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02/04/2008: "Nature uses non-linear math, ticking time bombs ahead"

Global warming this century could trigger a runaway thaw of Greenland's ice sheet and other abrupt shifts such as a dieback of the Amazon rainforest, scientists said on Monday.

They urged governments to be more aware of "tipping points" in nature, tiny shifts that can bring big and almost always damaging changes such as a melt of Arctic summer sea ice or a collapse of the Indian monsoon.

[ How much nitroglycerin can you add to a cocktail before it explodes? Or in other terms, do you want to be the one to find out? Non-linear systems vary radically between very similar results, and when thresholds are reached, can become almost explosive. Humanity's tripping through dangerous territory, and white people need to own up to their fair share of the mess instead of blaming The Jew(tm). ]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080204/ts_nm/climate_tipping_dc