[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Apr 15 19:23:02 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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Monday, April 16

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London-Tuscon: The Art and Politics of Urban Transformation
WHEN  Mon., Apr. 16, 2012, 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE  Piper Auditorium, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Art/Design, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Loeb Fellowship at the GSD
SPEAKER(S)  Isabel Dedring, deputy mayor for transportation, city of  
London
Steve Farley, Arizona state legislator from Tuscon, professional  
designer and public artist, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO  syoung at gsd.harvard.edu
NOTE  Meet two rising stars of urban policy and politics for a lunch  
time discussion on the art and politics of progressive urban planning.
LINK  http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/loeb-fellows-london-tuscon- 
transportation-transformation.html

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Challenges of Globalization: Economic Globalization: A Mini-Conference
Monday April 16
@ 2pm  Keynote @ 7pm
First Parish (Unitarian Universalist), 3 Church Street, Harvard  
Square, Cambridge

During consecutive afternoon sessions, speakers explore the  impact of  
globalization of labor, capital, and markets on American workers,  
investors, and consumers. Robert Kuttner of The American Prospect and  
Demos moderates the public discussion after each talk and the evening  
keynote address.

2:00 pm       Globalization of Labor:  Is A race to the Bottom  
Inevitable?
Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

3:00 pm     Globalization of Capital:  The Rise of the Multinational
Robert Scott, Economic Policy Institute

4:00 pm      Globalization of Markets:  Do Corporations Need American  
Consumers?
Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect

7:00 pm   The Globalization Paradox
Harvard's Dani Rodrik discusses effective responses to today's  
globalized economy.  How have nations used the forces of globalization  
to their advantage in the past?
What options are available to the United States today?

This Program is funded in part by Mass Humanities.
Co-sponsored by Mullane, MIchael & McInnes, Counselors-at-Law

More information at http://www.cambridgeforum.org/

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Alaska & Climate Change
April 16
7:00 pm
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, room Milstein East A, 1585  
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Lawyers from the Trustees for Alaska will talk about their legal fight  
over the Pebble Mine case and coal development in Alaska.  
Headquartered in Anchorage, Trustees for Alaska is Alaska's only  
public interest environmental law firm, and their work in protecting  
the arctic ecosystem lies at the center of momentous decisions  
affecting global climate change. The event will be a wine and cheese  
gathering.

For more information, and to RSVP, contact Susan Hackley, shackley at law.Harvard.edu

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Tuesday, April 17

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The Arab Uprisings: Underlying Factors, Democratic Transitions and  
Future Prospects
WHEN  Tue., Apr. 17, 2012, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE  Harvard Hall, Room 103, Harvard Yard, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Center for Middle Eastern Studies
SPEAKER(S)  Rami G. Khouri and Samir Makdisi, American University of  
Beirut
CONTACT INFO  elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  This event is open to the public; no registration required.
LINK  http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3149

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

"The 2012 Presidential Race: Behind the Scenes."
Tuesday, April 17
12 p.m.
Allison Dining Room, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street,  
Cambridge

Speaker Series with Jake Tapper, Senior White House Correspondent, ABC  
News and a substitute host for ABC's This Week.

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

Community-Powered Disaster Recovery: A Brown Bag Presentation by  
Recovers.Org
WHEN  Tue., Apr. 17, 2012, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Taubman 301, Harvard Kennedy School, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Program on Crisis Leadership, Harvard Kennedy  
School
SPEAKER(S)  Moderated by Arnold Howitt, executive director, Ash Center  
for Democratic Governance & Innovation, and faculty co-director,  
Program on Crisis Leadership
NOTE  Created in the wake of an EF3 tornado, Recovers.org provides  
free software and support to recovering areas immediately after a  
disaster. In this brown bag presentation, the organization’s co- 
founders will discuss how the services Recovers.org provides allow  
towns to capture the goodwill of people post-disaster and turn it into  
action amidst the chaos that frequently characterizes early relief and  
recovery efforts. They will speak about their motivations for creating  
the organization – and the successes and challenges they’ve  
experienced navigating the nonprofit, for profit and tech startup  
scenes.
LINK  http://www.hks.harvard.edu/programs/crisisleadership/events

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

Unexpected Development: Decolonial Media Aesthetics and Women’s ICT4D  
Video
Tuesday, April 17, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/04/benfield 
#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast 
  and archived on our site shortly after.

Dalida Maria Benfield, Berkman Center Fellow
ICT4D (Information Communication Technology for Development)  
powerfully frames women’s grassroots video production in the Global  
South, much of which is distributed widely through YouTube. Often,  
these videos reproduce racialized and gendered discourses - legacies  
of colonialism - in their narratives of economic, social, and  
technological progress. However, there are also videos by women’s  
groups that defy both the historical linearity and spatial  
fragmentation of the ICT4D framework. These videos instead remix,  
reclassify, and globally reconnect women’s experiences in the  
contemporary moment. Culled from hundreds of online videos produced by  
ICT4D programs, including those in countries classified as having  
“Low Human Development” according to the Gender Inequality Index of  
the United Nations Development Program, these media represent powerful  
instances of a decolonial aesthetics, an altogether unexpected  
development. These ICT4D videos make compelling claims for other  
historical narratives and visions for women’s future lives,  
identities, and uses of information communication technologies.

About Dalida:

Dalida María Benfield's research addresses artists’ and activists’  
creative uses of video and other networked digital media towards  
social justice projects. Her work is focused on the transformational  
capacities of media art across different scales. As an artist and  
activist, she has developed production, education, exhibition, and  
distribution initiatives focused on youth, women, people of color in  
the U.S., and local and transnational social movements, including co- 
founding the media collectiveVideo Machete. She received her Ph.D. in  
2011 from the University of California-Berkeley in Comparative Ethnic  
Studies with Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality  
Studies. Her dissertation, Apparatuses, Globalities, Assemblages:  
Third Cinema, Now, chaired by Trinh T. Minh-ha, considers contemporary  
media art theory and practice, including work by Cao Fei, Michelle  
Dizon, and the Raqs Media Collective, in relation to the Third Cinema  
movement. As a Fellow at the Berkman Center, she is studying race and  
gender in the online presence of ICT4D programs, as well as working on  
collaborative projects with the Networked Cultures Working Group, the  
Cyberscholars Working Group, and metaLAB(at)Harvard.

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

New Contract Types: Revisiting the Methodology of Product Development  
in Islamic Finance
WHEN  Tue., Apr. 17, 2012, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE  2036 Wasserstein Hall, Milstein East A, 1585 Massachusetts  
Ave., Harvard Law School campus
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Islamic Legal Studies Program
SPEAKER(S)  Ismail Cebeci, visiting fellow; researcher, Oxford Center  
for Islamic Studies
CONTACT INFO  ilsp at law.harvard.edu
NOTE  Reception to follow
LINK  http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/section/calendar/gazette-calendar/#/ 
?i=1

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"Balancing Human & Environmental Needs for Water: The Hydromorphology  
of Human-Hydrologic Interactions"
Tuesday, April 17
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Carr Center Conference Room, Rubenstein Building (Floor 2, Room 219),  
Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

with Professor Richard Vogel of Tufts University
The field of geomorphology deals with the structure and evolution of  
watershed systems over time (e.g. years, decades and centuries) due to  
natural and anthropogenic influences. The new field of hydromorphology  
is related to hydrology in much the same way as geomorphology is  
related to geology. Due to the pervasive impacts of humans, nearly all  
watersheds are now subject to some combination of land use, water use  
and/or climate change influences. This presentation will introduce a  
number of hydromorphological challenges along with new approaches for  
dealing with them. Case studies highlight the influence of humans on  
the hydrologic cycle over broad spatial and temporal scales. It is  
shown that one must account for the simultaneous interactions among  
land use, climate and water use to fully understand the influence of  
humans on the hydrologic cycle, hence there is now a real need to view  
hydrologic problems in a hydromorphological context. The importance of  
balancing human and environmental needs for water is stressed, as is  
the need for us to consider our human right for access to a clean and  
reliable source of water.

Richard M. Vogel is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering  
and Director of the Graduate Program in Water: Systems, Science and  
Society at Tufts University.

