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I'll need a team around me helping to coordinate where I am to go - safety, weather, etc.. With teamwork - this is achievable.
I'll need a team around me helping to coordinate where I am to go - safety, weather, etc.. With teamwork - this is achievable.


Lastly, I believe that the vast number of people in this world is a benefit to these problems - not a hindrance.  Use this TED Talk and 'Crowd accelerated as my argument:
Lastly, I believe that the vast number of people in this world is a benefit to these problems - not a hindrance.  I use this TED Talk and 'Crowd Accelerated Innovation' as my argument:
   
   
http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html

Revision as of 02:41, 17 January 2011

Here's me inside a greenhouse beside the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit, NU, Canada

Who Am I?

I am above all else a sailor, next and more relevant to this website I am a Chemical Engineering Graduate from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario (Sci'10). I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada but with today's globalization I consider myself a citizen of the World. I am currently working in Mexico for a sail loft to develop the skill sets needed to sail around the world. Lastly, I am a true believer Web 2.0 - and it's ability to support collaboration to improve our world.

My Interests

My interests with respect to Appropedia are not too ambitious, I simply want to leave Earth in a better state then I found it. What do I think needs fixing? General environmental destruction, the pollution of natural water and air, and foods that indirectly/directly damages the environment (pesticides and fertilizers, hormone contaminated meats, GM foods,etc...). Other obvious problems that I would like to solve are: Species extinction and decreased ecological biodiversity, overpopulation and mass natural resource consumption.

My vision is that human impact can have a positive impact on the environmental state of the world.

Why Appropedia?

I have been inspired to sign onto Appropedia through the 4th Year Mechanical Engineering course "Engineering for Sustainable Development", a course taught by Dr. Joshua Pearce at Queen's University, I took this during Winter of 2010. To see our schedule and/or the course layout, CLICK mech425 or Mech425 schedule.

THE Project

I want to sail around the world, I want to live within the sustainable limits of my surroundings, I want to help others realize their potential and satisfy real needs all over the world. I want to help connect people, with great ideas and endless possibilities - that inspire real action. I want to improve how we live, and help connect my actions - and those of people in the first world - with the results felt by other people and the long term consequences to the environment (both good and bad).

How will I do this?

1. Acquire and retrofit a Catamaran. 2. Set up my own 'farm on a boat', catch fish - purify my own water. 3. Set up my own renewable energy power system on the boat. 4. Go from port to port, learning from people and sharing what I know. Bringing long lasting solutions and keeping in contact to solve further problems.


Other Requirements

I will need sponsorship to finance this, I will need help with the research, development and installation of these mechanisms. I'll need a team around me helping to coordinate where I am to go - safety, weather, etc.. With teamwork - this is achievable.

Lastly, I believe that the vast number of people in this world is a benefit to these problems - not a hindrance. I use this TED Talk and 'Crowd Accelerated Innovation' as my argument:

http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html

Appropedia Contributions/Mech 425 Course Projects

1. Attain Copyright of the AT Sourcebook and post PDF for the 'Local Self Reliance' section.

Summarized Local Responses to Global Problems: A Key to Meeting Basic Human Needs - by Bruce Stokes, 1978. Competed by myself and my teammates: Jerome Arthur, Graeme Armster, Landon Gardner & Bryn Sexton.

2. Energy monitoring

Created a Green IT spreadsheet looking at the expected financial payback (Internal Rate of Return) of Monitoring your Energy Use with Energy Monitoring Technologies.

3. Our third team project was to develop a Green IT evaluation for a business client- the evaluation is not available online as the information is private. We investigated the financial payback and other financial measures for: the installation of photovoltaics with the Ontario FIT, how Energy Monitoring will improve the work place and the financials around powerbars that kill dead power.

Our group was:

3. My CAPSTONE PROJECT was Construction of an Affordable Greenhouse

This was an individual Appropriate Technology project and contains a matlab file as well as instructions for how to install (and when) an Affordable Greenhouse as an extention of your Bedroom window (as shown in the above link).


Please Check them out!

Other Capstone Appropriate Technology Projects from the Mech 425 group can be found here: Mech425 AT Project

Other Engineering Projects and Green Interests Completed in 4th Year

Completed the following Projects at Queen's University in 4th year - however, they are not available online:

  • Technology, Engineering and Management [TEAM: APSC 400 http://team.appsci.queensu.ca/index.php]
  • Introduction to Entrepreneurship (COMM 405) - Business Plan for the Solar Energy Marketplace in Ontario
  • Transport Phenomena (CHEE 412) - Mathematical Modeling of a Solar Thermal Cell (using Matlab)

My Company: GreenTownes

Myself and my 2 partners, an MBA Candidate and a Software Engineer started GreenTownes: a solar installation company. After a successful summer, the business is on hold as the partners are back to school for the year.

SUPPORT

SOME LINKS THAT HAVE BEEN HELPFUL GETTING AROUND APPROPEDIA http://www.cutepdf.com/

http://www.appropedia.org/Special:Upload

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