Download
1 / 6
60 likes | 84 Views
Let's understand the the role of a software engineer in climate change and steps can take to save the environment.
E N D
How does software affect climate change? What can software engineers do about it?
Software requires energy to run. Unfortunately, most of this energy is still supplied by fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. This causes greenhouse gases to be emitted into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. Software engineers have an environmental responsibility to build software that requires as little energy as possible.
Very few data centres in the world operate purely on renewable energy. Most of them depend on a mix of renewable energy and energy from burning fossil fuels or nuclear power plants. A good way to watch carbon emissions and the energy consumption of running workloads has not been established yet. But engineers can do their part by checking the number of resources like CPU and memory that their workloads use and reducing them. The less resources we use, the less energy we consume.
Hardware production and usage also cause a significant amount of carbon emission. Software engineers must build efficient software that requires less hardware to run, which would help minimise the effects of climate change. With growing environmental awareness, users want to know the impact the software they use have on climate change. The carbon footprint of software will drive the decision-making of customers. Software with a lower carbon footprint will be in higher demand. By catering to the environment, tech companies can also find financial success.
Software engineers looking to advance their careers while being conscious of climate change can find opportunities at companies like Equinix. They build digital infrastructure taking environmental impact into careful consideration. They are working towards their goal to reach 100% renewable energy by continuously increasing efficiency in their design and operations. They provide resource and training to ensure environmental and energy efficiency objectives are met. Additionally, employees receive healthcare, financial security and other benefits and are encouraged to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
