[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Mar 18 15:36:07 PDT 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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Local Food Network: Cambridge, MA http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/03/17/1075413/-Local-Food-Network-Cambridge-MA
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Monday, March 19
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Webinar: Addressing the Crisis in Employment and Consumer Demand -- A
Systems Approach
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00p–1:00p
Location: Virtual -- see url below for registration link.
Speaker: Nicholas A. Ashford, PhD., JD Professor of Technology and
Policy Director, MIT Technology and Law Program
MIT System Design and Management Program Systems Thinking Webinar Series
This series features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni,
students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate
information on how to employ systems thinking to address engineering,
management, and socio-political components of complex challenges.
At present, national and global reforms are focused on improving the
financial system, which is not synonymous with reforming the economic
system or improving the economic status of individual citizens. The
session discusses the root causes of the crisis and offers specific
policies and initiatives that need to be considered to ensure
sustainable employment and livelihoods in the context of a well-
functioning and equitable economic system.
Web site:http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_031912/webinar-ashford-
employment-consumer-demand.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: See url above
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division, MIT System Design and
Management (SDM) Program
For more information, contact:
Lois Slavin
617-253-0812
lslavin at mit.edu
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Climate Change and New England
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Alan Betts
The climate feedbacks at northern latitudes associated with land-
atmosphere coupling are driving rapid climate change in New England.
The winter season is shrinking most rapidly as spring is coming
earlier and fall later by several days per decade. Adaptation to
climate change has become a critical issue both for our built
infrastructure, agriculture and for natural ecosystems.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars
For more information, contact:
Daniela Domeisen
ddaniela at mit.edu
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"Graphene: a novel platform for capturing and manipulating light at
the nanoscale"
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 4-331, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Frank Koppens - ICFO - Barcelona, Spain
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/physics/cmt/chezp.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Physics Department
For more information, contact:
Monica Wolf
617-253-4829
mwolf at mit.edu
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The 4th Amendment and the Modern Grid
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00pm - 1:00pm
HUCE Seminar Room, 24 Oxford Street 3rd Floor, Cambridge
Environmental Law Society March "Energy Series"
Can police use your meter to find out what you're doing? Listen to
HLS’s own Sonia McNeil, JD ’12, discuss the complex legal issues that
come with a smarter, more intrusive electric grid. She recently
published on this topic for the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology.
Contact Name: Sachin Desai
sdesai at jd13.law.harvard.edu
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"Simultaneously Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change and Improving
Human Health and Food Security"
Monday, March 19, 2012 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
with Joel Schwartz, Harvard School of Public Health
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at harvard.edu
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Israel & the Arab Spring: Risks and Opportunities
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E40-496, Pye Conference Room, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Ehud Eiran
The historic changes in the Middle-East are bound to affect Israel's
strategic environment and its relationship with its neighbors, in
profound ways. These changes create new risks for the Jewish state,
but also provide it with new opportunities. The talk will explore
both, as well as some of the possible effects on the internal Israeli
arena.
Dr. Ehud Eiran is a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of
International Relations at the University of Haifa, Israel. Eiran held
research appointments at Harvard and Brandeis Universities and is a
former assistant to the Foreign Policy Advisor to Israel's Prime
Minister.
Introduction by Prof. Stephen Van Evera, Ford International Professor
in the MIT Political Science Department.
Light refreshments will be served.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MISTI MIT-Israel Program, Center for International
Studies, Security Studies Program
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"Simultaneously Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change and Improving
Human Health and Food Security"
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Joel Schwartz, Harvard School of Public Health
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at harvard.edu
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Finding a Drinking Water Supply for Rural Bangladesh that Reduces
Exposure to both Arsenic and Diarrheal Diseases
WHEN Mon., Mar. 19, 2012, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE HSPH Kresge Bldg, 677 Huntington Ave., Room 907 (Epidemiology
Library), Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HSPH Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Center
for Communicable Disease Dynamics Spring Seminar Series
SPEAKER(S) Michael Emch, professor, Department of Geography (adjunct,
Department of Epidemiology), fellow, Carolina Population Center,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO Linda Coventry: lcoventr at hsph.harvard.edu
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY SPRING LECTURE SERIES: Environmental performance
simulation - From evaluating performance to suggesting new forms
Monday, March 19, 2012
12:30p–2:00p
MIT, Building 7-431, Long Lounge (AVT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue,
Cambridge
Speaker: Christoph Reinhart, Associate Professor of Building
Technology, Department of Architecture, MIT
For decades building performance simulation research and tool
development have focused on producing increasingly reliable numeric
models which are now capable of predicting the physical performance of
commonly used building typologies and technologies. With the growing
use of these tools in practice and education, a new set of
requirements is emerging. How can we make sure that novice users are
using the tools accurately? Instead of "just" getting a performance
evaluation at the end of design, how can we make simulations an
integral part of the design process itself? This presentation will
deal with a series of related research projects and classroom
exercises that demonstrate how integrated daylight and energy
simulations can act as form-givers for architecture at the building
and neighborhood scale.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, Building Technology Program
For more information, contact:
Alexandra Golledge
253-0463
agoll18 at mit.edu
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How Science Can Contribute to Poverty Alleviation in Africa: Lessons
from the International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology
WHEN Mon., Mar. 19, 2012, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard University Center for the Environment Seminar Room, 24
Oxford Street 3rd Floor, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment;
the Science Technology and Globalization Program; the Sustainability
Science Program; and the Center for International Development
SPEAKER(S) Christian Borgemeister, director general, International
Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Christian Borgemeister spent time in a variety of developing
African and Asian countries, and for the past seven years, has
directed the International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology, an
independent pan-African research center headquartered in Nairobi,
Kenya. Its mission is to improve the livelihoods and environments of
people through the sustainable control of insect pests and disease
vectors.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2012-03-19/huce-special-seminar
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Incentives, Computation, and Networks in the Era of the Social Web
Mar 19, 2012
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
Maxwell Dworkin G125 (Refreshments at 3:30 outside MD G125)
Yaron Singer , Postdoctoral Researcher at Google
Throughout the past decade the internet has been going through a
dramatic change. Developments in web technologies, increasing
connectivity, and the emergence of online social networks enable
billions of people to easily create and share content across the web.
