[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Feb 12 18:17:44 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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Channel Surfing from Doomsday Preppers to a Navaho Community Greenhouse

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/07/1062713/-Channel-Surfing-from-Doomsday-Preppers-to-a-Navaho-Community-Greenhouse

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Restoring the Gulf of Mexico—An Energy Policy? A Historical  
Perspective on Energy/Environment in the Gulf Region"
Monday, February 13, 2012
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JKF Street, Cambridge

Jason Theriot, Energy Policy Fellow, Consortium for Energy Policy  
Research at Harvard

Contact Name:  Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at harvard.edu

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

Challenges of Globalization: Global Engagement
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 13, 2012, 2 – 5 p.m.
WHERE  First Parish in Cambridge, 3 Church Street (Harvard Square)
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Conferences, Humanities, Social  
Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Cambridge Forum
SPEAKER(S)  Richard Parker, Mark N. Katz, and others
COST  FREE
CONTACT INFO  director at cambridgeforum.org, 617.495.2727
NOTE  At a conference on the impact of global engagement on America's  
sense of security and well-being, speakers examine the challenges  
posed by the European debt crisis, changing relationships with Israel  
and Palestine, and the war on terror.
LINK  http://www.cambridgeforum.org

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

Design and Optimization of Hybrid Electrical Energy Storage Systems
Monday, February 13 2012
2:30PM to 3:30PM, Refreshments: 2:15PM
MIT, Building 32-G449 - Kiva, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Massoud Pedram, EE department /USC

Abstract: Electrical energy is a high-quality form of energy, and thus  
it is beneficial to store the excessive electric energy in the  
electrical energy storage (EES) rather than converting it into  
different types of energy. EES systems can also be used for energy  
management on the Grid, peak load shaving, and UPS applications.   
Unfortunately, no existing EES element can fulfill all the desired  
requirements for electrical energy storage, such as high power/energy  
density, low cost/weight per unit capacity, high round-trip  
efficiency, and long cycle life. Furthermore, despite active research  
on the new EES technologies, it is unlikely that we will have an ideal  
EES element in the near future.

Our approach for improving the performance of EES systems is to  
exploit different types of EES elements, where each type has its  
unique strengths and weaknesses, to design hybrid EES (HEES) system  
architecture along with dynamic control policies that can dramatically  
improve the key performance characteristics of the EES system. This  
approach exploits fundamental properties that provide a HEES system  
with the potential to achieve a combination of performance metrics  
that are superior to that for any of its individual EES elements. In  
fact, in some cases, it is possible for a HEES system to attain values  
of individual metrics that are close to their respective best values  
across its constituent EES elements. The proposed architecture is  
inspired by (and similar to) the memory hierarchy of a modern computer  
system.

In my talk I will describe the circuit and architecture design of  
(bus- and network-based) HEES systems and give an overview of the HEES  
management policies, ranging from charge allocation to different banks  
of EES elements, pre-emptive charge migration from one EES bank to  
another, charge replacement (i.e., discharge) from different banks of  
EES elements, and on-the-fly reconfiguration of EES elements within  
each bank. I will conclude my talk with performance results obtained  
for some HEES systems.

Biosketch:  Massoud Pedram joined the EE department of USC after  
receiving a PhD in EECS from UC-Berkeley in 1991. He is a recipient of  
the 1996 Presidential Faculty Fellows Award, a Fellow of the IEEE, an  
ACM Distinguished Scientist, and the Editor-in-Chief of the ACM  
Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems and the IEEE  
Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems. Dr.  
Pedram's research focuses on energy-efficient computing, energy  
storage systems, low power electronics and design, and computer aided  
design of VLSI circuits and systems.

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Future Prospects for Nuclear Power after Fukushima

Monday, February 13, 2012

4:00p–5:00p

MIT, Building 26-414, Kolker Room, 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Jacopo Buongiorno, MIT

Nuclear is a high-intensity energy source with a practically unlimited  
fuel availability and a long record of excellent safety. The  
environmental benefits of nuclear are clear: as a near-zero-CO2  
emission energy source, nuclear can contribute to combating climate  
change. However, its contribution will be greatly enhanced, if its use  
is not limited only to the electric power market. In this presentation  
we will discuss a new paradigm in which (i) nuclear energy can be used  
to displace large amounts of fossil fuels (and their related CO2  
emissions) from the transportation sector, and (ii) nuclear can be  
combined with and stabilize renewable energy sources (such as wind and  
solar) to enable their expansion. A second focus of the presentation  
will be a review of the advanced Light Water Reactor designs being  
considered for new plant construction in the US and overseas. Emphasis  
will be on their safety performance, in particular with respect to  
accident scenarios similar to the recent event at the Fukushima- 
Daiichi plant in Japan.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/lns/news/nuclear.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Laboratory for Nuclear Science Colloquia and Seminars
For more information, contact:
Randyn Miller
32395
randyn at mit.edu

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How Finance Went Wrong, and How to Fix it: Some Worthwhile Canadian  
Initiatives
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 13, 2012, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Wasserstein Hall, Room 2036, Harvard Law School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  WCFIA Canada Program and the Labor and Worklife  
Program, Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S)  Randall Morck, the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Distinguished  
Chair in Finance, University of Alberta
COST  Free and open to the public and off the record
CONTACT INFO  canada at wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/seminars/canada/schedule

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The Electric Information Age Book
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 13, 2012, 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Boylston Hall, Room 403, Harvard Yard
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Humanities, Information Technology, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  De Bosis Colloquium in Italian Studies
SPEAKER(S)  Jeffrey Schnapp, Harvard University
COST  Free and open to the public
NOTE  Schnapp presents his book "The Electric Information Age  
Book" (Princeton Architectural Press). Talk in English.

