, defense and currency are the prerogative of the Danish government.  The nation’s legislature consists of 31 members and are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms.  They elect the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the majority party.  There are 7 parties.

  The typical Greenlandic diet is heavy on consumption of fish, potatoes, vegetables, and canned foods. Seal and polar bear meat is also a staple in many Inuit communities.

     Greenland has a very interesting transportation system as roads outside of the cities are virtually non-existent.  Traditionally, the locals would travel by boat in the summertime and by dog-sled during the winter, but recently air travel (helicopters and airplanes) have started to become the main mode of transport.  Roads exist only within cities and around them and only around 60 km of road is actually paved.  All the railways which have existed in Greenland at one point or another have been abandoned.

     Total population of Greenland is ~59,300 people, out of which 31,390 are men and 27,910 are women.  Approximately 26 percent of the population is 14 years old or younger, while just 6 percent is 65 years and older.  Life expectancy is just shy of 70 years.  The Inuit make up about 990 percent of the population and the rest are of Danish or other Nordic heritage.  The first Vikings were Pagan, but Leif Erikson had converted them to Catholicism.  One of the main reasons as to why recolonization had happened, was to bring the Protestant reformation to the land.  Most of the country is estimated to be Lutheran although the traditional religion of the Inuit is shamanism.

     Qinngua Valley is a valley which runs about 15 km north to south and is the only forest which can be found in all of Greenland.   The valley is situated about 50 kilometres from the sea and protected from the cold winds coming off the interior glaciers of Greenland. In total, over 300 species of plants grow in the valley.  The forest in Qinngua valley is a thicket consisting mainly of downy birch and gray-leaf willow, growing up to 7–8 metres tall. Growing sometimes to tree height is the Greenland mountain ash, which is usually a shrub.  Green alder is also found in the valley.  It is possible that other forests of this type once existed in Greenland but were cleared by early settlers for firewood or building material. The valley was declared a protected natural area in 1930.

    Three-hundren and ten species of vascular plants are found in Greenland, including 15 endemic species.  Except for in Qinngua Valley, which consists mainly of downy birch and grey-leaf willow, growing up to 7–8 metres tall, Greenland has no native forests.  In northern Greenland, the ground is covered with a carpet of mosses and low-lying shrubs such as dwarf willows and crowberries. Flowering plants in the north include yellow poppy, Pedicularis, and Pyrola.  Plant life in southern Greenland is more abundant, and certain plants, such as the dwarf birch and willow, may grow several feet high.  Horticulture shows a certain degree of success. Plants such as broccoli, radishes, spinach, leeks, lettuce, turnips, chervil, potatoes and parsley are grown up to considerable latitudes, while the very south of the country also holds asters, Nemophila , mignonette, rhubarb, sorrel and carrots.      According to a 13th-century Old Norse text, t...

          The island doesn’t have many species of animals living on it and the ones that do exist can be divided into two categories: those native to the land, and those introduced by people.  This is a list of some of the most prominent species. Native species: Polar bear, barren-ground caribou, muskox, Arctic fox, Arctic wolf, etc. Domesticated (introduces): By the Inuit: dogs By the Danes: goats, sheep, oxen, and pigs.

          Theories as to why the Vikings had disappeared: there have been many speculations as to why the Norsemen who had settled the territory around 1000 AD had vanished by the 15th century.  Some believe it was the work of Basque pirates or the Black Plague but as more plausible theory is that they settled the island during a warmer period, where farming was still possible.  But as the “Little Ice Age” set in, they wouldn’t adapt to the new conditions and kept trying to farm the land.  The native Inuit population on the other hand, had hunted seals and whales for survival, which could be done in a colder or warmer climate.

       In 1721 Hans Egede sailed to Greenland on an expedition to convert the old Norsemen to Protestantism.  All he saw were the remnants of a crumbling church.  The Vikings had vanished.  He wrote:  “What has been the fate of so many human beings, so long cut off from all intercourse with the more civilized world?... Were they destroyed by an invasion of the natives… or perished by the inclemency of the climate, and the sterility of the soil?”