Green IT: Sustainability A History Computing Research: Roles and Opportunities for Information Technology in Meeting Sustainability Challenges

Opportunities to achieve significant sustainability objectives −Built Infrastructure and Systems −Smart buildings (reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15 % in 2020) −Smart transportation systems (more efficient supply chain planning) −Ecosystems and the Environment −Analyses of gathered data  better understanding of emissions of interest (carbon, nitrogen etc.) −Simulation and modeling of Earth have helped climate science to take a big leap forward −Sociotechnical Systems −Collecting the data from personal smart devices  helps to develop urban planning, understanding of carbon footprint −Information dashboards to key decision makers  better focus on the real problem

Example 1 of IT and Sustainability: Smart Electric Grid Footer

Smart Electric Grid 1/3 −Example of built infrastructure −Half of the United States’ energy consumption goes to producing electricity −Most used (cheapest) energy source is coal which is the worst regarding to GHG emissions −Building the electric grid which power comes from renewable energy sources requires advanced data management, algorithms and analytics −Thousands of windmills vs. Hundreds of coal-fired power plants Footer

Smart Electric Grid 2/3 −Challenges: −Growing energy consumption  Growth of the grid − Current model of load-following supply −Hard to produce electricity to consumption peaks  need of coal as a source of energy −Predictability of electric usage is hard because increasing number of electric devices (such as cars) −Limited storage possibilities −Renewable sources of energy are non-dispatchable −Implementing a supply-following model −Producers offer times that electricity is cheaper but anyway people tend to use electricity when they want − Hardness of accounting for externalized costs Footer

Smart Electric Grid 3/3 −Possibilities for IT: −Matching the consumption and the supply of renewable energy when available −Flatten the electricity usage spikes −Reduce the total consumption of electricity −Help to model the carbon emissions as a part of pricing carbon −The role of IT and CS: −User interfaces −Database management −Statistical modeling −Forecasting −Information Management Footer

Example 2 of IT and Sustainability: Sustainable Food Systems

Sustainable Food Systems 1/3 −Example of ecosystems and the environment −The problem: Increasing food production  increasing usage of fertilizer  pollution of waters −Sustainable Agricultural System: −The American Public Health Association: “Provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining healthy eco- systems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment.” Footer

Sustainable Food Systems 2/3 −Challenges: −Increased consumption of food −Especially increased demand of meat −GHG emissions −Water pollution because of used fertilizer −Health risks to humans −Air and water pollution −Factory farming  Foodborne pathogens Footer

Sustainable Food Systems 3/3 −Possibilities for IT: −Taking a system view −Clearer picture of the farm as a part of bigger cycle −Cooperation between multiple farms −Help to measure the costs, benefits and impacts −Offer wider information for consumers about sustainable choices of food −Social networks for local food sourcing −The role of IT and CS: −Information integration  inform sustainable choices of production and consumption of the food −Education and reform  easiness of the information regarding sustainable choices −Systems modeling, prediction and optimization  improving the efficiency of food system Footer

Example 2 of IT and Sustainability: Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures

Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures 1/3 −Coping around disasters −Natural disasters (hurricanes, floods) −Human-made disasters (oil spills etc.) −Chronic disasters (rising sea levels, refugee crisis) −Sustainability challenges around −Planning and modeling infrastructure −Anticipating and responding in increasing disasters −The ways in which IT can assist with developing sustainable infrastructure Footer

Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures 2/3 −Challenges: −Cities are highly complex −Diversity of used systems −Cities and infrastructures are build for a long time without deep understanding −Unpredictable disasters −Scope of the crisis can vary Footer

Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures 3/3 −The role of IT and CS: −Modeling and simulation of cities in future −Communication before, during and after disasters −Performance to build and develop different infrastructures (e.g. transportation) to be efficient by modeling −Could take much longer time for human to implement −Managing uncertainties −Citizen participation (e.g. utilizing their smart devices) −Indicators of future outcome (predicting refugee waves to respond with working transportation, electricity usage etc.) −IT infrastructure improvements to survive faster from the disasters (systems which inform the other system’s malfunctions etc.) Footer

Conclusions −IT can help sustainable to take a big leap forward −In most cases modeling and analyzing the data is the main key in the reaching the sustainability −Networking from sustainability perspective is crucial and IT is making this more reachable Footer

Thank you! Questions?