Nail on the head, GW. The thing about the current situation - i.e. rapid, man made release of CO2 stored over geological time scales - is that it is unique and we are in uncharted territory. We can talk about natural cycles all we want - but all bets are off because of the scale and uniqueness our intervention. Personally, I don't believe that the current efforts being made along the lines of reducing our input to the Carbon Cycle from fossil fuels will even scratch the surface. I think this input will only start to decrease when these fossil fuels begin to run out and so become too expensive cf alternative energy sources. Just when this will occur (and it certainly won't be over the next 10-20 years, methinks - anyone have a timescale on this?) may determine - more than all our debates and scientific research - whether we head down the road of the disaster of runaway warming or 'just' a major problem for humanity and small scale extinctions.. Sad to think that economics and human nature may be the determinants of our long term future, rather than science or informed debate!
