Greenland: land of ice goes green as warming turns the cabbages into kings

The Times ^ | 9/20/2008 | Martin Fletcher

[LukeL]

women and children hit hardest

[SideoutFred]

Greenland of course was once....drum roll....green. Of course back then when it was green it wasn’t because of my SUV or some other absurd cause. Instead it was cyclical. Imagine that.

[Lusis]

...and minorities! It’s all Bush’s fault!

[eclecticEel]

Maybe Greenland will have forests again, as it did when first discovered.

[norge]

It happened at least once before. I could happen again.

Those people bemoaning the loss of ice in Greenland need to research why it was called Greenland in the first place. And what happened to those who thought climate couldn’t change.

[LukeL]

It could have been from woolly mammoth gas

[aquila48]

““We live on the margins of where things grow, and an extra one or two degrees can make all the difference,” says Kenneth Hoegh, Greenland’s chief agricultural adviser. Within ten years Greenland could be self-sufficient in vegetables, according to Jonstein Gard, of the Upernaviarsuk”

Sounds like a disaster to me.

[FormerACLUmember]

Greenland was warm enough for agriculture from 1000 to 1400, sustaining Viking farms.

[Eska]

I live 100 miles from Arctic Circle. Every 3rd year we lose most everything to frost in July, but brocc, carotts, cabbage do well. Wife put up over 90 gallon bags of brocc this summer. I have raised beds, under plastic for some things. My sweet taters & Yellow beans didn't make it. Sweet taters due to long light hours & too cool and too much rain for beans.

Pretty tough to make money on veggies; but the cool nights with 24 hr sun sure makes everything taste sweet. I just miss the corn on the cob.

[Gamecock]

Jerry describing Elaine: Well, she’s fascinated with Greenland. She enjoys teasing animals, banlon, and seeing people running for their lives. She loves throwing garbage out the window, yet she’s extremely dainty.

[Issaquahking]

Don’t know about Eagle, but Anchorage had a rotten summer.

[lewislynn]

rows of cabbages, cauliflowers and – appropriately – iceberg lettuces.

Ice berg lettuce got its name from the lettuce shipped from Salinas California (lettuce capitol of the world) to points east was packed in boxcars with ice to keep it fresh. When the lettuce arrived at the destination there was still ice in the boxcars...hence the name "ice berg lettuce"

[Mike Darancette]

Soon they will be welcoming immigrants to pick their crops.

I would be way more impressed if they now grew wheat as they did 700 years ago.

Southern Greenland is at about the same latitude as the Matanuska Valley in AK where some of the largest veggies in the world have been grown for years due to the long Summer days.

[Mogollon]

What climate change??? The temperature of the earth leveled off and decreased since 1998.

[dalereed]

“Of course back then when it was green it wasn’t because of my SUV or some other absurd cause.”

Viking farts!!!!

[aquila48]

Do you live in Greenland?

[familyop]

That’s great! I hope that it gets warm enough for beach resorts to do well there, year-’round.

[CedarDave]

What climate change??? The temperature of the earth leveled off and decreased since 1998.

Will they be surprised as the earth begins to cool again.

[coconutt2000]

Will they be surprised as the earth begins to cool again.

OMG!!! GLOBAL COOLING! THE WORLD IS ENDING! VOTE FOR OBAMA! HE'LL SAVE US!

/snicker :-)