The hottest Sustainability Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Climate & Environment Topics

The Carbon Impact of Large Language Models: AI's Growing Environmental Cost

ScaleDown • 11 implied HN points • 10 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Large language models like GPT-4 and LLaMA 2 have a significant carbon footprint due to massive energy consumption during training.
  2. Factors affecting the carbon footprint of ML models include hardware, training data size, model architecture, training duration, and data center location.
  3. It is essential to balance the benefits of AI models with minimizing their environmental impact, considering their vast energy requirements.

About Fight to Repair Weekly

Fight to Repair • 19 implied HN points • 30 Dec 20
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Repair journalism is not adequately covering the right to repair, though the topic deserves more attention and focus.
  2. The battle for a digital right to repair encompasses issues beyond just fixing broken devices, touching on areas like environmental sustainability, market consolidation, and digital rights.
  3. The Fight to Repair Weekly newsletter aims to delve deeper into the significant, overarching themes related to the right to repair, bridging the gap in media coverage and exploring the broader implications of repair rights.

in the dappled leaves

the rohn report • 19 implied HN points • 27 Jan 21
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. America faces challenges in belief systems and communication despite advancements in education and technology.
  2. The prioritization of economic interests over environmental concerns by both politicians and voters is a significant issue.
  3. Disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with nature could help us regain common sense and a sense of community.

20241110

Curious futures (KGhosh) • 4 implied HN points • 10 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. The era of traditional bosses is fading. People now want leaders who can guide and mentor them instead.
  2. Cybersecurity is becoming more important as technology evolves. There are new risks like deepfakes and cyberattacks that need attention.
  3. Innovation is happening with technology and the environment. New ideas, like using mushrooms in robotics, show how we can combine nature and tech.

YIMBY to windfarms

Klement on Investing • 3 implied HN points • 06 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Many people support wind and solar energy, but they often oppose having them in their own communities. This is called NIMBYism, which stands for 'Not In My Back Yard.'
  2. Wind farms can actually boost the finances of local towns by increasing tax revenues, which helps pay for local services and infrastructure.
  3. When towns have more money from wind farms, they can invest in growth, leading to more jobs and lower property taxes over time, making it beneficial for residents overall.
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Rabbit Holes 🕳️ #60

Creative Destruction • 9 implied HN points • 13 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. The Slow Revolution is about embracing a lifestyle with enoughness and meaningful nourishment.
  2. Viewing our consumption habits as a form of addiction sheds light on the need for a therapeutic approach to promote sustainable living.
  3. Degrowth Engineering suggests reimagining how engineers design products within the limits of economic, human, and ecological needs.

Apple Tysons Corner: A new chapter

Tabletops • 2 HN points • 18 May 23
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. Apple Store at Tysons Corner underwent a comprehensive redesign, emphasizing the return of the Genius Bar and innovative product discovery spaces.
  2. Accessibility was a key focus, with lowered tables and widened aisles to enhance wheelchair accessibility, along with hearing loop systems for those hard of hearing.
  3. The store showcases fresh takes on traditional Apple Store features, such as Avenues and Apple Pickup, with new design elements like sustainable materials and updated layouts.

Growth without Consumption

Michaela’s Substack • 2 HN points • 09 Mar 23
🎭️ Culture Sustainability
  1. Growth is often tied to progress and success, but it comes at a cost like depletion of resources and environmental degradation.
  2. Gamification can encourage sustainable behaviors by applying game design principles to motivate people.
  3. Using convivial tools and games can shift society's focus from material growth to quality of life.

The Easiest Path For Companies To Reach Net Zero

Warming Up to Climate Tech • 2 HN points • 01 Jun 23
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. Bend helps companies calculate and confront their carbon emissions by integrating climate data with financial operations.
  2. Bend automates carbon accounting, making it accessible and cost-effective for businesses of all sizes.
  3. Bend's ultimate goal is to empower businesses to make informed purchase decisions by providing visibility into the environmental impact of their spending.

What past disruptions tell us about Cellular Agriculture and Alternative Proteins

WeBeGreen • 1 HN point • 24 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Incumbent industries often fail to adapt to new technologies, leading to their downfall. This trend is evident in various historical disruptions like the shift from horses to cars.
  2. New technologies can significantly disrupt entire industries, as seen with the examples of the horse industry being replaced by automobiles and the shift from whale oil to kerosene.
  3. Innovations like cellular agriculture are poised to revolutionize the food system, offering a more sustainable way to produce animal-based food items without the need for traditional agriculture practices.

