[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Jan 29 18:08:42 PST 2012


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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Democracy Technology  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/24/1057803/-Democracy-Technology

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Tech's Top Teachers Talk Turkey
Mon Jan 30
12-01:00 pm
MIT, Building 4-163, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Facilitated by: Lori Breslow, Teaching & Learning Lab
Join us for a session in which some of MIT's best teachers — both  
faculty and teaching assistants — talk about how to teach well. This  
is a panel discussion at which questions are strongly encouraged.
Contact: Leann Dobranski, 5-122, x3-3371, leann at mit.edu
Sponsor: Teaching and Learning Lab

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"The MIT Future of the Electric Grid Study"
12:00pm - 1:30pm
HarvardBell Hall, Belfer Center 5th Floor, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Richard Schmalensee, MIT.
Contact Name: Louisa Lund louisa_lund at harvard.edu

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Countercyclical Restructuring and Jobless Recoveries
Monday, January 30, 2012
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: David Berger

Web site: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/7498
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics Job Market Seminars
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu

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MITHENGE (Infinite Sunset) 4:48pm and 17 seconds, Altitude, 47 feet
Monday, January 30, 2012
4:48p
MIT, Infinite Corridor (Between Buildings 7 & 8), 77 Massachusetts  
Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: The Setting Sun

The Infinite Corridor is 825 feet long X 9 feet wide X 16 feet high  
(Nearly 3 football fields). This layout allows the corridor to capture  
the setting sun at a particular moment creating a solar phenomenon  
sometimes called MITHENGE. When this occurs, given favorable weather  
conditions, a shaft of sunlight is thrown the entire length of the  
corridor. The best viewing occurs at the third-floor level, which has  
fewer obstructions and less traffic.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/mithenge
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Information Center, The Sun
For more information, contact:
617-253-4795
infocenter-www at MIT.EDU

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Crowdsortium Boston II
January 30, 2012
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
The Microsoft New England Research & Development Center (NERD), 1  
Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://crowdsortiummeetup2-esearch.eventbrite.com/?srnk=18

Last year, uTest and Crowdly (formerly Appswell) kicked off the first  
Crowdsortium Boston meetup. Harvard professor Karim Lakhani and CEOs  
of the top crowdsourcing companies came together to introduce the  
current state and coming evolution of the crowdsourcing model.

Due to its great success, this year we’re exploding into 2012 with  
another event! Thanks to Crowdly, uTest, and our sponsor Article One  
Parners, Crowdsortium Boston II will be on Monday, January 30 from  
6:30-8:30pm again at the Microsoft NERD, Cambridge!

After a brief introduction from Professor at Northeastern Jeff Howe,  
who coined the term crowdsourcing, a panel of chief community  
executives from leading crowdsourcing companies will discuss Community  
Management: Evolving From Mobs To Crowds To Communities and dive  
deeper into the keys to successfully employing a crowdsourcing model.

Anyone can build a loosely affiliated, unstructured crowd – a mob.  
The secret to community management is to advance beyond the ‘mob’  
to create an engaged, interactive community of diverse and skilled  
professionals. Panel topics include:
Challenges and opportunities of managing a massive global workforce
Scaling a crowdsourcing business sharply, quickly and profitably
How to get what you want, while giving them what they want
Recruitment and engagement; reputation and compensation systems.

After the panel, we’ll wrap up the meetup with the opportunity to do  
some networking along with complimentary pizza and beer!

Moderator:
Jeff Howe, Father of Crowdsourcing and Professor at Northeastern  
University

Confirmed Panelists:
Matt Johnston, CMO at uTest
Gabe Miano, VP of Product at OnForce

About The Crowdsortium
With more than 80 crowdsourcing companies and 200 venture capitalists,  
researchers and professionals, the Crowdsortium is a group of industry  
practitioners that have self-organized to advance crowdsourcing models  
through best practices, education, data collection and public dialog.  
The Crowdsortium aims to provide each of its constituents with the  
knowledge to get the most out of participating in crowdsourcing. Find  
out more about how to become a member athttp://www.crowdsortium.org/membership/ 
.

