CounterPunch: The National Research Council of the National Academies (NRCNA) has pre-published (available to the public as of Dec. 2013), an extensive 200-pg study: Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change, Anticipating Surprises. The goal of the report is to prepare society to anticipate the otherwise unanticipated before it occurs, including abrupt changes to the ocean, atmosphere, ecosystems and high latitude regions. The NRCNA timescale for abrupt climate change is defined as years-to-decades. The history...