Editing Twelve leverage points (section)

=== 11. The size of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows ===
A [[wiktionary:Buffer|buffer]]'s ability to stabilize a system is important when the stock amount is much higher than the potential amount of inflows or outflows.  In the lake, the water is the buffer:  if there's a lot more of it than inflow/outflow, the system stays stable. {{quote|For example, the inhabitants are worried the lake fish might die as a consequence of hot water release directly in the lake without any previous cooling off. However, the water in the lake has a large [[heat capacity]], so it's a strong thermic buffer. Provided the release is done at low enough depth, under the [[thermocline]], and the lake volume is big enough, the buffering capacity of the water might prevent any extinction from excess temperature.}}

Buffers can improve a system, but they are often physical entities whose size is critical and can't be changed easily.