(In Greenland)

Greenland’s election results suggest Greenland wants change but not Chump-Trump change, nor climate change.

Greenland election results. 70% of voters voted. The coalition discussions will be interesting. IA and Siumut had been the majority. Naleraq is probably the most pro-independence with US leanings; Democrats and Atassut probably the least.

From Reuters: “In the final debate on Greenland’s state broadcaster KNR late on Monday, leaders of the five parties currently in parliament unanimously said they did not trust Trump.
“He is trying to influence us. I can understand if citizens feel insecure,” said Erik Jensen, leader of government coalition partner Siumut.
A January poll suggested a majority of Greenland’s inhabitants support independence, but are divided on timing.
Early on, the election campaign focused on the anger and frustration aimed at historical wrongdoings by Denmark, according to Julie Rademacher, a consultant and former adviser to Greenland’s government.
“But I think the fear of the U.S. imperialist approach has lately become bigger than the anger towards Denmark,” said Rademacher.”

All to say:

You Could Never Take A Car to Greenland,
BY MAGGIE SMITH

my daughter says. Unless the car could float.
Unless by car you mean boat. Unless the ocean
turned to ice and promised not to crack.
Unless Greenland floated over here,
having lifted its anchor. Unless we could row
our country there. Our whole continent
would have to come along, wouldn't it? Unless
we cut ourselves free. What kind of saw
could we use for that? What kind of oars
could deliver one country to another?
She asks, Why is Greenland called Greenland
if it’s not green? Why is Iceland called
Iceland if it’s greener than Greenland?
Unless it’s a trick, a lie: the name Greenland
is an ad for Greenland. Who would go
promised nothing but ice? Who would cut
her home to pieces and row away for that?

Image credit: photo by Brooks Kaiser of 20 years of glacial change on exhibit at the Pudong Art Gallery, Shanghai.

Olafur Eliasson

Melting Glaciers, 1999/2019》

30 photographs, color prints on paper, mounted in aluminum frame/attached to aluminum plate

Acquired in 2021 with funding from the New Nongsberg Foundation

Olavur Eliasson (b. 1967) is concerned about the dramatic impact of climate change on the world. In 1999, as part of his ongoing project to document Iceland’s natural phenomena, the Danish artist photographed many of Iceland’s spectacular glaciers from the air (Glacier Series), an experience he describes as “awesome.” He returned to photograph the same glaciers 20 years later, and although he had expected some changes, he was still shocked by the extent of their retreat; some glaciers are even difficult to find. Unlike sea ice, glaciers do not melt and reform every year; once they are gone, they are gone forever. The Melting Glaciers Series consists of 30 sets of two color photographs that reveal the before and after effects of climate change on each glacier. It is widely accepted that human activity since the Industrial Revolution has contributed to rising global temperatures (particularly the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases). Turner was similarly awed by the power of glaciers in France and Switzerland, which he recorded in his sketches – scenes that are now under threat. In Iceland, the former Ojokul Glacier was the first to disappear completely, while the Mer de Glace glacier in the French Alps has retreated two kilometres since Turner’s time. Eliasson’s Melting Glaciers series visually documents the consequences of human action on the natural landscape, highlighting our responsibility to protect the world’s glaciers for future generations.