š CAT Newsletter 260 - 2025-03-23
CAT 260 - 2025-03-23
Hey CATs,
Welcome to issue 260 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
šø Catch up on recent CAT events
A posted anĀ event summary our Digital Clean Up eventĀ and you can catch up on the Organizer Update and AMA byĀ reading through our meeting notes. TLDR is that Chris is stepping down as an organizer but staying involved as a CAT Director and that we (the rest of the organizers - Melissa and Sandra) are looking for aĀ Tech organizerĀ andĀ Comms organizerĀ to help keep the community going!
š° Apply for a mini grant
Do you have an idea that aligns with our mission of seeding climate action in tech companies and the wider industry? Maybe a CAT Unconference in your area to uncover better ways of taking action at work? Maybe a research project to build a better understanding on something tech & climate related for the whole CAT community? Learn more about mini grants
Submit your mini grant proposal now before April for the next round of funding!
The mini-grant program is funded by CAT donations. If you want to see more of these,Ā donating via OpenCollective is the fastest easiest way to support this work.
š± Help improve the community
We'reĀ looking for volunteersĀ to help bring new programs to life! Check out theĀ open volunteering rolesĀ or have a read through some of our ideas likeĀ better welcoming new membersĀ orĀ improving onboardingĀ more generally, creating a new cohort ofĀ Climate Justice Squads, or bringing back the onlineĀ CAT Coffee event series! Lots of ideas but we need some helping hands to get these going.
š§ Knowledge base deep dive
Repair: Are you looking for ideas on how to extend the life of your devices and consume less? Use your CAT Slack account to log into the CAT knowledge base and contribute to the growing list of repair-related links and tips. If you're interested in this topic, be sure to also join the related #repair channel.
š© Community networking
Every 2 weeks, we match 2-3 CATs so you can connect over a quick 30-minute call. Join #cat-roulette, pick your region and wait for a message from Donut. The next round of matches will go out on Fri, Mar 21st. More info.
Media, events, and news
šŗ CAT recommendations
ā¶ļø CAT videos
10-15 minute videos providing accessible explainers to climate related issues.
PBS Terra: What Is Killing These Indestructible Swamp Trees?
In the Atchafalaya Basināthe largest river swamp in the U.S.āancient cypress trees act as natural barriers against hurricanes and extreme weather. Spanning a million acres, these nearly indestructible trees have protected Louisiana's coast for thousands of years. How does this million-acre ecosystem protect Louisiana's communities, and how can we protect it? Untold Earth explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet's strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familiar but unexplained occurrences in our own backyard, this series chases insight into natural phenomena through the voices that know them best.
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: This week in Green Software - Sustainable AI Progress
For this 100th episode of Environment Variables, guest host Anne Currie is joined by Holly Cummins, senior principal engineer at Red Hat, to discuss the intersection of AI, efficiency, and sustainable software practices. They explore the concept of "Lightswitch Ops"ādesigning systems that can easily be turned off and on to reduce wasteāand the importance of eliminating zombie servers. They cover AI's growing energy demands, the role of optimization in software sustainability, and Microsoft's new shift in cloud investments. They also touch on AI regulation and the evolving strategies for balancing performance, cost, and environmental impact in tech.Ā
The Climate Question: Can I save money and save the planet?
Experts say we need to be 40 per cent more energy efficient to meet our climate goals. Is that doable? And might it save us money too? It's a solution that's been called the main route to net zero: energy efficiency - or using less energy to get the same or better results. But there's an issue ā it's got an image problem as many people think it's boring. And it is hard to get excited about the idea of better lightbulbs! But energy efficiency could save us money on our bills too - especially in a warming world, where many countries will need air conditioning just to function. So does this crucial area in the fight against climate change need a rebrand. And could it even become sexy?
Zero: The Climate Race: How water scarcity will threaten global GDP
Water scarcity is no longer a distant threat: By 2030, fresh water demand is expected to outpace supply by 40%. The effects of water stress will be felt in industries from agriculture to e-commerce, putting up to $70 trillion of global GDP at risk, according to the World Resources Institute. Bloomberg Intelligence researcher Melanie Rua is the co-author of a new report on water scarcity. She joins Zero to discuss just how much financial impact companies are already seeing as a result of this issueā and what measures they might take to mitigate it.
House of Life: #002 - Harmony, Peace and Banning Advertising
In Episode 2 of House of Life, Asim Hussain and Tom Greenwood continue their exploration of sustainability by exploring what it really means to live in harmony and whether humanity and the Earth have a hierarchy of needs that mirrors our needs as individuals. This leads down a rabbit hole of unexpected detours in the quest to gain deeper insights into what it means to create a better world and how we might get there.
š Submitted events
Tue Mar 25 2025 - Communicating digital sustainability issues with impact
An online event showcasing the work of a truly inspirational individual - Sandra Sydow, President of Planet on Stage. Sheāll also introduce two powerful and innovative communication tools deployed by Planet On Stage and The Digital Collage
Sat Mar 29 2025 - ecoCompute 2025 - Call for Speakers opens
Digital sustainability conference on software, hardware and data centers. - ecoCompute aims to address the current issue of energy and resource consumption of digital infrastructures by bringing together hardware designers, software developers, data center operators.
