rseng-green-computinglisted
Install: claude install-skill fdiblen/rseng-agent-skills
# Environmentally sustainable research computing
Research computing has a real carbon footprint - large simulations,
ML training runs and always-on services consume energy at a scale
funders and institutions increasingly ask about. The GREENER
principles for computational science frame the practice: Governance,
Responsibility, Estimation, Energy and embodied impacts, New
collaborations, Education and Research. For an agent the working core
is: measure first, reduce second, schedule smart, report honestly.
## Measure before optimizing
Never guess at footprint - estimate it:
- CodeCarbon instruments Python code with a few lines (or a CLI
wrapper) and estimates energy plus location-adjusted CO2e; add it
to representative runs, not every run.
- For non-Python or cluster workloads, estimate from job accounting
(CPU/GPU hours x hardware power draw x facility PUE x grid carbon
intensity) and state the assumptions.
- Record estimates alongside results the same way runtimes are
recorded, so the cost of a paper's computations is reportable.
The Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification (an ISO standard)
gives a defensible formula when a formal number is needed:
operational plus embodied emissions per functional unit.
## Reduce
Order interventions by leverage, and quantify the win when possible:
1. Compute less: cache intermediate results, avoid re-running
unchanged pipeline stages (rseng-workflows), kill zombie jobs,
right-size parameter sweeps before launch