š CAT Newsletter #187 - 2023-09-10
CAT 187 - 2023-09-03
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 187 of the climateAction.tech (CAT) Newsletter - your weekly summary of what's happening inside the CAT community, and in the wider world of climate and tech. New to CAT or looking to re-discover the community? Try outĀ our onboarding checklist.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay safe & healthy š š š±
CAT Community News
āļø From the blog
We celebrated the release of Branch issue 5 inĀ this blog post.
#ļøā£ Slack channel highlights
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#greener-infra: A few weeks back Owen sharedĀ an articleĀ inĀ this postĀ that explains a new German regulation about datacenter energy efficiency and most notably waste heat re-use. Did you read it? What did you think?
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#7-cat-community-feedback:Ā SandraĀ shared a CAT event plan / strategy for the next year. Have a watch and share your thoughts inĀ the thread.
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#random: Some CATs are discussing the latest Slack app update.
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#ask-anything: Sociologist Sarah Lenz, at the University of Hamburg is looking for CATs prepared to talk in an anonymised interview about the tensinos between digitalisation and sustainability. Follow the thread.
š Local happenings
šØš #local-switzerland: CATs met on Sep 5th! Shoutout to Fiona for organising!
šŗšø #local-new-york: Climate Week event planning is starting! Bud, Cherry and MelissaĀ areĀ looking for a venue & speakers & sponsorsĀ for Wed, Sep 20th.
š¦š¹ #local-austria: SandraĀ and BjƶrnĀ are coordinating anĀ informal meetup on Sep 21st.
šŗšø #local-chicago: Evan and a few others are talking aboutĀ meeting during an event on Sep 21st.
šØš¦ #local-vancouver: Greta is looking toĀ connect with climate folks.
š³šæ #local-aotearoa:Ā AndreaĀ asked about the environmental movement in Aotearoa inĀ this post.
Remember: This week is the week of the global climate strike, happening on Friday 15th September for much of the world. Itās the perfect excuse to meet other CATs in your part of the world, and join a historical event together.
š Last book club event
Mary & Melissa are getting ready to host part 3 of our āHow to Blow Up a Pipelineā book club:
Thu, Sep 21 at 5pm UTC / 1pm ET Ā·Ā Book Club āHow to Blow Up a Pipelineā Discussion 3Ā |Ā Add to GoogleCal
Join us onĀ Thurs, Sep 21, as we discussĀ Section 3: Fighting Despair.Ā Malm challenges climate activism critics, rejects climate fatalism, and highlights the potential impact of immediate action. He uses historical events to argue for a more assertive climate movement.
Read notes from the past two events here.
š© Community networking
As channel host Brett mentioned on Slack āĀ channel members have been removed from ourĀ #cat-rouletteĀ channel for our yearly refresh. š If you want to continue being a part of CAT Roulette, please rejoin it. The next match is going out on Fri, Sep 15.
What is #cat-roulette? A Slack integration called Donut matches members of theĀ #cat-rouletteĀ channel every two weeks at random. The matched CATs then pick a time when both/all can virtually meet in the following two weeks. It's a great way to get to know members of the CAT community. More info on Outline
š± A cutting from Branch
Branch issue 5: Carbon Accounting and Computing
As both consumers and producers of carbon accounting tools, the information and communications technology industry (or ICT) today powerfully shapes how corporate and institutional climate impacts are monitored. How can we strike a balance between getting more granular data and building more advanced models, and recognizing when the production of new environmental data and models may lead to near monopolies, and might actually narrow our pathways to meaningful action?
š¬ CAT videos
CAT videos, geddit? 10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to topics related to climate.
The greenhouse gas no one is talking about
You may know laughing gas from your visit to the dentist. But did you know that it's actually a climate killer ā 300 times as potent as COā? Why is no one talking about it? And how can we to stop it?
Youtube comments are often an utter wasteland, so weāre trying something new this week. If youād like share something back about anything about this vid, try this thread in the CAT slack.