In response to this change, this coming generation of internet
platforms focuses on optimizing complex objectives while taking input
from humans and leveraging petabytes of online social interaction
data. Incentives, computation, and network effects all play a major
role in the social era of the internet and their reconciliation
presents some of its greatest challenges and opportunities.
In this talk we will discuss the principles and applications of
algorithm design in the era of the social web. We will first
introduce a novel framework for combinatorial optimization under
incentive constraints which enables designing social systems with
provable guarantees. After discussing some of the main theoretical
results in this framework, we will present their application to word-
of-mouth advertising, information and crowdsourcing markets and give
experimental evidence to the performance of these systems in
practice. We will conclude by discussing several open theoretical
and practical challenges for designing social systems in this coming
decade.
Speaker Biography:
Yaron Singer is a postdoctoral researcher at Google. He recently
obtained his PhD from UC Berkeley where he was advised by Christos
Papadimitriou, and before that he completed his undergraduate studies
in Mathematics and Computer Science at Tel Aviv University in 2007. He
is the recipient of the 2012 Best Student Paper Award at the ACM
conference on Web Search and Data Mining, the 2010 Facebook
Fellowship, the 2009 Microsoft Research Fellowship, the 2010 UC
Berkeley Venture Lab Award, the 2010 UC Berkeley IT&Web Startup
Competition Award, and a 2010 Qualcomm Innovation Finalist Prize.
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A Review of Ion Transport Membrane Reactors for Hydrocarbon Conversion
Monday, March 19, 2012
4:15p–5:15p
MIT, Building 3-333, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Patrick Kirchen, Mechanical Engineering Department, MIT
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pat Kirchen is a research scientist in the Reacting Gas Dynamics
Laboratory at MIT. His research focuses on the application of high
temperature membranes for low carbon emission power and heat
generation. Pat earned his doctorate in 2008 from the ETH Zurich,
Switzerland, where his research focused on exhaust stream and in-
cylinder diesel engine soot emission measurements and modeling. After
working as a post-doctoral associate in similar fields at the ETH
Zurich, he moved to the RGD Lab at MIT in October 2009. He received
his M.Sc. and B.Sc. from the University of Alberta in Canada.
ABSTRACT
Ion Transport Membrane (ITM) reactors provide a novel technology for
combining gas separation and reaction, and hold the potential to
improve the performance of numerous carbon capture oriented
hydrocarbon conversion processes. At temperatures above ~800C and
under oxygen chemical potential gradients, ITMs transport oxygen ions
with a very high selectivity (>99%). This enables them to be a cost
effective and efficient alternative to conventional, cryogenic air
separation units used in oxy-combustion carbon capture power plants.
When a reactive sweep gas is utilized, the resulting ITM reactor
configuration can provide significantly higher oxygen permeation rates
compared to non-reactive ITMs, as well as higher conversions and
product selectivities than traditional co-feed reactors (e.g. for
syngas production).
In this presentation, a review of the state of the art of ITM systems
with regard to the fundamentals of ITM reactors, the influence of
operating conditions on ITM reactor performance, potential
applications of ITM reactors for low carbon power generation, and the
major challenges facing ITM development will be discussed. In
addition, an overview of the ITM based activities at the Reacting Gas
Dynamics Laboratory will be given, highlighting a novel ITM reactor,
complimentary ITM reactor simulations, and a concept for ITM based CO2
capture and reuse.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): RGD Lab
For more information, contact:
Jeff Hanna
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CDD Forum - Shrinking Cities
Monday, March 19, 2012
6:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building 10-485, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Jill Desimini
Jill Desimini is a landscape architect and an Assistant Professor of
Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of
Design. Her research focuses on landscape strategies for shrinking
cities in North America. The work attempts to re-frame the normative
dialogue surrounding population loss towards a productive outcome.
Prior to joining the GSD, she was a senior associate at Stoss
Landscape Urbanism. She holds MLA and MArch degrees from the
University of Pennsylvania.
The 2012 City Design and Development Forum public lecture series will
bring to MIT emerging and leading thinkers in disciplines influencing
the urbanism of shrinking cities, including: landscape, architecture,
planning, and photography.
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
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MUSIC 2.0: TOOLS + TECH FOR MUSICIANS, MARKETERS, AND MANAGERS
3/19/2012
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
02142
Description: Boston + New England have an impressive number of
companies creating tools and technologies to help promote and fund
music projects. We also have a vibrant and diverse music community.
Music 2.0 keeps connecting the two for the benefit of both.
With 200+ attendees, at both the 2010 and 2011 events, they were
terrific evenings, pulling together many of the music, tech, and event
companies from Greater Boston.
For 2012, we are going to have more music-related companies present,
quick updates from some companies that presented in years past, and
more time to meet friends new and old (read: networking!) and a chance
for companies that are hiring to press the flesh with folks who are
job hunting.
Music 2.0 is a terrific event for:
Musicians of every genre (rock, hip hop, jazz, folk, classical,
electronic, opera, etc.)
Marketing folks from venues, arts organizations, etc.
Managers and agents
Investors
Members of the media
Promoters and presenters that work at venues, music organizations, etc.
Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2870380385
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Occupy Boston Nonviolence Working Group on Bayard Rustin's 100th
Birthday
Monday, March 19
6:00-9
Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston Street, Boston
Please join the OB Nonviolence Working group for an evening of
community-building, participation, exploration and engagement on
nonviolence (in honor of
Bayard Rustin's 100th birthday).
The program will be grounded in the history of nonviolent political
action as well as contemporary issues of theory and organizing.
Clips from a film about Rustin - Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard
Rustin
Opening remarks from Rustin comrade, Reverend Canon Ed Rodman.
Opportunities for questions and discussion, political exercises and
activities on non-violence.
Food 6 - 6:30. Program begins at 6:30.
For more information, catherinebhoffman at gmail.com
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A Conversation about Small Group Facilitation
Monday, March 19, 2012
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EDT
Webinar Registration at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/582600926
Join us for a conversation with leaders of Resilience Circles and
other small groups. Below are some of the topics facilitators have
suggested we discuss, please add more in the "Questions and Comments"
box below.
