The builder's path
For: People in Newfoundland can't get an accurate carbon figure for their electricity from Electricity Maps.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Step 1
Build in the open
Publish the code and invite contributors from the community.
Newfoundland and Labrador's startup incubator: programmes, mentors and community.
NL's tech industry association: events, programmes and connections.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Builds federal public services in the open; a route for problems with government services.
Step 2
Fund the maintainers
Sponsors, collectives and open source grants.
Federal funding and advice for Atlantic Canadian businesses.
Civic tech: technologists working with governments on public services.
Builds federal public services in the open; a route for problems with government services.
Advice and funding for technology innovation in Canada.
Step 3
Get it adopted
Civic tech groups and public bodies take it up.
Federal funding and advice for Atlantic Canadian businesses.
How the Newfoundland and Labrador government buys; open calls are posted here.
Newfoundland and Labrador's startup incubator: programmes, mentors and community.
NL's tech industry association: events, programmes and connections.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
monthly generation and imports, as PDFs
how zone configs and fallback mixes are added
reviewed the method in the issue and maintain the zone data
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Newfoundland and Labrador. Problem: People in Newfoundland can't get an accurate carbon figure for their electricity from Electricity Maps. Who it hurts: Residents, businesses and software tools that use Electricity Maps to estimate the carbon in Newfoundland and Labrador's power. The moment it hurts: When a carbon tool shows the island's power as far dirtier than its mostly hydro supply. What people do today: Electricity Maps falls back on a default value, and the province's generation data sits in monthly PDF reports. Why it is still unsolved: There is no real-time feed splitting island generation from imports from Labrador, and the monthly figures are only in PDFs. What solved looks like: A script that pulls monthly generation by source from NL Hydro's PDF reports into a CSV from 2018 to the latest month, and a pull request to Electricity Maps adding a source-based fallback power mix for the Newfoundland zone, with the method written down. Where: Newfoundland and Labrador First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“Knowledge itself is power.”
Ipsa scientia potestas est.
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Act, keeping in view the welfare of the world.”
लोकसंग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि
lokasaṅgraham evāpi sampaśyan kartum arhasi
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“While we teach, we learn.”
Homines dum docent discunt.
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.