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Welcome to reality. While the media and governments are talking about finally preventing global warming, it is already too late. The question is, if we mobilize

Welcome to reality. While the media and governments are talking about finally preventing global warming, it is already too late. The question is, if we mobilize the entire world economy to mitigate it, it might last only a few hundred years instead of a few thousand. Ironically, I think lying to the public and claiming to be trying to "prevent" global warming is better, people would just give up if they knew what the actual impact of our actions would be.

alexose 5y ago
Kind of reminds me of software engineering-- You usually only get credit for 'rescuing' a bad situation, but never for preventing that situation in the first place :)
not_jd_salinger 5y ago
Why is this being downvoted? I've notice a disturbing trend on HN where bad news is downvoted. It's unquestionably too late to prevent global warming, and mitigation is only possible if we seriously consider organized economic down scaling. This is stuff people have known about for decades and strangely enough took more seriously in the 70s than they do now. Carbon emissions grow every year and the rate they are growing at continues to rise as well. Fossil fuel usage continues to rise (globally, local changes are meaningless). The only time we see any serious reduction in emissions is during massive economic down turns. Many argue that people won't accept a change of lifestyle, but that change is coming either way. Since virtually no one I've chatted with will even take economic reduction seriously I'm pretty certain it is "too late" in every sense. Downvoting comments like this because you wish it wasn't true is really unfitting of a community that prides itself on being 'hackers' and understanding how the world works.
- blamestross 5y ago
  There has been an observable conservative and libertarian culture shift in hacker news while I have been a member. This community is about startups and extraction of money. The "hacker" part has been dying by simply being outnumbered for a while now.

alexose 5y ago

Kind of reminds me of software engineering-- You usually only get credit for 'rescuing' a bad situation, but never for preventing that situation in the first place :)

not_jd_salinger 5y ago

Why is this being downvoted? I've notice a disturbing trend on HN where bad news is downvoted. It's unquestionably too late to prevent global warming, and mitigation is only possible if we seriously consider organized economic down scaling. This is stuff people have known about for decades and strangely enough took more seriously in the 70s than they do now. Carbon emissions grow every year and the rate they are growing at continues to rise as well. Fossil fuel usage continues to rise (globally, local changes are meaningless). The only time we see any serious reduction in emissions is during massive economic down turns. Many argue that people won't accept a change of lifestyle, but that change is coming either way. Since virtually no one I've chatted with will even take economic reduction seriously I'm pretty certain it is "too late" in every sense. Downvoting comments like this because you wish it wasn't true is really unfitting of a community that prides itself on being 'hackers' and understanding how the world works.

blamestross 5y ago
There has been an observable conservative and libertarian culture shift in hacker news while I have been a member. This community is about startups and extraction of money. The "hacker" part has been dying by simply being outnumbered for a while now.