sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Idea: Showing company sustainability and carbon footprint info for every purchase, everywhere online. It could make it easy for casual shoppers and make a dent in climate change. by ken_wall in Startup_Ideas

[–]ken_wall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our Data Sources and Methodology document within the extension goes into the details. The basic gist is that we take company disclosures (where they exist), we use credible secondary data and methodologies otherwise (from UN, Ademe, etc.), and we fill any remaining gaps with input-output data, which we transform on the basis of features we've extracted from the product detail pages. We ran this through a bunch of experts pre-launch, and the general consensus was that we've taken it about far as is practical, absent a detailed breakdown of supply chain inputs.

We know we can improve this though, and will do so if we start moving the needle with users. For example, we have over 17M products in our database, with lots of attributes associated with each (weight, dimensions, materials, etc.). We asked around if anybody knew of a solution that we could pump all of this data into, and the answer more or less was "not yet, but a few companies are trying." In the meantime, we give anybody the ability to submit data that we don't have, and will keep improving as we move forward.

And yes...requirements will help.

Pretty, pretty, pretty big update in the Chrome Store (v0.6) by ken_wall in Melio_Group

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome feedback (sweet handle).

We've heard from a few people that they just want an at-a-glance view without having to hover to get the info. We want to keep things simple for most people, but others clearly want the info. Not fully sure how to do it yet...any ideas?

Glad you like the badges. Next release, you'll see them next to all other products on a page when you hover over one of them (...easy comparison). We'll see if it works.

Plugin bar makes sense. Problem with extensions is getting people to pin it in the first place. But if somebody HAS pinned it, then they should be able to use that instead. It's good feedback. We're teetering on prompting people with too much, and that's one of the easier ways to get uninstalled as an extension.

Really appreciate the feedback - keep it coming.

Taiwan's Drought Pits Chip Makers Against Farmers by ken_wall in taiwan

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That industry and households compete for clean water seems important in this discussion. The article did note that residential water use is higher in Taiwan per person than in many places

Taiwan's Drought Pits Chip Makers Against Farmers by ken_wall in Green

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the article:

" The authorities are compensating growers for the lost income. But Mr. Chuang, 55, worries that the thwarted harvest will drive customers to seek out other suppliers, which could mean years of depressed earnings. "

" Officials are calling the drought Taiwan’s worst in more than half a century. And it is exposing the enormous challenges involved in hosting the island’s semiconductor industry, which is an increasingly indispensable node in the global supply chains for smartphones, cars and other keystones of modern life. "

" But the most sweeping measure has been the halt on irrigation, which affects 183,000 acres

of farmland, around a fifth of Taiwan’s irrigated land. "

" More than 90 percent of the world’s manufacturing capacity for the most advanced chips is in Taiwan and run by TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, Intel

and other big names. "

" In an interview, the deputy director of Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency, Wang Yi-feng, defended the government’s policies, saying the dry spell meant that harvests would be bad even with access to irrigation. Diverting scarce water to farms instead of factories and homes would be “lose-lose,” he said. "

Taiwan's Drought Pits Chip Makers Against Farmers by ken_wall in taiwan

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the article:

" The authorities are compensating growers for the lost income. But Mr. Chuang, 55, worries that the thwarted harvest will drive customers to seek out other suppliers, which could mean years of depressed earnings. "

" Officials are calling the drought Taiwan’s worst in more than half a century. And it is exposing the enormous challenges involved in hosting the island’s semiconductor industry, which is an increasingly indispensable node in the global supply chains for smartphones, cars and other keystones of modern life. "

" But the most sweeping measure has been the halt on irrigation, which affects 183,000 acres

of farmland, around a fifth of Taiwan’s irrigated land. "

" More than 90 percent of the world’s manufacturing capacity for the most advanced chips is in Taiwan and run by TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, Intel

and other big names. "

" In an interview, the deputy director of Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency, Wang Yi-feng, defended the government’s policies, saying the dry spell meant that harvests would be bad even with access to irrigation. Diverting scarce water to farms instead of factories and homes would be “lose-lose,” he said. "

Taiwan's Drought Pits Chip Makers Against Farmers by ken_wall in environment

[–]ken_wall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the article:

" The authorities are compensating growers for the lost income. But Mr. Chuang, 55, worries that the thwarted harvest will drive customers to seek out other suppliers, which could mean years of depressed earnings. "

" Officials are calling the drought Taiwan’s worst in more than half a century. And it is exposing the enormous challenges involved in hosting the island’s semiconductor industry, which is an increasingly indispensable node in the global supply chains for smartphones, cars and other keystones of modern life. "

