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Comment by surgical_fire | Hacker News Reader

> haha yes, the grand seismic risks (economic risk in single digit percentages of the profits available)

If I lived in the region I wouldn't really care if the economic risk is single digit percentage. I would prefer my house to keep standing.

> they are actively and very costly going to fill them with concrete to ensure in the future (even in whatever extreme scenario) they cannot be used again.

I think you are arguing in bad faith. If you hollow the underground, filling it with something is a way to mitigate the seismic risk.

> And our German neighbors, I can still see them laughing at the Orange Man Bad.

Okay, I see now that talking to you is a waste of time.

Have a great afternoon.

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Groningen gas field produced 40 billion m3 a year. 100m3 is 1MWh, currently sold for 50 eur. So the production would generate revenue of 20 billion eur a year. Tax it at 10%, get 2B eur. Buy/build houses for 400k a piece, 5.000 a year. There are cca 10.000 houses with minor or major damage. In 2 fucking years everyone gets a new second house for free and we get cheap gas.

You realize that people's houses are more than a number in a balance sheet?

Losing all your personal items and memories + living homeless for a few years while the reconstruction is in progress isn't minor inconvenience.

Bullshit they are, houses are entirely replaceable and in fact many people do so every couple of years.

Some jurisdictions even have “tenants rights” laws that literally force landlords to terminate all contracts whenever a tenant is about to have lived in a location for too long.

You realize cost of gas has direct consequences to 17M people's health as well? Our oma in her G-class building set her thermostat to 16 degrees in 2022. Because her heating bill shot to 1000+ eur/month. Only when the black mold started appearing did we manage to persuade her that 19 would be more appropriate. Of course that just traded it for money-related stress.

And I didn't say kick everyone on the street while the reconstruction is taking place. Everyone can stay where they are. Earthquakes are rare and so far in 50 years of extraction there have been no injuries. Groningen isn't the only place with earthquakes in the world you know?

> You realize cost of gas has direct consequences to 17M people's health as well? Our oma in her G-class building set her thermostat to 16 degrees in 2022

16°C in itself doesn't have health consequences whatsoever.

> Only when the black mold started appearing did we manage to persuade her that 19 would be more appropriate.

And you made the wrong diagnostic: mold is a moisture problem, not a heating problem per se. Sure heating improve air moisture but it's a very inefficient way to do so. You're complaining about the cost of a problem when you're using the most inefficient possible method to address it.

And again, if world market gas price rise, the consumer cost of gas rise as well, no matter if you have gas production in the country or not.

Ah, sorry, this will not work, we are not capable of building new houses in any significant capacity. I don't know why but it's the reality.

Not if the ground can't stay still

Love you too!

(to clarify, the concrete has nothing to do with the seismic risks, and is solely intended to make it impossible to extract gas later, which some people see as a valid way to lower potential seismic impact in the future due to no extraction... as if it is the only way to deal with seismic risks... and the whole point of the profits being ample to mitigate any economic loss is that people's houses can be either made resistant, or, you know, we could buy affected people a brand spanking new house)

Good luck with the rest.

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