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US Revokes Limits on Power Plants' Climate Pollution

261 points · 266 comments · DeepLogin

  1. reactordev · · focus · HN ↗
    Full steam ahead towards greenhouse gases, climate change, and +5degree temperatures. Why not?
    1. jmclnx · · focus · HN ↗
      Normally I would be concerned, but these days, we are well on our way to 3.5C. All this will do is cancel out progess China and Europe is making on renewals.

      It is to bad these people do not care how much of a sucky life they are handing their grandchildren. Wait to see what happens when millions of desperate people living south of the 40th parallel start heading north in mass. No wall will stop that.

      1. sippingabonedry · · focus · HN ↗
        > All this will do is cancel out progess China and Europe is making on renewals

        China brought 50 new coal plants online in 2025 alone but keep telling yourself that.

        1. alexgieg · · focus · HN ↗
          China is trying to become oil-independent by all means necessary. All their means of accessing oil go through geographic bottlenecks that could be weaponized against them in the event of military conflict. Coal, fissile materials, and sunlight are the alternatives they have access to, so they're going for all of those.

          With some luck, the net effect will be fewer greenhouse gases than keeping themselves oil-dependent, though that isn't necessarily the, or even a, goal. If it happens, it'll be as a side effect.

          1. sippingabonedry · · focus · HN ↗
            Are you saying China is doing whatever it needs to do to satisfy its power needs, hands forced by geopolitics, and not pure altruism? Say it isn't so.
            1. alexgieg · · focus · HN ↗
              In a saner world, they wouldn't need to be wary of a catastrophic oil shortage due to another power deciding to cut off their access to oil. A saner world is achieved when all countries agree to an international system of rules and conflict resolution and abide by agreements, so things are predictable in the long term.

              The less predictable things become, the faster everyone ramps up potential solutions to bad potential scenarios.

              Some are trying to bring that sanity back. Others are trying to increase the chaos as much as they possibly can, and preferably more.

              1. consensus1 · · focus · HN ↗
                You can't bring back something that was never there
                1. AnimalMuppet · · focus · HN ↗
                  Not in an absolute sense, perhaps. But it was there enough to mostly function most of the time. And international life was more stable because of it.
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