Day: 8 March 2007

Bio-Cars from Bio-Schools

The University of Guelph, known for its agriculture and science, had teamed up with three other Ontario Universities to develop an eco -friendly car.  With recent support from the Ontario Government, this project is well on its way to creating great strides for a healthier Canada.

” The concept is a step closer to reality today with the announcement that the provincial government is investing nearly $6 million in the BioCar Initiative, a multi-university project led by the University of Guelph.

“The BioCar initiative aligns some of the most distinctive innovation capacity in Ontario,” said Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “It involves a consortium of universities working with two of the largest industries in Ontario, the automotive industry and the agricultural industry. This combination provides an unprecedented opportunity for the province to be seen as a major contributor to the global biobased industrial revolution that is occurring.”

Support for the project will come from the Ontario Research Fund and was announced today in Toronto by Premier Dalton McGuinty, minister of research and innovation.

“It’s a whole new way of looking at agriculture and a whole new relationship between the sector and Ontario’s economy,” said plant agriculture professor Larry Erickson, one of the lead researchers. “It opens the door for a lot more approaches and utilization of crops. Now, agriculture is more than meat and potatoes; it’s car parts, building materials, fuel and more.”

Use Linux and be Sustainable

Linux is an open source computer operating system that is FREE. By using it you can save money and the environment according to EcoGeek. My favourite linux operating system is Ubuntu, which is running on my computer and is easier to use than Windows.

“A typical hardware refresh period for Microsoft Windows is 3-4 years. A major UK manufacturing organisation quotes its hardware refresh period for Linux systems as 6-8 years.” A significant difference…a doubling even, of the lifetime of a computer.
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A widespread switch to Linux could prevent millions of tons of waste from going into landfills. Every computer not needed would prevent the use of 240 kg of fossil fuels. Spread that out over the 17.5 million computers that wouldn’t be going obsolete every year and Linux could deliver the world a much more sustainable future.