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Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

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Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#421

Post by SoftTalker »

srveale wrote: post #269
closeparen wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New York has one of the worst commute situations in the country, with an average of 36 minutes each way. The US average is 27 minutes. People commuting two hours a day are extreme outliers. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/realestate/commuting-best...

Census says 10% of people have 1-way commutes over 60 mins. Not typical but certainly not "extreme outliers" either. And that's just commute time, which doesn't include getting dressed for work, gassing up the car, etc. (sure, WFH doesn't completely eliminate those, but the difference adds up across the population) https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/one-way-...

I had a 60-70 minute door-to-door commute for several years. Fortunately about 45 minutes of it was on a train, with about a 10 minute walk on either end.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#422

Post by [deleted] »

warkdarrior wrote: post #334
driverdan wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like you're either running your HVAC at extreme temps or have very poor insulation.

Or that he is running HVAC for his 2000 sqft house, vs running HVAC for his 180 sqft office space (where 180 sqft are dedicated to him out of some large space shared with others).

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#423

Post by AnimalMuppet »

warkdarrior wrote: post #334
driverdan wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like you're either running your HVAC at extreme temps or have very poor insulation.

Or that he is running HVAC for his 2000 sqft house, vs running HVAC for his 180 sqft office space (where 180 sqft are dedicated to him out of some large space shared with others).

Part of it is that he's comparing his work-from-home AC expenses to his work-from-office gas expenses. He's not factoring in the company's office AC bill, because he doesn't pay it.

Also note that, at least in my case, I've got a cubicle farm at work. I can't just up the temperature for my 64 sqft cube; I have to up it for an entire quadrant of the floor.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#424

Post by User23 »

dehrmann wrote: post #285
beebmam wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Power corrupts.

The interesting point a nearby comment made was it corrupts those around you. That gets lost in that aphorism.

Lord Acton's maxim is "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." The dumbed down paraphrases lose most of the insight. It's a little masterpiece of the English language, and as you note, who or what exactly is being corrupted, absolutely or otherwise, is intentionally underspecified.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#425

Post by oblio »

bojo wrote: post #252
MarcoSanto wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. FFS who wants to stay home to live and work!?!? I don’t understand WFH. the right way is to have better public transport and cheaper housing, not secluded lives.

I agree with you that better public transportation and cheaper housing would be a respectable path towards a better society in general. However, please don't state that "the right way is to have... not secluded lives." Some of us absolutely enjoy the seclusion, especially this WFH Alaskan.

> Some of us absolutely enjoy the seclusion, especially this WFH Alaskan.

The thing is, you do enjoy it.

Just like people enjoy alcohol and tobacco or having cars.

However, the real question is: is it really good for you, long term?

I'm not sure the answer is clear cut. Humans frequently choose things which are actively harmful to them, at least long term.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#426

Post by Aldipower »

orangepurple wrote: post #368
Aldipower wrote: post #365

Because it isn't necessarily pro env, at least not everywhere. This has to be subject of larger studies I guess. Some thoughts. 1. If I WFH I need to heat/cool my apartment/house my self. This is much more inefficient than heat office spaces, if you take the people inside an filled office space into account. 2. The public transport is going and consuming energy anyways. 3. Zoom, Teams, etc is consuming a lot of energ…

You have to heat your house or apartment anyway or your pipes will burst

No, they won't. Not sure were you are living? :)

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#427

Post by oblio »

IOT_Apprentice wrote: post #341
MarcoSanto wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. FFS who wants to stay home to live and work!?!? I don’t understand WFH. the right way is to have better public transport and cheaper housing, not secluded lives.

People aren't going to get better public transport or cheaper housing in the USA. I want to stay home and live and work. I've done it once before over a decade ago and doing it now as a result of the pandemic and I love it.

> People aren't going to get better public transport or cheaper housing in the USA.

Not with that attitude :-)

Wasn't the US about a "go getter" attitude? I'm not even an American, but that's the general perception.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#428

Post by foundajob »

fancyfredbot wrote: post #386

Can you give a properly researched article showing the environmental impact of commuting outweighs the environmental impact of working from home? My guess is that this won't always be true and will depend on the type and distance of commute as well as the additional heating/cooling demand required to keep multiple home offices habitable.

Probably not, OP hasn't left a single reply. Just dropped trow in our brains and moved on, classic HN move.

Re: Ask HN: Why isn't remote work advertised as a pro environment initiative?

#429

Post by more_corn »

Jenk wrote: post #216
toomuchtodo wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Important to note that wealth doesn't improve your character; it simply amplifies who you already are.

It's also incredibly lonely at times - despite being constantly surrounded by people - which I figure can warp your mind much like too much solitary confinement can. I don't say this from personal experience (un)fortunately, I say this as someone who has a family member that is a confidant of a billionaire from the middle-east (whom I'll refer to as Bob.) The family member is one of their close staff - travels with t…

Imagine the world’s tiniest violin playing a sad song for the billionaire who alienated himself from the world. Someone living in one of his many houses when he’s not around! Scandalous! How about have one house and live in it. You can have money and not be an asshole about things.

Warren buffet was once targeted by an armed gunman. The gunman burst into buffet’s kitchen where buffet, his wife (I suppose she’s also buffet) and another man were eating lunch. Little did the gunman know, the other man turned out to be buffet’s hired security. The bodyguard being good at his job quickly disarmed and restrained the attacker.

Why were they sitting and eating together? Because even though buffet was the richest man in the world at the time he behaves like a normal person and if there’s a guy who’s always around you invite him to lunch.

I assure you, I need to know nothing more about the relationship to tell you that Warren Buffet trusts and respects this man. And the feeling is mutual.

In conclusion: I recommend that Bob climb down off the high horse he thinks his billions require him to ride and join the rest of us in normal life. Connection is all around you, you have only to reach back out for it.

As for sycophants, if you want people to be candid you have to give them a safe place to do it. Musk will soon learn that the people who criticized him were right and he shouldn’t have driven them away.

As for people wanting a handout. If your money is a burden to you there’s an obvious solution.

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