[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Aug 28 21:38:31 PDT 2011


Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most  
Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston  
area that catch the editor's eye.

Hubevents  http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events  
email gmoke at world.std.com

---------------------------------------------------------
************************************************

Climate CoLab: Brainstorming Global Climate Change
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/25/1010648/-Climate-CoLab:-Brainstorming-Global-Climate-Change

Editor's national Climate CoLab plan:  http://climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/5/planId/14620
The Editor's international plan is a series of notes at http://climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/4/planId/14623

---------------------------------------------------------
************************************************

VENTURELAB SUSTAINABLE VISION

Date: 8/26/2011 - 8/30/2011
Location: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive,  
Cambridge, MA 02142
Time: 9:00am - 7:00pm
Audience: Students and faculty from the Boston area and around the  
country working on ventures for the developing world
Description: Please note that this is a week-long workshop: August  
26-30, 2011

VentureLab Sustainable Vision is a 5-day intensive workshop for  
students and faculty working on projects and ventures for the  
developing world. Students from Boston University, Northeastern, MIT  
(including Legatum fellows) Harvard and Tufts will meet and work with  
students from other programs around the country, to develop strong,  
sustainable business models that create products or services for the  
benefit of people living in poverty.

http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/VentureLabSustainableVision/tabid/823/Default.aspx

------------------------------------------------

Monday, August 29, 2011
300 of the world's best design theses on view at SA+P: Archiprix
Time: 9:00a–8:00p
Location: MIT, 7-431, On the 4th floor above Lobby 7, at 77  
Massachussets Avenue
A major exhibit on view throughout the summer at the School of  
Architecture + Planning is presenting 300 of the world's best thesis  
projects in architecture, urban design and landscape architecture.

Sponsored by Archiprix International, the biennial exhibit is the  
largest such presentation in the world -- more than 1,400 universities  
were invited to nominate their best graduating students -- and offers  
a rare opportunity for assessing current trends in design education  
around the world and architecture in general.

Hosted by SA+P's Platform for Permanent Modernity, a research program  
in the Department of Architecture, the exhibit opened May 30 as part  
of a two-week international event that also features intensive six-day  
workshops for about 100 of the students represented in the show,  
conducted at MIT by prominent designers from leading architecture  
schools in the United States.

Web site: http://www.archiprix.org/2011/
Open to: the general public
This event occurs daily through August 31, 2011, except May 30, 2011  
and June 6, 2011.
Sponsor(s): School of Architecture and Planning, Arts at MIT
For more information, contact:
Alexander D'Hooghe
617 308 7386
adhooghe at mit.edu

--------------------------------------

Importance of The Nonprofit Sector Panel Discussion

WHEN  Mon., Aug. 29, 2011, 3 – 5 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Belfer Building Weil Town  
Hall (BL1), 79 JFK Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences, Special  
Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
SPEAKER(S)  Christopher Stone, Hauser Center Faculty Director and Dick  
Cavanagh, Adjunce Lecturer in Public Policy
COST  Free and open to the pulic
CONTACT INFO  maryann_leach at harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.hks.harvard.edu/hauser/

---------------------------------------

Monday August 29, 5:30p
Dudley Branch Library, 65 Warren Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Are teachers and unions really to blame for failing public schools?   
What's the difference between traditional public schools and charter  
schools? What are tests like the MCAS used for and who uses them?  Who  
is reforming our public schools, and who is funding these changes?   
What do parents, students, and teachers think about improving schools?

If you would like to talk to public school teachers and community  
members about these questions, please join us for a screening of "The  
Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman" - a response to the  
film "Waiting for Superman" that highlights voices of parents,  
teachers, and students.

Trailer: http://www.waitingforsupermantruth.org/?page_id=316

Presented by Teacher Activist Group (TAG) Boston
www.tagboston.org

---------------------------------------

Monday August 29, 2011 — 8pm at Middlesex Lounge
315 Mass Ave, Cambridge In Central Square
$5
Featuring Nerd-appropriate tunes by Claude Money

Talk 1. “Mumblecore: The Movement That Didn’t Roar” by Maria San Filippo

Talk 2. “How Do People Heal? An Integration of Acupuncture, Meditation  
and Placebo Research” by Jessica Shaw

http://boston.nerdnite.com/

-----------------------------------------------


Getting Molecules to “See the Light”:  Nanostructures and Instruments  
for Biomedical Detection
Date: 08/30/11
Time: 10:00 am
PHO 339, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Boston, MA
Refreshments will be served

Prof. Brian T. Cunningham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,  
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department of Bioengineering

His group focuses on the development of nanophotonic surfaces, plastic- 
based nanofabrication methods, and novel instrumentation approaches  
for biodetection with applications in pharmaceutical screening, life  
science research, environmental monitoring, disease diagnostics, and  
point-of-care patient testing.

-------------------------------------------

BU ECE Seminar with Professor Catherine Rosenberg
11:00 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Location:Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 428, Boston
URL:http://www.bu.edu/ece/files/2011/08/08-30-11-Rosenberg.pdf

How Can the Internet Help Smarten the Grid?

