Johnson: Greenland Got Its Name From Being Green

The New York Times reports:

On several occasions, he declared that climate change was not man-made but instead caused by “sun spots” and said excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere “helps the trees grow.” He also offered a false history of Greenland to dismiss the effects of global warming.

“You know, there’s a reason Greenland was called Greenland,” Mr. Johnson told WKOW-TV in Madison back then. “It was actually green at one point in time. And it’s been, you know, since, it’s a whole lot whiter now so we’ve experienced climate change throughout geologic time.”

In the interview on Thursday, Mr. Johnson was still misinformed about the etymology of Greenland, which got its name from the explorer Erik the Red’s attempt to lure settlers to the ice-covered island.

Ron Johnson once insisted there was a “secret society” in the FBI. He said the January 6th terrorists were Antifas—before he said they were peaceful Trump supporters who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He spread Russian disinformation about Biden’s son. He has thoughts on Greenland too. https://t.co/YRzEAvnjLe

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) March 22, 2021

Yes. @SenRonJohnson told reporters that it was called Greenland because it was once green.#wirighthttps://t.co/E2JHwagOXt

— Randy Bryce (@IronStache) March 22, 2021