- How to handle strong disagreements (including from co-facilitators)
- How to be a more effective “participant leader”
- How to interrupt when necessary
- Following up on absent members
- When and when not to adhere strictly to an agenda
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Nerd Nite
Monday March 19, 2012
8pm
Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge (In Central Square)
$5
Featuring Nerd-appropriate tunes by Claude Money
Talk 1. “Pan American Music, from Buddy Bolden to Los Rakas.” by Galen
Moore
Talk 2. “The future of retail… Coming to a store near you” by Aaron
Chio
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Tuesday, March 20
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Origins of Japan’s Electric Power and the Fukushima Disaster: A
Historical Perspective
WHEN Tue., Mar. 20, 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 Sponsored by the Program on U.S.-Japan
Relations; co-sponsored by the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of
Japanese Studies
SPEAKER(S) Takeo Kikkawa, professor of Japanese business history,
Hitotsubashi University
COST Free
CONTACT INFO xtian at wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/schedule/schedule.htm
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What can 21st century open government learn from open source, open
data, open innovation and open journalism?
Tuesday, March 20, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/03/howard#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.
Alexander B. Howard, Gov 2.0 Washington Correspondent for O'Reilly Media
In the 1990s, the Internet changed communication and commerce forever.
A decade later, the Web 2.0 revolution created a new disruption,
enabling hundreds of millions of citizens to publish, share, mix,
comment, and upload media to a more dynamic online environment. In
2012, we're now living in the era of big data, where mobile devices
and a real-time Web are dramatically shift the dynamic between
governments and the governed. In the years since the first social
networks went online, the disruption has spread to government,
creating perceived shifts in power structures as large as those
enabled by the introduction of the printing press centuries ago. As
the means of publishing have become democratized and vast amounts of
data have become available, new possibilities for civic advocates,
activists, journalists, developers and entrepreneurs have emerged.
The historic events of the last year, from Egypt to #Occupy to the
SOPA debate, have breathed new life into the idea of open government
fueled by technology. At the same time, a new spectre of new cutting
edge surveillance states has arisen, where digital autocracies apply
filtering, propaganda and tracking technologies to suppress speech,
distort public opinion and capture or kill dissidents and protestors.
Life is increasingly reflected and refracted by the cameras and
screens of ubiquitous smartphones, accompanied by hazy norms around
privacy, security and identity and Industrial Age laws and regulations
that appear inadequate to the needs of the moment.
In this talk on the power of platforms, Howard will talk about where
the principles and technologies that built the Internet and World Wide
Web are being integrated into government and society -- and by whom.
These new digital platforms for communication, enabled by highly
accessible and scalable Web technologies, have reinvigorated the hope
that collective action can reforge the compact between citizens and
government.
About Alexander
Alexander is the Government 2.0 Washington Correspondent for O'Reilly
Media, where he writes about the intersection of government, the
Internet and society, including how technology is being used to help
citizens, cities, and national governments solve large-scale problems.
He is an authority on the use of collaborative technology in
enterprises, social media and digital journalism. He has written and
reported extensively on open innovation, open data, open source
software and open government technology.
He has contributed to the National Journal, Forbes, the Huffington
Post, Govfresh, ReadWriteWeb, Mashable, CBS News' What's Trending,
Govloop, Governing People, the Association for Computer Manufacturing
and the Atlantic, amongst others. Prior to joining O’Reilly, Mr.
Howard was the associate editor of SearchCompliance.com and WhatIs.com
at TechTarget, where he wrote about how the laws and regulations that
affect information technology are changing, spanning the issues of
online identity, data protection, risk management, electronic privacy
and cybersecurity. He is a graduate of Colby College in Waterville,
Maine.
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Hiroshima: The Geneva of Asia?
WHEN Tue., Mar. 20, 2012, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge St, Room S250, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR WCFIA Fellows Program Special Seminar; co-
sponsored by the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
SPEAKER(S) Osamu Yoshida, professor and chair, Hiroshima University
Partnership Project for Peace Building and Capacity Development (HiPeC)
LINK http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/node/7395
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Documentary Film and New Technologies
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building E15-070,
Speaker: Gerry Flahive, National Film Board of Canada; Shari Frilot,
Sundance Film Festival; Patricia Zimmermann, Ithaca College;
Moderator: William Urricchio, MIT
Emerging digital technologies are opening powerful new ways to create
and even to reconceptualize the documentary film. How will handheld
video cameras and ubiquitous open-source computing change the nature
of documentaries? What are the implications for makers and viewers of
documentaries of today's unprecedented access to online editing and
distribution tools, to an ocean of data never before available to the
general public? These and related questions will be central to our
discussion. Panelists will include a scholar of digital culture, a
producer who has begun to exploit emerging technologies, and a
representative of a newly important specialty of the digital age -- a
curator of digital artifacts.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Communications Forum
For more information, contact:
Brad Seawell
617-253-3521
seawell at mit.edu
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Visualizing Science: All In Your Head
Tue. 3/20
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
How do humans recognize and remember images? Can these processes be
artificially created? Join MIT professors Aude Oliva, James Di Carlo,
and Antonio Torralba in a dynamic conversation about the intersection
of vision and cognition in humans and machines.
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Boston New Technology Meetup #BNT15
Tuesday, March 20
6:30
Microsoft NERD, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and
network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community! Each product
gets 10 minutes
for presentation, demo and Q&A. See Idea SuperCollider, @RejoinerApp,
@DynInc, @PointKnown, @GivingSomeThing, @HelpScout and @NUODB.
RSVP: http://bit.ly/bntech15
Sign up to Present: http://bit.ly/BNTdemo
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GreenPort Forum: How Can We Prepare for Climate-Related Emergencies?