With Professor Catherine Rosenberg, Department of Electrical and  
Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

Faculty Host: David Starobinski

Abstract: This seminar presents the research activities on Smart Grids  
by the Information Systems and Sciences for Energy (ISS4E) laboratory  
co-founded by Professors Rosenberg and Keshav at the University of  
Waterloo. After a brief introduction on smart grids and their  
similarities with the Internet, two research projects will be  
presented. The first is on dimensioning transformers and storage using  
probabilistic analysis. The second one, on demand response, proposes a  
solution to take advantage of the elasticity inherent to most major  
home appliances.

All these projects are conducted in collaboration with Professor  
Keshav and graduate students.

About the Speaker: Catherine Rosenberg is a professor in Electrical  
and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Since June  
2010, she holds the Canada Research Chair in the Future Internet. She  
started her career at Alcatel in France and then worked at AT&T Bell  
Labs in the U.S. From 1988-1996, she was a faculty member at the  
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ecole  
Polytechnique, in Montreal, Canada. In 1996, she joined Nortel  
Networks in the United Kingdom where she created and headed the R&D  
Department in Broadband Satellite Networking. In August 1999, Dr.  
Rosenberg became a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer  
Engineering at Purdue University where she co-founded the Center for  
Wireless Systems and Applications (CWSA) in May 2002. She joined the  
University of Waterloo on September 1, 2004, as the Chair of the  
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for a three-year  
term. Rosenberg is on the Scientific Advisory Board of France-Telecom  
and is a fellow of the IEEE.

-------------------------------------------------------

Looking before you leap: the argument for data-driven security
Speaker: Stefan Savage, University of California San Diego
Date: Tuesday, August 30 2011
Time: 3:00PM to 4:00PM
Refreshments: 2:45PM
Location: MIT 32-D463, Star Conference Room
Host: Dina Katabi, MIT-CSAIL
Contact: Mary cDavitt, 617-253-9620, mmcdavit at csail.mit.edu

Computer security is a field that is fundamentally co-dependent,  
driven to respond by the actions of adversaries. This dance fuels both  
the research community and a multi-billion-dollar computer security  
industry. However, to date most efforts have focused on the technical  
components of this battle: identifying new vulnerabilities, exploits,  
and attacks, building and deploying new defenses, and so on.

In this talk, I will argue for a complementary research agenda based on
understanding the economic forces that drive today's Internet attacks,  
deconstructing the underlying value chain for attackers and ultimately  
using this information to better focus on security interventions. I  
will provide a rough sketch of the modern cyber-criminal ecosystem,  
describe its dependencies, and highlight some of the key open  
questions that motivate our focus. Using a range of activities,  
including our own completed studies, work in progress, and work in
development, I'll illustrate how many of these questions can be  
tackled empirically. Finally, I'll discuss the real and significant  
challenges in conducting this sort of research and in bringing it to  
appropriate stakeholders.

--------------------------------------------------

Green Drinks Boston - August Happy Hour
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)
Kingston Station
25 Kingston St.
Boston, MA 02111

After a successful re-launch of Green Drinks Boston in June, we are  
building momentum by announcing our monthly happy hours on the last  
Tuesday of each month!  Keep sending feedback to Lyn at greendrinksboston.com 
  for ideas about speakers or content for the future and mark your  
calendar for drinks in July.

Green Drinks Boston builds a community of sustainably-minded  
Bostonians, provides a forum for exchange of sustainability career  
resources, and serves as a central point of information about emerging  
green issues.  We support the exchange of ideas and resources about  
sustainable energy, environment, food, health, education.

http://bgdaug.eventbrite.com/

--------------------------------------------

Tuesday, August 30th at 7pm
Yochai Benkler
The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs over Self- 
Interest

brookline booksmith
279 Harvard St. Brookline MA 02446 (617) 566-6660


Harvard Professor Yochai Benkler (The Wealth of Networks) is one of  
the world’s top thinkers on cooperative structures. In his new book,  
he uses evidence from neuroscience, economics, sociology, biology, and  
real-world examples to break down the myth of self-interest and  
replace it with a model of cooperation in our businesses, our  
government, and our lives.

--------------------------------------------

Harvard/Cambridge Walk for Peace
WHEN  Wed., Aug. 31, 2011, 12 – 12:20 p.m.
WHERE  John Harvard Statue
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Ethics, Social Sciences, Special Events,  
Support/Social, Working at Harvard
NOTE  Nearly 10 years of war. Thousands of American lives, hundreds of  
thousands of Iraqi and Afghani lives, trillions of dollars. Come  
remember, mourn, and protest.

----------------------------------------

BU ECE Seminar with Professor Aydogan Ozcan
11:00 am on Thursday, September 1, 2011
Location:Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 339, Boston, MA
URL:http://www.bu.edu/ece/files/2011/08/09-01-11-Ozcan.pdf

Photonics Based Telemedicine Technologies Toward Smart Global Health  
Systems

With Professor Aydogan Ozcan, Electrical Engineering Department,  
California NanoSystems Institute University of California, Los Angeles

Faculty Host: Hatice Altug

Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 10:45 a.m.

