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Adapting AI for the Planet

The last couple of months have been interesting from a climate viewpoint - we’ve seen a record number of climate related disasters around the globe - drought, floods, fires, heat waves…..and it looks like this is probably going to be what our planet will look like in the near future. Add to that the COP26 conference that is scheduled for October 31st - and climate, sustainability and technology are front page news! So, let’s talk about one of the technologies in the news - artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on climate, water, agriculture, energy, forestry, ecosystems and other sectors in clean technology . AI and its subset of tools - machine learning (ML), data science and statistics - are being touted as one of the key technologies in solving the problems facing the planet today. And while these technologies are certainly powerful - applying them effectively to solve problems in clean tech is another issue altogether. AI has been used by scientists in different clean tech se

AI, Healthcare and the Environment

When discussing complicated topics like artificial intelligence (AI), it’s often easier to understand the issues in a sector like clean technology by comparing what’s happening in other sectors like manufacturing or healthcare. So, this month, let’s talk about building useful artificial intelligence(AI) tools, the need for expertise in adapting these technologies, and how our experience using AI in other sectors is similar to what we experience in clean technology. Since we’re still in a pandemic, let’s take a look at healthcare and clean technology. To start with, what do these two seemingly very different sectors have to do with each other? Quite a lot, as it happens. First, the environment has a huge impact on public health - think wildfire smoke or poor air quality and the impacts on cardiovascular health and asthma in people. Second, monitoring the environment allows us to better understand the health of communities - for example, monitoring wastewater for SARS-Cov2, the virus cau

New products in progress!

We're in the processes of building a couple of fantastic new offerings that many folks in our community have asked for - so blog posts will be limited for a few months. Our jobs portal will still be updated regularly to make sure that all our members can keep up with what's happening in the sector. We can't wait to share what's happening at our end!

Corporate sustainability and carbon markets: The role of data science

  Every Earth Day we hear from companies around the world about their sustainability efforts - the gallons of water they have saved, the reductions in energy use, the systems they have converted from fossil-fuel to renewable energy, the ecosystems they have restored and, more recently the amount of carbon they have offset. On the face of it, these are amazing and hopeful numbers - the very fact that corporations are paying so much attention to sustainability and the environment is testament to the fact that consumer and citizen pressure is yielding results. In fact, with every successive year, it seems that companies and organizations are able to sequester more carbon, minimize greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate climate change.     What allows companies to make these claims - especially with respect to carbon and greenhouse gas emissions? The way that most companies claim these credits is through carbon markets or “cap and trade” programs. In these programs, a community or a no

Partnership Announcement: Data Week with General Assembly

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  We are excited to partner with our friends   @generalassembly   for Data Week — a   free virtual summit May 17-21   filled with workshops and panel discussions to help you harness data to tell compelling stories and uncover trends!   Click here to check out the schedule & RSVP today!   

Let's talk Climate and Data Science - free webinar on March 25th at 10.30 am PT

  What is climate tech? How much is the market worth - hint it's in trillions of dollars. How has it grown over the last decade? What are the trends driving the adoption of data science, AI and machine learning in the climate science space? What are the jobs like and what skills are required to work at the intersection of data science and climate? Join us for a lively discussion on this topic on March 25th !

Interview with Women in Clean Technology and Sustainability

  It was an honor and a pleasure be interviewed by Women in Clean Technology and Sustainability (WCS) as their member of the month. WCS is a non-profit organization headquartered in California that fosters community and networking among professionals in the green economy and has members from all over the United States and the world. We had a wide ranging discussion that covered the inspiration behind Ecoformatics, the opportunities for jobs and startups at the intersection of data science and clean technology and where we as a company can help. Read excerpts of the interview below or check out the entire interview at WCS' website here ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ECOFORMATICS IS YOUR BRAINCHILD, WHAT DOES IT DO? Ecoformatics was born out of an unmet need that I discovered while working as a data scientist and environmental engineer for several entities. The planet is facing so many challenges. At the