[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Oct 9 14:41:47 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
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Fukushima Nuclear Accident Reports: Civil Engineering and Nuclear
Engineering
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/08/1024327/-Fukushima-Nuclear-Accident-Reports:-Civil-Engineering-and-Nuclear-Engineering
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The Boston Wikipedia Meetup Group Monthly Meetup
Monday, October 10, 2011, 7:00 PM
Clover Food Lab, 7 Holyoke St., Cambridge, MA (map)
Eating, drinking, science, art, and Wikipedia.
Discussion of future speakers, Wikiversity, regional Wikipedia
Ambassador efforts, and collabs with Boston-area libraries and museums.
Register at http://www.meetup.com/wikipedia-5/events/32346212/
----------------------------
Gelation
José Andrés (ThinkFoodGroup, minibar, Jaleo)
When: Oct 10, 2011
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Harvard Science Center B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Speaker Biography:
José Andrés is a native of Spain and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup,
the team responsible for Washington’s popular and award-winning
dining concepts Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlantico and the
critically-acclaimed minibar by josé andrés, as well as Los
Angeles’ exciting destination, The Bazaar by José Andrés, part of
the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. ThinkFoodGroup oversees all of
José’s creative endeavors such as cookbooks, television programming,
concept consulting and project development.
Host: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Contact: Christina Andujar
candujar at seas.harvard.edu
-----------------------
International Organizations and Information: Intervening Between the
Causes and Effects of Nuclear Proliferation
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School, 79
JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S) Robert L. Brown, Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty
Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5601/international_organizations_and_information.html
------------------------
Tuesday, October 11, 12 p.m.
"Haunting Legacy: How a Lost War Still Influences White House War
Policy."
Speaker Series with Marvin Kalb, founding director of the Joan
Shorenstein Center and author of Haunting Legacy with Deborah Kalb. Co-
sponsored with the Belfer Center on Science and International Affairs.
Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
-----------------------
Almost Wikipedia: What Eight Collaborative Encyclopedia Projects
Reveal About Mechanisms of Collective Action
Tuesday, October 11
12:30pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, Cambridge, MA.
This event will be webcast live and archived:
From Benjamin Mako Hill: I'm going to present some preliminary
findings from a qualitative, inductive, case-study based analysis of 8
early projects to create online collaborative encyclopedias. It's
quite likely that the only project in my dataset that you've heard of
is Wikipedia. I'm am still finishing interviews but I'm hoping I can
use feedback from the group to help frame the work going forward. My
initial results are based on data from 8 projects -- the full
population -- in the form of interviews of the projects' founders and
extensive archival data. My findings are a set of propositions focused
on suggesting why Wikipedia succeeded in attracting contributors while
the other projects did so less effectively. In a follow-up project,
I'm hoping to test these in a quantitative dataset I've been building.
The project is part of a larger research project that attempts to use
failure cases to understand why some attempts at online collective
action are successful while most never take off. Benjamin Mako Hill is
an scholar, activist, and consultant working on issues of technology
and society. He is currently a researcher and PhD Candidate in a joint
program between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Media
Lab, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and a
Research Fellow at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.
RSVP Required> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/makohill#RSVP
More information on our website> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/makohill
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In operationalizing sustainability, a primary challenge is in removing
barriers to energy efficiency. A range of companies and institutions
have done this successfully and realized dramatic savings.
October Growing GIBN Conversation
Removing Barriers to Energy Efficiency
Date: October 11, 2011
Time: 2pm ET
Call-in information: (760) 569-9000, Code: 160031#
Please join us by sending your RSVP to info at digin.org
Sitar Mody from Environmental Defense Fund will kick off a
conversation about how companies can reap immediate rewards through
energy efficiency. She will share the latest results, and highlight
useful case studies, from EDF's Climate Corps program. This past
summer, Climate Corps worked with 78 companies, cities and
universities around the country and uncovered efficiencies in
lighting, computer equipment, and heating and cooling systems that
could:
Cut 600 million kilowatt hours of electricity use and 27 million
therms of natural gasannually, equivalent to the annual energy use of
38,000 homes;
Avoid 440,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the
annual emissions of 87,000 passenger vehicles; and
Save $650 million in net operational costs over the project lifetimes.