ā Looking for volunteers
#ļøā£ #ask-anything channel hostĀ ā¢Ā 30min / week
Keep our #ask-anything channel welcoming, active, safe, and spam-free.
šĀ CAT Submitted Events
Want an event listed here? Use this event listing form to submit the details so we can add it in the newsletter.
Thu Sep 14 2023 - Apidays London - Sustainability track
Apidays London has a dedicated sustainability track this year with amazing speakers like Asim Hussein, Tom Greenwood, Sarah Hsu, Sandra Pallier (yes our CAT organizer!), Marc Butcher, Arwel Owen, Rob Price, Sandra Sydow, ... Ping Gaƫl Duez to get a free voucher ;)
Fri Sep 15 2023 - Global Climate Strike: We must end the Era of Fossil Fuels
This is a call to action from Indigenous and First Nations, youth activists, civil society organisations, social movements, feminist and migrant rights groups, trade unions, faith institutions, people of all genders and backgrounds, everywhere. Join us on September 15 & 17, 2023.
Wed Oct 11 2023 - Tech meets sustainable clothing - hybrid event
Join us for our hybrid event with great talks combining tech and sustainability. The event theme is tech meets clothing, with three brilliant speakers based in the South West - Tim Kindberg from Sust and Jen Wagner & Gary Lake from LAYBL.
Check #external-events in the CAT slack for more.
š¤Ā Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
Environment Variables: The Week in Green Software: Complex Carbon Accounting with Gaƫl Duez
On this episode of Environment Variables, Chris Adams is joined by fellow podcast host of the Green IO podcast GaĆ«l Duez. Together they will cover the complexity of carbon accounting, new patents around carbon aware programming from Microsoft, and the flight of climate nerds from Twitter / X.com (or whatever weāre calling it these daysā¦).
GreenIO: #23 Greenwashing and friends with Harriet Kingaby and Mathieu Jahnich
Our regular Green IO host Gaƫl Duez meets Harriet Kingaby and Mathieu Jahnich to get the low-down on greenwashing, and, more importantly, how to avoid it. Mathieu Jahnich is a consultant and researcher, and also a lecturer at Sciences Po, Paris, where he teaches responsible communication & marketing on several Masters programs. Harriet Kingaby is a strategic communications expert who focuses on responsible marketing and communications at the intersection of advertising, human rights and climate change
Zero: How the worldās biggest green bank is electrifying Australia
Trillions of dollars are needed to fund the climate transition, with both the private sector and governments required to contribute. Australiaās answer is the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the worldās largest green bank. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi sits down with CEFC chief executive officer, Ian Learmonth, to learn how this huge amount of money will be spent, why the CEFC had so many enemies early on, and what kind of innovative startups and clean-tech projects the organization is looking to fund.
Catalyst With Shayle Khan: The food-energy nexus
Last time we talked to Michael Webber, we dug into the nexus between water and energy. This episode weāre diving into food. The connections are myriad.
Outrage and Optimism: 212. We're BACK! With Al Gore
Back together following our break, the hosts discuss the devastating extreme weather events that have been happening across the world and they encourage us to think about how these changes within the global climate are impacting all our environments. We have a fascinating and passionate interview from the incredible Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, he gives us an honest account of what he feels are the top political obstacles to climate solutions.
š° News Highlights
Hey Sandra, this will be tidied up and summarised
Worldwide Web Consortium: Introducing Web Sustainability Guidelines
(Yes, that one - as in the W3C ) The Sustainable Web Design Community Group is excited to announce a draft Community Group Report on Sustainable Web Design. The Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG) 1.0 explains how to design and implement digital products and services that put people and the planet first. The guidelines are best practices based on measurable, evidence-based research; aimed at end-users, web workers, stakeholders, tool authors, educators, and policymakers. See the full spec, and the at-a-glance version
Irish Central Stastistics Office: Datacentres in Ireland now use as much energy as every city in the country put together
Expect to see this infographic comparing metered electricity use by datacentres in ireland (18% of all electricity generated) with urban dwellings (also 18% of all electricity generated)
Grist: Burning Manās climate reckoning has begun
Protesters highlighted the carbon footprint famous among US digerati, but the biggest issue may be Burning Manās opposition to renewable energy in its own backyard.