My New Favorite Way to Eat Organ Meats

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 19 implied HN points • 13 Sep 20
🍲 Food & Drink Sustainability
  1. Eating organ meats can be challenging if you're not used to them, but blending them into ground beef with taco seasoning can make them taste surprisingly good.
  2. Blending organ meats with ground beef and heavily seasoning them can help mask the organ flavor and create a dish that tastes like regular taco meat.
  3. Using high-quality, well-blended organ meats like White Oak Pastures paleo ground beef can enhance the taste and experience of eating liver, making it a more enjoyable meal.

Machines Will Not Replace Us

Charles Eisenstein • 6 implied HN points • 16 Mar 24
🎭️ Culture Sustainability
  1. Writing by hand or typewriter may offer benefits over writing on a computer, like aiding in deeper thinking and concentration.
  2. Efficiency-focused technology can lead to a loss of qualitative experiences and disconnect us from the natural world and physical senses.
  3. Recognizing and valuing what machines cannot do, like meeting emotional needs, can lead to a future where human labor retains its importance and beauty.

A blueprint for making your holiday more climate-friendly 🎁 🌿

Hothouse // Solutions • 2 implied HN points • 19 Dec 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. You can reduce food waste by using leftover ingredients to make desserts, like turning old bread into pudding.
  2. Try using plant-based ingredients in your baking. They can sometimes make your treats taste even better, like using oil instead of butter to keep cakes moist.
  3. Experiment with different types of flour in your baking. Mixing in whole grains or other flours can be good for your health and the environment.

How Amazon's Sustainability Accelerator Selected its 2023 Cohort

The Green Techpreneur • 8 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Amazon's Sustainability Accelerator selected its 2023 cohort based on two key areas: more sustainable products and innovative recycling technologies.
  2. The accelerator program provides startups with workshops, mentorship, grants, and access to a sustainability alumni network to support their growth.
  3. Grit, resilience, and passion are vital qualities for business success in the climate tech innovation sector.

Notes on privilege

Charles Eisenstein • 8 implied HN points • 23 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Sustainability
  1. Privilege is often linked to independence from community due to financial capability.
  2. Challenging the assumption that Western modern lifestyles are superior can open new perspectives.
  3. Reconnecting with nature and community wealth can redefine true richness beyond money and technology.

The most sophisticated test of ESG fund performance, yet

Klement on Investing • 2 implied HN points • 18 Nov 24
💰 Finance Sustainability
  1. Studies show that ESG funds and conventional funds have similar returns, typically around 0.2% to 0.3% difference per year. This means investing in ESG doesn't significantly affect your returns.
  2. Critics argue ESG funds often perform slightly worse than traditional ones, which raises questions about the returns of sustainable investing.
  3. Overall, recent research found no significant difference in performance between ESG and conventional funds, which may disappoint both supporters and opponents of ESG investing.

Hurricane season is more devastating than ever. Here's how to get through it.

Hothouse // Solutions • 2 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Hurricane seasons are becoming more intense and frequent, which means more people need to prepare. It's important to know what to do in case a storm is coming.
  2. Gather supplies and learn about your area's flood risks. Make a kit that lasts for at least 72 hours with food, water, and important documents.
  3. Stay informed during hurricane season by following official local updates. This way, you can make better decisions about evacuations and safety.

Rabbit Holes 🕳️ #53

Creative Destruction • 5 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Spirituality can be a missing element in sustainability efforts, focusing on inner development rather than just external actions.
  2. Technology and convenience may create a feeling of disconnection and lack of control in our lives, rather than making things easier.
  3. Open-source urban design encourages flexible, adaptable, and nature-inspired city planning that involves the community in ongoing development.

Non-transcendent song, scope of emissions and a sunset!

bitflips • 1 HN point • 20 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. Transformer models like ChatGPT have limitations in creating transcendent experiences or original art, despite excelling at tasks like summarizing code and writing poems.
  2. Efforts to combat climate change must consider the end-to-end emissions of products, encompassing all stages from production to disposal.
  3. Reading 'Freakonomics' by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner can spark curiosity in exploring interesting questions through data analysis.