Moderator: Sharmila Murthy

Suggested Reading:

Richard Vogel, "Hydromorphology," Editorial, Journal of Water  
Resources Planning and Management (March/April 2011).

More about the presenter, Richard M. Vogel:

Professor Vogel received his Ph.D. in Water Resource Systems  
Engineering from Cornell University and has been a professor of civil  
and environmental engineering at Tufts University since 1984. His  
primary expertise is in the areas of water resource engineering with  
emphasis on hydrologic, hydraulic and statistical methods for  
analyzing environmental and water resource systems. His current  
research program focuses upon the areas of hydrologic and  
environmental statistics, water allocation, regional hydrology,  
regional water assessment, flood and drought management, climate  
change impacts, natural hazards as well as watershed modeling and  
management. He is currently the director of the graduate program in  
Water: Systems, Science and Society (http://www.tufts.edu/water).

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/hr2w/study_group/StudyGroup_2012_04_17.php
Contact Name:  Sharmila L. Murthy
Sharmila_Murthy at hks.harvard.edu

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Neal Stephenson Lecture
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Jason Pontin, Editor in Chief of MIT Technology Review, will conduct a  
wide-ranging but informal conversation with science fiction writer  
Neal Stephenson about his craft, preoccupations, influences, and  
inspirations. Among the issues they'll discuss: the state and future  
of hard science fiction and how e-readers are influencing novels. At  
the end of an hour-long conversation with Pontin, Stephenson will take  
30 minutes of questions from the audience. The event will be video  
taped and an edited version of the interview will appear in the 2012  
edition of Technology Review's annual science fiction special issue,  
TRSF.

Event hashtag on Twitter: #TRSF

Hosted by Technology Review with assistance from the MIT Graduate  
Program in Science Writing.

NOTE: There is no cost to attend but you must register and bring your  
printed ticket with you.
Web site: http://nealstephenson.eventbrite.com/

Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://nealstephenson.eventbrite.com/
Sponsor(s): Technology Review, Graduate Program in Science Writing
For more information, contact:
Amy Lammers
amy.lammers at technologyreview.com
------------------------------------

Exploring New Materials for Energy Applications with Theory and  
Computation

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

4:15p–5:30p

MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Jeffrey B. Neaton, Director of the Theory of Nanostructured  
Materials Facility at the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley  
National Laboratory

MITE Seminar Series sponsored by IHS Cambridge Energy Research  
Associates

New materials, architectures, and concepts are needed to realize many  
low-cost, sustainable energy conversion and carbon mitigation  
applications. Organic semiconductors and transition-metal oxides  
comprise two promising classes of materials in this respect. Although  
structurally distinct, organics and oxides share astonishing chemical  
diversity; highly-localized, sometimes strongly-correlated electronic  
states; and, in instances, appreciable non-covalent interactions. As  
such, they provide a broad design space but also significant  
challenges to contemporary electronic structure theory. In this talk,  
I will describe theoretical and computational studies, based on first- 
principles density functional theory and beyond, of organic  
semiconductors and donor-acceptor interfaces in solar cells;  
transition metal oxide photocatalysts; and metal-organic frameworks  
for carbon capture.

Web site: http://mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/neaton.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:  Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
------------------------------------

Deleterious Me: Whole Genome Sequencing, 23andMe, and the Crowd- 
Sourced Health Care Revolution
WHEN  Tue., Apr. 17, 2012, 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Emerson Hall 105, Harvard Yard, 19 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Program on Science, Technology, and Society,  
Harvard Kennedy School; co-sponsored by the School of Engineering and  
Applied Sciences, Graduate School of Design, and Harvard University  
Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S)  Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, a privately  
held personal genomics and biotechnology company headquartered in  
Mountain View, California
CONTACT INFO  Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  Moderator: Sheila Jasanoff, Harvard Kennedy School
Commentators:  Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School, Jeremy Greene,  
Harvard Medical School and History of Science
· Sanford Kwinter, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Jonathan  
Zittrain, Harvard Law School

Recent developments in genomic and communication technologies are  
prompting shifts in the social, institutional and ethical  
architectures of biomedicine. Examples include direct-to-consumer  
genetic testing and crowd-sourced, “citizen-science”  
epidemiological research using smartphones and the web. These new  
architectures promise a gold rush of information and biospecimens that  
may provide a foundation for a more precise, personalized, and  
targeted medicine. They are also attracting new actors and new modes  
of participation that have the potential to enhance but also to  
destabilize established patterns of ethical, legal, and social  
responsibilities in biomedicine. How will these changing patterns of  
research and discovery affect citizens, consumers, donors, patients,  
physicians, researchers, and companies?
LINK  http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/lectures/wojcicki.html

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Harvard College Global Energy Initiative Lecture:  Jonny Cohen - Named  
one of Forbes' 30 Under 30
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 5:30pm
Sever Hall 214, 25 Harvard Yard, Cambridge
Jonny is only 16-years old, and he has invented GREENSHIELDS, an  
aerodynamic shield that attaches to school buses to reduce fuel  
consumption by 25%.

Sponsored by:  Harvard College Global Energy Initiative

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Visualizing Science: The Changing Arctic Ice
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 275 Mass Avenue, Cambridge

Visualizing Science
A three-part evening series, featuring panel discussions with MIT  
researchers about the power of images in science.

PART II - The Changing Arctic Ice
Explore the Arctic ice cap with photographer Chris Linder and Woods  
Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist John Toole. See stunning  
images from the pole, explore the latest data from deep beneath the  
cap???s surface, and find out how such information can be used to  
forecast global environmental change.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:
Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu

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My 5 Dinners with Ahmadinejad: Iran, Nuclear Weapons, the Middle East
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Buildling 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Dr. Jim Walsh, MIT Security Studies Program

A nuclear armed Iran? An Israeli military strike?
Facts and myths about Iran and its nuclear program will be discussed.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, The Technology and  
Culture Forum at MIT, Global Zero

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GreenPort Forum
Tuesday, April 17
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Ave at Magazine Street,  
Cambridge

Emergency Preparedness Part 2: Continuing the Conversation.  Following  
up on last month's Forum, an open discussion of ways to work together  
as a community to prepare for climate-related emergencies.  What are  
practical ways to start practicing mutual aid?  How can we increase  
our reliance on sustainable local resources?  How can we learn to live  
well while consuming less?  What appropriate technologies can make us  
more resilient as we face extreme weather, rising ocean levels, and  
new scarcities?  Bring your ideas and your spirit of resilience!   
Presentations on emergency preparation from the March Forum will be  
summarized for the benefit of those who were not able to attend.

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

CafeSciBoston's Energy Cafe:   "Why haven't we solved the energy  
problem yet?"
Tuesday
7:00pm until 8:30pm
Middlesex Lounge, 315 massachusetts ave, Cambridge

Presented by Matthew Pearlson and Michael Hagerty
Moderators: Graham Veth and Rachel Gesserman

Americans consume more energy per capita than any other civilization  
on earth. Most of that energy comes from fossil fuels, a finite  
resources that contributes to global climate change. Reducing fossil  
fuel use increases domestic security and can reduce environmental  
impact. However, changing the way our country fuels itself after more  
than a hundred years of industrial development is complex and  
difficult. This presentation will attempt to demystify the size of the  
issue and answer audience questions about the energy system.

About the speakers: Matthew Pearlson and Michael Hagerty are chemical  
engineers who researched energy systems for their master's degrees in  
the Technology and Policy program at MIT.

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Nerd Nite
Tuesday April 17, 2012
8pm
Oberon in Harvard Square, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge
(Note special night and venue!)

Featuring Nerd-appropriate tunes by Claude Money

Advance tickets on sale: http://www.cluboberon.com/events/nerd-nite

Special Feature: Premier of the short film “Pie Heaven” by Aviv  
Rubinstein
Talk 1. “Who needs friends when you’ve got Google? How Google is  
reshaping our minds, relationships, and ideas about the self.”
by Adrian Ward

Talk 2. “Subatomic Screenwriting and The Psychology of the Moving  
Picture”
by Aviv Rubinstein

More information at http://boston.nerdnite.com/

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Wednesday, April 18
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M-RCBG Seminar. "Single-Payer Healthcare Reform in Vermont: Is it  
Economically Sustainable?"
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Fainsod Room, 3rd Floor, Littauer Building, 79 JFK Street,  
Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Health Sciences, Lecture, Social  
Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government
SPEAKER(S)  Timothy Christian, professor of medicine, University of  
Vermont, and Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government
CONTACT INFO  mrcbg at ksg.harvard.edu

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Energy 101: Wind
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
12:30p–1:30p
MIT, Building 2-135, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Alex Kalmikov
This talk will present an overview on the science, technology and  
economics of wind energy.
Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
energyclub at mit.edu
---------------------------------

"HBO in the 21st Century."
Wednesday, April 18
12 p.m.
Allison Dining Room, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street,  
Cambridge

A conversation with Richard Plepler, co-president of HBO. Moderated  
byAlex Jones, Shorenstein Center Director.

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

China Urban Development Discussion Series | Urbanization: Regional &  
Spatial Transformation
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
1:00p–2:30p
MIT, Building 9-354

Speaker: Professor Weiping Wu, Dept. of Urban and Environmental Policy  
and Planning, Tufts University; Discussant: Professor Amy Glasmeier,  
Head and Professor of Geography and Regional Planning, MIT Department  
of Urban Studies and Planning
China Urban Development Discussion Series

China's cities are home to 10 percent of the world's population today.  
They display unprecedented dynamism under the country's surging  
economic power. Although China's urban transformation is in some ways  
comparable to what industrialized countries have gone through in the  
past, the outcomes -- particular patterns of development, the nature  
of urbanism, interactions between urban and rural -- necessarily are  
quite different. This presentation will focus on two aspects: how  
rapid urbanization has reconfigured the urban system across regions  
and urban space across social strata. How might reform policies and  
inter-city economic competition change the urban system? What are the  
key dimensions of disparity within and across cities? An overarching  
theme points to increasing double divide in urban China.

Please RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5Y5F8YQ. Complimentary  
lunch will be served at 12:30 pm in 9-554; talk starts at 1:00 pm and  
ends by 2:30 pm in 9-354.

Web site: http://dusp.mit.edu/cud/cud_series.html

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Graduate Student  
Life Grants, China Urban Development

For more information, contact:  Shan Jiang
shanjang at mit.edu
-------------------------------

The International Human Rights Movement
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 2 – 3 p.m.
WHERE  Wasserstein Hall 3013, Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts  
Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Ethics, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
SPEAKER(S)  Aryeh Neier, president of the Open Society Foundations and  
co-founder of Human Rights Watch
COST  Free and open to the public
LINK  http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/

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

Environmental Regulations and Corruption: Automobile Emissions in  
Mexico City
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Paulina Oliva (Santa Barbara)

Web site: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/7735

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Development and Environmental Economics Workshop

For more information, contact:  Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu
-------------------------------

Oxford-style Debate: "Libraries are Obsolete"
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 3 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Piper Auditorium, Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy  
Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Comedy, Conferences, Humanities, Information  
Technology, Lecture, Special Events, Working at Harvard
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard Library Strategic Conversations; co- 
organized by Donna Viscuglia, Emily Baldoni, Linda Collins, Krista  
Ferrante, Marc McGee, and Hugh Truslow
SPEAKER(S)  Professor Jonathan Zittrain will chair the debate, with  
James Tracy and Professor R. David Lankes speaking in favor of the  
motion, and Professor John G. Palfrey and Susan Hildreth arguing in  
opposition.
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Donna Viscuglia: dviscugl at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  The format of the debate is similar to that of the House of  
Commons and is known for combining a degree of wit and whimsy with  
serious argumentation. The debate will take up the controversial and  
timely proposition that "Libraries are Obsolete."
Also participating in the event are student speakers Sanhita Dey, and  
Rishav Mukherji, both of the Harvard Speech & Parliamentary Debate  
Society.
The Harvard Library Strategic Conversations planning committee is made  
up of volunteer members of the library community. Our mission is to  
engage library colleagues in open, community-driven discussion about  
the future of libraries.
LINK  http://osc.hul.harvard.edu/yopc/

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

Can We See Earthquakes Before They Happen?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 54-915, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Professor Brendan Meade, Center for the Environment, Dept. of  
Earth & Planetary Sciences, Harvard University

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

Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: "Impacts of Mexico's  
National Payments for Ecosystem Services Program"
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
SPEAKER(S)  Katharine Sims
LINK  http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881

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


Whither Nanotechnology?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Boston College , Merkert 127, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill

Professor Charles M. Lieber, Mark Hyman Professor of Chemistry  
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology School of Engineering and  
Applied Sciences Harvard
Contact:  Terri Wallace
terri.wallace at bc.edu

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

The Open Fuels Standard: Solving the Chicken-and-Egg or Just Plain  
"Foul"?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Tom Stricker, Vice President of Technical and Regulatory  
Affairs, and Energy and Environmental Research Toyota Motor North  
America, Inc.
Recent attention has been given to expanding the portfolio of gasoline  
and diesel alternatives. The result is significant discussion around  
the "Open Fuel Standard" which would require that vehicles be capable  
of using a range of ethanol and methanol blends, and encourage or  
force the sale of other alternatives: hydrogen, electricity, CNG, etc.  
Academic analysis has suggested that achieving substantial biofuels  
and methanol expansion is a matter of creating new government  
policies, mandates, and subsidies to overcome the technical issues of  
alcohol fuel production and the practical issues challenges of the  
"chicken and egg" deployment hurdle. Some of these policies fail to  
fully appreciate the technical, cost, and liability issues that will  
be imposed on the automotive and fuel industry. Perhaps more  
importantly, these policies assume that major breakthroughs in clean  
fuel production methods are inevitable. What can the lessons of less  
complex fuel initiatives tell us about the merits of the Open Fuel  
Standard? Is this the most effective pathway for industry and the fuel  
providers, or will it undermine and divert critical mass from other  
technologies? Will it provide the opportunity for consumers to select  
preferable technologies? Why does this particular approach warrant  
actions vis-a-vis other potential options? The topic certainly merits  
a rigorous debate and analysis that engages all components of the  
transportation/energy system prior to legislative action.

Web site: http://mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/stricker.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative, Joint Program on the Science and  
Policy of Global Change
For more information, contact:  Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
-------------------------------

Kerry Kennedy - Speak Truth to Power: Take Action for Human Rights
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE  13 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT  Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
BUILDING/ROOM  Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME  Amber DiNatale
CONTACT EMAIL  askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu
CONTACT PHONE  617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT  Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED  No
ADMISSION FEE  This event is free and open to the public.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Education, Lecture, Special Events
NOTE  Introduction: Kathleen McCartney, dean and Gerald S. Lesser  
Professor in Early Childhood Development, HGSE
Speaker: Kerry Kennedy, president, Robert F. Kennedy Center for  
Justice and Human Rights
Kerry Kennedy will talk about Speak Truth To Power, a project of the  
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. This multi- 
faceted global initiative uses the experiences of courageous defenders  
from around the world to educate students and others about human  
rights, and urge them to take action. Defender programs include civic  
and moral education, and safe learning environments as a human rights  
issue for children.
This event is free and open to the public. No ticket or registration  
is required. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
This event will be live-streamed. Please check back the day of the  
event for the live-stream link.
Want to win a reserved seat for this forum? Become a fan of the Ed  
School on Facebook (www.facebook.com/harvardeducation) and watch for a  
posting about this event.
Connect with Us:
Tweeting at an Askwith Forum? Use the #Askwith hashtag.
Attending a Forum? Check in on Foursquare (www.foursquare.com/hgse)
For more information on Askwith Forums, please visit our Frequently  
Asked Questionspage.

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

Curate Your Own Experience: Community Engagement Through Culture
WHEN  Wed., Apr. 18, 2012, 6 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Belfer Building, Weil Town Hall (BL1), Harvard Kennedy School  
of Government, 79 JFK St. Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at  
Harvard University
SPEAKER(S)  Dennis Scholl, vice president of arts, Knight Foundation
DIRECTED BY  Wine and cheese reception to follow
COST  Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK  http://hausercenter.harvard.edu
LINK  http://hausercenter.harvard.edu

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

Economic & Technical Analysis of Wind Assets
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
  7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building 4-144, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Mr. Shaheer Hussam '03 and Dr. Cegeon Chan '09 of First Wind  
Energy, LLC
The Wind Community of the MIT Energy Club presents Economic &  
Technical Analysis of Wind Assets.
There are many different avenues in developing a utility scale wind  
farm. In the first part of this talk, we will discuss key pieces to  
the development process, with a focus on the evaluation of project  
economics. A case study will follow describing a project acquisition  
process.