Abstract: Today there are more than five billion cell phone users in  
the world, and the majority of these cell phones are being used in  
developing parts of the world. This massive volume of wireless phone  
communication brings an enormous cost-reduction to cell phones despite  
their sophisticated hardware and software capabilities. Quite  
importantly, most of these existing cell phones are also already  
equipped with advanced digital imaging and sensing platforms that can  
be utilized for various health monitoring applications. This  
impressive advancement is one of the central building blocks of the  
emerging fields of “Telemedicine” and “Wireless Health.” The success  
of these fields will surely increase the quality of healthcare and  
reduce the insurance costs in developed countries like the United  
States. However, their most important and immediate impact will be to  
provide breakthrough technological solutions to various global health  
problems including infectious diseases such as HIV, TB or malaria.  
Specifically, utilizing this advanced state-of-the-art cell phone  
technology toward point-of-care diagnostics and/or microscopic imaging  
applications can offer numerous opportunities to improve healthcare,  
especially in the developing world where medical facilities and  
infrastructure are extremely limited or do not exist.

Centered on this vision, Professor Ozcan will introduce fundamentally  
new imaging and detection architectures that can compensate in the  
digital domain for the lack of complexity of optical components by use  
of novel theories and numerical algorithms to address the immediate  
needs and requirements of telemedicine for global health problems.  
Specifically, he will present an on-chip cytometry and microscopy  
platform that utilizes cost-effective and compact components to enable  
digital recognition and 3D microscopic imaging of cells with  
subcellular resolution over a large field of view without the need for  
any lenses, bulky optical components or coherent sources such as  
lasers. This incoherent holographic imaging and diagnostic modality  
has orders of magnitude improved light collection efficiency and is  
robust to misalignments which eliminates potential imaging artifacts  
or the need for realignment, making it highly suitable for field use.  
Applications of this lensfree on-chip microscopy platform to high- 
throughput imaging and automated counting of whole blood cells,  
monitoring of HIV+ patients (through CD4 and CD8 T cell counting) and  
detection of waterborne parasites toward rapid screening of water  
quality will also be demonstrated. Further, he will discuss lensfree  
implementations of various other computational imaging modalities on  
the same platform such as pixel super-resolution imaging, lensfree on- 
chip tomography, and holographic opto-fluidic microscopy/tomography.  
Finally, he will demonstrate lensfree on-chip imaging of fluorescently  
labeled cells over an ultra wide field of view of >8 cm2, which could  
be especially important for rare cell analysis (e.g., detection of  
circulating tumor cells), as well as for high-throughput screening of  
DNA/protein micro-arrays.

About the Speaker: Dr. Aydogan Ozcan received his Ph.D. degree from  
the Stanford University Electrical Engineering Department in 2005.  
After a short post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford, he was appointed  
as a Research Faculty Member at Harvard Medical School, Wellman Center  
for Photomedicine, in 2006. Dr. Ozcan joined UCLA in the summer of  
2007, where he is currently an Associate Professor leading the Bio- 
Photonics Laboratory at the Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering  
Departments.

--------------------------------------------------

Assessing Libya
WHEN  Thu., Sep. 1, 2011, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Center for Government & International Studies, Knafel 262, 1737  
Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Outreach Center at Center for Middle Eastern  
Studies
SPEAKER(S)  Roger Owen, director, Contemporary Arab Studies Program &  
AJ Meyer Professor of Middle Eastern History, Harvard University;  
William Granara, Professor of the Practice of Arabic on the Gordon  
Gray Endowment, director, Modern Language Programs & director,  
Moroccan Studies Program, CMES, Harvard University
CONTACT INFO  CMES Outreach Center: cmesoc at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  A free public talk and discussion with Harvard faculty on the  
current, historical, and perhaps future history of Libya after Col.  
Gaddafi.
LINK  http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/2758

-----------------------------------

Kwan Hong Lee Thesis Defense: "The Influences of Just-In-Time Social  
Cloud on Real-World Decisions"
Friday, September 02, 2011 | 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location:  MIT Media Lab, E14-633
Speaker:  Kwan Hong Lee
Host/Chair:  Andrew Lippman
Participant(s)/Committee: Alex 'Sandy' Pentland, Pattie Maes
It is an open question how our day-to-day decisions will be affected  
by the always-on connection to our social networks via mobile devices.  
People have difficulty with choices that involve delayed utility. The  
immediacy effect of virtues and vices theorized by Daniel Read has  
shown that people value long-term and short-term utilities differently  
at the moment of decision making, with preferences for short-term  
choices that may end up costing in the long-term (vices). This work  
presents an empirical inquiry into the effect of just-in-time social  
influence in human decision making in the hope that these social  
forces can be utilized to nudge people towards decision making that  
has long-term benefits while thwarting the forces of the marketers.  
The thesis proposes a design and implementation of the just-in-time  
social cloud using mobile phones as platforms for just-in-time social  
influence. An Open Transaction Network was developed to generate just- 
in-time social networks based on the transactions shared by people in  
the context of commerce. The Open Transaction Network was extended to  
several systems to conduct real-world experiments involving real  
choices aimed at understanding transaction behaviors in the social  
network and the impact of the just-in-time social cloud at various  
scales.

