In Greenland, Melting Ice Caps May Actually Be a Good Thing

Greenland Goes Green (2007): How the melting of Arctic ice is spurring an agricultural resurgence in Greenland (but reindeer herding is now more complicated than before the melt)

Greenland’s ice caps are melting faster than predicted — and local farmers couldn’t be happier. Thanks to rising temperatures, they can now grow new crops and raise cattle.

“I really like my cattle. They’ve very gentle”, boasts farmer Sofus Frederiksen. For the first time since the Vikings, farmers can now raise cattle. Warmer seas are bringing huge catches of cod and growing seasons are up to a month longer. “A little bit of extra warmth is good for us”, states agricultural consultant Kenneth Hoegh. “We’re growing things we would have hesitated to grow in the past”. But not all farmers are happy. With so little snow, Stefan Magnusson finds it hard to herd his reindeer. Previously, he used a snowmobile but now he has to do it by helicopter.

NASA Launches Mission to Measure Changes in Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic Melt

Arctic Passage Opens Challenges for U.S. Military