Hacker News Reader

The linked JPL proposal is exploratory and, while it has a more serious engineering perspective, it does not have "confidence". https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/sites/default/file...

The USGS is very unconvinced. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-we-drill-yellowstone-stop-it-e...

View on HN

From the USGS article:

> Scientific research has proven again and again that depressurization is one of the factors that drives magma toward the surface to erupt.

The first time I heard of this idea my immediate thought was, "so you want to shove a needle into a massive magma balloon." I know I wouldn't.

>Any allowed geothermal extraction would lower the pressure on the existing geysers and hot springs, altering their behavior and, in many cases, causing them to disappear.

Oh no. Saving the lives of ten million people might make a geyser stop working. How awful.

Have you read the whole thing? It says it is not at all clear that this will save lives. It also could cause an eruption.

This is HN. No-one reads the whole thing. Some don't even read the beginning!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com