I was excited by the title but disappointed by the article. Essentially, it's saying that because software developers generally have money and time, then they can become activists. That's not...
I was excited by the title but disappointed by the article. Essentially, it's saying that because software developers generally have money and time, then they can become activists. That's not really unique to software developers... anyone with money and time can do it.
What I was hoping for was more on what unique skills that technologists can bring to the climate change table.
On this note, does anyone know of any open source projects in this area that one could contribute to? Also, just off the top of my head, some things that might be useful for a programmer to do:...
On this note, does anyone know of any open source projects in this area that one could contribute to? Also, just off the top of my head, some things that might be useful for a programmer to do:
Anecdotally I've heard that programs written by and for scientists can often be pretty terrible from a software engineering perspective so that might be an area of interest. Maybe contributing to open source, or making it known to a local university you're available for coding or even teaching some good programming practices.
Climate activists (or any kind of activists, really) can often face the threat of surveillance and helping them with digital privacy could be helpful.
The idea for many programs starts with finding a need in the general public, but what need do climate activists have that might be addressed through some new tool?
People are gamifying exercise and their todo lists, why not gamify lowering your personal carbon footprint? Take transit or ride a bike instead of driving your car to work and you can level up, or something.
Encouraging people to stay home and play video games probably reduces global warming :-) Although, that might depend on the energy efficiency of their home and computer. If you want to do this at...
Encouraging people to stay home and play video games probably reduces global warming :-) Although, that might depend on the energy efficiency of their home and computer.
If you want to do this at scale, you might get a job at Amazon or Google optimizing things in data centers.
But beware that reducing costs increases usage. This is called the Jevons paradox. To keep your work optimizing all the software things from going to waste due to increased usage, something like a carbon tax is still needed.
I was really hoping it would be something along the lines of "write efficient code, stop using Node.js and Electron". In the grand scheme of things though, I don't know how much energy would...
I was really hoping it would be something along the lines of "write efficient code, stop using Node.js and Electron". In the grand scheme of things though, I don't know how much energy would actually be saved if we replaced all Node.js and Electron apps with native equivalents.
In this context, it's the fact that compiled languages are generally more efficient than interpreted languages. I think lately it encourages some really lazy coding. The number of one-liner...
In this context, it's the fact that compiled languages are generally more efficient than interpreted languages.
I think lately it encourages some really lazy coding. The number of one-liner packages in NPM is ridiculous, and when a popular one breaks, it breaks everything that depends on it.
I think there's also a generational component. Younger devs seem to love Node, as JavaScript is often the first language they learn. Older devs hate it; they remember when ES6 wasn't even a twinkle in Brendan Eich's eye, and flashy webapps were a tangled mess of JQuery.
It's interesting that no one has brought up getting involved in engineering projects that specifically tackle climate change. As a mechanical engineering students myself I've looked into some of...
It's interesting that no one has brought up getting involved in engineering projects that specifically tackle climate change. As a mechanical engineering students myself I've looked into some of these projects and programs, and it seems there's always a software angle to it. That could mean directly working on the project itself, or developing programs which can be sold and used to more efficiently get the job done.
Personally, I've seen how much of a difference a good programmer can make on an engineering project, so there's no doubt in my mind that it's at least a possibility.
What this tells me is that there is a need for a scripting language that is more energy efficient and then get that to come built-in to linux distros the way python is. Ezpz.
What this tells me is that there is a need for a scripting language that is more energy efficient and then get that to come built-in to linux distros the way python is. Ezpz.
If you're like me and get stuck with things that seemingly just can't be represented cleanly in Rust, maybe give Go a visit. 3.0 on the scale vs Python's 75 is still a solid improvement, and...
If you're like me and get stuck with things that seemingly just can't be represented cleanly in Rust, maybe give Go a visit. 3.0 on the scale vs Python's 75 is still a solid improvement, and you'll save a lot of pulled hair vs Rust. Heck, Go's compiler is practically as fast as Python's interpreter.
