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Comment by malermeister | Hacker News Reader

So does terraforming, fwiw.

Is terraforming even a thing outside of the realm of SF? I can't say I've ever seen it depicted as anything but positive, since it's taking unlivable planets and making them livable.

I think this [0] may be what the OP meant.

[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plan_for_the_Transform...

Or the global warming. In a few years we'll be able to say that's deliberate if we continue.

In relative terms, co2 emissions have gone up >50% since Kyoto; in absolute terms, we have emitted more co2 since Kyoto than in all of history before.

I'd argue your "in a few years" was like 2018 or 2019 or so.

there are countless SF examples where terraforming is used against the protagonist group in some negative manner; some alien race begins some scheme to turn the planet hotter/colder/acidic/whatever and has to be stopped by some hero.

as far as being a thing outside of SF, there are lots of studies on the idea of being able to do it in one way or another to both the moon and Mars, with real life validation efforts here on Earth -- but no real practical efforts as far as I know.

p.s. the reason I avoid mentioning our efforts here on Earth changing the climate being akin to terraforming is that I think that intentionality is really the defining feature of terraforming that differentiates it from pollution or abuse otherwise.

There are plenty of examples of terraforming going/having gone wrong or being abandoned. My first associations are Snowpiercer (overdoing the fight against climate change) and Stellaris (abandoned machinery on planets).

Yeah, I'm lost.

Terraforming is a sci-fi concept for making planets viable for life......

What's the other usage?

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