The green economy has become a watchword for new markets. This has been a process of change that has ridden the wave of economic crisis, and that now may serve to help the planet which, in recent decades, has been subject to relentless and aggressive human activity. In fact, an awareness of climate change and the need for more ethical and sustainable development has grown, both in politics and in consumers. Today as in the past, technology has played a fundamental role; it has always been the way for humans to move forward, to overcome their own limitations as well as those imposed upon them by nature. From the Industrial Revolution onwards, technology seems to have escaped from complete human control. Indeed, the need for a more "affluent" lifestyle seems to have taken its toll on the planet, leading, for example, to a concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is equal to 400 parts per million, something that had never been recorded in 800 thousand years. This thesis aims to outline some of the best practices which can be useful in terms of creating sustainable development and reducing the environmental impact of technology, the internet and e-commerce (one of the web's fastest growing services.) This work can be divided into two parts: a first introductory part (containing Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) essential to understand the reasons that make us rethink technology, a second part (containing Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5) on the main themes of the thesis and sustainable green computing, e-commerce, usability and the right of access to the network. The thesis concludes with an Appendix containing case studies. The first chapter describes in detail "Uomo e tecnologia, lo stato dell’arte", we have tried to provide an overview of the main technological innovations (present or forthcoming) related to the infrastructure of the internet. A relationship of dependence exists between man and technology to the point that, while some authors speak about technology addiction, others suggest philosophies such as transhumanism, the post human and technological singularity. We will look briefly at the subject of sustainable development in chapter 2, "Sviluppo sostenibile e cambiamento climatico" and related issues, such as socio-economic development and environmental protection. We will deal with the environmental impact of IT in chapter 3, "Green Computing", and how modern technology makes it possible to reduce its negative effects. In Chapter 4, "E-commerce sostenibile", we will analyse the scope of the e-commerce phenomenon, its environmental impact and practices designed to improve logistics and packaging. In Chapter 5, "Usabilità e accessibilità della rete", we will outline some of the aspects surrounding usability, user experience and cognitive ergonomics. These are essential elements for a socially sustainable development of the web. The "Appendice," contains Google case studies, Hostingsostenibile.it, Amazon Prime Air, Korto, Tetra Pak, Treedom and Tree-nation.
La green economy è diventata la parola d’ordine dei nuovi mercati. Un processo di cambiamento che ha cavalcato l’onda della crisi finanziaria e che ora potrebbe addirittura aiutare il pianeta che, negli ultimi decenni, è stato preda di una prepotente e incessante antropizzazione. È cresciuta infatti, sia nella politica che nei consumatori, la consapevolezza dei cambiamenti climatici e della necessità di uno sviluppo più etico e sostenibile. Oggi come nel passato, ha giocato un ruolo fondamentale la tecnologia, da sempre unica via percorribile dall’uomo per superare i propri limiti e quelli imposti dalla natura. Dalla Rivoluzione Industriale in poi, tuttavia, la tecnologia sembra essere sfuggita dal pieno controllo umano e, le necessità di una vita decisamente più “agiata”, sembrano aver impattato con quelle del pianeta, portando per esempio, ad una concentrazione di gas serra in atmosfera pari a 400 parti per milione, cosa che non si era mai verificata in 800 mila anni. Questa tesi si propone di delineare alcune best practices utili per dar vita a uno sviluppo sostenibile e a ridotto impatto ambientale della tecnologia informatica, di Internet e dell’e-commerce (uno dei servizi più in crescita del Web). Questo elaborato può essere suddiviso in due parti: una prima parte introduttiva (contenente il Capitolo 1 e il Capitolo 2) indispensabile per comprendere le ragioni che spingono a ripensare la tecnologia, una seconda parte (contenente il Capitolo 3, il Capitolo 4 e il Capitolo 5) sulle tematiche centrali della tesi ovvero il green computing, l’e-commerce sostenibile, l’usabilità e il diritto di