Tue Apr 01 2025 - Green Software Development Karlsruhe
CO2-Emissionen von Software messen - Der Rundumschlag (Measuring CO2-Emissions from software)
Thu Apr 10 2025 - Hands on Workshop: Estimating Digital Carbon Emissions
This two hour session, delivered by our experts Chris Adams, Fershad Irani, and Katrin Fritsch will get you started with estimating the carbon emissions of digital services. Can't make April? See our other dates in May and June.
Want an event listed here? Use this event listing form to submit the details so we can add it in the newsletter.
š° News Highlights
MIT Management: How to create business value through digital sustainability
Amid regulatory changes and uncertainty, reducing carbon emissions remains a concern for many organizations. While sustainability is a cost of doing business for many companies today, new research from MIT shows that it is also an opportunity for realizing business value. Without a clear strategy, corporate sustainability efforts often represent sunk costs. New research explains how to align digital sustainability with corporate goals.
EcoWatch: Underwater 'Doorbell' Camera Helps Researchers Catch Coral-Eating Fish
Florida marine scientists have been working to help reverse a long-term decline in coral reefs by using doorbell-style surveillance cameras to catch fish in the act of eating coral laid as bait.
They found that three species ā stoplight parrotfish, redband parrotfish and foureye butterflyfish ā were responsible for eating over 97 percent of the corals.
Facility Executive: World Water Day 2025: Explore AI's Impact On Water Conservation
Ahead of World Water Day on Saturday, March 22, the time to rethink how we approach water conservation has never been more important. In early 2025, California's wildfires served as a powerful reminder of how vulnerable communities can be when water is in short supply. The scenes from Los Angeles underscored a growing reality: water scarcity isn't a distant concernāit's happening here and now. As a result, companies across industries are reevaluating their role in protecting this vital resource and advancing sustainability goals.
NZ Department of Conservation: Three prime New Zealand islands join global restoration campaign
New Zealand is partnering with global conservation charities to raise $137 million to rewild some of Aotearoa's largest islands so they become safe havens for native wildlife found nowhere else in the world. The IOCC, led by international conservation groups, Island Conservation and Re:wild, and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, aims to restore at least 40 globally significant island-ocean ecosystems around the world by 2030.Ā Ā Ā
Guardian: More than 150 'unprecedented' climate disasters struck world in 2024, says UN
The devastating impacts of the climate crisis reached new heights in 2024, with scores of unprecedented heatwaves, floods and storms across the globe, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organization. More than 800,000 people were displaced and made homeless, the highest yearly number since records began in 2008.
CarbonBrief: UK emissions fall 3.6% in 2024 as coal use drops to lowest since 1666
The UK's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.6% in 2024 as coal use dropped to the lowest level since 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. Carbon Brief's analysis, based on preliminary government energy data, shows emissions fell to just 371m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2024, the lowest level since 1872.
Euronews: UN warns of 'avalanche of cascading impacts' as ice melt increases
Five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record. This week marks the first ever World Glaciers Day, an occasion which the UN is using to spotlight these icy landscapes which are fast disappearing.Ā Glaciers are now 9,000 billion tonnes lighter than when records began in 1975, according to the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS).Ā
š Papers We Love š
HotCarbon: Understanding and Mitigating Webpage Data Bloat: Causes and Preventive Measures
The World Wide Web and web pages play an integral role, serving as the backbone for the myriad of services we rely on regularly. The size of web pages has increased constantly, which is not optimal considering the growing awareness of the substantial energy and resource consumption associated with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This paper presents an analysis of 10,000 popular web pages and studies ways to use less data while still retaining the essential content.
š° Jobs
Citizens' Climate Education - IT Support Specialist - $60k/yr - Permanent - Totally remote
We are seeking an Entry-Level Applications Support Specialist to join our team. This role will help update/maintain essential applications and integrations, make updates to websites, and generally support our volunteers who are working to protect climate policies.
Behold - CTO (co-founder option) - ā¬50k-ā¬80k plus equity - Permanent - Totally remote
A fox slipping through the streets. A hedgehog on its nightly route. Life is unfolding all around you. Behold reveals the hidden wild in everyday life, helping people see and connect with the animals around them. And when people connect, they protect. Small moments of wonder can lead to real change.
Weāre looking for a CTO who doesnāt just build tech, but shapes the futureāleading at the intersection of machine learning, IoT, and nature. If you want to work on a product that sparks real behavioural change, in a company that prioritises long-term impact over short-term growth, this is your chance.
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.
Elemental Impact - Director of Development - $106,400- $191,000 - Permanent - Flexible - remote ok
The Director of Development will primarily focus on materials creation, as well as researching new funding opportunities to build an expanding portfolio of private and public funders. They will work in close collaboration with the Managing Director of Growth and across a team of practitioners and partnership builders in order to create an aligned fundraising strategy.
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