Norman Garrick on the Past, Present, and Future of Transportation

Exasperated Infrastructures • 7 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🎭️ Culture Sustainability
  1. Norman Garrick highlights the need for cities that prioritize people on foot over vehicles going at high speeds.
  2. He discusses the challenges of car dependency, especially in countries like Jamaica, and emphasizes the importance of transit, bike, and pedestrian planning.
  3. Garrick advocates for creating car-light cities that are free from the dangers, noise, pollution, and costs associated with cars, focusing on designing for people's quality of life and low-carbon urban environments.

Envisioning the Next Level

The Permanent Problem • 6 implied HN points • 09 May 23
🕹 Technology Sustainability
  1. In the past, there was a clear vision of the future, but now there is uncertainty.
  2. Transition to clean energy sources can help address environmental challenges like climate change.
  3. There is a need for technological and social innovations to promote work-life balance and economic independence.

Embracing Mother Earth

Save Our Happy Place • 6 implied HN points • 18 Apr 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Reflect on your relationship with Mother Nature this Earth Day to find inspiration and rejuvenation.
  2. Celebrate the beauty and biodiversity of Earth by connecting with nature and viewing it as a living entity.
  3. Take time to journal and reflect on your climate journey, finding ways to integrate more personal and civic climate actions into your life.

Signs of a Climate-Conscience Company

Save Our Happy Place • 5 implied HN points • 30 May 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Look for company initiatives, climate enablement, and metrics during onboarding to see if a company cares about the planet.
  2. Consider benefits that encourage sustainable living as a sign of a climate-conscience company.
  3. Check if a company measures and shares metrics like carbon footprint, water footprint, and waste footprint to gauge their commitment to the planet.

Can carbon capture work?

Klement on Investing • 1 implied HN point • 13 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been criticized for its high failure rates in projects, historically failing 88% of the time. This raises doubts about its effectiveness for climate change action.
  2. Studies suggest that CCS could improve and become more effective if its rollout follows the learning patterns seen with wind and solar energy in the past.
  3. While CCS could help keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, achieving the more ambitious 1.5-degree target seems unlikely without significant improvements and a drastic reduction in failure rates.

Your guide to tax-deductible donations to climate-solutions organizations 🌏 ☀️ 💵

Hothouse // Solutions • 1 implied HN point • 27 Dec 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Donating to climate solutions organizations can have a big impact, especially at the end of the year when tax deductions are applicable. Groups like Giving Green help you find effective places to contribute.
  2. The upcoming political landscape may influence donations to climate organizations. People may feel motivated to support causes they care about even amid challenges.
  3. There are many organizations worth supporting, each focused on different areas like clean air, heavy industry, or sustainable food systems. You can choose one that aligns with your values.

Rabbit Holes 🕳 #28

Creative Destruction • 5 implied HN points • 29 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Rurbanization blurs urban-rural divides by promoting urban agriculture for biodiversity and temperature control
  2. Conscious quitting reflects a shift where employees prioritize values over work and leaders focus on reputation more than action
  3. Climate-focused board games foster collaboration and learning about environmental issues while being an $11 billion industry

4 Holiday Guides to Help Bring Ease and Sustainability to Your Holidays

Save Our Happy Place • 3 implied HN points • 19 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Sustainability
  1. Happy Place provides resources for aligning mindset, intentions, and actions to combat climate change.
  2. Holiday guides offer tips on sustainable gift-giving, hosting green parties, and last-minute eco-friendly gift ideas.
  3. Embrace mindfulness, gratitude, connection, and sustainability to enjoy a holiday season filled with love and joy.

It’s cheaper being green

Klement on Investing • 1 implied HN point • 02 Dec 24
💰 Finance Sustainability
  1. Going绿色可能会更便宜，很多公司发现绿色项目的资本成本比传统项目低。
  2. 公司更愿意投资绿色项目，因为他们认为这些项目的回报率更高。
  3. 这个趋势在过去几年中增强，特别是在环境、社会和公司治理（即环境、社会和公司治理）投资变得流行之后。

Recap: October 2024

Creative Destruction • 1 implied HN point • 06 Nov 24
💼 Business Sustainability
  1. Technology should focus on making our lives more meaningful, not just convenient. By choosing better tech options, we can create a more joyful and fulfilling life.
  2. Business can be redefined to feel more human and less stressful. Embracing mindfulness and playfulness can help us find more meaning in our work.
  3. It's important to rethink our connections to the world around us. Finding balance in our lives can lead to deeper relationships and a more satisfying experience.