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What Do Artists Know? Contemporary Responses to the Deskilling of Art

Monday, February 13, 2012

7:00p–9:00p

MIT, Building E15-001, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Michael Corris, Professor/Chair of Studio Art, Southern  
Methodist University, Dallas

Part of the ACT Spring 2012 Monday Nights Lecture Series:
Experiments in Thinking, Action and Form

Some contemporary art is profoundly engaged with the world in ways  
that go beyond interpretation. We seem to be in the midst of a  
cultural moment where the instrumentalization of art has never been  
more widely accepted among artists. Whether such artistic practices  
seek to work across disciplines like science or sociology, or aim to  
intervene positively in the social and cultural life of communities,  
the artists involved may be said to hold in common the belief that  
there is a real advantage that flows from the fact that they come to  
the scene as artists. We are familiar with the notion of the artist as  
a problem-solver. But what of other, more contentious knowledge  
claims? Michael Corris is an artist and writer on art whose work is  
most closely identified with the critical practices and attitudes of  
Conceptual art; specifically, with the work of the collective, Art &  
Language.

Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/lectures/2012-spring/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, School of  
Architecture and Planning, Department of Architecture
For more information, contact:
Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act at mit.edu, clauraa at mit.edu

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The Future of Power
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 13, 2012

7 – 8:30 p.m.

3 Church Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge

GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Cambridge Forum
SPEAKER(S)  Joseph Nye
COST  FREE
CONTACT INFO  director at cambridgeforum.org, 617.495.2727
NOTE  Kennedy School Professor Joseph Nye discusses the options that  
“soft power” and “smart power” offer to American foreign policy in the  
21st century.
LINK  http://www.cambridgeforum.org

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Vicky Chow, Bang on a Can All-Stars pianist Cage Recital

Monday, February 13, 2012

8:00p–10:00p

MIT, Building 14W-111, Killian Hall, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

In honor of John Cage's centennial, Bang on a Can All-Stars pianist  
Vicky Chow will perform John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for  
prepared piano. These pieces are a landmark in the history of  
classical music and piano repertoire. Written in 1946-48, this hour  
long set of pieces is one of the examples of Cage's life long  
fascination with the exploration of sound. 8pm, Killian Hall. Free and  
open to the public. www.vickychow.com

Web site: web.mit.edu/mta
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: none required
Sponsor(s): Music and Theater Arts
For more information, contact:
Clarise Snyder
mta-request at mit.edu

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The Boston-Area Climate Experiment:  Responses of a local old-field  
Ecosystem to Simulated Climate Change
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
12:00pm
HUH Seminar Room, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge
Jeffrey Dukes Purde/UMASS,


http://www.huh.harvard.edu/seminar_series/

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Tuesday, February 14, 12 p.m.
"Covering the Age of Political Uprising: Decentralization of Politics  
and the Media."
Speaker Series with Matt Bai, chief political correspondent, New York  
Times Magazine.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge

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World Regions in Turmoil: Globalization, Asia, and Europe
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 14, 2012, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge  
Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, co-sponsored by  
the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, the Harvard  
University Asia Center, and the Program on Transatlantic Relations,  
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA)
SPEAKER(S)  Kumiko Haba, academic associate, Program on U.S.-Japan  
Relations, Harvard University; and Jean Monnet Chair and Professor of  
European International Politics, Aoyama Gakuin University
Karl Kaiser, director, Program on Transatlantic Relations, Weatherhead  
Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), and adjunct professor of  
public policy, Harvard Kennedy School
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  xtian at wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/schedule/schedule.htm

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The North African "Arab Spring":  Days of Rage, Dreams of Trespass
February 14
4:30-6:30pm
MIT, Building E51-395, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Dr. William Lawrence, Director, North Africa Program for  
International Crisis Group

Dr. Lawrence is a Massachusetts native and holds a B.A. in History and  
French from Duke University, a 2nd level certificate in History from  
the University of Paris IV (Sorbonne) and a MALD and PhD from the  
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

He is currently the Director of the North Africa Program for  
International Crisis Group, a leading international think tank based  
in Morocco.

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Legatum Lecture: Mastering Business Model Innovation
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
5:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building E62-276, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

Reception to follow

Speaker: Alexander Osterwalder

The Business Model Canvas, a conceptual management tool to visualize,  
discuss, and invent business models, has known a phenomenal success  
around the world. Now its inventors, Alexander Osterwalder and Yves  
Pigneur are working on a series of new practical tools to continue to  
revolutionize how executives and entrepreneurs think of business.  
Besides explaining the Business Model Canvas, Alexander will elaborate  
on the usability of management concepts and how this will change the  
way we approach business.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/content/1130
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
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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What is Massachusetts Doing to Address Climate Change: From the  
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to the Global Warming Solutions Act
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
5:30p–7:00p
MIT, Building 4-145, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Dwayne Breger, Director of the Renewable and Alternative  
Energy Division at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources  
(DOER)

While federal attention to global climate change has waned,  
Massachusetts continues to confront and embrace the challenge.  
Massachusetts played a leading role in the development of the  
northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a 10-state, first- 
in-the-country mandatory CO2 cap-and-trade program on the power  
generation sector in effect since 2009. In 2008, the Massachusetts  
passed the Global Warming Solutions Act which commits the Commonwealth  
to economy-wide reductions of GHG emissions of 25% by 2020 and 80% by  
2050. This presentation will provide a summary and update on RGGI, as  
well as an overview of the policies and programs being implemented  
across the state to meet our GHG reduction commitments.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club, Energy & Environment Community

