U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#171

Post by petre » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:10 AM UTC

rdedev wrote: post #25

I wish I could find it but Simon Clark, someone who specialized in climate science, had put out a video about how we were only recently able to model the AMOC and it's shifting patterns thanks to this measurement we were doing Edit: probably not this one but atleast tells us why measurement is needed https://youtube.com/shorts/-X5EhUbzLTY?si=_N92PNUiTi3STat6

Yrah probably someone at doge or the dept of war watched that and suggested dismantling it. What's next, closing down the NOAA because it's a "con job" and climate change is "a hoax"?

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#172

Post by lolive » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:11 AM UTC

bamboozled wrote: post #160

tdb7893 wrote: post #75

What really puts all of this into perspective for me is I work in academia and one of my friends works for a defense contractor. He told me the maintenance cost per flight hour of F-35 was a bit more than $40k, which is significantly more than I make in a year as a grad student. It's crazy basic science is what's been the focus of so many cuts while it's so cheap.

Someone has to pay for the kings mistakes and it might as well be you.

Kings don’t make mistakes. The people under them do.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#173

Post by hattmall » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:11 AM UTC

krapp wrote: post #113

jazzypants wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we have military hegemony, then why can't we open the strait of Hormuz?

[flagged]

This maybe a bit of sarcasm, but it's actually accurate. The information was so contrived that multiple firms sent physical analysis to observe the strait in person. They all have said that the strait remains active with decreased but consistent transit. Regardless of who claimed the strait was open or closed. It's the reason oil markets are so hesitant to bid up futures contracts.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#174

Post by tehjoker » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:12 AM UTC

zmgsabst wrote: post #168

tdb7893 wrote: post #75

What really puts all of this into perspective for me is I work in academia and one of my friends works for a defense contractor. He told me the maintenance cost per flight hour of F-35 was a bit more than $40k, which is significantly more than I make in a year as a grad student. It's crazy basic science is what's been the focus of so many cuts while it's so cheap.

I’m sure this has nothing to do with 3.1 million graduate students versus 500 F-35s. For actual context, F-35 program receives $9B per year (amortized over lifetime), which is $3000 per year per graduate student. Erasing the F-35 program entirely would make something like a 10% difference in graduate wages, while destroying the US Air Force as a modern military. So no — your request to fund graduate students is more…

Ok, but the military is being used for bad things not good things in one of the most easily defended countries in the world, a pure waste.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#175

Post by tombert » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:15 AM UTC

kxrm wrote: post #170

tombert wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, no, it actually is mature enough. I hate divisive language like this, but Trump's only major concrete "policy" (if you can call it that) during his 2024 campaign was that he was going to somehow lower grocery prices by instituting tariffs, so basically "I'm going to lower prices by raising prices". That kind of idiotic quasi-doublespeak should have been a disqualifier for anyone with at least a two-digit IQ, bu…

> People actually believed the idiotic notion that "other countries" pay the tariffs. Many believed this, think about how many Americans do not understand the Progressive Tax system. I believe it has been intentional for many years to keep up some of these misunderstanding of basic governance.

I mean, I guess?

I don't really feel like I needed to be taught that tariffs would raise prices. I'm not some hypergenius, it really seems pretty obvious to me.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#176

Post by 3eb7988a1663 » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #81

AuthAuth wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a spec on the budget compared to retiree support, military and healthcare.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't be frugal with how the money is spent. (I think this move is stupid.)

The cheapest option would be to leave them in place and stop monitoring. Removing them is costly, but prevents anyone from ever re-initiating the buoys. Like when they told NASA to burn up a weather satellite they did not like.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#177

Post by beloch » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

stldev wrote: post #13

This makes sense. Facts cease to exist because you ignore them. I think Huxley wrote that.

"Ignorance is strength" would be the Orwellian take.

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#178

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

KnuthIsGod wrote: post #94

tdb7893 wrote: post #75

What really puts all of this into perspective for me is I work in academia and one of my friends works for a defense contractor. He told me the maintenance cost per flight hour of F-35 was a bit more than $40k, which is significantly more than I make in a year as a grad student. It's crazy basic science is what's been the focus of so many cuts while it's so cheap.

How many million graduate students do you need to give the US the military hegemony and political influence over allies and adversaries that the F-35 program provides ? Looked at from a policy maker's viewpoint, things look very different.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#179

Post by newtwentysix » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:17 AM UTC

The Atlantic Currents are at risk of collapse , or is it the system ?

Re: U.S. to dismantle system tracking Atlantic currents that are at risk of collapse

#180

Post by hsbauauvhabzb » Thu, Jun 04, 2026, 4:20 AM UTC

KnuthIsGod wrote: post #94

tdb7893 wrote: post #75

What really puts all of this into perspective for me is I work in academia and one of my friends works for a defense contractor. He told me the maintenance cost per flight hour of F-35 was a bit more than $40k, which is significantly more than I make in a year as a grad student. It's crazy basic science is what's been the focus of so many cuts while it's so cheap.

How many million graduate students do you need to give the US the military hegemony and political influence over allies and adversaries that the F-35 program provides ? Looked at from a policy maker's viewpoint, things look very different.

None if catastrophic climate change kills everyone.