Is it possible that global warming will just continue to escalate perpetually?

Question

When snow and ice, which are reflective, melt they reveal the dark ground, which absorbs heat, beneath which in turn melts more of the reflective ice.

Answer 1

That's not what happened last time.    

And so far it's not what's happening now.

Answer 2

Not likely.  Sooner or later something will happen to reverse it.

But it likely won't end for hundreds of years, until it does great damage to our society.  Unless we do something to reduce our production of greenhouse gases.

The answer below overlooks the fact that we're no longer nomads who can just pack our tents and move.  Yes, we'll survive.  But, if we do nothing, life will get very unpleasant.

Answer 3

yeah  i guess  so 'cause  i think   it is like  Parkinsons' disease .the effect can  be  slowed  down  but not stopped.if you  read up  about  Antarctica  you  will notice  that there  is a   hole  in  the ozone  layer  right above it,which was  caused due to  its  natural    

position . but  certainly  there is  a  tiny  chance  of  the  earth  being  saved  if  only  i  do  not  sit  here and  waste  more  electricity  answering

-even if it wee  for a  good  cause.

Answer 4

Not perpetually, no, but it's possible that this scenario could occur for hundreds of years.  What you're talking about is a feedback, and there are several of them.  Melting ice causing the Earth to become less reflective and more absorbant (decreased albedo), CO2 and methane released from melting permafrost, and oceans emitting more CO2 as they warm (because CO2 is less soluble in warmer water) are a few examples of these feedbacks.

Answer 5

yes it will unless everyone stops using cars, gas, electricity and other things that release green house gas. also it doesn't matter if the ice caps melt it wont even raise the water levels. all that will happen is that the penguins and polar bear will have to find somewhere else and adapt to the climate, food and overall conditions

Answer 6

No

Basically all that our carbon emissions are doing is returning the atmosphere to the state it was in during the Carboniferous Era when the coal and petroleum deposits were created.  And I'm sorry but I missed the part about the infinite temperatures at that time.

Beyond that, even if the ice caps melt, as they have dozens of times before, the temperature will not increase forever.  Cloud formation will increase the overall planetary albedo.

You need to be careful when some fanatic Chicken Little starts screaming "THE SKY IS BURNING! THE SKY IS BURNING!".  

Take a moment and consider what life has endured in the last 2 billion years- At least 3 snowball earths, massive global temperature rises, dozens of asteroid impacts, hundreds of supervolcanoes, ice ages, continental drift, etc.  And we are going to do worse than any of these simply by filling up at the local Exxon?  Sorry, doesn't fly.  Global Warming is happening.  It will have effects of society and the ecosystem, just as it has every time it has occurred.  This does not mean that an alarmist overreaction is called for in any way.

Answer 7

You sound like you already have the answer. Personally, I don't buy it. In fact, recently there have been studies that show that the opposite it actually happening.

Answer 8

No. You appear to be referring to a positive feedback loop. Which is what the AGW people believe will happen if CO2 continues to increase. There is not much in the historical record to back that up.