For more information, contact:
Energy & Environment Community @ MIT Energy Club
energy-environment at mit.edu

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Solar Energy the Third Way: Solar Thermoelectric Generators
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
7:00 PM
Boston University College of Arts & Sciences (west side), 725  
Commonwealth Ave, Room 522
Last fall, Professor Gang Chen was a guest on SftPublic’s Contemporary  
Science Issues & Innovations program.  There was so much interest that  
we asked him to give a presentation in our Lecture series at Boston  
University so that more people would be able to talk with him.  This  
time, Dr. Chen will expand on the topic of solar energy and he’ll tell  
us more about the “third way” of generating solar power and why this  
technology is taking off in other countries.

The conversion of sunlight into electricity has been dominated by two  
approaches: photovoltaic (PV) and solar-thermal power generation.   
Photovoltaic cells are mostly deployed as flat panels on rooftops or  
solar farms, while solar-thermal electricity generation technology  
relying on bulky optical concentrating systems and mechanical heat  
engines are used in large power plants.

In this presentation, Professor Gang Chen gives an overview of the two  
current methods of generating electricity from sunlight.  He then  
turns to the potential of using the thermoelectric effect to harness  
solar energy for the production of electricity.  He explains the  
basics of thermoelectric energy conversion and advanced materials, and  
then describes solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) that combine  
solar power with thermoelectric generators.  Dr. Chen explains the  
increasing popularity of STEGs in Europe and China as these devices  
become more efficient, less expensive and easier to install compared  
to other types of solar energy.

Gang Chen, Ph.D., is the C. R. Soderberg Professor of Power  
Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He obtained his  
Ph.D. degree from UC Berkeley in 1993 working under then Chancellor  
Chang-Lin Tien.  He was a faculty member at Duke University  
(1993-1997), University of California at Los Angeles (1997-2001),  
before joining MIT in 2001.  He is a recipient of the NSF Young  
Investigator Award, the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award, the R&D100  
Award, and the MIT McDonald Award for Excellences in Mentoring and  
Advising.  He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a  
Guggenheim Fellow, an AIAA Fellow, an AAAS Fellow, and an ASME  
Fellow.  He serves as the director of Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy  
Conversion Center (S3TEC), a DOE Energy Frontier Research Center.  He  
has published extensively in the area of nanoscale energy transport  
and conversion and nanoscale heat transfer, and co-founded GMZ Energy.


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Wednesday February 15

12pm EST/9am PST for an interactive webinar about organizing a  
Resilience Circle!

Register here. https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/303828366

We’ll talk about how to start a group for your community, 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

Before the webinar, please take 10 - 15 minutes to familiarize  
yourself with the  Resilience Circle seven-session curriculum. Contact  
us (info at localcircles.org) for an electronic copy.

You will receive a confirmation email after registering with  
information about how to join the webinar. View system requirements  
below.

Webinar System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows(R) 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Macintosh(R)-based attendees
Required: Mac OS(R) X 10.4.11 (Tiger(R)) or newer

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MassChallenge UnTapped @ CIC: Featuring 2011 Alum Sonia Divney
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM (ET)
Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, 14th Floor, Cambridge

What is MassChallenge?  When can I apply?

Join MassChallenge Alumni Sonia Divney, CEO & Founder ofZarzaTech, who  
will share her experience in the MassChallenge program. Learn first- 
hand the benefits of participating in the Accelerator from one of our  
very own!

Joining Sonia is Akhil Nigam, Founder & President of MassChallenge,  
who will talk about the founding of MC and what we have in store for  
2012. Find out how you can compete for a portion of $1 Million, no  
strings attached!

Please join us for an information session and lunch
at Cambridge Innovation Center
Pizza and drinks on us

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?
events at masschallenge.org
Register at http://mcinfosessioncic-esearch.eventbrite.com/?srnk=13

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012Triple Agent: Lessons from the CIA's  
Disaster at Khost, Afghanistan

Speaker: Joby Warrick, Washington Post

12:00p–1:30p

MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge

SSP Wednesday Seminar

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Security Studies Program

For more information, contact:
617-253-7529

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Wednesday, February 15, 1:30 p.m.
"Agriculture and Obesity Can Teach Us about Media and Ignorance."
Speaker Series with Clay Johnson, founder of Blue State Digital.  
Moderated by Nicco Mele, Adjunct Lecture in Public Policy.
Harvard, Cason Seminar Room, Taubman Building, First floor, 5 Eliot  
Street, Cambridge

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How Do Bugs' Gases Alter Planetary Atmospheres?

WHEN  Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE  Geological Museum, Haller Hall (Room 102), 24 Oxford Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard Origins of Life Initiative
SPEAKER(S)  Paul Falkowski, Rutgers University
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  origins at cfa.harvard.edu
LINK  http://origins.harvard.edu

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Is America in Decline?
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Ash Center for Democratic Governance and  
Innovation, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
SPEAKER(S)  Joseph Nye, University Distinguished Service Professor,  
and former dean, Harvard Kennedy School
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Bruce Jackan: bruce_jackan at hks.harvard.edu, 617.495.7548
NOTE  In this Decline of Democracy Seminar, Professor Joseph Nye will  
draw upon the argument of his recent book, "The Future of Power," to  
discuss what we mean when we talk about decline, what the relevant  
indicators are, and what difference it makes to our future.
LINK  http://www.ash.harvard.edu/Home/News-Events/Events/Is-America-in-Decline

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Film screening: "Bully" and Forum Discussion
Wednesday, February 15
5:00-7:00PM
Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
Hosted and organized by the Harvard Graduate School of Education in  
conjunction with the Berkman Center and Facing History and Ourselves.

