A First-Order Model to Assess Computer Architecture Sustainability

Sustainability in general and global warming in particular are grand societal challenges. Computer systems demand substantial materials and energy resources during production and usage. A key question is how computer architects can design sustainable computer systems. Given the inherent data uncertainty, this paper proposes a deliberately simple first-order model to assess computer architecture sustainability based on first principles. Several case studies illustrate the insight that the model provides as well as its broad applicability.

1 Introduction

As the world population and average affluence continues to increase, the world-wide demand for resources, both materials and energy, continues to grow. The extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing of products, transportation, usage, and finally depletion and recycling requires huge amounts of energy, most often provided by fossil fuels. This in turn leads to global warming and climate change as a result of increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.