Tuesday, March 20
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge
Extreme weather events have escalated in recent years – floods,
droughts, and storms. Progressive climate change, rising ocean
levels, and depletion of basic resources such as land and water make
future emergencies more and more likely. We need to find ways as a
community to prepare for these threats. Hear about practical steps we
can take, and share your ideas. Our panel will include:
Sam Lipson from the Cambridge Public Health Department [invited]
Helen Kobek, community activist and co-leader of Do-It-Ourselves
workshops
George Mokray, Cambridgeport resident and longtime solar activist
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable
Cambridgeport neighborhood
For more information, contact Steve Wineman at swineman at gis.net
Editorial Comment: Your editor will be presenting on Solar IS Civil
Defense: http://solarray.blogspot.com/2008/05/solar-is-civil-defense-illustrated.html
-----------------------------
Wednesday, March 21
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Silicon-Chip-Based Nonlinear Photonics with Milliwatt Powers
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 36-428
Speaker: Prof. Alex Gaeta, Cornell University
Web site: http://www.rle.mit.edu/oqe/seminar/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Optics & Quantum Electronics Seminar Series
For more information, contact:
Donna Gale
253-8529
dgale at mit.edu
--------------------------
China Urban Development Discussion Series: Making the Clean Energy
City in China
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
12:30p–2:00p
MIT, Building 1-190, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Prof. Dennis Frenchman & Prof. Christopher Zegras, MIT
Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Discussant: Prof. Ralph
Gakenheimer, MIT DUSP
The Chinese urban landscape is being dramatically transformed through
rapid urbanization, changing standards of living, and a massive shift
to private motorized transportation. These changes are inducing cities
to consume ever more energy in the face of decreasing supplies. The
speakers present advances from an ongoing research project, focused on
the city of Jinan, that attempts to confront the Chinese urban energy
challenge by intervening at the scale of neighborhoods, commercial
districts, and real estate projects - the fundamental building blocks
of urban growth. The work takes a life-cycle energy use perspective
and integrates empirical evidence, urban design studios, and an
assessment tool, the "Energy Pro-forma", which enables urban designers
and developers to estimate the net energy use implied in urban
development proposals. The ultimate goal is to not only help designers
and developers create more energy efficient urban projects, but also
to facilitate the creation of new public policies and standards for
neighborhood energy performance for application at the local and
national levels.
Please RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5Y5F8YQ. Complimentary
lunch will be served at 12:15 pm; talk starts at 12:30 pm and ends by
2 pm.
Web site: http://dusp.mit.edu/cud/cud_series.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Graduate Student Life Grants, Department of Urban Studies
and Planning
For more information, contact:
Shan Jiang
shanjang at mit.edu
---------------------------
How Do We Transform Rocks to Carbonates? CO2 Sequestration and Storage
in Basalts
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 54-915, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Professor Andri Stefansson, Institute of Earth Sciences,
University of Iceland
EAPS Department Lecture Series
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/lectures
Open to: the general public
Cost: $0.00
Tickets: N/A
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:
Jacqui Taylor
617-253-2127
jtaylor at mit.edu
-------------------------
CDD Forum/Special Lecture - Transformative Terrains: Choosing Places
for Protest
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
6:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building 10-485, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Tali Hatuka, Head, Laboratory for Contemporary Urban Design
(LCUD) Tel-Aviv University
The potentially political role of urban design -- wherein the
professional is politically complicit -- is currently under scrutiny,
especially with regard to intensified surveillance and the power of
built space to affect the construction of a national identity. In this
presentation I analyze the role of urban space in the act of dissent.
I look at the ways in which architecture and urban design influence
the citizen-state relationship, analyzing what they contribute to the
shape of protests staged in public spaces.
Dr. Tali Hatuka is an architect, urban designer, and the Head of the
Laboratory of contemporary Urban Design, in the Department of
Geography and Human Environment at Tel Aviv University. Hatuka works
primarily on social, planning and architectural issues, focusing on
the relationships between urban renewal, violence, life in
contemporary society. Her most recent book is Violent Acts and Urban
Space in Contemporary Tel Aviv: Revisioning Moments published by the
University of Texas Press in 2010.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact:
Sandra Elliott
617-253-5115
sandrame at mit.edu
-------------------------
The Role of Scientists in Shaping the American Response to Climate
Change: Experiments and Lessons Learned
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
6:30pm
Harvard Medical School, Tosteson Medical Education Center, 260
Longwood Ave, Boston
Peter C. Frumhoff is the director of science and policy at the Union
of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and chief scientist of the UCS Climate
Campaign. There, he guides organization-wide initiatives to bring
robust science to bear on strengthening public policies, with a
particular focus on climate change.
A global change ecologist, he has published and lectured widely on
topics including climate change impacts, climate science and policy,
tropical forest conservation and management, and biological diversity.
He is a lead author of the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2000 IPCC
Special Report on Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry, and the
Chair of the 2007 Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA). He
serves on the Board of Directors of the American Wind Wildlife
Institute and is a member of the Harvard University Center for the
Environment.
Dr. Frumhoff has taught at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University, Harvard University and the University of Maryland.
He also served as an AAAS Science and Diplomacy Fellow at the U.S.
Agency for International Development, where he designed and led
conservation and rural development programs in Latin America and East
Africa. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and an M.A. in Zoology from the
University of California, Davis and a B.A. in Psychology from the
University of California, San Diego.
--------------------------
Social Media and Networks – Bridging the World Together One Click at a
Time
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Northeastern Alumni Center, 716 Columbus Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston
Recently, online social networking sites have exploded in popularity.
What makes them so popular? In this lecture, Professor Alan Mislove
will provide an overview of his recent research about social media
sites and networks and how they bring people together, as well as the
sociological impact they have on society.
Speaker: Alan Mislove, Assistant Professor, College of Computer and
Information Science
--------------------------
Deng Xioaping and the Transformation of China
Wednesday, March 21
7 pm
First Parish Church, 3 Church Street, Cambridge
Harvard China scholar Ezra Vogel discusses his highly acclaimed
biography of transformational Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. How did
Deng succeed in finding a path to make China a wealthy and powerful
member of the international community? What personal and cultural
factors contributed to his success? What obstacles did he face? How
did Vogel go about researching and writing this masterful study of
Deng’s life and legacy?
http://www.cambridgeforum.org/
------------------------
Thursday, March 22
-----------------------
City Week Panel: Strengthening Cities Through Experiential Learning
WHEN Thu., Mar. 22, 2012, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Education, Humanities, Lecture,
Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business &
Government and the Office of Career Advancement
SPEAKER(S) Panelists include: Susan Crawford, HKS Visiting Stanton
Professor of the First Amendment; Carolyn Wood, assistant academic
dean and SLATE director; Jennifer Nash, M-RCBG associate director;
James Solomon and Kendra Bradner, organizers of the Community
Development Project, a student group working on economic development
projects in underserved areas
CONTACT INFO Please RSVP to mrcbg at ksg.harvard.edu
-------------------------------
Energy 101 : The UN Framework for Climate Change
Thursday, March 22, 2012
12:30p–1:30p
MIT, Building 66-144
Speaker: Louise Yeung
Energy 101 lectures series
The Energy 101 lectures aim at providing basic understanding on
various topics in the energy field.
