Feedback loops from global warming?

Austin asked the same question a day or so ago, check his answers.

So, instead, in case you don't understand what they are, I'll explain what a positive or negative feedback loop is.

A positive feedback loop is one that pushes a change in the direction it was already going. If it's warming, a positive feedback loop will make it even warmer. If it's cooling, a positive feedback loop will make it even cooler.

A negative feedback loop is one that works against the direction of a change. It will tend to slow down (or even stop) either cooling or warming.

So, basically, if more A causes more B, and more B causes more A, or more A causes less B, and more B causes less A, you have a positive feedback (an increase in A will make B cause more of an increase in A)

If more A causes more B, and more B causes less A, or more A causes less B, and more B causes more A, you have a negative feedback loop (an increase in A will make B cause a decrease in A).

In either case, there is generally diminishing returns. The change in A because of B is less than the initial change in A. This is why negative feedback loops usually slow rather than reverse warming, and why positive feedback loops don't, individually, lead to runaway warming (though you can end up with a cascade effect, if one feedback triggers another)