Ecotopia

About this project

Problem

Global warming is the ongoing rise of the average temperature of the Earth. It is a major aspect of climate change which, in addition to rising global surface temperatures, affects climate behavior such as bigger heatwaves and changes in precipitation. More heat means that more ice is melting from the ice caps. This leads to an increase in the global ocean levels. Coastline cities are in jeopardy if we do not take measures in limitting our carbon emissions.

What is is PPM

PPM stands for “Parts Per Million” and it is a measure of concentration. In our case this represents the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) molecules in a million parts of air. The global value of CO₂ PPM in 2020 was ~418. The more the concentration in the atmosphere, the higher the average global temperature becomes. The increase will result in more frequent wildfires, expansion of deserts, extreme climate and more catastrophic consequences.

Our contribution

Through this app, we wanted to demonstrate the devastating effect of global warming and what could be the consequences if no measures are taken in time. Our algorithm calculates how the PPM, produced by six of the most polluting sectors, affects the global temperature. You can see the results in a live simulation visualized by graphs and a terrain map.

Key Features

• Changing main inputs
  Each value represents a percentage in the increase of a chosen sector. These percentages will take affect for each and every year for all the countries. This means that the same percentage will be added again and again each year. To avoid huge values consider inputting smaller numbers as shown in the example above.

• Changing a single country input
  Each value represents a percentage in the increase of a chosen sector but for one country. Under the ‘Political map’ tab, you can find a 2D political map of Europe. You can change the values of all countries in the EU + UK. Again, the percentage is applied for each year of the simulation.

• Starting your simulation

  When you have the desired inputs, the only thing left is to open the controls again and click on ‘Create new simulation’.

• Changing values on run time

  In order to change anything while the simulation is running you must pause it. Then, you are able to open the contols or any country you desire, and change the values. The changes will then be applied for the years ahead.

• Events

  Events have a chance of occuring based on the set control variables, such as wildfires and pandemics.