<p>A polar bear navigates the Arctic climes of Greenland. After the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified polar bears as a vulnerable species, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. created the <a href="https://polarbearagreement.org/circumpolar-action-plan" target="_blank">Circumpolar Action Plan</a>, a 10-year global conservation strategy to secure the long-term survival of polar bears.</p>
A polar bear navigates the Arctic climes of Greenland. After the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified polar bears as a vulnerable species, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the U.S. created the Circumpolar Action Plan, a 10-year global conservation strategy to secure the long-term survival of polar bears.
Officials react to news that the U.S. president wants to purchase the world’s largest island.
ByEve Conant
Published August 16, 2019
Greenland, the ice-covered semi-autonomous Danish territory straddling the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, is not for sale. That, at least, is the message recently clarified in a tweet by Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one that served the double purpose of describing the natural riches of the world's largest island.
“#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism,” begins the Ministry tweet.
The message is in response to news reports Thursday that President Donald Trump has been floating the idea of purchasing the 800,000-square-mile island during meetings and with aides. It wouldn’t be the first spark of interest: U.S. officials reportedly attempted to purchase the island in 1946 shortly after World War II and just as the Cold War with the U.S.S.R. was beginning.
Strategically located in what is becoming a hotly-contested Arctic, Greenland is nonetheless not on the auction block. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweet concluded with multiple emojis depicting a snowflake, an ice-covered mountain, a water-blowing whale, a lobster, the red and white flag of Greenland, and a clear message:
More than 200 years after Bonaparte’s death, history—and a new movie—fuel debate about his legacy, France’s colonial past, and the leader’s ties to Haiti.