Ask HN: What are you doing to fight climate change? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What are you doing to fight climate change?

38 pointsvoisin66 comments

Worldwide we keep seeing record temperatures, droughts, and other impacts of climate change. My country (Canada) is on fire and my city has a 300+ hectare fire burning uncontrolled a few kilometres from town, all the result of an ongoing drought due to climate change.

I’ve done what I know to do (installed solar, switched to a heat pump, minimize vehicle use, eat primarily vegan), but I want to do more.

I am interested to hear what the HN community is doing to fight climate change? Beyond what I’ve listed, what else can I do to have a greater impact? I want a better future for my kids.

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- vote for political parties that take the climate catastrophy seriously and have actionable locally related action on their agendas.

- not owned nor operated a car for 8 years, relying on public transport and car pooling as much as possible.

- live sparsely, buying way less disposable junk, buying more expensive well built things that last (but only if they are absolutely needed and will be used)

- lower meat consumption to around 250gr per week. Could probably go lower.

- put money where my mouth is; sponsor foundations and initiatives that are helping to restore ecosystems (I would recommend 'Mossy Earth').

- also related to money and my mouth; put funds into certified green investment funds. I can't say if you can be sure they are green where you are based, but mine are government certified so I trust it.

- push against comments from friends, family and coworkers that hint at futility of, or lack of responsibility for, our own individual action in the face of this crisis. Help them to see that our collective actions are numerous and can extend way further then just to something like recycling.

- buy food stuffs from outlets that allow you to bring your own container rather than getting it wrapped in disposable plastic.

Living a somewhat frugal life is probably key to living a happy life but recycling and personal responsibility is a smokescreen as documented heavily in the history of green PR.

For some reason the american political hegemony the world suffers under has convinced everyone that global culture is driven by the most superficial almost cartoon-like identity or introverted politics and not hardcore resources, class war, and realpolitical games adhering to a global physical reality.

It's a trick. And it's working because people look inwards when they should be seething with rage at the elite and the systems that have put us in this mess. Hint: Someone did something to community organisers from the 60's until now.

There is only trying to go against the bizarrely powerful lobbying groups, the open doors between industry and politics, the shadowy networks of power, or if not interested in parapolitics try to move towards various scientific adaptations for an extremely uncertain future.

The world is a huge cybernetic system and human culture or something as irrelevant as personal consumption patterns is 100% downstream from physical resources, technology, and the resource and class wars plus geopolitical games to control them. These were the known targets for all successful mass movements but that has been obscured.

Re: push against bc of futility

This is the most annoying and concerning narrative; "It doesn't matter because China has coal plants", from groups that traditionally tout " personal responsibility" and "individual action". The U.S. is full of entrepreneurial, innovatives leaders - movements start with individuals, businesses start with an idea, but they want to quit without trying.

I wouldn't call it especially concerning, I think it's very classic human laziness hiding behind arguments which themselves are lazy. You can find the same behaviour in the face of any required effort, starting at two years of age...

But the amount of laziness displayed when arguing this way does make my blood boil sometimes, it's almost insulting.

Laziness is one of the reasons I think we are in a very bad position. Humans need immediate rewards to do anything, at most it has to be a couple of months away. The rest are an infinitesimal exceptional population, the mass is what counts.

To save ourselves (and the planet) we need to: 1. Sacrifice for a long time, with no rewards before a very long time. 2. Trust that everyone will sacrifice as much without being able to check or, alternatively, accept some will just not do their share.

All things humans are historically really really bad at. Although I hate it does, this makes be all doom&gloom I must admit...

The best individual action you can do is agitate for political and corporate change. Almost all the blame is on corporations and government bodies. The emissions of individuals pales in comparison.

Corporations go where money is, individuals have the money.

Most individuals don't have the luxury of choice. They buy the cheapest option.

I really appreciate your thoughtful answer and there are a number of items you do that I should add to my list because I am doing them as well (green investing, etc). On this point:

> vote for political parties that take the climate catastrophy seriously and have actionable locally related action on their agendas.

