Communications of the ACM
Computing's Role in Climate Warming
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As a computer scientist, I was embarrassed to read the Viewpoint "Conferences in an Era of Expensive Carbon" (Mar. 2020) from four fellow computer scientists. If these scholars truly believe what they write, that humans are causing the planet to warm, that they are not just eagerly joining the herd, then they need to show the way. The job of computer scientists is to make bits dance on the head of a circuit and that requires the field's lifeblood—electricity. Since 63% of U.S. electricity is currently generated from fossil fuels, they need to reduce their electricity usage by that amount. They must take seriously their own stated beliefs and stop the planet from further warming. They need to immediately cut their time on the computer by 63%. In the classroom, they need to turn the projector off for most of their lectures. At home, they need to shut off lights and appliances for a majority of each day. If they drive an electric car, they need to reduce trip lengths by two-thirds. If they don't take these CO2-mitigating steps, then they don't really believe there is a problem. And the solution they propose becomes similar to many academic exercises that professors put their students through.
Daniel Ouellette, Detroit, MI, USA
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