Carbon Footprint Calculator

This project is a Carbon Footprint Calculator implemented using Rust WebAssembly and React.

Project Structure

• src/: Rust WASM
• tests/: tests
• www/: frontend

Calculator Logic

The carbon footprint is calculated based on four main factors:

1. Electricity Usage
2. Natural Gas Usage
3. Car Miles Driven
4. Number of Flights Taken

Calculation Formula

The total carbon footprint (in tons of CO2 equivalent per year) is calculated as follows:

Carbon Footprint = (Electricity * 0.0005) + (Gas * 0.005) + (CarMiles * 0.000404) + (Flights * 0.24)

Where:

• Electricity is in kWh per month
• Gas is in therms per month
• CarMiles is miles driven per month
• Flights is the number of flights per year

Reasoning behind the coefficients:

1. Electricity (0.0005 tons CO2e/kWh): This is based on the average CO2 emissions per kWh in the US. It may vary depending on the energy mix in different regions.

2. Natural Gas (0.005 tons CO2e/therm): This coefficient is derived from the CO2 emissions produced by burning natural gas.

3. Car Miles (0.000404 tons CO2e/mile): This is based on the average emissions of a passenger vehicle. It may vary depending on the specific vehicle's fuel efficiency.

4. Flights (0.24 tons CO2e/flight): This is a rough estimate for an average flight. Long-haul flights would have a higher impact, while short flights would have a lower impact.

Please note that this is a basic approximation and may not reflect the most up-to-date or regionally specific emissions factors. For more accurate calculations, consider using data from reputable sources such as:

• EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator
• The Carbon Trust's Conversion Factors
• IPCC's Emission Factor Database

Future versions of this calculator aim to incorporate more accurate and region-specific data for improved estimations.

Using the Carbon Footprint Calculator Crate

The Carbon Footprint Calculator is available as a Rust crate that can be easily integrated into your Rust projects, especially those targeting WebAssembly.

Adding the Crate to Your Project

To use the Carbon Footprint Calculator in your Rust project, add it to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
carbon_footprint_calculator = "0.1.0"

Basic Usage

Here's a basic example of how to use the Carbon Footprint Calculator in your Rust code:

use carbon_footprint_calculator::Calculator;

fn main() {
    let calculator = Calculator::new();
    
    let input = serde_json::json!({
        "electricity": 500.0,  // kWh per month
        "gas": 50.0,           // therms per month
        "car_miles": 1000.0,   // miles per month
        "flights": 2.0         // flights per year
    });

    match calculator.calculate(input.into()) {
        Ok(result) => {
            let footprint: f64 = result.into_serde().unwrap();
            println!("Your carbon footprint is approximately {} tons CO2e/year", footprint);
        },
        Err(e) => println!("Error calculating footprint: {:?}", e),
    }
}

WebAssembly Usage

This crate is particularly useful in WebAssembly contexts. Here's how you might use it in a web application:

import init, { Calculator } from 'carbon_footprint_calculator';

async function calculateFootprint() {
    await init();
    const calculator = new Calculator();
    
    const input = {
        electricity: 500,  // kWh per month
        gas: 50,           // therms per month
        car_miles: 1000,   // miles per month
        flights: 2         // flights per year
    };

    const result = calculator.calculate(input);
    console.log(`Your carbon footprint is approximately ${result.footprint.toFixed(2)} tons CO2e/year`);
}

calculateFootprint();

For more detailed usage instructions and API documentation, please refer to the crate documentation.

Deployment

The project is automatically deployed to GitHub Pages when changes are pushed to the main branch.