🌍 CAT Newsletter 230 - 2024-07-28
CAT 230 - 2024-07-28
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 230 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 out our onboarding checklist.
Remember you can unsubscribe from this newsletter at any time - the link is at the bottom.
Stay safe & healthy 😌 💚 🐱
CAT Community News
🙋 Get involved
1️⃣ Missed the CAT July Open Meeting, during which we discussed CAT projects and mini grants, updates on CAT as a CIC (Community Interest Company), and more? Fear not, you can catch up with Melissa's thread in #4-cat-events or see the full meeting notes in Outline (log in with your CAT Slack account to view). A few particular areas that need help:
- #climate-careers: How can we make the channel more useful? Reply in the thread 🧵
- New short-term committee: Help us create standards & a process for vetting potential collaborators (3-5 meetings) - interest form
2️⃣ Get involved in local things! Local events were shared in #local-vancouver, #local-san-francisco-bay-area and #local-australia. G said hi in #local-scotland and O said hi in #local-aotearoa. A shared a volunteer opportunity in #local-uk. L talked about the tech workers coalition in #local-netherlands. @Aydin Mshared a speaker opportunity in #local-germany. And there were also events in #local-leeds, #local-munich, and #local-new-york recently. Did you attend? What did you learn?
🗳️ Member survey is open!
Our twice-a-year member survey is open again! This is your chance to share feedback about the community. Please take 5-7mins and let us know what’s working and what’s could be improved by filling out the [survey]https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc8scGoKInRjH9PsmccSbKX_tjgkBylfdx09WR4mPOM8-0fNA/viewform).
🏝️ Taking a break
- #cat-roulette will be back in September (see channel host @Brett Duboff's message in the channel)
- CAT organisers are taking a break from Aug 5th - Aug 18th
🧠 Knowledge base deepdive
Films, Books, Media: Looking for climate-related content recommendations for your summer (or winter) vacation? Log into the CAT knowledge base with your CAT Slack account to explore what other CATs are reading, watching, or listening to, and help a fellow CAT learn something new by adding your own recommendations.
Media, events, and news
😺 CAT recommendations
🌱 A cutting from Branch issue 8
The perfect site doesn't exist
"It's true that there are other industries more polluting than the web. But the impact of our digital lifestyles is wide-ranging, and at a time when every industry needs to decarbonise and attempt to minimise environmental harm, taking action within our own area of expertise is where we can be most effective."
▶️ CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
Planet A: How to survive heatwaves in the city?
Every year summers are hotter and heat waves more frequent, with cities suffering most. A network of climate shelters in Barcelona isn't only making people more comfortable, it's also saving lives.
🎤 Podcasts
The latest climate-related podcast episodes. Don't forget, if you're looking around, there's a list of podcasts maintained by CATs
255. US Election Special: Is a Win for Harris a Win for Climate?
In an emergency podcast session recorded on Monday, July 22nd, we delve into President Biden's announcement that he will not seek re-election. Following his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Presidential Nominee, we bring you a comprehensive analysis of this pivotal moment in U.S. politics.
Volts: What's the deal with burning wood pellets for energy?
An enormous amount of wood is harvested from forests in the southern US to be burned in Europe as "renewable energy." Now the industry wants to open more wood-pellet facilities in the Pacific Northwest. In this episode, Rita Frost of NRDC and Brenna Bell of 350 PDX explain why that's a bad idea and why wood pellets aren't as renewable as they look.
Zero: Upgrading the world's biggest machine: The Grid Series
Even before we turn on a light switch or plug an appliance into an electric outlet, the atoms that power our daily life have traveled a long journey across the grid to reach our homes. And to meet the demands of a net zero future, that grid will need an upgrade. BloombergNEF analysis estimates that the world will need to nearly double its grid network to 111 million kilometers– a distance almost three quarters the way to the sun– by 2050. How will we get there? Former BNEF grid expert Sanjeet Sanghera, who is now working on strategic futures at the National Grid, tells Akshat Rathi about the challenges and opportunities presented by the enormous transformation of the world's biggest machine.
Catalyst with Shayle Khan: The EV market's awkward teenage years
Automakers got ahead of their skis. EV sales are up globally and in the U.S., but growth has been slower than expected and uneven. After enjoying a wave of growth driven by early adopters, automakers overestimated demand of more cautious consumers and ended up producing more than buyers wanted. Now auto dealers are slashing prices to move cars off the lot.
