CarbonTrackerGPT

Inspiration

One of the biggest threats we face is climate change. While it may seem like as individuals we can't solve this problem. We can do everything in our power to help out. By creating something that shows people their carbon footprint, we thought we could give a sense of awareness towards their actions and how it may effect the world. This project will give people insight on how something in their daily routine can have large impacts on the planet.

What it does

This project measures the daily commute and how it may contribute towards an individuals carbon emissions. It is based on the miles driven in a week and the make and model of a persons car. It then takes this data and calculates the carbon emissions using the CarbonSutra API. Then it uses the ChatGPT API and based on a user's weekly carbon emissions it lets the user know if they are high or low. Then based on this information recommends different ways of limiting carbon emissions.

How we built it

In order to build this project, we used NodeJS with a React frontend and a ExpressJS backend. We also utilized the CarbonSutra API and the ChatGPT API. We used javascript throughout the entire project and for functionality. We also used CSS and HTML for styling and formatting.

Challenges we ran into

There were challenges throughout the whole process. However, we were able to come together and overcome them. One problem that stands out, is the trouble we had with the CarbonSutra API, but with dedication and teamwork we were able to fix the problem. We also originally used another carbon emission API, but the API severely limited our API calls. We had to switch API's mid-way through the hackathon.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This was all of our first hackathons with hopefully many more to come. It was a very enjoyable experience. I think we are all very proud that we were able to complete a finished product, and were able to make a product that we are passionate about. This hackathon was the ultimate test of our skills, but we pulled together and we finished. I think that's something to be proud of.

What we learned

We learned a lot. I think that out of everything we learned what stands out is teamwork. The amount of coordination and communication required was a lot. After this experience, I think all of our communication and teamwork skills have gotten much stronger. I also think we learned how to come up with solutions quickly. In order to complete our project, we had to have strong critical thinking skills. I think our ability to critically think and brainstorm vastly improved after this experience.

What's next for CarbonTrackerGPT

I think if we were to continue this project we would add more carbon emission factors then just driving, we would add a way to make an account, and we would add a way to log your weeks. Then maybe ways to view metrics on your carbon emissions through numbers and charts.