you can help make compilers and hits and languages and their core libraries more efficient. the average program uses around 100x more electricity than it needs to. as a bonus i will be much less annoyed by software even if jevons paradox results in no co2 reduction
Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
11–20 of 77 posts
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#12A parent - and raise your child(ren) to live in an ecologically sensitive manner that you wish the rest of the world to be.
(Am being honest, not being snarky)
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#13I'd say from long experience of being ignored when trying to do this and similar stuff, the best payoff is to push it upstairs to those in power, the politicians, who doubtless have many other things to do, but whose job it basically is. Your job is to tackle stuff on an individual level, yourself and your family perhaps, but theirs is to deal with things on a societal level where there is much greater effectiveness.
If there's a higher payoff available than that, I don't know where it is.
Absolutely vital tip from extremely painful experience; your physical and more vitally mental health come first. You must not forget that as if you burn yourself out you're no good for anything.
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#14The easiest way to reduce CO2 is to plant a forest, so look for companies that do this.
that is only a temporary buffer
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#15The easiest way to reduce CO2 is to plant a forest, so look for companies that do this.
I was thinking about this yesterday and came up with this question: How many trees would I have to plant, and how long would they have to live to offset my (average Western European) lifetime CO2 contribution?
and if you fly somewhere to plant it you just added a bunch more
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#16Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#17A parent - and raise your child(ren) to live in an ecologically sensitive manner that you wish the rest of the world to be. (Am being honest, not being snarky)
Surely not being a parent is friendlier to the environment :-)
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#18Pick the political party in your country most interested in stopping climate change and go work for them. And vote.
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#19I keep getting YouTube ads from a company called Ecosia[1] who describe themselves as a search engine that plants trees.
I don’t know anything else about them other than I think they are based in Europe. Might be worth a look.
Re: Ask HN: What jobs can a software engineer take to tackle climate change?
#20Can we cut the constant climate change topics? For the last three or four weeks I haven't been able to swing a dead cat without hitting somebody going into histrionics about the end being nigh because humans or cow farts are destroying the planet.