[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events
George Mokray
gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Nov 11 13:14:13 PST 2012
Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston area that catch the editor's eye.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke at world.std.com
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Remember Fallujah Week 2012: The Alarming Rise in Birth Defects in Fallujah
Monday, November 12, 2012
7 to 9 PM
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Room 218, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Since the US siege in 2004, there has been a staggering rise in the number of birth defects in the Iraqi town of Fallujah. A study in 2010 led the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch an inquiry into the rise in birth defects such as malformed limbs, extra toes or fingers, congenital heart diseases and brain dysfunctions - the report for which will come out later this year.
Now a new study has come out that links the rise in birth defects to the metals in munitions used by US forces. Join us for a talk with the environmental toxicologist who authored the study, Dr.
Mozhgan Savabieasfahani.
An article discussing the recent study:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/iraq-records-huge-rise-in-birth-defects-8210444.html
Ross discussing this on Al Jazeera English:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/08/2012815458859755.html
An article discussing the 2010 study, also involving Dr. Savabieasfahani:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/30/faulluja-birth-defects-iraq
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Science and Cooking
November 12, 2012
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Jack Bishop, Editorial Director at Cook's Illustrated and an Editor on The Science of Good Cooking
Dan Souza, Associate Editor of Cook's Illustrated
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Tuesday, November 13
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"Was the Amazon a Cultural Landscape in 1492?: The Archaeological Evidence"
Tuesday, November 13
11:30am - 1:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G125, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge
ESE Special Seminar with Dr. Eduardo Neves of the University of São Paulo
In the last years there has been an increasing debate on the size and density of pre-colonial Amazonian native population before the beginning of European colonization, and therefore on the environmental modifications brought up by those ancient native societies. This conference reviews the more recent archaeological literature, much of it not available in English, to support the hypothesis that the Amazon has been indeed densely occupied before 1492, although with different degrees of intervention that varied geographically and chronologically across such large basin. In the end, it will be suggested that, albeit dealing with different temporal scales, the study of the origins and development of the large cultural diversity of native peoples of the Amazon need to be integrated with studies on the origins and development of its biodiversity as well.
Light lunch provided.
Contact Name: Becky Halmo bhalmo at seas.harvard.edu
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Energy 101: "The Science behind Climate Change"
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 3-133, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Daniel Rothenberg
Energy 101 Lectures series
The Energy 101 lectures aim at presenting an overview of various topics in the energy field. These lectures are open to everyone and require no prior knowledge.
This Climate Change 101 talk will cover the basics of energy balance problem of sunlight radiation, and how it leads to global warming. It will also discuss projections for what future warming holds.
Open to: the general public
Cost: None
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact: Jonathan Mailoa; Michelle Park
jpmailoa at mit.edu; mpark15 at mit.edu
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"The Role of New Media in Election Coverage”
Tuesday, November 13
12 p.m.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
Speaker Series with Mike Allen, chief political reporter for Politico, and writes the daily Playbook.
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This is Improbable
Tuesday, November 13, 12:30 pm
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Milstein West B Room, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/11/improbable#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast and archived on our site shortly after
Marc Abrahams -- editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, host of the annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, and author of several books (including his latest, This is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens and Other WTF Research --listen to Marc's NPR interview) -- will be joining us for a lively exploration of weird science, off-beat research, and things that go bump in the lab. Members of the Berkman Center community will join with a group of special guests to perform dramatic readings from bizarre studies discussed in Marc's new book, and answer questions about what they have read based on no special knowledge whatsoever. Does it sound odd? Yes. Does it actually work? Surprisingly well.
Featuring:
Gus Rancatore (proprietor, Toscanini’s Ice Cream)
Richard Baguley (technology reviewer)
Naomi Stephen (literature scholar)
Jeff Hermes (director, Digital Media Law project)
Mary Carmichael (higher ed reporter, Boston Globe)
Molly Sauter, Berkman Center Fellow
Ryan Budish, Berkman Center Fellow and Director of Herdict
Judith Donath, Berkman Center Fellow
Kendra Albert, Berkman Center Fellow
Alicia Solow-Niederman, Berkman Center Staff
Matthew Battles, Berkman Center Fellow
Adam Holland, Berkman Center Staff
others to be announced
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From Green Tweaks to Systemic Shifts: Urban Sustainability from an Open, Integrated, and Networked Perspective
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
12:30p–2:00p
MIT, Building 10-401, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
EPP Speaker Series with Alex Aylett
Green cities have been a popular topic for decades now. But performance has lagged far behind potential. Drawing on examples from fieldwork in Canada, the US, and Africa, I'm going to look at why, and highlight some possible solutions. Rather than focus on specific technologies or planning principles, this is going to be a talk about people, communities, and municipal institutions. My work on sustainable cities emphasizes networked systems of governance and the socio-institutional dynamics of change. This talk will share some recent ideas on what that approach tells us about efforts to go from marginal tweaks to creating systemic shifts towards urban sustainability.
Dr. Alex Aylett is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow working with JoAnn Carmin in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. He is also the Research Director for Sustainable Cities International. He has a PhD in urban sustainability from the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. He has worked on urban sustainability in Canada, the United States, Europe and Africa.
More info on Alex's work can be found at www.openalex.ca
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): EPP
For more information, contact: Nina Tamburello
617.253.1509
epprequest at mit.edu
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Inverting the Pyramid, Science Education in the 21st Century
WHEN Tue., Nov. 13, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) Shirley Tilghman, Princeton University President
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Schlumberger: Gas Shale and Tight Oil: Environmental and Regulatory Issues
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
5:00p–6:30p
MIT, Building 3-333, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Robert Kleinberg, Schlumberger-Doll Research
Source rock-hosted fossil fuel resources - gas shale and tight oil - were considered marginally economic or uneconomic a few years ago, but now constitute rapidly growing shares of US gas and oil production. While the techniques of exploration and production are not very different than those traditionally practiced, the pace and scale of operations is unfamiliar, particularly in those parts of the country without significant experience dealing with the oil and gas industry. Increasing production of oil and gas bring many economic benefits, but also raise a host of concerns connected with environmental protection. Important issues include water availability, the chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing fluids, recycling and/or disposal of flowback and produced waters, aquifer protection, vented and fugitive methane, air quality, surface disturbance, and earthquake hazards. This talk will focus on the status of technology in each of these areas. Also discussed will be a brief review of US and international regulatory approaches.
Notes:
+This event is organized by the MIT Mining, Oil and Gas Club and the System Design and Management Program. It is open to the whole MIT Community and everyone interested in the topic.
+Refreshments will be served
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/Miningoilgas/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Mining, Oil and Gas Club
For more information, contact: J. Esteban Montero
officersMOG at mit.edu
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GIST Initiative & MIT Enterprise Forum Reception
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
MIT Sloan Building E62, Lobby, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://gist-mitef-es2.eventbrite.com
Event Details
In partnership with MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF), The GIST Initiative will hold an entrepreneurship & innovation networking event. Sixteen entrepreneurs from emerging economies will share about their technology ventures and there will be an exchange about the initiatives and ventures spearheaded by MIT in the U.S. and abroad, to be followed by a reception. MITEF members, HKS faculty, students and alumni will be invited to this event as well as investors and entrepreneurs in the Boston area.
Event Speakers:
Professor Iqbal Z. Quadir, Professor of the Practice of Development and Entrepreneurship, MIT and Founder and Director, Legatum Center at MIT
Iqbal Z. Quadir is a long-time champion of the critical role of entrepreneurship and innovations in creating prosperity in low-income countries. He is an accomplished entrepreneur who, 20 years ago, saw the potential of mobile technology to transform low-income countries. Quadir realized in the early 1990s that the ensuing digital revolution could facilitate the introduction of telephone access throughout Bangladesh, including its rural areas. To make this vision a reality, he established a New York based company, Gonofone Development Corp (meaning “phones for the masses” in Bengali) and assembled a global consortium of Gonofone, micro-credit pioneer Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, and Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor to create Grameenphone. Grameenphone is now Bangladesh’s leading telecommunications operator providing access to over 35 million subscribers irrespective of their geographic location or economic standing.
Antoinette Matthews, Executive Director, MIT Enterprise Forum, Inc.
Having joined MIT upon moving to Boston from her native South Africa in 2001. Under her directorship over the last six years, Antoinette has worked with the MIT Enterprise Forum advisory board to help strengthen the organization by functioning as the ambassador, public relations expert, and connector for the MIT Enterprise Forum on a global basis. Through the MIT Enterprise Forum's current 28 chapters producing over 400 programs per year, she has raised the visibility of the organization by connecting, promoting, and collaborating with hundreds of MIT and other entrepreneurial organizations and private companies across the globe. Prior to coming to the U.S., Antoinette was the Relationship Marketing Manager for JD Group Pty Ltd, the largest group of national retail chains in the Southern hemisphere, and the Marketing Manager for the first IT chain in South Africa. In 2009, the MIT Entrepreneurship Center awarded to her the Adolf F. Monosson Prize for Entrepreneurship Mentoring, to honor those who counsel and guide business pioneers blazing new pathways in entrepreneurship. She received her degree in Marketing and Financial Management from the University of Pretoria.
