In article , Jim Thompson wrote:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:07:39 -0800, John Larkin
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 09:49:28 -0700, Mark Fergerson
wrote:


We simply cannot wield energies on natural scales.

Mr. Larkin thinks that washing his car will cause an ice age.

I think he's being just the least bit sarcastic.


No, I think that, if climate is a chaotic system, the tiniest
disturbance will propagate to complete changes of state.

It's interesting that the "climate change" crowd (formerly known as
the "global warming" crowd) now warn us of a "tipping point" where
added CO2 will trip a positive feedback mechanism and cause either
intense warming, or an ice age, I'm not sure which.

John


The name "climate change" came about when they suddenly realized they
didn't know **** ;-)

I still see "global warming" more than "climate change" as terms that
are used, despite the prospect of one effect being temporary cooling of
some polar areas that are currently warmed by ocean currents.

There is this negative feedback mechanism that is supposed to result
from icecap melting, where less-dense water from icecap meltoff (compared
to seawater) slows ocean currents that warm the polar areas. This means
that some polar areas receiving warmth from ocean currents get colder
rather than warmer when icecaps are getting melted.

Another thing: Some concern that this mechanism is oscillatory. If
this mechanism is not oscillatory, the most it can do is slow down icecap
melting. If it is oscillatory, there is some chance it can halt or
reverse icecap melting unless/until greenhouse gas emissions warm the
planet to the state it was in at a time 2-4 hundred million or so years
ago when much of the carbon that is now or was recently tied up in
fossil fuels was in atnospheric CO2 before much of the fossil fuels were
formed.

- Don Klipstein )