I'm a full-stack developer that started my work on Bend using Rocket and then migrated to Axum. Would be very happy to contribute/be a part of a community initiative like the one you describe
Beg to differ. Whether you like it or not the world does not operate on idealistic standards. Most people when hiring for certain higher levels are looking for (among other things) a steady growth trajectory in candidates and unfortunately titles are the only way to show that on linked in and resumes. When somebody is a principle engineer prior and moves to software engineer title it’s hard to parse this dip without the person being able to provide context. As such people who are career minded ambitious will likely have a problem with this and pass.to box everybody under software engineer might be great for the company but demonstrates one sided thinking. Lot of candidates are not ok with that.
Just wanted to update the Hacker News community here that we just launched on Product Hunt as well! Y'all asked a ton of amazing questions here and if you wouldn't mind checking this out as well and engaging if you're so moved, every little bit helps! Thanks <3
We have a large database of carbon intensity factors generated using government data from two different sources (the EPA and Exiobase). Comparing our merchant specific factors to those industry standards, you might be surprised by how accurate it is.
+1, it also really depends on the offset (as to whether it's a scam or not)—like I talked about elsewhere, even our low-cost offset is a much more credible project than some of the credits frequently purchased by big companies.
If we don't start changing the standard for what's acceptable, who will, ya know?
Incidentally, do you have any advice or resources for assessing the credibility of carbon offsets (for purchase by individuals I suppose, not that it should make much difference)?
We're huge supporters of a carbon tax, but there are significant challenges, both technical and political. If we had perfect information and the political will, I think the approach you describe would be great—in the meantime, unfortunately, the market needs tools like Bend.
"It’s a relatively simple idea: corporate CO2e emissions are tracked and companies are charged some flat rate of dollars per kilogram."
As I mentioned, tracking and measuring emissions is hopelessly complicated. It's far easier to tax the carbon content of the fuel where the fuel is produced.
As for taxing, we already tax gasoline (rather heavily). I don't really understand why taxing the carbon content is resisted so strongly. Taxing the carbon content would also do things like make natural gas more attractive than coal, because ng has twice the energy in it per carbon atom.
As for the amount of the tax, one starts out with a small carbon tax, then gradually increase it until the CO2 emissions go down. This also gives the market time to adapt.
It is impossible to determine the carbon footprint of a mere pencil, let alone some large business operation:
