Research in the area of green IT has gained in interest the last decade because of the rise of technology. This rise of technology has several beneficial effects: it increases our productivity, economic wealth and with the adoption of e-work and e-learning it reduces the energy usage of other fields [2]. However, the gain in the usage of technology increases the environmental impact of the ICT sector itself. Back in 2007 the ICT branch was responsible of 2% of the global CO2 emission, which will be tripled by the end of 2020 [1]. Over the last decade the acknowledgement that CO2 emissions are a big cause of climate change has grown throughout the world. Sustainability has become an important business objective; therefore, energy efficiency has become an important aspect of the future of the ICT sector [3]. This essay describes three measures that will decrease the environmental impact of information and communication technology.
First, raise awareness about sustainable development within the field of software engineering. In Toward Sustainable Software Engineering (NIER track) Amsel, Ibrahim, Amir and Tomlinson try to accomplish this using three research attempts [1]. First, a survey about users’ knowledge of software; second, the measurement of energy consumption of software and an explanation about the indirect effects of software. The result of the survey revealed that users are not aware of the concept of sustainable software and do not take sustainability in consideration when conducting a software update. The constant use of software updates causes hardware to become out-of-date quicker. However, the concept of sustainability is quickly spreading in society and will eventually impact the field of software engineering. A software called Greentracker is used to track energy usage of software systems that are comparable. Greentracker is able to show the user which software system uses the most CPU power and therefore could influence the software choice of the user. Greentracker is capable of showing the direct impact of software. However, indirect effects also exist. These effects can be divided into indirect effects of the software domain, and indirect effects on other domains. The development in software enables economic growth, but the focus on economic growth and efficiency causes the loss of sight on sustainability. Sustainability needs to become a key quality of software design, to reduce the impact of software on the environment.
Second, the use of cloud computing. Cloud computing got enormous attention over the years because it requires less capital investment and can be accessed through the internet from anywhere at any time. However, the technology of cloud computing offers a great potential to reduce the environmental impact of IT. Cloud computing is an energy efficient way of computing where services run remotely in the so called ‘cloud’ [2]. This ‘cloud’ often consists of servers within a data center somewhere around the globe. Energy efficiency in these data centers can be achieved using techniques like energy management and virtualization. Within the ‘cloud’, network protocols could be optimized [2]. These protocols ensure that certain services are only turned on when they are needed. These scheduling mechanisms enable a more efficient way of energy management. Furthermore, cloud computing can make use of virtualization [2]. Virtualization is a technique where services are virtualized and run within a virtual machine. Often services need only small part of the available computing power, due to virtualization it is possible to share hardware among different services. Because of this some hardware units become unnecessary and can be turned off. Both of these techniques ensure that hardware devices can be turned off, which also allow cooling equipment to be turned off, which improves energy efficiency.
Third, the use of grid technology. As stated in [3] the environmental impact of IT can be measured along three different dimensions: Green Design and Manufacturing, Green use and Green disposal. Grid technology makes it possible to approach all three dimensions. Grid technology enables companies to connect their existing hardware into a grid without the need to buy new hardware. This grid can be seen as a system that controls multiple IT assets which are not place-bound, bound to standard protocols and still deliver high quality of service. Grid technology makes it possible that less-powerful servers and IT recourses that already had been given up can be reused within a grid infrastructure. The energy efficiency of a grid infrastructure can be optimized with the use of virtualization and scheduling mechanisms. A grid infrastructure offers enormous computer power, scalability and sustainability. Because of this, grid technology has gained enormous interest of companies. One of the major benefits of grid technology is the use of underused and unused IT resources; therefore, grid technology can be seen a promising way to reduce the environmental impact of ICT and a way of providing high computing power.
This essay discussed three measures that will decrease the environmental impact of information and communication technology. Different technological techniques are surveyed, which, when implemented, will help to decrease the environmental impact of ICT. Further research to these techniques is required to determine where and when these techniques can be used best. However, not only technological implementations will help to reach the goal of sustainable information and communication technology. People’s mindset will also have to change to create a revolution within the field of sustainable technology. The rise of technology will keep continuing and technology will make significant advancements comparing to the technology of today. Therefore, further research could explore new technological possibilities to reduce the environmental impact of technology. From now on sustainability will always be part of the future of ICT.
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