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Howdy! I work fighting climate change, and I guess it's that time again for a what-can-you-do-about-it post :) So what can you do about it? You can get a job

Howdy! I work fighting climate change, and I guess it's that time again for a what-can-you-do-about-it post :) So what can you do about it? You can get a job fighting climate change! Solar, wind, batteries, and EVs are now competitive against fossil-based incumbents, so now the biggest issue is scaling them up. That means tons and tons of problem solving, which means great software and engineering jobs and startup opportunities! 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 and electrify as much as you can (transportation, heating, etc.). All that new infrastructure needs to have 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. I've posted about this many times[1], so please check out my previous comments on links for finding climate impact work. It's mostly about (A) browsing sector-specific conferences and looking at the expo and speakers' companies for ones that interest you, and (B) showing up to energy meetups just to meet people working in the space. If you're in the bay area, I run a calendar of all the clean energy-related events (https://bayareaenergyevents.com https://bayareaenergyevents.com), so I encourage you to just start showing up :) My favorite climate change joke is, "They say we won't act until it's too late... Luckily, it's too late!" Why not turn the fatalism and anxiety you feel into a paycheck? [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15127154 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15127154

lazyjones 7y ago
> Why not turn the fatalism and anxiety you feel into a paycheck? I don't want to sound mean, but the only anxiety I am beginning to feel lately is that more and more people are turning to fighting a gas that all of us exhale, some of them fanatically and violently, and they seem to ultimately agree that we must wind down the economy to beat it. I don't want to lose everything that gave us wealth, progress, medical breakthroughs and freedom for the sole reason that some people are afraid of a warmer climate. So, what do I do about it?
- diafygi 7y ago
  Nothing? If you don't believe in climate change or believe we should be fighting it, then please get out of the way. The energy transition is a bigger economic opportunity that the Internet (Bloomberg estimates it at something like $10+ trillion). So you doing nothing is more money for me. Thanks I guess?
  - lazyjones 7y ago
    > The energy transition is a bigger economic opportunity that the Internet (Bloomberg estimates it at something like $10+ trillion). So you doing nothing is more money for me. Thanks I guess? So where exactly do you think this money is coming from? It'll come out of your pocket (and mine) due to laws that force us to invest in new technology.
    - diafygi 7y ago
      Well, for my company, the money is coming from homeowners and business owners buying clean energy products (solar, batteries, EVs, etc.). They are choosing to buy these new technologies because they want to. I noticed you didn't really address my core assumption that you don't believe in climate change. So you don't think it's a problem, right? Can you talk a little more about from where you derive that conclusion? It's so rare nowadays to hear someone straight up deny climate change is a problem when there's so much scientific and economic analysis saying the opposite.
      - lazyjones 7y ago
        > They are choosing to buy these new technologies because they want to. So do I, I have no issues with that. I bought a Tesla Model S 2 years ago because I don't like noise and pollution and it's a cool car. This has nothing to do with buying "to save the planet" or mandated CO2 reductions and EV quotas though, which is what is coming soon and I oppose. > I noticed you didn't really address my core assumption that you don't believe in climate change. Why do you make such assumptions? To discredit and offend someone you are discussing with? > It's so rare nowadays to hear someone straight up deny climate change It can't be so rare if you accuse people of doing this all the time.
elliotec 7y ago
Do you know of any jobs in software related to this, or where one could start searching for such?
- diafygi 7y ago
  Sure! Most distributed battery storage (Stem, Advanced Microgrid, etc.) and building energy management companies (Carbon Lighthouse, Siemens, etc.) have software divisions that focus on data analysis tools for their customers (think energy dashboards and reports). Also, most grid operators (CAISO, etc.), utilities (PG&E, etc.), and utility vendors (AutoGrid, etc.) have software and data analysis divisions that focus on figuring out how we can keep the grid running while ramping up renewables. Finally, regulators (Dept of Energy, public utility commissions, city managers, etc.) are in desperate need of software and data science talent to help them understand all this new energy advancements that are going on (often at policy hearings utilities are saying one technical thing, distributed energy companies are saying another technical thing, and the panel of regulators have no idea what the technical implications of all this back-and-forth is). Hope that helps! In addition to the (A) and (B) suggestions in my parent comment, you can try searching typical software job boards (Indeed, etc.) for your language of choice + keywords (clean energy, solar, renewables, smart grid, climate change, etc.). For example, "python solar" in San Francisco returns a bunch of results on indeed.com.
Mirioron 7y ago
I have a question on climate change: what's the most accurate prediction for the climate in 2050 at the current rate things are going? As in, are there predictions in temperature that have been made based on current models that we will hit by 2050 that we can measure in 2050 to see if the models are correct? Have such predictions been made before for, say, 2020 or 2030? I don't dispute climate change, but my belief in it rests on authorities telling me it's true. It's not based on anything I myself could look at. I'd love to hear some predictions made now or in the past that we could observe whether they're true in the future.
- diafygi 7y ago
  The IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) is the generally considered the best source on climate change science. They have a nice graph of how things can go based on various amounts of sequestered carbon being injected into the carbon cycle. Graph: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SPM.05-01-1.png https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SPM.05-01-1.... Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ It basically shows that if you assume we keep pulling carbon out of the ground (e.g. extracting and burning fossil fuels) we'll end up at +4.5C increase. That kind of change is likely an human extinction-level event (e.g. https://xkcd.com/1379/ https://xkcd.com/1379/). The Paris agreements call for a max of +2C, which means we can only pull up about 25% of proven fossil reserves. So we're going to have to leave 75% of proven fossil reserves in the ground. There's actually a term for this called the "Carbon Bubble", and it's expected to decimate the oil majors and sovereign oil and gas since most of their proven reserves on their balance sheets are going to end up being stranded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_bubble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_bubble
  - A2017U1 7y ago
    > have to leave 75% of proven fossil reserves in the ground. To nitpick, I think you mean burn them. Oil into plastics has minimal emissions.
    - diafygi 7y ago
jawilson2 7y ago
I feel like at this point it is a political and capitalism problem. We could start impacting global temperature within a week if we actually wanted to fix the issue[1], but a number of industries whose business models basically guarantee they will contribute to climate change won't permit that. Those same companies then lobby congress, etc. If we had the scenario where we told world governments and corporations that the tipping point of no return is in one month, and if we don't do anything the planet is dead in 50 years, what could we do? If we said (just making these up): 1) limit flights to weekdays; 2) limit cruise ships [2]; 3) companies must allow remote work to reduce commutes. (I'm sure someone can and will come up with better examples). Can you imagine the blowback from airlines, etc? I imagine they will find some way to justify not participating, even though it literally means the death of the planet. We have the technology and the know-how, it just isn't stronger than the pathological greed of corporations. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/climatechange/2009/05/911_contrails_study_challenged.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/climatechange/2009/05/911_contra... [2] https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/15/18096925/cruise-environment-pollution-crime https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/15/18096925/cruise-env...

