Will Greenland be the next emerging economy? On June 21, Denmark, which has ruled the island for three centuries, will grant the right of self-government to Greenland's 56,000 people, and policymakers in the tiny capital of Nuuk are making big plans. Since Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat to its mostly Inuit population) has an abundance of swift rivers, the potential for cheap hydroelectric power is huge. Alcoa is now looking into locating an aluminum smelter on the island. Computer storage companies may follow. "They can keep their server farms cool with cheap hydropower, and we have more broadband than we can use," says self-government director Mininnguac Kleist. Then there are the oil, gold, palladium, platinum, and zinc deposits. An unusual twist in all this: the impact of global warming. Melting ice is causing rivers to run even faster. And one lead and zinc mine is reopening as retreating ice makes it easier to reach.
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