Climate Hackers

A monthly meetup of techies and creatives looking to make an impact by building climate-forward tools.


Guiding Principles [v1]

  • All topics allowed: Even if they are orthogonal to climate specifically.
  • Non-traditional projects encouraged: Projects do not need to directly solve a specific climate problem. They can be a game, art project, niche infrastructure asset, citizen science project, and so on.
  • Grassroots: Projects should focus on neighborhood-scale use, not society-wide problems.
  • AI use accepted: AI is an inevitable technological innovation. Let's harness its most powerful uses for good.
  • AI use encouraged: AI tools are completely optional and up to each individual. But AI has opened the door for non-software folks to apply their experience to create useful tools. Climate Hackers encourages AI use for those who want to, and should never discriminate against clever, intelligent, and intentional use of AI in projects.
  • AI slop not allowed: There is no societal benefit to slopping out a half-baked AI app. Use it artfully and intentionally or not at all. Yes, "slop" is subjective; it generally means projects where entire facets of the work are sloppily applied AI, such as writing, art assets, or code.
  • Intentional token use: Make an effort to be conscientious of AI use, including prompt and context engineering best practices.
  • Human-focused apps: Root projects in real-person use cases where possible, including early stakeholder involvement.
  • Open source and non-commercial: The goal is to support organizations in a volunteer capacity, not create start-ups. Open all projects to outside contributors.
  • Ownership: If a commercially viable idea is developed as part of this project, Climate Hackers will not claim ownership merely because it was developed here.

Climate Hackathon: Ideation V1 (9/2/26)

  • Open ended: People can come in and work on anything they find interesting. For anyone looking for ideas, we will provide a list of topic spaces to explore.
  • Exploration encouraged: New Climate Hackers can join without a pretext for ideas or experience; exploration is encouraged.
  • Potential topics: To be determined and researched.
  • Logistics:
    • Venue: Needs electrical outlets, tables, and chairs.
    • Tickets: $5 tickets to help offset venue rental costs.
    • Sponsors: Reach out to climate activist groups to see if they have projects worth exploring.
    • Audience: Citizen science. This is not a hackathon with paid winners or a resume boost; it is an interest group supporting climate initiatives.
    • Promotion: A simple flyer with the details, nothing fancy.
    • Online presence and external support: Discord server, mailing list, and social page.