re: More info on Antartica, These articles are a bit more recent than Tom's 31 year articles...
"If your house is warm, and you throw on more blankets, then you wouldn’t notice much change."
Hmm - I get your point regarding Antarctica, but personally, if my house is warm and I throw on more blankets, I end up sweating like crazy and having a very restless night.
Re: solar shades over Houston. Interesting idea, but what size would such a shade have to be, and what kind of orbit would be needed to keep it between the sun and Houston?