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> Is there anything I, a normal person, can do to actually help? Absolutely. I work in cleantech, and you should, too! Solar and wind are economical, so now th
by diafygi 8y ago
> Is there anything I, a normal person, can do to actually help?
Absolutely. I work in cleantech, and you should, too! Solar and wind are economical, so now the biggest issue is scaling them up. That means tons and tons of problem solving, which means great engineering jobs!
If you think about it, the switch to renewables means we need to deal with situations where the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing, yet still keep the lights on. That means you have to build in a ton of storage and load control, which means good communication and analysis, which means software! Something like half of the impact of the energy transition will be done through software optimizing the deployment and operation of clean energy assets.
Anyway, please check out my previous comments on recommendations when looking for climate impact work. Overall, the biggest impact per unit time spent is working as a regulator[1]. Next is working at a cleantech company[2].
[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/8l5yhw/whats_the_best_way_for_an_engineer_to_make_a/dzdeptb/?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/energy/comments/8l5yhw/whats_the_be...
[2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15127154 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15127154
- piocho 8y ago> Absolutely. I work in cleantech, and you should, too! Solar and wind are economical, so now the biggest issue is scaling them up. That means tons and tons of problem solving, which means great engineering jobs! Economical right. But can it replace nuclear power plants ? Because we need a LOT of power (datacenter, electric cars ?).
- cimmanom 8y agoDoes it have to replace them entirely in order to be worthwhile?
- y3k 8y agoThis is more like what I meant. I follow most, if not every, advise about lifestyle, but I also belive that is not enough. My current work consist in helping a company get more money, and while there's nothing wrong with that I would certainly preffer to work on something that along making profit helps fight climate change. Will read both links given, thank you.
- diafygi 8y agoGreat! Mind if I ask you to email me your resume? My email is in my HN profile.