We look forward to your participation in our conversation!
----------------------------
For the Common Defense — A Study Group for American Military Affairs:
Closing the Gap Between Military and Civilian Understanding
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 4:10 – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE Belfer Library, Littauer 369, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Support/Social
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HKS Armed Forces Committee
SPEAKER(S) Charlie Lewis, captain, U.S. Army
COST Free
NOTE A weekly study group led by active duty members and veterans, to
bridge the gap in understanding between civilian and military spheres.
No military experience required; the less you know, the more we
encourage you to attend!
This week, U.S. Army Capt. Charlie Lewis will discuss the Army's
operational approach to land warfare and some of the principles that
influence this approach.
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Biodiversity, Ecology, & Global Change: “Catchers in the Rye:
Ecology, Society, and Climate Change”
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Josh Tewksbury, Walker Professor of Natural History,
Department of Biology, University of Washington.
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE The talk will discuss links between ecosystem conditions and
human health, security, and well-being, primarily focusing on the
impacts of climate change, at scales ranging from thermal physiology
of insects to global food security. The research described will
provide an example of the importance of broad collaborative frameworks
that are often needed for ecology to influence policy.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-10-11/biodiversity-ecology-global-change-
“catchers-rye-ecology-society-and-climate-chang
-----------------------------
The Birth of the Risk Economy. Futures Trading in the 19th and 20th
Centuries
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE Cabot Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Visiting Scholars Seminar: New Research on
Europe, Center for European Studies
SPEAKER(S) Alexander Engel, Kennedy Fellow, Center for European Studies
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Arthur Goldhammer: art.goldhammer at gmail.com
LINK http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/studygroups/sg26.html
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October 12, 2011
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future public hearing
BRC Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy http://www.brc.gov
Registration will open at 7:30 am and the meeting will begin at 8:00
am and end at 5:00 pm.
Harvard Medical School Conference Center, 77 Louis Pasteur, Longwood,
Boston, MA
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.govand 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.
-------------------------
A World of 7 Billion: Matters Arising
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 4 – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE Pop Center, 9 Bow Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Center for Population and Development
Studies
SPEAKER(S) Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director, United Nations
Population Fund
-------------------------
Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: On Welfare Frameworks
and Catastrophic Climate Risks
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School Room Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street,
Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Environmental Sciences
SPEAKER(S) Antony Millner
LINK http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881
--------------------------
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
4 p.m.
BU, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 211, Boston
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m.
Context Aware Wireless Networks: A Physical Layer Perspective
Professor Behnaam Aazhang
The recent surge in wireless data usage has demonstrated one important
fact – our networks are not ready for application-rich mobile
Internet. All of our current wireless architectures, including Wi-Fi
and cellular, are based on interference avoidance that advocates
eliminating simultaneous transmissions to avoid collisions at the
receivers. In contrast, if neighboring nodes pool their resources and
cooperate in their signal transmissions, the network could turn
interference to its advantage for a potentially large increase in
network capacity. In this presentation, Professor Aazhang will propose
a paradigm in which nodes cooperate by pooling power and bandwidth
resources and where flows interact opportunistically to avoid
interference and increase network utilization. In particular, he will
explore location information and network awareness to develop access
strategies to significantly increase spectral and power efficiencies
of the network. This
presentation is targeted to an audience with a broad range of
expertise and background.
For more information:
www.bu.edu/ece/distinguished-lectures
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Legatum Lecture: Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles of
Practical Leadership
Speaker: Ruma Bose
Time: 5:00p–6:30p
Location: MIT, Building 32-155, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street,
Cambridge
Spiritual leader and CEO?
Join us October 12th to learn how you can apply the leadership style
of this great humanitarian- no sainthood required.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/content/1103
Open to: the general public
Cost: none
Sponsor(s): Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
For more information, contact:
Agnes Hunsicker
617-324-2768
agnesh at mit.edu
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Nuclear Power Plant Exporters' Principles of Conduct: Evolution,
Status, and Prospects
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 10 – 11:45 a.m.