Results show that the mobile commerce environment could be  
significantly impacted by augmenting the current methods of mobile  
payment with social network-based services that can guide our choices.  
The Open Credit Card Framework achieves this by using transactions as  
triggers to applications that facilitate just-in-time decisions or  
reflections. Different manifestations of the just-in-time social cloud  
resulted in different outcomes along the dimensions of taste, price,  
and time to decision. The Open Transaction Network can also be used to  
filter when and what mobile advertisements people receive to suit  
their habits and impulses. Additionally, social connections with  
similar transactions can help propagate and filter behavioral  
influences through different manifestations of the just-in-time social  
cloud.

-------------------------------------------

Energy Materials Lecture: "The Inverse Problem in Materials Theory:  
Given a Target Property, Find the Structure"

WHEN  Fri., Sep. 2, 2011, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE  Pierce 209, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard University Center for the Environment,  
co-sponsored with the Applied Physics Department
SPEAKER(S)  Alex Zunger, Chancellor Professor, University of Colorado,  
Boulder, Colorado
CONTACT INFO  Brenda Hugot: bhugot at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  Alex Zunger’s research field is condensed matter theory of real  
materials. His main interest is electronic structure of solids,  
nanostructures, and renewable energy materials, as well as in the  
development of fundamental theoretical methods for describing the  
above, including the “Inverse Band Structure”.
He is an NREL Institute Research Fellow, a fellow of the American  
Physical Society, and the director of the newly established U.S.  
Department of Energy (DOE) Basic Energy Sciences (BES) “Center for  
Inverse Design” (seewww.centerforinversedesign.org).
LINK  http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-09-02/energy-materials-lecture-inverse-problem-materials-theory-given-target-property-fi

-----------------------------------

Bread and Puppet Theater: Man = Carrot Circus,
with an introduction by Scott Alarik.
Held outdoors on Friday, September 2nd at 6 pm
on the Cambridge Common, near the intersection of Mass. Ave. and  
Garden St., Cambridge.
Free performance [pass-the-hat donations welcome], rain or shine.  For  
further details, call the Boston-area Bread and Puppet Theater  
information line 617-800-9539 or log onto www.breadandpuppet.org.

The award-winning Bread and Puppet Theater, from Vermont’s Northeast  
Kingdom, presents their Man = Carrot Circus on the Cambridge Common, a  
space they have not inhabited since the mid-1980’s.  Bread and Puppet  
champions a visually rich slapstick style of street-theater that is  
filled with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard, along with  
masked characters, political commentary, and a lively brass band for  
accompaniment.

Man = Carrot Circus, for children of all ages, is based on the  
revelation that upright man rooted in dirt was created in the image of  
the upright carrot rooted in dirt.  Twenty-five Vermont puppeteers and  
musicians will enact the issues of the day, not only in how they  
affect carrots, but how they affect us all.  Some of the circus acts  
may be politically puzzling to adults, but usually an accompanying kid  
can explain what’s going on.  The audience is welcome to examine all  
the masks and puppets after the performance, and cheap art will be for  
sale.  Some examples of Bread and Puppet’s work can be found  
atwww.breadandpuppet.org.

Scott Alarik (www.scottalarik.com), who will introduce the show, is  
the author of the very recently published Revival: A Folk Music  
Novel.  He is no stranger to the music, theater, and art scene that  
put Harvard Square on the map many moons ago.  His novel, along with  
Bread and Puppet’s outdoor Circus on the Common, is serving as the  
impetus to reinvigorate Harvard Square with an entire month of  
reincarnations, complete with the return of the HONK! Parade: Share  
The Streets on Oct. 2nd, a Bread and Puppet-inspired procession on  
Mass. Ave. leading into Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest.  For complete  
information on Harvard Square’s “Revival Month” visit www.harvardsquare.com 
.  For more information on HONK! and the parade that runs from Davis  
Square to Harvard Square, log onto www.honkfest.org.
http://breadpuppetcarrot.eventbrite.com/


-------------
***********

Upcoming

-------------
***********

I hope you can join us for the TROMP Benefit at Flatbreads to take  
place in 3 weeks on Tues, 9/6/11.  A portion of the proceeds of all  
pizzas sold (eat in or take out) from 5pm - 11pm will be donated to  
TROMP. This is a great time for you to be available to talk to, bowl  
with, and eat with our supporters!

Bowl & Eat Pizza to benefit TROMP on Tues, 9/6/11     Flatbreads in  
Davis Square
Flatbread & Sacco’s Bowl Haven
45 Day Street, Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144
EAT & TAKE-OUT: 5pm to 11pm
BOWL: 7pm to 11pm

http://www.trompcambridge.com/index.php

---------------------------------------------

ROOT CAUSE'S SOCIAL INNOVATION FORUM SEMIFINALIST INFORMATION SESSION

Event Details
Date: 9/7/2011
Location: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive,  
Cambridge, MA 02142
Time: 8:00am - 9:30am
Audience: Root Cause's 2011-2012 Social Innovation Forum semifinalists
Twitter: @RootCause

Description: The Semifinalist Information Session is an optional, but  
recommended session for all 2011-2012 semifinalists as we want to make  
sure that organizations understand both the process going forward and  
the expectations for those chosen as Social Innovators. We will focus  
on what we’re looking for in the second-round application and how  
those applications are evaluated. We will also bring in a 2011 Social  
Innovator to speak for a few minutes about his/her personal experience  
with the Social Innovation Forum.