I'd rather use a Mozilla language than a Google language. That sounds dumb when I say it, but they have to much of a stranglehold on everything. Thank you for the suggestion, though.
I'd rather use a Mozilla language than a Google language. That sounds dumb when I say it, but they have to much of a stranglehold on everything. Thank you for the suggestion, though.
When asked what I would do next if my current job ended, I've remarked to several people that I'd love to do something that contributed to fighting climate change. I can't think of a goal that...
When asked what I would do next if my current job ended, I've remarked to several people that I'd love to do something that contributed to fighting climate change. I can't think of a goal that would motivate me more to get up every morning than that.
I was excited by the title but disappointed by the article. Essentially, it's saying that because software developers generally have money and time, then they can become activists. That's not really unique to software developers... anyone with money and time can do it.
What I was hoping for was more on what unique skills that technologists can bring to the climate change table.
On this note, does anyone know of any open source projects in this area that one could contribute to? Also, just off the top of my head, some things that might be useful for a programmer to do:
Encouraging people to stay home and play video games probably reduces global warming :-) Although, that might depend on the energy efficiency of their home and computer.
If you want to do this at scale, you might get a job at Amazon or Google optimizing things in data centers.
But beware that reducing costs increases usage. This is called the Jevons paradox. To keep your work optimizing all the software things from going to waste due to increased usage, something like a carbon tax is still needed.
I was really hoping it would be something along the lines of "write efficient code, stop using Node.js and Electron". In the grand scheme of things though, I don't know how much energy would actually be saved if we replaced all Node.js and Electron apps with native equivalents.
Out of curiosity, what's wrong with Node?
In this context, it's the fact that compiled languages are generally more efficient than interpreted languages.
I think lately it encourages some really lazy coding. The number of one-liner packages in NPM is ridiculous, and when a popular one breaks, it breaks everything that depends on it.
I think there's also a generational component. Younger devs seem to love Node, as JavaScript is often the first language they learn. Older devs hate it; they remember when ES6 wasn't even a twinkle in Brendan Eich's eye, and flashy webapps were a tangled mess of JQuery.
It's interesting that no one has brought up getting involved in engineering projects that specifically tackle climate change. As a mechanical engineering students myself I've looked into some of these projects and programs, and it seems there's always a software angle to it. That could mean directly working on the project itself, or developing programs which can be sold and used to more efficiently get the job done.
Personally, I've seen how much of a difference a good programmer can make on an engineering project, so there's no doubt in my mind that it's at least a possibility.
I had similar thoughts, but I still thought it would generate discussion so I posted it.
What this tells me is that there is a need for a scripting language that is more energy efficient and then get that to come built-in to linux distros the way python is. Ezpz.
JavaScript is shockingly only a 4.5. That'd be a big step up from Python. Year of the Linux JavaScript shell?
I was completely unaware that Typescript was that much worse than vanilla JS....
It wasn't built for speed.
No, but I figured its compilation would at least speed it up a little...
I imagine some of its features might require inline polyfills, since they frequently take upcoming ECMAScript features and add them to TypeScript.
Jeez. Python is a monster. I was going to learn Rust anyways, but this gives me even more incentive.
If you're like me and get stuck with things that seemingly just can't be represented cleanly in Rust, maybe give Go a visit. 3.0 on the scale vs Python's 75 is still a solid improvement, and you'll save a lot of pulled hair vs Rust. Heck, Go's compiler is practically as fast as Python's interpreter.
I'd rather use a Mozilla language than a Google language. That sounds dumb when I say it, but they have to much of a stranglehold on everything. Thank you for the suggestion, though.
No worries, I understand, I'd rather use a Mozilla-made language as well. Sadly just haven't wrapped my head around the finer details just yet.
How is Rust a monster? It has the second best energy efficiency on the chart.
What parts aren't good about C++?
Is the book Creative Commons?
When asked what I would do next if my current job ended, I've remarked to several people that I'd love to do something that contributed to fighting climate change. I can't think of a goal that would motivate me more to get up every morning than that.