In the second part of the talk, we will go over some of the  
"surprises" that have been found once the wind farm has been built.

Shaheer Hussam is a Manager at First Wind where he focuses on project  
M&A and strategic initiatives. Prior to First Wind, Shaheer was at  
GenPower Holdings, a power asset investment joint venture with First  
Reserve. Shaheer holds a bachelors in mechanical engineering from MIT.  
Cegeon Chan, PhD is a Wind Resource Manager for First Wind Energy,  
LLC. His main responsibility is improving the long-term projections  
made in energy assessments. Dr. Chan has served on the American  
Meteorogical Society's Renewable Energy Sub-committee for the last  
three years. Dr. Chan graduated with a BS in Meteorology and BA in  
Mathematics from Lyndon State College. After a year as an on-air TV  
meteorologist, he then went on to receive his PhD in atmospheric  
science from MIT in 2009.
Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
energyclub at mit.edu
------------------------

Thursday, April 19

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

Civic Media Lunch: Schuyler Towne, "Lost In Space"

Thursday, April 19, 2012

12:00p–1:30p

MIT, Building E15-344, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Schuyler Towne

Civic Media Lunch

Everyone has a strong physical and emotional connection to the  
divisions of private and public space, though few ever have the chance  
to explore the consequences of crossing those lines. This talk will  
reveal the whispered conversation societies have been having for  
millennia, in which we discover what defines private space and what  
happens to us as individuals and communities when those lines become  
blurred. We'll talk about security in the ancient world, revolutions  
both French and industrial, and the role of governments as determined  
attackers.

Schuyler Towne is obsessed with locks. He got his start as a  
competitive picker, winning the American Open and competing  
internationally as well. At an early point in his lock collecting he  
came across an old "Yale & Towne" padlock. This potential familial  
connection drove his interest further and he spent the next several  
years of his life trying to understand everything he could about  
locks. From how they work and why they fail, to the stories of who  
invented them and when and where they came into existence.

Web site: RSVP:  http://civic.mit.edu/event/civic-media-lunch-schuyler-towne-lost-in-space
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for Civic Media
For more information, contact:  Andrew Whitacre
awhit at mit.edu
---------------------------

Ben Heineman: Responsible Corporate Supply Chain Practices--Apple in  
Context
WHEN  Thu., Apr. 19, 2012, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Malkin Penthouse, 4th Floor, Littauer, Harvard Kennedy School,  
79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Law, Lecture, Social Sciences,  
Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government
SPEAKER(S)  Ben Heineman, senior fellow, Belfer Center for Science and  
International Affairs
CONTACT INFO  Please RSVP to mrcbg at ksg.harvard.edu

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

Regional Climate Modeling over West Africa
Thursday, April 19, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 48-316, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Marc Pace Marcella, MIT
Environmental Fluid Mechanics/Hydrology
Join us for a weekly series of efm/hydrology topics by MIT faculty and  
students, as well as guest lecturers from around the globe.
Web site: http://cee.mit.edu/events/60

Open to: the general public

Cost: free

Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering

For more information, contact:  Roberta Pizzinato
robertap at mit.edu
-----------------------------

Social Business—New Models for Providing Sustainable Services to the  
Poor
WHEN  Thu., Apr. 19, 2012, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Burden Auditorium, Harvard Business School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Business, Health Sciences, Lecture, Social  
Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  HBS Healthcare Initiative, HBS Social Enterprise  
Initiative, and Harvard Innovation Lab
SPEAKER(S)  Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner
COST  Free
TICKET WEB LINK  http://proximate.ly/social_business_with_muhammad_yunus
TICKET INFO  http://proximate.ly/social_business_with_muhammad_yunus
NOTE  Yunus will discuss his recent efforts that focus on building  
social businesses and health care initiatives in Bangladesh. Visit www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/ 
  to register.
LINK  http://proximate.ly/social_business_with_muhammad_yunus

---------------------------
Forced to Succeed: Gender Quotas, Candidate Quality and Political  
Competition

Thursday, April 19, 2012

4:30p–6:00p

Harvard K354, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Olle Folke (Columbia)

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Seminar on Positive Political Economy

For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa at mit.edu
----------------------------

Biodiversity, Ecology & Global Change with Thomas B. Smith
WHEN  Thu., Apr. 19, 2012, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S)  Thomas B. Smith, director of the Center for Tropical  
Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, professor,  
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA
CONTACT INFO  Lisa Matthews: matthew at fas.harvard.edu
NOTE  "Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation: The Importance of  
Preserving Environmental Gradients in a Changing World"
Thomas Smith has more than 25 years of experience working in the  
rainforests of Africa, Australia, Latin America, and Hawaii. A central  
focus of his research investigates how biodiversity is generated and  
maintained in tropical rainforests. Combining molecular genetics and  
field biology, he identified a new theory of how speciation occurs in  
rainforests. In a series of recent studies, he has shown that for a  
wide range of taxa in rainforests worldwide, the processes of  
diversification and speciation take place not only within  
“biodiversity hotspots” but also along environmental gradients or  
ecotones representing the transition from one habitat to another. The  
results of Smith’s research point to new and more effective ways of  
prioritizing regions for conservation. In recent years his research  
has also focused on studying evolution in human-altered environments,  
the ecology of disease, and developing new approaches for mapping  
adaptive variation in species to mitigate the effects of climate change.
LINK  http://environment.harvard.edu/tsmith

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

CleanWeb+Clean Energy Nite at the Venture Cafe
Thursday, April 19
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (ET)
The Venture Cafe, Kendall Square, One Broadway, 4th floor, Cambridge
Register at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dElFLWhaYzVtS0tyY1B4ZG50VzBocHc6MQ&entry_0=Cleanweb+Panel

Please join Cleantech Open NE, CleanWeb Hackathon, Greentown Labs, and  
the MIT Enterprise Forum Clean Energy Special Interest Group for this  
special collaborative event exploring the Cleanweb and Clean Energy  
opportunities in our region.

There will be an interactive roundtable discussion at 5:30pm (limited  
to 30 participants) to learn how CleanWeb entrepreneurs are using the  
internet, social media, and mobile technologies to address energy,  
water and environmental resource constraints.

In addition, the Cleantech Open NE, MIT Clean Energy Prize finalists,  
Greentown Labs, and the CleanWeb Hackathon will all have informational  
tables to showcase their programs.

Join us for a fun and relaxed night full of networking opportunities,  
great speakers and dialogue, and a chance to learn more about the  
opportunities Boston and New England have to offer!

--------------------------------
Brand-Name Genes
Thursday, April 19
6:30-8:00 pm
McLaughlin Moot Court Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston

with Attorney Lee Carl Bromberg and Dr. Robert Klitzman;  moderated by  
Dominick Ianno

Biotechnology in genetics is reaching heights that the average person  
can barely imagine. But what are the effects of this unstoppable  
science on individuals, the economy, and our society as a whole? If we  
cannot abate the speed of innovation, how can we better control it or  
at least mitigate the negative consequences? Attorney Lee Carl  
Bromberg reveals the tactic of companies patenting genetic code, while  
Dr. Robert Klitzman, author ofAm I My Genes?: Confronting Fate and  
Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing, shares the stories of  
real people whose lives were forever changed by genetic testing.  
Dominick Ianno, Ford Hall Forum President and Pfizer's Director of  
Public Affairs, US Northeast, leads us through a discussion of the  
revolutionary and sometimes frightening future of genetics.

A book signing by Dr. Klitzman will follow the presentation.

