Greenland??? i.e. land of green...lol, it's not called whiteland...
2007-07-31 06:50:03 · 15 answers · asked by Steelhead 5 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
People used to believe that Greenland was misnamed in order to entice settlers to move there, but recently historians have been examining the possibility that Greenland was actually an accurate description at the time due to the climate in North Atlantic being much warmer. The Vikings were not the only evidence that the climate was warmer then, this was also the time when vinyards thrived in England and the English were competing with the French in wine-making. The population of northern Europe also expanded from 40,000 to 60,000 during this period, known as the Medieval Climate Optimum. This warm period ended suddenly as the "Little Ice Age" set in, dropping the climate several degrees over 10 years. The Little Ice Age lasted until the mid 1800s and caused many catastrophes including the black plague, countless famines and the extinction of the Viking colonies in Greenland. Some scientists theorize that we could be due for another cold period similar to the Little Ice Age.
2007-07-31 13:11:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
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.
The full story is recounted in Erik The Red's biography - The Saga of Erik the Red. This can be downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17946 and there's further info about him on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_the_Red
* The discovery of Greenland is often attributed to Eric the Red but it had been sighted about a century earlier by a fellow Norseman Gunnbjörn Ulfsson and shortly after was first settled by another Norseman Snaebjörn Galti.
2007-07-31 07:30:53 · answer #2 · answered by Trevor 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is ironic. One has to keep a sense of humor to survive all the dreadful news. More irony: The ice in Greenland is melting at the rate of one cubic mile per week (actually, 57 cubic miles per year) this is twice the rate measured a few years ago.
See for yourself:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnboundedEducation/message/177
For the sake of Equal Time: Lake Superior is drying up and heating up. Perhaps you can visit Lake Superior and see for yourself. Expect more news from Lake Superior, the water depth decreases and the summer peak water temperature increases every year. There must be a site with the numbers. We shall be hearing a lot from Lake Superior from now on. It's close and impacts the national economy.
2007-07-31 07:11:46 · answer #3 · answered by baypointmike 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Not sure what your point is.
Greenland got its name as part of a scheme to get people to settle there.
A Nordic real estate scam.
The reason people talk about it is that the glaciers are melting at an astounding rate, and may change the pattern of ocean currents such that the east coast of North America and western Europe will go into an ice age (now listen the the cretins claim that that disproves global warming) due to the less even distribution of heat around the globe by the oceans. Assuming one does not believe the world is flat.
2007-07-31 06:59:02 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Yeah I agree the more Green that we can see the more we as humans can expand, in a way we should thank Global Warming because soon enough we will be able to move into habital places that were once unhabital. So it will help with this over pop. that we have, and we won't have to worry about blizzards anymore I figure its a win win situation :)
2007-07-31 16:57:43 · answer #5 · answered by william8_5 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. yet i discover it unhappy that a lot of human beings may well be so ignorant because of the fact theyre blinded with the aid of politics. international warming doesnt recommend there is not greater chilly climate. It skill on average, the temperature is increasing with warmer, dryer climate varieties. It additionally consequences habitats that stay in arctic areas. You wanna learn something particularly of sitting at abode being oblivious to the international? make a journey to Canada or Alaska and record some observations of Polar undergo habitats. Then come decrease back in 15-twenty years and do it lower back. possibly youll learn something. or in basic terms make a journey all the way down to New Orleans, i think of that they had a first rate sized hurricane down there not too some time past.....or are people who dont have faith international warming gonna forget approximately approximately that actuality? concept so. human beings think of that as quickly as somethings stated they might desire to confirm evidence in dramatic steps for it to be genuine. God forbid they might desire to do analyzing or analyzing on their very own. What surprises me the main is that people for the main area may well be so conscious of their atmosphere (searching, development companies, boating, snowboarding and so on) and yet,while it includes determining what their effect on the atmosphere is, they cant somewhat look to have faith they have any in any respect. properly its time some human beings awaken and see that they stay right here too and in basic terms cus they might think of theyre too good to do something undesirable to the atmosphere theyre incorrect. So, advance up, learn the info. I dont provide a sh!t if human beings exaggerated stats or not, its in basic terms yet another element to distract from the subject thats somewhat going on. you could take a seat interior gazing FOX information all you %, yet once you gotta step out into the actual international, there isnt an edit button to conceal up something human beings won't % you to confirm.
2016-10-13 05:52:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its also funny that when the alarmist talk Man made Global
Warming they use a set of graphs. And when we show the flaw in their analysis we are all the sudden denying just Global Warming. News flash glaciers are receding at there bases but thickening at their source. What up with that?
Danni
2007-07-31 11:57:52 · answer #7 · answered by Danni 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Don't look now, but Oil Company Shills have managed to slip a report through some peer reviewed journal that shows Greenland isn't melting any faster now than it was 100 years ago.
Shh....the AGW crowd are likely to get a little testy when they see this....
2007-07-31 06:55:34 · answer #8 · answered by jbtascam 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Good point, it was green when the vikings found it. And now it might be green again.
Greenland is making a comeback!!!
2007-07-31 10:07:08 · answer #9 · answered by mjmayer188 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, well of course like all of the Western hemisphere (and Australia), there were already people living there when it was "discovered".
2007-07-31 07:37:08 · answer #10 · answered by cosmo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