Episode 3

Climate Solutions through Open Source Insights with Koen Hufkens

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June 6th, 2024

36 mins 42 secs

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About this Episode

Guest

Koen Hufkens

Panelist

Richard Littauer

Show Notes

In the inaugural episode of the OSS Climate Podcast, host Richard Littauer chats with our first guest, Koen Hufkens, the founder of BlueGreen Labs. They talk about the use of open source tools to address climate change issues, the role of community science, and the responsibility of open source maintainers towards their users. Koen also discusses the challenges of maintaining open source software, the impact of the European Union’s Cyber Resiliency Act on small-scale developers like him and highlights the importance of contributing to a solution for the current climate crisis. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, an enthusiast, or simply curious about the role of technology in environmentalism, tune in to gain insights from experts at the frontline of climate action and open source innovation.

[00:00:43] Richard introduces the very first guest of this podcast, Koen Hufkens, founder of BlueGreen Labs.

[00:01:44] Koen describes BlueGreen Labs as a data-driven consultancy focusing on climate change issues using open source software.

[00:02:32] Koen explains his preference for open source efficiency and reproducibility, aiding both his future self and the broader community. He reveals BlueGreen Labs consists of himself and his partner, focusing on the maintenance and development of open source packages.

[00:05:25] Richard is curious in what packages Koen uses in terms of open source tooling, and Koen mentions he mainly uses the R language and occasionally Python for statistics and machine learning and appreciates the supportive R community for feedback.

[00:08:23] Richard inquires about the sense of purpose in open source work related to climate change, and Koen tells us he views himself as a maintainer and contributor to solutions for the climate crisis, maintaining software to facilitate more science.

[00:11:17] Richard talks about the intrinsic motivations for open source and its alignment with being a climate scientist. Koen agrees there’s a political component to open source, linking it to contributing to solutions for the climate crisis, and discusses the motivations and responsibilities involved.

[00:15:09] Koen explains a project he led transcribing climate data from the central Congo basin, involving community scientists. This project aimed to use machine learning, with community scientists helping to create a training set for transcription validation, and he discusses the value of involving community scientists.

[00:18:32] What’s difficult about using open source and using it for community science? Well, Koen finds community engagement the most challenging aspect, citing the difficulty of sustaining large projects in academia due to turnover and the need for continuity.

[00:22:00] Richard asks if Koen finds a lack of research infrastructure in his consultancy work outside academia. Koen mentions that accessibility is improving, but gaps still exist where academia doesn’t meet specific needs, leading him to develop his own software solutions.

[00:24:18] Koen suggests that maintainers have a long-term responsibility, ideally for a decade, to their community to avoid negatively impacting others’ research, and he commends communities likes rOpenSci and pyOpenSci, which help maintain projects when original authors can’t.

[00:27:23] Koen reflects on the overlap between his philosophical approach and practical experiences where open source tools have failed due to lack of maintenance, leading him to create his own solutions.

[00:29:34] You can find Koen’s work online through the BlueGreen Labs website and GitHub, where tools and tutorials are available.

[00:30:33] Koen mentions reading about the Cyber Resiliency Act in the EU and its implications for open source developers’ duty of care and liability, highlighting the tension between legal responsibilities and community service.

Quotes

[00:02:40] “I use open source mainly from an efficiency standpoint.”

[00:32:49] “You can twilight software, but I think it should be a soft twilight if possible.”

Spotlight

  • [00:33:23] Richard’s spotlight is Scottish Shipbuilders.
  • [00:34:09] Koen’s spotlight is the book, Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage

Links

Credits