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, ON, 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 in Service Learning and Web 2.0 - and it's power 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 in 1987. 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.
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 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 Earth's limits, I want to help connect people all over the world 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 unapparent consequences to the environment.
How can I do this? Well the steps are coming to me as I grow old - but I want to retrofit a Catamaran, set up my own 'farm on a boat', catch fish, set up my own renewable energy system on the boat. I will need sponsorship to finance this and the research, as well - I'll need a team around me helping to coordinate where I am to go - safety weather, etc... Finally, I want to move to different places around the world and help everyone have basic water and good food. I have met professors who believe, that even with my limited knowledge as a chemical engineer - I can help other people to an extent and quality of life. And lastly - with the following TED talk I believe, that more people in this world we can together come up with a better solution: http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html
Appropedia Contributions/Mech 425 Course Projects
1. Local Responses to Global Problems: A Key to Meeting Basic Human Needs
Our first team project is to summarize an article to Appropedia. Our article is on 'Local Self Reliance' - it's from the AT Encyclopedia and is under the title, by Bruce Stokes in 1978.
Our second team project is Green IT on .
3. CAPSTONE PROJECT was Construction of an Affordable Greenhouse
Check them out, quite well done if I may say so myself - Einstein would definitely be envious.
Other 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
I am currently working on the following projects in my final year at Queen's University:
- Technology, Engineering and Management (TEAM: APSC 400) -confidential-
http://team.appsci.queensu.ca/index.php
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship (COMM 405) - Business Plan for Solar Power Entrepreneurship in Ontario
- Sustainable Development (mech425) - Green IT "Behavioural Energy Monitoring"
- Transport Phenomena (CHEE 412) - Mathematical Modeling of Evacuated (vacuum) Solar Cells for Water Purification
My Company: GreenTownes
Myself and my 2 partners, an MBA Candidate and a Software Engineer started GreenTownes: a solar
SUPPORT
SOME LINKS THAT HAVE BEEN HELPFUL GETTING AROUND APPROPEDIA http://www.cutepdf.com/