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Nerd Night
Monday January 30, 2012
8pm at Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge
$5
Featuring Nerd-appropriate tunes by Claude Money

Talk 1. “Frontier Nerd: Going it Alone in Western Montana”
by Mattie Booth

Talk 2. “CA$H FOR YOUR WARHOL: The Evolution of a Prank”
by Geoff Hargadon

For more information about the speakers and the talks

http://boston.nerdnite.com/2012/01/22/nerdnitejan30/

(Public) Service Smorgasbord: Eats and Opportunities
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building W20-491
RSVP to http://bit.ly/ti9Bhx

What type of service do you want to do? Maybe you want to tutor high  
school students in Cambridge, be paid for public service work with a  
great organization whoneeds your help, work with a community partner  
somewhere else in the world, or develop a new solution to deliver  
impact. We'll have an open conversation over a smorgasbord of food to  
share with you the best way to get started on public service or to try  
something new.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Public Service Center

For more information, contact:
Jennifer Currie
psc at mit.edu

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"Obama's Latest Lessons in Policy, Politics & Polarization."
Tuesday, January 31
12 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge

Alexis Simendinger, White House correspondent, RealClearPolitics.

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Urban Planning Movie Marathon
Tue Jan 31
12pm-12:00am
MIT, AVT

This year's noon-to-midnight Marathon will feature a variety of films  
on topics related to urban planning, environmentalism, affordable  
housing, design, development, globalism, and the nature of regions,  
cities, and neighborhoods. In addition to feature-length films and  
documentaries, we'll include a few shorts (and maybe even a few  
cartoons).

Full program TBA at http://web.mit.edu/eglenn/www/iap_films_2012.html;  
come for one or stay for all. Popcorn and other food served.
Contact: Ezra Glenn, 7-337, x3-2024, eglenn at mit.edu
Sponsor: Urban Studies and Planning

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Designing for Remixing: Computer-supported Social Creativity
Tuesday, January 31, 12:30 pm
Harvard, Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/01/monroy-hernandez#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast 
  and archived on our site shortly after.

Andres Monroy-Hernandez, Berkman Fellow & MIT Media Lab

In this talk I present a framework for the design and study of an  
online community of amateur creators. I focus on remixing as a lens to  
understand the social, cultural, and technical structures of a social  
computing system that supports creative expression. I am motivated by  
three broad questions: 1) what is the functional role of remixing in  
cultural production and social learning? 2) what are the structural  
properties of an online remixing community? 3) what are amateur  
creators' attitudes towards remixing? This research builds on my work  
on the Scratch Online Community, an online community I conceived,  
developed and studied. The Scratch website allows young people to  
share and remix their own video games and animations, as well as those  
of their peers. In four years, the community has grown to close to a  
million registered members and more than two million user-contributed  
projects.

About Andres
Andrés Monroy-Hernández is a post-doctoral researcher at Microsoft  
Research and a Fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for  
Internet & Society. His main area of research is human-computer  
interaction, with a focus on social computing and social media. He is  
particularly interested in the design and study of online communities  
for creative expression. His work has been featured in the New York  
Times, CNN, Wired, and has received awards from Ars Electronica, and  
the MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition. He was PhD  
student at the MIT Media Lab and holds a B.S. in computer engineering  
form Tec de Monterrey in Mexico.

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The Renewable Energy Research in Southern Arava
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
4 p.m.
BU, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 339, Boston
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m.

Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation
Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Israel

The Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation is carrying  
out research on a wide variety of subjects:
Dust Removal from Solar Collectors: This research is based on the  
established “electrodynamic screen” approach, in which a low- 
frequency surface traveling wave of electric field sweeps deposited  
particles laterally across the surface, thereby removing them from the  
solar collector. The method is effective for both charged and  
uncharged particles regardless of particle conductivity. Bench-top  
experiments on small panels have demonstrated that 95% of deposited  
dust can be removed after only 60 seconds of energization while  
drawing less than 2% of the power output of a photo- voltaic panel.
Biogas Production: The project is aimed at adapting a waste recycling  
process based upon anaerobic digestion and composting technologies for  
the organic solid  wastes produced in small rural settlements in arid  
zones such as the Bedouin villages in the Israeli Negev or rural  
villages in Jordan. In the framework of the project, four  
demonstration pilot-plants (D-PP) are built and operated; two in  
Jordan and two in Israel. These four D-PPs are used to investigate the  
efficiency of the “modified” technology and in turn, to  
demonstrate its positive impacts in the areas of improved  
environmental conditions, improved health of local residents,
economic contribution, and the social value of strengthening the  
status of women in the community.
On Board Hydrogen Production: The most important and the most urgent  
application of hydrogen is its use for transportation. One of the most  
severe challenges is the lack of a safe and efficient onboard storage  
technology. One opportunity to overcome some of these hurdles is to  
produce the hydrogen on board the vehicle by reacting a light metal  
with water. One of the most promising metal candidates is boron. The  
reaction of boron and water has high hydrogen storage capacity based  
on both volume and mass compared with other candidate technologies. In  
this study, a process is described in which boron is used as a means  
to store and transport solar energy from a production site to motor  
vehicles, where it is used to generate hydrogen and heat.
PV Cooling: This study is investigating the passive convection cooling  
of the photovoltaic (PV) panels to increase the rate of heat transfer  
to greatly increase the convection rate and increase the cooling rate  
of the photovoltaic panels by channeling natural air flow under the  
photovoltaic panels. This process will lead to a significant increase  
in the efficiency and decrease the thermal degradation of the solar  
cells. The preliminary results show an average improvement in PV system
output of 5-10%.

For more information: http://www.bu.edu/ece/calendar

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Everyone Leads: A Night with Paul Schmitz of Public Allies
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Microsoft NERD Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Register at http://everyoneleadswithpaulschmitz-esearch.eventbrite.com/?srnk=7

Please join Public Allies CEO and “Everyone Leads” author Paul  
Schmitz for an engaging dialogue around asset-based leadership. Paul  
will share some of the key experiences andcritical lessons that his  
organization has learned from two decades of finding and developing  
thousands of young leaders across the country. Paul will also share  
his own inspiring story about journeying from an aimless youth to a  
national nonprofit leader and Presidential advisor.

Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails

** ATTENTION ALL YOUNG LEADERS **

Please join us prior to the event for an intimate “leadership  
salon” conversation with Paul Schmitz - where Paul will talk candidly  
about his personal and professional growth, answer your questions and  
offers his advice for your leadership challenges.

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Saving the Banks: Comparing Bailout Strategies in the United States  
and Europe during the Financial Crisis
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 1, 2012, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Cabot Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Visiting Scholars Seminar: New Research on  
Europe (CES)
SPEAKER(S)  Cornelia Woll, visiting scholar, CES
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Arthur Goldhammer: art.goldhammer at gmail.com
LINK  http://ces.fas.harvard.edu/studygroups/sg26.html
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Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: "The Impact of  
Voluntary Programs on Polluter Behavior: Evidence from Pollution  
Prevention Programs and Toxic Releases"
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 1, 2012, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
SPEAKER(S)  Linda Bui
LINK  http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881

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The Origin of Cellular Life
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 1, 2012, 6 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Museum of Natural History, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Education, Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard Museum of Natural History, supported by  
a gift from Herman and Joan Suit
SPEAKER(S)  Jack W. Szostak
COST  Free and open to the public
NOTE  The amazing diversity of life is a result of billions of years  
of evolution. But how did the process of evolution begin? Jack  
Szostak, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and  
distinguished investigator at Mass General, will describe how efforts  
to design and build very simple living cells are testing our  
assumptions about the nature of life, generating ideas about how life  
emerged from the chemistry of early Earth, and offering clues as to  
how modern life evolved from its earliest ancestors.
Free parking available in the 52 Oxford Street garage.