Introduction: Kathleen McCartney, dean and Gerald S. Lesser Professor  
in Early Childhood Development, HGSE

Moderator: Richard Weissbourd, Ed.D.’87, director, Human Development  
and Psychology Program, HGSE

Panel participants include:
Lee Hirsch, director and documentary filmmaker
Stephanie Jones, assistant professor of education, HGSE
Jennifer Clark, associate program director, Facing History and  
Ourselves, New England

5:00 - 6:30PM - Film screening of Bully documentary
6:30 - 7:15PM - Panel discussion regarding the film and The Bully  
Project

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch,  
Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year.  
As teachers, administrators, kids and parents struggle to find  
answers, Bully examines the dire consequences of bullying through the  
testimony of strong and courageous youth. Through the power of their  
stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for change in the way we deal  
with bullying as parents, teachers, children and society as a whole.

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My Sabbatical at Hogwarts: Initial Explorations into Meaningful  
Gamification
Wednesday, February 15th
4:00pm to 6:00pm
Kotzen Meeting Room, Lefavour Hall, Simmons College, Boston
Free and open to the public

Join Dr. Nicholson as he presents the tales of his exploration and  
learn about his early explorations in developing Meaningful  
Gamification, which is grounded in theories from Education, HCI, and  
LIS.  Attendees will see MIT from the view of someone from the LIS  
field, will learn about life in the dorms and on the MIT campus, and  
will learn about gamification and how to think more deeply about the  
use of meaningful play.

Over the last academic year, Scott Nicholson has found himself in a  
world of magic and mystery – MIT.  He is normally an LIS professor at  
Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, but for his  
sabbatical, has been working with several game research centers at MIT  
and living as a visiting scholar in one of the undergraduate dorms.   
While here, he has been watching for ways to connect libraries and LIS  
theories into game studies, and has found a connection through  
Gamification (the use of game design for non-game activities).

Pizza will be served!

Dr. Scott Nicholson, MLIS
http://becauseplaymatters.com
Syracuse University / MIT

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Civic Media Session: "What's Your Information Diet?"

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

5:00p–7:00p

MIT, Building E14, (Media Lab 6th floor, "Skyline Room"), 75 Amherst  
Street, Cambridge

Civic Media Sessions

If we are what we eat, does it hold that we are also what we read and  
watch? You've made a New Year's Resolution to eat healthy, but do you  
ever consider what you feed your brain? When's the last time you took  
a critical look at the news and information sources that help you form  
opinions, learn new things, and generally live your life?

Center director Ethan Zuckerman will discuss these questions with Clay  
Johnson, author of The Information Diet, and Sean B. Cash, Associate  
Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at  
Tufts University.

We'll have a lively, interdisciplinary conversation about health and  
sanity in an age of overconsumption, and how to best design tools to  
help people.

Web site: http://civic.mit.edu/event/civic-media-session-whats-your-information-diet
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for Civic Media
For more information, contact:
Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
awhit at mit.edu

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Countdown: Iran, Israel and the Threat of a Military Strike

WHEN  Wed., Feb. 15, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE  JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK St., Cambridge,  
MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Institute of Politics; co-sponsored by the  
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Middle East  
Initiative
SPEAKER(S)  Nazila Fathi, spring 2012 Shorenstein Fellow, Harvard  
Kennedy School (HKS); Neiman Fellow (2010-11)
Charles Freilich, senior fellow, International Security Program, HKS
Steven E. Miller, director, International Security Program, HKS
Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of  
International Affairs, HKS
David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent, New York Times
Stephen Walt (moderator), Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of  
International Affairs, HKS
LINK  http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Events-Meetings/JFK-Jr.-Forum-Calendar/FORUM-%22Countdown-Iran,-Israel-and-the-Threat-of-a-Military-Strike%22

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Ben Houge Artist Panel: Sound and Real-Time Systems

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

7:00p–8:30p

MIT, Building E15-001, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Ben Houge, Joe Paradiso, Evan Ziporyn, David Cossin, Nick  
Montfort

Visiting Artist Ben Houge leads the panel Sound and Real-Time Systems,  
a discussion about the overlap between such disparate disciplines as  
video games, digital media, and music composition. To underscore these  
connections, MIT panelists will share their experience in a range of  
fields: Joe Paradiso will present his modular synthesizer, newly  
installed at the MIT Museum; Evan Ziporyn and David Cossin of Bang on  
a Can All-Stars will discuss performance and composition; and Nick  
Montfort will provide insights into media environments.

Web site: http://arts.mit.edu/va/artist/houge/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Arts at MIT
For more information, contact:
Meg Rotzel
617-253-2372
mrotzel at mit.edu


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

Amory Lovins presents "Reinventing Fire"

February 16, 2012

4:00p–5:00p

MIT, Building 54-100, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Lovins is Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Scientist at the Rocky  
Mountain Institute, an independent nonprofit think-and-do tank that  
drives the efficient and restorative use of resources. Lovins will  
present key ideas form one of his latest books titled "Reinventing  
Fire." In it, he builds a case that maps pathways for running a 158%- 
bugger U.S. economy in 2050 but needing no oil, no coal, no nuclear  
energy, one-third less natural gas, and no new inventions.  
"Reinventing Fire's" business case -- built on enduring value,  
resilience, and risk management -- is so compelling that its execution  
wouldn't require new federal taxes, subsidies, mandates, or laws; it  
makes sense and makes money. Written for all of America's leaders,  
it's a story of astounding choices and opportunities for creating the  
new energy era.

