Did you know that the Vikings grew barley and raised cattle in the now frozen lands of
Greenland? Neither did many of the students of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before National Field Director Greg Neff showed up on campus.
The head of CFACT’s collegians division went to the school with a fun ax throwing game to pull students in. Dozens took part and, after demonstrating their Viking skills, the young people were then provided an education about the Medieval Warm Period. This era, which ran from 850-1350 AD, saw a climate not all that different from today and in some areas even saw warmer weather.
These facts proved to provide a stark contrast to the information commonly spewed in their
classrooms and in the news. One student and Air Force veteran, Kevin, said he was “really
happy to see this message being spread.” He talked about how professors who aren’t in the
sciences regularly repeat inaccurate media headlines and don’t get enough pushback.