Howdy! I work in cleantech, and I guess it's that time again for a what-are-we-going-to-do-about-it post :)
To start, here's my favorite climate change joke: "They say we won't act until it's too late... Luckily, it's too late!"
==So what can you do about it?==
The biggest thing this article doesn't say that is most relevant to the HN audience is that you can work at a new energy technology company! Our industries are out of the R&D stage and are currently focused on scale and growth[1], and we need as many smart people as we can get. There are lots of companies hiring software engineers.
==How do I find a job fighting climate change?==
I'd recommend browsing the exhibitor and speaker lists from the most recent conference in each sector (linked below). Check out the companies that interest you and see if they are hiring.
* Energy Storage[2][3]
* Solar[4][5]
* Wind[6]
* Nuclear[7]
* Electric Utilities[8][9]
* Electric vehicles[10]
Also, if you're in the SF bay area, I'd recommend subscribing to my Bay Area Energy Events Calendar[11]. Just start showing up to events and you'll probably find a job really quickly.
Hi, I don't see anything in your list about carbon sequestration. Can you point me to any companies investing in advanced robotics to assist in silicate mineral crushing & spreading, as it's the only sensible, achievable sequestration technique? Thanks.
For readers interested in carbon sequestration, please check out the following paper: "Enhanced chemical weathering as a geoengineering strategy to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxid e, supply nutrients, and mitigate ocean acidification"[1]
All the other technologies satisfy some currently existing demand, but there's no demand for carbon sequestration - as in, nobody is willing to pay for large scale carbon sequestration.
It's currently fit for theoretical research only. There's no political will in sight to do that in the coming decade(s?), so it's too early to start practical R&D.
Do you have any recommendations for major metro/tech hubs to avoid settling down (i.e. planning to spend the next 10-20 years) in due to significant threats from climate change? And/or any recommendations for regions in the US that are expected to fare better?
You can also find maps of areas affected by sea level rise. As you would expect these are mostly low-lying coastal areas. Here's some maps of the effect of a 25 foot rise in sea level on San Francisco: https://urbanlifesigns.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-streets-of-f... (This is beyond most estimates for the 21st century, anyway, but interesting to look at.)
One me as a European and Holland-lover is worried about is Amsterdam. A ton of Clojure stuff going on there (my special interest) but at 0.5 degree celsius warmer than now, that town is likely to be submerged.
I have seen some solar companies in my region, but I honestly am not convinced yet that solar is the way to go.
Does anyone know if solar can sustain itself? (Does a photovoltaic panel produce more electric energy during its lifetime than was required to produce it?)
As a result, we show a break-even between the cumulative disadvantages and benefits of photovoltaics, for both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, occurs between 1997 and 2018, depending on photovoltaic performance and model uncertainties.
Yes, a solar panel is net positive energy-wise, and will produce more power over its lifetime then required to manufacture it. If in the US, there are both federal tax credits and state incentives (depending on the state).
Thank you for all these resources! I'm extremely interested in cleantech, my bachelor's was in Chemical Engineering, currently a software engineer. Can I email you some of my questions about the field in general?
Hi there, thanks for posting it again :). I favourited it the previous time around. I'm actively looking for places where I can put my skills to use for the best effect for the world, so thanks for the resources. Any recommendations on how to prioritize the needs?
To start, here's my favorite climate change joke: "They say we won't act until it's too late... Luckily, it's too late!"
==So what can you do about it?==
The biggest thing this article doesn't say that is most relevant to the HN audience is that you can work at a new energy technology company! Our industries are out of the R&D stage and are currently focused on scale and growth[1], and we need as many smart people as we can get. There are lots of companies hiring software engineers.
==How do I find a job fighting climate change?==
I'd recommend browsing the exhibitor and speaker lists from the most recent conference in each sector (linked below). Check out the companies that interest you and see if they are hiring.
Also, if you're in the SF bay area, I'd recommend subscribing to my Bay Area Energy Events Calendar[11]. Just start showing up to events and you'll probably find a job really quickly.[1]: https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/22/energy-is-the-new-new-inte...
[2]: http://www.esnaexpo.com/
[3]: https://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/u.s.-energy-stora...
[4]: https://www.intersolar.us/
[5]: http://www.solarpowerinternational.com/
[6]: http://www.windpowerexpo.org/
[7]: https://www.nei.org/Conferences
[8]: http://www.distributech.com/index.html
[9]: https://www.greentechmedia.com/events/live/grid-edge-world-f...
[10]: http://tec.ieee.org/
[11]: https://bayareaenergyevents.com/