Climate change is regarded as one of the greatest challenges facing
today's society, requiring science, engineering, political will, and
cooperation across national boundaries. The UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change serves as the primary international forum for countries
to address global climate change, but after 18 years, it has only
yielded incremental progress. Coming out of the most recent
negotiations in Durban, South Africa, this talk will discuss the
implications of Durban outcomes, barriers toward international
agreement, and the role of non-state actors in pursuing climate action.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact:
Aziz Abdellahi (MIT Energy Club)
aziz_a at mit.edu
-------------------------
A conversation with Julie Brill, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
Thursday, March 22
6:00 pm
Wasserstein Hall Room 1015, Harvard Law School
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2012/03/brill#RSVP
John Palfrey of the Berkman Center will engage Commissioner Julie
Brill on the Federal Trade Commission’s policy and enforcement
initiatives in the area of online privacy and data security. Every
day we hear about privacy issues surrounding Facebook, Google, mobile
apps, smartphones, Big Data and data brokers. Learn about the Federal
Trade Commission’s efforts to protect consumers in this area.
About Commissioner Brill
Julie Brill was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade
Commission April 6, 2010, to a term that expires on September 25, 2016.
Since joining the Commission, Ms. Brill has worked actively on issues
most affecting today’s consumers, including protecting consumers’
privacy, encouraging appropriate advertising substantiation, guarding
consumers from financial fraud, and maintaining competition in
industries involving high tech and health care.
Before she became a Commissioner, Ms. Brill was the Senior Deputy
Attorney General and Chief of Consumer Protection and Antitrust for
the North Carolina Department of Justice, a position she held from
February 2009 to April 2010. Commissioner Brill has also been a
Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia University’s School of Law. Prior to her
move to the North Carolina Department of Justice, Commissioner Brill
was an Assistant Attorney General for Consumer Protection and
Antitrust for the State of Vermont for over 20 years, from 1988 to 2009.
Commissioner Brill has received several national awards for her work
protecting consumers. She has testified before Congress, published
numerous articles, and served on many national expert panels focused
on consumer protection issues such as pharmaceuticals, privacy, credit
reporting, data security breaches, and tobacco. Commissioner Brill has
also served as a Vice-Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee of
the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association.
Prior to her career in law enforcement, Commissioner Brill was an
associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York from
1987 to 1988. She clerked for Vermont Federal District Court Judge
Franklin S. Billings, Jr. from 1985 to 1986. Commissioner Brill
graduated, magna cum laude, from Princeton University, and from New
York University School of Law, where she had a Root-Tilden Scholarship
for her commitment to public service.
Commissioner Brill is married to Mark Miller, and has two sons.
About John Palfrey
John Palfrey is Henry N. Ess Professor of Law and Vice Dean for
Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. He is the co-
author of "Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital
Natives" (Basic Books, 2008) and "Access Denied: The Practice and
Politics of Internet Filtering" (MIT Press, 2008). His research and
teaching is focused on Internet law, intellectual property, and
international law. He practiced intellectual property and corporate
law at the law firm of Ropes & Gray. He is a faculty co-director of
the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Outside of Harvard Law School, he is a Venture Executive at Highland
Capital Partners and serves on the board of several technology
companies and non-profits. John served as a special assistant at the
US EPA during the Clinton Administration. He is a graduate of Harvard
College, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Law School.
-----------------------------
Open by Any Means: How Sunlight's Open State Project Hacked for
Democracy
Thursday, March 22, 2012
7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester
Knowing how your state legislator is voting - and what they're voting
on - seems a fairly basic requirement for a functional democracy.
Strangely enough, however, this information is often buried on state
congressional websites, tied up in unsearchable PDFs or layered deep
within an unnavigable subsection of the net.
The Sunlight Foundation's Open State Project has started changing all
that, by parsing almost every state's available data and breaking it
down into a consistent, open and usable format, allowing greater
transparency and accessibility into data on votes, bill schedules,
committees and more.
James Turk, the head of the Open State Project (OpenStates.org) and
the Sunlight Foundation's new Boston satellite office, will explain
how and why the Open State Project was conceived, what sort of
feasibility testing Sunlight did, and will help explore how you can
take the lessons he's learned back into your own civic or journalistic
projects, from the grunt work of code scraping to energizing and
coordinating an active volunteer base.
Also come and share your own projects, hacks and questions as this
joint meet up of Hacks/Hackers and Boston Sunlight Foundation
brainstorms what could be the next big innovation in data wrangling.
Also: The usual free cookies and coffee!
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/50334062/?eventId=50334062&action=detail
--------------------
Friday, March 23
-------------------
#OccupyData Hackathon 2: Data Visualization for the 99%!
OccupyResearch, DataCenter, R-Shief.org, and the MIT Center for Civic
Media are excited to announce OccupyData Hackathon Round II! Join us
at the locations below or organize your own.
When: March 23-24, 2012
Where: Cambridge | Los Angeles | San Francisco | Oakland | Utrech |
NYC | CyBeRspace |irc.lc.freenode/occupydata | SIGN UP HERE: http://bit.ly/occupydatavizmarchhackathon
| *ADD YOUR LOCATION*
What:
#OccupyData Hackathon 1 brought you visualizations of 13 million
occupy tweets (see summaries by OccupyResearch, R-Shief, Fast Company,
and Utrecht University). People participated from Utrech, LA, Boston,
NY, and Spain.
#OccupyData Hackathon 2 builds on the demos and tools from the first
round, and turns our collaborative energy on visualizing the 5000+
responses to the OccupyResearch General Demographics and Participation
Survey (ORGS), R-Shief Twitter #occupy tags aggregated since September
2011, and Occupy Oakland Serves the People survey, as well as other
datasets people might want to explore. This event is not only for
hackers or coders, but for anyone who’s interested. Bring your ideas,
skills, creativity, questions and critical perspectives as we explore
occupy datasets using free and open source tools and software. We’ll
make connections from one place to another – open to all participants!
The model is for people to arrange local venues for f2f meetups, work
locally, and share/collaborate real time via skype/chat/twitter/google
docs and etherpads, etc. If you can’t make it to one of the physical
locations, you can still join in remotely.
How: Sign up here to a particular location! Or organize a local space
and add it to the list.
