Information technologies today are not burdened by associations with ugly environmental images: no dirty smokestacks, toxic waste barrels, tar pits, or landfills. Many people have never seen a data centre, or know their exact function. Green IT consultant Bill St. Arnaud presented at this year’s Information without Borders conference on global warming and the impact of information technologies under the conference theme of “change in management.” Information without Borders is a fitting conference name for this presentation, as the legal boundaries for the internet are blurred, which only complicates info technology regulation and environmental policy change.
Presentation
St. Arnaud’s presentation was organized into two main parts. First, he provided evidence for any doubters that global warming, the biggest challenge among all environmental problems, is a reality. Average temperatures have increased steadily since the industrial revolution, and now energy is pouring into the ocean. St. Arnaud places us, “on the curve of the hockey stick,” and things are about to get worse.