Comment by bumblebeard | Hacker News Reader

Comment by bumblebeard | Hacker News Reader

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I think people are hopeless because while we are starting to move in the right direction, it's probably too little and too late. Moderation of CO2 emissions might have been enough 20-30 years ago, but now we need immediate radical action to prevent extreme changes in the planet's climate and that's not happening.

Regardless of how much money there is to be made in this market (and you're right, there's a lot), Earth is going to be a very different place to live in 50 years unless we rapidly make dramatic and fundamental changes to the way we produce and use energy.

You're right, Earth will be very different 50 years from now, but it's a matter of degrees (literally).

Here's a good rule of thumb[1]:

    * Pull up 25% fossil assets - 2°C - Costly, but livable
    * Pull up 33% fossil assets - 3°C - 1 billion fewer people on the planet
    * Pull up 50% fossil assets - 4°C - 1 billion people on the planet
    * Pull up all fossil assets - 5°C - Mad Max

So it's all a matter of how fast you can stop pulling fossil fuels out of the ground. Luckily, oil prices are getting cheaper which cuts out a large chunk of assets (tar sands, etc.), so we'll likely not hit 5°C. Hopeless ensures 4°C, profit motive makes 3°C possible, smart people working in the field makes 2°C possible.

I'd humbly request that people reading this look into advanced energy software jobs when they plot their next career move.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_bubble

That's a bit too specific prediction.

Or you could stay calm, walk more and pee on a tree.

http://peeonatree.blogspot.com/

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