Hacker News Reader

Comment by thatfrenchguy | Hacker News Reader

Being good at one thing does not mean you’re good at something else, news at 10 here.

You think it is a smarter move to let the gas price get higher?

I think it's a necessary part of a climate transition! It's just politically very difficult to do unless it happens by accident.

It feels to me more like a "you made your bed, now it's time to lie in it" situation. Yeah high gas prices are going to hurt people, but we had plenty of warning this kind of thing was coming, and plenty of chances to steer away from it.

Agreed that we’ve had plenty of chances, and I’m sure watching others suffer for their actions feels very cathartic to the partisan variety of environmentalist; however, abruptly driving up prices on everything is certain to make climate initiatives deeply unpopular.

Too many people here don't understand human nature. High gas prices mean that self-proscribed "environmentalists" will be losing elections for the foreseeable future. Right now we should be focusing on energy independence and that means more oil and more investment into renewables.

I guess I'm hoping it'll mean people drive less

It is that type of situation, and it would much better if only people could take it stoically. But that won't happen, economic hardship hurts a lot and people in democratic systems will just vote away any ecological provisions that are causing them pain.

You have to realize that Western tech and known-how is at the center of any of those "good at" oil and gas exporters - who can only dig at best.

That's exactly the mindset which got us all where we are now.

How so? And it's not a mindset or an opinion, but a fact a life. They dig, they sell and that just about a summary of their existence. USSR was the same. Once the Arab countries dropped the prices for a while, the whole thing shook and broke.

Russian gas is still flowing to Europe, despite the brutal sanctions. Once those pipes stop pumping it, how long until Russia itself collapses on its own? No need to engage in direct confrontation with them.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com