Reuters: G20 agrees to pursue tripling renewables capacity by 2030 but stop short of major goals
G20 leaders on Saturday agreed to pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting major climate goals.
The world's 20 major economies have had disagreements on commitments to reduce fossil fuel use, cut green house gas emissions and increase renewable energy targets.
Al Jazeera: Greece blaze is ālargest wildfire ever recorded in EUā
The fire that began near the city of Alexandroupolis quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people.
Mysociety Blog: Mass mobilisation of supporters with WriteToThem
How MySociety's open source civil engagement services like WriteToThem are being used by Power To People, a local community energy group in the UK to lobby for a new law around locally produced renewable electricity, called The Local Electricity Bill (geddit? Electricity Bill?).
Electrek: Norway rolls back EV incentives while boosting walking and cycling
While life may soon start to feel a little less sweet for EV owners in Norway, the country is eyeing its next strategic move toward an even greener future, and that means fewer private cars (even electric varieties) clogging the roads in favor of walking, cycling, and taking the bus.
Rest of World: how BYD snatched Teslaās crown
BYD dominates the Chinese EV market. Now itās coming for the world. Fascinating long read on the Chinaās biggest EV brand, itās history, and itās expansion into the rest of the world, but also the problems itās facing as it takes on the largest companies in the world on their own turf.
Hammer and Hope: Our Green Transition May Leave Black People Behind
āIām an architect of the Green New Deal, and Iām worried the racism in the biggest climate law endangers our ability to get off fossil fuels.ā Rhianna Gunn-Wright talks about the steps needed for a green transition to be an equitabone one too.
Canary Media: Add these climate books to your end-of-summer reading list
š¼Ā Jobs
Remember only jobs listing salary ranges are listed here - to get your job listed, you need to list a salary range. Folks can still look in the #jobs channel.
Cercula - Software Developer - Up to Ā£55,000 - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Cercula is an award-winning construction tech & sustainability startup, working towards the decarbonisation of the construction industry. In short, we take a list of materials for a construction project, match each one in our database of materials carbon data, and produce a report on the building's whole-life carbon impact. We're looking for experienced developers to work on our API and databases, at the core of Cercula's business, as well as on our user-facing front-end and AWS deployment. Our stack is primarily TypeScript and Postgres on AWS (including serverless). If you are interested in social and climate change, and want to contribute to solving major environmental problems by decarbonising a high-impact industry, please reach out!
Overstory - Full-stack software engineer - 60-75k eur - Permanent - Totally remote
Full-stack software engineer role to create web appls and data visualizations - mostly of trees! Vegetation is the single greatest contributor to power outages and wildfires caused by our electric grid. Overstory provides utilities with visibility, risk analysis, and optimization recommendations for vegetation management, using machine learning and satellite imagery. Overstory is a flexible and diverse remote-first climate tech startup and this role would suit someone with experience with deep tech / remote sensing / cartography / GIS especially but these arenāt essential.
Revalu Impact AG (IT partner: i-ways) - Multiple - 15 - 25 LPA - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Revalu Impact AG is an Indo-European start up with a focus on Sustainability in buildings- sector. As part of expanding our teams in India, we are partnering with our IT partner, I-WAYS to recruit multiple senior developers.
Deep Science Ventures - n/a - 50k GBP - Founder in Residence - Flexible - remote ok
Deep Science Ventures is looking for a Founder in Residence to lead the development of a decarbonisation insights platform for industrial plants and help avert 7.5 Gt of CO2 emissions/year. The software developer/data scientist will develop a technical platform that can perform quick techno-economic analysis to allow companies to formulate a decarbonisation strategy and implement it easily for their manufacturing plant.
