Want to tackle climate change, but not sure how to start? Predictive maintenance for assets such as wind turbines, solar panel strings and related electronics for electricity management is big. GE among others has autonomously intelligent distribution components that manage frequency, voltage regulation and the like, and in some places they are tied to intelligent distribution grid management systems by companies like Telvent. The history of the scientific discovery of climate change began in the early 19th century when ice ages and other natural changes in paleoclimate were first suspected and the natural greenhouse effect was first identified. How Computer S cience c an be us ed to tackl e Climate Change Iss ues T rying to understan d and predict how climate ch ange will affect the world is a toug h problem. Computer Science > Computers and Society. For decades, people have legitimately wondered how well climate models perform in predicting future climate conditions. "The Geological Society of America (GSA) concurs with assessments by the National Academies of Science (2005), the National Research Council (2011), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2013) and the U.S. “This is absolutely something that simply has to be addressed.” said Lampley. In the first part of the discussion the aim was to expose the facts. And the last suggestion is open source climate modelling. Bradbury claims himself to be one of the few that are very optimistic about the future of energy and technology. IoT is tied into SCADA interfaces on turbines and solar farms for data grabs and automation, so there is lots of automation there. Develop Software for the Public Education of Energy Consumption. A group of computer scientists got together recently to consider what computing might do for the problem. Why Is The Future Of Business About Creating A Shared Value For Everyone? The underlying science behind climate models has greatly improved in the past couple of decades, partly due to a concerted research effort known as the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. “Good software for research will allow them to do this efficiently.”, 4. 1. “That’s why we need to create software that can evolve. How Is Blackness Represented In Digital Domains? The world's surface air temperature warmed 0.6° C (1.1°F) on average during the last century. Bradbury mentioned collaboration between computer science and economics as another example. Software designed to identify trends in data to help make decisions can be classified as predictive and decision making software. Bradbury said that while current software for collaborative research is available, customized software is in high demand. There is a lot of business software for the businesses of course and lots of software running utilities. “They definitely don’t want all of their private sensor data exposed to the internet. “If you’re a computer scientist looking to develop for energy, you’ll have your hands full for a while.”. More visualization software, better performance, and more use of energy data in helping systems learn.”, 3. An app that provides small actionable steps for electricity consumers and ways to track them. He said someone could hack in and cut all the power off for an energy company. “Cybersecurity is 100% on the forefront of all of these companies’ minds” said Lampley when asked about the potential for hacking in large company networks. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. There, Bradbury works with computer scientists on data analytics and specializes in developing systems that learn with time. You may opt-out by. Maximizing wind energy using analytics is big. “It is just too difficult, and too complex,” said Bradbury. Find out how you can help slow down climate change and get our planet off the hot seat. Find out about the actions that really reduce your carbon emissions and lessen your impact on the environment. In an interview, he explains how artificial intelligence can help the climate, but how it also poses risks. Keith Dickerson, manager of smart infrastructure at Schneider Electric agrees and said “this is a very contested topic and we need more computer scientists working on this issue.” He says that without it, data open to the public would be far more harmful than useful because of hackers with malicious intent. How can a computer scientist contribute to renewable energy or in general to reduce climate change effects? He was studying how large software engineering teams work, when he says it was suggested to him that he look at climate models as examples of large and complex pieces of software. Big data. More Ocean and Less Ice But unlike Bradbury, Shankar sees this change coming primarily from the consumers of electricity. “Virtually all aspects of it can be improved because of the complexity of the things it tries to model.”. “These predictive and prescriptive models will require detail-oriented programmers to work with people knowledge of economics and policy to help produce accurate decision-making tools,” said Bradbury. “It’s impossible to account for all the variables in an electric grid, the climate, or any system for that matter, ” said Bradbury. The list below outlines the four main ways that computer scientists can help fight climate change. “Predictive decision making software may be the most scrutinized thing in energy today,” said Bradbury. Would you?”. Climate change is one of the main challenging issues in various countries (Jafari, 2013b) in current century. Most wind turbines are shipped at minimum hundreds of kilometers from factory to installation sites, usually with a combination of ships and trucks. originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. How can I get a job in a renewable and clean energy company. There may be no one more excited about the role of computer science in energy than managing director at Duke Energy Initiative Kyle Bradbury. Why Should Leaders Stop Obsessing About Platforms And Ecosystems? “We need to focus on real solutions — and for the engineering community to step up. Answer by Michael Barnard, Low-carbon Innovation Strategist, on Quora: How can a computer scientist contribute to renewable energy or in general to reduce climate change effects? He believes that the risk for hacking is too great right now. He says that without a custom multi-disciplinary research platform, modeling something like climate would be next to impossible. This may not sound like very much change, but it is. Through a series of health and climate change country profiles, WHO monitors the health impacts of climate change and the progress in building climate resilient health systems in a wide range of countries. How Can AI Support Small Businesses During The Pandemic? Here Is Some Good Advice For Leaders Of Remote Teams. Steve Easterbrook, a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, has been collaborating with climate scientists for more than 10 years. He said that this same complexity is what makes creating the perfect predictive software practically impossible. Bradbury believes that pursuing such a goal is foolish and that developers will have better luck if they choose a more clever path. Help Develop More Customized Software for Collaborative Multi-disciplinary Research, Bryan Lampley, an engineer at Hoffman Building Technologies said, “Not a single one of us is smarter than every single one of us.”