Ask HN: What are the big/important problems to work on?

Re:Ask HN: What are the big/important problems to work on? by TheRoque on Monday August 07, 2023 @08:57AM (#37033785)

It will happen, we all know it, and people are most certainly thinking about it. But it shouldn't be opposed to reducing CO2. Even if it is already happening, reducing CO2 will (most likely) also reduce the warming itself, and make the future slightly more bearable.

Moreover, global warming is just the tip of the iceberg, it's the thing that is presented to us in the most direct ways, but other things like mass extinctions of species, oil depravity, overpopulation, forever chemicals etc. Etc. Will be a problem someday also.

So instead of trying to "cope" with every catastrophy that is thrown at us (while making living on earth more and more annoying), maybe we should think about the solutions on a global scale, because there's no way it will happen without that

So there's really nothing one can do. Even living the regular lifestyle of any western country is by itself a contribution to the issue. Stop fooling yourself with technical solutions, as it will only push the issue for later, or be counter productive

Changes can't come without a massive overhaul of our economy and society (probably for the worse)

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Re:Ask HN: What are the big/important problems to work on? by arc4n0n on Monday August 07, 2023 @12:11PM (#37036367)

overpopulation is not a someday problem at all. Either it already was the problem and is the direct cause of global warming or you haven't been paying attention to demographics which show global population peaking in the 2050s because of India and China modernization.

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Re:Ask HN: What are the big/important problems to work on? by HeyLaughingBoy on Monday August 07, 2023 @02:41PM (#37038745)

> So there's really nothing one can do

This is a cop-out. There's always something you can do. The problem is that it's often very complex, or requires more experience, or more influence, etc. Meaning that before you can noticeably move the needle, you need to get 10 years of prep work behind you. But the fact that it's difficult or time-consuming is a completely different story than it being "impossible."

Sorry, but I get tired of people throwing up their hands and saying "I can't do anything about this situation" when they really mean "this situation is so difficult that I'd rather go take a nap than deal with it."

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