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Making the Environment Top of Mind
Julio Cornejo, mechanical engineering major at University of Houston
My wish is that everyone would start putting the environment first.
University of Houston on the track at Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 on Saturday, March 31, in downtown Houston.
"We need to think more about efficiency and energy conservation. That’s why we are in this competition – to try to make the most efficient vehicle possible. It takes a lot of time to get our vehicle ready to compete, but it is worth it. It’s a great way to help our environment.”
Julio and his team brought one UrbanConcept vehicle to Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012. One of the challenges they faced this year was trying to get their vehicle under the 450-pound (204 kg) weight limit. The team’s running joke was that if they removed all of the washers used on their vehicle, it would drop 50 pounds.
“We use washers for everything. If there’s a problem we need to fix, we add a washer. If there’s an extra space we need to fill, we add a washer. Just as duct tape holds the world together, washers hold our vehicle together.”
