An interesting article about a scientifically sound study looking at the environment of Greenland prior to the current ice-age.

The major finding is that there was evidence of forests and insects 450,000 years ago. This overturns previous theories that postulate that Greenland was last ice-free 125,00 years ago. This was done using DNA sampling (which not only shows what species existed back then, but how divergent they are from current species, and hence how older they are) and other methods to guess the age of the ice.

The scientific validity of this study was shown by using a 'young' glacier ice sample as a control, showing the presence of modern-day flora underneath ice 1000 years old (which is relatively young). Second, they used multiple techniques to verify the age at 450,000 years ago. This means that during the last era between ice-ages, Greenland was still under ice. This may mean that the current warming period may not totally melt the glaciers in Greenland and cause catastrophic sea level increases. Maybe. It depends on how hot the Earth gets.