Leland Chung, City Councillor, City of Cambridge
Leland Cheung is currently serving his second term on the Cambridge City Council, where he has been a strong leader in economic development, community building, and regional cooperation. In addition to being the youngest member of the Cambridge City Council, Cheung is the first currently enrolled student to be elected to the Council, as well as the first Asian American. Currently, Cheung is the chair of the Cable TV, Telecommunications & Public Utilities Committee and the Neighborhood and Long Term Planning Committee.
Ovidiu Bujorean, Manager, The GIST Initiative, Vice chairman MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington DC & Baltimore
Mr. Ovidiu Bujorean manages and directs the GIST Initiative, an exciting partnership led by State Department and CRDF Global that is building a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem in 44 countries across the Middle East, Central and South East Asia, and Africa. Previously, Mr. Bujorean was the Senior Associate at Rudyard Partners, a private equity firm focused on investing in consumer technologies. Mr. Bujorean serves as Chairman of the Board of Advisors of AIESEC DC. Mr. Bujorean founded LEADERS, an organization that impacted the lives of approximately 10000 young leaders and entrepreneurs in Romania and Southern-Eastern Europe and is a graduate of the MIT Sloan School of Management (MBA) and Harvard’s Kennedy School (MPA). LinkedIn
About the GIST Transformer Entrepreneurship Journey
Sixteen emerging entrepreneurs are making a journey across America from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. They have been competitively selected to visit entrepreneurship and innovation hubs all over the U.S., including Washington, DC, to share high-tech inventions that will help address challenges in medicine, the environment, mobile phone technology and more. Known as “GIST Transformers,” these men and women are winners of rigorous competitions under the Global Innovations through Science & Technology (GIST) initiative, a program designed to accelerate technology commercialization and entrepreneurship through global networking, entrepreneurship skill-building, mentorship and strategic funding.
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Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot : Gutman Distinguished Author Book Event
WHEN Tue., Nov. 13, 2012, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Gutman Library Conference Center, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT Discussion, Lecture, Presentation, Question & Answer Session
BUILDING/ROOM Gutman Conference Center A1
CONTACT NAME Mark Shelton
CONTACT EMAIL mark_shelton at gse.harvard.edu
CONTACT PHONE 617-496-3108
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT Gutman Library
REGISTRATION REQUIRED No
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Social Sciences
NOTE Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a MacArthur prize–winning sociologist, and the Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education at Harvard University, will speak about her book "Exits: The endings that set up free." In the book, she explores the ways we leave one thing and move on to the next; how we anticipate, define, and reflect on our departures; our epiphanies that something is over and done with.
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The next Nerd Nite is a collaboration with the Museum of Science!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
6PM
Ole Mexican Grill, 11 Springfield Street, Inman Square, Cambridge
$5
Featuring George Church, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Director of PersonalGenomes.org
For more information on this exciting event, http://boston.nerdnite.com/2012/11/04/the-museum-of-science-nerd-nite-boston-present-the-science-author-salon/
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"Facing the Energy Challenge"
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
6:00pm
JFK Forum, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
A JFK Forum with Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman, BP and Volvo Group
in conversation with
Professor Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School
Dean David Ellwood, Harvard Kennedy School (moderator)
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
Louisa_Lund at harvard.edu
http://forum.iop.harvard.edu/content/facing-energy-challenge
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Massachusetts: A Community Approach to Quality, Affordable Health Care
WHEN Tue., Nov. 13, 2012, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Law School, Wasserstein (WCC) 1015, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics
SPEAKER(S) Andrew Dreyfus, president/CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts
CONTACT INFO mmorgan at law.harvard.edu
NOTE Six years after the groundbreaking health care law that became the model for national reform, Massachusetts once again leads the nation with legislation limiting the growth of health care costs. What progress has the state made on costs so far, and what will it take to improve quality and meet new cost growth standards? Come hear a discussion by Andrew Dreyfus, president/CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts and leader of BCBSMA’s efforts to create one of the nation's largest commercial payment reform initiatives. Pizza will be served.
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MassChallenge Break the Bubble Young Entrepreneurs Panel
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
6:00pm - 8:00pm
MassChallenge ONE Marina Park Drive, 14th Floor (55 Northern Avenue), Boston
Register at http://breakthebubble.eventbrite.com
Description: ONEin3, Break the Bubble and MassChallenge invite you to an exciting evening of Entrepreneurship 101. Learn tricks of the trade from 5 young entrepreneurs who are excelling in Boston through creativity, innovation and ambition.
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Starr Forum- Attack of the Drones: Ethical, Legal and Strategic Implications of UAV Use
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
6:30p–8:00p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speakers: Rabia Mehmood, J. Bryan Hehir, Kenneth A. Oye, Barry R. Posen
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Rabia Mehmood is a Lahore based correspondent and producer for the Pakistani television network Express and for the International Herald Tribune. She has covered the survivors and victims of terrorist attacks, suicide bombings and hostage sieges carried out by militants in Lahore. She was a 2010-2011 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies.
J. Bryan Hehir is Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and former acting Dean of the Harvard Divinity School. His research and writing focus on ethics and foreign policy and the role of religion in world politics and in American society. His writings include: "The Moral Measurement of War: A Tradition of Continuity and Change; Military Intervention and National Sovereignty.
Barry R. Posen is Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT, Director of the MIT Security Studies Program, and serves on the Executive Committee of Seminar XXI.
Moderator:
Kenneth A. Oye is Director of the MIT Program on Emerging Technologies and holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor in Political Science and Engineering Systems. His writings include Cooperation under Anarchy, Economic Discrimination and Political Exchange, and books on Carter, Reagan and Bush foreign policy.
Cosponsored by MIT CIS and The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT (http://web.mit.edu/tac/)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT
For more information, contact: starrforum at mit.edu
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21 (FREE screening with Ben Mezrich and Jeff Ma)
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
7:00p
MIT, Building 26-100, access from 60 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speakers: Ben Mezrich, Jeff Ma will introduce the film, and answer questions afterwards!
Director Robert Luketic adapts Ben Mezrich's best-seller "Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions" to tell the true-life tale of six genius students who used their brains to beat considerable odds. Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) may be shy, but his wallflower reputation betrays his inner brilliance. As smart as Ben may be, however, if he can't pay his tuition he'll be kicked out of MIT. Fortunately, the answer to all of Ben's problems is right there in the cards. Recruited to join a team of extremely gifted students who have used their mastery of numbers to beat the odds at blackjack, Ben procures a fake identity in order to join the casino scammers and their brilliant leader -- eccentric math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) -- in some highly profitable weekend excursions to Las Vegas. Counting cards isn't illegal, and by using a complex series of signals, this team has cracked the code. Of course, it doesn't take long for Ben to become seduced by the glamorous Las Vegas lifestyle, and the attention afforded to him by his sexy teammate Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth) finds him pushing his luck to the absolute limits. Laurence Fishburne stars as Cole Williams, the Sin City security chief who catches on to the group and makes it his mission to expose their lucrative blackjack scam.
Web site: http://lsc.mit.edu
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): LSC
For more information, contact: MIT Lecture Series Committee
617-253-3791
lsc at mit.edu
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Portuguese Media: From State Censorship to the Age of the Internet
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
6:30p–8:30p
MIT, Building 14E-304, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dr. Mario Mesquita
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Foreign Languages & Literatures, With the support of the Gulbankian Foundation, Portugal
For more information, contact: Reza Hosseini
617-253-4771
rezahoss at mit.edu
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GreenPort Forum LBJ Apartments Energy Renovation Tour
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
7 PM
150 Erie Street, Cambridge
Meet in Community Room, first floor
Join Cambridge Housing Authority's Tina Miller for a tour of the Lyndon B. Johnson apts. The just completed high rise retrofit estimates 55% energy savings by switching from electric to gas fired heating augmented by combined heat and co-generation systems, roof top solar pv arrays, passive solar plenums, energy recovery units, and a new energy saving exterior shell.
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable Cambridgeport neighborhood.
For more information, contact Steve Wineman at steven.wineman at gmail.com
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The 2012 Election and the Twilight of the Elites
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
7:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building W79, Simmons Hall Multipurpose Room, 229 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Chris Hayes
In his new book, Twilight Of The Elites, journalist and MSNBC host Chris Hayes poses a challenge with special resonance for the MIT community -- Are the institutions which foster America's leadership class working as intended? Hayes' book covers ground as diverse as education, the financial sector, our political system and the Catholic church in an attempt to understand whether the American elite truly upholds the values of competition and meritocracy which it claims to espouse. His conclusions are troubling.
