Hacker News Reader

Comment by swamp40 | Hacker News Reader

Shaped charges are easy to make [0], and technical divers can go to 70 meters. I don't think it's out of line to think that German eco-terrorists could have done it. So the whodunnit list is quite long.

[0] https://youtu.be/UHoqYi8XOA4?t=427

View on HN

A non-state actor is possible, but unlikely. It would require an organization, a small group at least, that had the inclination, opportunity, skill and resources. Any one or two of those is easy, but to actually do it requires all of those simultaneously.

Furthermore such a serious attack from eco-terrorists would be fairly unprecedented. It's a far cry from torching a resort or tree spiking.

Releasing colossal amounts of methane directly into the environment would be an odd choice for an eco-group too.

Probably, but there conceivably might be some 'ends justify the means' logic that could motivate it. There have been some eco-terrorist attacks against nuclear power plants for instance, which on the face of it seems contradictory but I presume is justified using some sort of "raise awareness" logic. But without any eco-terrorist group taking credit for this, such a motivation seems particularly unlikely.

Eco terrorism is a made up concept. It doesn't exist outside of James Bond. Besides, this leak has horrible environmental consequences. If it was a deliberate attack, extremely successful, wouldn't some group have taken responsibility by now?

https://www.amazon.com/How-Blow-Pipeline-Andreas-Malm/dp/183...

So what? How many actual eco terror acts have happened? Sure, civil disobedience, some sabotage / obstruction towards fossile industry / nuclear. But nothing, not remotely, on the scale of those pipelines.

In movies however, eco terrorism is relatively common.

Perhaps you'd be more comfortable with the term radical environmentalists? Western leaders are ratcheting up the climate change/ESG rhetoric like never before. A whole generation of kids now think the world will literally end in their lifetimes. What do you expect will happen?

I'm a lot more concerned about climate change, than about radical eco terrorism.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com