Further background information on the participants:

Lee Carl Bromberg is a trial attorney who concentrates in the area of  
Intellectual Property/Information Technology. He has successfully  
handled a wide range of patent infringement actions, as well as  
trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition cases in  
high technology areas. Bromberg has been named a World’s Leading  
Patent Litigator by IAM Patent Litigation 250, and has been recognized  
as a Chambers USA “Leaders in their Field” lawyer for 2007–2012.  
He has been named among the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts, listed  
in The Best Lawyers in America for intellectual property, and named as  
a “Super Lawyer” in the field of intellectual property. He has  
received one of the highest peer review ratings from Martindale  
Hubbell, based on a survey of other lawyers and judges. Bromberg's  
patent infringement practice on behalf of numerous national companies  
has involved a wide array of technologies, including pharmaceuticals,  
biotechnology, and recombinant DNA. He has served as a court-appointed  
discovery master in patent litigation, has testified as an expert  
witness on patent litigation, and led the Task Force that obtained  
implementation of local patent rules in the Massachusetts federal  
court. Bromberg has previously served as Clinical Associate Professor  
of Law at Boston University School of Law and as the President of the  
Boston Patent Law Association. He is currently a Fellow of the Boston  
Bar Foundation and a board member of the Ford Hall Forum.

Dr. Robert Klitzman, Author & Associate Professor of Clinical  
Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and  
Surgeons and the Mailman School of Public Health, is the Director of  
the Masters of Bioethics Program; the Director of the Ethics, Policy  
and Human Rights Core of the HIV Center; a member of the Division of  
Psychiatry, Law and Ethics; and co-founded and for five years co- 
directed the Center for Bioethics. Klitzman has written seven books,  
and numerous articles drawing on multi-disciplinary methods to examine  
ethical, psychological and social issues in a variety of contexts in  
medicine and psychiatry. Specifically, he has examined decision-making  
concerning HIV disclosure, genetic testing, reproductive choices among  
individuals at risk for genetic disorders, Institutional Review  
Boards, and other topics.

Dominick Ianno, Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University President, the  
current Director of Public Affairs, US Northeast, in Pfizer’s Global  
Sites Public Affairs group. Ianno began his Pfizer career in January  
2008, joining the company in a newly-created position as Director of  
Public Affairs in Worldwide Public Affairs and Policy, where he  
managed media outreach strategy for the company’s interests on state  
policy and legislative issues throughout the Northeast. Prior to  
joining Pfizer, Ianno served four years as a Vice President at Gray  
Media in Boston, providing political and business counsel to a wide  
range of business, education, and political clients. He is a past  
Executive Director of the Massachusetts Republican Party and worked as  
a research and media operative for several statewide Republican  
campaigns in Massachusetts. Ianno was named one of Politics and  
Campaigns “Top 100 Massachusetts Influencers” in June 2010.

For more information on Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University, visit www.fordhallforum.org 
. Information about Suffolk University’s partnership with Ford Hall  
Forum can be obtained by contacting Mariellen Norris, (617) 573-8450, mnorris at suffolk.edu 
.

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

Indigenous Grandmothers:  Planting Seeds for Seven Generations
Thursday, April 19
7 pm
Wellesley, Houghton Chapel, 106 Central Street, Wellesley

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

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

Nanoscale construction with DNA

Thursday, April 19, 2012

7:00p–9:00p

MIT, Building E51-315, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Shawn Douglas

IEEE/ACM Joint Seminar Series
Exploring the edge of computing technology.
The programmability of DNA makes it an attractive material for  
constructing intricate nanoscale shapes. One method for creating these  
structures is DNA origami, in which a multiple-kilobase single- 
stranded 'scaffold' is folded into a custom nanoscale shape by  
interacting with hundreds of short oligonucleotide 'staple' strands. I  
will talk about our efforts to realize demand-meeting applications of  
this method, including our recent development of nanoscale devices to  
mimic cell-signaling stimulation carried out by our own immune  
systems. shawndouglas.jpg

Shawn Douglas received his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from  
Yale in 2003 and his Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard in 2009. His  
research interest is in developing experimental methods and software  
to construct and manipulate self-assembling biomaterials on the  
nanometer scale. He worked as a graduate student in the laboratories  
of William Shih and George Church to generate custom three-dimensional  
shapes using the "DNA origami" method, including a novel alignment  
medium for NMR structure determination of membrane proteins. He has  
also led the development of cadnano, an open-source computer-aided  
design software that aids in the design of 3D shapes. Contact: shawn.douglas at wyss.harvard.edu 
.
Web site:http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/shawndouglas.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): ACM & IEEE/CS
For more information, contact:  Dorothy Curtis
617-253-0541
dcurtis at alum.mit.edu
------------------------------

New Self-Organizing Practices for the City
WHEN  Thu., Apr. 19, 2012, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE  RCC conference room, 26 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Real Colegio Complutense
SPEAKER(S)  José María Ortiz Cotro
COST  Free, open to the public
CONTACT INFO  rcc_info at harvard.edu
LINK  http://www.realcolegiocomplutense.harvard.edu
-------------------
Friday, April 20

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

Cambridge Science Festival

April 20 through April 29

http://cambridgesciencefestival.org/Home.aspx

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

Tufts Energy Conference

April 20

http://www.tuftsenergyconference.com/

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

Free Day at the MIT Museum

Friday, April 20, 2012

10:00a–5:00p

N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

In celebration of the Cambridge Science Festival's opening day, the  
MIT Museum is open for free on Friday, April 20. Participate in hands- 
on activities and explore the newly renovated galleries and exhibitions!

Web site: web.mit.edu/museum/programs/festival.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:  Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu
--------------------------------

Caution: This Game Is Under Construction
Friday, April 20, 2012
10:00a–12:00p
N52, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Making a video game takes a lot of work and we need your help!

A dollop of art, a dab of audio, a generous helping of programming and  
voila: the perfect video game! We wish it were that simple. Before we  
release our games to the public, we need playtesters to make sure  
they're worthy of being GAMBIT games. Is the game fun? Are the goals  
clear? Can players figure out what to do? Even though these games  
aren't finished, we can still discover the answers to these questions  
and others. How? By asking you! At the MIT Museum on Friday morning,  
the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab will be testing several works in  
progress. Come be the first to play our newest games and tell us what  
you think.

All experience levels welcome and encouraged. Making games may be  
hard, but playtesting them is easy. Trust us, you're exactly who we  
want to talk to.
Web site: http://gambit.mit.edu/updates/2012/03/csf_2012.php
Open to: the general public
Cost: presented as part of the MIT Museum free day
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum, Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab
For more information, contact:  Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu
------------------------------

Prospects For Sustainable Transport Fuel: Solar And Wind Derived Alcohol
Friday, April 20, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building E19-306, 400 Main Street, Cambridge

Speaker: James Turner, Chief Engineer - Powertrain Research, Advanced  
Concepts, Lotus Engineering
The lecture reviews the drivers on society at large and the vehicle  
manufacturers in particular with regard to energy utilization in  
transport. It then discusses synthetic alcohol fuels as a long-term  
alternative to electrification or the hydrogen economy. A means of  
producing alcohols which reduces atmospheric levels of CO2 is also  
discussed.

The ease of implementation of this approach due to the alcohols and  
gasoline being miscible is discussed. Hence this approach removes the  
need for any massive specification changes in the existing fuel  
systems for road vehicles as well as keeping the distribution and  
supply infrastructure similar to that which is used at the moment with  
gasoline.

In following this path, the need for a step change in funding by any  
of the major transportation stakeholders - fuel suppliers, vehicle  
manufacturers or end customer - is therefore avoided. Finally, the way  
in which transport sector fuel demand, coupled to the chemical storage  
of renewable energy, can remove the funding bottleneck for renewable  
energy is discussed.
Web site: http://mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/turner.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:  Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
----------------------------

Nanoscience and Carbon Sequestration
Friday, April 20, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building 3-333, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Donald DePaolo, Associate Laboratory Director for Energy &  
Environment, Director, Center for Nanoscale Control of Geologic CO2,  
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Energy & Environment Community and Lecture Series of the MIT Energy Club

Subsurface processes, including transport of CO2, originate from  
chemical and physical interactions at the molecular and nano- 
scale,even though they are played out as macroscopic material and  
dynamical properties of a meter-to-multi-kilometer scale geologic  
system.