Join Chris Hayes in conversation with Atlantic Senior Editor and Dr. Martin Luther King Visiting Professor Ta-Nehisi Coates on Tuesday November 13 at Simmons Hall for an election year discussion on the future of our country and an assessment of its institutions.
Open to: MIT Community and Friends
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, The Knight Science Journalism Program, Residential Scholars @ Simmons Hall, The William R. (1956) and Betsy P. Leitch Endowment
For more information, contact: Steven Hall
srhall at mit.edu
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Socializing for Justice Forum Event: Free Some Information! Learn to submit FOIA requests
Tuesday, Nov 13th
7-10pm
http://www.sojust.org/boards/view/viewthread?thread=28488372
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Wednesday, November 14
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Preparing for Catastrophic Emergencies: Lessons from the Wenchuan Earthquake and the Zhouqu Debris Flow Disaster
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
12:15 PM
Harvard, Suite 100, Room 106, 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER: Wang Lanmin, PhD, Director, Earthquake Administration of Gansu Province, China, and Ash Center New World Fellow
Dr. Wang has been Director of Gansu Province's Earthquake Administration since 2004; he also serves as one of the coordinators for earthquake emergency response across Northwest China. In this brownbag seminar, he will discuss Gansu's ongoing efforts to prepare for major natural disasters, focusing specifically on lessons learned from two recent events: the devastating Wenchuan Earthquake of 2008, which heavily affected southern Gansu, and the Zhouqu Debris Flow Disaster, which killed over 1,500 people in 2010.
Sponsored by Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Crisis Leadership, the New World Fellows Program, and the Harvard University Asia Center.
Disaster Management in Asia Seminar Series
Contact david_giles at harvard.edu
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The Tohoku Disaster: Responding to Japan’s 3.11 Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Accident
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
5:30 PM
Harvard, Nye AB, 5th Floor, Taubman Building, HKS, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
SPEAKER: Arnold M. Howitt, Faculty Co-Director, Program on Crisis Leadership, and Executive Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, HKS
Based on research conducted in Japan this past summer, Dr. Howitt will explore Japan’s emergency response to the catastrophic Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Among other things, he will discuss how the response played out across various levels of government (local, prefectural, and national) and offer recommendations for how Japan can improve its disaster response for the future.
Organized by the Taubman Center for State and Local Government.
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“The Cost of Potential Cap-and-Trade Policy: An Event Study using Prediction Markets and Lobbying Records.”
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
4:10pm - 5:30pm
Kennedy School of Government, Room L-382, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
Kyle Meng, Columbia University
Seminar in Environmental Economics & Policy
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k89370
Contact Name: Jason Chapman
617-496-8054
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Double Helix Revisited
WHEN Wed., Nov. 14, 2012, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard, Science Center Hall B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Special Event, Science of Living Systems 12, Understanding Darwinism
SPEAKER(S) James D Watson, Alex Gann, Jan Witkowski
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Massachusetts Broadband Summit - Building a Wired Economy
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
5:00p–8:00p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Staci Pies, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Microsoft; Matt Dunne, Head of Community Affairs, Google; Mark Reilly, SVP of Government and Regulatory Relations, Comcast
You are invited to come to MIT's Stata Center to join TechNet, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and leading innovation and technology companies for an exciting discussion about the wired economy in Massachusetts Come and learn how Massachusetts is working with public and private partnerships to achieve their goal as a national leader in broadband adoption, and how new technologies, with the right infrastructure development, will help drive the modern economy.
Web site: http://mabroadbandsummitt.eventbrite.com/#
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, TechNet, Massachusetts Broadband Institure
For more information, contact: Amy Goggins
617-253-3937
entforumcambridge at mit.edu
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Collecting the Counterculture
WHEN Wed., Nov. 14, 2012, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard College Library
SPEAKER(S) Carl Williams
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO 617.495.2449
NOTE Carl Williams, Maggs Bros. Ltd., London, will speak on collecting the Beats, psychedelia, Timothy Leary, Black Panthers, Hippies, Yippies, Hell’s Angels, surrealism, Guy Debord, Aleister Crowley, William Burroughs, Paris May 1968, and other material documenting 20th- and 21st-century culture. This lecture is In conjunction with the exhibition "From Austen to Zola: Amy Lowell as a Collector."
LINK http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/info/exhibitions/#lectures
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Mass Innovation Nights #44
November 14th
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
VMware, 5 Cambridge Center, 10th Floor, Cambridge
RSVP at http://mass.innovationnights.com/events/november-14-2012-mass-innovation-nights-min44
We're heading for ANOTHER exciting new location -- right in Kendall Square! A big thank you and shout-out to the team at VMWare for supporting our November event as a host and a sponsor.
Help SPREAD THE WORD! Blog, Tweet (#MIN44), Like, post video/pictures
Support local INNOVATION
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MIT Transportation Showcase
Wednesday, November 14
6 pm to 9:30 pm
MIT Museum, 275 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Third Annual Transportation Showcase organized by the MIT Transportation Club. Make use of this unique opportunity to present your research to peers, faculty and of course, professionals from the transportation industry in a relaxed setting. Click here to find out more about the event.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email @ transportation.showcase at mit.edu
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Ignite Spatial Boston 4 - A Geospatial Good Time
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
CGIS South, Harvard University, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2233676988/mcivte?utm_source=I+Spatial+Boston+List
Ignite Spatial Boston is an Ignite event with a geospatial twist. Ignite is a geek event in over 100 cities worldwide. At the events Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.
Ignite Spatial Boston will be held on Wednesday, November 14, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm at the CGIS South Building at Harvard University. The event is free, however, due to limited space at the venue you must RSVP on this page.
If you would like to speak, please submit a proposal. All talks will be recorded and posted on online after the event. We will post an agenda here once speakers are finalized.
Please let others know about the event using the social network of your choice or click on the the Social Network icons on the registration page.
How to help
Submit a presentation, or get someone you know would do a great job presenting to submit.
Spread the word about this event. Make sure you let everyone know this is happening
Help us find some sponsors for refreshments.
Organizers
This event is a being organized by the members of the AvidGeo Meetup. We get together once a month for an informal gathering with two short talks about user and developer topics about geospatial technology.
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This Thanksgiving, don't be an energy turkey! Learn to SAVE money through home or apartment energy efficiency.
Wednesday November 14, 2012
7:00PM
Cambridge College, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 152, Cambridge
Led by Audrey Schulman, President of HEET
Renters - learn to SAVE MONEY without annoying your landlord!
Homeowners - learn the basics of home energy efficiency!
Activists - learn how to make your community greener and more efficient!
Free apple cider and snacks
Great prizes!
Series presented by the Cambridge Energy Alliance, Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), Next Step Living Inc., and Cambridge College.
Contact Cambridge College for more information at www.cambridgecollege.edu or 800-877-4723
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SITN Lecture - Thinking about Thinking: Science of Decision Making
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
7 PM
Armenise Amphitheater, Harvard Medical School Quadrangle, Longwood Avenue, across from the half traffic circle at Avenue Louis Pasteur. The Armenise Amphitheater is the first building on the left (facing into the quadrangle).
For those of you not familiar with SITN's lecture format, lectures are free, accessible, and open to the public. All lectures are given entirely by graduate students at Harvard and focus on hot topics in science research and news.
All lectures are on Wednesdays starting at 7 PM at the Armenise Amphitheater at Harvard Medical School. They are 2 hours in length, with a 10 minute break in between.
They will have light refreshments before the lecture (coffee, tea, cookies, etc.)
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/sitn-seminars/
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Thursday, November 15
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FAS Monthly Environmental Movies/Brown Bag Lunch Series
Thursday, November 15, 2012
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Harvard, Mallinckrodt 102, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Join us for screenings of the most inspiring TED talks on a variety of environmental topics. Every 3rd Thursday of the month.
Contact Name: Gosia Sklodowska
gosia_sklodowska at harvard.edu
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"After Sandy: Preparing for the Next Crisis."
Thursday, November 15
Noon - 1:30p
New England Complex Systems Institute, 238 Main St, Suite 319, Cambridge
Yaneer Bar-Yam
Register and more information at http://necsi.edu/research/engineering/sandy/
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Doing Development
Thursday, November 15, 2012
2:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Dani Rodrik, Harvard Kennedy School
Dani Rodrik is Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Govenrment, Harvard University. He has published widely in the areas of economic development, international economics, and political economy. His current research focuses on institutional reform in the world economy and in developing countries. He is the recipient of the inaugural Albert O. Hirschman Prize of the Social Sciences Research Council and of the Leontief Award for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. His most recent books are The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy (2011) andOne Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth (2007). He teaches courses on economic development and globalization.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact: Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn at mit.edu
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Organizing for Power: A Workshop with 350.org Actions Planner Josh Kahn Russell
Thursday, November 15, 2012
3:00pm
The Democracy Center, 45 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/384255124982712/?notif_t=plan_user_joined
Creative Activism & Organizing for Power
Josh Kahn Russell, all-star activist and Actions Planner at 350.org, is visiting Tufts University to offer a kinesthetic, fun and engaging workshop on organizing, campaigning, and nonviolent direct action!
