30
Architect here. How can I be the most helpful?
(self.climate)
Discussion of climate, how it is changing, activism around that, the politics, and the energy systems change we need in order to stabilize things.
As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades:
How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world:
Recommended actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future:
Anti-science, inactivism, and unsupported conspiracy theories are not ok here.
Sorry if I'm being naive.
Would you not have the most climate-positive impact by stating in architect and pushing more climate-positive design and construction as much as you can?
Not naive at all! That is a genuinely good question with a rather dissatisfying answer: it depends. 'Most' is the tricky word there. It feels a bit like recycling, where you make it a habit but it isn't always easy to see the benefits of the effort, if that makes sense. The work is bound by the client and the code, and the client is usually mostly concerned with the budget. I always make an effort to push better materials and practices, while also going above and beyond on building envelope and HVAC systems to make the houses I design as efficient as possible, then pricing comes in and a lot of that is the first to go. I'm probably doing the most I can at my current job. I could probably do more at a more climate positive firm (not always easy depending on location). I might be able to do a lot more abandoning the mainstream practice of architecture altogether and finding a job that utilizes at least some of my existing skillset, but what that means isn't always clear. Hope that answered your question! Apologies for rambling
Maybe there is some aspect of architecture that can combine making things cheaper and more sustainable? Like designing low cost and energy efficient pre-fab houses for example?