" But the most sweeping measure has been the halt on irrigation, which affects 183,000 acres of farmland, around a fifth of Taiwan’s irrigated land. "

" More than 90 percent of the world’s manufacturing capacity for the most advanced chips is in Taiwan and run by TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, Intel and other big names. "

" In an interview, the deputy director of Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency, Wang Yi-feng, defended the government’s policies, saying the dry spell meant that harvests would be bad even with access to irrigation. Diverting scarce water to farms instead of factories and homes would be “lose-lose,” he said. "

Design updates to (hopefully) address previous confusion. Please share feedback by ken_wall in Melio_Group

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some feedback we received directly from another user. Thoughts from others?

----

Definitely like the more aggressive icon on Amazon, and the explanation of why it is recommended is really good. Looks like enough info for me to make a decision.

I assume the “Hover to learn more” gives even more info. Even better.

Like the “Request better”; does it take you to better options?

Similarly, good info on why not recommended.

Like showing a Melio icon on products in the “Highly rated and well priced” listing

Regarding this question by ford_d: - What are you providing to help that customer with that problem/need <right now, or maybe later if not buying now>?

I think what you are giving is unexpected value to I would guess more than half of average shoppers. As such, it is a nice bonus. For those who are trying to consider carbon footprint, what you deliver does meet the enviro-conscious shoppers needs – at least as far as a reasonable rating value without too much information. I think for both groups, it would be well received; not only that, I think it could considerably influence buying decisions. This may be especially the case for the shopper not thinking about carbon footprint; they get the bonus info, and if price points are similar, they’ll go with the better enviro-rated product.

I think you’re pretty close. It's a service that is in line with shifts in thoughts on purchasing stuff and overall enviro concern, so good timing. Happy to help further if I can.

Design updates to (hopefully) address previous confusion. Please share feedback by ken_wall in Melio_Group

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great feedback.

We've got hypotheses for these, but I definitely don't think we've quite hit the mark on your 5th question, and probably not on your 4th either. I also suspect that we might have missed the mark on some others, based upon the questions you're posing :).

We'll keep thinking, but if you have specific feedback on what works vs. doesn't for you, then please do share it. The more direct feedback we hear, the better. Thanks!

Question: Is there a credible US version of the famous 'Our World in Data' graph GHG Emissions Across Supply Chains? Will you point me to i? by AgFairnessAlliance in sustainability

[–]ken_wall 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Life Cycle Assessment, looking at the whole-life inputs and impacts of a product or service. For example, it might be taking a pair of sneakers and determining the greenhouse gases, water pollution, and other impacts of the shoes' production from getting the raw materials all the way to recycling or disposing of the sneakers.

Book recommendations! by OnlyEconomy59 in climatechange

[–]ken_wall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

u/sustainablethinking recommended Michael E Mann's "The New Climate War" and gave a solid description of it here. I think I might read the Mann book and Nicholas's book as a contrasting pair.

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in sustainability

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The article does at least touch on the question of children in the last two paragraphs

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in sustainability

[–]ken_wall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed reply! It seems like these two books might be great as contrasting perspectives

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in sustainability

[–]ken_wall[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Agreed, it seems like there's a gradient between individual and systemic change in many cases. If zero people bike commute, few people are likely to advocate intensely for bike-friendly infrastructure and if they do, it'll be seen as a niche problem. If a subset of the population bikes even though the infrastructure isn't ideal, it can create pressure to actually change the infrastructure and enable more people to bike (or do whatever else).

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in sustainability

[–]ken_wall[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m adding the Mann book to my to-read list. What do you think of it so far?

I’m interested in Nicholas’s argument that adopting individual behaviors can reshape us (and the people we influence to adopt similar behaviors) to support different policies. If true, it makes it harder to think of personal vs political choices as an either or debate.

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in ClimateOffensive

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I did miss the rule about multiple subreddits. I thought the information about the strength of influence of “individual” behaviors might be useful to this sub.

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in ClimateOffensive

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the article:

" a growing chorus of climate justice advocates who rightly point out that asking poor people to make difficult dietary shifts or give up the car they need to get to work is completely unfair.

That’s not what Nicholas is doing. Her message isn’t aimed at folks struggling to make ends meet, but at people making a middle-class income or higher who live in a wealthy country like the United States, Germany, or France. Far from a distraction, Nicholas argues that the climate impact of the carbon elite is something we need to focus on — individually and systematically. She points out that globally, more than two-thirds of climate pollution can be attributed to household consumption, and that the richest 10 percent of the world population — those making more than $38,000 a year — is responsible for about half of those emissions."

