Earth, Energy & Environment: what Hacker News watches
8 topics, 335 videos. Pick a topic for a focused list, or scan the 100 best-scored across the whole area below.
- 3 HN recommenders 8 months 2019–2024N Nysnø Klimainvesteringer · talkFrequently linked as a sobering, data-grounded counterpoint to techno-optimism about decarbonization and green growth.
- 6 HN recommenders 6 months 2020–2023HN commenters cite it whenever rocket launch pollution comes up as a rebuttal to alarm, since it shows launches are small next to other sources.
- 3 HN recommenders 5 months 2019–2022HN users recommend it as a model of communicating climate science to conservative and libertarian audiences without alienating them.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2022–2024HN commenters recommend it as an articulate, uplifting counterweight to climate doomerism, though one critic calls it a form of denialism and another notes it omits nuclear.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2018–2020Commenters in climate and impact-event threads send people to Carlson's Rogan appearances for his account of ancient cataclysms.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2023–2025Recommended as an accessible, nuanced explanation of the mechanics of global warming, including the saturation puzzle.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2021–2026HN commenters use it as proof that the climate problem was clearly explained decades ago, and as a model of clear communication to a broad audience.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2013–2017E Exposure Labs · documentaryRecommended whenever glaciers come up, as a stunning look at the scale of calving.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2013–2021HN users point to it as a clear, evidence-based series to counter climate skepticism.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2023HN recommends it as an entertaining summary of early bipartisan climate action and corporate influence on research.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2014–2021Used as a short, well-made rebuttal to common global warming arguments in climate threads.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024Recommended as a nuanced, data-backed treatment of emissions responsibility, made with Our World in Data.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2023Shared by climate-skeptic commenters as a counter-argument to alarmist statistics, a contested source rather than consensus.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2018–20201 1000frolly PhD · interviewHN commenters point to it as a prominent physicist's skeptical counter-view, usually when someone asks for dissenting opinions.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2023HN shares it as an entertaining, well-argued critique of carbon offsetting in threads on greenwashing.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2019T TheIHMC · lectureStrongly recommended as a clear explanation of 50-60 million years of climate history that clears up confusion.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023–2024HN cites it in energy debates as an illustration of the long-term thermal limits of exponential energy consumption growth.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2022HN commenters cite it as a clear, well-sourced summary of why meat, especially beef, has such a large environmental footprint.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2024HN commenters link it as the direct source on climate sensitivity and on the claim that past models ran too cold.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2022N NASA Goddard · demoHN commenters use it as a vivid illustration of how CO2 is distributed and how vegetation absorbs it seasonally.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2018–2023Y yonseienglish · talkCited as evidence that Musk has long taken climate change seriously and as a concise statement of his views on carbon pricing.
- cited 3× 0 months 2021L Lake Godstone · documentaryHN commenters mostly cite it skeptically in climate threads, as an example of past predictions of cooling.
- cited 3× 0 months 2016–2022E Erik Christensen · demoLinked as a simple, replicable demonstration of CO2's greenhouse effect, even in a classroom.
- cited 6× 0 months 2016–2023N Nick Breeze ClimateGenn · interviewHN cites it in methane and permafrost threads as an early warning that still looks relevant.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–2024Cited as a source lecture series behind arguments on energy, EROEI, nuclear power and climate.
- 9 HN recommenders 9 months 2013–2023HN commenters bring it up in climate and food threads as a hopeful, if contested, idea about grazing and soil carbon.
- 10 HN recommenders 8 months 2021–2026Cited in climate threads to argue that individual action is not enough and that political pressure is needed.
- 4 HN recommenders 8 months 2017–2023A Agenda Gotsch · documentaryHN users repeatedly offer it as the best introduction to agroforestry as a climate and food solution.
- 10 HN recommenders 8 months 2021–2026HN commenters recommend it as a counterpoint to claims about beef's environmental cost, though some critique its methane argument.
- 7 HN recommenders 7 months 2020–2024M Michael Moore · documentaryHN uses it as a contrarian critique of renewables and green tech, often recommended with caveats about bias and flawed conclusions.
- 10 HN recommenders 7 months 2021–2025HN commenters recommend it in gas stove and induction threads for exposing how the idea that gas is better for cooking was a marketing ploy.
- 4 HN recommenders 7 months 2018–2023T The University of British Columbia · lectureHN recommends it as a sobering, still-relevant look at the geopolitical consequences of warming, including why official reports lag the data.
