myth buster
2009-11-28 13:14:27

There’s another absurdity here that I’d like to point out- the entire concept of a positive feedback loop in the climate writ large is patently absurd. As L’Chatlier pointed out, complex systems tend toward equilibrium and disturbances to that equilibrium are met with forces that act to restore the equilibrium. The alternative is a system that is completely unstable and will destroy itself given the slightest disturbance, which will amplify with time uncontrollably. Now, there are systems such a nuclear reactors wherein the natural restoring forces can be overwhelmed given a large enough disturbance along with a disabling of the engineered safety mechanisms, but for the atmosphere of the planet, man has no capability of introducing such a perturbation, with the possible exception of a global thermonuclear war.