Location Details: http://bit.ly/occupydatavizmarchhackathon
More info and coordination: http://bit.ly/occupyhackathon
-------------------------
Currencies, a dis/Conference
Harvard University
March 23, 2012
12n-5p
Harvard, Northwest Labs Basement, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Currencies are telling of our current time. Debt, labor,
commodification, ownership, and consumerism structure and characterize
contemporary life and academia. From the monetization and protection
of intellectual property to the debts that students accrue, from the
exploitation of adjunct labor to the re-productions of class lines,
this dis/Conference seeks critical engagement with what has currency
and what serves as currency in education and life today.
In contrast to traditional conference formats, this dis/Conference
seeks to facilitate open, horizontal education through substantive
knowledge sharing, inquiry, critique, and discussion. Together with
David Graeber <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/review/anarchist-anthropology.html
>
- anarchist <http://newleftreview.org/A2368>, occupier <http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/10/david-graeber-on-playing-by-the-rules-%E2%80%93-the-strange-success-of-occupy-wall-street.html
>, and anthropologist <http://books.google.com/books/about/Toward_an_anthropological_theory_of_valu.html?id=uo8tttilAlQC
> - we will engage the economies of academia by subverting its
dominant forms of knowledge production. In the process, we will
participate in the purposeful creation of an alternative model for
scholarly engagement, beyond mere discussion. Under this model, our
primary resources will be ourselves. Everyone - inside or outside of
academia - is welcome.
*
/We invite you to take an active role in shaping and leading this
dis/Conference/*/. /
Register at http://www.currenciesdisconference.info/
----------------------------
Earthsickness: Circumnavigation and the Origins of Planetary
Consciousness
Friday, March 23, 2012
2:30p–4:30p
MIT, Building E51-095
Speaker: Joyce Chaplin, Department of History, Harvard University
Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History
Web site:http://web.mit.edu/history/www/nande/modTimes%202011-2012.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): History Office
For more information, contact:
Margo Collett
253-4965
history-info at mit.edu
-------------------------
Greenpeace in China: The Emergence of Autonomous Civil Society in
Authoritarian Regimes
WHEN Fri., Mar. 23, 2012, 4:15 – 6 p.m.
WHERE CGIS North, Room K262, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Fairbank Center Chinese Politics and Foreign
Policy Workshop
SPEAKER(S) Jessica C. Teets, Middlebury College
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO lkluz at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Professor Teets examines the rapid emergence of civil society in
China and contends that after two decades of experience with
autonomous civil society groups, local officials have learned the
governance benefits offered by civil society. Gradually their
relationship with these groups has transformed from corporatism to
“consultative authoritarianism.”
LINK http://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/node/6370/edit?destination=node%2F6370
-----------------------
Saturday, March 24
-----------------------
Boston Baseball Hack Day
Saturday, March 24, 2012
8:30 AM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester
Are you a web developer, designer or a hack programmer who is
interested in baseball?
Or a passionate baseball fan with ideas? Boston Baseball Hack Day is a
one-day hacking event where area baseball geeks come together, form a
team, and collaborate to create baseball-related Web Apps, Websites,
Data Visualizations, etc. and bring an idea to life.
Register now to attend. (Pls RSVP on this site as well, but you need
to register so we get an accurate count.)
It is also a great to place to network and socialize among like-minded
people. At the end of the day, projects will be judged by area
experts, and a brief awards ceremony will conclude the event.
Our distinguished panel of judges:
Ben Fry
An information designer Ben is principal of Fathom, a design and
software consultancy in Boston. He is a co-developer of Processing, an
open source programming environment for teaching computational design
and sketching interactive media software. He is the author of
Visualizing Data published by O'Reilly. In 2007, Casey Reas and Ben
published Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and
Artists with MIT Press, and in 2010, they published Getting Started
with Processing with O'Reilly. Read Ben's interview with Slate. Follow
him: @ben_fry
Andy Andres
Andy, a professor at Boston University, teaches Sabermetrics 101 at
Tufts University and MIT's Science of Baseball summer program. He also
works as Fenway Park Datacaster/Stringer for mlb.com and MLBAM
(Gameday), and writes columns for BaseballHQ.com. Read an article
about him in BU's Collegian. Follow him: @sabermetrics101
Matt Pepin
Matt is sports editor at Boston.com and directs the online
presentation of Boston sports news and features created by Boston.com
producers and Globe sports reporters. He has been with Boston.com
since 2009. Prior to that, he was sports editor at the Times Herald-
Record and Varsity845.com in Middletown, N.Y., and sports editor at
the New Haven Register in Connecticut. Follow him: @mattpep15
New to hack days? No need to fear. There’ll be people of all skill
levels and skill sets participating. And here are some resources to
get you prepared. Baseball Hack Day is free to attend, thanks to our
sponsor, The Boston Globe, but registration is required. So register
now.
Schedule:
SCHEDULE:
* 8:30-9:00 Registration, meet and greet, and coffee.
* 9:00-9:30 Welcome, introductions, and pitch
* 9:30-5:30 Code! (Lunch will be served)
* 5:30-6:00 Presentation, judging and awards
* 6:30 optional beer social -- location to be decided later.
You need to bring a lap top computer, power strip and your ideas and
skills.
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/52425952/?a=me1.1p_grp&eventId=52425952&action=detail&rv=me1.1p&rv=me1.1p
----------------------
Monday, March 26
---------------------
Rebuilding Japan after Fukushima
WHEN Mon., Mar. 26, 2012, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Tsai Auditorium (S010), Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse,
CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Sponsored by the Program on U.S.-Japan
Relations; co-sponsored by the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
SPEAKER(S) Yoichi Funabashi, president, Rebuild Japan Initiative
Foundation, and editor-in-chief, Asahi Shimbun (2007-10)
COST Free
CONTACT INFO xtian at wcfia.harvard.edu
-----------------------
Wrongful Convictions
Monday, March 26
5:00 - 6:30 PM
Austin Hall, North Classroom, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts
Ave., Cambridge, MA
Johnnie Lee Savory entered prison at age 14 and left 30 years later
for a crime he didn't commit.
A panel discussion featuring:
Johnnie Lee Savory
David Meier, former Suffolk County District
Attorney Dennis Harris, BPD Detective
Moderated by Judge Nancy Gertner
Co-sponsored by: Prison Legal Assistance Project, HKS Program in
Criminal Justice Policy and Management, Office of Clinical and Pro
Bono Programs, and Criminal Justice Institute
Free and open to the public. Dinner will be served.
