I have not left out an important point. We are overdue for an ice age. The CO2 we are producing has so far prevented it, but we will be out of CO2-producing fossil fuels in a couple of hundred years. Since it's far more than likely that we are at peak oil, the amount of CO2 being produced by burning oil will start down. Of course tar sands and coal will be exploited extensively, and between them they produce far more CO2 than oil or natural gas. But knowing of the short term greed and stupidity of the human race, we will exploit them extensively. I believe there will be a great die-back in the next 50 years. We should be developing alternative energy much more rapidly to alleviate the damage from running out of cheap oil. But humans have a nasty habit of turning every available resource into more human flesh, either their own or their childrens.

But Gaia will survive quite nicely, and if the human race is lucky a fair number of us will too. Since we exploited all the easily available natural resources, we will need high technology so that our near-term descendants don't have to wear lice-ridden furs and hunt big game to survive.

As far as those of you who want to rely on federal agencies to protect us, just look at what Bush has done to our existing ones. The FDA is a joke. We need the agencies, but we also need lots of good tort lawyers to keep the bastards reasonably honest. There will shortly be some very interesting lawsuits.

The global warming issue is bullshit because (1) it is self-limiting because the fossil fuel will run out before it is "catastrophic", and (2) so far our excessive use of fossil fuel has temporarily prevented the inevitable ice age.

It is also bullshit because environmentalists use the phrase "destroying the earth" instead of describing the problem as destroying what some of us might like about the present conditions on earth.

Personally, I believe that reducing the use of fossil fuel is good. I use about 5 gallons of gas a year to get my sailboat in and out of the marina. However, the sailing area is inundated with jet-skis, and water skiers being towed by boats burning 10-20 gallons per hour. The most evil people in the US own two or more houses, power boats, and travel on jet planes a lot. They don't give a damn about Gaia, or you, or me. Marx and Engels had a lot to say bout them, as well as Thorsten Veblen. China is now full of them, too.

Well, we had a water-cooled sphere with a powerful heat source near the center. The sphere was a foot in diameter with water-cooled walls. Gas entered at one end and left at the other end. Couldn't model it for shit. Things might be better now five or so years later, but I doubt it. If the basic cell of your model is a kilometer on a side, you might be missing some critical detail on the order 10 or 20 meters in size. What size cell is required to get the needed detail? I believe that the hurricane modelers are using cells around a km. What if we had to go to cells a meter in size? The computer power would have to go up by a factor of a billion. What if the chaos guys are right and stuff at a mm is critical?

Do any real mathematicians read Salon?

Didn't say it was blind. Just that we may not have anywhere near the computing power that we need. As Al Korzybski was fond of saying, "The map is not the territory".

But many a battle has been lost because the commanders relied on incorrect maps. The most recent National Geographic has a major article on New Orleans. They are spending billions based on some very shaky assumptions.

I live 5000 feet above sea level, far from a coast, but we are near the Yellowstone potential super-volcano. The models (history) say that it could go off anytime, but we will continue to live here. So will most denizens of the coast, unless the insurance premiums, which are also based on models, force them out.

The Texas oil oligarchs are running out of reserves. Iraq has huge reserves, that are relatively untouched compared to most other oilfields. Huge profits can be made, because the worlds production capacity is at its peak, and demand is rising. Prices are going to go through the roof, and the profit for those who control the oilfields.

By 2010 crude will be at $200 a barrel, or more, and gas in the US will be $7 a gallon. BTW, that is why the oil companies are not going to build any more refineries, not the bullshit about ethanol.

SUV drivers, get ready to enjoy your mini-cars, while Bush's buddies hurry to the bank to deposit their trillions, minus the few bucks it takes to buy Presidents and Congress.