I realize I just sort of left that post hanging, with the only conclusion being something on the order of "You maniacs! You blew it up!"

There are three general scenarios that come out of that last post.

The first, and most likely, is that we (as a planet) keep doing what we've been doing until things get even worse and we get much closer to irreversibility.

The second, and the one I hope happens, is that this scares enough people that there's a "cigarette phase shift" -- a rapid change in public discourse such that something that once just scientists and hippies cared about becomes a mainstream opinion.

The third, and the one that I fear, is that this becomes seen as a trigger to try out untested and potentially ridiculously risky geoengineering programs.

Now back to your regularly scheduled quiet grumbling.