Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe • Hacker News Board

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#81

Post by mrec » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:05 PM UTC

AdamJacobMuller wrote: post #44

> French energy company EDF stated that it would shut down two nuclear reactors in an attempt to limit the amount of heating water used to keep the reactors cool at Golftech nuclear power plant. I don't see why that would be a necessary or even good thing? Surely they must have higher demand for power from AC loads with the heat, even if AC isn't quite as prevalent in the EU as the US.

I don't know about France, but domestic AC is almost unknown in the UK.

I wonder if "heating water" implies that coolant is being plumbed through buildings to heat them, which could be dangerous to the occupants of those buildings if they were already too hot. Or maybe France is suffering a drought at the moment.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#82

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

jandrese wrote: post #29

gilbetron wrote: post #10

Not only broke it, destroyed it: +2.2C (+4.0F). That's incredible, in a terrifying, "well, I guess this is going to happen" kind of way.

Terrifying in the "this is the new normal" sort of way.

[deleted]

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#83

Post by jbob2000 » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

kareeeem wrote: post #27

Climate change isn’t disputed by logic. It’s being disputed by the commercial entities that are protecting their $billion/$trillion industries who, otherwise, would have to face big losses. We all know the industries that are negatively impacting the environment. Their selfish stakeholders have managed to successfully create a reality distortion field of denial. This article, with lack of mentioning global warming, i…

The real problem is pension funds. And when you look at who's benefiting from the pension funds, you'll see another problem; People aren't dying and the pension funds are being asked to fund way more than they expected to. We have hoards of people who haven't worked in 40 years still getting paid out of a pension that expected to pay them for 20.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#84

Post by DuskStar » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

saalweachter wrote: post #39

kareeeem wrote: post #27

Climate change isn’t disputed by logic. It’s being disputed by the commercial entities that are protecting their $billion/$trillion industries who, otherwise, would have to face big losses. We all know the industries that are negatively impacting the environment. Their selfish stakeholders have managed to successfully create a reality distortion field of denial. This article, with lack of mentioning global warming, i…

It's disputed by the argument to consequences. "If climate change were happening, we would feel morally compelled to control our CO2 emissions; we don't want to control our CO2 emissions, therefore, climate change must not be happening."

"If climate change was happening and a massive problem, we would be morally obligated to advocate for the most effective methods of prevention - no matter their side effects. Nuclear, geoengineering, a carbon tax, making sure that Africa never industrializes - everything would be on the table. Since we don't like those solutions, climate change must not be that large of a problem."

They aren't as bad as the Republicans, but let's not try and pretend that the Democrats are particularly great either. If the Green New Deal is what they'd actually attempt to do, we're fucked.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#85

Post by laobagua » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #48

gilbetron wrote: post #10

Not only broke it, destroyed it: +2.2C (+4.0F). That's incredible, in a terrifying, "well, I guess this is going to happen" kind of way.

If every disaster contains opportunities, what are they here? The obvious thing would be investing in green technology, but what else? Are HVAC equipment producers about to see a big uptick in sales?

It's kind of ironic that when the Earth gets hot we turn on more devices that heat up the Earth (via CO2 emissions).

I don't have AC at home in the Bay Area -- when it gets hot I just go to a public air-conditioned space for the day.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#86

Post by post_break » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

floatrock wrote: post #54

mettamage wrote: post #35

Pro tip for people who do not have airconditioning in their houses: 1. Go to universities 2. Go to co-working spaces Go to any place to flee the heat. I'm at my university right now, and I'm not even noticing it's as hot as it is since the airconditioning is doing an amazing job here.

I know you're in triage mode helping the immediately-affected get safe, but given the climate change undercurrents of all this, a statement like > I'm not even noticing it's as hot as it is since the airconditioning is doing an amazing job here. ...just leaves a frustrating and poor taste. What's powering all that air conditioning? It's not free. Get safe now, but don't lose sight that it's all inter-related.

If your alternative is to just stay hot, it doesn't really help. Those places will be in AC whether this person goes there or not.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#87

Post by dmitriz » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:07 PM UTC

sangnoir wrote: post #64

criddell wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If every disaster contains opportunities, what are they here? The obvious thing would be investing in green technology, but what else? Are HVAC equipment producers about to see a big uptick in sales?

Vast swathes of land in Russia that have been frigid are becoming arable. Lots of formerly inland properties will become seafront all around the world - invest wisely!

To later become island front?

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#88

Post by stirfrykitty » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

ilikehurdles wrote: post #68

stirfrykitty wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good comment. I loathe Texas, but I'm here because of the wife and her family. I would prefer to live someplace where it's overcast 90% of the time, and where it rains at least twice a week. I also prefer snow on the ground for a couple of months. Here in the Houston area, the heat, humidity, insects, and sheer amounts of concrete all contribute to the lack of comfort. Moreover, there are too many people here all sho…

Maybe I'm biased, but take a look at Denver as a compromise? It doesn't fit all of your preferences (it's very sunny and the snow melts quickly), but it's also very low humidity, convenient to snowy towns in the mountains, and we've pretty much had at least a few minutes of rain every day for the last month or two. There are also a ton of ex-Texans here.

Appreciate the comments. My brother lived in Denver for a few years. It's not really my cup of tea when I visited. Too much sun, and too high in altitude. I could barely breathe when I was there and my nose bled every day for the first three days.

My preferences would be Vermont, Snoqualmie, WA, Bellingham, WA, or the AK peninsula. Me and the sun are not friends.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#89

Post by AlphaGeekZulu » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

AdamJacobMuller wrote: post #44

> French energy company EDF stated that it would shut down two nuclear reactors in an attempt to limit the amount of heating water used to keep the reactors cool at Golftech nuclear power plant. I don't see why that would be a necessary or even good thing? Surely they must have higher demand for power from AC loads with the heat, even if AC isn't quite as prevalent in the EU as the US.

The nuclear reactor of Grohnde in Lower Saxony, Germany is also currently being shut down. Like many reactors this one depends on a river (River Weser) for cooling. The water temperature of the Weser will reach 26° Celsius by tomorrow, which is a threshold value for serious damage to the ecosystem along the riverside – so the decision was made to not let the reactor contribute to further heatup of the river. The shut down is expected to last until sunday or monday.

Re: Paris breaks all-time high temperature as deadly heat wave grips Europe

#90

Post by wolco » Thu, Jul 25, 2019, 5:08 PM UTC

y4mi wrote: post #9

henrik_w wrote: post #4

No mention of climate change in the article.

I was talking about climate change with a co-worker on Monday. He still doesn't "believe" in it. "Nobody can know if it's happening" and "earth went through countless high and low temperature passes over the years. It's nothing special" It was a great example of today's reality we live in. It's truly an age of misinformation.

There is a growing number of people who were on board in 2007 but now are expressing doubts. I think support ebbs and flows depending on the weather/what movies are popular.