Given recent algorithm, software, and hardware innovation, computing has enabled a plethora of new applications. As computing becomes increasingly ubiquitous, however, so does its environmental impact. This paper brings the issue to the attention of computer-systems researchers. Our analysis, built on industry-reported characterization, quantifies the environmental effects of computing in terms of carbon emissions. Broadly, carbon emissions have two sources: operational energy consumption, and hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. Although carbon emissions from the former are decreasing thanks to algorithmic, software, and hardware innovations that boost performance and power efficiency, the overall carbon footprint of computer systems continues to grow. This work quantifies the carbon output of computer systems to show that most emissions related to modern mobile and data-center equipment come from hardware manufacturing and infrastructure. We therefore outline future directions for minimizing the environmental impact of computing systems.

中文翻译：

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追逐碳：计算的难以捉摸的环境足迹

鉴于最近的算法、软件和硬件创新，计算已经实现了大量的新应用。然而，随着计算变得越来越普遍，它对环境的影响也越来越大。这篇论文引起了计算机系统研究人员的注意。我们的分析基于行业报告的特征，量化了计算在碳排放方面的环境影响。从广义上讲，碳排放有两个来源：运营能源消耗，以及硬件制造和基础设施。尽管由于算法、软件和硬件创新提高了性能和能效，前者的碳排放量正在减少，但计算机系统的整体碳足迹仍在继续增长。这项工作量化了计算机系统的碳输出，以表明与现代移动和数据中心设备相关的大部分排放来自硬件制造和基础设施。因此，我们概述了将计算系统对环境影响降至最低的未来方向。