This one-of-a-kind training will weave together interactive activities, storytelling, and practical hands-on tools to become more powerful and effective activists in any avenue of change making. For the final portion of the training, Josh will focus on campaign planning and actions strategy in the growing fossil fuel divestment movement.
Click here to RSVP on Facebook! Registration here.
Joshua Kahn Russell is an action coordinator, facilitator & trainer with 350.org, and has trained thousands of activists. Joshua is an editor of Beautiful Trouble (O/R Press 2012), and co-author of Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections to Navigate the Climate Crisis (PM Press 2011). He has helped win campaigns against banks, oil companies, logging corporations, and coal barons; and helped organize the Tar Sands Action against the Keystone XL pipeline.
https://www.facebook.com/events/384255124982712/?notif_t=plan_user_joined
Contact Name: Shea Rimester
718-687-0952
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Enter the Dragon: The SpaceX COTS Missions
Thursday, November 15, 2012
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Andrew Howard, Space Exploration Technologies
Dertouzos Lecturer Series 2012/2013
The Dertouzos Lecturer Series has been a tradition since 1976, featuring some of the most influential thinkers in computer science, including Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, Donald Knuth, John McCarthy, and Mitchell Kapor. Formerly the Distinguished Lecturer Series, the series has been renamed in memory of Michael Dertouzos, Director for the Lab for Computer Science from 1974 to 2001.
Abstract:
In May 2012, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft berthed with the International Space Station, thus completing the second of two demonstrations missions for NASA and opening the door to regular commercial resupply services to the ISS. In this talk, I will describe the COTS demonstration missions and the technologies that made them possible, including the Falcon 9 launcher, Dragon spacecraft and DragonEye proximity navigation system. Equally important, I will discuss some of the organizational, cultural and contractual changes that are allowing companies like SpaceX to deliver -- at a radically reduced cost -- services that have previously been the exclusive preserve of national governments.
Biography:
Dr. Howard is Senior Guidance, Navigation and Control Engineer at Space Exploration Technologies and designer of the DragonEye proximity navigation system. Previously, he was a Senior Member of Technical Staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he worked on vision-based navigation for a wide variety of projects, including Boston Dynamics' BigDog and the DARPA Crusher UGCV. Prior to joining JPL, Dr. Howard was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California Robotics Research Laboratory. Dr. Howard is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, with a degree in theoretical physics and PhD in computer science.
Web site:https://www.csail.mit.edu/events/eventcalendar/calendar.php?show=series&id=198
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): CSAIL
For more information, contact: Colleen Russell
617-253-0145
crussell at csail.mit.edu
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Lessons from Nature on Molecular Engineering
Thursday, November 15, 2012
4:00 pm
Northeastern, DA 114, 360 Huntington Ave, 111 Dana Research Center, Boston
Dr. Gevorg Grigoryan, Dartmouth College
Living cells owe much of their abilities to biological macromolecules, such as proteins. These molecules spontaneously fold into complex structures and super-structures, allowing them to perform chemical catalysis, generate mechanical force, and sense the environment. Such self-assembling functional molecules are highly attractive as we aim to control events at the atomic level and develop novel therapeutics. Therefore, learning the natural design principles of these “smart” molecules, and learning to engineer new ones with desired properties is of critical importance. I will describe several undertakings aiming to address these goals. 1) An essential role for cellular proteins is the recognition of “correct” from “incorrect” interaction partners. In an effort to understand this process, we have designed peptide-binding partners for human bZIP transcription factors that selectively recognize just one out of 20 closely related bZIP families. 2) The universe of natural protein structures consists of highly recurring structural motifs, one reason for which is the designability of these motifs – the relative ease with which they can be stabilized with natural amino acids. Using a novel computational method to rapidly quantify designability, we have engineered peptides that self-assemble into a pre-defined structural array around single-walled carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, we have shown that designability is a highly effective general filter, capable of readily delineating incorrect regions in predicted structures of natural proteins, without knowing the correct answer.
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Cultural Production and Social Media as Capture Platforms: How the Matrix Has You
Thursday, November 15, 2012
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building E14-633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Hector Postigo
CMS Colloquium Series
This presentation develops a theoretical framework (rooted in Science and Technology Studies) for understanding how, generally, social media???s technical feature-sets create a system of capture and conversion. Capture describes the persistent ways in which social web platforms record and fix online/offline social and technical practices. Conversion applies to the way in which technical architectures convert what is captured into value (both culturally contingent and economic). The notions of capture and conversion are developed in light of other work in the field that seeks to understand how social web platforms use technology to leverage user generated content (UGC). The framework bridges a focus on ongoing social practice within/through platforms with analysis of technology as a determinant of probable practice. Ultimately this work is part of a larger project that seeks to develop a way of critically engaging the political economy of the social web while at the same time not ignoring the subject positions of those whose lives on display make it compelling.
Hector Postigo is Associate Professor in Media Studies and Production at Temple University's School of Media and Communication. He is the co-founder of the blog culturedigitally.org and most recently the author of The Digital Rights Movement:
The Role of Technology in Subverting Digital Copyright from MIT Press and co-editor of Managing Privacy Through Accountability from Palgrave Press.
Web site: http://cms.mit.edu/events/talks.php#111512
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies
For more information, contact: Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cms at mit.edu
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Legatum Lecture: Defining the Legacy of the Next Generation of African Leaders
Thursday, November 15, 2012
5:30p–6:30p
MIT, E62-233, MIT Sloan, 100 Main Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO, African Leadership Academy
Due to improvements in leadership and governance, Africa today sits at an inflection point, with many believing the continent is on the cusp of rapid economic growth. In this lecture, Fred Swaniker, founder & CEO of the African Leadership Academy, will share his views on what the next generation of African leaders must do to ensure that Africa's rising flame does not burn out, but rather continues to grow from strength to strength, and how the West can play a role in this increasingly bright African future.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/content/1272
Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): MIT Sloan Africa Business Club, Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
For more information, contact: Agnes Hunsicker
617-324-2768
agnesh at mit.edu
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Citizen Schools Solar Car and STEM Networking Event
Thursday, November 15, 2012
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
Za Restaurant, 350 3rd Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4746397603/
Event Details
Citizen Schools is looking for community members who are passionate about engineering, the environment, or alternative energy to ignite catalyst moments in local middle school students by teaching a ten-week Solar Cars class! Over the course of 10 weeks, teams of students will collaborate to design, build, and test their Solar Car. At the end of the semester, each team will enter its car into the Junior Solar Sprint held at MIT!
Not interested in Solar Cars, but still love STEM? You can still be involved!
Attend our Citizen Schools Solar Car and STEM networking event to learn more about this unique opportunity and meet other likeminded individuals and organizations. There will be a brief informational session around 6:00. Citizen Schools staff members will be present throughout the event to answer any questions you have.
Citizen Schools is a national nonprofit that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day and increase opportunities for low-income children. Citizen Schools is currently recruiting volunteers to teach 12-week hands-on apprenticeship courses that build students' skills and fuel their imaginations. Volunteers receive up-front training, weekly lesson-plan support, and work with a group of 15 students for 90 minutes each week, with a trained staff member to support you in the classroom at one of Citizen Schools’ Boston or New Bedford area schools.
Ready to sign up today? If this opportunity to deeply impact a group of middle school students for a semester interests you, fill out a brief interest form and a staff member will contact you to share more information and discuss possible topics, and you can see if it’s right for you: http://www.citizenschools.org/volunteer/.
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Theodore H. White Lecture: David Brooks
WHEN Thu., Nov. 15, 2012, 6 – 7:15 p.m.
WHERE John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Joan Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) David Brooks, columnist, The New York Times
CONTACT INFO edith_holway at harvard.edu
LINK www.shorensteincenter.org
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Climate Change Do the Math Tour
Thursday, November 15
Doors at 6 pm, show starts at 7 pm
Orpheum Theater, 1 Hamilton Place, Boston
Featuring Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein.
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Moving Beyond Materiality
Thursday, November 15, 2012
6:30pm
MIT, Building 10, Room 250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://saracenomit.eventbrite.com
Tomás Saraceno, Nader Tehrani
and Antón García-Abril
About the artists
Tomás Saraceno’s biography notes that he “was born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina; lives and works between and beyond the planet earth.” Cloud City is currently installed on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and On Space Time Foam atHangarBiccoca in Milan, Italy. Saraceno has recently exhibited at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, the Walker Art Center and the 2009 Venice Biennale. He has held residencies at the Atelier Calder in France and participated in the NASA International Space Studies Program.