In Canada at least we have on party (conservatives, natch) who either deny it or otherwise obstruct all efforts to counter it, and two parties that talk a big game but take no real action and do counterproductive things like buy pipelines.

So while I agree with the sentiment, there is no viable party that makes it a serious point that they’ll take action on. And from what I can tell the same seems to be true in most countries. Politics is broken.

Advocating for better and safer bike infrastructure in my town and the region more generally. In fact, I'm about to attend a community meeting about the town's bike/pedestrian plan later tonight.

I live in a streetcar suburb that has a high quality rail link into the nearby major city, but the stations are all surrounded by parking (despite the walkable downtown) and lots of people drive to them from under half a mile away. Making it comfortable enough for more people to bike to the station and to shops downtown feels like low-hanging fruit here. :)

Personal actions are great to demonstrate to others that living differently is possible, but we need to funnel some energy into influencing government action too. Start going to your local city/town council meetings and advocating for what you think the town should be doing. Especially if you live in a smaller town, because it's likely you'll actually be able to talk to your elected officials. In a town of say 13,000, there will probably only be 4 or 5 people at those meetings - so you'll have a stronger voice than most others who don't show up. (Or email them, if you don't have the time to go to meetings in person!)

1) I am focusing on making money and producing value for the world in any form I can. Whatever challenges that future weather patterns bring, it is only wealthy and stable societies that have a chance to adapt and adjust to them.

2) I am strongly advocating continued nuclear energy development. That is one thing that everybody should be able to agree on regardless of their stance on climate change. It's mystifying to me that the people who vocally care about climate change the most seem to resist this the hardest.

I like you, stranger on the Internet

I've started by attending city council meetings virtually. Soon, I want to start going to meetings, especially ones around urbanism. I recently moved to one of the few walkable/bikeable areas of my city (of course this is the oldest part of town) and my quality of life has increased massively. I want to help other parts of my city become like this.

I rarely drive anymore which contributes to saving the earth from my gas-guzzler not only in the gasses it lets off but also doing my part not driving on roads with a multi-thousand pound vehicle for no reason. Cars destroy roads over time and in that way are a huge contributor to climate change is simply paving/maintaining roads.

Finally I want to promote planting more trees not only for the carbon capture they help with but more importantly how they help cut down on the heat-island effect which plagues so many cities including my own. Again, my neighborhood has these huge trees that cool the area so much. Meanwhile other parts of my town people are required to rely on 24/7 AC units to cool them off, contributing more to climate change.

What are you doing to fight climate change?

I bought an earth bermed home in a cool climate but that might not even be enough if the talk about climate change is real. I am considering putting the entire home deep under ground correctly as the underground temperature is about 50F year-round vs. the -25F to +90F swing throughout the year. That means I can make up the 15 degree difference using sparse solar heating and heat batteries. The biggest challenge is the cost of steel and high pressure concrete right now is quite high and finding reliable contractors in a very rural area is not easy. I may end up just doing it myself knowing I will miss out on many tricks of the trade.

I would love to know more about your house, the systems you have installed, and what it would mean to put it underground (you mean right over the roof with some windows for natural light on one side?).

I choose to work on projects that seem like they'll help.

At this point in my career I've helped build over 200 wind turbines, 3 solar installations, restored a good stretch of wetland, and been involved in two dam removals.

Can you say more? How are you involved in such projects? Are you a developer? Investor? Carpenter? What's your story and how did you get there? If you're interested, I'd be happy to chat with you on the phone and then write a blog post about it... I guess an interview!

Yeah I'd be happy to. Shoot me a line at <myusername>7@gmail and we'll exchange contact info from there.

In short, I started out as a laborer in construction at 18, and have worked my way up through foreman, crew superintendent, and now a project engineer. Thanks to my family (yay nepotism) I started in a fairly niche field, and networking has led to one opportunity after the other.

This is the kind of nepotism I can get behind! Great to see you putting advantages to work for the greater good.

I'll work for free on climate tech startups where I can. Most recently I've been helping https://www.earthforce.io/ on go to market. It's evenings and weekends but I have 6 hours a week dedicated to this type of work.

