[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

Actually, the systems that contribute to the glacial-interglacial change (temperature and CO2) are known; quantification of their total effect is still being worked on. But since in the glacial-interglacial period atmospheric CO2 has been between a minima of ~180 ppm and a maxima of ~280 ppm, there are negative feedbacks that restrain the entire range (and also therefore keep temperature in defined range -- speaking only about the natural system here).

There is an analytical method in system engineering called "sensitivity analysis". It's essentially an analysis of the "strength" of the coupling between any two parameters. It utilizes a scale of 0 (no coupling) to 1 (100%) coupling.

Until science can quantify the sensitivities of temperatures to both natural causes and "unnatural" causes we are just spinning our wheels..

[palmer]

There is an analytical method in system engineering called "sensitivity analysis". It's essentially an analysis of the "strength" of the coupling between any two parameters. It utilizes a scale of 0 (no coupling) to 1 (100%) coupling.

That's physically impossible with CO2 and climate because the relationship is highly nonlinear and can only be (semiaccurately) modeled over a small range (current conditions measured by satellites with a small delta) with lousy results outside that range.