š CAT Newsletter 224 - 2024-06-16
CAT 224 - 2024-06-16
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 223 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
š Get involved
Our fundedĀ mini grantĀ projectĀ "How to become a Climate-Conscious Product Manager" case studies and CAT conferenceĀ is looking for case studies - practical examples to bring the theory to life and inspire action. Do you know of a cool actions towards making a digital product and/or organization more climate conscious and more sustainable (successfully or not)? MessageĀ @FranƧois Burra!
#ļøā£ Slack channel highlights
#2-greener-software:Ā JĀ shared thoughts on the latest Green IO Podcast episode whereĀ JĀ with S and GĀ discuss how to trigger more actions among tech people to reduce the carbon footprint of our code and explored how the Nordic countries handle the environmental footprint of digital technology.
#3-questions-and-ideas:Ā AĀ andĀ A discussed a peer to peer internetĀ that serves from phones and laptops and computers all around the world (ideally from 100% green powered places).
ā¤ļø Help a CAT
NĀ asked aĀ Denmark specific question: is there any official site or source to find out which type of electricity an el provider (e.g. Norlys) is providing or which electricity mix this company is buying from the market?nCĀ is looking for resources or data sets listing alternative routes to current flights which can be replaced by train.Ā Any pointers?
JĀ is researching the climate chat bot space and is looking for a good place to find common questions people have about the climate (ideally paired with accurate answers).Ā Reply in the thread!
:round_pushpin: Local highlights
#local-italy:Ā FĀ shared theĀ 2024.bettersoftware.itĀ conference happening in October! Maybe a good chance for some CATs to meet?
#local-new-england:Ā RĀ said hi!
#local-new-york:Ā MĀ is a lead for the Climate Emergency Day campaign, at Climate Clock and is looking for collaborators!
š§ Knowledge base deepdive
Learn about climate justice: The impacts of climate change aren't equally distributed. Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to learn more about various types of climate injustices, anti-racism, and other resources that can help you become a more intersectional CAT.
š CAT events
Lots of local and in-person events were shared in this week:Ā #local-australiaĀ #local-californiaĀ #local-franceĀ #local-germanyĀ #local-londonĀ #local-netherlandsĀ #local-italyĀ #local-switzerlandĀ #local-uk
š© Community networking
Get to know other CATs and make some friends in the community. Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. Simply joinĀ #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message fromĀ DonutĀ about your match! Our next round of matches will go out onĀ Fri, June 21. More info
Media, events, and news
šŗ CAT recommendations
š± A cutting from Branch issue 8
Ministry of Imagination Manifesto
The rise of the far-right around the world is profoundly troubling, underpinned as it is by dystopian visions of the future and the need for 'strong' leaders to protect us from those futures. But what would a Manifesto look like that was based on a positive vision of the future, one that is appropriately ambitious to the scale of the challenges the world is facing while at the same time bold, imaginative and audacious? I would argue that the failure of progressive parties and movements to set out bold visions of the future has left the space for the far right to fill, and that getting better at bringing positive futures alive in people's imaginations is vital.
ā¶ļø CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Planet A: Why Europe and America's dying forests could be good news
Germany is losing its forests, FAST. In the central Harz region, over 90 percent of spruce trees are dead or dying because of climate change and insect damage. But this isn't necessarily bad news. Instead of the former monoculture forest, a more resilient, wild forest is springing up, with a more abundant ecosystem.
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
Outrage and Optimism: 250. Why Collective Trauma Is Keeping Us Stuck On Climate
This week, we go deep into trauma with Thomas HĆ¼bl, who developed the Collective Trauma Integration Process for working with individual, ancestral, and collective trauma. With the help of Thomas, hear our hosts unpack why, and how, we have to keep working on the solutions even as we are still experiencing the trauma of the climate crisis.
Thomas HĆ¼bl, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change by integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science.
Volts: Washington Governor Jay Inslee on his last big climate fight
In this episode, recorded at a live event, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee discusses his multiple decades of climate advocacy, his political successes, and the upcoming threat to one of his crowning achievements. A conversation with the longtime climate champion during his final year in office.
Catalyst with Shayle Khan: Under the hood of data center power demand
Driven by the AI boom, data centers' energy demand could account for 9% of U.S. power generation by 2030, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.Ā That's more than double current usage. So how do we meet that demand? And what impacts will it have on the grid and decarbonization? In this episode, Shayle talks to Brian Janous, former vice president of energy at Microsoft and current co-founder of Cloverleaf Infrastructure.
Environment Variables: The Week in Green Software: Carbon Hack 24 Recap
TWiGS host Chris Adams is joined by Asim Hussain the executive director of the GSF to talk about the recent hackathon hosted by the GSF : Carbon Hack 24. Asim goes through some of his favourite projects that featured work with the Impact Framework, they also cover navigate the alphabet soup of new sustainability reporting laws around the world. Asim also talks about how mushrooms are out and bread is in!
Green IO #40 - Triggering action in green software: a Nordic perspective with Satu Heikinheimo and Janne Kalliola
Why do we do so little to decarbonize software despite already knowing so much? šļø In this episode, Gael Duez is joined by Janne Kalliola, author of "Green Code," together with Satu Heikinheimo, Planet Diplomats' founder, to discuss how to trigger more actions among Tech people to reduce the carbon footprint of our code
Carbon Copy: A macro view on the state of climate tech
We need to invest many trillions of dollars every year to build a climate-positive economy. We know what those technologies are ā but they're all at very different levels of readiness. So what would it take to scale critical climate technologies? That was the simple-but-complicated question recently posed by a group of energy, industry, and high-tech experts at McKinsey.