Sponsored by:  MIT Energy Campus Events

Admission:  Open to the public

For more information:  Contact MIT Energy Club

energy-events at mit.edu

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

Experiments in Social Computation

Thursday, February 16, 2012

4:00p–5:30p

MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Michael Kearns

Dertouzos Lecturer Series 2011/2012
The Dertouzos Lecturer Series has been a tradition since 1976,  
featuring some of the most influential thinkers in computer science,  
including Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Donald Knuth, John McCarthy, and  
Mitchell Kapor. Formerly the Distinguished Lecturer Series, the series  
has been renamed in memory of Michael Dertouzos, Director for the Lab  
for Computer Science from 1974 to 2001.

What do the theory of computation, economics and related fields have  
to say about the emerging phenomena of crowdsourcing and social  
computing? Most successful applications of crowdsourcing to date have  
been on problems we might consider "embarrassingly parallelizable"  
from a computational perspective. But the power of the social  
computation approach is already evident, and the road cleared for  
applying it to more challenging problems. In part towards this goal,  
for a number of years we have been conducting controlled human-subject  
experiments in distributed social computation in networks with only  
limited and local communication. These experiments cast a number of  
traditional computational problems --- including graph coloring,  
consensus, independent set, market equilibria, biased voting and  
network formation --- as games of strategic interaction in which  
subjects have financial incentives to collectively "compute" global  
solutions. I will overview and summarize the many behavioral findings  
from this line of experimentation, and draw broad comparisons to some  
of the predictions made by the theory of computation and microeconomics.

Web site: University of Pennsylvania
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): CSAIL
For more information, contact:
Colleen Russell
617-253-0145
crussell at csail.mit.edu

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

"Coming to a city Near You? Economic Crisis and Social Unrest in  
Greece and Europe"

Thursday, February 16, 2012

5:00p–6:00p

MIT, Building 4-231, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Prof Kalyvas

Web site: hsa.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Hellenic Students' Association
For more information, contact:
Dimitris Chatzigeorgiou
dchatzis at mit.edu

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

Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change. “Global Change, Biodiversity  
and Poverty: Insights from the Himalaya”
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 16, 2012, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard University Center for the Environment  
with generous support from Bank of America
SPEAKER(S)  Kamaljit S. Bawa, professor, Department of Biology,  
University of Massachusetts, Boston
CONTACT INFO  Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  Followed by a reception.
Global change in the form of climate, land use and biodiversity change  
is underway in the Himalayas at an unprecedented rapid rate. The  
Himalayas are the most spectacular of the 34 global hotspots of  
biodiversity. With about 15 000 glaciers—the highest concentration in  
the world— these mountains are also the source of Asia’s eight largest  
rivers. More than 2.0 billion people inhabit the basins of these  
rivers. Thus global change in the Himalayas is likely to have serious  
consequences for almost one third of the humanity. In the first part  
of his talk, Kamal will present recent data from his group on climate  
and land use change in the Himalayas. In the second part, he will  
outline the constraints in maintaining multi-functional landscapes  
that could conserve ecosystem services and foster human wellbeing. In  
the third and final part, he will comment on the knowledge and  
institutions required to promote landscape resilience.
LINK  http://environment.harvard.edu/kbawa

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

20 Questions with Steven Pinker on Violence

WHEN  Thu., Feb. 16, 2012, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Sackler Auditorium (029) at 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Ethics, Humanities,  
Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard
SPEAKER(S)  Steven Pinker
Moderated by Homi Bhabha
Questioners:
Amy Hollywood
Jim Kloppenberg
Charles Maier
Michael Sandel
Elaine Scarry
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  humcentr at fas.harvard.edu, 617.495.0738
LINK  http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/steven-pinker-violence

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

Darwin's Nightmare:  climbing the evolutionary ladder on the backs of  
Africans
Thursday, February 16
6:40 pm doors open, 7 pm film starts
243 Broadway, Cambridge - corner of Broadway and Windsor, entrance on  
Windsor

This is a tale about humans between the North and the South, and about  
globalization, and about fish.

Some time in the 1960's, in the heart of Africa, a new animal was  
introduced into Lake Victoria as a little scientific experiment. The  
Nile Perch, a voracious predator, extinguished almost the entire stock  
of the native fish species. The new fish multiplied so fast ...its  
white fillets are today exported all around the world.

The larger scope of the story explores the gun trade to Africa that  
takes place under the covers -- Russian pilots fly guns into Africa,  
then fly fish back out to Europe. Huge hulking ex-Soviet cargo planes  
come daily to collect the latest catch in exchange for their  
southbound cargo ? Kalashnikovs and ammunitions for the uncounted wars  
in the dark center of the continent. The hazards and consequences of  
this trade are explored, including the pan-African violence propagated  
by constant flow
of weapons into the continent.

If it is a "survival of the fittest" world, as Darwin concluded, then  
the capitalist interests that fund the gun runners are climbing the  
evolutionary ladder on the backs of the Africans in this stark  
Darwinian example. Much like the foreseeable extinction of the Lake  
Victoria perch, and death of Lake Victoria itself, the Africans are in  
grave jeopardy, even as they survive in the only ways they know how.

