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A CONSERVATIVE solution to global warming (Part 1)

3 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this explainer5 months2019–2022 score 6.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN users recommend it as a model of communicating climate science to conservative and libertarian audiences without alienating them.

Potholer54 presents the climate science case and a market-oriented, conservative-friendly approach to addressing global warming, with sources listed. It is part one of a two-part series.

“I've been recommending this video as a quick intro for people who don't feel at home with left wing solutions to climate change” (HN, 2019)

4 strong recommendations · 4 recommendations · 1 citations · Explainers

9 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@ZeroGravitas Oct 2019 Strongly recommends
on HN thread The Money Behind The Climate Denial Movement (2013)
Read more
It's always mildly terrifying reading climate change related stories on Hacker News as all the hyper-logical libertarians do their best to portray accepted science as a global conspiracy of hippies and communists. If that kind of thing describes you, then I encourage you to check out this YouTube channel, which debunks all the nonsense with a focus on the kind of person who frequents Hacker News, i.e. likely nerdy and libertarian and more likely to be convinced by a link to a research paper or Margaret Thatcher's opinion than a picture of a cute animal in distress: A Conservative solution to climate change (part 1): [this video] Are electric cars really green: [link] He hopefully talks your language and can open yours eyes to the sheer quantity of disingenuous BS that well paid lobbyists have been throwing around. He touches on some of the stuff mentioned in this article including Heartland.
Debunks climate denial using arguments aimed at conservative and libertarian audiences.
@ZeroGravitas Nov 2019 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Scientists’ warnings about climate change have intensified
Read more
If you're genuinely interested in escaping your info bubble then I've been recommending this video as a quick intro for people who don't feel at home with left wing solutions to climate change. Part of its about climate change denial, but it covers the attacks made (often by the same people) on the viability of renewables too and your pont about the solution not existing yet: [this video] And yes, climate change deniers are the real problem, not people who are irrationally scared of nuclear. Nuclear is just one solution, and as of today it's not a cost effective one. We could have been building nukes for a while but what was the point in investing so much money in what was just a big hoax anyway? We could have had a carbon tax that made Nuclear competitive but again, what's the point when it's just a hoax?
Quick intro to climate change for people uncomfortable with left-wing solutions.
@Hammershaft Sep 2020 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Climate Disruption Is Now Locked In. The Next Moves Will Be Crucial
Read more
At this point the greatest hurdle to action on climate change is Republican obstruction backed by the apathy of the conservative base. I regularly see conservatives on /r/conservative use the lack of burn control and a rise in arson cases as talking points to dismiss these wildfires entirely. If an article like this is going to present a strong argument for climate action that can win over conservatives it will need to be scientifically precise and grapple specifically with conservative talking points. This NYT article did not even come close to meeting that bar, it confidently attributed complex multi factor phenomenon entirely to climate change without creating the groundwork of data & evidence needed to authoritatively establish those claims. When actors, politicians, and NYT journalists make dramatic claims and fail to meet that bar, then the intent backfires and only serves to entrench the common conservative belief that climate change is a product of liberal fear mongering. For an absolute masterclass on how to properly communicate about the science of climate change, and how to slowly win over moderate conservatives, I know of no better source than Potholer54. We can only hope that one day New York Times journalists will regularly exercise the scientific and journalistic diligence of this retired youtuber. [link] - The cause of Australia’s bushfires – what the science says [this video] - A conservative solution to global warming (Part 1)
Model of how to communicate climate science to moderate conservatives.
@Hammershaft Sep 2020 Strongly recommends
on HN thread Climate Disruption Is Now Locked In. The Next Moves Will Be Crucial
Read more
At this point the greatest hurdle to action on climate change is Republican obstruction backed by the apathy of the conservative base. I regularly see conservatives on /r/conservative use the lack of burn control and a rise in arson cases as talking points to dismiss these wildfires entirely. If an article like this is going to present a strong argument for climate action that can win over conservatives it will need to be scientifically precise and grapple specifically with conservative talking points. This NYT article did not even come close to meeting that bar, it confidently attributed complex multi factor phenomenon entirely to climate change without creating the groundwork of data & evidence needed to authoritatively establish those claims. When actors, politicians, and NYT journalists make dramatic claims and fail to meet that bar, then the intent backfires and only serves to entrench the common conservative belief that climate change is a product of liberal fear mongering. For an absolute masterclass on how to properly communicate about the science of climate change, and how to slowly win over moderate conservatives, I know of no better source than Potholer54. We can only hope that one day New York Times journalists will regularly exercise the scientific and journalistic diligence of this retired youtuber. [link] - The cause of Australia’s bushfires – what the science says [this video] - A conservative solution to global warming (Part 1)
Model of how to communicate climate science to moderate conservatives.
@ZeroGravitas Oct 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Antarctic ice cliffs may not contribute to sea-level rise as much as predicted
This YouTube channel from a former oil and gas surveying geologist and technology columnist does a good job of conveying the science while taking care not to spook people who are on the right of the political spectrum (like he is) and have absorbed too much misinformation: [this video]
Conveys climate science carefully for right-leaning viewers exposed to misinformation.
@BregorMarRian Oct 2019 Recommends
on HN thread Ask HN: What's a promising area to work on?
By the way, Bjørn Lomborg is an unreliable and often misleading source. Why? See for yourself multiple examples of quality analysis with actual scientific sources. Highly recommended: [1] [link] [2] [link] And that's analysis of Bjørn Lomborg's work by those who actively support pragmatic, cost-effective, and often 'conservative' solutions to environmental problems and climate change. Examples: [3] [this video] [4] [link]
Analysis of Lomborg's work from a conservative, pragmatic perspective.
@Hammershaft Jul 2021 Recommends
on HN thread Time to assume that health research is fraudulent until proven otherwise?
Have you considered the flipside, which has much more evidence for it, that denialism is being promoted by institutions and speakers who are by proxy funded by the fossil fuel industry, which is one of the largest industries on earth? I really reccomend, if you want a level headed, conservative, independent look at the issue that you check out some of these videos by Potholer54, a retired geologist and science reporter. [link] [link] [this video]
Level-headed conservative look at climate denial and its funding.
@ZeroGravitas Nov 2022 Recommends
on HN thread How an early oil industry study became key in climate lawsuits
In particular the two part video here is good as a summary: A CONSERVATIVE solution to global warming (Part 1) [this video] Many of the other older ones are referring to old controversies, though I see the 14 year old one still has new comments from this year claiming it's all lies.
Good two-part summary of climate science and denial history.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@ZeroGravitas Oct 2021 Cites it
on HN thread Surging gas prices and fuel bills focus Tory minds on the nuclear option
Read more
Maybe the Conservatives shouldn't have fought against wind power and decent house insulation for so long and we'd already have enough cheap power to do the job without China or France having to hold the UK's hand to do so. Imagine how much further along we'd be if we listened to Margaret Thatcher and actually planned a conservative, business and market-oriented approach to climate change rather than just tried to make our friends rich and be willing to blatantly deny reality to do so "A CONSERVATIVE solution to global warming (Part 1)" [this video] (And of course Brexit, means we need to bid market rates for electricity that we previously got assigned as part of the EU market, which is awkward when you're in a price crunch).
Shows Thatcher-era conservative market-oriented approach to climate change.

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.

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