5 Reasons Software Developers Should Work in Climate

1. The physical world has become connected to the digital world

Over the last decade a bridge has been built between the physical and digital world. The adoption of building automation systems and advanced IOT sensors across the globe has given us digital data and automated control over physical objects. Software will power the collection and analysis of data along with bringing real time automation to processes that were once manual.

2. Problems of enormous scale

Climate change is a big problem with big data. Humans consume over 150 petawatt hours of energy a year and emit over 32 billion metric tons of carbon. The earth surface measures roughly 510 million km2 which can all be optimized to reduce emissions and slow global warming. What if we could optimize all the freight shipping in the world? Could we programmatically design grazing patterns for domesticated wildlife to reduce the land we need to raise them?

3. The solutions are vast

Addressing climate change is much more than installing solar panels and wind turbines. Many industries can do their part to reduce emissions. Some industries outside of energy include education, agriculture, transportation, clothing production, food waste, and video conferencing. Consider looking at the Project Drawdowns list of solutions for more ideas.

4. Smart people but…

If you are coming from traditional software, especially the startup world, you are typically surrounded by young people who, at best, have a bachelor’s degree. Since the climate and energy world often starts with the hard sciences, many people already in the industry have advanced degrees such as Master’s and PhDs. There are many talented and intelligent people already working in the industry, but they often lack experience and knowledge of how software could be used to accelerate their goals. More software developers in climate will help bridge this gap and speed up their work.

5. The problem is urgent

Climate scientists forecast that we are on track to surpass 1.5℃ of global warming, compared to pre-industrial levels, sometime between 2030 and 2050. When we actually surpass that threshold will depend largely on the mitigation efforts undertaken today. As we draw closer to this threshold, we will experience irreversible damage to our ecosystems and our way of life. We have already begun to witness some of these negative effects through stronger hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts and devastating wildfires. Software developers that act now can help slow the warming process. Check out my getting started guide for a brief overview of the problem we face.