Climate change is an existential threat to the United States and the world. Inevitably, computing will play a key role in mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in response to this threat. The needs span all areas of computing, from devices and architectures (e.g., low-power sensor systems for wildfire monitoring) to algorithms (e.g., predicting impacts and evaluating mitigation), and robotics (e.g., autonomous UAVs for monitoring and actuation)-- as well as every level of the software stack, from data management systems and energy-aware operating systems to hardware/software co-design. The goal of this white paper is to highlight the role of computing research in addressing climate change-induced challenges. To that end, we outline six key impact areas in which these challenges will arise--energy, environmental justice, transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, and environmental monitoring and forecasting--then identify specific ways in which computing research can help address the associated problems. These impact areas will create a driving force behind, and enable, cross-cutting, system-level innovation. We further break down this information into four broad areas of computing research: devices & architectures, software, algorithms/AI/robotics, and sociotechnical computing.
翻译:对美国和世界而言,气候变化是生存的威胁。不可避免的是,计算将在减缓、适应和应对这一威胁的抗御能力方面发挥关键的作用。这一需要涉及计算的所有领域,从设备和建筑(例如用于野火监测的低功率传感器系统)到算法(例如预测影响和评价减轻影响),以及机器人(例如用于监测和采取行动的自主无人驾驶飞行器)和各种水平的软件堆叠,从数据管理系统和能觉操作系统到硬件/软件联合设计。本白皮书的目标是强调计算研究在应对气候变化引起的挑战方面的作用。为此,我们概述了这些挑战将产生的六个关键影响领域,如能源、环境公正、运输、基础设施、农业和环境监测和预测,然后确定计算机研究能够帮助解决相关问题的具体方法。这些影响领域将产生驱动力,并促成跨领域的系统创新。我们进一步将这一信息细分为四个广泛的计算机研究、社会技术装置和软件结构。