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Comment by thesausageking | Hacker News Reader

I question how much of this is going to actually help with climate change and how much is just inflating another bubble that will enrich investors and do little for the climate.

So many of the startups being backed are building things that either have a very minimal impact or they're based on technologies that are so far out they won't be commercially viable for 20 years, if ever.

The big things we need are all boring infrastructure investments that don't have startup-like returns. Things like rearchitecting the electrical grid, upgrading rail and public transit, etc.

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> So many of the startups being backed are building things that either have a very minimal impact or they're based on technologies that are so far out they won't be commercially viable for 20 years, if ever.

Sometimes I wonder if this the true cost of finding successful breakthroughs. Presumably lessons will be learned from these failures that will eventually lead to the successful implementation down the line. It's not a start up but if for example Meta collapses then it will still have done a lot of good for advancing VR tech.

Hyperloop vs Magnetic Train is one example of VC funding being non-compatible with climate-change policies and humankind ascension

They seek personal gain (ROI), wich is not compatible with collective gain

I think we'll see the end of VCs this century, hopefully earlier otherwise China will already have its bases on both the Moon and Mars

> personal gain (ROI), wich is not compatible with collective gain

Wat.

Your reply is the evidence, you didn't quote the Hyperloop vs Magnetic Train argument, you don't care about the problem, you care about an argumentation that is against personal gain ;)

Have we replaced the ISS? Why haven't we?

Why Europe was so dependent on Russian energy and was hesitant to give up and pursue nuclear for this long?

Why does the west still need to burn coal in 2023?

Why isn't there any Magnetic Train in the US?

Why nobody has access to universal free healthcare in the US?

I can continue for hours, but you shown your lack of interest

> Have we replaced the ISS? Why haven't we?

What science needs a manned orbital space station? Maintaining one, particularly in LEO, is expensive. That money is better spent on unmanned orbital experiments, unmanned space telescopes, unmanned robotic missions and developing technological capability for manned space transport. Not on vanity projects.

> Why does the west still need to burn coal in 2023?

This is a strange stone to throw at the West after complimenting China.

> Why isn't there any Magnetic Train in the US?

Where did magnetic trains of all things come from?

The broad point is massive collective benefits have been realized by people pursuing selfish ends. It takes an incredibly skewed reading of history to conclude otherwise. That doesn't mean selfishness and greed don't have problems, or that every system must rely on them exclusively.

For some value of "good," sure.

Yeah could have worded that better, I meant in a technological sense not a social or public perception one.

Those things may require government investment, but if there is going to be a lot of investment in those things then it becomes worth it to figure out how to do those things more efficiently. Startups can innovate on the technology for upgrading the grid, or methods of financing it.

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