Project #10 Translation Device

Austin Bailey

CC Lecture - Shirley Leung & Aarati Akkapeddi

https://editor.p5js.org/AustinBB/sketches/q5OURDL09

For my translation device, I decided to focus on carbon dioxide emissions. My goal was to make our impact on the earth seem less daunting than most graphic representations of CO2 emissions and our impact on the climate. In doing so, I used inviting colors and abstract shapes to resemble emissions from given datasets. The data is configured from CarbonInterface.com, which is an API that estimates the value of CO2 emission omitted from certain objects. For this data representation, I chose to focus on the vehicle, shipping, flight, and electricity emissions estimates from the API. I then related this to the EPA's emission estimates by the source from 2018. Based on the four estimates I planned to focus on, it makes up a total of 66% of the world's total CO2 emissions output. In my canvas, I represented that number based on which estimates went into each category. Electricity as a whole makes up 32% of the world's emissions. Vehicles, shipping, and flight all fall under the category of transportation which makes up the other 34%.

Carbon Interface API's = https://docs.carboninterface.com/#estimates

EPA's CO2 Emission Estimates = https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases#carbon-dioxide

I'd say that my representation most closely showcases the Examine Power principle of feminist data. Insisting that since the most amounts of CO2 are coming from private and public forms of transportation or electricity consumption. My translation device suggests that we should re-evaluate the way we contribute to these numbers by looking at which major brands contribute to the given percentages while also making conscious decisions as to who we should support. My device doesn't give you the information of each contributing factor to CO2 emissions but it opens a door in a very subtle way. One that inevitably will lead to other doors, raising questions, and suggesting we need to look at how power affects our world's health. 

Overall, I hope that this device will get people excited about reducing CO2 emissions. My future iterations will include a hover option that will prompt the user with questions and actions that will slowly reduce the percentages. Things such as lighting a candle instead of using electricity or taking public transit in replacement of driving your private car from place to place.