The NPR show Marketplace has an associated show Marketplace Tech. This week they’ve been talking about climate change and Big Tech. Yeah, this is a radio show, but transcripts are provided.
The first episode took a look at whether the big companies would be affected by rising sea waters. Many of them are quite close to San Francisco Bay. Alphabet (Google’s parent) and Facebook are particularly vulnerable. The website has maps to show what happens when the water rises.
So with rising seas a problem in Silicon Valley, why aren’t the big venture capital firms investing in climate tech? Two big reasons.
First, VC companies invested heavily into solar 10 to 15 years ago and lost a lot of money when many solar companies failed.
Second, VC companies are designed to expect a return on investment within 10 years. Climate solutions will likely take longer.
Even so, they are investing in such things as new ways of approaching manufacturing and logistics, and shortening supply chains to save energy in reduced transportation.
Yeah, it is frustrating and annoying to see VC chase the next big computer game with millions of dollars while there are real people suffering from the effects of climate change.
Marketplace Tech’s host Molly Wood spoke to Astro Teller, the head of X, a division of Alphabet that works on moonshots – really far out ideas that might pay off big, or not at all. Teller gets around the office – a former spread out mall – on rollerblades. That’s much more efficient than walking. The division is working on cool climate tech.
Such as buggies that roll through fields to understand individual plants and how they are doing to help farmers adjust to a changing climate.
Such as creating fuel from the carbon dioxide in seawater in so burning it would be carbon neutral. Alas, the product was $15 a gallon. And only wealthy people and the military would consider fuel at that price.
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