If you work on climate tech and want free help... be it pitch deck building, extra hand in marketing/positioning, basically anything related to biz dev/ops, I'm happy to chat (email in the bio).

I raise my own beef (just a couple) and eat it as much as possible. And I grow virtually all my own vegetables.

Grow your own food, cuts out industrial ag and the massive transportation required to move the food.

If you have a lawn, turn it into a garden. The yields will be more than your family can eat and you can share it. Unless you don't want to put any sweat in and just want some easy feel good solution..

Intentionally doing nothing.

Personal action has failed every year for decades. We need global co-ordinated action.

That won't happen as long as people (wrongly) believe they can fix this by buying a hybrid or doing meat-free mondays. In fact, I think many people are NOT supporting action in the hope OTHER people will solve it for them.

So I am refusing to do anything until the problem is actually taken seriously.

I mean... Sure, you're not gonna fix climate change by recycling. But you might participate in politics? Or get involved in groups advocating collective action? Or work on/found a startup in the space? Proudly proclaiming "I'm doing nothing" is basically saying "I'm waiting for someone else to solve the problem"

this is the unfortunate truth that people so desperately want to ignore. responsibility for climate change does not and should not fall on individuals.

me going vegan is not going to stop the forests from burning.

Not the same as saying you have absolutely no agency in the situation.

Most people have no agency on climate change (or pollution or poverty or nuclear war etc). People like to pretend otherwise because they don't want to feel powerless and we have all been conditioned not to admit there is no solution (that we can achieve) to a problem.

One of the great advantages of democracy is that people FEEL they have a say. But individuals actually have no input at all. And that's just nationally. This is a truly international problem.

We cannot just "hope and try" our way out of this issue any more than we could solve an asteroid impact by each building our own little rocket.

I believe we won't see real action as long as people who care limit themselves to personal action and wishing and trying to inspire 8bn others to "do the right thing" simultaneously.

Sorry, that sounds personal when I read it back, I'm honestly not sure how else to say it.

One of the few rays of hope for me in all this is the Extinction Rebellion group here in the UK. Because they have embraced this. It's time to act on a huge scale or die. Everyone doing their own thing is just dying but with more steps.

I changed my behaviors a very long time ago, when it was clear that climate change was going to be a full-blown existential crisis.

I reduced my consumption of everything by a lot. I own a car, but rarely drive -- instead, I bicycle. I prefer to do business with companies that are at least somewhat conscientious about environmental effects. I vote.

I'm not sure what more I can really do, honestly. Most of the things we as a species do that are problematic aren't really things individuals have a lot of control over.

1. Compost; The volume of coffee grounds that my wife and I produce are by themselves significant, can be used for soil, and would be ruinous to a landfill. But other food waste as well. Half of my landfill waste has been diverted to landfills.

2. Conscientious recycling. Grocery stores recycle plastic bags (LDPE) and it's a trip I make anyway. I've introduced other people to metal recycling for old electronics, car parts, dehumidifiers -- and they're excited to turn non profit, corporate, and my car used parts waste into donations back to the non profit. I'm also that annoying friend / family member that tries to collect all of the aluminum cans at parties.

3. I've started investing in a couple green ventures each year via StartEngine over the last 3 years. Terracycle US is the only one paying dividends so far, but feeling like an owner of that is rewarding every time i see a new product that works with terracycle.

Informing myself by listening to actual scientists lecture on the topic rather than accept whatever I hear in the media and echo chambers. No one is denying anthropomorphic climate change but complex systems like the earths climate is extremely nuanced and geoengineering may be a viable option at some point.

"No one is denying anthropomorphic climate change"

I think you meant to say YOU aren't denying anthropomorphic climate change. One of my hobbies is arguing with climate deniers on the internet and people absolutely are denying anthropogenic climate change.

I design control systems for grid scale battery systems that can operate as standalone power plants, or as hybrid power plants with solar, wind, or gas turbines.

Batteries essentially enable planners to increase renewable generation and make it less variable.