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After Hours Coalition
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
American Twine,  222 3rd Street, 4th floor, Cambridge

intrepidlabs presents After Hours Coalition

  Come check out what these hot tech startups have been up to:
One Laptop Per Child
Brass Monkey
Tip Tap
Coachup

Enjoy presentations by local start-ups, expand your network, and  
indulge in an evening at intrepidlabs

brews, hors d'oeuvres, raffle

Come help welcome Intrepid Labs as Kendall's newest team work space.  
Make sure to bring your business cards!

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Extreme Weather
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Museum of Science, Boston
Register at http://extremeweather.eventbrite.com/

Bonnie Schneider, meteorologist, CNN Headline News.
In this post-Katrina era, we are more aware than ever of our  
vulnerability to natural disasters. Yet a 2007 survey conducted by the  
Harvard School of Public Health found that more than 30 percent of  
residents living within 20 miles of the coastline vowed they would not  
leave if ordered to evacuate for a major hurricane. The exact number  
of people killed in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted is unknown,  
but 1,044 casts of bodies in ash deposits have been recovered.  
Centuries later, why do so many people stay in place and put  
themselves at risk despite dire warnings?

In her new book, Extreme Weather, CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider  
explains the science behind when natural disasters are likely to  
strike. Hear the latest on how to prepare for the unexpected and how  
these responses can make a difference between life and death. Book  
signing to follow.
Advance registration begins at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 18  
(Sunday, January 15 for Museum members). Any reserved seating passes  
not claimed 15 minutes before the program start time will be released  
to walk-ins. A limited number of passes will be available in the lobby  
on the day of the event: first come, first served. For more  
information or to register over the phone: 617-723-2500.

Admission is free thanks to the generosity of the Lowell Institute.

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Navigating the Nuclear Marketplace: How States Select Acquisition  
Strategies
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 2, 2012, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School, 79  
JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  International Security Program & Project on  
Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S)  Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer, assistant professor, Norwegian  
Defence University; former research fellow, International Security  
Program/Project on Managing the Atom, 2008–10
CONTACT INFO  susan_lynch at harvard.edu
LINK  http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5681/navigating_the_nuclear_marketplace.html

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After Kim Jong Il: The Korean Peninsula and East Asian Security
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 2, 2012, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Belfer Case Study Room (S020), Japan Friends of Harvard  
Concourse, CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; co-sponsored by  
the Kim Koo Forum on U.S.-Korea Relations, the Korea Institute; and  
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
SPEAKER(S)  Stephen W. Bosworth, dean, The Fletcher School of Law and  
Diplomacy, Tufts University; United States special representative for  
North Korea policy (2009-11); and U.S. ambassador to the Republic of  
Korea (1997-2001)
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  xtian at wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/schedule/schedule.htm

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Intellectual Property and Patent Law
Thursday, February 02, 2012
2:00p–4:00p
MIT, Whitehead Auditorium, 9 Cambridge Center, Kendall Square, Cambridge
What kinds of opportunities exist in law related professions? What are  
these careers like and are they right for you?

Eileen Falvey, Partner, Jones Day
Robert Plotkin, Founder and IP lawyer at Robert Plotkin, PC, Adjunct  
Professor at Boston University
Ronda Moore, Partner, Burns & Levinson LLC
Christine Vito, Partner, K&L Gates

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Biology

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Design to Scale - Developing Technologies for Global Impact
Thursday, February 02, 2012
3:30p–5:00p
MIT, Building 56-114, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Working to scale a technology designed for the bottom of the pyramid?  
Come join for the first of a series of events as we lay the foundation  
for what to consider when designing for global impact. You'll hear  
from a handful of entrepreneurs working on development technologies as  
we explore questions like ??? how to select the right problem to  
solve, design for dissemination, to test your technology in the field,  
finance growth, manage operations and scale working models.