This booming multinational industry of fish and weapons has created an  
ungodly globalized alliance on the shores of the world's biggest  
tropical lake: an army of local fishermen, World bank agents, homeless  
children, African ministers, EU-commissioners, Tanzanian prostitutes  
and Russian pilots.

"...an extraordinary work of visual journalism, a richly illustrated  
report on a distant catastrophe that is also one of the central  
stories of our time." ~ NYT

"Sauper's delicately horrific documentary is a short, sharp slap in  
the face of the developed world, and a long overdue one at that."  ~  
Austin Chronicle

"It immerses you in its reality one toe at a time, until suddenly you  
are in over your head, gasping for air as the horror of the situation  
reveals itself in all its savage devastation." LA Times

"This isn't Darwin's nightmare; it's our own." Howard Schumann, IMdb

"Mr Sauper has done something extraordinary. Without putting in any  
bias, he has allowed this story to unfold on its own. I've never, EVER  
seen a documentary like this." ~B Merritt, Amazon.com

Director Hubert Sauper says:  "In DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE I tried to  
transform the bizarre success story of a fish and the ephemeral boom  
around this "fittest" animal  into an ironic, frightening allegory for  
what is called the New World Order. I could make the same kind of  
movie in Sierra Leone, only the fish would be diamonds, in Honduras,  
bananas, and in Libya, Nigeria or Angola, crude oil. Most of us I  
guess, know about the destructive mechanisms of our time, but we  
cannot fully picture them. We are unable to "get it", unable to  
actually believe what we know.

It is, for example, incredible that wherever prime raw material is  
discovered, the locals die in misery, their sons become soldiers, and  
their daughters are turned into servants and whores. Hearing and  
seeing the same stories over and over makes me feel sick. After  
hundreds of years of slavery and colonisation of Africa, globalisation  
of African markets is the third and deadliest humiliation for the  
people of this continent. The arrogance of rich countries towards the  
third world (that's three quarters of humanity) is creating  
immeasurable future dangers for all peoples."

http://rule19.org/videos/

Please join us for a stimulating night out; bring your friends!
free film, free refreshments, & free door prizes.
[donations are accepted]

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

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

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

Lessons Learned from Actual Multifamily Renovations
February 17
8:30 am
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston

Presenters:  Beverly Craig, Homeowner’s Rehab, Inc. & Matt Root,  
Conservation Services Group

Explores sustainability and construction management issues for  
multifamily housing as well as meeting Energy Star requirements, low  
HERS indexes, and LEED for Homes.

Sponsored by Boston Society of Architects Housing Committee
RSVP to rsvp at architects.org

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

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

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

 From Ruins to Revival A Blueprint for Reconstruction, One Year After  
the Great Earthquake and Tsunami in Northeastern Japan
10:00am - 12:00pm
Harvard Neighbors Meeting Room, Loeb House, 17 Quincy Street, Cambridge
Learn more about the terrible disaster, the rescue efforts, the  
government’s response, and the reconstruction plans for this region,  
including the problem of the disabled nuclear power plant.
Contact Name: yayoi.witzel at gmail.com

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

Using Computational Optimization to Support Sustainable Building Design

Friday, February 17, 2012

12:00p–1:00p

MIT, Building 1-150, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Forest Flager, Ph.D.

This seminar presents computational design optimization methods that  
enable architects and engineers to quantitatively evaluate orders of  
magnitude more design alternatives than currently possible using  
conventional simulation-based processes, and thereby, facilitates the  
discovery of innovative robust and sustainable design solutions. The  
successful application of these new design methods to several building  
and sports stadia projects in collaboration with Arup, Disney and The  
Beck Group will be discussed.

Dr. Flager is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Integrated  
Facility Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford University as well as a  
lecturer for the Architectural Design program. He received his MEng  
from MIT in 2003 and has practiced as a structural engineer for Arup  
in San Francisco and London.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering

For more information, contact:
Lauren
8-8685
laurenm at mit.edu

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

Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq: War and Landscape Photography

Friday, February 17, 2012

12:00p–2:00p

MIT, Building 14E-304, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Chuong-Dai Vo

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cbbs/
Open to: the general public
Cost: N/A
Sponsor(s): Foreign Languages & Literatures, Women's and Gender Studies
For more information, contact:
Chuong-Dai Vo
617-253-4771
chvo at mit.edu

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

The Precision vs. the Energy Frontier-Testing the Standard Model at  
Jefferson Lab

Friday, February 17, 2012

2:00p–3:00p

MIT, Building 26-414, Kolker Room, 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Juliette Mammei, University of Massachusetts

The Standard Model of Particles and Interactions (SM) describes our  
current understanding of the fundamental particles that make up matter  
and their interactions. However, there are still many questions which  
are not answered by the SM, such as the origin of dark matter and dark  
energy, which together make up 95% of the energy in the universe, but  
are not yet included in the SM. Various extensions to the SM predict  
the existence of new particles, some of which could be dark matter  
candidates. The SM can be tested with direct searches for as-yet- 
undiscovered particles, such as the Higgs boson, at colliders which  
explore the energy frontier such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).  
An alternative, yet complementary, approach is to search for physics  
beyond the SM by making extremely precise measurements of SM  
quantities, where deviations from predicted values would indicate the  
presence of new physics. Qweak and MOLLER comprise a program of  
measurements at Jefferson Lab which will test the SM by exploiting the  
property of parity-violation in the weak interaction. They will  
measure the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic electron-proton or  
electron-electron (M??ller) scattering, respectively, anticipated as  
the world???s most precise measurements of the weak mixing angle,  
sin2??W, away from the Z resonance. I will describe the experiments  
and their potential impact on the development of the New Standard Model.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/lns/news/specialseminar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Laboratory for Nuclear Science Colloquia and Seminars
For more information, contact:
Randyn Miller
32395
randyn at mit.edu