For gas plants, they can avoid or reduce the need to run gas turbines as peaking power plants which are typically needed to cover the significant gap between renewable generation and residential loads in the early evenings. The batteries can cover that period with energy shifted from the day to the late afternoons and early evenings.

Of course there is still CO2 emitted in their manufacturing, but I am coming from a previous career in making gas turbine control systems, so it's still an improvement. I'm trying to make the broadest impact I can as an engineer.

I'm pretty cynical and don't strongly believe something like "paper straws" make a Big Difference - it does make a difference though.

I like using biodiesel when possible and don't eat meat or commute. These are lifestyle choices that would be made regardless of environmental impact, though

I think using biofuels is highly likely to be a net detriment to help climate change unless your fuels are synthesized in very specific conditions. Most likely outcome is marginal changes in emissions and large increase in starvation. http://theoildrum.com/node/3495

That's an interesting article, they bring up some good points. At the very least biodiesel, as a fuel additive, can be 'good' for some engines. Not sure on macro considerations, am eager to learn more. to be honest I sometimes doubt there's a longterm relevance for biofuels given the coupling to ICEs

I think hydrocarbons will always find certain use cases like planes where the fuel density is such a huge advantage. To be carbon neutral they will need to be synthesised from green hydrogen or methane (ie from renewable sources). I can’t see biofuels being useful unless using non-edible feedstocks. Otherwise you risk increasing food scarcity for marginal benefit.

I never did understand the straw thing. I personally don't use them, so it's not even something that mattered to me, but it just seems like such a de minimus use of plastic either way.

It's so strange to still have a plastic lid..

I saw a cardboard lid in a coffee shop for the first time earlier today, it was good to see.

In the UK, we have a plastic bag tax, and I'm hopeful we can go further by adding a single use plastic tax to encourage more sustainable alternatives or for people to bring their own reusable coffee mugs.

For me personally, the plastic bag tax changed my behaviour, even though it's a small cost, it's still a cost so instead of just overspilling to plastic bags when my backpack is full, I just carry a couple of lightweight reusable canvas bags.

I have been doing this for several years now, and probably this has saved a hundred or more single use plastic bags just for me alone, and I hope that others can report a similar experience.

but think of that one turtle! he had a straw lodged in his nose!

Press your employer to fight climate change as well.

Companies can do more to fight climate change than most individuals can.

We have five acres and we've progressively re-introduced tons of native plant species to our property. You can, too -- you don't have to have a ton of land. Look up native plants for your region and get a-planting, especially native perennials.

voting and convincing others to vote. that's all that can be meaningfully done by individuals. this is not a problem individuals can solve and that's why we have created these things called governments to handle this sort of challenge.

I keep up to date with scientific news about climate change and several years ago joined Extinction Rebellion because I concluded that what I can do myself will never be enough. I give presentations about the need for action and participate in larger actions. For example, in two months we will block a highway in the Netherlands demanding the government to stop fossil fuel subsidies. This is, as always, a none violent but disruptive action. We have done this several times before and each time there seem to be approximately twice as many people, the last time approximately 8.500.

I try to align my work with energy solutions (currently working and researching on renewable energy plants), not waste, and to learn as much about the problem as possible.

Some things I think I've learnt (but am open to being proved wrong):

Climate models are very rough, so take all catastrophic predictions with a grain of salt (eg this year's record sea surface temps were not predicted by IPCC models, the main factor discussed for the difference (policies reducing aerosolized sulphates) are not accounted for in their models. Heterodox hypothesis are not tested in sophisticated mainstream models)

IPCC goals are arbitrary and designed for political purposes (eg there is no fundamental reason why 1.5C goal is a better limit than a 2.5C goal, it is likely worse since it is currently unachievable), so don't get too upset if we don't meet them

Most of the popular 'solutions' don't bother with sophisticated methods to determine impact, like Life Cycle Analysis, and often rely on hidden assumptions that are mostly ignored (eg "we can install 95% renewables _IF_ the grid is upgraded and battery tech gets X% cheaper", "We will 'solve' plastic pollution from wind turbines") so be wary of those saying X tech will save us before they've built anything

Some of the 'solutions' counter-intuitively make things worse (eg biofuel policies causing 3rd world starvation http://theoildrum.com/node/3495)

The most obvious low-carbon solution, nuclear, has a bad history and so will not be accepted by the environmental movement for decades at minimum

Even IF the west stops all emissions, the rest of the world is not likely to follow (eg China increasing absolute emissions, even whilst increasing renewable share).