So how did the market get here? And how can EVs appeal to the next wave of consumers?
Environment Variables: A Greener Internet that Sleeps More
Host Chris Adams and guest Romain Jacob delve into the often-overlooked energy demands of networking infrastructure to discover A Greener Internet that Sleeps More. While AI and data centers usually dominate the conversation, networking still consumes significant power, comparable to the energy usage of entire countries. Romain talks about his recent Hypnos paper, which won Best Paper at HotCarbon 2024. He shares his team's award-winning research on how energy demand for networking kit powering the internet can be reduced by simply by powering down links when not in use.
Green IO #43 - Digital sustainability in a Tech behemoth: Japan with Trista Bridges and Paul Beddie
How can a country defining itself as an high-tech spearheader can embrace IT sustainability? Japan is a fascinating example of both the contradictions and the synergies that such a journey creates. In this episode, Gael Duez welcomes two long-time Japan-based experts: Paul Beddie, VP and Sustainability Lead at Capgemini, and Trista Bridges, the co-author of Leading Sustainably, and a member of EcoVadis' Purpose Committee. Their exchange on IT sustainability initiatives in Japan led to many takeaways including: the stakeholder-oriented nature of Japanese society, the emergence of Japanese startups focusing on sustainability, the role of regulations in driving sustainability efforts in Japan, And much more.
📅 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 Aug 08 2024 - CEN Workshop: Guidelines and Requirements for Ending Fossil Fuel Use in Supply Chains
The absence of standardized criteria for fossil-free products leads to confusion and hinders progress in reducing fossil fuel reliance. This workshop aims to create a clear framework to guide companies in transitioning to renewable energy, increase consumer confidence through transparent claims, and help regulatory bodies implement effective policies.
Sun Aug 29 2027 - Biodiversity Basics for Product Professionals
The products we build rely on and affect nature. This workshop will address:
- What is biodiversity and why is it relevant for product professionals
- What can you do & practical examples
- Your takeaway: first biodiversity analysis along your product's value chain
Thu Sep 19 2024 - How to: Embrace Imperfect Climate Action - with Sami Grover
Join Sami Grover, writer and author of 'We Are All Climate Hypocrites Now' to explore how embracing our limitations can unlock the power of a movement. Sami will help us move past blame, shame and carbon footprints to practical pathways to action that actually make a difference.
Wed Oct 02 2024 - BBC Climate Creatives Conference 2024
Climate Creatives returns for its fourth annual conference in association with BBC Academy Fusion.
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
Mon Oct 14 2024 - SxSW Sydney
From a grassroots start in Austin TX, 1987 to a new, second home in Sydney Australia. Tech Innovation with track focus on Energy, Climate & Sustainability
📰 News Highlights
Yale Programme on Climate change Communication: Global Warming's Six Audiences around the world
Our prior research has identified six distinct audiences within the public – the Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful, and Dismissive – based on their beliefs and attitudes about climate change.
Here, we apply this analysis to our large international survey of more than 100 countries and territories worldwide, collected in partnership with Data for Good at Meta and Rare's Center for Behavior and the Environment in 2023
Ars Technica: Coal-filled trains are likely sending people to the hospital
Although US coal consumption has fallen dramatically since 2005, the country still consumes millions of tons a year, and exports tons more—much of it transported by train. Now, new research shows that these trains can affect the health of people living near where they pass.
"Covering the coal cars might not solve the problem, because it could increase the risk of fires," he added. "Ultimately the world needs to phase out the mining, transport, and combustion of coal, not only to reduce the risks of climate change, but also to improve the health of the population."
CBC: Researchers say oxygen is being produced on the ocean floor. The mining company funding them isn't happy
Oxygen is being produced on the ocean floor — seemingly by ancient lumps of metal — according to a new study. The discovery has profound implications for our understanding of the deep ocean and its ecology. Scientists say the organisms that inhabit those ocean depths — which are also a mystery — may depend on oxygen from this newly discovered source.
But the study, published in Nature Geoscience, was funded in part by The Metals Company, a Vancouver-based mining firm that has spent years arguing that mining in the deep ocean has a relatively low environmental impact. The company is now disputing the study's findings, which could throw a wrench in its and others' plans to mine the seabed.
