[Renfield]

There was a sudden resurgence of cold conditions about 13,000 years ago. Geologists refer to this period as the “Younger Dryas”. Some people have theorized that a glacial ice dam, holding back glacial Lake Agassiz, burst, and an enormous quantity of cold fresh water was released into the North Atlantic, via Hudson’s Bay, thus radically changing the ocean currents and plunging the earth back into an ice age.

[uglybiker]

Okay. I must have my Ice Age lakes mixed up. I thought lake Agassiz flooded the Columbia River basin into the Pacific.

Which one was that?

[wolfcreek]

Fortunately, we don't have any dammed up glacial lakes this time around

[TigersEye]

It sounds like you're saying that this occurred after a warming trend had already begun. IOWs this was a temporary fluctuation back to cold conditions in an otherwise warming climate.

It seems to me that distinctions are being blurred between the long deep cold climatic conditions that last from 60-120k years and cyclic dips in conditions during the intermediate warm periods that last from approx. 15-30k years. The former used to be called Ice Ages now every period of lower temps in the warm intermediate periods is also called and Ice Age. And then some say it's all an Ice Age as long as some ice remains on the polar caps. The term is being rendered meaningless.

[Robert A Cook PE]

True, though many cause-and-effects fell into play then that are NOT relevent now.

For example, there is NO miles-thick ice layer covering areas of North America that could melt. (Last time I was up there, North Dakota was very much NOT ice-covered. I understand small parts of Canada are ice free - for small parts of the year at least.

The article is stressing the “potential” for the massive climate changes (the “tipping points” that Hansen WANTS to be accepted as fact) that the AGW extremists are trying to palm off on a gullible public.