Douglas H. Fisher, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Computer Engineering
Description: Participants will explore the burden of computing on the environment, and relief of burden that might be reaped from computing use. Thus, discussion will go beyond so-called "green computing", which is concerned with minimizing the burden of computing manufacture, use, and disposal, and will explore how computing and related communications technologies can be part of larger sustainability strategies. Each week, students will read an article, blog and interact via a Wiki on issues raised, in part, by the readings. Class meetings will be open discussion and debate. There will be a fixed meeting time but no meeting place. All participants will participate remotely, by different means from week to week, such as standard teleconferencing and videoconferencing, Web calls and conferencing, and virtual worlds. Grading will be based, in part, on participation through Wiki, blog, and virtual meetings. As a final project, student teams will estimate an ecological footprint (gross and net) of computing within a context, such as a computer lab, based on actual operations and what is possible with conservation. Credit: 1 semester hour
Longer Description
Overview: In this seminar, students and faculty will discuss issues relating to the burden of computing artifacts and infrastructure on the environment, and relief of burden on the environment that might be reaped from computing use. Thus, discussion goes beyond so-called "green computing," which is concerned with low-energy requirements and otherwise minimizing the burden of computing manufacture, use, and disposal, and asks students to explore how computing and related communications technologies can be part of larger sustainability strategies.
Topics: The following topics are planned, though not necessarily in this order:
1) The variety and extent of computers, computer use, and computing
infrastructure
2) Ecological footprints and other measures of environmental burden
3) Estimating environmental burdens of common computing practices, tools,
and infrastructure
4) Characterizing growth in computing activity and infrastructure (e.g.,
over the last 50 years) and change (reduction) in ecological cost per unit
(e.g., storing a KB of memory)
5) Estimating gross ecological burden stemming from computing over time
6) Overview of strategic and tactical uses of computing to reduce overall
ecological footprint - computing as part of the solution (several
sessions).
7) A brief history of techno-optimistic responses to sustainability
constraints, stemming particularly from human population explosion
8) Throughout, critical thinking and questioning of assumptions will be an
important aspect of class; case studies will be used to initiate
discussion.
Class Organization: Each week, prior to class, students will be expected to read an article, often prepared by the instructor to fit the class session, and to blog and to post to a Wiki on issues raised by the reading and their experience and ideas. Class (1 hour each week) will be open discussion and debate. The course Wiki and blogs can be revised and expanded following class. There will be a fixed meeting time but no meeting place. All participants will participate remotely, by different means from week to week: standard teleconference, Skype, standard video conferencing, web cams, webex, virtual worlds.
Grading: Grading will be based, in part, on Wiki and blog contributions and class "attendance" (see above). A "final project" given about mid-semester will require student teams of 2-3 to estimate an ecological footprint (gross and net) of computing within a context - e.g., the Featheringill second floor computer lab for one year, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, based on actual conditions and what is possible with conservation); one aspect of the project, in part left to the students, will be determining the relevant, often "non-local" factors in this analysis and in defining contrast circumstances from which net savings can be estimated.