The DOE-funded Energy Frontier Research Center called the Center for  
Nanoscale Controls on Geologic CO2 (NCGC) aims to improve our ability  
to understand and predict the performance of underground CO2 storage  
systems. The research program is built on the many new analytical and  
computational tools available for characterizing and simulating  
molecular and nano-scale features and processes in fluids and rocks.  
The largest effort focuses on how carbonate minerals nucleate and  
precipitate under the conditions of CO2 sequestration in both  
reservoir rocks (sandstones) and geologic seals (shales). The  
remainder of the NCGC effort is focused on the properties of fluid  
mixtures under confinement in high-surface area environments, and the  
interplay between 2- and 3-phase flow and chemical reactions. An  
additional effort is aimed at the effects of pore scale transport and  
multi-scale heterogeneity.
Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

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

Breaking a biofuels bottleneck: deconstructing biomass from the ground  
up

Friday, April 20, 2012

3:00p–4:00p

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

Speaker: Douglas S. Clark, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, UC  
Berkeley

Chemical Engineering Department Seminar Series

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

Urban Astronomy: Bringing the Stars to the Street
WHEN  Fri., Apr. 20, 2012, 8 – 11 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  617.495.7461
NOTE  Join us to look through telescopes at fantastic views of Venus,  
Mars, Saturn, double stars, and distant star clusters. Cloud/rain date  
Saturday, April 21. Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
LINK  http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/events/public_events.html
----------------------
Saturday, April 21
---------------------

13th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup
Saturday, April 21, 2012
9:00a–12:00p
MIT Sailing Pavilion, 134 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Help MIT Sea Grant cleanup the sidewalks and meridian strip along  
Memorial Drive between the Harvard and Longfellow Bridges!

Since 2000, the Charles River Watershed Association has coordinated  
the Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup each April with a  
collaborative of other non-profit organizations. The Cleanup involves  
volunteers picking up trash at over 100 different cleanup sites along  
the Charles River and its tributaries.
Web site: http://www.crwa.org/cleanup.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Sea Grant
For more information, contact:  Nancy Adams
617-253-3461
nadamsx at mit.edu
----------------------------

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

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

Tufts Energy Conference

April 21

http://www.tuftsenergyconference.com/

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


Earth Day Celebration
WHEN  Sat., Apr. 21, 2012, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
WHERE  Mac Quad (next to Kirkland, Eliot, and Winthrop)
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Education, Environmental Sciences, Special  
Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard College Environmental Action Committee
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO  Mary Griffin: mgriffin at college.harvard.edu; Sam Parker: parker at college.harvard.edu
NOTE  EARTH DAY 2012
Rio +20: The UN Conference on Sustainable Development
COME ENJOY
LIVE MUSIC – PIE EATING CONTESTS – B. GOOD –
RECYCLING BIN RACES – FREE ICE CREAM-
FREE ODWALLA – FREE NALGENE BOTTLES –
STUDENT AND COMMUNITY GROUP BOOTHS
And bring your prefrosh!
http://www.greencrimson.com
LINK  http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/eac/?page_id=50

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

The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last  
Resources
WHEN  Sat., Apr. 21, 2012, 2 – 3 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Education, Environmental Sciences, Lecture,  
Science, Social Sciences, Special Events, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Museum of Natural History
SPEAKER(S)  Michael Klare, Five College Professor of peace and world  
security studies at Hampshire College
COST  $6-9 (includes admission to the museum galleries)
NOTE  Author talk and booksigning
In his newest book, "The Race for What’s Left," Michael Klare  
describes a world facing an unprecedented crisis of resource depletion 
—from oil to coal and natural gas, copper and cobalt, water, and  
arable land.

Regular admission rates apply. Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
LINK  http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures_and_special_events/index.php

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

Spring Planting 2012 is coming up soon! Come out and learn how you can  
grow food in your yard, on your porch and inside your home!

The Green Neighbors Education Committee, Inc. and the Foundation for a  
Green Future, Inc. will be hosting a FREE event on

Saturday, April 21, 2012

2:00 PM until 5:00 PM

Harambee Park (AKA Franklin Field) in Dorchester near the Perkins  
Community Center at 155 Talbot Avenue.

There will be information tables, workshops and demonstrations on ways  
that you can grow plants including food plants.

Workshops include:

Landless Garden: Build a garden in 2 square feet of space! Laurel  
Valchuis.
The Landless Garden is an urban gardening method that uses a burlap  
bag, gravel, sticks and soil. It only takes up 2 square feet of space  
and can be placed almost anywhere there is sunshine including a porch,  
roof, or even a parking spot. The materials are cheap, and at the end  
of the season everything (sans gravel) can be composted. Come learn  
how to build one of these gardens for your own space and enjoy fresh  
veggies all summer!

Home composting with worms! Gerald Robbins.

Learn the basics of creating your own compost by feeding food scraps  
to worms that you raise! The compost they provide is a great organic  
fertilizer.

Container gardening tips and techniques! Massachusetts Certified  
Master Gardener, Laurinda LeCain, and The Massachusetts Master  
Gardeners Association

How to turn a 5 gallon plastic container into a self-watering  
container garden". Easy, creative and inexpensive. We will take an  
ordinary 5-gallon bucket that is usually available for free from many  
sources and convert it into a self-watering container garden.

This event is free to the public. The presenters are all volunteers  
who have great information to share with you and your families.
Live plants are beautiful, soothing, clean the air, provide oxygen and  
can produce food for you as well.
Come and learn how to get green and leafy at home!

--------------------
Sunday, April 22
--------------------

Harvard College Global Energy Initiative Renewable Energy Demonstration
WHEN  Sun., Apr. 22 – Mon., Apr. 23, 2012
WHERE  Outside the Science Center
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION  Education, Environmental Sciences,  
Exhibitions, Science, Special Events, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  Harvard College Global Energy Initiative
CONTACT INFO  cmamxin at college.harvard.edu
NOTE  GEI is planning a renewable energy demonstration for Earth Day  
weekend. We are using solar energy to power a stereo and also charge  
your cellphones. We have information on Harvard's commitment to  
renewable energy and what you can do to get involved. We also will  
have a raffle for different neat solar technologies!

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

GreenFilmFest for Earth Day
Sunday, April 22, 2012
11:30 AM
Moot Court Room, Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street,  
Boston
Register online here:http://foundationforagreenfuture.givezooks.com/events/greenfilmfest-for-earth-day

Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. will host its first annual  
“GreenFilmFest for Earth Day” on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 11:30AM  
to 6PM at Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street, Boston.  
In celebration of Earth Day, the festival will showcase films  
highlighting environmental issues right here in the United States and  
around the world. Guest speakers will lead discussions after each  
film. The festival is free and open to the public. Attendees are also  
requested to bring in used smartphones that will be donated to Konbit  
Santé, a Haitian health care charity. This event is co-sponsored by  
the Boston Youth Environmental Network and Progressive Asset Management.

Film Descriptions:
Dreamland (2009, 90 min) Dreamland is a film about a nation standing  
at a crossroads. Leading up to Iceland’s greatest economic crisis, the  
government started the largest mega project in its history by building  
the biggest dam in Europe and providing Alcoa cheap electricity for an  
aluminum smelter in the rugged east fjords of the country. Today  
Iceland is left holding a huge debt and an uncertain future.
Future of Hope (2010, 75 min) Over the past 20 years we have seen a  
growing realization that the current model for society and culture is  
unsustainable. We have been living beyond our means... Future of Hope  
is a documentary following individuals that strive to change the world  
of consumerism, a system of credit and debt that the Icelandic economy  
was built upon for the past 10 years. Focusing on sustainable  
developments in organic farming, business, innovation, renewable  
energy and the environment - filled with positivity and emotion as we  
are viewing a story of struggle, determination and most importantly...  
hope.
H2Oil (2009, 72 min) Ever wonder where America gets most of its oil?  
If you thought it was Saudi Arabia or Iraq, you are wrong. America's  
biggest oil supplier has become Canada's oil sands. Located under  
Alberta's pristine boreal forests, oil sand extraction uses up to four  
barrels of fresh water to produce only one barrel of crude oil. It  
goes without saying that water has become the most important issue to  
face humanity in this century. At the same time, the war for oil is  
well underway across the globe. As the province of Alberta rushes  
towards a large-scale extraction, the social, ecological and human  
impacts are hitting a crisis point. In only a few short years, the  
continent will be a crisscross of pipelines, reaching from the Arctic  
all the way to the southern part of the United States, leaving toxic  
water basins the size of Lake Ontario, and surface-mines as large as  
Florida. Ultimately we ask what is more important - oil or water.
Hip-Hop Rev (2011, 60 min) In Hip-Hop Rev we are shown the background  
of Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., a devoted people's preacher. We learn  
about his motivations for choosing to work in the streets rather than  
the steeple. Rev. Yearwood is the Founder and CEO of the young and  
growing "Hip-Hop Caucus." This caucus is a 21st century human rights  
organization begun in hurricane-hit Louisiana and now has nearly  
700,000 supporters across the country. The film moves from Yearwood’s  
roots in Louisiana to his community organizing in South East  
Washington, DC. Rev Yearwood joins the national Clean Energy Bus Tour  
with former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection  
and visits nine cities across America in seven days. Musician Wyclef  
Jean and activist Van Jones are also featured.

