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Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

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Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#101

Post by DoreenMichele »

jogjayr wrote: post #99
DoreenMichele wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never finished my degree, but I'm an environmental studies major. A cartoon in one of my books showed oxygen producing microbes that created earth's oxygen atmosphere organizing to stop the creation of this poisonous oxygen atmosphere as it was killing them. I was watching a TV show that said "If this spider were alive today, it would be hunting animals the size of house cats." and I blurted "No, it wouldn't. It wo…

The converse view is that problem solvers emerge because we keep making dire predictions. The best way to motivate people (especially bright people) is to convince them their work has higher meaning. If a problem being solved isn't high-stakes, you won't have the best and brightest working on it. They are going to go work on something that is actually high-stakes, high-impact. The post-WW2 nuclear threat was real. It…

Geniuses don't need the masses to advise them what matters. They can figure it out for themselves and are frequently ignored for long periods.

Einstein worked in a patent office for years, unable to get the university job he longed for. It took two tries of photographing a solar eclipse to finally get proof of his theory and once proof existed, he was world famous overnight.

He didn't stick with it because the masses were haranguing him about how very, very, very important this was.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#102

Post by domlebo70 »

raquo wrote: post #97
singularity2001 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Primates first developed when earth was 14°C warmer: http://gergs.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/All_palaeotemps_...

How is that relevant? Areas where more than a billion people live today will become uninhabitable to humans if they warm up by 14 degrees. Actually, much sooner than that.

But why? Why can't we adapt to those environments using technology? This is what the OP comment is saying.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#104

Post by jsingleton »

tobr wrote: post #19

Fundamentally it is a political problem, not a technological problem. We need high carbon taxes, we need to end fossil fuel subsidies, and we probably need to change our economic system to something that addresses the tragedy of the commons. But we’ve seen in recent years how technology can influence politics. I’d quote a tweet from Tristan Harris from the other day [1]: > In an hypothetical world, if Facebook were r…

Very well put. We have the tools to fix this problem, we just need the will.

I wrote a lot more on this recently, with ideas that people on here can use to help influence better outcomes: https://unop.uk/how-to-help-with-a-big-global-problem-as-a-t...

It's a shame that the big technology companies aren't using their influence and reach to help.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#105

Post by pokemongoaway »

cletus wrote: post #11

So I'm honestly not as concerned about this as I once was. Don't get me wrong: the climate is going to change, arguably we're in a mass extinction event already and people aren't going to suddenly start acting in the collective long term welfare of humanity. One of the things I like about futurism is the levelheaded optimism and pragmatism you tend to get. And I'll call out Isaac Arthur as a well-known example of thi…

Yep, and if you notice every "solution" suggested is just an increase in government power and decrease in liberty. They'll have to explain why investment strategies for nice properties at sea level haven't really changed while they can claim that voting for globally controlled taxation plans is going to cure us.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#106

Post by pjc50 »

xupybd wrote: post #34
tobr wrote: post #19

Fundamentally it is a political problem, not a technological problem. We need high carbon taxes, we need to end fossil fuel subsidies, and we probably need to change our economic system to something that addresses the tragedy of the commons. But we’ve seen in recent years how technology can influence politics. I’d quote a tweet from Tristan Harris from the other day [1]: > In an hypothetical world, if Facebook were r…

If we can get renewables cheaper than fossil fuels and get reasonable energy storage politics won’t be a problem.

This absolutely can be a problem, because infrastructure needs political approval. Worst case is a ban on renewable generation to protect fossil fuel profits, for example.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#107

Post by filoeleven »

> This is aimed at people in the tech industry, and is more about what you can do with your career than at a hackathon. I’m not going to discuss policy and regulation, although they’re no less important than technological innovation. A good way to think about it, via Saul Griffith, is that it’s the role of technologists to create options for policy-makers.

http://worrydream.com/ClimateChange/

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#108

Post by odessacubbage »

roryisok wrote: post #53
odessacubbage wrote: post #47

anything that dramatically reduces the population or renders our post-industrial revolution economy inert. there's still plenty of time for a solar storm, a massive pandemic or a particularly violent nuclear war. barring that, suicide is an an increasingly pragmatic and attractive option.

> suicide is an an increasingly pragmatic and attractive option. Don't think that way. Climate despair is real. People get seriously depressed about it and a lot of people probably consider suicide. Messages like this are irresponsible and can push people over the edge. If you feel that urge, talk to someone. Reach out. Get better. If you're this worried about climate change then THE WORLD NEEDS YOU.

while your heart is in the right place, i feel this sort of canned response will only become increasingly inadequate as a means of confronting what the world is going to become and what that means for the people within it. even the most utopian of the potential futures we face present the sort of existential nightmare to which 'opting out' of these terms and conditions will become an entirely rational response.

>Messages like this are irresponsible and can push people over the edge.

this is a very naive view and one that i would argue, with all due respect, is falsely empathetic without truly understanding the mindset and circumstances of someone who chooses to stop living. we need to have a truly honest conversation about self determination as it applies to the right for individuals to end their own lives and safe/ethical means of achieving that end. anything less is an illusion of compassion and a very cruel one.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#109

Post by pjc50 »

trymas wrote: post #27

EDIT: downvoters, feel free to add your opinion, what seps we can take in 12 years to prevent climate change. I will gladly hear any opinion, especially if it is not as drastic as mine. 1. Drop coal and gas as energy sources immediately. Use renewable and nuclear energy as main power sources. Phase out nuclear after couple decades, when we hopefully can get all our energy needs from renewables. EDIT: forgot to add in…

Nuclear isn't feasible within that timeframe - takes years to even build the plants! Not to mention the unpopularity of putting fission plants in the less stable countries of the world.

The other two are even more infeasible.

Re: Ask HN: What can be done to prevent a climate catastrophe?

#110

Post by sosense »

Waterluvian wrote: post #22

I like polar bears so it's sad to see those go. It will be disturbing to see coastal cities founded next to sunken cities. Storms are fun but only when they're occasional. I already miss the insects. We worry about losing languages, cultures, artwork to the unyielding entropic horror named time. Not because we have a pragmatic need for them. But the future is scary when you can't bring the past with you. My culture i…

Polar bear populations are fine, sea level had been rising at the same rate for much longer than we've been industrialized, storm rate isn't changing, and where do you live that there are no insects?
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