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On top of this, Greenland’s resource wealth is immense.
除此之外，格陵蘭島的資源財富是巨大的。
It has known reserves of 43 of the 50 minerals deemed “critical” by America’s government, including probably the largest
deposits of rare earths outside China.
它擁有被美國政府評為50種“關鍵”礦物中的43種的已知儲量，其中包括可能是除中國以外最大的稀土礦藏。
These are crucial to military kit and green-energy equipment.
這些礦物對于軍事裝備和綠色能源設備至關重要。
Wells off Greenland’s coast could yield 52bn barrels of oil, about 3% of the world’s proven reserves, according to an estimate
in 2008 by the US Geological Survey.
據美國地質調查局2008年的一項估計，格陵蘭島海岸附近的油井可能產出520億桶石油，約占全球已探明儲量
的3%。
Greenland’s resources have gone relatively unexploited owing to the difficulty of operating in the territory’s harsh, remote areas.
格陵蘭島的資源相對未得到開發，因為在該島的艱苦、偏遠地區進行作業存在困難。
Four-fifths of the island is covered by ice.
格陵蘭島的五分之四被冰雪覆蓋。
There are not even roads linking settlements.
定居點之間甚至沒有道路連接。
And the government banned oil exploration in 2021.
并且政府在2021年禁止了石油勘探。
But as the climate warms, the minerals become both more accessible and more valuable.
但是隨著氣候變暖，這些礦物變得更容易獲取，也更有價值。
Already, perhaps the greatest resource rush ever seen, on a per-person basis, is under way.
或許有史以來規模最大的（就人均而言）資源搶奪已經開始了。
Firms are drilling at around 170 sites, up from 12 a decade ago.
各大公司正在大約170個地點進行鉆探，而十年前只有12個鉆探點。
From whom could the island be bought?
這座島嶼可以從誰那里買到？
In 2009 Denmark all but granted Greenland the right to declare independence should its people choose such an option in a
referendum.
2009年，丹麥幾乎準允了格陵蘭島宣布獨立的權利，只要居民在全民公投中選擇獨立。
The island’s nationalist government would very much like to exercise this right.
該島的民族主義政府非常希望行使這一權利。
At the same time Denmark granted the territory control of its own natural resources (though as its revenues go up, its block
grant from Denmark goes down).
同時，丹麥準允格陵蘭島自行控制島上的自然資源（盡管隨著島的收入增加，丹麥給予的整筆撥款會減少）
。
Any purchase, therefore, should not be from Denmark, which really would be colonialist, but from the islanders themselves.
因此，任何購買都不應該是從丹麥手中購買（這樣是殖民主義的），而應是從島民手中購買。
If America offered merely our crude valuation of the flow of future taxes, it would amount to nearly $1m per inhabitant.
如果美國的報價僅僅是我們前文對未來稅收的粗略估值（注：即500億美元），那么就相當于給每個居民近
100萬美元。
Given the territory’s riches and importance, America could probably make every Greenlander a multimillionaire and still benefit
enormously from the purchase.
鑒于該島的豐富資源和重要性，美國或許可以讓每個格陵蘭人都成為千萬富翁，但仍然可以從購買中獲得巨
大利益。
Romantics and nationalists would doubtless call such an arrangement grubby.
浪漫主義者和民族主義者無疑會稱這樣的安排是卑鄙的。
Couldn’t the island go it alone?
這座島嶼難道不能獨自發展嗎？
After all, the 380,000 citizens of Iceland manage well enough.
畢竟冰島的38萬公民就把自己管理得挺好。
Greenland could host more American military bases at the same time as exploiting its natural resources on its own terms.
格陵蘭島可以在根據自己的主張開發島上自然資源的同時，容納更多的美國軍事基地。
Why abandon your identity and subject yourself to political control from Washington?
為什么要放棄自己的身份，讓自己受到來自華盛頓的政治控制？
But natural-resource bonanzas bring risks, too.
但是自然資源帶來的繁榮也有風險。
One is corruption that prevents the benefits from being divided fairly.
一個風險是腐敗，會阻止利益的公平分配。
It is unclear whether 56,000 people can govern effectively in the presence of an immense windfall: imagine an English town
council being given Saudi Arabia’s oilfields.
5.6萬人在巨額的飛來橫財面前能否有效治理都是不清楚的：想象一下某個英國城鎮議會得到了沙特阿拉伯的
油田。
Extracting minerals means mass immigrant labour.
開采礦產意味著需要大量的移民勞動力。
National security is no longer just about the risk of invasion but also forestalling hybrid warfare, from sabotage to propaganda
on TikTok.
國家安全不再僅僅是關于被入侵的風險，還包括預防各種類型的戰爭，從蓄意破壞到TikTok上的宣傳。
Selling to America up front would bring the full might of America’s administrative and security apparatus to the territory, while
guaranteeing—if your columnist’s advice was followed—an equal distribution of the windfall.
直接賣給美國會把美國的行政管理和安全機構的強大力量帶到格陵蘭，同時保證飛來橫財的平等分配（如果
聽從筆者建議的話）。
Respecting Greenland’s right to self-determination means respecting its citizens’ right to consider such an offer, which could be
put to a referendum.
尊重格陵蘭的自決權意味著尊重其公民考慮這一交易的權利，最后可能在全民公投中決定。
For the choice to be free, Mr Trump would have to retract his threat of force.
為了讓選擇是自由做出的，特朗普將必須收回他的武力威脅。
He should do so—and then try putting some red meat in front of the polar bear.
他應該這么做，然后再試著在北極熊面前放一些紅肉。（注：比喻給格陵蘭人提供一些利益誘惑。）