A complete schedule of events can be found at bostongreenfest.org.

Boston GreenFest is organized by the Foundation for a Green Future,  
Inc, a Boston-based 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to providing  
environmentally focused programs to the Greater Boston community.  
Learn more at foundationforagreenfuture.org.

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

Picnic for the Planet - Boston
Sunday, April 22
12:00pm - 3:00pm
Boston Common Frog Pond, Boston

Join us this Earth Day, April 22, and be part of the world's largest  
picnic.
 From the Antarctic to the South Pacific, to right here in Boston,  
people will celebrate Earth Day with The Nature Conservancy’s second  
annual Picnic for the Planet. The annual event celebrates the role  
that nature plays in daily life, by reminding people to stop and take  
a few minutes to enjoy being outside and sharing a meal with their  
families and friends.

“From the fish in our rivers and seas, to the forests that keep our  
air and our drinking water clean, to the vegetables we buy at the  
local farmers’ market; nature touches our lives every day,” Alison  
Bowden, of the Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts.

DETAILS: We’ll be celebrating, rain or shine, cohosting the family- 
friendly event with The Skating Club of Boston, at the Boston Common  
Frog Pond.

Take the Planet Out to Lunch: The Nature Conservancy will attempt to  
break a Guinness World Record for the largest global picnic, to the  
soundtrack of live music courtesy of Radio 92.9. Learn more about  
nature in Massachusetts, sample great local and natural foods, and  
enter to win free tickets to Earthfest in May.

Get Down 2 Earth: The Skating Club of Boston, which manages the Boston  
Common Frog Pond, will sponsor a D:2:E Green Spot, with local vendors  
offering information about living green in the city and activities for  
families.
Partners who have generously supported this event include: The Skating  
Club of Boston, Radio 92.9, the Boston Parks and Recreation and Food  
Should Taste Good.

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/massachusetts/explore/bostonpicnic2012.xml

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

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

---------------------
Monday, April 23
--------------------

Building the #Knowosphere - How new ways to share and shape ideas can  
help build durable progress on a finite planet
Monday, April 23, 2012
3:00p–4:15p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Andrew Revkin, Dot Earth Blogger, the New York Times
Andrew Revkin is the senior fellow for environmental understanding at  
Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Studies and writes  
the award-winning Dot Earth blog for The New York Times. He has spent  
nearly three decades covering subjects ranging from the assault on the  
Amazon rain forest to the troubled relationship of climate science and  
politics.

 From 1995 through 2009, he covered the environment for The Times as a  
staff reporter. His quarter century of coverage of global warming has  
earned most of the major awards for science journalism along with the  
John Chancellor Award for sustained journalistic excellence from  
Columbia University. Revkin has been a pioneer in multimedia  
communication, blogging and shooting still and video imagery in  
farflung places. He has also carried his journalism to a new  
generation in The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top  
of the World, the first account of Arctic climate change written for  
the whole family. His other books are The Burning Season, which was  
the basis for a much-lauded HBO film, and Global Warming:  
Understanding the Forecast.

Revkin lives in the Hudson River Valley with his wife and two sons. In  
spare moments, he is a performing songwriter and plays in a folk-roots  
band, Uncle Wade.
Web site: http://mit.edu/mitei/news/seminars/revkin.html

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change,  
Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (PAOC), MIT Energy  
Initiative

For more information, contact:  Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
----------------------------

The shale gas revolution: Technological enablers and environmental  
considerations

Monday, April 23, 2012

5:30p–7:00p

MIT, Building 4-237, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Francis O'Sullivan, Research Engineer and Executive Director  
of the Energy Sustainability Challenge Program at MITEI

Energy & Environment Community Lecture/Discussion Series

The emergence over the past decade of economically recoverably shale  
gas resources in the U.S. has been characterized by some as a  
revolution, with its national importance being stressed in the 2012  
State of the Union address, which called for every possible action to  
safely develop this energy. Nevertheless, contemporary shale gas  
development has not been without controversy. Significant concerns  
have been raised regarding water pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG)  
emissions, and uncertainty surrounding estimates of the resource  
scale. This talk will explore how shale gas has risen from being a  
niche marginal source of gas to the point where it is now supplying  
more than 25% of all U.S. gas production. The technologies that have  
enabled this remarkable growth will be discussed and in particular,  
the process of hydraulic fracturing will be described. In addition,  
the environmental challenges associated with shale gas development  
will be outlined and some of the possible pathways to safe and  
sustainable long-term shale gas production will be discussed.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

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

2012 Freeman Lecture- Climate Change and Water Resources:  
Characterizing Uncertainties for Decision Makers

Monday, April 23, 2012

6:00p–9:00p

MIT, Building E51, Wong Auditorium / Ting Foyer, 2 Amherst Street,  
Cambridge

Speaker: Dr. Richard N. Palmer Department Head and Professor Civil and  
Environmental Engineering University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Freeman Lecture

Scientific evidence tells us that global climate is changing. However,  
precise impacts on natural and man-made systems are less certain.  
Estimating climate change impact on river flow, water supply  
reliability, and ecosystem response requires careful application of  
global or regional circulation models, hydrologic models, and  
ecosystem response models. This presentation addresses each type of  
model, but focuses on characterizing climate information uncertainty  
when advising large-scale, public decision making. We begin by  
describing forecasted impacts of climate change on the US. Next,  
techniques to translate these broad climate shifts to the watershed  
scale in a fashion useful for decision making are described. We then  
address how best to frame this information for decision makers.

The presentation contains examples of the use of general circulation  
model output in past water resources studies. The examples highlight  
how stakeholder engagement in evaluating potential climate change  
impacts significantly improves the understanding of uncertainty,  
increasing the likelihood that the results will be used in real  
decision making. The presentation concludes by discussing limits of  
these techniques and suggests how such limits may be overcome by the  
next generation of engineers and scientists.

Please note:
Reception: 6 p.m./ Lecture: 7 p.m.
Open to: the general public

Cost: 0

Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering, BSCES

For more information, contact:  MIT Staff contact
617-258-8685
-----------------------------------

Exhibit Opening: To Extremes

Monday, April 23

7:00pm-9:00pm

Maseeh Hall, 305 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

RSVP: http://toextremes.eventbrite.com/

An exhibition of proposed artworks, To Extremes sought ideas last year  
for public art projects on climate from 50 invited artists and  
designers. To inform their work, artists and designers referred to  
nine dossiers on various themes covered in a major science report on  
climate and extreme events released in November 2011. In February a  
jury of experts in the visual arts and climate sciences selected the  
winners and proposals that would make up the exhibition, which is part  
of the Cambridge Science Festival.

On April 23, the winner, Sam Jury, will present her proposal for a  
video installation. Along with a proposal by Ms. Jury, the exhibition  
includes runner up Dan Borelli and the following artists and  
designers: Andrea Frank -- Kalman Gacs -- Sam Jacobson, Irina  
Chernyakova, Nicole Goehring -- Bradford Johnson --Marcus Owens and  
Jack Becker -- Evelyn Rydz -- Gina Siepel.


The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Clean Energy Program, the MIT Energy Club,  
the MIT CSSA, and the MIT ETF presents:

Accelerating Clean Energy Innovation Reception

Please join us for a discussion of ongoing clean energy and electric  
vehicle innovation and research at MIT and other local companies.

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

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
5:00-7:00 p.m.

