ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings

95   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Leonard Burtscher
 تاريخ النشر 2020
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

The annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society took place in Lyon, France, in 2019, but in 2020 it was held online only due the COVID-19 pandemic. The carbon footprint of the virtual meeting was roughly 3,000 times smaller than the face-to-face one, providing encouragement for more ecologically minded conferencing.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

The newly released Orange D4D mobile phone data base provides new insights into the use of mobile technology in a developing country. Here we perform a series of spatial data analyses that reveal important geographic aspects of mobile phone use in Co te dIvoire. We first map the locations of base stations with respect to the population distribution and the number and duration of calls at each base station. On this basis, we estimate the energy consumed by the mobile phone network. Finally, we perform an analysis of inter-city mobility, and identify high-traffic roads in the country.
207 - Asantha Cooray 2015
Astronomers in CANDELS outline changes for the academic system to promote a smooth transition for junior scientists from academia to industry.
Gender equity is one of the biggest issues facing the field of astrophysics, and there is broad interest in addressing gender disparities within astronomy. Many studies of these topics have been performed by professional astronomers who are relativel y unfamiliar with research in fields such as gender studies and sociology. As a result, they adopt a normative view of gender as a binary choice of male or female, leaving astronomers whose genders do not fit within that model out of such research entirely. Reductive frameworks of gender and an overemphasis on quantification as an indicator of gendered phenomena are harmful to people of marginalized genders, especially those who live at the intersections of multiple axes of marginalization such as race, disability, and socioeconomic status. In order for the astronomy community to best serve its marginalized members as we move into the next decade, a new paradigm must be developed. This paper aims to address the future of gender equity in astronomy by recommending better survey practices and institutional policies based on a more complex approach to gender.
The global climate crisis poses new risks to humanity, and with them, new challenges to the practices of professional astronomy. Avoiding the more catastrophic consequences of global warming by more than 1.5 degrees requires an immediate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the 2018 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel report, this will necessitate a 45% reduction of emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. Efforts are required at all levels, from the individual to the governmental, and every discipline must find ways to achieve these goals. This will be especially difficult for astronomy with its significant reliance on conference and research travel, among other impacts. However, our long-range planning exercises provide the means to coordinate our response on a variety of levels. We have the opportunity to lead by example, rising to the challenge rather than reacting to external constraints. We explore how astronomy can meet the challenge of a changing climate in clear and responsible ways, such as how we set expectations (for ourselves, our institutions, and our granting agencies) around scientific travel, the organization of conferences, and the design of our infrastructure. We also emphasize our role as reliable communicators of scientific information on a problem that is both human and planetary in scale.
For astronomers to make a significant contribution to the reduction of climate change-inducing greenhouse gas emissions, we first must quantify our sources of emissions and review the most effective approaches for reducing them. Here we estimate that Australian astronomers total greenhouse gas emissions from their regular work activities are $gtrsim$25 ktCO$_2$-e/yr (equivalent kilotonnes of carbon dioxide per year). This can be broken into $sim$15 ktCO$_2$-e/yr from supercomputer usage, $sim$4.2 ktCO$_2$-e/yr from flights (where individuals flight emissions correlate with seniority), $>$3.3 ktCO$_2$-e/yr from the operation of observatories, and 2.6$pm$0.4 ktCO$_2$-e/yr from powering office buildings. Split across faculty scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students, this averages to $gtrsim$37 tCO$_2$-e/yr per astronomer, over 40% more than what the average Australian non-dependant emits in total, equivalent to $sim$5$times$ the global average. To combat these environmentally unsustainable practices, we suggest astronomers should strongly preference use of supercomputers, observatories, and office spaces that are predominantly powered by renewable energy sources. Where facilities that we currently use do not meet this requirement, their funders should be lobbied to invest in renewables, such as solar or wind farms. Air travel should also be reduced wherever possible, replaced primarily by video conferencing, which should also promote inclusivity.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا