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Earth & energy (other): videos Hacker News recommends
Other earth, energy and environment topics: oil and gas industry, fossil fuels, resource economics, miscellaneous environmental documentaries. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (4 lectures, 3 documentarys, 2 explainers), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2016–2023L lXlSalemlXl · lectureHN commenters cite it as a mind-changing introduction to exponential growth, though some note his peak oil predictions did not pan out.
- 3 HN recommenders 5 months 2011–2021E endofsuburbia · documentaryRecommended in threads on suburbs, energy and urbanism as an entertaining, if biased, case for suburbia's dependence on cheap oil.
- 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 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 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 2022–2023Cited as an accessible summary of evidence that corn ethanol is no better than gasoline for emissions.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2020–2026A ankerssm · documentaryLinked in salt mine and industrial accident threads as a fascinating, quick account with striking footage.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2015–2026I incubatepictures · documentaryHN links it in threads about energy shocks and resource dependence as a quick, accessible overview of peak-oil arguments.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–2021S Stop Schaliegas · news clipHN cites it as evidence that small underground nuclear devices were used to stop well fires and leaks.
- cited 3× 0 months 2019–2023Cited to show that helium is not actually running out, and for background on the federal reserve.
Questions
What is the most recommended earth & energy (other) video on Hacker News?
Arithmetic, Population and Energy - a talk by Al Bartlett by lXlSalemlXl: HN commenters cite it as a mind-changing introduction to exponential growth, though some note his peak oil predictions did not pan out.
How is this earth & energy (other) list ranked?
By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.
Where do the videos come from?
From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.
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.