Register at http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/RootCausesSocialInnovationForumSeptember2011/tabid/821/Default.aspx

-------------------------------------------------

Saturday, Sept. 10th,  from 8:30 am (bright and early) until 1 pm, you  
can help the Cambridge Zen Center lower its energy bill while you  
learn about energy efficiency and maybe a bit about Buddhism.  Every  
hour a bell will ring to remind us to be mindful for a moment, while  
we help steward the planet.

This HEET (http://www.heetma.com) event will be at the Zen Center in  
Central Square, Cambridge, which is sure to put you in a better state  
of mind by the end of the day.

Sign up here  at https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGdQcmxQNHhwU04wYzd2cV9iRDQxdlE6MQ 
  and thanks.

------------------------------------------------

The Fall 2011 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
will be on
Saturday September 10
NOON to 2 pm

Rain date—in case of DOWNPOUR—is Sunday, Sep. 11, 12-2

at Fayette Park
(off Fayette St., across from the former Longfellow School and  
library, near corner with Broadway)

Bring anything that's growing in too much abundance in your garden.  
Elegant packaging not required, but please write down plant names.    
We expect to have perennials, biennial seedlings, seeds, houseplants,  
catalogs, pots, and lots of "whatever."

Contact Helen Snively at HMSnively at aol.com

SOMERVILLE GARDEN CLUB PLANT SALE is on Sat., Sep. 17, starting at 9,  
in Davis Sq.   Right—a week after our swap.  In fact, our nice  
leftovers go to their sale.  They have great stuff, at good prices,  
and lots of advice. Great event—Mark your calendar!


--------------------------------------------


September 14 and 15
Current TV 24 Hours of Green Programming

WHAT IS 24 HOURS OF REALITY?
24 Presenters. 24 Time Zones. 13 Languages. 1 Message. 24 Hours of  
Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate  
crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al  
Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, in every time zone  
around the globe. Each hour people living with the reality of climate  
change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events —  
including floods, droughts and storms — and the manmade pollution that  
is changing our climate. We will offer a round-the-clock, round-the- 
globe snapshot of the climate crisis in real time. The deniers may  
have millions of dollars to spend, but we have a powerful advantage.  
We have reality.

http://climaterealityproject.org/


--------------------------------------------------

Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents

THE REAL PAPER:  JOURNALISM THEN & NOW
with Harper Barnes, Jan Freeman, Laura Shapiro, Paul Solman, and Mark  
Zanger
moderator Monica Collins

September 15, 6:30-8 pm
C. Walsh Theater
(Boston, MA 02114) Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents “The  
Real Paper: Journalism Then & Now” with Harper Barnes, Jan Freeman,  
Laura Shapiro, Paul Solman, and Mark Zanger; discussion moderated by  
Monica Collins.  Thursday, September 15, 6:30-8 pm. Admission is free  
and open to all.  C. Walsh Theater at Suffolk University, 55 Temple  
Street, Boston, MA.  Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located  
near the Park St. MBTA Station.  For more information, call the Ford  
Hall Forum at 617-557-2007 or visitwww.fordhallforum.org.

Ford Hall Forum Vice President and former The Real Paper journalist  
Monica Collins assembles this riveting The Real Paper reunion  
withHarper Barnes, Jan Freeman, Laura Shapiro, Paul Solman, and Mark  
Zanger.  Hear how this free alternative weekly newspaper’s laudable  
format of an employee-run collective was, ironically, its undoing as  
the opportunity to sell arose, as did interpersonal conflict. Their  
experience with The Real Paper yields surprising views on modern-day  
journalism, including sustainable and fair business models, the future  
of free newspapers in a world of internet media, and whether  
journalists in today’s economy should strike out on their own.

Further background information on participants:

Harper Barnes is a longtime editor and cultural critic for the St.  
Louis Post-Dispatch and has written for Rolling Stone and the  
Washington Post.  He is the author of the novel Blue Monday and  
Standing on a Volcano: The Life and Times of David Rowland Francis, a  
biography of Woodrow Wilson's ambassador to Russia.

Monica Collins created and writes “Ask Dog Lady,” a humor/lifestyle  
column about dogs, life, and love that is syndicated to 400+  
newspapers nationwide. Collins also hosts the radio program, “Ask Dog  
Lady,” on 980 WCAP in the Merrimack Valley.  She is a regular guest on  
“The Callie Crossley Show” on WGBH-FM in a continuing series called  
“Pup Culture.”  Collins is also a communications consultant and media  
strategist for non-profit organizations.  A former staff writer and  
media critic for USA Today and the Boston Herald, Collins has written  
for the Boston Globeand various magazines, such as USA Weekend,  
ForbesLife Executive Woman, Ladies Home Journal, Vogue, and, of  
course, The Real Paper.

Since 1997, Jan Freeman has been writing the Boston Sunday Globe's  
weekly language column "The Word".  She worked as an editor at The  
Real Paper, Boston and Inc. magazines, and the Boston Globe, where she  
was a science news editor until she launched her weekly column on  
English usage.  She is the co-author of Ambrose Bierce's Write It  
Right: The Celebrated Cynic's Language Peeves Deciphered, Appraised,  
and Annotated for 21st-Century Readers.