WHERE Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S) Ariel Levite, senior associate, Nuclear Policy Program,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5605/nuclear_power_plant_exporters_principles_of_conduct.html
--------------------------------
Brazil Studies Program Seminar: Membrane Technology for Coping with
Water Problems in Brazil’s Megacities
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE CGIS South, S-050, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR David Rockefeller Center for Latin American
Studies
SPEAKER(S) José Carlos Mierzwa, associate professor of environmental
engineering and water treatment, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de
São Paulo; visiting scholar, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences
CONTACT INFO brazil at fas.harvard.edu
--------------------------------
Thursday, October 13, 2011
3:30 PM Refreshments in CAS 500, 4:00 PM Talk
BU, 725 Commonwealth Ave. CAS 502, Boston
The Number of Terrestrial-Size, Habitable-Zone Planets as Projected
from Kepler Mission Transits
Wesley Traub, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Data from Kepler’s first 136 days of operation are analyzed to
determine the distribution of exoplanets with respect to radius,
period, and host-star spectral type. The analysis is extrapolated to
estimate the percentage of terrestrial, habitable-zone exoplanets. The
Kepler census is assumed to be complete for bright stars (magnitude
brighter than 14.0) having transiting planets of size greater than 0.5
Earth radius and periods less than 42 days. It is also assumed that
the size distribution of planets is independent of orbital period, and
that there are no hidden biases in the data. Six significant
statistical results are found: there is a paucity of small planet
detections around faint target stars, probably an instrumental effect;
the frequency of mid-size planet detections is independent of whether
the host star is bright or faint; there are significantly fewer
planets detected with periods less than 3 days, compared to longer
periods, almost certainly an astrophysical effect; the frequency of
all planets in the population with periods less than 42 days is 29%,
broken down as terrestrials 9%, ice giants 18%, and gas giants 3%; the
population has a planet frequency with respect to period which follows
a power-law relation dN/dln(P) = A*P^\beta , with \beta = 0.71 +/-
0.08; and an extrapolation to longer periods gives the frequency of
terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of FGK stars as eta-sub-
Earth = 34 +/- 14%. Thus about one-third of FGK stars are predicted to
have at least one terrestrial, habitable-zone planet.
-------------------------------
The Global Economy, Leadership Gap and the G20
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Belfer Case Study Room (S020), CGIS South Bld., 1730 Cambridge
St.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The SBS Endowment at the Korea Institute,
Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) SaKong Il, chairman of Korea International Trade
Association (KITA), former chairman, Korea’s Presidential Committee
for the G20 Summit, former finance minister of Korea
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO dmironen at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Public reception to follow
LINK http://korea.fas.harvard.edu/events
--------------------------------
Thursday, October 13
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
MassDevelopment, 33 Andrews Parkway, Devens, MA
Zero Net Energy Housing Workshop
A review of building techniques for high energy-efficient homes that
produce as much energy as they consume. Enjoy a tour of Zero Net
Energy homes already under construction in Devens and engage in a
question and answer period with Carter Scott, one of the state's pre-
eminent sustainable developers.
There is no cost to attend but space is limited. To register, contact scorbeil at massdevelopment.com
Editorial Comment: Carter Scott does great work and is well worth
hearing.
------------------------
Future of Energy: "The Development of Liquid Fuels from Lignocellulose"
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE Science Center D, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Chris Somerville, director of the Energy Biosciences
Institute; professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology
at the University of California, Berkeley; and visiting scientist at
the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
NOTE The efficient production of cellulosic fuels by biochemical
routes will require innovation in three main areas: sustainable
production of feedstocks that do not compete with food production,
depolymerization of feedstocks, and conversion of feedstocks to liquid
fuels.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-10-13/future-energy-development-liquid-fuels-lignocellulose
-----------------------------
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Energy Discussions: The Politics of Renewable Energy
Speaker: Leah Stokes
Time: 6:00p–7:00p
Location: MIT, Building 4-153, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Because of climate change, we need to create a carbon free energy
system over the coming century. Although we usually think of this
transformation as a technical challenge, it is also a political issue.
The politics play out at every scale, from government decisions to
local acceptance. In this discussion, we will look at some theories of
innovation and socio-technical transformation and some specific cases
in Europe and the United States. One relevant case that has recently
been in the news is the government funding received by the solar
energy company Solyndra and the related issues of political acceptance
of climate change.