Open Supply Hub (OS Hub) - Principal Gifts Officer - 80-90,000 USD - Permanent - Totally remote
Open Supply Hubās Principal Gifts Officer is an exciting new role in the global Business Development team. Reporting to the Business Development Director, this role will lead on income generation from principal donors (in particular large institutional donors including private foundations and governmental donors). This is a relatively nascent fundraising area for OS Hub and will involve all aspects of the funding cycle from research and outreach to grant management, reporting, and stewardship. While the portfolio grows, the successful candidate will support the BD Director in all areas of business development and fundraising, including strategy and systems development, developing communications materials for new business, new business research, and proposal writing for all funding disciplines.
Carbonara - Multiple - $120k-$180k - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
Carbonara is a fast-growing tech company building a sustainable future by empowering companies to reduce their carbon footprint.. Our mission is to minimize the environmental impact of technology by automatically measuring and recommending actionable code and infrastructure optimizations.
As a Full Stack Engineer, you will play a key role in designing, developing, and maintaining our cloud-based systems and large-scale platforms. Your expertise in system design, data pipelines, and distributed systems will be instrumental in shaping the future of our products. You will have the opportunity to work with a talented and passionate team, contributing to projects that drive meaningful change.
Sirona Technologies - Machine Designer - 40k-80k - Permanent - Onsite only
At Sirona Technologies, we are developing direct air capture (DAC) technology to remove CO2 from the air and combat climate change. We are a young startup in the R&D phase, scaling up our lab prototype into larger and larger machines.
Alder & Co. - MID-SENIOR COPYWRITER - $70k-$90k depending on experience - Contract-to-hire - Totally remote
Alder is a woman- and minority-owned strategic brand marketing agency focused exclusively on climate tech. By joining Alder as a copywriter, you'll help our clients scale their impact and propel your career in marketing for mission-driven companies and learn from the best in our industry.
AimHi Earth - Engineering Lead - Climate EdTech - Ā£65,000 - Permanent - Totally remote
Wildfires are raging, floods are displacing tens of millions, tropical diseases are intensifying, crops are failing, and nature is collapsing. The climate and nature emergency is just beginning. At AimHi Earth, weāre working to slow and then reverse it - to bring human systems into line with the natural limits of our only home. We combine technology and digital experience design to deliver scalable online experiences that rapidly shift mindsets and behaviours, upskilling and empowering people to take ownership and transform complex systems.
Weāre currently affecting hundreds of thousands. We want you to help us to take that to hundreds of millions.
Icebreaker One - Market Researcher (Carbon Calculators) - Up to Ā£600/day - Contract - Totally remote
Icebreaker One (IB1) is a UK-headquartered research & innovation not-for-profit accelerating the data sharing required for the transition to net zero. IB1 is working with the British Business Bank to gain a market view of carbon calculator solutions available for SMEs to inform whether it is possible for SME lending to require mandatory carbon calculations as part of the financing. Weāre looking for someone to conduct market research to understand the landscape of carbon calculator options available to SMEs. The contract is for 24 days until November 2023.
Monthly CAT thank you
š For adding knowledge toĀ Outline:Ā @mrchrisadamsĀ @melissaĀ @Mary Ma
š° For supporting us financially onĀ Open Collective:Ā @Poppe GuthrieĀ @Michael NapperĀ @Mike Gifford (CivicActions)Ā @fershadĀ @Todd ZmijewskiĀ @Chris PointonĀ @James CrowleyĀ @Jeff BurkaĀ @asimĀ @HeatherBĀ @Nic WistreichĀ @Daniel O'ConnellĀ and all you lovely anonymous CATs
ā¤ļø Ā ForĀ volunteeringĀ within the community:Ā @HannahĀ @roundcrisisĀ @SiĆ“nĀ @Brett DuboffĀ @ElisaĀ @Åukasz MastalerzĀ @Claire ThornewillĀ @Owen RogersĀ @Tom KennesĀ @AĆÆdaĀ @Caroline SchneiderĀ @Nat DarkeĀ @Clare Tomassian (she/her)Ā @Ben TongueĀ @DanĀ @Matt SirkisĀ @GaĆ«l DuezĀ @Poppe GuthrieĀ @Evan HahnĀ @Alja IsakoviÄĀ @MarloĀ @Mary Ma