The research offers a clear account of the state of a dozen types of climate technologies, which could collectively slash emissions by 90%. We sat down with co-authors Anna Orthofer and Mark Patel to walk through the adoption pathways for everything from renewables to hydrogen to lab-grown meat. What's ready to scale, and what's behind schedule?
š 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 Jun 27 2024 - TEDxSydney Salon ā Net Positive: Visions of a Net Zero Future for Australia
Somewhere between the dystopian visions of ecosystem collapse and unrealistic utopian fantasies, the roots of Australia's Net Zero future are already taking hold.
Fri Jul 05 2024 - What Design Can Do Live Amsterdam 2024
A full day of talks and workshops on the intersection of design, climate action and social justice. Exploring what it looks like to design a regenerative and restorative future.
Tue Oct 08 2024 - The Global Nature Positive Summit 2024
Global Nature Positive Summit aims to boost private sector investment to protect and repair our environment. With a focus on solutions to climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
Fri Oct 11 2024 - Better Software
Italian Conference about Sustainable IT
š° News Highlights
Latitude Media: Clean energy set to attract double investment spent on fossil fuels
Since 2015, the ratio of spending on clean energy compared to fossil fuels has completely flip-flopped. In 2024, about $2 trillion will be invested in clean energy projects ā a first for the rapidly expanding sector.
The amount is nearly double what will be invested in oil, coal, and gas this year, according to the International Energy Agency's new report ā"World Energy Investment 2024."
The Guardian: Supreme court ruling delays climate litigation big oil has sought to thwart
The supreme court on Monday asked the Biden administration to weigh in on big oil's request to thwart litigation that could put them on the hook for billions of dollars.
The one-line order will delay the litigation from advancing to trial. It follows an unprecedented pressure campaign from far-right fossil fuel allies on the court.
Reuters: Can Mexico's Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, shake Lopez Obrador's oil legacy?
Mexico's President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, an accomplished climate scientist, could struggle to fulfill her environmental pledges after she sailed to victory, in part, on the popularity of a predecessor who doubled down on fossil fuels. Sheinbaum, elected as Mexico's first woman president by a sweeping margin Sunday, inherits a country grappling daily with climate change and environmental challenges: pervasive drought, a water crisis in the sprawling capital of Mexico City, and rampant deforestation.
CBS News: African nation threatens Apple with legal action over alleged "blood minerals" in its gadgets
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has threatened U.S. tech giant Apple with legal action over what it says are "illegally exploited" minerals from the impoverished nation in its products. U.S. and French lawyers representing the DRC's government sent a letter to Apple on April 22 warning the company it could face legal action if it continues with the alleged practice.
Grist: Virginia has the biggest data center market in the world. Can it also decarbonize its grid?
Dominion Energy, the state's largest utility, says new natural gas plants will be needed to meet rising electricity demand, while the state studies how this booming sector will impact Virginia's transition to renewable energy.
The Independent: No new oil and gas licences and huge boost to renewables in Labour energy plans
Labour has confirmed it will not issue new oil and gas licences for the North Sea as it sets out its plans to make the UK a "clean energy superpower". The party has put clean energy as one of its central missions for government as it seeks to draw dividing lines with the Tories on the climate and nature crisis, which it describes as the "greatest long-term challenge we face".
Labour's manifesto says the party will deliver a "green prosperity plan" to invest in the climate transition, that it claims will create 650,000 green jobs, cut bills and secure energy independence.
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.
Open Energy Transition - Full-stack/Backend/Frontend Software Engineer - EUR 40-80K/year for full-stack/backend, 30-60K for frontend/UX - Permanent - Totally remote
Open Energy Transition is a non-profit energy tech company that uses and develops open-source software solutions and contributes to open data to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable, accessible and reliable energy. Our goal is to increase the pace and reduce the cost of energy system planning decisions through open collaboration and innovation. We are looking to hire 2 software engineers for two projects: a cloud compute solution for solving large energy models, and a solver benchmark website that compares various OSS/proprietary solvers on energy modelling benchmarks. The goal is to build robust, secure, and efficient open-source software to be used for energy and climate modelling and play a part in accelerating the climate transition.
Marble - Founder in Residence, Geothermal - Anywhere - 2.5-3K per month - Contract - Flexible - remote ok
Dive into the geothermal revolution and help unlock clean, sustainable energy for our planet. We're on the hunt for entrepreneurial engineers/scientists from geothermal, oil & gas, or similar sectors. If you're passionate about innovation and ready to explore cutting-edge approaches to power the net zero economy, we want you.
PowerX.co - Senior Full Stack Software Engineer - $136,000 to $204,000 - Permanent -
PowerX is building energy management solutions for businesses, starting with restaurants. We believe that by equipping restaurants with the best tools to use less energy and save money, we can tackle climate change, one store at a time. PowerX is seeking a Senior Full Stack Software Engineer to play a foundational technical role in our product journey. In this role, you will be tasked with developing our product, which includes collaborating with other engineers, product owners, designers, and data team to architect, implement, and maintain new and existing features.
Salesforce - Director, Tech Sustainability - NYC: $172,200 to $290,500; Seattle: $157,900 to $266,300; SF: $172,200 to $290,500 - Permanent - Onsite only
The Tech Sustainability Lead will spearhead Salesforce's T&P Sustainability program, guiding the company towards our ambitious emissions reduction goal, ensuring compliance with evolving regulations, all while fostering innovation.
BlueConduit - Data Scientist - $125-145K - Permanent -
BlueConduit was founded in 2019 in response to the Flint water crisis. First in Flint, and then across the country, we pioneered the predictive modeling approach to lead service line identification and replacement, accelerating the removal of this significant health concern and saving communities millions of dollars in avoided digs. We are passionate about using data science and AI for public good, improving social equity, and protecting the environment, and are now working in new ways to help serve communities' needs outside lead service line replacement.
Support our work
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