*RSVP* to Jeanne Segil jsegil at jd14.law.harvard.edu
<mailto:jsegil at jd14.law.harvard.edu>
***********
-------------
Upcoming
-------------
***********
Currencies dis/Conference
Harvard University
March 23, 2012
12n-5p
Currencies are telling of our current time. Debt, labor,
commodification, ownership, and consumerism structure and characterize
contemporary life and academia. From the monetization and protection
of intellectual property to the debts that students accrue, from the
exploitation of adjunct labor to the re-productions of class lines,
this dis/Conference seeks critical engagement with what has currency
and what serves as currency in education and life today.
In contrast to traditional conference formats, this dis/Conference
seeks to facilitate open, horizontal education through substantive
knowledge sharing, inquiry, critique, and discussion. Together with
David Graeber, anarchist, and anthropologist - we will engage the
economies of academia by subverting its dominant forms of knowledge
production. In the process, we will participate in the purposeful
creation of an alternative model for scholarly engagement, beyond mere
discussion. Under this model, our primary resources will be ourselves.
Everyone - inside or outside of academia - is welcome.
We invite you to take an active role in shaping and leading this dis/
Conference.
Register at http://www.currenciesdisconference.info/
--------------------------------
Weatherization barnraising at
St. John /St. James Church
Saturday, March 24th, 9 am to 1 pm
149 Roxbury Street, Roxbury
This beautiful historic church's heating bill is over $30,000 per year
and there are only 50 people in the congregation.
Help the congregation lower these crippling bills. (HEET is also
advising the church in how to get rebated or free professional work to
lower the energy bills a lot further).
Sign up at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGpieXVLWnczbTRIMDViWjVfdXVRblE6MQ
#gid=0
-------------------------------
Lecture and Meeting with Bill McKibben
Sunday, 25 March, 2012
03:00 PM - 06:00 PM
The Congregational Church of Weston, Weston
The Environmental Action Group of The Congregational Church of Weston,
UCC, will be hosting its annual Harnish Lecture, and we're pleased to
announce that we have secured a very exciting speaker, Bill McKibben.
He will be speaking at the Weston High School on 3/25/2012 at 3pm. As
one of the nation's leading environmental activists, Bill will be
sharing his thoughts about ways to shape the public debate about
climate change and to influence energy and environmental policy at all
levels of government.
Immediately following his lecture, we will be holding a "Forum" where
members of various environmental action groups from MetroWest will
have a chance to sit down with Bill and discuss ways we can all work
together to be most effective at influencing policy. We would like to
invite one to two delegates from your organization to participate in
this forum on your behalf. Please RSVP with the name(s) of these
delegates by March 9 to skuhrccw at comcast.net, to help us plan the most
meaningful event. We hope that this forum will generate new and
exciting strategies for working together to create a more sustainable
environment for our children and grandchildren. We look forward to
working together with you in this endeavor.
PS: Please find and 'like' us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/CCW-Environmental-Action-Group/325395654165705
for more information and updates as the date approaches.
Contact skuhrccw at comcast.net
----------------------------
Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents
Strategery: SNL’s Remarkable Influence Over Politics Through Satire
the Annual Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award presented
to James Downey
with moderator Bill Murray
Tuesday, March 27, 6:30-8:00 pm
C. Walsh Theater at Suffolk University, 55 Temple Street, Boston
preceded by a special First Amendment Award Reception, fundraiser held
from 4:00-5:30 pm at the
Offices of Prince Lobel Tye LLP (Boston, MA 02114) , MA. Wheelchair
accessible and conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station.
For more information, contact Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University:
617-557-2007, http://www.fordhallforum.org.
----------------------------
Health care and workplace safety advocates, environmental activists,
residents, patients, concerned neighbors:
Please be advised of the upcoming air quality forum at the Dorchester
House Multi-Service Center. Updated flyer & release linked. Forward
widely!
Harvard's NIEHS Center for Environmental Health will hold "Change in
the Air," a forum on Asthma and Air Quality in Boston on the evening of
Wednesday, March 28.
6:15 - 7:30 p.m.
Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, 1353 Dorchester Avenue,
Dorchester
National Environmental Health Official Linda Birnbaum, PhD will join
local panelists (including Dorchester's Parent Leader Mary White) in a
conversation with guests to discuss the complex picture of issues and
policies that impact asthma rates and clean air. *Your input could
help shape the priorities for future projects in your area*. Check out
an (updated) forum flyer<http://www.greendorchester.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/NIEHS-Forum-Flyer-Sm.png
>
or
view the press release<http://www.greendorchester.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/NIEHS-Forum-PR.pdf
>
.
The forum will run as a moderated dialogue between the panelists and
members of the community. No presentations, no lectures. Bring your
questions and ideas. All are welcome to participate! Vietnamese,
Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole translations will be available.
Light refreshments will be provided.
More on panelists here & in materials:
http://www.greendorchester.org/change-in-the-air-mar-28/. (Flyer and
release can also be found there).
Please direct any questions to Ann Backus, abackus at hsph.harvard.edu,
603-361-2141 or Kathryn Terrell, KTERRELL at hsph.harvard.edu.
<http://greendorchester.org/>
(formerly The Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition (DEHC))
www.greendorchester.org
Facebook.com/DotEnviro <http://facebook.com/DotEnviro>
Twitter: @DotEnviro <http://twitter.com/#!/dotenviro>
----------------------------
The Green Streets Initiative, Cambridge Energy Alliance & Cambridge
Local First cordially invite you to our
March Green Drinks Celebration
Join us on the Wednesday night before Walk/Ride Day for some
beverages, complimentary appetizers and green trivia at Area IV. We'll
be giving away fun prizes and picking your brain for all of your
environmental and local smarts.
While you're there, be sure to ask about and sign up for the Green
Streets Initiative Walk/Ride Day Corporate Challenge!
When: Wednesday, March 28, 6:30-8:30 PM
Where: Area IV, 500 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 02139
Who: The Green Streets Initiative, Cambridge Local First and more
RSVP at http://marchgreendrinks-esearch.eventbrite.com/?srnk=35
-----------------------------
"New Economy" Film Series: Economics of Happiness
March 29
7 - 9 PM
Nate Smith House, 155 Lamartine St, JP
The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in
two opposing directions. On the one hand, an unholy alliance of
governments and big business continues to promote globalization and
the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people all
over the world are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation
of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power,
they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are
coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies
based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.
