A micro-project done by a number of volunteers from the Data4Good organization for the purpose of raising awareness of the climate situation in Calgary.
Team Members:
Joan Vlasschaert
Justin Selleck
Katia Santos
Manuel Schönlaub
Medhat S
Gustavo Bravo
About this project:
Climate change has significant environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts. The long-term effects of climate change are felt in increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather that are disrupting lives in every country on every continent. While there have been significant climate change events in the Earth’s history, the current changes are occurring rapidly and are not due to natural causes. Anthropogenic practices, such as burning of fossil fuels and forest loss, contribute to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. According to the United Nations, greenhouse gases rose to new records in 2019, resulting in the second warmest year on record. While the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a drop in CO2 emissions, this event was temporary, and emissions will gradually return to higher levels as economies begin to recover.
In November 2021, the Calgary City Council declared a Climate Emergency. A team with Data for Good Calgary took on the opportunity to help citizens learn about their city by founding the idea of using data and technology to raise awareness on Calgary’s climate change impact. Data for Good’s goal is to present free and accessible baseline emissions data in an easy-to-use platform to serve citizens, city decision makers, researchers, and solution providers in identifying and leveraging climate action opportunities in the city and beyond.
Historical emissions data was collected from the City of Calgary and Canada open inventories, presented on a dashboard for the years 1990-2019. In addition, data modelling is used to present hourly air quality and particulate matter (PM2.5) information from iQAir, connecting real-time data collection points to each neighbourhood in Calgary. These aggregated historical and current emissions data can be further specified to individual outputs by industry or activity, such as agriculture and waste management, and create opportunities for standardized data collection methodologies and collaboration with other tools. By drawing insights from the major sources of GHG emissions, subsequent climate action planning, solutions, and community engagement can be accelerated, and contribute to The City of Calgary’s Climate Strategy to net zero by 2050.
-Jennifer Lozano