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What can a technologist do about climate change?

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Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#71

Post by nostromo »

gnaritas wrote: post #55
nostromo wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nuclear is low-carbon, but it's not renewable. Earth has a set amount of uranium that is destroyed when creating energy. Currently we have about 200 years of uranium available for economical extraction. But if we tried to replace all coal with nuclear, we would be out within a few decades. Then we'd need to move to other non-renewable materials (thorium?) or start mining astroids. http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar…

> Nuclear is low-carbon, but it's not renewable. Sure it is, Nuclear doesn't just mean uranium fission, fusion reactors are nuclear as well and they will be a big thing in the future and we get better at doing it.

Just 20 more years now... ;-)

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#72

Post by yongjik »

ommunist wrote: post #22
bluehawk wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The majority of science studies, papers and reports disagree with you. Humans can and do have a huge impact on the world.

Since when number of publications became the measure of truth? There were numerous publications before Leonardo since Aristotle that flies have 8 legs. They all still have 6 though. Humans are nothing in impact comparing to a single volcano.

Ahem,

> The volcano released approximately 0.15 million tonnes of CO2 each day, but the massive reduction of air travel occurring over European skies caused by the ash cloud, saved an estimated 1.3 to 2.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by 19 April 2010.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_the_April_2010_Eyja...

> The grounding of European flights avoided about 3.44×10^8 kg of CO2 emissions per day, while the volcano emitted about 1.5×10^8 kg of CO2 per day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_eruptions_of_Eyjafjallaj%...

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#73

Post by drewrv »

Jemaclus wrote: post #57

I've asked this question a few times but haven't really gotten a satisfactory answer. There are a lot of what I might call "epic problems" out there. Malaria, homelessness, HIV, refugees, war, climate change, income inequality, gender inequality, hate crimes. I don't know anything about creating vaccines or cures for malaria or HIV. I don't have a degree in social work or behavior science. I don't have any experience…

I have this feeling a lot. Being able to ship software seems like such a powerful thing, and then you try to apply this skill to difficult social problem and you realize how unimportant code is. I suppose if problems like these could be solved by an app, they would have been solved already.

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#74

Post by davedx »

I did considerable research into jobs where I would have the opportunity to help with climate change while I was a freelancer. I came up with a short list of companies, evaluated on a somewhat subjective basis of "effectiveness". (I read an essay by Bill Gates where he explained his investment strategies to "making the world a better place" were based on applying financial input where it had the most leverage.)

Most of the companies were here in the Netherlands, one was in the USA. I applied to them all, and got 3 interviews. I ended up choosing a utility startup called Vandebron based in Amsterdam.

Vandebron (https://vandebron.nl/) means "from the source" in Dutch. They're an AirBNB-style marketplace for renewable energy. Customers choose the supplier ("generator") they want to buy their energy from. They're growing quickly!

I've been there a little less than 3 weeks, and I feel like it's the best career decision I've ever made. I've never felt so motivated before. I encourage anyone wanting to join the effort against climate change to dig deep. Find the company you think will make the most impact. Get yourself in the door. Most companies are happy to find talented IT people.

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#75

Post by xigency »

danieltillett wrote: post #38
nostromo wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nuclear is low-carbon, but it's not renewable. Earth has a set amount of uranium that is destroyed when creating energy. Currently we have about 200 years of uranium available for economical extraction. But if we tried to replace all coal with nuclear, we would be out within a few decades. Then we'd need to move to other non-renewable materials (thorium?) or start mining astroids. http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar…

Nuclear is not really low carbon when you take into account the amount of concrete you need to build a modern reactor. Unless we have a major breakthrough in mining uranium or we actually manage to make breeder reactors safe and cost effective then nuclear is not really a viable option. Edit. I should have been more precise in my language. By low carbon I am meaning minimal carbon, not just lower carbon. Natural gas…

> Nuclear is not really low carbon when you take into account the amount of concrete you need to build a modern reactor.