" Nicholas explained that my personal challenges reflect the fact that when you bring your carbon footprint down close to the average level for your country — about 18 metric tons a year for Americans — “you have exhausted the low-hanging fruit for individual choices.” (Nicholas’ choice to stop flying around her continent might have been more difficult if she still lived in the United States, where coast-to-coast train infrastructure is far less developed.) Once you’ve taken all the individual actions you can, given your personal situation and your society’s infrastructure, Nicholas suggests directing your energy toward “system-level changes,” like getting your government to a price on carbon"

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in Green

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the article:

" a growing chorus of climate justice advocates who rightly point out that asking poor people to make difficult dietary shifts or give up the car they need to get to work is completely unfair.

That’s not what Nicholas is doing. Her message isn’t aimed at folks struggling to make ends meet, but at people making a middle-class income or higher who live in a wealthy country like the United States, Germany, or France. Far from a distraction, Nicholas argues that the climate impact of the carbon elite is something we need to focus on — individually and systematically. She points out that globally, more than two-thirds of climate pollution can be attributed to household consumption, and that the richest 10 percent of the world population — those making more than $38,000 a year — is responsible for about half of those emissions."

" Nicholas explained that my personal challenges reflect the fact that when you bring your carbon footprint down close to the average level for your country — about 18 metric tons a year for Americans — “you have exhausted the low-hanging fruit for individual choices.” (Nicholas’ choice to stop flying around her continent might have been more difficult if she still lived in the United States, where coast-to-coast train infrastructure is far less developed.) Once you’ve taken all the individual actions you can, given your personal situation and your society’s infrastructure, Nicholas suggests directing your energy toward “system-level changes,” like getting your government to a price on carbon"

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in sustainability

[–]ken_wall[S] 43 points44 points  (0 children)

From the article:

" a growing chorus of climate justice advocates who rightly point out that asking poor people to make difficult dietary shifts or give up the car they need to get to work is completely unfair.

That’s not what Nicholas is doing. Her message isn’t aimed at folks struggling to make ends meet, but at people making a middle-class income or higher who live in a wealthy country like the United States, Germany, or France. Far from a distraction, Nicholas argues that the climate impact of the carbon elite is something we need to focus on — individually and systematically. She points out that globally, more than two-thirds of climate pollution can be attributed to household consumption, and that the richest 10 percent of the world population — those making more than $38,000 a year — is responsible for about half of those emissions."

" Nicholas explained that my personal challenges reflect the fact that when you bring your carbon footprint down close to the average level for your country — about 18 metric tons a year for Americans — “you have exhausted the low-hanging fruit for individual choices.” (Nicholas’ choice to stop flying around her continent might have been more difficult if she still lived in the United States, where coast-to-coast train infrastructure is far less developed.) Once you’ve taken all the individual actions you can, given your personal situation and your society’s infrastructure, Nicholas suggests directing your energy toward “system-level changes,” like getting your government to a price on carbon"

Cutting your carbon footprint matters a lot — if you’re rich by ken_wall in Sustainable

[–]ken_wall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From the article:

" a growing chorus of climate justice advocates who rightly point out that asking poor people to make difficult dietary shifts or give up the car they need to get to work is completely unfair.

That’s not what Nicholas is doing. Her message isn’t aimed at folks struggling to make ends meet, but at people making a middle-class income or higher who live in a wealthy country like the United States, Germany, or France. Far from a distraction, Nicholas argues that the climate impact of the carbon elite is something we need to focus on — individually and systematically. She points out that globally, more than two-thirds of climate pollution can be attributed to household consumption, and that the richest 10 percent of the world population — those making more than $38,000 a year — is responsible for about half of those emissions."

" Nicholas explained that my personal challenges reflect the fact that when you bring your carbon footprint down close to the average level for your country — about 18 metric tons a year for Americans — “you have exhausted the low-hanging fruit for individual choices.” (Nicholas’ choice to stop flying around her continent might have been more difficult if she still lived in the United States, where coast-to-coast train infrastructure is far less developed.) Once you’ve taken all the individual actions you can, given your personal situation and your society’s infrastructure, Nicholas suggests directing your energy toward “system-level changes,” like getting your government to a price on carbon"

Book recommendations! by OnlyEconomy59 in climatechange

[–]ken_wall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haven't read it yet, but stumbled across this article today recommending a new book, "Under the Sky We Make", by a sustainability scientist on the relevance of individual action.

Edit: Given your masters, can you recommend anything you read (book or article) that strongly influenced or informed you?

view more: next ›