TY - JOUR
T1 - Chasing Carbon
T2 - The Elusive Environmental Footprint of Computing
AU - Gupta, Udit
AU - Kim, Young Geun
AU - Lee, Sylvia
AU - Tse, Jordan
AU - Lee, Hsien Hsin S.
AU - Wei, Gu Yeon
AU - Brooks, David
AU - Wu, Carole Jean
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 1981-2012 IEEE.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Given recent algorithm, software, and hardware innovation, computing has enabled a plethora of new applications. As computing becomes increasingly ubiquitous, however, so does its environmental impact. This article brings the issue to the attention of computer-systems researchers. Our analysis, built on industry-reported characterization, quantifies the environmental effects of computing in terms of carbon emissions. Broadly, carbon emissions have two sources: operational energy consumption, and hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. Although carbon emissions from the former are decreasing, thanks to algorithmic, software, and hardware innovations that boost performance and power efficiency, the overall carbon footprint of computer systems continues to grow. This work quantifies the carbon output of computer systems to show that most emissions related to modern mobile and data-center equipment come from hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. We, therefore, outline future directions for minimizing the environmental impact of computing systems.
AB - Given recent algorithm, software, and hardware innovation, computing has enabled a plethora of new applications. As computing becomes increasingly ubiquitous, however, so does its environmental impact. This article brings the issue to the attention of computer-systems researchers. Our analysis, built on industry-reported characterization, quantifies the environmental effects of computing in terms of carbon emissions. Broadly, carbon emissions have two sources: operational energy consumption, and hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. Although carbon emissions from the former are decreasing, thanks to algorithmic, software, and hardware innovations that boost performance and power efficiency, the overall carbon footprint of computer systems continues to grow. This work quantifies the carbon output of computer systems to show that most emissions related to modern mobile and data-center equipment come from hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. We, therefore, outline future directions for minimizing the environmental impact of computing systems.
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U2 - 10.1109/MM.2022.3163226
DO - 10.1109/MM.2022.3163226
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85127479542
SN - 0272-1732
VL - 42
SP - 37
EP - 47
JO - IEEE Micro
JF - IEEE Micro
IS - 4
ER -