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Recycled – July 6, 2021

  • Wondered about the carbon impact of software development? The Green Software Foundation was established by Microsoft, Accenture, Github, and Thoughtworks to build an ecosystem of people, standards, tooling, and best practices for sustainable software development.
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Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day, to my friends and family north of the 49th! In honor of the day, let’s dig into some Canadian climate news.

Yesterday marked the passing into law of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which (among many things) gives the Canadian Paris-accord commitments the force of law. It has attracted both plaudits and criticism. Ecojustice climate program director Alan Andrews applauded the frequency of reporting, and the framework itself, for example. However Marc Lee from the Center for Policy Alternatives complained that the idea of “net-zero” has too many loopholes. Neither are wrong. It’s an important step forward.

One outcome of the new Net-Zero Emissions act is that Canada is banning the sale of new gasoline and diesel powered cars and light-duty trucks by 2035. Meanwhile, amidst the heat of the last few days, the shortage of charge stations is being acutely felt as people embark on summer road-trip vacations. That won’t be for long though. EV stations are getting built out nationwide, and in fact, just last week Parkland Canada (owner and operator of BC’s “On the Run” gas-station convenience stores) announced they would be augmenting their BC stations with up to 100 new DC fast chargers. Expect more of this, everywhere — not just Canada.

Presumably the current heat (Lytton BC, 49.6C / 121.1F on Tuesday) has been causing the skeptics to rethink their positions on climate change, as 911 calls have spiked. The Province of British Columbia has reported 486 ‘sudden and unexpected’ deaths since last Friday, and is attributing those to the sudden and extreme heat. Back to “normal” for Canada Day though. It’ll be toasty on the prairies (36C in Calgary, 32C in Winnipeg), a balmy 23C in Vancouver, 24C with thunder storms in Toronto, and similar in the maritimes.

Happy Canada Day, friends!

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Recycled – June 30, 2021

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Recycled – June 29, 2021

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Recycled – June 28, 2021

  • It was a scorcher here yesterday. Record temperatures, and set to achieve them again today. And for the record, these are not normal, or even normal variance. @weatherprof provides this insight:
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Recycled – June 27, 2021

  • How much energy does using the internet really consume? According to researchers Jonathan Koomey and Eric Masanet, not as much as we’ve been led to believe. Meanwhile, if you want to know what your own personal browsing is costing, Microsoft PM Pierre Lagarde has a handy post, and scripts that you can use to find that out.
  • If you prefer to consume content via podcast, then I recommend The Energy Gang, and newcomer The Big Switch. The Energy Gang focuses on business issues associated with decarbonization, and the Big Switch walks through current and historical case studies associated with the energy transition. The Big Switch season 1 is about transforming the grid. Recommended!
  • Microsoft is now a principal partner for COP26 in Glasgow, this fall. Said Microsoft President Brad Smith, “Building a pathway to net zero will take all of us working together and technology will play an important role in enabling it. Through Microsoft’s partnership with COP26, we look forward to engaging across public and private sectors to establish the conditions, measurement and markets that can help us all accelerate progress in the fight against climate change.” This is a super outcome, and I’m personally excited that my employer is taking this step.
  • In related news, Microsoft President Brad Smith has also come out in favor of SEC mandated climate disclosure rules. As Smith observed, “…carbon accounting and measurement and recording and reporting is something that at one level can be mandated by governments, but governments are not necessarily in the best position to figure out how to get it done. And the more [the business community] can do that, the easier the rest of this can come together.
  • Biochar is the new name for charcoal, apparently. According to this report, it’s becoming a darling of tech companies wanting to invest in carbon abatement strategies. Microsoft, Shopify and Stripe are all investing in biochar schemes.