Europe's fires are just the start • Hacker News Board

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#361

Post by palata » Sun, Aug 02, 2026, 8:19 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #346

palata wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And for the record, profit oriented market economies are extremely old. Of course it works if you take the part that is convenient to your argument. What about globalised economies?

Trade routes spanned Eurasia before we invented writing. Faster transportation and communication only expanded economic ties. Transportation is something that is fairly easy to do without fossil fuels.

Again, you conveniently forget the important part. Before we invented writing, we were not remotely transporting as much stuff as we are today.

I mean, before fossil fuels, the world ran on renewables. But that's not at all a proof that we can easily go back to renewables: it was a different world then.

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#362

Post by palata » Sun, Aug 02, 2026, 8:22 PM UTC

pornel wrote: post #347

palata wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even if we had nuclear fusion, solar+batteries could still win on cost and time to deploy! In a world with abundant fossil fuels on which globalisation relies. The question is: what happens when it stops? Can renewables win in a world without abundant oil? We don't know, we haven't tried.

"we"? Looking at electricitymaps, everyone except maybe Nebraska and Mongolia is making progress. The supply chain already exists, available worldwide as long as you don't bomb your suppliers.

You don't get my point. "Everyone is making progress, in a world largely dominated by fossil fuels".

Renewables are making progress with the help of fossil fuels. We don't know how it will be without it, because we haven't tried. We as "the global economy", obviously.

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#363

Post by account42 » Mon, Aug 03, 2026, 7:46 AM UTC

kleiba2 wrote: post #339

account42 wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nuclear waste is a complete non-issue. The area you need to store it is tiny and you do not at all need vast uninhabited areas for it.

Right. That's why 50 years of searching has not been enough in Germany.

That's what happens when you have a "green" movement intentionally spreading FUD around nuclear waste, yes.

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#364

Post by LargoLasskhyfv » Mon, Aug 03, 2026, 9:48 AM UTC

zeristor wrote: post #201

adrianN wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if we stopped emissions today, Earth will keep warming up for a couple of decades. We’re not at equilibrium temperature for the current CO2 levels.

I wonder what would happen if there was one of those large volcanic eruptions. There’s been a few over the last few hundred years. If there’s dust and haze it might be a respite, apart from famines due to poor harvests. I guess we’ll find out should it happen. We’re in a more precarious state, and these random natural events could be very tricky.

Already forgotten about that lil' burpie at the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2022? :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Hunga_Tonga-Hunga_Ha'apai...

Aug 02, 2022: https://www.nasa.gov/earth/tonga-eruption-blasted-unpreceden...

December 20, 2023: https://research.noaa.gov/hunga-tonga-2022-eruption/

20 May 2025: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-025-01056-2

I'd say ongoing...

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#365

Post by tejohnso » Sat, Aug 08, 2026, 7:11 PM UTC

obruchez wrote: post #308

arw0n wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are talking about trees...

Trees that disappear in huge fires more and more often, unfortunately.

One of the many reinforcing feedbacks that contribute to making global warming such a difficult problem.

Re: Europe's fires are just the start

#366

Post by OKRainbowKid » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 8:10 AM UTC

spwa4 wrote: post #356

OKRainbowKid wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do make for a good boogeyman, that's for sure. Other parties really should study them for how they manage to force everybody else to do their bidding while having no actual power. The exit from nuclear and the hated "GEG" / heating act were both conservative CDU initiatives after all, who are now retroactively being attributed to the greens to fuel the conservative culture war.

> how they manage to force everybody else to do their bidding while having no actual power Oh the traditional European way. "You need 50% of the votes in parliament of a government. It's either us or the extreme right. Here's our list of demands, and a phone number. Kthxbye"

I truly wish I lived in your world were left of center parties actually had a significant influence on current EU and national (German) government. However, I do not, and in this world, politics is dominated by an increasingly populist and reactionary right trying to chase voters that have moved towards the extreme right.