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

Breaking down old approximations to help develop third generation  
solar cells: a quantum mechanical model for singlet fission

Friday, February 17, 2012

3:00p–4:00p

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

Speaker: Paul Zimmerman, Department of Chemistry, UC Berkeley

Chemical Engineering Department Seminar Series
See speakers, talk titles, and dates at http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html

Strong interest in creating next-generation solar cells has renewed  
focus on singlet fission, where one absorbed photon converts into two  
triplet charge carriers. Utilization of singlet fission could lead to  
solar cells with efficiencies greater than the Shockley-Quiesser  
limit. Before effective design of such cells could be achieved, a  
fundamental understanding of the singlet fission mechanism must be  
developed. This is challenging because it requires a detailed  
characterization of multi-exciton (multi-charge carrier) states. While  
many quantum simulations are unable to capture even the qualitative  
nature of these states (ie most TD-DFT, EOM-CCSD theories), multi- 
exciton states can be characterized using restricted-active-space spin- 
flip methods. In this talk, the double and quadruple spin flip methods  
are applied to singlet fission in tetracene and pentacene crystals. A  
specific intermolecular motion will be highlighted as the key nuclear  
coordinate responsible for singlet fission in the acenes. This  
vibration facilitates nonadiabatic conversion of a bright, single  
exciton state to a dark multi-triplet state. From this mechanism, I'll  
discuss implications for the design of new solar cells that utilize  
singlet fission to harvest a maximum portion of the solar spectrum.

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

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

Upcoming

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


CDD Forum - Shrinking Cities
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

6:00p–8:00p

MIT, Building 10-485, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

City Design and Development Lecture Series focusing on Shrinking Cities

Speaker: Daniel D'Oca - Interboro Partners

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, Department of Urban Studies  
and Planning

For more information, contact:
Sandra Elliott
617-253-5115
sandrame at mit.edu

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

The Boston Globe's digital strategy: a peek behind the (pay)wall
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester

Jeff Moriarty, vice president of digital products, will talk about the  
Boston Globe’s digital strategy – the launch of the premium  
BostonGlobe.comalongside the advertising supported boston.com — and  
how the websites embody and renew the values and ambitions that have  
guided its parent newspaper for 139 years.
With more ways to present the news, tell stories, and convey data the  
Globe is pursuing new products and transforming its business across  
all of its print and digital brands.

RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/43943892/?a=ea1_evn&eventId=43943892&action=detail&rv=ea1&rv=ea1

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

GreenPort Forum

Two New GreenPort Projects:  Greening our Buildings and Neighborhood  
Kitchen

Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00pm

Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Ave.

How can our neighborhood green up its buildings?  How can GreenPort  
help make more energy audits, efficiency implementations renewables  
happen?  House parties?  Energy walks?  A buddy system?  We've got  
some ideas and would like to spark a discussion about what might work  
and how to start. Presented by Rosalie Anders. Rosalie works on  
climate issues for the City of Cambridge and is active in GreenPort.

GreenPort is starting a Neighborhood Kitchen--food prep, meal  
distribution and meal sharing for Cambridgeport. Sue Reinert and Sally  
Watermulder are initiating this. Sue is a Cambridgeport resident,  
member of Simplex Community Garden and a good eater. Sally is also a  
Cambridgeport resident, GreenPort Coordinating Committee member as  
well as a green building architect and community planner.

Come with your ideas for how we can launch these two important projects.
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable  
Cambridgeport neighborhood

For more information, contact Steve Wineman at swineman at gis.net

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

Five members of the Beehive, a design cooperative based in Machias,  
Maine, will be in residence in the Art Education Department from  
February 21-28. They will be visiting classes and studios, installing  
an exhibition in the Arnheim Gallery, and giving two public  
presentations.

The Beehive?s mission is to create collaborative, anti-copyright  
images that can be used as alternative educational and organizing  
tools. Best known for their posters, the bees collaborate to create  
visual narratives that break down and deconstruct complex and  
overwhelming political/social issues.

Schedule of Beehive Events at MassArt:
February 27 - March 14 Arnheim exhibition
Monday, Feb. 27, 7:00 - 8:30pm  opening

Wednesday, February 22, 5:15-7:00 pm, Kennedy 406, MassArt, Boston
Presentation on running a collaborative of artists and activists

Monday, February 27, 5:00-7:00 pm, Tower Auditorium, MassArt, Boston
Presentation on the True Cost of Coal Banner

The Beehive Collective releases their innovative graphic, "The True  
Cost of Coal: a visual exploration of Mountaintop Removal coal mining  
and Resistance"
Two years in the making, "The True Cost of Coal" is an elaborate  
narrative illustration that explores the complex story of mountaintop  
removal coal mining and the broader impacts of coal in Appalachia and  
beyond. The image is the culmination of an intensive and collaborative  
research process, as the Beehive methodology centers on first hand  
story-sharing. To create the poster, the Beehive interviewed hundreds  
of community members throughout the Appalachia region. "We feel it?s
extremely important to gather our information from as close to the  
source as possible," a Beehive illustrator says.

