• AIM to Grow Conference held on the Agricultural Campus

    The Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture, the Government of the Netherlands and a group of Dutch agri-food companies, Greenhouse industries and organizations, are teaming up to explore the possibilities of supporting more local food production and related R&D using innovative Controlled Environment Agriculture in Atlantic Canada.

    Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim is to provide protection and maintain

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  • Sustainable Engineering Solutions for Water and Energy

    Onita Basu still vividly remembers the exact moment she decided to devote her career to sustainable water solutions and practices.

    “I was in a second-year Chemical Engineering lab working with a solution of water that looked relatively clean,” she recalls. “When I passed the water through a treatment process I was shocked to see an incredible amount of dissolved copper emerge from the solution and begin coating onto various surfaces. It was an eye-opening experience

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  • Biomimicry = Return on Inspiration

    It seems so obvious now: innovators are turning to nature for inspiration in building, chemistry, agriculture, energy, health, transportation, computing–even the design of organizations and cities. Biomimicry is taught from kindergarten to university and practiced in all scales of enterprise.

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  • Sustainable food startup looks north through non-profit partnership

    A University of Toronto startup that sells vertical hydroponic growing systems has joined forces with a Ryerson University-linked non-profit to bring down the stratospheric cost of fresh fruits and vegetables in Canada’s northernmost communities.

    The unique partnership was forged at this year’s OCE innovation conference after Conner Tidd, a co-founder of U of T’s Just Vertical, ran into the founders of Ryerson’s Growing North. Tidd knew Growing North had built

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  • New USGS Filter Removes Phosphorus from Waste Water

    A tabletop water filter demo designed to remove phosphorus from waste water has in five-years grown into a fully functional water treatment system capable of filtering more than 100-thousand gallons per day.

    Designed by a small U.S. Geological Survey team, this cost-effective and environmentally friendly water filter system uses discarded mining byproducts, called mine drainage ochre, as the primary filtering agent to remove phosphorus from municipal and agricultural waste waters.

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  • Scientists Design Solar Cell That Captures Nearly All Solar Spectrum Energy

    A SEAS researcher helped develop technology that could become the most efficient solar cell in the world.

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  • Could concrete help solve the problem of air pollution?

    Study indicates concrete construction waste can help rid the air of sulfur dioxide, a major pollutant.

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  • When the rubber hits the road: Recycled tires create stronger concrete

    UBC engineers have developed a more resilient type of concrete using recycled tires that could be used for concrete structures like buildings, roads, dams and bridges while reducing landfill waste.

    The researchers experimented with different proportions of recycled tire fibres and other materials used in concrete—cement, sand and water—before finding the ideal mix, which includes 0.35 per cent tire fibres, according to researcher Obinna Onuaguluchi, a postdoctoral fellow

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  • Are Bidets More Environmentally Friendly Than Toilet Paper?

    While bidets remain unpopular in America, they’re a familiar fixture in bathrooms all over the world. And they raise an inevitable question: Is it better for the environment if you wipe, or should you wash instead?

    The answer may surprise you — and could lead you to rethink your next bathroom remodel.

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  • Rooftop Solar Panels Are Great for the Planet—But Terrible for Firefighters

    When first responders arrived to the burning home on Eugene Street in Manchester, New Hampshire just after 2 am on January 27, half the home was already up in flames. It was a big fire, but relatively routine: Working in the dark, the firefighters made sure the two residents got out unharmed, and got to work.

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