An Engineer's Perspective

Air fresheners

2009-06-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Air fresheners contain many harmful chemicals such as dichlorobenzene, naphthalene, and formaldehyde. They are both detrimental to us and the environment. Instead of using them determine the source of the odor and eliminate it by throwing it away, hanging it on the clothesline, opening a window, or washing it.

Make money by recycling

2009-06-14T06:04:00.000-07:00

From candy wrappers to cell phones, TerraCycle Inc will pay you to recycle. Checkout their websit at http://www.terracycle.net/

The Ecoological House

2009-06-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

This solar house can be found at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. It was designed by students from McGill University, the Université de Montréal and the École de technologie supérieure for the 2007 Solar Decathlon, which is an international competition that took place in Washington, D.C. If you go see this house you can get a guided tour and learn about the construction of the building and other new environmental innovations.

Garbage and recycling bins

2009-06-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

The U.S. EPA estimates that 75% of our waste is recyclable. However, in many municipalities it is very common to only see garbage bins. If your town or city is one of them you can contact your local town hall and suggest they adopt a recycling program where recycling and waste bins are placed side by side, such as shown in the figure. When there is only waste bins, citizens have little choice but to toss any waste, even if it is recyclable in the garbage. These garbage bins will then be emptied and sent to a landfill, where the waste will sit and very slow decompose.

From Penn State University, here is a list of items and how long they take to decomopose.
Paper - 2 to 4 weeks
Leaves - 1 to 3 months
Orange peel - 6 months
Milk Carton - 5 years
Pastic Bag - 10 to 20 years
Pastic Container - 50 to 80 years
Aluminum Can - 80 years
Tin Can - 100 years
Plastic Soda Bottle - 450 years
Glass Bottle - 500 years
Styrofoam - Never

Laptops VS Desktops

2009-06-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

By using a laptop instead of a desktop computer you can reduce the electricity used by a whopping 75%. However, don't forget to turn off your laptop at night.

Reduce speed and increase fuel efficiency

2009-06-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

According to National Geographic, you can increase your fuel efficiency up to 23 percent by reducing your speed from 70 mph to 55 mph (or approximately 110 km/h to 90 km/h).

Biking

2009-06-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

I love to bike. Here in Canada we have a long winter which means no biking for about 5 months of the year. So when April 15 comes around each year and the bike paths open I can't wait to hop on my bike again. Not only is biking an environmentally friendly activity it is also great exercise and you get to explore new uncharted territory. Many cities are now becoming more bike friendly by building new bike paths, so check out what your city has to offers. Maybe there is even a bike path that connects where you live to where you work. It is also fun to just get on a bike path a see where it leads you. Maybe you'll end up at a beautiful lake or park. You will be amazed at the new places you can discover by just getting on a bike path and seeing where it leads, just don't forget to bring your camera and some water.

What is your Carbon Footprint?

2009-06-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Your carbon footprint is a measurement of the impact that our daily activities have on our environment and climate change. It allows us to better understand the amount of greenhouse gases we are generating by the way we are currently choosing to live. It takes into account all the greenhouse gases we are individual generating through the burning of fossil fuels for our electricity, heating, transportation, and so on.

The average footprint for people in United States is 20.40 tonnes
The average for the industrial nations is about 11 tonnes
The average worldwide carbon footprint is about 4 tonnes
However, the worldwide target to combat climate change is 2 tonnes.

Determine what yours is and learn ways to reduce it by going to
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

2009-06-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

Damon Matthews who is a professor in Concordia University's Department of Geography, Planning and the Environment has just completed a study with another group of scientist from Victoria and Britain concerning carbon dioxide emissions. Their results which will be published today in Nature, reveal that for every tonne of carbon dioxide released into the environment, there will be a 0.0000000000015 degrees of global temperature change. Furthermore, the findings indicate that it does not matter over what time period the emissions occur.

So what is the volume of 1 tonne of CO₂?

1 tonnes = 1 000 kg = 1 000 000 g
1 m³ = 1 000 L
1 mole of CO₂ = 12 g + 2 ( 16 g ) = 44 g
1 tonne contains 1 000 000 g / 44 g/mole = 22730 moles of CO₂
According to Boyle's law, at 25˚C and 1 atm, 1 mole = 24.47 L
Therefore, 1 tonne of CO₂ = 22730 moles х 24.47 L/mole = 556200 L = 556.2 m³

Paper Bags

2009-06-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

According to the American Forest and Paper Association, the US uses approximately 10,000,000,000 paper bags a year.

Now, how many trees does that equal?

Answer: Well, the California Energy Commission estimates that one 15 year old tree produces 700 paper bags. Therefore, approximately 14,285,715 trees are cut down each year to fufill the demand for paper bags in the US.

Greener Choices

2009-06-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

So you want to be greener. Here are some simple changes you can make on a daily basis that will all contribute to reducing our footprint on this beautiful planet. I will continue to update this blog with other green things you can do and invite you the reader to post some too.

1) Stop using plastic water bottles and buy a reusable beverage container. You will not only save money but reduce the amount of plastic being sent to landfills or ending up in the environment.

2) Recycle

3) Use reusable grocery bags

4) Turn off lights when you are not using them

5) Buy energy efficient lights

6) Have at least one free meat day a week. This will lead to a reduction of methane gas which is released by livestock and contributes to the greenhouse effect.

7) Take shorter showers

8) Don't flush after you pee, just let it be

9) Start your own vegetable garden

10) Plant a tree