Eco-Powered Programs: Linear Programming in Environmental Issues

United States decision makers continue to wrestle with problems of natural resources, ecology, and human needs. In order to optimize benefits and minimize hazards, decision makers utilize a mathematical programming approach called linear programming. Typically, such programs involve many variables and run on a computer.

For example, the Department of Energy has used the Brookhaven Energy System Optimization Model, which runs on the Univac 1100 computer at State University of New York at Stony Brook. With similar software, scientists have solved many important linear programming problems.