Confirmed speakers with more to be announced:
Peter Haas with AIDG (http://www.aidg.org)
Zubaida Bai, Ayzh (http://ayzh.com)

Moderated by Joost Bonsen
RSVP to http://bit.ly/vth7Id
* This is the first of a monthly series.

Web site: http://globalchallenge.mit.edu/events/view/210
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IDEAS Global Challenge, International Development  
Initiative, MIT Public Service Center, MIT Sloan Entrepreneurs for  
International Development, D-Lab, Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program

For more information, contact:
Kate Mytty
6177155474
kmytty at mit.edu

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The Arab Awakening
Thursday, February 2, 2012
6:00-7:30 PM
John F. Kennedy School of Government, 79 John F. Kennedy Street,  
Cambridge

One Year Anniversary:  The Arab Awakening
  John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Event

Open to the Public

Description: With Open Hands Initiative Founder Tina Brown  
(Moderator), HKS Professor Tarek Masoud, Global Post co-founder,  
editor and Vice President Charles M. Sennott, and journalist Mona  
Eltahawy. Co-sponsored by the Open Hands Initiative.

Contact: Middle East Initiative
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
John F Kennedy School of Government, 79 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge

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A night with the USGBC Student Groups of MA & RI.
Feb. 2, 2012

6-8:30pm

Space with a Soul, 7th floor loft, 281 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210

Registration is FREE.

"USGBC Students recruits, connects and equips the next generation of  
green building leaders by empowering them to transform their campuses,  
communities and careers."

1. Introduction from Pat Lane, Update on USGBC Students Program

2. Attendee Introductions and Roundtable Discussion

3. Best student group practices: LEED GA study groups, group  
fundraising for Greenbuild attendance, campus project planning, and  
member recruiting
4. Green School Presentation
5. Food and Open Networking between students, group advisors, any  
Emerging Professionals (EPMA)

RSVP:http://usgbcma.org/civicrm/event/register?id=163&reset=1

USGBC Students website: http://centerforgreenschools.org/usgbcstudents

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Consent of the Networked
Thursday, February 2, 2012
6:00 PM
New MIT Media Lab, Silverman Room (E14-648), 75 Amherst Street,  
Cambridge
Free and Open to the Public
RSVP required for those attending in person.  RSVP at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2012/02/mackinnon#RSVP

Rebecca MacKinnon

A global struggle for control of the Internet is now underway.  At  
stake are no less than civil liberties, privacy and even the character  
of democracy in the 21st century. Many commentators have debated  
whether the Internet is ultimately a force for freedom of expression  
and political liberation, or for alienation, and repression. It is  
time to stop arguing over whether the Internet empowers individuals  
and societies, and address the more fundamental and urgent question of  
how technology should be structured and governed to support the rights  
and liberties of all the world’s Internet users. In her timely book,  
Rebecca MacKinnon warns that a convergence of unchecked government  
actions and unaccountable company practices is threatening the future  
of democracy and human rights around the world. Consent of the  
Networked is a call to action: Our freedom in the Internet age depends  
on whether we defend our rights on digital platforms and networks in  
the same way that people fight for their rights and accountable  
governance in physical communities and nations. It is time to stop  
thinking of ourselves as passive “users” of technology and instead  
act like citizens of the Internet – as netizens – and take  
ownership and responsibility for our digital future.

About Rebecca
Rebecca MacKinnon is a Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New  
America Foundation, where she conducts research, writing and advocacy  
on global Internet policy, free expression, and the impact of digital  
technologies on human rights. She is cofounder of Global Voices, an  
international citizen media network. She also serves on the Boards of  
Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global  
Network Initiative.
Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon worked as a journalist for CNN  
in Beijing for nine years and was Beijing Bureau Chief and  
Correspondent from 1998-2001, then served as CNN’s Tokyo Bureau Chief  
and Correspondent from 2001-03. From 2004-06 she was a Research Fellow  
at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where she began  
her ongoing research and writing about the Chinese Internet in  
addition to launching Global Voices with colleague Ethan Zuckerman. In  
2007-08 she taught online journalism at the University of Hong Kong’s  
Journalism and Media Studies Centre. In 2009 she conducted research  
and writing as an Open Society Fellow, and in the Spring of 2010 she  
was a Visiting Fellow at Princeton’s Center or Information Technology  
Policy. MacKinnon received her AB magna cum laude from Harvard College  
and was a Fullbright scholar in Taiwan in 1991-92.

