A different viewpoint on global warming

The generally ignored island of Greenland has been getting a bit more attention of late. The disappearance of the Greenland Norse around the year 1420 makes up the heart of Jared Diamond's best-seller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. No one is exactly sure how they died out, but global cooling, specifically The Little Ice Age, definitely played a part. When the Vikings settled Greenland shortly before the end of the first millenium, Greenland's climate was as warm at it is now--maybe warmer.

The video is produced by the Heartland Institute, and interviews scientists who believe that yes, the planet is warming up, but they discount the dominant belief that man-made activities--releasing global warming gasses into the atmosphere, is responsible. They point to natural solar cycles, the Little Ice Age was one result, and the current warming trend, which began in 1850, is another.

Diamond, who is not mentioned in the video, is a believer in man-made global warming.

However, because Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe compared human-caused climate change skeptics to holocaust deniers, it's only fair this video gets to present another interpretation.

Technorati tags: weather climate change environment global warming Greenland Kalaallit Nunaat books Jared Diamond Norse norrøn