Greenlanders Gain Home-Rule

Time to check in now on the fine folks of Greenland. You might remember this post from last November about the Greenlanders voting for increased home-rule of their island - the world's largest that's not also considered a continent.

On Monday the new Greenlandic government took power and the territory took another big step towards independence from Denmark. Greenland's government will now control the island's police, courts and other domestic programs, with Denmark only keeping control over defense and foreign-policy issues. Greenlandic (also known as Kalaallisut) will replace Danish as the island's official language.

Despite the island's huge size, its population is tiny, numbering only about 57,000, with nearly a third of that number living in the capital city, (and maybe here 'city' is an overstatement) Nuuk. But, Greenland could have a bright future, thanks to global warming. The island is incredibly rich in natural resources - oil, natural gas, coal, diamonds, uranium and other rare minerals. But the fearsome cold and dense ice that covers most of the land has made getting at those natural resources if not impossible, then financially impractical - a situation which is likely to change as the Arctic ice continues to retreat.

But according to the BBC, Greenland's new government will be more focused on domestic issues - especially in reducing high rates of domestic violence and suicide - than they will be about trying to exploit their natural resources.