Laura Shapiro currently writes as a columnist for Gourmet.com, Gourmet  
magazine’s website.  Formerly, Shapiro worked as a columnist at The  
Real Paper and after that worked for sixteen years as a writer for  
Newsweek.  There, she covered food, women’s issues and the arts and  
won several journalism awards for her work.  Her work has also  
appeared in the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet, Granta,  
The American Scholar, Gastronomica, Slate and many other  
publications.  Her first book was Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking  
at the Turn of the Century.  She is also the author of Something from  
the Oven: Revinventing Dinner in 1950s America and Julia Child.

Since 1985, Paul Solman has been a business and economics  
correspondent for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.  A business  
reporter for WGBH Boston since 1977, Solman was the co-originator and  
executive editor of PBS's business documentary series, ENTERPRISE.   
Solman was also the founding editor of The Real Paper as well as the  
East Coast editor of Mother Jones magazine.  Solman began his career  
in business journalism as a Nieman Fellow at the Harvard Business  
School in 1976.  His reporting has won him several Emmys and two  
Peabody Awards.  Solman has also served as a Professor at the Harvard  
Business School, teaching media, finance and business history.  He  
also co-authored the book, Life and Death on the Corporate  
Battlefield.  In addition, Solman is the presenter and author of  
Discovering Economics With Paul Solman, a series of videos that  
accompany McGraw-Hill introductory economics textbooks.  Solman also  
lectures on college campuses and has written for numerous articles  
including for Forbes magazine.

Since 2007, Mark Zanger has worked as the Director of Communications  
for the Coalition of Families and Advocates for the Retarded.  Also, a  
seasoned journalist, Zanger has worked as a freelance writer and  
restaurant critic for the Boston Phoenix since 1981.  Zanger has  
published five books most of which are related to his work as a  
restaurant critic.  He has previously served as chief editor of  
delphiforums.com, op-ed editor ofMetroWest News, and Public  
Information Officer for Oxfam America, Inc.  Before that he served as  
Editor-in-Chief of The Real Paper from 1975 through 1980.  Zanger  
studied English at Yale University.

-----------------------------------------------------

September 16, 2011
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable:

Two Timely Topics:
FERC Order 1000 (Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation  
Requirements);
and
The Future of Solar in New England

Raab Associates presents:
The 124th NE Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Date: Friday, September 16, 2011
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Foley Hoag LLP
155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor
Boston, MA 02210

On July 21, FERC issued Order 1000, its long-anticipated, 600-plus  
page rule on the future of transmission planning and cost-allocation  
in the United States. According to Chairman Wellinghoff, "The Final  
Rule will profoundly affect the development of our nation's  
transmission system in coming decades." One of the many unique  
features of this Order is the requirement for integrating federal and  
state energy policies (e.g., RPS) in transmission planning and  
implementation.

Please join us at our next Restructuring Roundtable as we learn  
aboutFERC Order 1000 and discuss its ramifications and implications  
for New England transmission and non-transmission alternatives. The  
panel will begin with a succinct synopsis by Mason Emnett, Associate  
Director of FERC's Policy Office, and a lead FERC staffer on Order  
1000. Mason will be followed by a panel of three discussants who will  
reflect on how this order will likely impact transmission, renewables,  
and other resource planning and implementation in New England.

Heather Hunt, Executive Director of the New England States' Committee  
on Electricity (NESCOE), will lead off the panel with reflections  
garnered from the six New England State PUCs on Order 1000 and an  
update on NESCOE's coordinated competitive renewable procurement and  
new interstate transmission siting collaborative. Peter Flynn,  
President of FERC Regulated Businesses at National Grid, will provide  
a transmission owner's perspective, and Seth Kaplan, VP of Policy and  
Climate Advocacy at Conservation Law Foundation, will offer an  
environmental perspective.

Our second panel focuses on the Future of Solar in New England. With  
photovoltaic prices continuing to drop due to technology breakthroughs  
and increasing economies of scale, coupled with new solar-related  
state policies, PV installations in New England are on the rise. Our  
panel starts off with international solar expert, ChrisPorter, Lead  
Downstream Analyst, Photon Consulting, who will talk about the  
international technology and price progressions and how they may  
impact solar supply and demand in New England. DOERCommissioner Mark  
Sylvia will then discuss the evolution of solar-related policies in  
Massachusetts, including the Commonwealth's unique SREC market and net  
metering rules. We round out the panel with two leading solar  
developers as they discuss both the opportunities and on-going  
challenges of developing solar projects throughout New England: Dan  
Leary, President, Renewable Energy Solutions, Nexamp and President of  
the Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE), and  
Bryan Miller, VP of Energy Policy/Sustainable Energy at Constellation  
Energy.

------------------------------------------------

THE THIRD ANNUAL URBAN-AG FAIR

CELEBRATING LOCAL GARDENS, GROWERS AND FOOD

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
11:00 AM –  5:00 PM

MT. AUBURN STREET AND  WINTHROP PARK (between Eliot and JFK)

The Urban-Ag Fair will showcase incredible locally grown fruits and  
vegetables in a judged competition. Visitors may sample recipes  
prepared using local ingredients and get tips from local experts on  
gardening topics like composting, container gardening, and raising  
chickens and bees.

