A contribuição da informática para o desenvolvimento sustentável: o exemplo do conceito de grid computing

Este trabalho foi realizado sob orientação do Prof. António Brandão Moniz para a disciplina “Factores Sociais da Inovação” do Mestrado Engenharia Informática realizado na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal)Some years ago, Information Technologies (IT) were in the leading edge, it was possible to have a power never seen before in calculation, simulation and data storage. This fact turned the computational power of the new technologies essential, currently representing a significant weight in the budget of companies, the state and even the common households. Today, the world is positively condemned to focus itself on sustainability - conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources. We can find the great world-wide leaders face to face with a great challenge - to contribute for the development of a sustainable world. It is important that these leaders are able to focus themselves on the economic development without forgetting important environmental and social matters that every time become more and more pertinent. Innovation in informatics and grid computing appears not only as a promising solution concerning this sustainable economic development but also as the best answer to the stagnation or contraction of the world-wide economy. Our paper presents some trends and examples of development of new systems that use in a sustainable way the computer energy available and contribute to more productive and powerful computer systems