Contributing (even for myself)

After the winter break, I somewhat forgot what I was doing. It was a good break! But to get back in gear, I took a few minutes to write down explicitly what it is that I think I'm doing with this site, this project. I wrote it as the root README on the github project, and I thought I'd also include it here. Full disclosure: I would like to structure a bit of a deal with a not-for-profit I'm working with (Opt2Refuture) in which they provide some research to this project, and I help them use PlanZero as content for the digital immersive experience they're working toward. If a collaboration with them emerges, fantastic, but either way, I'll continue to seek collaboration elsewhere as well.

I think there are four ways to contribute to this project:

1. Research into how the public problem of sectoral emissions translates to private problems of decision-making stakeholders,
2. Ideation of things those stakeholders could do differently,
3. Modelling of what the impact of implementing those ideas might be, and
4. Engagement with folks to make the best ideas happen.

Research how the public problems of sectoral emissions relate to private problems

The highest-level work in this site is basic social-science research into how the public problems of sectoral emissions relate to the private problems faced by stakeholders such as e.g. individuals and businesses. My hope is this site accumulates and maintains up-to-date assessments for all seventy-one IPCC sectors, as of writing there are probably about sixty-five still to go.

To contribute this sort of research, pick an IPCC sector from here that doesn't have analysis yet. Click its curve on the stacked area chart, to trigger a page lookup. I just did it and I see the url is https://www.planzero.ca/ipcc-sectors/Stationary_Combustion_Sources/Commercial_and_Institutional/. If I pull out the end part of the url without including the trailing slash, it's a category name that I've called a "catpath" (mnemonic: for CAT-egory PATH) in the source code, and it's where you should put the analysis page for this IPCC sector within the git source tree: html/ipcc-sectors/.html so e.g. html/ipcc-sectors/Stationary_Combustion_Sources/Commercial_and_Institutional.html. Make that page (probably starting from another research page by copying it), and fill it with the results of your research.

The definition-of-done for such a page is that it breaks down the sources or drivers of sectoral emissions in such a way as to turn it from a **public problem into private problems**. The public problem is always the same: too much sectoral emissions. The private problems are always different: the work is to identify relevant stakeholders, the decisions they make, the interactions they have with one another, the size of the stakeholder populations and so on, with enough granularity to do two things:

• Go and talk to these stakeholders to confirm that they do indeed make such decisions and have such interactions
• Come up with ideas for emission reduction that resonate with these stakeholders

Contribute ideas for emissions reduction

For IPCC-Sectors with research, it's possible to proceed with the next kind of contribution, which is the ideation of Things That Could Be Done. There are many! You can think of some yourself and/or find suggestions from others. More come up every day as technology possibilities continue to evolve.

Have a read through any of the IPCC Sectors) that have analysis (scroll down to the table, and sort by "Have Analysis") and think about what might be done to reduce those emissions. As this is managed as a software project, submit ideas in one of two ways:

• Github Issue tagged as "Emissions Reduction Idea"
• Code change as an idea in the e.g. planzero/strategies/ideas.py file. See that file for examples.

The definition-of-done for these ideas is that their cost or financial feasibility and environmental impact can be modelled reasonably. The modelling itself is the next step. This definition of done is vague, but if no one can see how to model an idea, then it needs more work.

Model a strategy for addressing emissions

Pick an idea for emissions reduction, and modify the Python simulation implemented in the `planzero` directory to be able to run with and without a `Project` that implements the strategy in terms of simulation variables.

The definition-of-done for a strategy model is that leverages the best available information and serves to support a decision about whether to implement that strategy. Does it convince a company to start an internal project, a project developer to invest time and effort, an entrepreneur to start a business, a customer to buy differently, a policy-maker to draft new policy? If not, why is it not effective and what might make the model more compelling?

Engagement: change the course of things reduce emissions

The types of contribution above are about funneling information and feedback into the model, but the purpose of the model is to focus emission reduction efforts out in the world. For yourself: start a business, change your business, buy differently, live differently, etc. Beyond yourself: use this model in your own work, tell others about it. And if there are changes to this project that would make it more useful or useable, let us know! (via e.g. github issue to start).

The definition-of-done for engagement is that a strategy model is implemented as a real life project, and reduces emissions.

Looking forward to collaboration with like-minded folks at some point!

- James Bergstra