Nader Tehrani, Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at MIT, Principal and Founder of NADAAA, a practice dedicated to the advancement of design innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Antón García-Abril is Professor of Architecture at MIT and founder of ENSAMBLE STUDIO, a firm committed to architectural application of conceptual and structural experimentation.
More information at http://arts.mit.edu/cast/artist/saraceno/#materiality
FREE and open to the public
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Double Exposure: Photographing Environmental Change
Thursday, November 15, 2012
7:00 PM To 8:00 PM
New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Harborside Learning Lab, Boston
David Arnold, photojournalist, and Bud Ris, President and CEO, New England Aquarium
David Arnold, former Boston Globe reporter, has documented the dramatic changes that have taken place in coral reefs and glaciers around the world. By revisiting locations photographed decades earlier by the late Bradford Washburn and various underwater photography pioneers, Arnold illustrates the effects of climate change and other human activities. Joining Arnold for this presentation is New England Aquarium president and CEO Bud Ris. He will preface Arnold’s presentation with a brief overview of the latest scientific information about how climate change has begun to affect the oceans.
This event is not at the main aquarium, but is at the Harborside Learning lab. More information, the registration form (free and voluntary), and directions can be found at http://www.neaq.org/education_and_activities/programs_and_classes/aquarium_lecture_series/index.php
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LivestreamParty: The People's Bailout: A Variety Show and Telethon to Benefit the 99%]
Thursday, November 15th
7-10pm
Hope Central Church, 85 Seaverns Avenue, Jamaica Plain
Join Occupy Boston as we project the livestream from New York of the kick-off telethon for the Rolling Jubilee
Special guests include Janeane Garofalo, Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Lizz Winstead and many more.
More info about the telethon: *www.RollingJubilee.org
Follow @StrikeDebt on Twitter to get involved with our social media campaign.
Submit your debt story!
http://debtstories.tumblr.com/<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdebtstories.tumblr.com%2F&h=SAQGvCMQS&s=1>
And look for the Community Gathering - DEBT, Nov 19th
www.occupyboston.org/calendar
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"Off-Grid Solar for Lesotho's Rural Schools and Clinics"
Thursday, November 15
7-9:30pm
Cambridge Innovation Center <room assignment sent out with confirmation>, One Broadway, Cambridge
Registration: http://innoventures.net/?page_id=458
(NOTE: capacity will be limited to 30; accepted registrants will receive email confirmation of their participation)
Featured Venture: STG International:
A social venture spun out of MIT that has developed a novel solar energy technology sized to provide electricity and hot water to off-grid clinics and schools. They are currently finishing construction of their first user-test installation at the Matjotjo Village Health Clinic in the Berea District of Lesotho. (More details included below.)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
STG's founder and Echoing Green Fellow, Matthew Orosz would like to engage the group in a brainstorm around a few key strategy questions:
Corporate Structure & Funding Strategy: STG is considering various alternative organizational structures to allow for growth and to attract sufficient investment. Should they remaining not-for-profit or consider other corporate structures (for-profit, for-benefit, B-corp, other hybrid structures, NFP with for-profit subsidiary, etc)? What are the implications of the different structures on fundraising options/sources?
Product Development / R&D Prioritization: STG has a number of near-term and longer-term product development and research targets. They would like to brainstorm on prioritization and staffing solutions for these different opportunities.
STG (www.stginternational.org) is a US-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization focused on the development of affordable, sustainable, and locally manufacturable technologies to bring energy to health clinics and schools in rural communities. Technology dissemination is conducted through partner training and knowledge transfer to support development of small-medium sized enterprises within the local market. Stimulation of the local economy is thus achieved through both job creation and provision of a new option for energy generation.
STG was founded in 2006 by a group of MIT graduates and has been working since then with partners in Lesotho, including the Government of Lesotho’s Appropriate Technology Services (ATS). STG’s ongoing work in Lesotho has been supported by funding from the Conoco-Philips Energy Prize, the World Bank Development Marketplace, the US EPA P3 Competition, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition, NCIAA, and the MIT Public Service Center, International Development Initiative, and IDEAS Competitions.
Development Innoventions Salon is a new forum bringing together Boston's Innovation-for-Development community. We brainstorm with emerging impact entrepreneurs attempting novel market- or technology-based solutions to intractable problems in the developing world. Salon participants problem-solve around key challenges these innovators face in launching and scaling their enterprises. The SALON aims to convene a multidisciplinary group of entrepreneurs, visionaries, business professionals, development professionals, investors, practitioners, technologists, academics, students, and polymaths.
Sign up for our mailing list: www.innoventures.net
Email us questions, comments, suggestions, ideas: venturejam at gmail.com
We would like to thank our hosts: Richard Rowe of the Open Learning Exchange (OLE) and Venture Cafe.
(This event occurs at the Venture Cafe located at the Cambridge Innovation Center, One Broadway, 4th Floor. Visitors must comply with Venture Cafe attendance policies--see
http://bit.ly/vc-credo for more details.)
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Friday, November 16
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Theodore H. White Seminar
Friday, November 16
9–11 a.m.
Kennedy Room, Charles Hotel Pavilion, One Eliot Street, Cambridge
with T.H. White Lecturer David Brooks; Cynthia Tucker, winner of the 2012 David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism; Amy Walter, ABC News Political Director; Jennifer Hochschild, Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government at Harvard University, Professor of African and African American Studies; and John Dickerson, chief political correspondent for Slatemagazine and political director of CBS News.
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MIT Energy Finance Forum
November 16, 2012
9:00a–6:00p
Cambridge Marriott Hotel, Cambridge Center, Cambridge
The MIT Energy Finance Forum is MIT Sloans flagship energy event. This student-led conference features speakers from both the private and public sectors and is attended by hundreds of senior business executives and the brightest in academia. The Forum explores pressing topics in energy finance including risk and return management, commercialization strategies, financing mechanisms, emerging investment opportunities and more.
Sponsored by: Sloan Energy and Environment Club, MIT Energy Club
Admission: Open to the public
For more information: energyfinanceforum at mit.edu
www.mitenergyfinanceforum.com
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"Chasing Ice": Discussion with Adam LeWinter
Friday, November 16, 2012
10:00am
MIT, Ford Building (E19)-319, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
"CHASING ICE": DISCUSSION WITH ADAM LEWINTER
In the spring of 2005, National Geographic photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment: To capture images of the Earth’s changing climate. The outcome: A movie called “Chasing Ice.” Join "Chasing Ice" member Adam LeWinter for a discussion on how they did it and what they discovered.
Sponsored by the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change and the MIT Energy Club
Learn more, and watch the film's trailer: http://www.chasingice.com/
ABOUT "CHASING ICE"
In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.
Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, including Adam LeWinter, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.
As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet.
ABOUT ADAM LEWINTER
Adam LeWinter joined the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) in the beginning of 2007. Prior to joining EIS he was a design engineer and machinist in Colorado and New Zealand, bringing his practical experience in product design and fabrication to the custom-made time-lapse camera packages used by EIS. In addition to working on the development and fabrication of the time-lapse equipment, Adam managed the expeditions and fieldwork for EIS, working extensively in Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Montana, and Nepal.
LeWinter’s skills were utilized in the 2008 Discovery Channel show, Project Earth and he was featured in the 2009 NOVA production, Extreme Ice. He was also featured with James Balog in the June 2010 issue of National Geographic for their work capturing the changing landscape of the Greenland ice sheet. Over the years Adam has developed his photography through his experiences with EIS and in 2010 was offered an opportunity to work as a researcher at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab in Hanover, New Hampshire. His work now focuses on capturing changing landscapes using state-of-the-art LiDAR technology.
Contact Name: Victoria M. Ekstrom
vekstrom at MIT.EDU
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Shades of Energy Independence
Friday, November 16, 2012
12:00p–1:30p
MIT, Building 54-915, 77 Massachusetts Avenue (the tallest building on campus)
Speaker: Dr. Nansen G. Saleri, President & CEO, QRI
The idea of energy independence runs contrary to the basic tenets of free trade and is further complicated by a lack of clarity on its very definition. U.S. versus North America, crude versus net petroleum imports, and Dollar Value versus BTU are three of many aspects surrounding energy independence. By any definition, the wave of new technologies in the oil and gas sector is moving the U.S. and North America towards 90% plus energy self-sufficiency by 2020. Future administration policies and global dynamics may even push it closer to 100%.
Space is limited, please follow the link below to register.
