Why Trump wants climate change

You can make a killing in an apocalypse. Trump knows this.

Via DU, I learned about this astounding WSJ Report: Trump wants the United States to purchase Greenland.

In meetings, at dinners and in passing conversations, Mr. Trump has asked advisers whether the U.S. can acquire Greenland, listened with interest when they discuss its abundant resources and geopolitical importance, and, according to two of the people, has asked his White House counsel to look into the idea.

A DU reader directs our attention to this Russian article from 2009, which, if you can look past the bias, is verrrrrry interesting:

However, it is too early to speak about Greenland’s independence. Oil is the corner stone of the issue: there are billions of barrels of oil near the island’s coast. Permafrost used to be the major obstacle for the development of the oil industry in Greenland. However, ice continues to melt in the region because of the global warming phenomenon, which opens new horizons for world’s oil giants.

Who says there's no truth in Pravda? In 2009, Trump's Russian pals were quite willing to stipulate the existence of global warming. Putin has changed his tune since then, but only for propaganda purposes.

All of this should be seen in the context of various stories which seem to have gone straight down the memory hole. These stories have one bottom line: Russia and China see big money in climate change. Why China? Because they want to ship goods without going through any canals.

From the NYT, in 2012:

With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world’s superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position in outposts like this one, previously regarded as barren wastelands.

At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts. This year, China has become a far more aggressive player in this frigid field, experts say, provoking alarm among Western powers.

While the United States, Russia and several nations of the European Union have Arctic territory, China has none, and as a result, has been deploying its wealth and diplomatic clout to secure toeholds in the region.

Foreign Policy, last year:

Put simply, “the damn thing melted,” Navy Secretary Richard Spencer explained in recent testimony, referring to Arctic ice melt as the trigger for the new U.S. Navy Arctic Strategy that is to be released this summer. What the Navy planned as a 16-year road map is in need of updates after only four years, in part due to receding polar ice caps, which are “opening new trade routes, exposing new resources, and redrawing continental maps,” but also in part due to the rise of China as an “Arctic stakeholder” and increasing important player in the region.

Now go here:

Whereas US President Donald Trump questions the reality of climate change, Russia takes a more pragmatic approach. Because of rising temperatures, the Russian half of the Arctic Circle is becoming accessible to ships much more quickly than the US-Canadian side.

By betting on the diminishing ice sheet, Russia has taken several steps to get ahead of the game in terms of infrastructure and partners. It has commissioned a new generation of icebreakers capable of cutting through 7-foot-thick ice sheets, upgraded its Siberian ports, built a new $27-million facility on the Yamal Peninsula, invested in the biggest Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and built a railway from the LNG plant to Sabetta Port, which expands Arctic trade to Europe, China and South Korea.

The Arctic is a promising economic region for Russia, and the melting ice has many implications. First, it increases Russia’s access to international trade, which was limited previously by the lack of seaports. Remember, the Great Game was all about Russia’s quest for warm waters, which led to conflict with the British Empire. Second, Russia ensures its national stability by maintaining oil and gas production. With more accessible Arctic seaports, Russia might emerge as a more prosperous and cohesive state.

Now check out this article, headlined "Moscow’s response to climate change: Bring it on."

Recent reports in the Russian media, as well as public studies and documents published by government ministries and science services suggest Moscow – rather than embracing alternative energies or working to slash carbon emissions – is looking at ways to take global warming in stride, if not profit from it.

Nowhere is this strategy more apparent than in the Russian Arctic, where Moscow sees an economic boom on the horizon, ushered in by rising temperatures and melting ice

But Russia is embracing the warmth. President Vladimir Putin has long been on record both questioning that humans are responsible for climate change, and asserting that global warming is part of a natural cycle that would benefit the Russian economy.

He also once famously declared that climate change would mean Russians would save money on fur coat and boost the wheat harvest in Siberia. That statement, in 2016, sparked an investment boom in Russian farmland as Moscow’s financial class placed bets on thawing permafrost yielding arable land.

Russian industry is following the lead. Just before Christmas, the Yamal LNG project – a $27 billion natural gas effort above the Arctic Circle – reached full capacity, thanks in large part to speculation that warming temperatures will ease polar hydrocarbon shipments from the icy roof of the world.

Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy corporation, now has oversight of the Northern Sea Route – the 6,000 kilometer East-West Arctic sea corridor – which heralds a build-out of far northern ports and other key infrastructure on the backs of an expanding nuclear icebreaker fleet.

Incidentally, there are still some ninnies out there who hold Hillary Clinton personally responsible for Rosatom's ownership of an American uranium mine. (She didn't do it.) Newsflash: Rosatom still owns that mine -- even though the law allows Trump to force a divestment. Trump is the best friend Rosatom has in the west.

And last year Putin not so much hoped as ordered that cargo traffic being shipped through the Arctic increase to 80 million tons a year – a fourfold hike over currently levels – in a bid to turn the Northern Sea Route into a polar rival to the Suez Canal. International shippers have begun to test the waters. Last summer, Danish shipper Maersk, sent a container ship from Busan, Korea to St. Petersburg by way of the arctic.

Take a look at the map at the top of this post, which illustrates how global warming has already impacted the economies of various nations. The map comes from here. India, Africa and the Americas are being hit hard. Russia benefits. The map comes from here.

One recent study showed that even in the United States, economic disparities are projected to grow between warmer, relatively low-income regions in the south and cooler, relatively wealthy regions in the north. The specific drivers of the disparities identified in the study were agriculture, crime, coastal storms, energy use, human mortality and labor.

Bottom line: China wants to ship its products to Europe without going through the Suez canal. That's why Putin wants to open up an alternative Arctic route. That's one reason why climate change will aid both China and Russia.

The other reason, of course, is the fact that receding permafrost will expose vast energy resources.

And now you know why Trump doesn't want this country to look into solar, wind power, fuel cells, or even nuclear alternatives.

So why does Trump covet Greenland? I think he understands the new coming economic reality, and he wants his own piece of the prize -- a small piece, not enough to bother Putin. My mind immediately flashed on a scene from Superman II, in which Luthor offers to help Zod conquer Earth. What does Luthor hope to get out of it? "Australia!"

It's an almost-perfect metaphor: Putin is Zod, Trump is Luthor (including the permanent bad hair day), and Greenland is Australia. Unfortunately, we have no Superman.