The entire event is free, open to the public, and family-friendly.  
Cooking demonstrations by local chefs and Cambridge school student  
growers will be held throughout the day, along with talks on gardening  
topics.  Prizes will be awarded for fruits, vegetables, flowers,  
honey, eggs, baked goods, preserves/pickles, and beverages, in the  
categories of tastiest, biggest, prettiest/most creative, most  
interesting/funny-looking, and student grower (under 17).

For basic info and application forms: http://www.harvardsquare.com/Home/Articles/The-Third-Annual-Urban-Ag-Fair.aspx
Please return the forms by September 8.  You can also download forms  
from www.harvardsquare.com
Questions?  hsba at harvardsquare.com or 617-491-3434
For more info/updates: http://www.urbanagfair.com/index.html

-------------------------------------------


Wednesday, September 21st, 2011, 7:00 p.m.  Sustainability and  
Portland's 5 Ecodistricts: A Discussion with Garry Sotnik

Join us for a a round table discussion with sustainability economist,  
Garry Sotnik,visiting from the hub of environmental innovation,  
Portland, Oregon. Presenting his paper on Portland's five  
ecodistricts, an initiative launched in 2009 in Portland, OR, to  
catalyze the city’s transition process towards sustainable  
development, Garry will also share his analysis on adaptability: What  
does it mean to adapt? What is required for adaptation? And what can  
be done to assist human systems (e.g. households, communities,  
regions, etc.) in adapting? He will then open the floor for an open  
discussion on the role of community organizing within the  
environmental movement, the ideas of connectedness and resiliency in  
the face of climate change, what could movements in Boston learn from  
the large-scale and well-subsidized efforts in Portland, similarly,  
what can the Ecodistrict Initiative learn from grassroots and multi- 
focus social change organizing?

encuentro 5
33 Harrison Avenue
5th Floor
Boston, MA 02111
Close to Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, and Boylston T stops
www.encuentro5.org

-----------------------------------------------

Join us for the Greater Boston Slow Money Entrepreneur Showcase!
Thursday, September 22
6pm – 9pm
Non-Profit Center
89 South Street, Boston
South Street Conference Center

We will be bringing together investors, sustainable food entrepreneurs  
and leaders working together to rebuild our local food system. Learn  
about investment opportunities and how you can participate in  
rebuilding local economies based on the principles of soil fertility,  
sense of place, care of the commons and economic, cultural and  
biological diversity.

For investors: The Entrepreneur Showcase will provide access to  
sustainable food and farming businesses at different stages of  
development from start-up to expansion of existing businesses. The  
businesses and initiatives are also seeking different levels of  
financing — from small loans to major capital, as well as donations.   
Greater Boston Slow Money encourages investors of all resource levels  
to attend including institutional, individual, accredited, and  
unaccredited investors. This showcase event is not an offer to sell  
securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.

For Entrepreneurs: The Showcase is a tightly produced event. Each  
entrepreneur will have five minutes and 6 slides to tell their  
stories, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A from the audience.  Presenters  
will also benefit from the networking opportunity specifically  
designed to encourage and elevate investor dialog. Throughout the  
event, your collateral will be available for attendees, and you will  
be mentioned in all promotional materials for the event.

The Entrepreneur Showcase offers all the advantages of a traditional  
venture fair and many more. Because of the shared vision that brings  
us all together, it is an unparalleled opportunity for you to build  
relationships with investors and entrepreneurs from all over the  
region. We are confident that, if chosen to participate, you will have  
opportunities to make important connections that add value to your  
enterprise.

Given the relatively short time horizon, please submit your  
application no later than Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Demand for  
participation in the Showcase is high; spots will fill up.

To apply: send an email to gbslowmoney at gmail.com and we will send you  
the application.   It is free to apply, but costs $25 to present and  
take advantage of this exciting opportunity.

-----------------------------------------

September 24
Moving Planet:  A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels

On Sept. 24th, 2011, on the streets of Boston, join a worldwide event  
– Moving Planet – calling on our elected leaders, businesses and  
communities to get serious about moving beyond fossil fuels.  Come on  
bike or on foot, by boat, carpool or public transportation!  Come with  
your community, your organization, or simply yourself to help make one  
big, bold, beautiful statement:
We have the power to build a secure, healthy, just and sustainable  
future for our children and our planet!

http://moving-newengland.org/

----------------------------------------

The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future public hearing

October 12, 2011
Harvard Medical School Conference Center, 77 Louis Pasteur, Longwood,   
Boston, MA

BRC Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy  http://www.brc.gov

The Blue Ribbon Commission On America’s Nuclear Future is a  
Presidentially-mandated group composed of 16 people to make  
recommendations for national radioactive waste policy. The record of  
the work the Commission has done over the last year--available on-line  
in video form, transcript, written testimony, and public comments all  
posted at http://www.brc.gov

These additional meetings in September and October are to collect  
public comments on the Commission's draft recommendations. The full  
draft report is available here: http://www.brc.gov/index.php?q=announcement/brc-releases-their-draft-full-commission-report

The Commission website states: All public are welcome to attend. Pre- 
registration is strongly encouraged but not required.  Information  
about registration will be available in the near future. The meetings  
will not be video webcast. Transcripts of the meetings will be  
available on the website, along with all written comments anyone  
chooses to offer. Comments can either be made directly to the website  
at  www.brc.gov or by email to: CommissionDFO at nuclear.energy.gov and  
via US postal mail:

Mr. Timothy A. Frazier
Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585

Comment deadline is October 31, 2011. NIRS will share a more complete  
set of comments for sign-on in October.