Grist: Deal of the day - New study links online shopping to air pollution
In a paper published Wednesday, researchers at George Washington University used satellite data to measure the air pollution associated with the large warehouses for the distribution of merchandise for e-commerce, bringing high volumes of truck traffic to nearby communities — the first such nationwide study.
The study, which was funded by NASA, cross-referenced the locations of 150,000 warehouses across the U.S. with satellite observations of NO2 and found that people who live near warehouses are exposed to an average of 20 percent more NO2 than those who don't. It also found that warehouses are located disproportionately in Black, Hispanic, and Asian neighborhoods.
Green Web Foundation: carbon.txt – Applying lessons from crowdsourcing net zero data
In a recent post, we shared a few lessons learned from working with our friends at Wikirate to understand how much of the internet was covered by credible net zero targets. We described how hard it could be to crowdsource meaningful data about the climate ambitions of the largest firms online and why this was the case.
We also hinted at carbon.txt—a new project we're kicking off to improve the discoverability of sustainability data thanks to funding from NGI Search. In this post we outline how carbon.txt aims to address these issues and where you can get involved.
Climate Court: Airlines on Notice - Environmental Groups Target Sustainability Claims After KLM Greenwashing Verdict
Fossielvrij NL, Reclame Fossielvrij, and ClientEarth have teamed up and sent a joint legal letter to a group of 71 airlines operating out of Schiphol airport, the Netherlands. The letter warns the airlines on the legal boundaries surrounding sustainability claims in aviation, following a ruling by the Amsterdam District Court against KLM. The environmental groups are urging the airlines to revise their advertising strategies to comply with the clarified legal standards.
Climate Home: UN chief appeals for global action to tackle deadly extreme heat
People everywhere are struggling with the fatal impacts of worsening extreme heat, which is also damaging economies, widening inequalities and undermining the world's development goals, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
Calling for global action to limit the devastating consequences, the head of the United Nations said "billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic – wilting under increasingly deadly heatwaves".
Carbon brief: Guest post - The growing problem of how extreme heat damages mental health
In recent years, discussions around the impact of climate change on mental health have tended to focus on climate anxiety.
This distress regarding the future of the Earth and humanity in the face of global warming is, however, far from the full picture.
Research is helping to build a better understanding of the damage that climate change, particularly extreme heat, can cause to mental health.
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. Remember: if you're looking for advice finding a role, check our #climate-careers channel.
Icebreaker One - Django developer - 400 GBP day for around 5 days - Contract - Flexible - remote ok
We are looking for a django developer to take an existing open source community directory application, designed for finding members with complementary skills and interests, and customise it needs within our network for a short project. The open source project is linked in the job description.
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.
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.
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.
Verna - Software Engineers (multiple) - circa £70k + share options - Permanent - Totally remote
Verna builds software to help people manage land in the best way for the environment – enhancing biodiversity and drawing down carbon, whilst making sustainable returns. Our main B2B SaaS product supports ecologists and planning professionals to ensure that developments enhance nature. Verna has been backed by the UK Government and investors including Octopus Ventures. We have substantial, and growing, revenues and reserves.
We are looking for two software engineers to expand our product development team. We seek talented, flexible, creative engineers who are happy to get stuck into all aspects of developing compelling, effective, and accessible product experiences.
Like ecosystems, teams are more vibrant, innovative, and resilient when they are more diverse. We welcome applications from everyone, and particularly people from under-represented groups of every kind.
Fresh Food Connect - Board Member - Volunteer
Fresh Food Connect is a nationwide nonprofit that mobilizes gardeners to support hunger relief through homegrown produce donations. We're looking to expand our board this year and would love to consider a CAT community member.
Are you passionate about food/ag systems, hunger relief, gardening, local climate solutions, and/or community building? Do you have experience in tech development, strategic partnerships, legal, or finance? If so, please consider applying! Bonus if you're in San Diego or Seattle, our next two expansion cities.
Harris for President - Climate Engagement Director - 90-110k USD - Permanent - Onsite only
The Climate Engagement Director will manage the campaign's national programmatic efforts to reach, engage, and mobilize climate voters nationwide. An organizer at heart, this ultimate utility player will build and manage the Climate Voters for Harris program.
The Director will work with partners across the campaign and with key stakeholders to break through the noise about what's at stake for the climate community this election, build relationships with trusted messengers to reach the community where they are, and mobilize a critical coalition of leaders to enthusiastically elect Vice President Harris.
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