Welcome to the NAU Eco-Marathon Team (NEMTeam) website
One of the main issues our society is facing is the steady increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere, also known as global warming. A rise in the temperature in the atmosphere can cause ice to melt around the Earth’s poles, a rise in sea level, and an increase in rainfall and snowfall worldwide. This phenomenon is mainly caused by greenhouse gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 28% of greenhouse gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels in transportation. Oil refined as gasoline to fuel cars, trucks, and other highway vehicles is the main fossil fuel used in transportation.
Not only is global warming an issue, but the fact that there is not an infinite amount of oil to product gasoline from is also of concern. Due to the significant number of vehicles running on this finite resource as a means of transportation, it has become necessary to research and develop means to stretch this finite resource further.
The Shell Corporation has sponsored a competition to promote this research and development in the field of fuel efficiency. The Shell Eco-marathon competition is designed for students to find innovative solutions in transportation to help reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles while at the same time increasing the longevity of the existing resources. This includes finding alternative energy sources as well as optimizing the energy sources we have today. With alternative energy sources being utilized as well as finding ways to