Web site: http://mitei.mit.edu/calendar/shades-energy-independence
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Jameson Twomey
617-324-2408
jtwomey at mit.edu
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Entrepreneurship in China
WHEN Fri., Nov. 16, 2012, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE S153, 1st Floor, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Asia Center, Modern Asia Seminar Series
SPEAKER(S) Paul Hsu, Asia Center Senior Fellow
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Taking Educational Technology Worldwide: Challenging the Assumptions of Personalized Learning
Friday, November 16 2012
1:00PM to 2:00PM
Refreshments: 12:45PM
MIT, Patil/Kiva 32-G449, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Amy Ogan, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract: The advent of widespread access to computing offers the promise to transform educational practices worldwide. At present, most massive open online courses (MOOCS) present practice and evaluation opportunities through static lists of multiple-choice questions. Future systems, however, will increasingly rely on sophisticated modeling of student knowledge to provide personalized instruction. Unfortunately, the few systems that currently employ such models tend to be developed for and evaluated in middle-class US schools – a very particular cultural context. This assumption is a broad generalization, as the cultural makeup of the US, and indeed the world, is changing dramatically. A central question educational technologies must confront is how these systems scale to diverse contexts with differing classroom practices and values.
To investigate the cultural implications of educational technology use, I studied a math tutoring system that has been shown to be effective in the US. Through observation, interviews, learning assessments, and log data, I explored student and teacher use of the technology in school sites in Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Portugal and Belgium with an international and local team of researchers. An example finding was the much greater propensity of students in our Latin American sites to collaborate closely, engaging in interdependently-paced work and very frequently conducting work away from their own computers. This threatens the very core assumption of personalized learning systems - that learning is individual – and rendered the sophisticated, personalized models inaccurate.
The current hope is that as these systems go mainstream, the massive amounts of data collected will help researchers bootstrap and improve these models. However, the models built can only be as good as our assumptions about the data. In order to achieve the full benefits of personalized learning with MOOCs, we must employ human-computer interaction methodologies to help us rethink the underlying expectations for data collection and system design. For instance, our studies suggest that incorporating low-cost sensors can aid systems in better determining the context of use and active users. Technology designers can then implement multi-user versions of their personalization algorithms (e.g., knowledge-tracing, help-seeking, and adaptive scaffolding) that take advantage of this contextual understanding. As technologists increasingly become the gatekeepers of widespread education, further research is warranted that examines our assumptions about student identity, classroom practices, and cultural contexts of use.
Bio: Amy Ogan is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, where she leads projects investigating the development of culturally-aware educational technologies that engage learners in social relationships. She completed her doctorate in HCI at CMU in 2011 as the recipient of an Institute of Education Sciences fellowship. Dr. Ogan has additionally been a visiting researcher at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies, and has recently conducted field research on the deployment of educational technology in seven countries. Her broader research goals include the support of underprivileged students through technology, and the use of technology to introduce students to new cultural perspectives.
Contact: Juho Kim, juhokim at mit.edu
Relevant URL: http://groups.csail.mit.edu/uid/seminar.shtml
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Saturday, November 17
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350 New England Climate Convergence
Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18
8:30am - 10 pm/8:30am - 1pm
Union United Methodist Church at 485 Columbus Ave, Boston
RSVP and information at http://350ma.org/350-new-england-convergence/
Organizers of the Convergence are calling on individuals and groups that share 350’s vision of a mass movement against climate change to bring the struggle to move beyond fossil fuels home to New England. On November 17 & 18, supporters of 350.org will gather in Boston for a New England Convergence against fossil fuel infrastructure. It will be a weekend devoted to educational sessions on fossil fuel infrastructure in New England and methods we can utilize to expose and end their use. We will work together to plan regional mass actions against fossil fuels on January 19, 2013, the Saturday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
.
The Convergence will be held at the Union United Methodist Church at 485 Columbus Ave, Boston. The church is big enough to sleep people from out of town. Bring your camping pads and sleeping bags. Food will be provided at no cost for 3 meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday morning. Logistics details can be found at
http://betterfutureproject.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bdf4df04ee1ca59ba335a7699&id=3f49ba9b92&e=5c27b77d8d
SATURDAY NOV. 17 will feature a full day of panels, workshops, and fun designed to foster cross-pollination of ideas and brainstorming as we work together to better utilize our limited resources. That includes:
Activists from the front lines presenting their stories.
Educational sessions focusing on tar sands, coal, and gas.
Small group workshops on divestment, campaign planning, and open space format.
An entire track on non-violent direct action training for groups of people willing to lead actions in their regions/states against fossil fuels.
An open space section where people can gather in groups to focus on emerging topics of interest
An evening dance party and time for socializing.
SUNDAY NOV. 18, in the morning, a smaller group of organizers will begin planning direct actions in their home regions or states. We encourage you to participate in this portion of the Convergence if you are prepared to commit your time and talents to help coordinate these actions.
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Energy Theater
Saturday, November 17
7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Unity Church of Somerville, 6 William Street, Somerville
Energy Theater performers include members of the Somerville Laughter and Neuroplasticity clubs.
“Everyone is energy-sensitive, and this understanding allows us to showcase energy topics that the audience can experience,” says Walter Ness. “Energy understanding can then be taken and shown on stage as performance art, allowing the audience members to explore their own energy sensitivity while seeing it displayed on stage.”
Ness says that he and the other performers will present several methods to enhance energy in a context that makes the experience accessible to all. “It’s easier to have people experience energetic phenomena when they are relaxed,” he says. “A performance does that.”
The event is a fund-raiser to benefit the roof repair fund at Unity Church of Somerville.
Cost: $10 suggested donation.
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Sunday, November 18
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350 New England Climate Convergence
Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18
8:30am - 10 pm/8:30am - 1pm
Union United Methodist Church at 485 Columbus Ave, Boston
RSVP and information at http://350ma.org/350-new-england-convergence/
Organizers of the Convergence are calling on individuals and groups that share 350’s vision of a mass movement against climate change to bring the struggle to move beyond fossil fuels home to New England. On November 17 & 18, supporters of 350.org will gather in Boston for a New England Convergence against fossil fuel infrastructure. It will be a weekend devoted to educational sessions on fossil fuel infrastructure in New England and methods we can utilize to expose and end their use. We will work together to plan regional mass actions against fossil fuels on January 19, 2013, the Saturday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
.
The Convergence will be held at the Union United Methodist Church at 485 Columbus Ave, Boston. The church is big enough to sleep people from out of town. Bring your camping pads and sleeping bags. Food will be provided at no cost for 3 meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday morning. Logistics details can be found at
http://betterfutureproject.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bdf4df04ee1ca59ba335a7699&id=3f49ba9b92&e=5c27b77d8d
SUNDAY NOV. 18, in the morning, a smaller group of organizers will begin planning direct actions in their home regions or states. We encourage you to participate in this portion of the Convergence if you are prepared to commit your time and talents to help coordinate these actions.
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Monday, November 19
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"The Impact of Tax Credits and Grants on Wind Power Investment"
Monday, November 19, 2012
12:15pm - 1:45pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar with Joseph Aldy, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Lunch will be provided.
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/cepr/events.html
Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund at harvard.edu
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The Timescale of Climate Change
Monday, November 19, 2012
12:15pm - 2:00pm
Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Dan Schrag (Harvard, HUCE)
STS Circle Lecture
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts at hks.harvard.edu by Thursday noon the week before.
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/
sts at hks.harvard.edu
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Investing in Sustainable Cities: Frameworks for Private Investment in Marginalized Communities Across the Globe
WHEN Mon., Nov. 19, 2012, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Belfer, Weil Town Hall, Lobby Level, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
SPEAKER(S) Eric Belsky, Managing Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies; Lecturer in Urban Planning, HGSD; David Wood, director, Initiative for Responsible Investment; adjunct lecturer in Public Policy, HKS
NOTE Frontline with Faculty Series
LINK http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/1473/fall-2012-frontline-with-faculty-series/
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Watching the Arctic Melt: Adventures in Polar Oceanography
Monday, November 19, 2012
1pm to 6pm (reception included)
Whitehead Institute, McGovern Auditorium, Nine Cambridge Center, Kendall Square, Cambridge
Register by emailing name & affiliation with “Arctic” as subject to kurtster at mit.edu
Arctic sea ice coverage hit a record low this past summer, with enormous implications for research, shipping, fishing, mining, oil production, geopolitics and global climate. Indeed this latest milestone in a decades-long trend of Arctic melting is a striking manifestation of accelerating climate change.
Researchers from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discuss what’s happening at the top of the world, how we know about it, and why it matters.