That sounds really preposterous.

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#76

Post by selimthegrim »

briantakita wrote: post #46
jf wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What books do you recommend for learning more about systems thinking? This is the list that I'm using: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/giftlist/11TF5E15VQZ82

Thank you for your list. The books on there look good. Here's some books that I read & recommend re: applied systems thinking & ecosystems. http://www.amazon.com/Permaculture-Principles-Pathways-beyon... http://www.amazon.com/Edible-Forest-Gardens-2-set/dp/1890132... http://www.amazon.com/One-Straw-Revolution-Introduction-Natu... http://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelations-Americas-Before-Colum... http://www.amazon.com/Gu…

Also wanted to add the invaluable http://www.amazon.com/Sustainable-Energy-Without-Hot-Air/dp/...

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#77

Post by guscost »

nostromo wrote: post #30
pc86 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm struggling to figure out why nuclear is lumped in with fossil fuels.

Nuclear is low-carbon, but it's not renewable. Earth has a set amount of uranium that is destroyed when creating energy. Currently we have about 200 years of uranium available for economical extraction. But if we tried to replace all coal with nuclear, we would be out within a few decades. Then we'd need to move to other non-renewable materials (thorium?) or start mining astroids. http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar…

Sure, but the need to transition away from non-renewable energy is not the goal that Bret is working on (limiting anthropogenic CO2 and therefore its atmospheric concentration). I think everyone agrees there is a much longer "grace period" before those resources would be depleted than there is for even the slowest of hypothesized AGW scenarios. So if accelerating the depletion of uranium (ha) would solve the more pressing issue then it makes sense.

Perhaps your concern is that people would get complacent with what can only be a temporary solution (even if temporary means thousands of years), but if AGW is regarded as an urgent and critical problem to solve, I don't think you can afford to ignore the opportunity.

> Currently we have about 200 years of uranium available for economical extraction.

In that 200 years a whole lot more uranium will become available for economical extraction, exactly the same as what happened with oil and natural gas.

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#78

Post by criddell »

pavlov wrote: post #34
cpr wrote: post #9

I still like Burt Rutan's take on the AGW question ( http://rps3.com/Files/AGW/EngrCritique.AGW-Science.v4.3.pdf ). He looks at it as an engineer, using generally-accepted data. His conclusion is that the alarmists are wrong.

What terrible arguments: The temperature trend is so slight that, were the global average temperature change which has taken place during the 20th and 21st centuries were to occur in an ordinary room, most of the people in the room would be unaware of it. Well, yes, people are bad at noticing gradually increasing temperatures. A room full of people can heat up from 23°C to 26°C without most people noticing. That has…

> That has nothing to do with whether a global temperature increase of 3 degrees would be healthy for the planet.

Don't leave us hanging here!

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#79

Post by gnaritas »

nostromo wrote: post #71
gnaritas wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nuclear is low-carbon, but it's not renewable. Sure it is, Nuclear doesn't just mean uranium fission, fusion reactors are nuclear as well and they will be a big thing in the future and we get better at doing it.

Just 20 more years now... ;-)

Progress takes time, but it is the future of energy.

Re: What can a technologist do about climate change?

#80

Post by Shivetya »

I still think that in addition to storage work needs to be done with super conductors in order to one day circle the earth with various power lines that fed from where energy is being produced to being used where generation is currently lacking. Before writing it off, it would not have been that long ago that wrapping the world in cables for communication would have been seen as a pipe dream either.

I am not a fan of the idea of lithium or current tech batteries being stacked in mass. I just think that there would be bigger environmental concerns long term with these as servicing is a big issue.

Still as a technologist two things. First never consider the science of the climate as settled. As soon as you do you close so many doors in your own mind that you will hamper yourself. Second realize the one big area we are truly short on isn't the technology but the people who can service it. From electricians, hydraulic engineers, and mechanical. Get people interested in those careers too. For many who might not have the technical chops to create such systems many more are far more capable of maintaining them

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