Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park • Hacker News Board

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#41

Post by pathseeker » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

kaybe wrote: post #32

s5300 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel." I've lurked near daily on HN for over five years - and this is the unfortunate comment I finally feel the need to make an account to reply to. I presume you're living in the U.S. based on your comment. I too live in the U.S., with severely debilitating he…

The problem is not availability of cheap airline tickets, it's availability of healthcare. The point (the transportation/energy use issue cannot be tackled without also working on the social problems) is an important one though.

> The problem is not availability of cheap airline tickets, it's availability of healthcare.

If we're talking about a rare disease, there is no solution other than moving to one of the few specialist centers in the world if air travel goes away.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#42

Post by ummonk » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

spking wrote: post #38

s5300 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel." I've lurked near daily on HN for over five years - and this is the unfortunate comment I finally feel the need to make an account to reply to. I presume you're living in the U.S. based on your comment. I too live in the U.S., with severely debilitating he…

I'm truly sorry to hear about your health issues and the lack of resources available to you. Of course I would like to see better healthcare available to everyone as well. Can't we focus our attention on making healthcare (even specialized treatments like yours) more accessible and affordable, instead of artificially propping up a massively wasteful industry in perpetuity?

How would we make specialized healthcare more locally accessible? By flying specialist doctors and equipment in from the coasts when needed?

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#43

Post by bsimpson » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:14 PM UTC

> This month is typically a busy month in Yosemite: Of the almost 4.6 million tourists that visited the valley in 2019, about 308,000 came during April.

"This month is typically a busy one: less than 1/12th of the number of annual visitors." ️

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#44

Post by iLemming » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:14 PM UTC

How do we know they're not migrating away from fires that are raging now uncontrolled in the valley?

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#45

Post by xyzzy_plugh » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:15 PM UTC

erikig wrote: post #30

izzydata wrote: post #24

It's nice to know that the earth starts to heal so quickly after humans are gone. Although by the time we are actually gone we might make it uninhabitable for other life too.

Philosophical question: if humans are gone, does it really matter what happens to the earth?

If you're gone, does it really matter what happens to the earth?

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#46

Post by pathseeker » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:16 PM UTC

spking wrote: post #14

0xB31B1B wrote: post #10

I hope this inspires our generation. I hope we remember that the way things were recently aren’t they way have to be, or the way things naturally are. We need more pollution controls, clean power, and less driving. I also think we need to reduce how many people visit certain places as the harsh reality is that impact is clearly related to visits. It will mean a shared sacrifice but a healthier planet. Hopefully limit…

Me too. This is the reason I absolutely don't want to see airlines or airframe manufacturers bailed out. That industry needs to shrink. If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_ins...

Just advocate for a carbon tax and be done with it. Don't arbitrarily decide which industries get to stay and which ones have to go.

You ban air travel and suddenly people cover a big chunk of the difference with mass driving, causing significantly more deaths and increased CO2. (Remember: Southwest's most popular route is DallasHouston which is drive-able)

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#47

Post by patall » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:16 PM UTC

sharkweek wrote: post #7

I sometimes wonder if the earth is trying to remove us, its own infection of sorts. If memory serves this was also the plot of some terrible M Night Shyamalan movie.

While you may be suggesting this more as a not-to-be-taken-entirely-serious, there probably is some truth to it: evolution. Accoriding to the red queen hypothesis, noone (species) can ever win evolution, you can only constantly adapt and select. There is no reason to believe that humans have overcome this. Now with billions of humans in existance, any small weakness all these humans have that another species can exploit will make it enourmously profitable for that species: A) there are many humans so independent where on the planet you arise you have a big chance to hit a human and B) there are many humans so its is easier to jump to another human once the one you have be thriving on becomes unprofitable.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#48

Post by alexbanks » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:16 PM UTC

s5300 wrote: post #27

spking wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Me too. This is the reason I absolutely don't want to see airlines or airframe manufacturers bailed out. That industry needs to shrink. If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_ins...

"If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel." I've lurked near daily on HN for over five years - and this is the unfortunate comment I finally feel the need to make an account to reply to. I presume you're living in the U.S. based on your comment. I too live in the U.S., with severely debilitating he…

"My healthcare is so expensive, I cannot allow my air travel to get more expensive."

Why not lobby to have your healthcare become cheaper instead?

I am sorry you have a condition that causes you this much stress. I know these must be especially terrifying times for you (even more than people that are for the most part healthy). I would just suggest you aim your frustrations at the industries that are actually causing you problems.

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#49

Post by emilibellot » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:17 PM UTC

spking wrote: post #14

0xB31B1B wrote: post #10

I hope this inspires our generation. I hope we remember that the way things were recently aren’t they way have to be, or the way things naturally are. We need more pollution controls, clean power, and less driving. I also think we need to reduce how many people visit certain places as the harsh reality is that impact is clearly related to visits. It will mean a shared sacrifice but a healthier planet. Hopefully limit…

Me too. This is the reason I absolutely don't want to see airlines or airframe manufacturers bailed out. That industry needs to shrink. If that means fewer flights available and higher prices in the future, that's a net positive for the planet as people will have to be more selective about travel. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/climate_law_ins...

yes

Re: Wildlife is reclaiming Yosemite National Park

#50

Post by munk-a » Mon, Apr 13, 2020, 5:18 PM UTC

pathseeker wrote: post #41

kaybe wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is not availability of cheap airline tickets, it's availability of healthcare. The point (the transportation/energy use issue cannot be tackled without also working on the social problems) is an important one though.

> The problem is not availability of cheap airline tickets, it's availability of healthcare. If we're talking about a rare disease, there is no solution other than moving to one of the few specialist centers in the world if air travel goes away.

That's reasonable though - my step-son has a serious kidney issue and being close to the reneal specialists in my area has always been a consideration for where to live.

Living with a rough disease is tough and my heart goes out to everyone that has to struggle in their daily lives but, it'll always be easier to relocate closer to the facility unless the trips are extremely infrequent and other factors are more important (like family, work etc...)

In Canada this is less bad since being forced to move away from work for medical care doesn't prevent you from affording that care - in the US this can result in an impossible choice but :shrug: the US is broken and unable to afford a good standard of living for their citizens.