Inspiration
My project was inspired by this hackathon's sustainability track and emphasis on fighting climate change. The first step to raising awareness about climate change is helping people understand what impact they are having on the environment and how they are individually contributing to climate change. Once people are aware of their impact on the environment, they can take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Often, people don't know where to start when it comes to fighting climate change. Additionally, many people probably think that fighting climate change takes a massive campaign and requires a lot of time and effort. However, that's not true. There are many simple actions people can take every day to reduce their negative environmental impact. By providing people with suggestions on the little things they can do to make the world a better place, they'll be more likely to do their part.
What it does
I built a web application that allows a user to input their transportation habits and calculate their carbon footprint. The app displays the user's carbon footprint based on their input and then lists suggestions of simple actions they can take to reduce their carbon footprint.
How I built it
I built the web application with Flask and Python. I used Cockroach DB for a database. I also used the "Trip to Carbon" API to calculate the carbon footprint.
Challenges I ran into
Integrating the Flask application with Cockroach DB was challenging because it was my first time working with these technologies. As a result, I wasn't able to add as many features to the application as I wanted. For example, I wanted the suggested actions to reduce your carbon footprint to be based on the user's input. Also, it would be nice to add more features into the carbon footprint calculation, such as recycling habits, home energy consumption, and diet.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I am proud of myself for learning something new and trying new technologies such as Cockroach DB.
What I learned
I learned how to use Cockroach DB and integrate it with a Flask application.
What's next for My Carbon Footprint
There are many features that I didn't have time to implement, such as tailoring the action suggestions to the user's input and carbon footprint. Furthermore, the carbon footprint calculation could be improved by taking more factors into consideration, such as the user's recycling habits, diet, and household energy consumption.
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