-----------------------------
Babson's 6th Annual Energy, Environment and Entrepreneurship Conference
March 30th, 2012
This year’s theme is “Energy, Environment & Entrepreneurship:
Challenging Assumptions, Changing Perceptions.” We believe there are
some tough questions to be addressed and our panels are designed
around real challenges and exciting opportunities in energy,
alternative transportation, sustainable development, and several other
topics within the energy and environmental space.
We have two exciting key note speakers:
Mark Rodgers - Director of Communications, Cape Wind
T.I. (Tahmid) Mizan, Senior Technology Planning Advisor, ExxonMobil
Corporation
More information on our strong list of speakers and event details can
be found at http://babsonenergy.com/
Early bird ticket pricing ends on March 5
---------------------------------
Wild and Scenic Film Festival EcoFest
March 31st, 11 AM-4 PM
290 Congress Street, Boston
The national Wild and Scenic Film Festival tour is coming to Boston,
beginning with EcoFest, an afternoon of films and environmental
activities at Atlantic Wharf in Fort Point. The Wild and Scenic Film
Festival combines stellar filmmaking, beautiful cinematography and
first-rate storytelling. The event will include international short
films, puppet-making, a kids’ matinee at 11 AM, environmental
activities, an eco-marketplace, and a cinematic tribute to Kenyan
Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. Be prepared to be inspired!
Admission to EcoFest is free. Admission to the films is $5, payable
online or at the door. More information about the program, including
tickets and the complete film lineup, is posted on the “e” inc.
website, http://www.e-action.us/, and on the Facebook page for the
event - https://www.facebook.com/events/244742755593954/.
This festival is a fundraiser for “e” inc., an environment science
learning and action center whose pairing of science education with
community action leads to environmental change in urban communities.
******************************************
The Finale: Locavore Tasting and Environmental Film Night
March 31st, 6-10 PM
290 Congress Street, Boston
A fundraising locavore tasting supper for “e” inc. will offer
delicious local food samples from Boston vendors such as Cabot
Creamery, Green Gal Catering, and Channel Café.
This will be followed by two films – With My Own Two Wheels and The
Work of 1000. “e” inc. will present The Children’s Planet Protector
Award to the two featured activists, Marion Stoddart, who led the
struggle to regain clean rivers, and David Branigan, who used the life-
changing value of bicycles to create opportunities in Ghana. After
the films, the activists and filmmakers will answer audience
questions. A silent auction and dessert will round out the evening.
Early bird admission discounts are available. Boston Globe subscribers
can receive a Globe-sponsored discounted admission. To reserve your
seats, please visithttp://www.e-action.us/. More information about the
program is posted at http://www.e-action.us/ and on the Facebook event
page -https://www.facebook.com/events/244742755593954/.
“e” inc. is an environment science learning and action center whose
pairing of science education with community action leads to
environmental change in urban communities.
----------------------------------
It is with a sense of gratitude and deep joy that we announce the Art
and Soul program at Wellesley College will be hosting three of the 13
Indigenous Grandmothers this spring. The Grandmothers will give a
talk at Houghton Chapel on Thursday, April nineteenth at seven p.m.
The theme of their talk will be Planting Seeds for Seven Generations:
Making Change. The Grandmothers will share their cultural treasures
and life experience, in support of our community’s exploration of an
ethics of wholeness, which can bring about a sustainable future for
the generations to come.
Originating from all four corners of the world, these 13 wise women
elders and medicine women first came together in 2004 at a peace
gathering. They represent a global alliance of prayer, education and
healing for our Earth, all her inhabitants and the next seven
generations. We are honored to host, as representatives of this
Grandmothers’ Council, Grandmothers Rita and Beatrice Long- Visitor
Holy Dance of the Lakota tribe and Grandmother Mona Polacca of the
Hopi/ Havasupai/Tewa tribe. This event is open to all, as an offering
to our circles of community. For more information about this event,
contact Ji Hyang at 781.283.2793
---------------------------------
Saturday, April 21st
9-12noon
for our first 2012 cleanup of Magazine Beach, Cambridge. This will be
part of the much larger 13th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup,
organized by the Charles River Watershed Association, Charles River
Conservancy, etc., etc.
If you would like an official Earth Day Cleanup t-shirt to wear that
day, please e-mail me your name, phone number and t-shirt size by this
Sunday, March 11th. Large youth shirts are available and adult shirts
in small, medium, large and extra large.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Shirts will be available, with
drinks and refreshments, at our table in front of the Riverside Boat
Club 4/21.
Cathie (Zusy)
Questions? Call 617-868-0489
-------------------------------
Weatherization barnraising at
The Friends Meeting House
Sunday, April 22nd from 1 to 5 pm
5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge
What a great way to celebrate Earth Day. You will be taught how to do
the work by experienced team leaders, while you learn how to lower
your own bills at home.
Sign up at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDRNLV9xOC00SVllOGdLd1dYdzMxU0E6MQ
#gid=0
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Opportunity
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CEA Solar Hot Water Grants
Cambridge, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiative, is
offering a limited number of grants to residents and businesses for
solar hot water systems. The grants will cover 50% of the remaining
out of pocket costs of the system after other incentives, up to $2,000.
Applications will be accepted up to November 19, 2012 and are
available on a first come, first serve basis until funding runs out.
The Cambridge grant will complement other incentives including the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center solar thermal grants. For more
information, see http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program
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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).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor
Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to
Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass
Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on
your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or
call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living
Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the
services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home
Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call
HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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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
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Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of
Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr
Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming
has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as
being at least partially caused by human pollution. Only 42% of the
state’s residents say global warming will have very serious
consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age
group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused
by humans compared to the 60+ age group. African-American (56%) and
Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to
believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left
unaddressed. The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge:
What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate
change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent-
challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.
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The presentations from the recent Affordable Comfort National Home
Performance Conference are available online at
http://2011.acinational.org/downloadable_resources
Lots of good information from what some call the best energy
conference in the USA on Deep Energy Retrofits to Community Energy
Challenges with details on insulation, heat flow, energy metering,
ducting, hot water, and many, many other topics. If you are a
practical energy wonk, this should make your eyes light up.
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track
your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while
controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly
email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post
announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships,
programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles
or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's
food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take
place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food
system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food,
farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health,
environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of
organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on
week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let
everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of
subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and
other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations
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
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the
Boston Area http://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/
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list