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Community Health Online: The Emergence of ePatients.
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 2, 2012, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE  RCC conference room, 26 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Health Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Real Colegio Complutense
SPEAKER(S)  Ana Isabel Masedo, UCM (Madrid, Spain)
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  rcc_info at harvard.edu
NOTE  in English, open to the public
--------------------------

High Efficiency Electric Power Generation: The Environmental Role
Fri Feb 3

11am-01:00pm

MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

Janos Beer

It is generally understood that high efficiency electric power  
generation consistent with high reliability of operation and reduced  
cost of electricity is economically beneficial, but its effect upon  
reduction of all plant emissions without the installation of  
additional emission control equipment is less well appreciated. High  
efficiency as the most cost effective tool capable of reducing CO2  
emission from fossil fuel plant in the short term has become a key  
concept for the choice of technology for both new plant and upgrades  
of existing plant. High efficiency is also important for future  
applications of CCS to mitigate the energy penalty of the CO2 capture  
process.


Power generating options including Coal based Rankin cycle with  
advanced steam parameters, Coal gasification combined cycle, Natural  
gas-fired combined cycle and Oxy combustion are discussed and compared  
for their development, demonstration and commercial availability for  
deployment.
Contact: Janos Beer, 66-301, x3-6661, jmbeer at mit.edu
Sponsor: Chemical Engineering

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The Biophysical Borderline: Exploring the Boundary Between Inanimate  
and Living Matter

Friday, February 03, 2012

1:30p–2:30p

MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

MIT Physics Lecture Series:
Professor Jeremy England
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

Living things are good at collecting information about their  
surroundings, and at putting that information to use through the ways  
they interact with their environment so as to survive and replicate  
themselves. Thus, talking about biology inevitably leads to talking  
about decision, purpose, and function. At the same time, living things  
are also made of atoms that, in and of themselves, have no particular  
function. Rather, molecules and the atoms from which they are built  
exhibit well-defined physical properties having to do with how they  
bounce off of, stick to, and combine with each other across space and  
over time. Making sense of life at the molecular level is all about  
building a bridge between these two different ways of looking at the  
world. In this lecture we will discuss the ways in which a deep  
understanding of statistical physics can help to illuminate the inner  
workings of biological systems.


Web site: http://student.mit.edu/iap/ns8.html

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Physics IAP, Physics Department

For more information, contact:
Denise Wahkor
617-253-4855

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Resilience Circles Introductory Webinar

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

Webinar Registration at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/303828366

Join us for an interactive online webinar about Resilience Circles, an  
approach to building individual and community resilience during  
difficult economic times.  We’ll talk about how to start a circle for  
your community or congregation, including:
finding an organizing partner
finding participants through base communities and the "linking method"
how to share the idea of a circle with others
some notes on the curriculum
Please enter any questions or comments for our panelists below. Read  
more about Resilience Circles at http://localcircles.org.

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Upcoming

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Harvard Law School Food Law Society Hosting a Raw Milk Debate
When: Thursday, February 16, 2012, 7:15 pm – 8:45 pm
Where: Harvard Law School, Langdell South Classroom. For those that  
can’t make it, the event will be live-streamed. Video will also be  
available after the event.

At one time, everyone drank raw milk. But with the invention of  
pasteurization and its attendant safety benefits, consumption of raw  
milk in this country almost completely disappeared. In fact, in many  
states it is illegal to sell raw milk. But a growing segment of the  
population is clamoring for increased access to raw milk, citing its  
nutritional benefits. Opponents are skeptical of such nutritional  
claims and believe the safety risks of unpasteurized milk are simply  
too high.