Join members of the MIT Energy Club for a roundtable discussion on the
politics of renewable energy.
Please prepare for the discussion by reading the articles on te event
webpage:
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series
A light dinner will be served.
Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact:
Rebecca Dell
rwdell(at)mit(dot)edu
-------------------------
October 13th
BASEA Forum: Ken Ward, Apeiron Institute/350.org
A reception begins at 7:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 7:30 p.m.
1st Parish Unitarian Church, #3 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
http://www.basea.org
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Molecules, Movement, and Motors
Fri, 2011-10-14
http://www.radcliffe.edu
Radcliffe Gymnasium 10 Garden Street, Radcliffe Yard Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Registration is required and opens on September 7.
This all-day event is free and open to the public.
The symposium will bring together experts in genetics, chemistry,
biology, physics, medicine, and engineering to discuss the mechanics
of motors—from naturally occurring motors, such as those inside
cells, to new synthetic motors made from DNA. The exploration about
how motors work and what we can learn from studying them will address
an array of questions: Are motors specific for a single task, or can
they adapt to multiple functions? What makes motors start and stop
moving? What are common features that make an effective motor? How can
we build on new understandings of motors to cure disease and make
other improvements to human life?
Speakers
Anna Christina Balazs
Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Robert Von der
Luft Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Steven M. Block
Stanford W. Ascherman, M.D., Professor and Professor of Applied
Physics and Biology and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at Freeman Spogli
Institute
Stanford University
Susan K. Dutcher
Professor and Interim Head, Genetics, Cell Biology and Physiology
Washington University in St. Louis
Larry Goldstein
Distinguished Professor, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine;
Director, UC San Diego Stem Cell Program; Investigator, Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
University of California at San Diego
Ayusman Sen
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Pennsylvania State University
James A. Spudich
Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascular Disease
Stanford University
Viola Vogel
Professor in the Department of Materials and Head of the Laboratory
for Biologically Oriented Materials
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)
For more information, please visit www.radcliffe.edu or call
617-495-8600.
------------------------------
Friday, October 14
25th Anniversary Celebration of the Shorenstein Center
Nye Conference Center, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street,
Cambridge
All meals are by invitation only.
9 a.m. Welcome: Alex S. Jones
Conversations
9:15–10:15 a.m. Ken Auletta (Annals of Communications columns, The
New Yorker) and Vivek Kundra (Former U.S. Chief Information Officer)
10:15–11:15 a.m. Xeni Jardin (founding partner and co-editor of the
blog Boing Boing) and Miles O'Brien (science correspondent, PBS
NewsHour)
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Steve Grove (Head of News and Politics,
YouTube) and Anne Marie Slaughter (Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University
Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University)
12:30–1:45 p.m. Richard Salant Lecture on Freedom of the Presswith
lunchtime speaker Clay Shirky (Professor of New Media, New York
University)
2–3 p.m. Rebecca MacKinnon (senior fellow, New America Foundation)
and Abderrahim Foukara (Washington bureau chief, Al Jazeera)
3–4 p.m. David Carr (columnist and reporter, The New York Times) and
Danah Boyd (senior researcher, Microsoft Research)
4–5 p.m. Dan Okrent (writer and editor) and Adam Moss (editor-in-
chief, New York magazine)
5–10 p.m. HKS and Harvard Anniversary Celebration
----------------------------------
Oct 14, 2011
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Where: Pierce 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Black Carbon, Snow and Climate: A Perspective from the Field
Sarah Doherty , Research Scientist, University of Washington
Speaker Biography: http://jisao.washington.edu/research/bios/doherty_sarah.html
Contact: Brenda Mathieu
bmathieu at seas.harvard.edu 495-5745
--------------------------------------
Undergraduate Poster Session: Energy Projects
October 14, 2011 1:00p–3:00p
Join the MIT Energy Club and the MIT Energy Initiative for a poster
session focused on undergraduate energy projects. The event will give
you a window into the world of undergraduate energy research and the
opportunity to discuss projects with students from a variety of
departments and disciplines.