So in summary, I don't think the solution is technological, nor personal. The problem is fundamentally political, so the solution will need to be political. Solving this will require realism (eg accepting that downsides of nuclear are necessary evil to gaining the upside, accepting that poor countries don't care about your "net zero" targets until they are prosperous).

If you want a better future for your children then you should be saving money. With AI on the works, the future don't look very good for those without capital.

Believe me, you are not making difference you think you are doing. All the wealthy people I know don't care. I know a guy who flew more than 50 times last year, private jet and most of the times only he, the pilot and a third person. The less wealthy, who also emit a lot, don't care either as they can't afford to save the planet. Just look at Billionaire's row in NYC.

My startup works on optimizing the electrical grid in areas with increasing renewable penetration. We're hoping our secondary effect of de-scheduling coal gen by forecasting renewables will reduce global emissions by 0.005%, something we'd be really proud of if we can achieve it. Along the way we're building next-generation weather forecasting and grid simulation software.

For personal impact: vote, support core green innovation like Charm Industrial, Recoolit, etc., and do whatever you can to disempower the oil lobby.

Besides personal action and advocating for climate engagement in my social circle, I work exclusively on climate in my professional life, and also invest in climate oriented companies and support climate focused non profits.

My current job is with Recoolit -- https://recoolit.com -- which is not only tackling a big climate issue, but also depends on concerned individuals and organizations to fund our work (through voluntary carbon credits).

I'm taking a year to build an engine that runs on the same process that powers hurricanes. Hurricanes are a heat engine that runs between the heat of the earth's surface and the cold of outer space, using water phase changes to drive air movement. CO2 buildup increases that temperature difference. I figure that an engine that directly runs off of global warming could be somewhat useful.

composting, soil restoration, solar paneling, rain capture, planting native plants, driving an EV, eating less meat, recycling properly in my locality, buying used/refurbished, fixing instead of replacing, using safer household products, paying for biodegradable packaging, reusing plastic and glass.

I get almost all of the idiot proofing I need from a handful of git aliases I’ve honed over the years.

https://github.com/softwaredoug/idiot-proof-git

I don't use ChatGPT and don't use cryptocurrency. Those 2 are super inefficient, brute force solutions to problems I don't have.

Paying https://makesunsets.com money.

Broken link

Thanks for letting me know! Fixed!

trying to do the one thing that needs to be done but cannot be named

https://globalwarmingtax.com/

Your global warming footprint is closely modelled by your income.

Income tax is a global warming tax.

Get people and associations to stop mowing their lawns or at least not mow them as often. Lawn-moving is like genocide for all insects that live in the dirt. Lawns not mowed eventually becomes meadows and great habitats for all kinds of insect life. It also makes the dirt more durable to droughts.

I posted some information about this on our town’s Facebook page and the overwhelming response was that taller (native) grasses are a fire hazard to nearby structures. I agree with you though - we have yellow sweet clover in our yard that is great for our bees and forms deep taproots that help fix nitrogen and are drought resistant.

Even better, work towards getting rid of the social convention of needing lawns at all. That whole thing is insane.

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-stupid-is-our-obsession...

How does having more insects in residential areas fight climate change? Is residential dirt drought durability important? Not much agriculture happening there.

Most lawn movers run on fossil fuel and emit greenhouse gases when used so there is that.

Electric lawn mowers seem to be Good Enough for lawns below “rural area” tier lawn sizes though. Outlawing gas mowers in populated areas seems much easier than moving away from lawns entirely.

I've seen it suggested to replace them with clover as well.

I do not take private jets, only use public air transport. I strongly advocate against people that use private jets.

Planting trees.

I am not having children so I can keep eating steaks.

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