I’ve been thinking about trees recently: the coniferous zone is exactly that, but as snow and ice retreats, perhaps the greater area for birds to land and even nest will bring other types of seed and nutrients to the area, accelerating growth of conifers and perhaps other, broader-leafed species too? I have no idea what timescale this might work on, but life has a startling way of living wherever it can.

What will be the effect of other species eating this new source of food? Will they bring others with them, in their urine/excrement – i.e. bring the nutrients needed for more phytoplankton?

Assuming of course we don’t harvest it all, as we seem to have started doing with krill.

[any response more substantive than "probably not enough to counter AGW" appreciated!]

I’ve been thinking about trees recently: the coniferous zone is exactly that, but as snow and ice retreats, perhaps the greater area for birds to land and even nest will bring other types of seed and nutrients to the area, accelerating growth of conifers and perhaps other, broader-leafed species too? I have no idea what timescale this might work on, but life has a startling way of living wherever it can.

What will be the effect of other species eating this new source of food? Will they bring others with them, in their urine/excrement – i.e. bring the nutrients needed for more phytoplankton?

Assuming of course we don’t harvest it all, as we seem to have started doing with krill.

[any response more substantive than "probably not enough to counter AGW" appreciated!]

The question remains, though, what kind of timescale would that work on?

A new ice age would be brilliant, too. Not so good for humans.

And you know what? Let’s pretend for a moment, just a tiny moment, that global warming isn’t caused by humans. Some troll will certainly post that here.

Who gives a rat’s ass? Even if that were the case, I would want to live in a world that has softened its technology, designed waste out of our products, and the extremes of cancerous consumerism were checked by genuine stewardship.

The question remains, though, what kind of timescale would that work on?

A new ice age would be brilliant, too. Not so good for humans.

And you know what? Let’s pretend for a moment, just a tiny moment, that global warming isn’t caused by humans. Some troll will certainly post that here.

Who gives a rat’s ass? Even if that were the case, I would want to live in a world that has softened its technology, designed waste out of our products, and the extremes of cancerous consumerism were checked by genuine stewardship.

But as the article points out, the increased plankton isn’t likely to be capable of keeping up with the carbon. Also, too much plankton isn’t a great thing either.

The potential dangers in this situation outweigh the minimal benefit we’re witnessing. If seas get too cold from the melting ice, the gulf stream flow could be shut down. That would be a catastrophe. Also, the role of the ice cap is to provide a type of “air conditioning” for the warmer parts of the planet. When it’s gone, the lower regions will warm up significantly faster. This affects water levels, rainfall, hurricane systems, etc. The list is very long.

Nice job Ariel.

But as the article points out, the increased plankton isn’t likely to be capable of keeping up with the carbon. Also, too much plankton isn’t a great thing either.

The potential dangers in this situation outweigh the minimal benefit we’re witnessing. If seas get too cold from the melting ice, the gulf stream flow could be shut down. That would be a catastrophe. Also, the role of the ice cap is to provide a type of “air conditioning” for the warmer parts of the planet. When it’s gone, the lower regions will warm up significantly faster. This affects water levels, rainfall, hurricane systems, etc. The list is very long.

Nice job Ariel.

Here are 10 things everyone should know about the hockey stick graph .

http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/ten-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-global-warming-hockey-stick/

Here are 10 things everyone should know about the hockey stick graph .

http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/ten-things-everyone-should-know-about-the-global-warming-hockey-stick/