Greenland, Green Policies, & A Green Light For Oil
January 9, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about Greenland (again), banks giving up on green policies, Lebanon’s elections, a ceasefire (maybe), Alaska suing for more oil drilling, Trump’s hush money sentencing, and lead levels in Rome.
Here’s some good news: Thailand has banned plastic waste imports in an attempt to lessen the impacts of the hazardous waste. Also, the New Orleans Saints and the NFL have pledged to donate $1 million to the victims of the Bourbon Street terror attack on New Year’s Day.
“Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.” – Victor Hugo
A Red Light For The Greenland Plan

At first, we’ll admit we found Donald Trump’s strange desire to make Greenland part of the U.S. at least a little bit funny. Now, though, European countries seem to be freaking out about the idea, which is making us freak out a little bit as well.
European leaders spoke out against the plan yesterday, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reminding Trump that “the principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country… no matter whether it’s a very small one or a very powerful one,” while France’s foreign minister added, “there is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders.” Even Greenland’s own prime minister, who is pushing for the territory’s independence from Denmark, took a concerned visit to the Danish capital of Copenhagen yesterday after Trump’s statements.
Meanwhile, Europeans are also scrambling to deal with another threat – Elon Musk. Yesterday, members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to crack down on Musk’s interference in European elections as the Twitter/X owner continues to use his social media site to platform far-right European leaders. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also joined in on the conversation, criticizing “the richest man on the planet” (without naming Musk) for actively helping the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s election campaign, describing the group as the “inheritors of Nazism.”
Wait, I Thought These Guys Were Supposed To Like Green!
In case you forgot, big banks don’t care about you. Or America. Or the environment, apparently. Yesterday, JP Morgan withdrew from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the global banking industry’s pact to target net-zero carbon emissions. With JP Morgan’s departure from the alliance, all six of the biggest banks in America – JP Morgan itself, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs – have given up on reducing their emissions.
Why? Apparently, the financial institutions are scared that the incoming Trump administration will penalize them for participating in such a “woke” climate agreement. The president-elect has already promised to push for fossil fuels during his term, and Republicans currently in power have also proven all too happy to attack financial institutions looking to protect the climate. For example, a group of states sued asset managers including BlackRock and Vanguard for implementing pro-climate policies for acting as “a cartel” of companies trying to “impose radical ESG-goals” on smaller American businesses. Does it make sense for the banks to be scared? Probably, but it also seems like a bad investment to completely fold on the issue of climate change.
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13th Time’s The Charm… Right?

- Lebanon’s deeply divided parliament is set to (try to) elect a new president today. So far, Lebanese lawmakers have failed to actually pick a new leader 12 times since October 2022, when previous president Michel Aoun stepped down. Now, though, Western powers hope that the fall of Hezbollah and the estimated $8.5 billion repair bill from Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon will put pressure on lawmakers to come to a consensus.
- The main candidate for the presidency is Joseph Aoun (no relation to the previous president), who has been propped up by the U.S. as the head of Lebanon’s military. His track record includes attending the Lebanese American University, receiving multiple courses of military training in the U.S., and… failing to do anything about Hezbollah’s grip on the country in his seven years as the head of Lebanon’s armed forces.
- “This election is about Lebanon basically reaching a necessary milestone in its much-needed recovery,” said one analyst from a British think tank. “However, the reality is that Lebanon’s various political stakeholders are nowhere near reaching the consensus needed to agree on who will be the next president — even in this very critical period… The stakes are higher than ever.”
Another Day, Another Deal (Not Really)
- This is probably the fifth time we’ve published this news over the past year, but we just can’t stop! We’re addicted! Yesterday, Biden aides told the press that they might be close to a deal to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, but this time, they’re a bit less confident. “It’s possible that we get there,” said one senior Biden administration official, “But it’s not on the verge. Hamas has to reach a political decision that they want to do this and that it’s now or never.”
- Meanwhile, the Trump admin is also having fun in the media. Yesterday, the president-elect promised that “all hell will break out” and things will “not be good for Hamas” if the organization isn’t able to come to a ceasefire deal – including the release of hostages – with Israel.
More Mixed Nuts
- First international commercial flight since Assad’s ouster lands in Syria (NPR)
- Italian journalist Cecilia Sala returns home, freed from Iranian jail (BBC)
- Russian shelling kills 13 in Zaporizhzhia (BBC)
- French interior minister condemns celebrations over Jean-Marie Le Pen’s death (Politico)
- Awards success of cartel boss musical Emilia Pérez prompts outrage in Mexico (Guardian)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- Bodies of Israeli father and son hostages found in Gaza (NBC)
- Gaza Cola launched by Palestinian activist to rebuild destroyed hospital (Guardian)
- Israeli strikes kills 19 in southern Gaza, health officials say (BBC)
Please Let Us Drill, Baby, Drill
- Alaska has sued the Biden administration over its decision last month to add restrictions to an offer of oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), claiming it will severely limit future oil exploration and drilling. The White House hoped to protect the 19.6 million acres for species such as polar bears and caribou.
- Environmentalists have long fought to protect the Arctic, while Alaska is eager for the cash that oil exploration brings. “Interior’s continued and irrational opposition under the Biden administration to responsible energy development in the Arctic continues America on a path of energy dependence instead of utilizing the vast resources we have available,” Alaskan Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement.
You Say “Guilty,” I Say “Minor Inconvenience,” Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off
- President-elect Trump is set to be sentenced tomorrow in the hush money case against him, but he’s asked the Supreme Court to step in. New York courts refused to postpone the sentencing earlier this week. The presiding judge has already indicated he will not impose jail time, fines, or probation.
- Trump’s lawyers, however, argued that sentencing should be delayed as he appeals the conviction to “prevent grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government.” Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May.
More Nuts In America
- California police launch stings and arrests under new tough-on-crime measure (Guardian)
- Palisades and Eaton wildfires burn out of control across Los Angeles area (AP)
- Biden casts doubt on his fitness to serve another four years days before term ends (AP)
- LA’s wildfires sparked by rare collision of climate factors (Axios)
- Justice Department says it plans to release only part of special counsel’s Trump report for now (AP)
Lead Led To A Dead Empire
- New research has found that lead pollution in ancient Rome was such a big problem that it probably dropped the average person’s IQ by 2.5 to 3 points. The researchers linked ice samples from Greenland to ancient Roman silver smelters, and, using studies about lead exposure in modern society, were able to determine how much lead most likely ended up in Romans’ bloodstreams.
- The researchers analyzed three ice cores and found that lead concentrations rose and fell, corresponding to key events in Rome’s economic history. The average lead exposure was about one-third of what it was in the United States in the late 1970s, but the levels were roughly twice what American children are exposed to today.
- Joe McConnell, a lead author of the paper, noted that “Roman-era lead pollution is the earliest unambiguous example of human impacts on the environment.” Dr. Bruce Lanphear, a lead expert who was not involved in the study, said, “I’m quite convinced lead was one of the factors that contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire, but it was only one factor.”
More Loose Nuts
- Man who exploded Cybertruck in Las Vegas used ChatGPT in planning, police say (NPR)
- Report: Raiders, other teams contact Bill Belichick (NBC)
- Microsoft rolls back its Bing Image Creator model after users complain of degraded quality (TechCrunch)
- Quantum computing stock bubble pops after Nvidia CEO warning (Axios)
- U.S. to roll out ‘Cyber Trust Mark’ label on secure devices starting this year (NBC)