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

Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

news.iu.edu

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 62 posts

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#21

Post by speed_spread »

nextaccountic wrote: post #11
Fatnino wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to the documentary "The Matrix", it's the first one.

Unfortunately it doesn't make sense to use us as batteries or energy sources, thermodynamically. But they could maybe use our brains as computers (and this was the first idea the writers had, they just decided against it because it would be too complicated for mainstream audiences) But in this case it would be rather wasteful to also nourish the rest of the body. As a bonus, if all the remaining people are just brain…

We think with much more than just our brain. For example, there are neurons at the stomach level and your gut bacteria determines part of your mood. You could make a case that the whole body is required to capture the human experience.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#23

Post by Pigalowda »

taneq wrote: post #18
abricq wrote: post #16

> The process outlined in the study — known scientifically as eutrophication — is remarkably similar to modern, albeit smaller-scale, phenomenon currently fueling broad “dead zones” in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, as excess nutrients from fertilizers and other agricultural runoff trigger massive algae blooms that consume all of the water’s oxygen. Meanwhile, the next COP28 (United Nations Climate Change co…

In what way is it not a "Don't Look Up" moment? It absolutely resonates with the theme of that documentary.

If you are ESL:

“As much as this seems like a joke … it is not one”

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#24

Post by user3939382 »

abricq wrote: post #16

> The process outlined in the study — known scientifically as eutrophication — is remarkably similar to modern, albeit smaller-scale, phenomenon currently fueling broad “dead zones” in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, as excess nutrients from fertilizers and other agricultural runoff trigger massive algae blooms that consume all of the water’s oxygen. Meanwhile, the next COP28 (United Nations Climate Change co…

> (United Nations Climate Change conference) will be held by United Arab Emirates's minister for industry and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil

https://unwatch.org/u-n-elects-saudi-arabia-to-womens-rights...

A lot of regulatory bodies, commissions, councils, are for optics and captured by the governments or corporations they should be regulating in some way. Put another way we have the fox watching the hen house. Put another way it's all bullshit. It's just as true with our domestic regulation.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#25

Post by abricq »

user3939382 wrote: post #24
abricq wrote: post #16

> The process outlined in the study — known scientifically as eutrophication — is remarkably similar to modern, albeit smaller-scale, phenomenon currently fueling broad “dead zones” in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, as excess nutrients from fertilizers and other agricultural runoff trigger massive algae blooms that consume all of the water’s oxygen. Meanwhile, the next COP28 (United Nations Climate Change co…

> (United Nations Climate Change conference) will be held by United Arab Emirates's minister for industry and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil https://unwatch.org/u-n-elects-saudi-arabia-to-womens-rights... A lot of regulatory bodies, commissions, councils, are for optics and captured by the governments or corporations they should be regulating in some way. Put another way we have the fox watching the hen house. Put…

This concerns me and saddens me a lot. Major changes are required in the near future, and the more I look at the news the less it seems like any of these changes are happening. If at some point I actually get to the conclusion that "it's all bullshit" (i.e. climate change is all bullshit) to those in charge of making these changes, then I have to see how to change those in charge. But really, the options are limited... It's a scary problem. But yeah, it seems like corporations have (often) a lot more to say in this that the what the majority of citizens want.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#27

Post by pkdpic »

> the evolution of tree roots may have triggered a series of mass extinctions [...] during the Devonian Period over 300 million years ago

> the evolution of tree roots likely flooded past oceans with excess nutrients, causing massive algae growth

> these rapid and destructive algae blooms would have depleted most of the oceans’ oxygen, triggering catastrophic mass extinction events

> these past events were likely fueled by tree roots, which pulled nutrients from the land during times of growth, then abruptly dumped them into the Earth’s water during times of decay

Just a tldr since it took me a minute to find. Super interesting, always fun / horrifying to think about the earth before terrestrial animal life.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#28

Post by jvm___ »

user3939382 wrote: post #24
abricq wrote: post #16

> The process outlined in the study — known scientifically as eutrophication — is remarkably similar to modern, albeit smaller-scale, phenomenon currently fueling broad “dead zones” in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, as excess nutrients from fertilizers and other agricultural runoff trigger massive algae blooms that consume all of the water’s oxygen. Meanwhile, the next COP28 (United Nations Climate Change co…

> (United Nations Climate Change conference) will be held by United Arab Emirates's minister for industry and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil https://unwatch.org/u-n-elects-saudi-arabia-to-womens-rights... A lot of regulatory bodies, commissions, councils, are for optics and captured by the governments or corporations they should be regulating in some way. Put another way we have the fox watching the hen house. Put…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

I mean, if the sidewalks outside your house were government controlled, the most likely people to try to take control of them would be people with an interest in making money from them (somehow). Most people don't enter government to be the "Minister of Forestry" without some previous industry experience, and a plan of what to do with the forests. The people with industry experience and a plan are usually ones frustrated by the limits of the regulations and therefore they have the desire to take over and change the rules to suit them.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#29

Post by BitwiseFool »

throwbadubadu wrote: post #19
nextaccountic wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately it doesn't make sense to use us as batteries or energy sources, thermodynamically. But they could maybe use our brains as computers (and this was the first idea the writers had, they just decided against it because it would be too complicated for mainstream audiences) But in this case it would be rather wasteful to also nourish the rest of the body. As a bonus, if all the remaining people are just brain…

> and this was the first idea the writers had, they just decided against it because it would be too complicated for mainstream audiences Doesn't make immediate sense to me, if using brains as computers you wouldn't want to occupy them with the Matrix simulation and the whole story falls apart, so how was the complicated plot ought to be? Use the brains with the Matrix how we are used already for solving captchas?

From what I recall, it was studio meddling that forced the "humans as batteries" idea.

Re: Evolution of tree roots may have driven mass extinctions (2022)

#30

Post by CalRobert »

abricq wrote: post #16

> The process outlined in the study — known scientifically as eutrophication — is remarkably similar to modern, albeit smaller-scale, phenomenon currently fueling broad “dead zones” in the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, as excess nutrients from fertilizers and other agricultural runoff trigger massive algae blooms that consume all of the water’s oxygen. Meanwhile, the next COP28 (United Nations Climate Change co…

Ocean oxygen depletion (and atmospheric oxygen depletion as marine life like plankton dies with a double whammy of reduced oxygen and greater acidity) comes up in the scarier corners of climate change awareness but I've never known if it was something to take seriously or if it was overblown. Will we stop being able to breathe?
Post reply on HN