- 2 HN recommenders 6 months 2015–2020K Kazza0423 · documentaryClimate-skeptic commenters link it as evidence against the CO2 consensus, while others cite it as an example of climate-change denial.
- 6 HN recommenders 6 months 2019–2023Recommended as a sober, physics-based account of how energy underlies the economy.
- 3 HN recommenders 5 months 2020–2023HN commenters cite it as a short, accessible overview of the climate and water case for plant-based meat.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2022–2023Recommended in greenwashing and offset threads as a well-sourced, detailed explanation of how offsets underdeliver.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2023–2025Recommended as a fun but well-researched explanation of why parking requirements are arbitrary and harmful.
- 3 HN recommenders 5 months 2019–2020S Stanford ENERGY · talkCited in energy threads for Gates's argument on why batteries and renewables alone fall short and nuclear is needed.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2018–2023HN commenters link it repeatedly as a clear, number-based rebuttal to the claim that EVs are worse for the climate than gas cars.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2018–2021Frequently linked in nuclear-power threads as an eye-opening pro-nuclear argument from a former anti-nuclear activist.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2019–2026S Sid Smith · lectureRecommended in collapse and energy threads as a sobering thermodynamic view of civilization, often with a warning that it is heavy.
- 3 HN recommenders 4 months 2017–2021Cited in energy debates for its back-of-envelope scale of the transition and the land and storage limits of wind and solar.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2020HN commenters credit it with changing their minds on nuclear power and cite it for the downsides of renewables.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2021–2026Commenters send it as a short, entertaining explanation of why people believe plastic is recyclable and how industry PR created that belief.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2015–2025Commenters call it a favorite Daily Show clip and link it as a ready answer to climate-skeptic arguments.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2017–2022T Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design · lectureHN recommends it as a grounded, data-driven counter to hype about quick energy revolutions.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2015–2017HN recommends it as an approachable, numbers-driven overview of what renewable energy would take.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2024S S3 | Science, Startups, & Stories · explainerHN commenters point to it as a clear, short tour of Terraform's synthetic fuel approach and goals.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2022–2025HN commenters cite it as an entertaining but well-sourced explainer on US zoning and housing costs whenever those topics come up.
- 5 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2022S Swan Bitcoin · documentaryBitcoin advocates on HN cite it to rebut energy-consumption and waste criticisms, though it is an advocacy piece from a Bitcoin company.
- 4 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024Recommended in climate and energy threads as a numbers-based explanation of why energy underlies growth and emissions.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2017–2020S SDA-Network · documentaryCited in climate and carbon-removal threads as an inspiring example of re-greening deserts.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2022–2023HN points to it as an informative explainer on why many carbon offset schemes are not genuine.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2024–2026HN points to it in Colorado River and water-use threads as an accessible explainer of why the Western water shortage keeps getting worse.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2015–2023Cited to illustrate false balance and the trouble with giving all sides equal weight.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2022–2024HN commenters cite it to argue carbon capture is a distraction from stopping emissions at the source.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2016–2024K kip399 · lectureHN repeatedly quotes its thesis that humanity's greatest shortcoming is failing to understand the exponential function.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2023N NEXT - Les Mondes Sensibles (byThePassengerStudio) · explainerHN commenters post it in climate threads as a clear explanation of overshoot and declining carrying capacity.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022Cited in nuclear energy debates, especially for uranium supply limits and why new reactor types fall short of claims.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2014–2023B Boston University · talkHN cites it for Dyson's contrarian take on global warming and soil carbon.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2023Cited as an accessible summary of evidence that corn ethanol is no better than gasoline for emissions.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2025HN commenters cite it in EV and emissions debates for its numbers on when replacing a car pays off.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2022HN cites it for reasonable estimates comparing the emissions of EVs, hybrids and ICE cars.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023HN cites it in hydrogen strategy threads as a concise skeptical summary of why hydrogen is not yet viable.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2018–2021Recommended in tree-planting and carbon removal threads as a sourced explanation of why greening deserts is not a simple climate fix.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2017–2022HN cites it in climate and diet debates as a contrarian perspective that cattle on managed pasture can be part of the solution.
- 2 HN recommenders 1 months 2021–2023Linked in fuel and aviation threads as the full story on why ethanol and biofuels are energy-negative or inefficient.