The Bees craft visual metaphors and weave them together in a patchwork  
"quilt" of personal stories. In their interactive picture-lectures,  
the Bees lead audiences through an engaging, larger-than-life banner  
version of the graphic, interweaving anecdotes, statistics, and  
history. The experience prompts discussion and understanding of  
contemporary struggles about energy and coal, while honoring the deep  
legacy of the Appalachian experience. Upon seeing the graphic, Tanya  
Turner of Pineville, KY said, "This image is changing Appalachia.  
Appalachians are taking back Appalachia and this image is a tool for  
that change."

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

"Drones: the New Frontier of Warfare and Spying"
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
7:00pm until 10:00pm
Friends Meeting, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge
	
Description
U.S. use of drones for warfare and spying has become routine. The use  
of drones increased dramatically under the Obama administration.  
Pentagon funding for drones is scheduled to increase by up to 60  
percent while other programs are being cut. Drones have been used for  
targeted killings in Pakistan,. Afghanistan and Yemen. One in three  
U.S. warplanes are now drone piloted. Drones have also been used for  
surveillance in the U.S.

Learn more about this new instrument of war and plan together about  
how we can respond.

Bruce Gagnon - Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Nancy Murray - American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Matthew Hoey - Military Space Transparency Project

For more information contact:
boston.wilpf.org -- 617-244-8054 or www.justicewithpeace.org --  
617-383-4857

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

2012 FARM SHARE FAIR!  ::
Thursday March 1st @ 5:30-8PM  |  Free Admission
The Argenziano School in Union Sq @ 290 Washington St / Somerville

We’re bringing lots of local farms to the city!  Meet the folks who  
grow your food, and sign up for a local CSA share to get weekly fresh  
veggies!

A CSA share is a weekly box of fresh/delicious/natural veggies (and  
sometimes meat/fish) delivered by local farms to convenient pickup  
spots within our community.

* Presented by theMOVE  |  more info @ www.farmsharefair.org
* Sponsored by Rafiki Bistro + Craigie on Main
* Co-sponsored by Somerville Climate Action + NOFA/Mass + Somerville  
Community Health Agenda + Union Square Main Streets

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

Landlord Profitability Workshop
Saturday, March 3
9am to noon
MIT Student Center, 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Water bills high?
Tenants keep moving out?
Hefty common area electricity bills?
Bed bugs, rats, or mice?
Too much garbage?
Choose from several short talks.  Ask questions of the experts:

Sam Corda, Water Department Director

Michael Blasnik of Blasnik Associates

Wegowise Utility Tracking

Winn Management’s Energy Coordinator
And others!

Get answers from the experts.

Get paid for solar panels
Sign up for free email water-use alerts
See a free infrared scan of your building

We’ll only have room for 100 attendees.
Reserve your spot and learn more at  http://www.HEETma.com

Sponsored by HEET, the Cambridge Energy Alliance, and the Sustainable  
Business Network.

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

Statewide Farm to School Convention
March 15, 2012
Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, MA!

Come hear how inspiring food service directors, educators, students,  
parents, and community members are building connections between  
schools and farms in Massachusetts - and learn what you can do to  
further those connections.

This year's convention will feature Curt Ellis, Executive Director of  
FoodCorps, and Abbie Nelson, Vice President of the SNA in VT and  
Director of VTFEED, as well as six workshop tracks:
New Ideas for Locally Grown in School Cafeterias
Farm to School for Very Young Students
New Strategies for Expanding Farm to School Sales
Models for Successful Agriculture-Based Education
Community Connections
New Initiatives in Colleges and Other Institutions

Register at http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103105356625-127/Convention+Registration+Form.pdf

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

Transition to a New Economy Conference
March 30th - April 1st at Harvard University

Speakers include: Richard Heinberg Post Carbon Institute and Juliet  
Schor Boston College and others

Apply online and find out more at http://www.economyfutures.org/
Early application deadline: Feb 15
Final application deadline: Feb 21


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

Opportunity

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

Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images

Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by  
having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera?   
With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more  
comfortable and less expensive to heat.  However, at $200 or so, the  
cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.

HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer  
Cambridge residents free thermal scans.

Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a  
hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras.  They will scan every  
building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or  
buildings or on a private way).  Building owners can view thermal  
images of their property and an analysis online. The information is  
password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.

Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images  
and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building  
owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their  
images and analysis for a small fee.

The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.

Go to Sagewell.com.  Type in your address at the bottom where it says  
"Find your home or building" and press return.  Then click on "Here"  
to request the report.

That's it.  When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will  
be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help  
you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to  
do about it.

With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money,  
not to mention comfort).

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

Cambridge Energy Alliance is kicking off a brand new pilot project to  
make Cambridge more energy efficient and install more renewable energy  
one neighborhood at a time. Live Better Porter Square will  
simultaneously engage every sector in Porter Square; bringing together  
churches, schools, community gardeners, business leaders,
students and more!

The goals of this four month campaign are to promote community  
involvement, support the local economy, and highlight Porter Square as  
a model for the rest of the city.

Neighborhood Liaison volunteers will assist with planning and  
implementing outreach efforts, as well as community events. We are  
looking for individuals with an interest in community organizing,  
outreach, and event planning.

If you are interested in volunteering please sign up to attend the  
information and interview session on February 14th.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGhQRUFaRU85dVp1c244LVJnWERTaXc6MQ

We’ll be offering an interactive and fun half-day training session for  
Neighborhood Liaison volunteers on March 3rd.

Questions? Email Meghan at outreach at cambridgeenergyalliance.org

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

*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!

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

Resource

-----------

Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide

SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green  
Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!

To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for  
sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org

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

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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