References and Calculations
What is eco-anxiety?
- https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2024/12/09/how-americans-view-climate-change-and-policies-to-address-the-issue/
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext
- https://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20190416RES41665/20190416RES41665.pdf
- 'The Uninhabitable Earth' by David Wallace-Wells
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24259596_Psychology_in_an_Age_of_Ecological_Crisis
- https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/constant-anxiety-wont-save-the-world/537132/
Carbon footprint calculator
- https://www.sensoneo.com/global-waste-index/2025/
- https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/greenhouse-gas-emissions/inventory/preliminary-emissions-1990-2024.html
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1 - per which, a vegan diet is responsible for 1054 kg CO2eq/yr, vegetarian for 1390kg CO2eq/yr, low-meat for 1704 kg CO2eq/yr, medium-meat for 2054 kg CO2eq/yr, high-meat for 2624 kg CO2eq/yr.
- https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references - per which, 0.244 kg CO2eq is released per km driven by the average car in the US. Assuming that carpooling means 3 people, and therefore the emissions are split 3 ways, the equation becomes = 0.244 * (1 - carpoolPercentage) + 0.088 * carpoolPercentage
- https://www.co2everything.com/co2e-of/bus-travel - per which, 0.103 kg of CO2eq per kilometer in a bus.
- https://www.carbonindependent.org/22.html - per which, 92 kg of CO2eq is released per hour of flight.
- https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/pricing-pollution-how-it-will-work/output-based-pricing-system/federal-greenhouse-gas-offset-system/emission-factors-reference-values.html- per which, for PEI, emission rate is around 0.234kg per kWh of energy.
- For 8, assumptions were made on area of house based on housing type, and using Google Earth measurements:
- Apartment = 43.7 m2
- Townhouse = 80 m2
- House = 130.7 m2
- Large house = 172.5 m2
- Very large house = 252.4 m2
- Bungalow = 94.5 m2
- Mansion/Manor = 418.1 m2
- Unconventional = 28.4 m2
- Apartment = 0.334
- Townhouse = 0.612
- House = 1.00
- Large house = 1.320
- Very large house = 1.931
- Bungalow = 0.723
- Mansion/Manor = 3.199
- Unconventional = 0.217
- Electric = 0 (accounted for in electricity calculation above).
- Propane = 240 kg CO2eq/year
- Fuel oil = 250 kg CO2eq/year
- Natural gas = 2160 kg CO2eq/year
- https://wint.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/White-paper-Carbon-Impact-of-Water-Consumption-Final.pdf - per which, 3.7 kg CO2eq per cubic meter of water used.
- https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/5814-world-water-day-eh - per which, 223 liters per person per day, or 0.223 cubic meter per person per day. For range of options, a 20% difference interval was applied (ie. +40%, +20%, 0%, -20%, -40%). This can then be multiplied by the emissions factor mentioned in (9).
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339830281_Carbon_Footprint_of_Municipal_Solid_Waste_Management_in_Guelph_City_Ontario - assuming an average trash bag weight of 7kg. Study found is for Guelph, ON (municipal solid waste constituent concentration can vary significantly with location, recycling ability, and CO2eq will change with waste management procedures like incineration, recycling facilities, etc.. Given such, this value is with significant variability). 1kg of MSW results in 0.74 kg CO2eq, or 5.18 kg per estimated bag. After this is calculated, it is also divided by # of members of household.
- https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Canada/Carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita/
- https://css.umich.edu/publications/factsheets/sustainability-indicators/carbon-footprint-factsheet
Using ‘House’ as the standard value, area factors for each home can be found.
Based on the selected house type, and the selected heating type, the equation was = (kg CO2eq for specified heating type and for typical house * area factor) / people in house. The source used for CO2eq for a specified heating type was https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references.