With Nancy Pelosi declaring Greenland a global warming disaster, it brings to mind that the Vikings (or Norse) settled the region at least 600 years ago. Farming implements were found, suggesting the climate was quite warm back then.
If it was that warm in our recent history, why worry so much about today's warming trend?
2007-06-02 01:06:50 · 15 answers · asked by libertarian anarchist 4 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
That is a detail that is a thorn on their side. Most of the temperature reconstruction shows that it was warmer back then. Historical artifacts found show that there was a thriving community. For more details go to http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/greenland/
2007-06-02 03:34:29 · answer #1 · answered by eric c 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
"Scientists Agree the Earth is Warming. While ground-level temperature measurements suggest the earth has warmed between 0.3 and 0.6 degrees Celsius since 1850, global satellite data, the most reliable of all climate measurements, shows no evidence of warming during the past 18 years.
Even if earth's temperature has increased slightly, the increase is well within the natural range of known temperature variation over the last several thousand years. Indeed, the earth experienced greater warming between the 10th and 15th centuries -- a time when vineyards thrived in England and Vikings colonized Greenland and built settlements in Canada."
--JJ Dewey
2007-06-02 16:12:11 · answer #2 · answered by CosmicKiss 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it was warmer then. And it was really cold in the 1400s. And science still does not know why. That is why I do not take any of the predictions of future climate change very seriously. But I do take the rising CO2 levels shown in the source seriously. Those CO2 measurements are very straightforward to make and I consider them reliable. Extrapolating this trend a few hundred years into the future is quite alarming. But I am not worried about what will happen in the next 50 to 100 years at all.
2007-06-02 09:16:08 · answer #3 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Greenland was warmer back then.
Greenland was settled during a time called the medieval warming period.
The difference in temperature was just a few degrees from the to the mini ice age the froze Greenland.
We are currently warming up from the mini iceage but have not yet reached the tempratures that were seen during the midevil warming period.
2007-06-02 10:47:25 · answer #4 · answered by joseph s 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's sometimes assumed that the naming of the country Greenland derives from a time when it was a green land free of ice. In fact, the naming of the land was a piece of Viking propaganda designed to attract new settlers.
The Norwegian Eirik Raude, better known as 'Eric the Red' had been exiled from his native country because of his murderous ways, after taking up residence in Iceland he was again exiled for the same reasons. Setting sail in 982 he 'discovered' Greenland and after rounding the southern ice pack he landed and established a settlement. Three years later, when his period of exile had expired, he returned to Iceland in search of a population for his new settlement.
To entice people he told them of green lands and a warmer climate, he christened the new land Greenland because "people would be attracted to go there if it had a favourable name". The plan worked and Erik returned to Greenland with the intrepid emigrants.
Alas, they were to be disappointed, their new home failed to live up to Erik's promises and instead of a lush green land they found a barren wilderness of ice where crops could only be grown in two locations and at certain times of the year when the ice melted. They has become the victims of Viking propaganda.
Whilst it's true that there were indeed settlements and farming on Greenland it's also true that they were not successful and had to be abandonned.
For more information read Eric The Red's biography. It's available free and online from here - http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17946
2007-06-02 08:22:11 · answer #5 · answered by Trevor 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The Vikings farmed the exact same areas in Greenland people are farming there now. It wasn't any more green 600 years ago. In fact, most of Greenland's ice cap is over 200,000 years old!
2007-06-02 16:06:04 · answer #6 · answered by SomeGuy 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Forget what the guy above says, The fjords of the southern part of the island were lush and had a warmer climate at that time the reason they died out was probably because of famine brought on by the little ice age
2007-06-02 08:37:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
There is a VAST amount of information which supports your assumption.
You and others are invited to read and study this out for yourselves at:
http://www.freeread.com/archives/global-warming.php
Where you will in Part One you will find links to over 20 articles on Global Warming and in Part Two you will find 70 plus quotations from a variety of credible sources.
Regards,
2007-06-05 18:38:26 · answer #8 · answered by smithgiant 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I noticed that the people in Greenland didn't agree with Nancy's assessment. Perhaps she could stop jetting around the globe on taxpayers' money and do her "real" job.
2007-06-02 08:18:25 · answer #9 · answered by missingora 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They farmed small areas on the coast, with very little success. Much more about that here:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/12/13/22437/993
We've now exceeded the temperatures from the Medieval Warm Period. 10 studies, all peer reviewed. With references so you can find them in the library. The graph cuts off in 2004. If it went to 2006 it would be even more impressive:
http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:1000_Year_Temperature_Comparison_png
2007-06-02 11:15:56 · answer #10 · answered by Bob 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