- 2 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2022F Foresight Institute · talkHN commenters call it a fantastic talk and cite it in climate threads for the carbon debt framing and tree-planting cost estimates.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2022–2026Cited in discussions of carbon footprints and corporate greenwashing, for the claim that the concept came from BP marketing.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2020–2023J Joe Scott · explainerLinked as a worked look at the maths and assumptions of orbital sunshades, which concludes they are impractical.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2011–2025HN mostly cites it in nuclear power debates as Gates making the case that nuclear is needed for clean energy, with a few critical references to his views on population.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2022–2023HN cites it in threads on sprawl, density, and climate, especially for the point that everything is a short bike ride from downtown Amsterdam.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2022–2026D Decouple Media · interviewUsed as background in nuclear energy threads for its account of French policy and the economics of the fleet.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2023D David Sklenicka · comedy videoIt is used only as a joke when threads discuss absurd or unworkable climate fixes.
- cited 3× 0 months 2022–2026R republicEn · interviewHN commenters use it to show that even the best-known free-market economist supported putting a price on pollution.
- cited 5× 0 months 2016–2026T TomsWhip · videoDropped into climate threads as a fictional but relevant fatalistic take, not as a recommendation.
- cited 3× 0 months 2018–2019C candidskeptic · comedy videoCommenters cite it as shorthand for the view that the Earth will outlast us, usually as a quip rather than a recommendation.
- cited 10× 0 months 2021–2025Used as a source for back-of-envelope numbers on tree planting and by critics of feel-good climate gestures.
- cited 3× 0 months 2017–2020F FORA.tv · commentaryMostly debated or criticized; one commenter found his points fair, while others questioned his climate views.
- 16 HN recommenders 13 months 2017–2023M MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center · lectureRecommended again and again as the best accessible overview of fusion physics, useful for judging fusion announcements and understanding why high-temperature superconducting magnets matter.
- 11 HN recommenders 10 months 2016–2024M MIT Club of Northern California · talkHN points to it as the grounded, approachable explanation of why REBCO magnets changed the outlook for fusion.
- 15 HN recommenders 7 months 2021–2022HN commenters post it under nearly every fusion breakthrough story as the standard reality check on Q-factor hype.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2020–2024HN recommends it whenever a failure is blamed on human error, as a clear case study in looking for the systemic second story.
- 7 HN recommenders 4 months 2021–2023HN uses it as a short, well-sourced overview showing that fossil fuels kill far more people than nuclear power.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2020–2025It is the go-to short primer HN commenters cite to explain why nuclear is expensive upfront but cheap to run once the construction debt is paid.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2011–2022G gordonmcdowell · explainerHN users send it to anyone asking about thorium or molten salt reactors as a compact overview that answers common anti-nuclear objections.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2022–2025It is the go-to accessible explainer whenever HN discusses Helion or alternative fusion designs.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2012–2022Recommended as the go-to pitch for liquid fluoride thorium reactors whenever nuclear power comes up.
- 3 HN recommenders 4 months 2009–2011HN used it as the go-to introduction to LFTR and thorium reactor technology in energy threads.
- 5 HN recommenders 4 months 2015–2017M Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik · explainerHN links it in stellarator and fusion threads as an understandable look at the design and engineering challenges.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2014–2019T TeleconStudio · documentaryRecommended as a moving, first-person account of the people who dealt with the worst of the Chernobyl cleanup.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2012–2019Recommended as an intense, insightful look at Bussard's IEC fusion work, frequently cited in fusion threads for his claim that it could be developed for about $200M.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2017–2022HN readers recommend it as the best explanation of what nuclear waste really is and how much of it is reusable fuel.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2025Recommended as the detailed technical account of exactly what happened at Chernobyl.
- 1 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2022Praised as the best crash course on fusion reactor design nuances from an insider, used to temper fusion hype.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2021Recommended as a clear technical explanation of micro-reactor fuel, safety and economics, from a channel HN trusts on nuclear topics.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2011–2023D Dogwoof · documentaryRecommended as a thought-provoking film on deep-time nuclear waste storage, though one commenter found it unenlightening.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2025R RethinkX · explainerCited in nuclear-versus-renewables debates to support the argument that cheap renewables undercut new nuclear.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2023W Well There's Your Problem Podcast · podcast episodeHN points to it as a good, detailed podcast account whenever the Goiania incident or lost radioactive sources come up.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022K Kyle Hill · explainerCited in nuclear power debates to argue that waste storage is a political rather than technical problem.
Showing the 100 best-scored of 335. Use search to find the rest.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.