lazyjones 7y ago

> Why not turn the fatalism and anxiety you feel into a paycheck? I don't want to sound mean, but the only anxiety I am beginning to feel lately is that more and more people are turning to fighting a gas that all of us exhale, some of them fanatically and violently, and they seem to ultimately agree that we must wind down the economy to beat it. I don't want to lose everything that gave us wealth, progress, medical breakthroughs and freedom for the sole reason that some people are afraid of a warmer climate. So, what do I do about it?

diafygi 7y ago
Nothing? If you don't believe in climate change or believe we should be fighting it, then please get out of the way. The energy transition is a bigger economic opportunity that the Internet (Bloomberg estimates it at something like $10+ trillion). So you doing nothing is more money for me. Thanks I guess?
- lazyjones 7y ago
  > The energy transition is a bigger economic opportunity that the Internet (Bloomberg estimates it at something like $10+ trillion). So you doing nothing is more money for me. Thanks I guess? So where exactly do you think this money is coming from? It'll come out of your pocket (and mine) due to laws that force us to invest in new technology.
  - diafygi 7y ago
    Well, for my company, the money is coming from homeowners and business owners buying clean energy products (solar, batteries, EVs, etc.). They are choosing to buy these new technologies because they want to. I noticed you didn't really address my core assumption that you don't believe in climate change. So you don't think it's a problem, right? Can you talk a little more about from where you derive that conclusion? It's so rare nowadays to hear someone straight up deny climate change is a problem when there's so much scientific and economic analysis saying the opposite.
    - lazyjones 7y ago
      > They are choosing to buy these new technologies because they want to. So do I, I have no issues with that. I bought a Tesla Model S 2 years ago because I don't like noise and pollution and it's a cool car. This has nothing to do with buying "to save the planet" or mandated CO2 reductions and EV quotas though, which is what is coming soon and I oppose. > I noticed you didn't really address my core assumption that you don't believe in climate change. Why do you make such assumptions? To discredit and offend someone you are discussing with? > It's so rare nowadays to hear someone straight up deny climate change It can't be so rare if you accuse people of doing this all the time.

