Computer technology has completely changed our world. Without the computing power of computers, for example, the Internet, mapping the human genome, new cancer treatments or solving many astronomical mysteries would not have been possible. But its progressive development also has a downside.
The ecological footprint of the ICT sector is getting bigger and bigger. It is estimated that ICT was responsible for 1.8 to 2.8 percent of all greenhouse gases in the world in 2020. This is more than the entire aviation sector (1.9 percent). Not only the gigantic electricity consumption and the production of computers are bad for the environment, the water consumption of the countless data centers is also becoming an increasing problem. This must and can be done differently, says a group of Cambridge scientists in Nature. They believe that the scientific community must take immediate action to prevent the uncontrolled growth of computer technology and the associated CO2 emissions from pushing the environment further towards the abyss.
Exponential growth curve
Science itself also makes extensive use of AI, data science and algorithms to conduct research. “The dangers and environmental effects of so-called ‘wet labs’, where experimental research is carried out with different types of chemicals, are clear to most people (both inside and outside science). But the impact of algorithms is less clear and is therefore often underestimated. The use of artificial intelligence and data science is on an unprecedented growth curve.
Even if the new data centers are becoming more and more energy efficient, if we don’t do something about it now, the ecological footprint of this sector will be completely bursting at the seams in the coming years,” says Professor Michael Inouye. He and his team have therefore written the GREENER manual, which enables computer scientists to do their work more sustainably, without compromising on their results. People and the environment benefit from this, they explain in their study.
Teaching and research
The researchers emphasize the role of both the individual and the organization in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ICT. Training, transparency, awareness and efficiency are key words here. Computer scientists must be continuously trained to identify and reduce the environmental footprint their research creates. Organizations can request a CO2 estimate per project when researchers submit a request for a grant. The idea is that monitoring and estimating emissions will reveal inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. At the moment, academics often feel that they can run university servers without limits and free of charge. It is therefore important for the consciousness of scientists to calculate the ecological footprint of their calculations. In this way they find out the true environmental costs.
Efficiency boost
The location of the servers also makes a big difference to the impact on the environment. For example, the carbon intensity per kilowatt hour generated is no less than 7700 times greater in Australia than in Iceland. Another thing to note is that 72 percent of the energy footprint of streaming an online video comes from the laptop, while 23 percent comes from transmission and the data center is only responsible for 5 percent of all energy. Storing a terabyte of data, including depreciation, costs about 10 kilograms of CO2 per year. The Python and R programming languages are the most commonly used by computer scientists, but they are among the least energy-efficient languages available. There is also room for improvement in efficiency here.
Culture change needed
“Computer scientists have an opportunity to lead the fight for sustainability, but this can only happen if there is a culture change. There needs to be more transparency, more awareness, better training, more budget and room for new policy,” explains researcher Loïc Lannelongue. “Collaboration, an open science culture and shared access to sustainable computing facilities are crucial factors in making this plan work. We must ensure that sustainable solutions benefit everyone, including the population of poorer countries that are most affected by climate change.”
Inouye adds: “Everyone in the field, from the financiers, the trade journals and universities to the individual scientists, has an important role to play in this transition. Every person and every organization can make a positive impact. We have a great opportunity to effect change, but the clock is ticking.”
2023-06-26 15:01:07
#Cambridge #sounds #alarm #Intervene #limit #ecological #footprint #computer #technology
