Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NASA finds super-emitters of methane

smithsonianmag.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 387 posts

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#61

Post by Retric »

possiblelion wrote: post #45

So - looking at this it seems Turkmenistan [a repressive, North Korea style dictatorship] is destroying our climate system at an order of magnitude faster than anyone else. I'm well aware of the legacy that Iraq/Afghanistan have left in terms of international interventions into other countries; but if it is our common future on the balance, shouldn't we do something? Something more than just politely asking to stop?

It’s a little over 1/1,000th of human released methane, so on it’s own not that critical or that far above expectations for a country with a little over 1/2000th the global population.

The issue is mostly that it’s presumably cheap to fix unlike a billion cows all farting.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#62

Post by Alupis »

stetrain wrote: post #55
rootusrootus wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need it at the worldwide level, which is especially difficult.

Yes, but that shouldn't prevent us from implementing it where we can first.

Not if all your efforts are wasted because other nations won't follow in-step or do not care.

This isn't grade school were trying your hardest gets you an 'A' for the day... in reality trying your hardest and failing is still failure.

The US could do all the magical things and net zero emissions next year and it won't matter one bit. That's just reality... without a globally concerted effort, it's all just waste.

But I realize there is a non-trivial amount of folks that believe doing something, anything is better than nothing - even if it is not logical and has no beneficial outcome.

Perhaps we should put those energies into productive means of solving the problem instead of emotionally "feel-good" solutions. Why does developing countries use dirty energy production? What can we do to make it cheaper to use renewables instead? Can we make biodegradable plastics more attractive than traditional plastics? That's just scratching the surface...

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#63

Post by reillyse »

rootusrootus wrote: post #57
stetrain wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but that shouldn't prevent us from implementing it where we can first.

Perhaps it should not, but it will. Who is going to accept heavy regulation when their competition is not so encumbered?

Lots of countries do this. It just takes leadership.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#64

Post by jiggyjace »

idiotsecant wrote: post #36

Another example of why we need the 'regulation' that is so demonized.

'Regulation' is not a solution for countries that do not answer to the morals of the West, such as Turkmenistan, China, or Russia. Regulation should be demonized, for many situations it ends up being a hammer to a screw.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#67

Post by reillyse »

madrox wrote: post #52

Worth noting that EMIT wasn't funded for this purpose. It was greenlit to measure and track dust (arguably still for climate-related purposes, but still!). This is a relatively minor example of why funding space-based science is so important. We're still seeing "accidental benefits" of deploying technology there.

Cynical me thinks that if NASA tried to get funding for a project that could detect large scale methane plumes which might be used against the oil and gas industry they might just not be able to get that funding.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#68

Post by ch4s3 »

stetrain wrote: post #42
idiotsecant wrote: post #36

Another example of why we need the 'regulation' that is so demonized.

Hmm but if we make businesses do something that is not the most short-term profitable choice, then the shareholders may not be able to extract maximum value!

This isn't a very good take. Business leaders are generally fine with reasonable regulations that are evenly applied and easy to comply with. The operations out there spewing methane are essentially free riding, and their competitors who don't do that probably want better enforcement. Obviously this isn't universally applicable to all conceivable regulations, but its true enough in this case.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#69

Post by Alupis »

reillyse wrote: post #63
rootusrootus wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps it should not, but it will. Who is going to accept heavy regulation when their competition is not so encumbered?

Lots of countries do this. It just takes leadership.

This sounds great and all, but there is no evidence thus far to indicate any of the nations that actually matter for climate emissions care one bit about your nation's leadership.

Re: NASA finds super-emitters of methane

#70

Post by kelseyfrog »

nomel wrote: post #46
kelseyfrog wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone has always had the option to vote with their dollars. If we allow ourself to be eco-capital-realists for a moment, we have to conclude that living on a habitable planet is simply not that important for most people.

I think this is an extremely privileged perspective.

For a brief moment before civilization-wide collapse, we'll be able to generate a lot of shareholder value.
Post reply on HN