MIT-SUTD International Design Center, 265 Massachusetts Ave, MIT  
Building, N52 3rd floor, Cambridge

This is a free event and open to the public. Refreshments will be  
provided.
Please RSVP to: laurie at 1620associates.com or 508-479-8034

You can also register through eventbrite: http://mitevevent.eventbrite.com/

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

Upcoming

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

We're pleased to announce the businesses presenting at the  
Entrepreneur Showcase on April 24th:
Black Earth Hauler: http://www.blackearthhauler.com/
Red's Best: http://www.redsbest.com/shopreds/
City Growers: http://citygrowers.wordpress.com/
Recover Green Roofs: http://www.recovergreenroofs.com/
NH Farm Fresh...Direct! http://www.nhiaf.org
Bootstrap Compost: http://bootstrapcompost.com/

For more details about the showcase or to RSVP, click here:
http://www.meetup.com/Greater-Boston-Slow-Money/events/54328062/

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

More Than Money Careers: Discussion and Reception with Dr. Mark  
Albion, Bestselling Author and Co-Founder of Net Impact
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
6:30 pm - 9:00 PM
Microsoft New England Research & Development Center, 1 Memorial Drive,  
Cambridge

http://www.rossboston.org/article.html?aid=324
*** Registration required ***

4th Annual RossBoston Sustainability Event with Dr. Mark S. Albion, co- 
founder of Net Impact and New York Times Best Selling author
Join us for an interactive and inspiring evening with Dr. Mark S.  
Albion who will discuss the challenges and opportunities of pursuing  
rewarding careers that deliver sustainable environmental and social  
value. The co-founder of Net Impact, and a prolific author and  
speaker, Dr. Albion will lead a discussion on how to create successful  
careers with impact and meaning. The evening will feature casual  
networking before and after Dr. Albion's presentation.  Food and  
drinks will be served.
Agenda

6:30 PM     Networking reception

7:00 PM     More Than Money Careers presented by Dr. Mark S. Albion

8:00 PM     Continued networking reception

Registration Required:     Cost is $10 for Ross School of Business  
alumni, $20 for guests.  No fee for current or prospective Ross  
students. Registration fee includes cocktail reception with open bar  
and hors d'oeuvres.  Please register and buy tickets here!!!

About Dr. Albion:  Dr. Albion was a student, administrator and  
professor at Harvard for 20 years, after which he co-founded six  
organizations, including Net Impact.  Most recently, he served in the  
Office of the President at Babson College, helping to integrate social  
values into the college through entrepreneurship of all kinds.  A New  
York Times Best Selling author, he has written seven books and made  
over 600 visits to business school campuses on five continents, for  
which BusinessWeek dubbed him, "the savior of business school souls."  
In 2010, Dr. Albion became the first social entrepreneur to receive  
the distinguished national entrepreneur of the year award, presented  
at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, and in that year co- 
founded More Than Money Careers, LLC, along with Dr. Mrim Boutla to  
support university staff, students and working professionals who are  
looking for well-paying social impact work that fits their values. Dr.  
Albion's 200 articles, books and award-winning short films can be  
found at www.morethanmoneycareers.com and www.makingalife.com.

About Net Impact:  Net Impact is a new generation of leaders who use  
their careers to tackle the world’s toughest problems. Putting  
business skills to work for good throughout every sector, Net Impact  
members show the world that it’s possible to make a net impact that  
benefits not just the bottom line, but people and planet too. With  
more than 280 chapters, students can find a chapter at the world’s  
top graduate business schools and undergraduate campuses, and  
professionals can connect to a chapter based in cities around the  
globe. Net Impact is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in San Francisco.

*** Registration required ***
http://www.rossboston.org/article.html?aid=324

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

Healing Earth:  An Interfaith Evening of Connection, Community and  
Commitment with Bill McKibben
Thursday, April 26
Vigil:  5:30 pm;  Dinner and Talk:  7 pm
Vigil at Charles River at JFK Street bridge and walk through Harvard  
Square;  Dinner at First Church Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge
$15 for dinner and talk, $10 for students, kosher meal available

To sign up, visit http://healingearth.eventbrite.com/

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

May 1 - How Can We Feed A Growing World and Sustain the Planet

12th Annual Henry W. Kendall Memorial Lecture

4:30pm - 5:30pm

Wong Auditorium, E51-115, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/henry_kendall_lecture

Speaker:  Professor Jonathan Foley, Institute on the Environment,  
University of Minnesota
In his talk, Foley will discuss how increasing population and wealth,  
along with changing patterns of diet and consumption, are plac­ing  
unprecedented demands on the world’s agriculture and natural  
resources. He will propose possible solutions to this dilemma, which  
together could double the world’s food production while greatly  
reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

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

Wake Up the Earth Festival

Saturday, May 5

11 am - 6 pm

Southwest Corridor, Jamaica Plain

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

Connect the Dots Campaign

Saturday, May 5

Connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather.

http://www.climatedots.org/

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



Get Growing festival
Sunday May 6
noon to 6.
Harvard Square on Palmer Street, as part of the May Fair

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

Media Lab Conversations Series: Howard Rheingold
Thursday, May 10, 2012
2:00pm - 4:00pm
MIT Media Lab, E14 6th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
ALL TALKS AT THE MEDIA LAB, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ARE OPEN TO THE  
PUBLIC.
THIS TALK WILL BE WEBCAST.
JOIN US ON TWITTER: #MLTALKS
The future of digital culture depends on how well we learn to use the  
media that have infiltrated, amplified, distracted, enriched, and  
complicated our lives. How we employ a search engine, stream video  
from our phonecam, or update our Facebook status matters to us and  
everyone, because the ways people use new media in the first years of  
an emerging communication regime can influence the way those media end  
up being used and misused for decades to come. Instead of confining  
his exploration to whether or not Google is making us stupid, Facebook  
is commoditizing our privacy, or Twitter is chopping our attention  
into microslices (all good questions), Rheingold has been asking  
himself and others how to use social media intelligently, humanely,  
and above all mindfully.

Rheingold's talk will be followed by a conversation with Joi Ito and  
Mimi Ito, as well as Q&A.

Biography:  Howard Rheingold, author of best-sellers Virtual Reality,  
The Virtual Community, Smart Mobs, and Net Smart,editor of best-seller  
The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog, takes audiences on a journey  
through the human side of the technology-shaped future. He's been in  
on the Web since the beginning, and long before. He's studied Internet  
enterprises and started them. Rheingold was the founding executive  
editor of HotWired; founder of Electric Minds (named by Time magazine  
one of the ten best websites of 1996). He's a participant-observer in  
the design of new technologies; a pioneer, critic, and forecaster of  
technology's impacts; and a speaker who involves his audience in an  
adventure in group futurism. His books are published in Chinese,  
French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese, Spanish,  
and Swedish language editions, in addition to distribution in the  
United Kingdom, and the United States. Rheingold has taught as  
appointed lecturer at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. He was a  
non-resident fellow at the Annenberg Center for Communication,  
visiting professor at De Montfort University, UK, which awarded him an  
honorary doctorate of technology degree. He delivered the invited  
Regents Lecture for University of California, Berkeley.

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

NEW ENGLAND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FORUM (NEEJF)  ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE  
SUMMIT
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Worcester, Mass (Location to be determined)

9:30—6:30 PM   Registration Free / Food Provided

For the first time in New England, residents of low income communities  
and communities of color, together with community organizers,  
attorneys, public health and environmental professionals and  
government officials will assemble for a one- day summit on  
environmental justice.  At the Summit   attendees will share ideas,  
learn from one another and plan future work to address environmental  
and public health issues that especially affect low income communities  
and communities of color. NEEJF is a collaboration of Alternatives for  
Community and Environment, Connecticut Coalition for   Environmental  
Justice and Rhode Island Legal Services.

To register and for more information, please contact Steve Fischbach: neejforum at gmail.com 
  or 401-274-2652 ext.182

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

Spring of Sustainability
June 22

http://springofsustainability.com/

Live and webcast conference with  Bill McKibben, Vandana Shiva, Van  
Jones, John Robbins, Hazel Henderson, Frances Moore Lappé, John  
Perkins, Thom Hartmann, Aqeela Sherrills, Julia Butterfly Hill + MANY  
others

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

Opportunity

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

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, seehttp://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program

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

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).

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

Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ

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

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.)


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

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.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php

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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