Information at http://oceans.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/ArcticFlyer.pdf
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Launching and Scaling a Social Venture
WHEN Mon., Nov. 19, 2012, 5 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Business School, Spangler Auditorium
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Classes/Workshops, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HBS Social Enterprise Initiative
SPEAKER(S) Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO, Year Up (MBA '92)
TICKET WEB LINK http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4643565028#
CONTACT INFO se at hbs.edu
LINK http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/mba-experience/new-venture-competition-student/index.html
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Human Transit: Public Transportation for Personal Freedom
Monday, November 19, 2012
5:30p
MIT, Building 10-485, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Jarrett Walker, Transit Planner and Designer
Jarrett Walker has been designing public transit systems for over 20 years. He is a Principal Consultant with MRCagney in Australia and writes the popular blog HumanTransit.org. He believes that transit can be simple if we focus first on the underlying geometry that all transit technologies share. In his new book, "Human Transit," Walker provides planners, policy-makers and citizens with the basic tools, the critical questions and the means to make smarter decisions about designing and implementing transit services. Join MIT Visiting Scholar Aaron Naparstek for a conversation with Jarrett Walker, as he shares his vision of "abundant access," in which public transit might be brought back to its core purpose of expanding every individual's freedom to access the riches of their city.
http://www.humantransit.org/about-the-author.html
Web site: http://dusp.mit.edu/cdd/event/cdd-forum-new-urban-interface-2
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning, City Design and Development
For more information, contact: Sandra Elliott
617-253-5115
sandrame at mit.edu
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Strike Debt Rolling Jubilee Meeting
6-9:30 P.M. Mon. Nov. 19
Community Church of Boston (565 Boylston Street, Boston--COPLEY T)
It?s finally time to talk about an exciting new initiative from Strike Debt, called ?The Rolling Jubilee? <http://www.rollingjubilee.org/>. The Rolling Jubilee is a bailout of the people by the people - we buy defaulted debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, we abolish it.
We're writing to ask the national Occupy network for help to spread the word about it's launch. Using social media, we hope to harness the collective voice of Occupies against the predatory debt industry, in the same way that the StopKony campaign marshaled southern churches against an African warlord.
Here's are the details.
THE PEOPLE?S BAILOUT
Our launch will be on November 15th, with a "telethon" called THE PEOPLE'S BAILOUT<http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jeff-mangum-plans-occupy-wall-street-fundraiser-20121024>.
There will be roughly three hours of music, comedy, education, magic. Confirmed guests include: comedian Janeane Garofalo, Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, actor/director John Cameron Mitchell, Hari Kondabolu, David Rees, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, and more. The telethon will be at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City and will be streamed live at www.rollingjubilee.org. Tickets will go on sale on November 2nd at 10am.
Our goal is to raise $50,000, which will allow us to abolish more than $1,000,000 dollars worth of medical debt. 100% of the funds go to buying debt. If we raise more, we?ll buy more debt. Donations can be made online at rollingjubilee.org <http://www.rollingjubilee.org/>.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We're hoping you can help us spread the word about our launch via social media. We can't afford billboards or TV ads (especially during election season!) but we can harness our global people power network to spread the word about the Rolling Jubilee. Let?s get the message out far and wide.
Here?s how:
RIGHT NOW
The most important thing right now is to help us build the network for our big push days. There are a few simple things you can do, that will take just a few minutes:
1. Forward this message to your friends and family.
2. Like our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/RollingJubilee?fref=ts and share the event
page:
http://www.facebook.com/events/394920527248194/
3. Follow @StrikeDebt on Twitter.
4. Post and tweet using the hashtags #PeoplesBailout and #RollingJubilee, referring to our website (www.rollingjubilee.org) and twitter handle (@StrikeDebt).
Some sample posts can be found here: http://bit.ly/RJSampleTweets.
Feel free to copy-and-paste those, or make your own!
5. Donate your Twitter or Facebook account for one daily re-post or re-tweet:
http://donateyouraccount.com/StrikeDebt. This is a safe and easy way to
help us keep spreading the message.
HELP US PROMOTE ON NOVEMBER 8TH and 15TH
We?re going to try two big coordinated social media pushes to promote #PeoplesBailout: one when our donation site opens, and the other on the day of the telethon itself. In order to maximize the impact of a sudden spike in social media buzz, we won?t announce the details of the campaign content until the day before the push. WE NEED YOU TO MAKE THIS WORK. To get the
latest on our campaigns, sign up for our announcement list<http://www.rollingjubilee.org/>, or follow @StrikeDebt on Twitter. Or just reply to this email and let me know you can help out with the big push, and I?ll put you on my private list.
HOST A VIEWING PARTY FOR THE TELETHON
Invite your friends over to watch the telethon on the HQ stream. Direct everyone to send donations via the website: http://rollingjubilee.org. If you?d like tips about how to do this effectively, email rollingjubilee at gmail.com for more information, or get on our weekly InterOccupy conference call<http://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/G4GWX72KCWJ8OP0>,
Thursdays at 8:30pm.
Please forward this request to all of your friends and family you think would be interested.
We're happy to answer any questions you have about the Rolling Jubilee.
Just email rollingjubilee at gmail.com.
Three out of four Americans are in debt, many of whom are in default or nearing it. One in seven are already being pursued by debt collectors<http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/matt-stoller-towards-a-creditor-state-%E2%80%93-one-in-seven-americans-pursued-by-debt-collectors.html>. People shouldn?t have to be forever haunted by debt that they accrued for an education, because they needed medical care, or because they had to put food on the table during hard times. No politician is going to fix this. Millions of people will be excited to hear that something is finally being done.
Thanks for your help!
Strike Debt / Rolling Jubilee
PS - To head off one common question, we cannot buy specific individual's debt - instead, we help liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. As a trial run, we spent $466 and successfully bought and abolished $14,000 of medical debt.
Here are some articles about Strike Debt and The People?s Bailout:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jeff-mangum-plans-occupy-wall-street-fundraiser-20121024
http://pitchfork.com/news/48326-jeff-mangum-members-of-sonic-youth-fugazi-tv-on-the-radio-to-perform-at-occupy-wall-street-telethon/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/10/27/occupy-movement-rallies-for-debt-strike-worldwide/
http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/ows-debtors-coming-out-first-step-toward-resistance
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At the Corner of Hollywood and Web: A conversation + a screening of a new indie movie
Monday, November 19th
6:00 pm
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 1015, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2012/11/hollywoodandweb#RSVP
This event will be archived on our site shortly after.
What happens when a movie maker looks to the Web to work around the traditional entertainment system in which he is one of the leading figures? Rob Burnett is the executive producer of "The Late Show with David Letterman" and CEO of the production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated ("The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and "Everybody Loves Raymond)." He and his writing partner Jon Beckerman were also the creators of the much admired "Ed" and "Knights of Prosperity." But, they decided the traditional Hollywood route was wrong for their new indie movie. "We wanted to let it find its right audience," says Burnett. So, they turned to the Web.
Join us for a conversation with Rob Burnett about what they've learned as entertainment industry insiders trying to use the Web to let "We Made This Movie" find its audience. The conversation will be held with the Berkman Center's Elaine McMillion,David Weinberger, Jonathan Zittrain, and other special guests.
Afterwards, there will be a screening of "We Made This Movie," where five high school seniors set out to make a silly comedy movie, but accidentally end up making a dramatic and moving movie about their actual lives.
All information on the We Made This Movie project can be found here: http://www.wemadethismovie.com.
About the Participants
Elaine McMillion is an independent documentary storyteller based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her work focuses on contemporary social and cultural issues and strives to share stories from people and places that are often underrepresented or misrepresented by mainstream media. McMillion has directed and produced two award-winning feature-length documentary films and is currently in post-production of Hollow: An Interactive Documentary. Hollow, a cross-platform project supported by Tribeca Film Institute’s New Media fund, aims to communicate the personal narratives of post-industrial, rural America to inspire awareness and social change.
David Weinberger writes about the effect of technology on ideas.
He is the author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined and Everything Is Miscellaneous, and is the co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto. His most recent book, Too Big to Know, about the Internet's effect on how and what we know.
Jonathan Zittrain is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. His research interests include battles for control of digital property and content, cryptography, electronic privacy, the roles of intermediaries within Internet architecture, human computing, and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education.
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Science and Cooking
Monday, November 19, 2012
7 p.m.
Harvard, Science Center Hall C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft CTO; co-founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures; and author of Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking
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Tuesday, November 20
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Scientifically Verifiable Broadband Policy
Tuesday, November 20
12:30 pm
Location TBA
RSVP at https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/11/mlab
This event will be webcast live at 12:30pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast and archived on our site shortly after
Meredith Whittaker, Google Research; Thomas Gideon, Open Technology Institute
Measurement Lab (M-Lab) is a collaborative effort founded by Vint Cerf and a large body of network researchers, dedicated to creating an Internet-scale ecosystem for truly open network measurement. In the policy space, this means the facts can speak for themselves, and the rhetoric can adapt. To make this happen, Measurement Lab allows researchers the ability to run open source broadband measurement tools on well-managed, near global infrastructure. All data collected by these tools is made publicly available. This public repository of M-Lab data comprises by far the biggest such resource on the planet (and other planets, I assume), with over 600 terabytes of raw, real-world, globally comparable network measurement data (!!). This data is being used by researchers as the basis for peer-reviewed papers furthering network science. It's also being used by governments and national regulators. Canada recently joined Greece, the US, and the European Union in choosing M-Lab and M-Lab's open data as the backbone of their upcoming broadband study. M-Lab's creates a model in which scientists, policy-makers, and consumers have access to good information drawn from the same pool of open, scientifically-sound broadband performance data. This means that conclusions made based on these data are verifiable, and that debate can focus on data, not hearsay. Very cool, right? So come learn about M-Lab's tools, M-Lab's data, how M-Lab is creating a paradigm for collaborative science as the foundation for good, data-based policy.