elliotec 7y ago

Do you know of any jobs in software related to this, or where one could start searching for such?

diafygi 7y ago
Sure! Most distributed battery storage (Stem, Advanced Microgrid, etc.) and building energy management companies (Carbon Lighthouse, Siemens, etc.) have software divisions that focus on data analysis tools for their customers (think energy dashboards and reports). Also, most grid operators (CAISO, etc.), utilities (PG&E, etc.), and utility vendors (AutoGrid, etc.) have software and data analysis divisions that focus on figuring out how we can keep the grid running while ramping up renewables. Finally, regulators (Dept of Energy, public utility commissions, city managers, etc.) are in desperate need of software and data science talent to help them understand all this new energy advancements that are going on (often at policy hearings utilities are saying one technical thing, distributed energy companies are saying another technical thing, and the panel of regulators have no idea what the technical implications of all this back-and-forth is). Hope that helps! In addition to the (A) and (B) suggestions in my parent comment, you can try searching typical software job boards (Indeed, etc.) for your language of choice + keywords (clean energy, solar, renewables, smart grid, climate change, etc.). For example, "python solar" in San Francisco returns a bunch of results on indeed.com.

Mirioron 7y ago

I have a question on climate change: what's the most accurate prediction for the climate in 2050 at the current rate things are going? As in, are there predictions in temperature that have been made based on current models that we will hit by 2050 that we can measure in 2050 to see if the models are correct? Have such predictions been made before for, say, 2020 or 2030? I don't dispute climate change, but my belief in it rests on authorities telling me it's true. It's not based on anything I myself could look at. I'd love to hear some predictions made now or in the past that we could observe whether they're true in the future.

diafygi 7y ago
The IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) is the generally considered the best source on climate change science. They have a nice graph of how things can go based on various amounts of sequestered carbon being injected into the carbon cycle. Graph: https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SPM.05-01-1.png https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SPM.05-01-1.... Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ It basically shows that if you assume we keep pulling carbon out of the ground (e.g. extracting and burning fossil fuels) we'll end up at +4.5C increase. That kind of change is likely an human extinction-level event (e.g. https://xkcd.com/1379/ https://xkcd.com/1379/). The Paris agreements call for a max of +2C, which means we can only pull up about 25% of proven fossil reserves. So we're going to have to leave 75% of proven fossil reserves in the ground. There's actually a term for this called the "Carbon Bubble", and it's expected to decimate the oil majors and sovereign oil and gas since most of their proven reserves on their balance sheets are going to end up being stranded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_bubble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_bubble
- A2017U1 7y ago
  > have to leave 75% of proven fossil reserves in the ground. To nitpick, I think you mean burn them. Oil into plastics has minimal emissions.
  - diafygi 7y ago

jawilson2 7y ago

I feel like at this point it is a political and capitalism problem. We could start impacting global temperature within a week if we actually wanted to fix the issue[1], but a number of industries whose business models basically guarantee they will contribute to climate change won't permit that. Those same companies then lobby congress, etc. If we had the scenario where we told world governments and corporations that the tipping point of no return is in one month, and if we don't do anything the planet is dead in 50 years, what could we do? If we said (just making these up): 1) limit flights to weekdays; 2) limit cruise ships [2]; 3) companies must allow remote work to reduce commutes. (I'm sure someone can and will come up with better examples). Can you imagine the blowback from airlines, etc? I imagine they will find some way to justify not participating, even though it literally means the death of the planet. We have the technology and the know-how, it just isn't stronger than the pathological greed of corporations. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/climatechange/2009/05/911_contrails_study_challenged.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/climatechange/2009/05/911_contra... [2] https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/15/18096925/cruise-environment-pollution-crime https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/15/18096925/cruise-env...