Category: lectures/conferences
Location: 32 TMSC Lobby, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club, MIT Energy Initiative
Admission: Open to the public
Contact Christie Ko
617-253-3478
cko at mit.edu
------------------------------------------
Friday, October 14, 2011
FRONTIERS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY LECTURE: Development of liquid fuels from
lignocellulose
Speaker: Chris Somerville, Energy Biosciences Institute, UC-Berkeley
Time: 3:00p–4:00p
Location: MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Frontiers of Biotechnology Lectureship
The Frontiers in Biotechnology Lectureship was established in 1999
through a generous donation from Dr. Noubar Afeyan to acknowledge the
enabling technologies and developments that have sustained the growth
of biotechnology and life sciences. Some of these include bioprocess
engineering (upstream and downstream processes), bioanalytical
developments, advanced and new instruments, novel delivery concepts,
biomedical devices, rational drug design, computational methods,
bioinformatics, and information technology. It is the intent of this
Lectureship to recognize and honor achievements on the "frontiers of
biotechnology" and the distinguished scientists and engineers
responsible for them.
The efficient production of cellulosic fuels by biochemical routes
will require innovation in three main areas: sustainable production of
feedstocks that do not compete with food production, depolymerization
of feedstocks, and conversion of feedstocks to liquid fuels. In this
respect there is renewed interest in identifying plants that have
optimal biomass accumulation and understanding the production issues
associated with large-scale cultivation and sustainable harvesting of
such species. Additionally, the importance of enhancing soil carbon
and nutrient retention while minimizing inputs will require an
integrated approach to the development of cellulosic energy crops.
The challenges on the processing side include the development of
improved chemical or biological catalysts for polysaccharide and
lignin depolymerization and conversion to fuels, the development of
microbial strains that can convert a wide range of sugars to next
generation fuels under harsh conditions, and numerous innovations in
chemical engineering. There appear to be many different routes to
improved processes for cellulosic fuels production. However, because
of the interdependencies of elements of the overall path from biomass
to liquid fuels, research on the design of optimized processes is at a
preliminary stage of technical maturity.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemical Engineering Department
For more information, contact:
Melanie Miller
617-253-6500
melmils at mit.edu
----------------------------------
Hands-on work to weatherize Spontaneous Celebrations in JP, a great
organization!
Save the date: Oct 15th
BostonCAN is partnering with HEET again to organize a "barnraising."
We won't be raising any barns at this neighborhood weatherization work
day, but we will be helping a Jamaica Plain community anchor,
Spontaneous Celebrations, to lighten its ecological footprint and save
much needed funds for its wonderful programming, such as the Lantern
Festival and Wake Up the Earth.
Barnraisings are great opportunities to get hands-on experience making
old windows more weather-tight, air sealing in a basement, and weather-
stripping doors. Both skilled and untrained volunteers are needed.
Contact Information
Boston Climate Action Network
857-544-6846
bostonclimateaction[at]gmail.com
http://bostoncan.org
-------------------------
Saturday, October 15
25th Anniversary of Shorenstein Center
Nye Conference Center, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street,
Cambridge
All meals are by invitation only.
10–11 a.m. Emily Bell (director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism,
Columbia Journalism School) and Joichi Ito (director, MIT Media Lab)
11 a.m.–12 p.m. Mark McKinnon (communications strategist) and Jim
VandeHei (executive editor and co-founder, Politico)
12 p.m. Luncheon
---------------------------------
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Inside 150: Project Whirlwind, Sage, and Pioneering MIT Computer
Projects
Speaker: Jay Forrester, Robert Everett, Deborah Douglas, John Durant
Time: 2:00p–4:00p
Location: MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue,
Cambridge
MIT 150 Exhibition
In celebration of the MIT 150 Exhibition and MIT's 150th anniversary
celebration the MIT Museum presents an ongoing series of public
programs throughout 2011.
