Hi Joe, Chuck, Brian,

<Interesting notions. Some sage observed that if you can't express a concept
in numbers you can't know all there is to know about it.>

Right! I think it was Newton or at least someone in his life time span and
Issac gets the credit.

It would be fun to create or see the Global Warming equation. I don't even
think it has that many elements in it for a first order approximation.

<The bill eventually comes due and someone must ultimately pay. Sort of like
the deficit spending that we see in government. The problem gets passed
forward in time apparently in the hope that something magical (or maybe the
presumption of something totally devastating) will happen that causes the
ctrl-alt-del key sequence to be hit for a reboot.>

deficit spending I understand; although the Japaneese Central Bank having
0% for a long time was a bit confusing. 3.5% long term GDP growth is one
objective of USA monetary policy. The Chineese are in for a tumble someday
since they are expanding too fast.

The Global Warming Bill will be paid, yet most will not know it is being
paid. It is just Too dam difficult for most humans to understand this stuff
and the politicans get to have fun, and win votes, in the turmoil process.

<Nature cannot loose the game, no matter what the outcome. A planet  with
life or without, nature will persist.>

Like Brian, I am hopeful on that point. As we get closer to, or beyond the
point in the equation that we need to take real action stuff will get done
even by the politicans. Most of life has an operating temperature point
with some organisms or plants being able to accomodate extremely wide
ranges. Yet not all can accomodate wide ranges, or environments.

As a political case in point is my own good old ugly running for president
GOP "give them death" boy called Mitt the Romney, Governator, Celebrity of
Mass. With a recent Big Dig ceiling collapse that could embarrass him, or
that he can use to furthur his career, he all of a sudden knows about
epoxy, bolts, cleaning of holes etc. The same thing will happen as Global
Warming comes to a REAL, not an Al Gore, important point.

Yet as the population expands, and industrialization expands with it we are
in for a ride with an expanding numerator, and a diminishing demoninator.
Even the Amazon Rain Forest is getting burned. Back when you and I were
kids 2.5 Billion people were in the world and only about 200M in the USA,
and China was striving for an agrarian culture.

Yours in Engineering, Dave
YiEngr, MA/NY DDave