About Meredith
Meredith Whittaker is a Program Manager for Google Research. She leads initiatives related to Internet measurement, including managing Google's involvement in the M-Lab project, measurementlab.net. In this capacity she has worked closely with the academic community, policy-makers, consumer advocates, and national regulators across the globe to advise on scientifically verifiable broadband measurement and policy. She is also a frequent conference speaker, covering the intersection of Internet science and policy. Meredith has a background in literature and psychoanalytic theory. She joined Google in 2006 after completing her degree at UC Berkeley.
About Thomas
Thomas Gideon is the technical director for the Open Technology Institute at New America Foundation. As technical director, he is responsible for managing and supporting technological and data driven policy interventions, including the Commotion mesh wireless networking project, which focuses on connecting communities that are under served and at risk, and Measurement Lab, a network measurement research platform that has produced the largest cache of open broadband performance data on the planet. He also provides technical expertise to collaborate on issues around privacy, security, copyright, digital media and DRM.
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Semiconductor Industry Technology Transitions: Challenges and Opportunities
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
Refreshments at 3:30 p.m.
MIT, Building 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Speaker: Raj Jammy, Sematech
MTL Seminar Series
The MTL Seminar Series held on the MIT Campus during the academic year on Tuesdays at 4:00pm. Speakers for the series are selected on the basis of their knowledge and competence in the areas of microelectronics research, manufacturing, or policy. The series is open to the public and is free to attend.
Web site: http://mtlweb.mit.edu/seminars/fall2012.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact: Valerie Dinardo
253-9328
valeried at mit.edu
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theMOVE's FLATBREAD PIZZA & BOWLING NIGHT
Tue 11/20
5p-12a
Flatbread Pizza, Davis Square, 45 Day Street, Somerville
RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/508531479165697/
Please join theMOVE (getoutma.org) out on Tuesday 11/20 for an incredible night of ridiculously-delicious (and locally/responsibly-sourced) pizza and candlepin bowling.
It's getting cold out (brrrrr) -- gather your friends around a warm brick oven pizza before you head out for the holiday. The highest-scoring bowler of the night will go home with a gift card! And proceeds from all pizza sales will go to benefit our important work connecting Metro Boston's urban youth with the sources of our food. Eat well, and help out a good cause too!
More information at http://getoutma.org
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The Role of the Internet in the Creation of a Just and Sustainable Economy
Tuesday, November 20
6:30-8:30 pm
First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge
Bob Massie, President of New Economics Institute
Lawrence Lessig, Director of Edmond J Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
Registration at Mason Street entrance. RSVP at http://www.neweconomicsinstitute.org
Reception after the talk.
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The Militant Image: A Ciné-Geography
Monday, November 19
7-9p
MIT, Building E15-001, Wiesner Building, ACT Cube, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Ros Gray
Ros Gray's research focuses on revolutionary cinema and its global networks, the screen as a site of radical gathering, anti-colonial and post-colonial theory, and contemporary film and video art within the context of cinematographic traditions and different liberation movements on the African continent. Gray co-edited a special issue of the journal Third Text, "The Militant Image: A Ciné-Geography", and has published articles in numerous scholarly and artistic publications. She explores similar themes in her forthcoming book The Vanguard of the World: Cinemas of the African Revolution. Gray is a Lecturer in Fine Art Practice at Goldsmith College London and research tutor in the Curating Contemporary Art program at the Royal College of Art.
Experiments in Thinking, Action, and Form: Cinematic Migrations
Fall 2012 Lecture Series
This lecture is free and open to the public.
To learn more about each lecture, click on the righthand blocks.
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Upcoming
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“How to Make Smarter and More Sustainable Choices at Every Level In Your Company”
Tuesday, November 27
1:30 EST
Free webinar
RSVP at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/509303431?utm_campaign=testing&utm_source=hubspot_email_marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_content=5087344&_hse=gmoke%40world.std.com&_hsmi=5087344&_hsh=359769a3c6de4aa1e39b818490e5c7
Chris Erickson, CEO of Climate Earth, and Jim Lochran of EarthShift
Learn
How to quickly implement comprehensive management of the supply chain to systematically prioritize products for redesign
How to utilize a new set of design tools to take the mystery out of sustainable design
Many companies are focused on measuring their supply chain and enterprise footprints. Others are focusing on bringing sustainable design into their product development group.
In this webinar, you will learn how the technologies involved in these processes are converging to create a cohesive approach to sustainability that helps companies make smarter choices, generate larger impact reductions faster, reduce costs, build their brand, and track results.
Contact James Lochran <james at earthshift.com>
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Poised for Action: Moving Forward With a Massachusetts Agenda
Thursday, November 29, 2012
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston - 600 Atlantic Avenue, Boston
RSVP at https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2840&2840.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=6pokxolij2.app341a
A Luncheon Presentation from Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
We may face gridlock in Washington, but we have vital environmental policies in Massachusetts waiting for action. Addressing issues such as transportation, safer alternatives for toxic chemicals, wind-siting reform, and zoning changes could be good for the environment as well as the economy. At the regional level, efforts to update RGGI could have a major impact.
Please join us for a panel discussion of pending environmental issues that could stimulate jobs and economic growth in the Commonwealth.
Featuring
André Leroux
Executive Director, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance
Sue Reid
Vice President and Director of CLF Massachusetts
Elizabeth Saunders
Massachusetts State Director
of Clean Water Action
Peter Shattuck
Director of Market Initiatives at Environment Northeast (ENE)
Lunch
E2 Members: No Charge
Non-Members and guests: $25
All registered attendees will be sent confirmation and directions
the week prior to the event. Contact Ying Li at yli at nrdc.org if you have questions.
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Macrowikinomics: Rethinking Education for the Age of Networked Intelligence by Don Tapscott
Thursday, November 29, 2012
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
MIT, Building 66, Room 110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://mitocw-es2.eventbrite.com/?rank=1
Don Tapscott is one of the world’s leading authorities on innovation, media, and the economic and social impact of technology and advises business and government leaders around the world.
In 2011 Don was named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. He has authored or co-authored 14 widely read books including the 1992 best seller Paradigm Shift. His 1995 hit The Digital Economy changed thinking around the world about the transformational nature of the Internet and two years later he defined the Net Generation and the “digital divide” in Growing Up Digital. His 2000 work, Digital Capital, introduced seminal ideas like “the business web” and was described by BusinessWeek as “pure enlightenment.” Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything was the best selling management book in 2007 and translated into over 25 languages.
The Economist called his newest work Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet a “Schumpeter-ian story of creative destruction” and the Huffington Post said the book is “nothing less than a game plan to fix a broken world.” Over 30 years he has introduced many ground-breaking concepts that are part of contemporary understanding. His work continues as a the Chairman of Moxie Insight, a member of World Economic Forum, Adjunct Professor of Management for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Torontoand Martin Prosperity Institute Fellow.
The event is free but seating is limited.
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Opportunity
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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!
Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.
For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home
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Boiler Rebate
If your boiler is from 1983 or earlier, Mass Save will give a $1,750 to $4,000 rebate to switch it out for a new efficient boiler that uses the same fuel (i.e. if you have oil, you have to continue to use oil) so long as it is installed by July 31, 2012.
Call Mass Save (866 527-7283) to sign up for a home energy assessment or sign-up online at www.nextsteplivinginc.com/HEET and HEET will receive a $10 contribution from Next Step Living for every completed assessment.
This is a great way to reduce climate change emissions for the next 20 or so years the boiler lasts, while saving money.
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CEA Solar Hot Water Grants
Cambridge, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiative, is offering a limited number of grants to residents and businesses for solar hot water systems. The grants will cover 50% of the remaining out of pocket costs of the system after other incentives, up to $2,000.
Applications will be accepted up to November 19, 2012 and are available on a first come, first serve basis until funding runs out. The Cambridge grant will complement other incentives including the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center solar thermal grants. For more information, see
http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org
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Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as being at least partially caused by human pollution. Only 42% of the state’s residents say global warming will have very serious consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused by humans compared to the 60+ age group. African-American (56%) and Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left unaddressed. The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge: What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent-challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
Arts and Cultural Events List http://aacel.blogspot.com/
Cambridge Civic Journal http://www.rwinters.com
http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/calendar
http://harddatafactory.com/Johnny_Monsarrat/index.html
http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list