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Revealed: States with Highest Pollution Levels During Thanksgiving

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thanksgiving dinner table

As we witnessed the ultimate feast of the year, let’s talk turkey about the not-so Instagramable part of Thanksgiving (but don’t worry, we’ll keep it as light as whipped cream).

We’re not here to rain on your parade, but let’s face it: while we’re busy stuffing our faces with the finest seasonal delights, our planet might be giving us a side-eye.

To burst the thanksgiving bubble, H18YC undertook a research analysis on the disparities in pollution levels across various US states during Thanksgiving celebrations. The findings culminated in a list of states that contribute the highest and lowest pollution levels during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Key Findings

  • Data revealed New Jersey has the highest pollution levels.
  • The state’s travel emissions on Thanksgiving Day were the highest in the nation, at 325.854 pounds of CO2.
  • It also has the highest waste generation, at 11,537.505 pounds of CO2.
  • The state’s Meal Footprint is 20.7 pounds of CO2 and Electricity consumption per household is 17,682 kWh.

Methodology

Travel Emission

Source – https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/thanksgiving-travel-2014

Car – % of people using car to travel * C02 emission per mile of travel

Air – %of people using air to travel * C02 emission per mile for medium-haul plane flights

Bus and Train – % of people using bus and trains * CO2 emission per mile of travel

A combined average travel emission was then calculated based on the above data.

Waste generation

We collected data for Per Capita Turkey Consumption (lbs) for each state from the https://www.eatturkey.org and The USDA projects that 35% of the meat purchased does not get eaten, ending up in landfills , along with sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie, and other holiday far. So to calculate the amount of waste generated we multiplied the per capita consumption to the population density and then into 0.35.

Carbon Footprint on Thanksgiving Meals

Sources https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/news/news-stories/2016/november/images/thanksgiving-carbon-footprint-by-state.pdf

Report by Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Electricity Consumption

Sources

https://www.atlanticenergyco.com/blog/thanksgiving-and-energy-breaking-down-turkey-day-by-the-numbers/ (point 14)

Marine Corps

Assuming one household uses electricity to cook the dinner rather than gas, a dinner composed of a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie should require the use of about 14 kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity. 

Thus 14kWh * Population Density = State wise electricity consumption used for cooking in Thanksgiving.

Calculations

StateMeal Footprint (lbs CO2)Electricity Consumption
(14 kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity x Population Density)		Travel Emission

(Average travel 
emission of car, flight, bus/train)
*population density 		Per Capita Turkey Consumption (lbs)Waste Generation –
Population Density * Per Capita Turkey Consumption * 0.35		Population Density (per square mile)Sum
New Jersey20.717682325.85426.111537.505126311884.059
Rhode Island36.814854273.73823.68763.8610619074.398
Massachusetts32.712616.8232.509624.17601.622901.27866.8316
Connecticut18.710425.8192.132624.96490.0605744.76700.8931
Maryland38.48905.4164.113827.26055.672636.16258.1858
Delaware42.87112131.06427.64907.285085081.144
Florida40.15619.6103.561227.13807.279401.43950.9402
New York19.15838107.58625.23677.944173804.626
Ohio59.13964.873.065629.12884.392283.23016.5576
California22.23551.865.454630.92743.7655253.72831.4201
Pennsylvania35.7399773.65926.82677.99285.52787.349
Illinois34.23231.259.546429.92415.322230.82509.0684
North Carolina36.82836.452.270832.62311.666202.62400.7368
Virginia32.42928.853.973631.32291.786209.22378.1596
Indiana71.42651.648.865231.52088.135189.42208.4002
Michigan47.3249245.92429.61844.081781937.304
Hawaii59.73172.458.462822.81808.268226.61926.4308
Georgia38.12598.447.884828.21831.872185.61917.8568
South Carolina26.82223.240.970428.61589.588158.81657.3584
Tennessee391647.830.366628.71182.2965117.71251.6631
Kentucky77.11597.429.4378281118.18114.11224.7178
Louisiana40.11509.227.812427.91052.667107.81120.5794
Missouri681195.622.033231.4938.54685.41028.5792
Texas42.51366.425.180827.7946.23297.61013.9128
Alabama35.91388.825.593626.9933.96899.2995.4616
Wisconsin54.7989.818.240630.6757.19770.7830.1376
Washington8.11114.420.536828.5794.0179.6822.6468
West Virginia80.11047.219.298427.5719.9574.8819.3484
Minnesota41.179814.70635.1700.24557756.051
Arkansas42.3810.614.938232.3654.559557.9711.7977
Mississippi33.8932.417.182828.1655.01166.6705.9938
Iowa45.9799.414.731831.1621.533557.1682.1653
Arizona37.8880.616.228226.6585.59962.9639.6272
Colorado59779.814.370628.3551.708555.7625.0791
Vermont0.2970.217.879424.7599.098569.3617.1779
Kansas47502.69.262230.4381.97635.9438.2382
Oregon13.2572.610.552228.4406.54640.9430.2982
Oklahoma44499.89.210629.5368.602535.7421.8131
Maine12.7618.811.403624.6380.56244.2404.6656
New Hampshire15.256710.44923.8337.36540.5363.014
Nebraska51.4347.26.398430260.424.8318.1984
Utah70.5341.66.295227230.5824.4307.3752
Idaho9.2312.25.753429.2227.90622.3242.8594
North Dakota63.7134.42.476828.896.7689.6162.9448
New Mexico64.195.21.754426.763.5466.8129.4004
Montana48.1107.81.986627.473.8437.7123.9296
South Dakota16.3134.42.476830.7103.1529.6121.9288
Nevada32.31051.93525.466.6757.5100.91
Wyoming75.529.40.541826.419.4042.195.4458
Alaska41.218.20.335419.78.96351.350.4989