. America's Top Givers: The 25 Most Philanthropic Billionaires, EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, Three Things You’ll Need Before Starting A New Business. This introductory course will explore the contribution of computer science to the challenge of climate change, including: the role of computational models in understanding earth systems, the numerical methods at the heart of these models, and the software engineering techniques by which … I deal with evidence and not with frightening computer models because the seeker after truth does not put his faith in any consensus. The Climate Science and Solutions (CSS) Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program is designed to train students in the scientific basis of global climate change while also helping students to develop highly valued industry-relevant skills. Smart distribution grid stuff is growing. Here are 10 creative ways humans are using technology to fight climate change. Many climate scientists have refused to publish their computer programs. Such is the case with climate models: mathematical computer simulations of the various factors that interact to affect Earth’s climate, such as our atmosphere, ocean, ice, land surface and the Sun. “These require strong numerical programmers to work together with atmospheric scientists to produce these insights.” Wednesday Jan 5, 2011: Draft course outline posted. September 29, 2019 What Does Computer Science Have To Do With Climate Change? Scientists can now study climate change in far more detail with powerful new computer software released by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Climate modelling has always made use of the best computers, but has been limited by the available computer power. He said that without insights from various disciplines, progress will be very slow – something, according to him we cannot afford. Apache has a project you can check out here. This push builds on the work already done by climate informatics, a discipline created in 2011 that sits at the intersection of data science and climate science. About the Course. Dr. Ramesh Shankar is an energy researcher at EPIC, an organization focused on modernizing the grid. Comments welcome!. Loosely defined, climate is the average weather at a distinct place that incorporates temperature, precipitation, and … In a recent interview, he mentioned the following: Both Bradbury and Shankar expect a lot of change in the coming years. “We have never seen such a major surge in the amount of data,” said Bradbury in a recent interview. “The time to argue about the causes of climate change has passed,” said G. Wayne Clough, president emeritus of Georgia Tech and senior advisor to the Global Change Program. “Soon, there will be very little that we can’t do with computer science.”. arXiv:1906.05433 (cs) [Submitted on 10 Jun 2019 , last revised 5 Nov 2019 (this version, v2)] Title: Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning. Help Improve Cybersecurity in Large Company Networks. Is global warming a bad thing for humanity? This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. We need software that can learn by itself.”. “These require strong numerical programmers to work together with atmospheric scientists to produce these insights.”. How Do Employee Needs Vary From Generation To Generation? How these climate data vary across time provides a measure (either quantitative or qualitative) of climate change. When asked about his thoughts on the current standing of such software, Bradbury laughed. Below are some effects of climate change that are happening today. Computer science? Lampley believes that the fate of the energy sector lies in how well we can work together on big issues. Big data analytics is huge in renewables. What Impact Is Technology Having On Today’s Workforce? Climate change and climate variability and Global Warming and its’ effects on natural resources, plants, animal and in general on human life are among subjects that received attention of scientists and politicians in recent years. It has been compiled using insights from energy systems and software researchers like Bradbury. “Researchers and engineers have done great work till now with predictive software,” said Bradbury. There are some deep mysteries about climate change and the main one is why are we mostly ignoring it? “There is plenty of work to be done,” said Bradbury. Thanks to massive data sets on the internet, he said machine learning – systems that learn automatically — will be absolutely essential to success. Warmer conditions are having an impact on our planet. In the 1970s, as well as including only limited science, the models included very little detail and could only be run for very short periods. The road to the truth is … Human activity is kicking global warming into overdrive! How can a computer scientist contribute to renewable energy or in general to reduce climate change effects? 2. An app dashboard for what the greenhouse gas emission impact is on a daily basis segmented by county, state, and nation. originally appeared on Quora-the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. An app that shows the impact each individual can have if they use less energy or use more renewable energy. Where Is There Still Room For Growth When It Comes To Content Creation? There are lots of computer opportunities in there. Yes, you heard right . Renewables are a business. Climate models are built by scientists, not software engineers. “Climate modeling is a computationally intensive process that requires vast data sets and complex physical atmospheric models to accurately understand the factors that lead to changes in climate,” said Bradbury. 1. The multiple-institution team will develop the most accurate climate-change predictions yet and investi­gate key fundamental science ques­tions in three areas that drive climate change: the water cycle, biogeochem­istry, & the cryosphere (areas of the earth where water exists as ice or snow). He also encourages smartphone application makers to take his ideas and develop educational apps for energy. David Dao, a doctoral student at the DS3Lab at the Department of Computer Science, travelled to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid in December to present his research. Climate change is not just a science problem; it’s also an engineering problem.” Climate Change: Bloom. Bradbury is not the only one who sees room for improvement in energy related software. Climate change, the periodic modification of Earth’s climate caused by atmospheric changes and the atmosphere’s interactions with geologic, chemical, biological, and geographic factors. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. WHO conducts research and collects evidence on the opportunities for health gains from mitigation of Short-Lived and other climate pollutants. Lampley said that lack of proper cybersecurity is huge in preventing large, connected networks from taking off. Develop More Robust Decision Making and Predictive Software Using Machine Learning. Logistics are huge in renewables. Big data has big implications in creating awareness about the consequences of climate change. Types of climate data include temperature, precipitation (rainfall), wind, humidity, evapotranspiration, pressure and solar irradiance (aric, 2008). He sees this work being needed not only in the algorithms he designs, but also in the larger software industry. Climate change doubters have a favorite target: climate models. “Specialized software that takes into account what the researchers want will help make the process far more efficient.”. Climate informatics covers a range of topics: from improving prediction of extreme events such as hurricanes, palaeoclimatology, like reconstructing past climate conditions using data collected from things like ice cores, climate downscaling, or using large … “But now we need more. More questions: Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Shankar believes making electricity consumers aware of their responsibilities to be key in transitioning to a cleaner future. Announcements. The Duke Energy Initiative works on fostering interdisciplinary collaboration for the development of cleaner energy systems. How Can Tech Companies Become More Human Focused? An app that shows typical household consumption of electricity on a monthly basis. How can a computer scientist contribute to renewable energy or in general to reduce climate change effects? 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