MIT's computer pioneers including Whirlwind leaders Jay Forrester and
Robert Everett gather for an afternoon program about the design,
development and impact of Project Whirlwind, the first real-time
computer ever built. Deborah Douglas, MIT's Curator of Science and
Technology, and Museum Director John Durant will convene an informal
panel discussion with our honored guests at 2 pm followed by a special
tour of the MIT 150 exhibition highlighting some of the museum's most
treasured computing artifacts at 3 pm. Visitors will have the
opportunity to poise their own questions to some of the people most
responsible for the computer revolution that has transformed our world.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free with museum admission
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:
Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museum at mit.edu
---------------------------
Green Solutions Expo
Mon, 2011-10-17
11 am to 4 pm
http://greendecade.org/green-solutions-expo.html
Newton Centre Green & Wainwright Bank, Newton, MA
A Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce Expo with solutions you need to
reduce your carbon footprint & over 60 exhibitors held under a big
tent held from 11-5pm in Newton Centre during the Newton Harvest Fair.
Continuous entertainment, food and games for the kids. Tips on how be
more environmentally friendly and live a "green" life style.
See exhibitors with green products, services and ideas.
Come to our expert workshops every hour.
Find out how you can convert to solar electricity without paying
thousands and reduce your electric bills.
Have a green lawn all summer without watering and only cut once a month.
These workshops and more will help you save money and the environment
at the same time!
Green Life Style Workshops
Wainwright Bank Community Room, 1255 Centre Street, Newton centre
Green Life Style Workshops, conducted by subject matter experts, will
be held every hour.
11:00
Solar Electric for Your Home
Find out how you can convert to solar electricity without paying
thousands and reduce your electric bills.
12:00
Environmentally "Green" Lawns
Have a green lawn all summer without watering and only cut once a month.
1:00
"Green" Products for Your Home
Hear about all the new products to enhance your house interior that
are durable, good for the environment and safely non-toxic.
2:00
To be announced
3:00
To be announced
4:00
To be announced
Registration: http://greendecade.org/green-solutions-registration.php
Space is limited so register on-line now to reserve your space.
Registration is free and only takes a minute.
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Upcoming
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GreenPort Forum: The State of the Birds
With distinguished ornithologist Christopher Leahy. Chris holds the
Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at
the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He has been a professional
conservationist for more than thirty-five years, most recently as the
Director of Massachusetts Audubon’s Center for Biological
Conservation.
We all know that climate change is real and that weather patterns have
been more unpredictable than ever. How has climate change and other
environmental changes impacted the types and behaviors of local and
migrating birds? What can we expect as temperatures continue to warm?
The birdlife of Massachusetts is exceptionally rich, containing both a
great diversity of species and several populations of global
significance. However, it is also clear that in recent decades, many
Massachusetts bird populations have decreased significantly and
continue to decline. These declines are occurring not just among our
rarest species, but affect a broad spectrum of bird families in many
habitats and include some of the most familiar and beloved birds of
our backyards and countryside –birds that we tend to think of as
common. Please join us for a presentation and discussion by one of the
key authors of the just issued Mass Audubon report “The State of the
Birds” - http://www.massaudubon.org/StateoftheBirds/.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church
459 Putnam Av, Cambrige
(corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable
Cambridgeport neighborhood
For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman at gis.net
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Oct 21-23, 2011: Social Movements/Digital Revolutions - Conference for
Organizers & Activists
SM/DR is being called to look at new developments in technology,
social media, journalism and the creative world* from the perspective
of grassroots movements for social justice. *We?re also interested to
discuss and debate some of the key issues facing creators and
progressive organizers today.
The conference will kick off on Friday Oct. 21st at MIT Room 10-250
with a Town Hall Meeting on Media and Democracy. The event will
feature an expert panel - including New York Times' Brian Stelter and
Free Press' Craig Aaron - that will reflect on the future of
journalism, media and democracy through the lens of the new
documentary Page One.
With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and
newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles
the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest
turmoil. A number of clips from the film will be shown, each will be
discussed by the panel in turn, then the floor will be turned over to
the audience to help determine what this development means for our
democracy - and for grassroots social movements working to revive it.
The conference proper will begin on Saturday Oct. 22nd at Lesley
University's Doble Campus, and will feature panels focusing on our
Social Movements/Digital Revolutions theme. The rest of the weekend
will be filled out with a number of workshops on related topics and
practical tutorials on social media and digital media.