accesso alla rete. Chiude la tesi un’Appendice contenente i casi studio. Nel dettaglio, nel primo capitolo Uomo e tecnologia, lo stato dell’arte si è cercato di fornire una panoramica delle principali innovazioni tecnologiche (presenti o imminenti) legate all’infrastruttura di Internet. Un rapporto di dipendenza quello dell’uomo dalla tecnologia al punto che, mentre alcuni autori parlano di assuefazione tecnologica, altri suggeriscono filosofie come il Transumanesimo, il post-umano e la singolarità tecnologica. Nel capitolo 2, Sviluppo sostenibile e cambiamento climatico, percorreremo un breve viaggio sul tema dello sviluppo sostenibile e sulle tematiche ad esso legate quali lo sviluppo socio-economico e la tutela ambientale. Nel capitolo 3, Green computing, ci occuperemo dell’impatto ambientale del settore IT e di come sia possibile, grazie anche a moderne tecnologie, ridurne gli effetti negativi. Nel capitolo 4, E-commerce sostenibile, analizzeremo la portata del fenomeno e-commerce, il suo impatto ambientale e le pratiche per migliorare la logistica e gli imballaggi. Nel capitolo 5, Usabilità e accessibilità della rete, delineeremo alcuni aspetti circa l’usabilità, la user experience e l’ergonomia cognitiva. Misure indispensabili per uno sviluppo socialmente sostenibile del web. In Appendice i casi studio di Google, Hostingsostenibile.it, Amazon Prime Air, Korto, Tetra Pak, Treedom e Tree-nation.
Green computing e e-commerce sostenibile. Idee per una tecnologia a ridotto impatto ambientale
DE CHIRICO, ALESSANDRO
2015/2016
Abstract
The green economy has become a watchword for new markets. This has been a process of change that has ridden the wave of economic crisis, and that now may serve to help the planet which, in recent decades, has been subject to relentless and aggressive human activity. In fact, an awareness of climate change and the need for more ethical and sustainable development has grown, both in politics and in consumers. Today as in the past, technology has played a fundamental role; it has always been the way for humans to move forward, to overcome their own limitations as well as those imposed upon them by nature. From the Industrial Revolution onwards, technology seems to have escaped from complete human control. Indeed, the need for a more "affluent" lifestyle seems to have taken its toll on the planet, leading, for example, to a concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is equal to 400 parts per million, something that had never been recorded in 800 thousand years. This thesis aims to outline some of the best practices which can be useful in terms of creating sustainable development and reducing the environmental impact of technology, the internet and e-commerce (one of the web's fastest growing services.) This work can be divided into two parts: a first introductory part (containing Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) essential to understand the reasons that make us rethink technology, a second part (containing Chapter 3, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5) on the main themes of the thesis and sustainable green computing, e-commerce, usability and the right of access to the network. The thesis concludes with an Appendix containing case studies. The first chapter describes in detail "Uomo e tecnologia, lo stato dell’arte", we have tried to provide an overview of the main technological innovations (present or forthcoming) related to the infrastructure of the internet. A relationship of dependence exists between man and technology to the point that, while some authors speak about technology addiction, others suggest philosophies such as transhumanism, the post human and technological singularity. We will look briefly at the subject of sustainable development in chapter 2, "Sviluppo sostenibile e cambiamento climatico" and related issues, such as socio-economic development and environmental protection. We will deal with the environmental impact of IT in chapter 3, "Green Computing", and how modern technology makes it possible to reduce its negative effects. In Chapter 4, "E-commerce sostenibile", we will analyse the scope of the e-commerce phenomenon, its environmental impact and practices designed to improve logistics and packaging. In Chapter 5, "Usabilità e accessibilità della rete", we will outline some of the aspects surrounding usability, user experience and cognitive ergonomics. These are essential elements for a socially sustainable development of the web. The "Appendice," contains Google case studies, Hostingsostenibile.it, Amazon Prime Air, Korto, Tetra Pak, Treedom and Tree-nation.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/5636