Join the Food Law Society as we present a debate covering the legal,  
health, and nutritional merits of raw milk. The participants are:

Fred Pritzker, Pritzker & Olson Law Firm
Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, Director, Dairy & Food Inspection Division,  
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
vs.
Sally Fallon Morell, President, Weston A. Price Foundation
David Gumpert, Author, The Raw Milk Revolution

Contact: Jonathan Abrams, jabrams at jd12.law.harvard.edu

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

Implementing Bold State Energy-Related Environmental Regulations,  
Policies, & Programs in Massachusetts and Connecticut;
and The Future of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

Friday, February 17, 2012
9 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***

Join us as we kick off the Roundtable's 17th year with a blockbuster  
Roundtable focusing on bold state and regional energy-related  
environmental regulations, policies, and programs.

Our first panel features recent important state-level developments in  
Massachusetts and Connecticut.Massachusetts Department of  
Environmental ProtectionCommissioner Ken Kimmel will describe the  
various new activities that DEP and the state are undertaking to  
insure the successful implementation of Massachusetts' landmark  
legislation, including the Global Warming Solutions Act and the Green  
Communities Act.

Connecticut's recently-appointed Deputy Commissioner of Energy  
Jonathan Schrag will then discuss the plethora of activities  
Connecticut is undertaking (following the recent consolidation of its  
energy and environmental agencies under a new Department of Energy and  
Environmental Protection), all of which aim to reduce energy prices,  
while enhancing the pursuit of energy efficiency and clean energy  
technologies.

Our second panel focuses on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative  
(RGGI), the first carbon cap and trade system in the United States, as  
it completes its third year of operation and begins a three-year  
review process that could result in changes to RGGI's design and  
implementation. Yet with New Jersey's recent withdrawal from RGGI and  
New Hampshire's near-withdrawal, is RGGI's future secure?

The panel begins with Maine PUC Commissioner David Littell (who is  
also Chairman of RGGI,Inc.)
Commissioner Littell will take stock of RGGI's first phase, laying out  
the questions that the states will be trying to answer in their review  
process and describing the review process itself.

Analysis Group Senior Vice President Paul Hibbardwill then present the  
findings of an in-depth study undertaken by Analysis Group, with  
funding support from several foundations, on the economic costs and  
benefits of RGGI's first phase - both regionally and state-by-state.  
Rounding out the panel and sharing their insights on RGGI's first  
three years, the Analysis Group study, and their hopes and fears  
regarding RGGI's future, will be Environment Northeast's Director for  
Energy/Climate Policy Derek Murrow, and NRG Energy's Senior VP for  
Sustainability Policy & Strategy Steve Corneli.

12/9/11 Restructuring Roundtable Meeting video at http://www.raabassociates.org/main/roundtable.asp?sel=110


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

Opportunity

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

*J e s t e r*
**Facebook Profile <https://www.facebook.com/jester.ronin> **¦**
LinkedIn<http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?trk=tab_pro&id=26526883>
**
P a r a n o i d Z e n
jes... at paranoidzen.com*
http://www.paranoidzen.com

Hi All,

I am sending this out to a bunch of lists I'm on, so apologies for  
cross posting effects.

Our new forums are up and running, and they are free for all!  We are  
aiming for this to become a place where Boston area collaborations,  
discussions and skill shares in audio, video, lighting, programming,  
hacking, and other various forms of 'making' happen.

Find them here:  http://cemmi.org/index.php/forum/index

Since its early, I imagine they will go through some serious  
evolutions in terms of organization but we hope you will stop by and  
check them out.  The forums even work on most mobile platforms :)

You can sign in using your Gmail, Google app, or Facebook credentials  
so there is no need to create a new account (we'll be adding a button  
to make that more obvious soon).

If you have any suggestions or changes, let us know, and if you are up  
for helping moderate, please reach out!

Many thanks, and I hope to see you there!

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

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.

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

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

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://www.BostonScienceLectures.com

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

Arts and Cultural Events List  http://aacel.blogspot.com/

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/






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