Comment by DaiPlusPlus | Hacker News Reader

Comment by DaiPlusPlus | Hacker News Reader

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After reading the opening paragraph I instantly thought of Greta Thunberg (in a good way!), especially this part:

> or as dangerous future citizens who might use their unique talents to subvert authority.

...where the authority being subverted is that of a certain country's dominant social class that really doesn't like being told they're in the wrong...

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More cynically though: almost all of the certified G&T folks I knew in school - and equivalents at university - gave up on their idealism and got degrees to become a city quant.

Except for one... he got into UW at 16 and had a head for epidemiology but was also interested in global geopolitics so he tried to major in both subjects at undergrad (uh-oh...) - but being so young at university in a course where social-networking is important meant he simply couldn't attend important events because he was below the drinking age. Anywya long story short he's now a water treatment plant operator and he tells me he's never been happier.

I'm unsure how to find the studies but when G&T children are not put in accelerated programs they typically suffer from mental issues and isolation and end up underperforming their peers. Your acquaintance could have been someone great, I guess.

I think water treatment is pretty great.

If the kid is happy, it is. :-)

Reminder that Hawking couldn't be arsed to spend his time with physics and went rowing instead (it was only when he got his deadline that he started to work on physics nonstop)

I met a former nuclear physicist in Oakland, who had moved to working in water treatment who told me 'flocculation, way more complex, far more interesting than nuclear chemistry' he seemed happy too.

I also really like safe drinking water. I wish I contributed as much to society.

I do too, but someone of his caliber could probably be doing more good in research.

Support at home is even more important. Students of all ages really just need as much information as you can feed them. Ever met a four year old? They are all questions and sponge up information. There’s no reason they have to stop at some point, just keep feeding them more info and encouraging them.

> being so young at university in a course where social-networking is important meant he simply couldn't attend important events because he was below the drinking age.

What? This has never stopped any other college student.

He said there were university-operated things like postgrad careers fairs, mini-conferences and academic social-networking events that were held in venues where the entire conference area being used was legally a 21+ area (open bar, I guess) which normally wouldn't be a problem because they were events for people who wouldn't normally be younger than 22. I'm not saying that problem alone was the cause of him dropping out, but he told it to me as an example of the hurdles someone faces as a minor university student.

I believe Greta Thunberg is someone put in place to EXERT authority.

If you go to the meetings of the financial elite of the world, they have in their agenda exactly what GT wants: Taxing C02, forcing people to eat insects, because meat and fish is unsustainable...

Greta is used to exert authority from those people in charge into the mass of the population. It is the reason media loves GT, because media is controlled by the big guys.

A dangerous person would be some environmentalist that actually knows what he is talking about, and who is popular.

Idealism is not a virtue per se(just dreaming about a better world without doing anything). I know quite a lot idealist that actually do all what they can to improve the world. They become realist because it is hard. It is one thing to say people should not abandon dogs and another thing creating a refuge for animals and expending all your money feeding and taking care of abandoned dogs, taking no vacations(because animals eat every day...)and so on.

Realism is what happens when idealists take responsibility, and do something. Reality has limits, it is always finite what you can do, dreams could be perfect.

Greta is just a kid that is angry(because she is ill) and is being manipulated from those in charge.

> If you go to the meetings of the financial elite of the world, they have in their agenda exactly what GT wants: Taxing C02, forcing people to eat insects, because meat and fish is unsustainable...

Taxing CO2 is literally the last thing “the financial elites” want - it’s a policy that’s been pushed by scientists and economists for decades but never gained political traction due to an intense lobbying campaign from the oil and gas industry.

That’s also not what Thunberg advocates for. Thunberg primarily advocates for more aggressive national emissions reductions targets. She says that her drastic personal lifestyle changes (e.g. being vegan) are meant to raise awareness about environmentalism, but that they are not a practical solution and that the responsibility for eliminating pollution lies with the rich and powerful, not consumers.

> Taxing CO2 is literally the last thing “the financial elites” want - it’s a policy that’s been pushed by scientists and economists for decades but never gained political traction due to an intense lobbying campaign from the oil and gas industry.

Simply not true. "Scientists" didn't come up with carbon tax. Bankers did and they hired economists to peddle the idea.

> That’s also not what Thunberg advocates for. Thunberg primarily advocates for more aggressive national emissions reductions targets. She says that her drastic personal lifestyle changes (e.g. being vegan) are meant to raise awareness about environmentalism,

Ah yes, lets take advice from a 15 year old who knows absolutely nothing about anything. Climate fanatics scream "listen to the experts". Then then bring up a manipulated teen with obvious mental and emotional problems as their champion.

You say "the rich and powerful" aren't backing them and yet every major organization from the UN to World Bank is pushing the "vegan" nonsense not to mention carbon tax.

Remember "taxation without representation"? A global carbon tax is the epitome of that. So who is king george now and who are the ones advocating for it?

If there is going to be a global tax, there should be a global government which has authority from the global population. Not just from greedy financiers who want another financial assets to leech money from the masses to line their pockets.

How do your propose we manage the negative externality of co2 and ensure a good future?

A carbon tax in one way of internalizing the costs of co2 that are currently not borne by any of the relevant market participants. It can also be done in a revenue neutral way with a matching “carbon dividend” that is given back to the citizens.

Is there another effective way?

Ah, yes, paying to use a shared resource - the classic case of taxation without representation. Just like water and electricity bills.

Sorry to be nit picky, I get your greater point, but why do you say she’s “ill.” Seems like a precarious assumption and I’d assume that if this is verified by a psychologist they wouldn’t be announcing it to the world. Sometimes being angry is just being angry imho.

Late comment neither to agree nor disagree. Just want to add that Greta Thunberg is so obviously astroturfed, and just propaganda.

Bingo. You don’t get the platform Greta got because you’re a threat to the agenda...

Yeah, when the entire worldwide MSM pushes a pretty(esque) child to bleat some establishmentarian message, watch out. There's nothing healthy about that scenario.

> A dangerous person would be some environmentalist that actually knows what he is talking about, and who is popular.

This danger is inactivated. Not anymore. The day before yesterday, I meet a guy that told me that he is being sued by "ecologist activities" [sic] (after annoying a Guardia Civil repeatedly denouncing furtive hunting, I think)... and a spanish judge accepted the case. Simply surrealist. It seems that being ecologist is now illegal in the European Union

He now must to pay in advance a 1000 euro legal bond, that obviously is the real objective here. To economically broke an environmentalist is really easy nowadays. If not you always can jail he/she abusing of a technical legal trivia

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