*************
----------------

Opportunity

---------------
*************

AC Swap – The Cambridge Energy Alliance’s window air conditioner swap  
program is in progress.  Residents can obtain a voucher for $125 if  
they swap an inefficient window AC unit for an Energy Star rated  
model  This is a limited time offer.  Go to the CEA website for  
participation details:http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/a-c-swap

----------------------------------------------------


Free Solar Panels for Houses of Worship

 From a recent Mass Interfaith Power & Light (http://mipandl.org/) email
"We've recently been talking with DCS Energy (http:// 
www.dcsenergy.com/) who has an unbeatable offer: if your site  
qualifies, they design and install the panels at no cost, don't charge  
you for any electricity, and donate the system to your house of  
worship after five years. Your only costs will be for a building  
permit, possibly a structural engineer to verify that your roof can  
support their weight, and any preparatory work such as roof work or  
tree removal. If solar panels are so expensive how can anyone give  
them away for free? First, there is a federal grant program that is  
only available until November that pays for 30% of the cost of the  
system. Then there is an accelerated depreciation option that gives  
certain kinds of investors another tax advantage. Finally, the state  
awards a special allowance called a "Solar Renewal Energy  
Credit" (SRECs) to owners of solar electricity systems which are sold  
at auctions to utilities who buy them to meet their requirements under  
the Massachusetts' renewable portfolio standard. DCS is betting that  
the price of these SRECs will remain high.  Jim Nail, president of MA  
IP&L, has talked to DCS Energy and is currently having them prepare a  
proposal for his church, St. Dunstan's Episcopal in Dover.  Jim says,  
"The references I've talked to have been quite positive about the  
program and the company has been very responsive.  "If you think your  
site might qualify, contact Peter Carli, pete at dcsenergy.com, with the  
address of your house of worship and your contact information. He'll  
take a preliminary look at your site and advise you if it meets their  
criteria."

----------------------------------------------------------

Young World Inventors Success!

Young World Inventors (http://yinventors.wordpress.com/) finished  
their Kickstarter campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1036325713/youngworldinventorscom 
) to fund insider web stories of African and American innovators in  
collaboration successfully.

New contributions, however, will be accepted.

---------------------------------------------------------

What you need to know: The Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur (YSE)  
Competition is a global competition created by Staples Foundation and  
Ashoka to recognize exceptional young people using innovation and  
technology to advance social change and improve their community and  
the world.

Who’s eligible?: Young people (age 12-24), living anywhere in the  
world, are eligible to apply.

Dates and details: Apply online between June 22 and September 19, 2011.

For more information:  http://ashokayouthcompetition.org/
-- 
Laura Sampath
MIT International Development Initiative
77 Mass Ave, 10-110
Cambridge MA 02139
617.253.7052

Sign up for the 2011 Yunus Challenge Facebook page: yunus2011 at groups.facebook.com

*********
-----------

Resource

-----------

Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of  
Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr  
Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming  
has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as  
being at least partially caused by human pollution.  Only 42% of the  
state’s residents say global warming will have very serious  
consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age  
group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused  
by humans compared to the 60+ age group.  African-American (56%) and  
Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to  
believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left  
unaddressed.  The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge:   
What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate  
change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent- 
challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.

----------------------------------------------------

The presentations from the recent Affordable Comfort National Home  
Performance Conference are available online at
http://2011.acinational.org/downloadable_resources

Lots of good information from what some call the best energy  
conference in the USA on Deep Energy Retrofits to Community Energy  
Challenges with details on insulation, heat flow, energy metering,  
ducting, hot water, and many, many other topics.  If you are a  
practical energy wonk, this should make your eyes light up.

--------------------------------------------------

Free Monthly Energy Analysis

CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track  
your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while  
controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly  
email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.

https://www.carbonsalon.com/

---------------------------------------

Boston Food System

"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post  
announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships,  
programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles  
or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's  
food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take  
place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."

The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food  
system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food,  
farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health,  
environment, arts, social services and other arenas.   Hundreds of  
organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on  
week-to-week is not always well publicized.

Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let  
everyone know about these activities.  Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of  
subscribers.  Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and  
other posting guidelines will be provided as well.

It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs

----------------------

Artisan Asylum  http://artisansasylum.com/

Sprout & Co:  Community Driven Investigations  http://thesprouts.org/studios

Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project  http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation,  
contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu

------------------------

Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston  http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

********************************************
-----------------------------------------------------

Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents   http://hubevents.blogspot.com

Thanks to

Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the
Boston Area  http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html

Boston Area Computer User Groups  http://www.bugc.org/

http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template

http://sustainability.mit.edu/

http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/

http://green.harvard.edu/events

http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx

http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/

http://boston.nerdnite.com/

http://www.meetup.com/

http://www.eventbrite.com/





More information about the Act-MA mailing list