|
|
There has been a great deal of discussion over the past few years over the economic impacts of the rapid and pervasive spread of information technology (IT) across the globe. For the most part there has been less discussion on the environmental impacts of IT. Such discussion has mostly been limited to the specifics of making the devices and the associated land use, energy, materials, and waste management impacts. While one can argue that these impacts are small relative to other accepted industrial activities (e.g. construction, mining, and energy production), the high-level ecological benefits of IT have often not been included in the discussion. This article will present information showing these high-level benefits.For the purposes of this article, one can define IT as those technologies associated with information collection, distribution, and exchange. The combination of computers and telecommunications has enabled IT to literally revolutionize all forms of economic and social activity. People throughout the world can create, process, and distribute vast amounts of information in a variety of media (still or moving pictures, sound, written and numerical information). For this article, environmental benefits from five applications of IT will be discussed:
- Engineering Simulation
- Telepresence
- Environmental Communication/Activism
- Economic/Sustainable Development
- Enhancement of “Old Economy” Processes
The use of IT for engineering simulations is one of the oldest. FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) was specifically developed in 1957 to be used for the mathematical models of engineered systems. As computer capabilities have increased, so has the complexity and accuracy of the engineering simulations. Before this capability existed, engineers had to include more conservative assumptions and simplify the mathematical models so that they could be manually solved or solved with analog computation. A set of prototypes would be built and tested to determine the actual constraints and accuracy of the models. For certain technologies, the building and testing of prototypes has become much more expensive and often politically difficult. This is especially the case for the chemical and aerospace industries.
Advanced simulation technology allows the engineer the ability to significantly reduce the volume of prototype construction and testing. This reduces the environmental impacts that can arise from materials processing, energy use, and accidents. With the continuing developments in IT capabilities, this area will provide greater capacity to accomplish engineering design and testing while limiting environmental impacts.Telepresence refers to the capability to observe or participate in events that occur away from one’s immediate location. This can range from email chat rooms or videoconferences to the extreme example of the remote control of interplanetary probes. The primary environmental benefit is the prevention of environmental damage through avoidance of travel to accomplish business objectives or the preventing the disturbance of sensitive ecosystems.
An excellent example of the latter is the Jason Project. Founded by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1989, students across the United States are able to participate in expeditions to ecologically sensitive regions of the planet without leaving their classrooms. Students are able to experience a scientific quest in real time. Not only can ecologically sensitive regions be studied by larger amounts of students; the impacts are limited to solely the small number of actual on-site researchers. Programs like this are an efficient means of accomplishing environmental education.Environmental communicators and activists have certainly received a net benefit from the greater access to IT. Such individuals and organizations can now share resources and expertise that increases their effectiveness. One example of this benefit can be found in the Circle of Life Foundation. This foundation, dedicated to protecting endangered forests, can provide to interested parties news on events, links to allied organizations, and even provide wood-free paper vendor information. An adherent of this organization can, from their own home, learn what is happening in forest preservation and direct their paper goods purchases with a touch of the keypad or mouse.
This new level of communication and convenience will allow greater numbers of environmentally concerned individuals to learn and participate in environmental issues in a more informed manner than was possible before the promulgation of IT.This environmental benefit is probably one of the most often discussed. The rapid growth in IT has provided economic opportunities to a wider geographic and cultural range of individuals. In addition these opportunities contain lower environmental impacts than many standard industries. This has had several environmental benefits. The most direct being that more people can have jobs and careers with less environmental impact. Another is that many countries that are heavily involved in various aspects of IT (an obvious example is India) can partially or wholly “leapfrog” over the environmental difficulties of the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the US. Finally, the greater wealth generation from IT growth provides opportunity for development of an environmental “wealth effect.” Environmental concerns have greater focus among those with greater economic security. IT provides a means by which one can increase the number of those who have the economic means to think longer term and consider environmental issues.Besides the opportunities for developing entirely new programs and industries that can benefit the environment, IT is currently improving the environment with regard to current industries. An excellent discussion of this aspect of IT is covered in an article by Jonathan Rauch in the January 2001 Atlantic Monthly (The New Old Economy: Oil, Computers, and the Reinvention of the Earth). This article describes how IT has enabled the petroleum industry to increase their rates of oil well finds and how IT has helped foster less intrusive manners of oil drilling. Less drilling for the same amount of oil means less land disturbed, less energy used, and even lower volumes of drilling muds injected and entered into coastal waters (for offshore oil). Therefore these IT-bred efficiencies allow society to obtain the same amounts of goods and services while causing less pollution and loss of habitat.
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Robert Margolis
This user has not written anything in his panorama profile yet.
|
Comments
Economics of IT (Information Techology) And Its Impact On The Environment Richard Paul | Dec 9th, 2001
A very thoughtful article on the state of technology and the environment. I would like to add to it in my own way in the future and talk about how automation design will also have an impact on environmental issues. Thanks Robert.
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
