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this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
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Climate
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Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
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Other way around. Stars produce energy through nuclear fusion, nuclear reactors produce energy through fission.
And if we want to be really precise about where energy comes from, it's worth noting that all elements heavier than hydrogen (i.e. all if them) are the result of stellar fusion. Up to iron in the main phase, and anything heavier in supernovae, neutron star mergers, and possibly other extremely violent events. So fission is extracting the stored energy of dead stars.
Ultimately, it's probably all just residual energy from the Big Bang.
The energy stored in fissile elements mostly doesn't come from fusion, it comes from gravitational potential energy released when stellar cores collapse. Most supernovae mostly aren't fusion; almost all that energy comes from mass falling down into a neutron star or black hole.
Fissile elements are still produced through fusion, but this process takes energy from the supernova and stores it, just like fossil fuel is stored sunlight.
Right, sorry, slip of the ginger.