From activists looking for an introduction to our crucial
technologies to experience electronic campaigners, the conference will
have many opportunities to learn and grow. It will also feature
plenaries involving activists from Madison, WI, from England's student
movement and Egypt's democracy movement; among our workshops will be
sessions on Wikileaks and its local implementations, the use of
Facebook to challenge deportations, hands-on privacy exercises, and
the like.
Join in on October 21, 22 and 23!
Conference website: http://digitalmediaconference.org
Download conference flyers here: http://bit.ly/oLQdOu
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October 28, 2011
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: The
Promise and Reality of "Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"
Raab Associates presents:
The 125th NE Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02210
***Free and open to the public with no advanced registration***
October 28, 2011 Roundtable:
The Promise and Reality of
"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"
"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing" are emerging nationally and locally
here
in New England as "hot" topics. Smart grid at the distribution-to-
customer interface promises a range of benefits, from better outage
management, to energy savings from improved voltage modulation, to a
variety of opportunities created by advanced metering. Dynamic
pricing, which entails
a closer matching of rates to actual time-differentiated costs, runs
the gamut from time-of-use rates to real-time pricing.
Our first panel is focused primarily on the broader smart grid issues.
David O'Brien, former Commissioner of Vermont's Department of Public
Service and current Director of Regulatory Strategy at BRIDGE Energy
Group, will set the stage by defining smart grid and its various value
propositions, and describing the mass deployment of advanced metering
by utilities in Vermont. Arepresentative of Oklahoma Gas and Electric,
recipient of one of the largest U.S. DOE Smart Grid Grants, will then
describe its recent full-court press on installing a wide range of
smart grid-related technologies and its pilot on dynamic pricing.
Next, Doug Horton, Smart Grid Project Manager at NSTAR, and Cheri
Warren,VP of Asset Management at National Grid, will describe
theirrespective smart grid pilots. NSTAR's includes a program to
integrate distributed resources into downtown networks, and another to
test dynamic pricing using its existing AMR meters coupled with
wireless communication. National Grid will share what it learned at
its smart grid summit in Worcester in September, and provide a preview
of its upcoming smart grid pilot.
Our second panel focuses in greater depth on national trends on
dynamic pricing. Our lead off speaker, Ahmad Faruqui, a Principal at
the Brattle Group and a national expert on dynamic pricing, will share
his conclusions from analyzing all the dynamic pricing pilots
nationwide. Commissioner Rick Morgan, of the Washington D.C. PUC and
the author of a recent article, "Rethinking Dumb Rates," will discuss
what he learned from D.C's PowerCentsDC™ pilot on dynamic pricing,
and where D.C. plans to go next on advanced metering and dynamic
pricing.Nancy Brockway, former NH PUC Commissioner, MA DPU General
Counsel, and long-time low-income consumer advocate, will close the
panel by sharing some of her concerns about various aspects of dynamic
pricing.
September 16 Roundtable Presentations Online
Speakers' presentations from our September 16th Roundtable, FERC Order
1000 (Transmission Planning & Cost Allocation Requirements);and Future
of Solar in New England, are available on our website: http://www.raabassociates.org/main/roundtable.asp?sel=108
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Visit GlobeLab: The Boston Globe's take on the (near) future of news
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA
Chris Marstall, the Boston Globe’s creative technologist, is throwing
open the doors to GlobeLab, the news organization’s space for
exploring how news is changing. In his words: “We're a space at the
Boston Globe dedicated to understanding, imagining and demonstrating
the (near) future of news & advertising.
“Current projects include wall-screen-sized instagram and twitter
visualizations, a next-gen TV app, a device synchronizer and a
newsroom information radiator. For more information, check out our
recent Nieman Journalism Lab profile or follow us @GlobeLab.”
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/35976432/?a=ea1.2_lnm&eventId=35976432&action=detail&rv=ea1.2&rv=ea1.2
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TEDxCambridge Presents: Thrive
November 19, 2011, Harvard University
You have to apply to attend at http://www.tedxcambridge.com/thrive/
*************
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Opportunity
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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."
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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.
*********
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Resource
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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.
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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.
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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/
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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
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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/
********************************************
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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