Sunday, August 22, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - August 22, 2010

Other

Wednesday, August 25

6:30 - 9:30pm

SIGGRAPH 2010 Electronic Theater Animation Festival

MIT Campus Stata Center, 32-123
32 Vassar Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

6:30pm - 7:30pm - meeting people, talking and networking.
7:30pm - 9:30pm - We will be seeing the SIGGRAPH 2010 Electronic Theater Festival
Please RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-Maya-Users-Group

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 27

6 to 8 PM

Hyde Square Green Zone kick-off party

Hyde Square Task Force's Cheverus Bldg, behind the church at 365 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain


Make your home more affordable and comfortable and help start the Hyde Square Green Zone


Come learn about energy-saving tips and resources for your home and neighborhood.
Refreshments will be served! Kids welcome!


Sponsored by the Cool JP committee of Boston Climate Action Network (BostonCAN.org) 857-544-6846

http://bostoncan.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/hyde-square-green-zone-kick-off-party/


What's a "Green Zone," you ask?


A "green zone" or "green block" is an area where neighbors decide to work together to cut their energy use significantly.


Are you wondering if your home is an ENERGY HOG? Or are you disgusted by the oil drilling mess in the Gulf of Mexico? Or maybe you're anxious to get a job in the rising Green Wave of energy efficiency jobs. If so, joining with your neighbors to create a “green block” is a great way to turn your personal action into political action.


Recently Boston Climate Action Network launched an initiative called "Cool JP," a campaign that aims to get at least 25% of JP's 12,300 households involved to lowering their carbon footprints by 25% (per household) in 3 years. This is part of a larger Cool Mass project lead by Mass Climate Action Network and we hope our Cool JP pilot project will generate ideas that will catch on throughout Boston's diverse neighborhoods.


One way we're engaging folks in Boston is through creating GREEN BLOCKS and GREEN ZONES where neighbors learn and work together to reduce their energy bills and make their homes and neighborhoods more sustainable. By talking together about energy conservation, we can pool information and share our lists of what types of work we might undertake to make our homes more efficient. If we have a long list of potential work in a small area, we can attract contractors who are able to pay better wages to their workers and offer us a group discount.


BostonCAN can help you reach out to your neighbors and get started: with smart energy parties, low carbon living groups, home energy coach visits, weatherization barn-raisings, and collective approaches to landlords and to contractors about cost-effective energy efficiency improvements. Get involved by coming out on August 27, signing up for updates, or calling us at 857-544-6846 to volunteer.


Hope to see you soon!

Loie

617-278-1885

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August 29th, Sunday

7:30pm

Bill McKibben Speaks About His New Book, Eaarth

Cary Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA. Free Admission.

You can hear Bill McKibben speak in person about his new book, 'Eaarth'. In this Green-Sanctuary group recommended book, he says our hope depends on building the kind of societies that can concentrate on essentials. This book is being sold by the Green Sanctuary group at Sunday coffee hours.

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Ongoing resources

The Forum Network, http://forum-network.org/, has a library of public lectures and courses and is sponsored by from PBS, NPR, CPB, Lowell Institute, WGBH. Lots and lots of subjects and speakers to choose from, individual talks and ongoing series. It looks like a much wider ranging version of what CSPAN II does with their Book TV every weekend.

Artisan Asylum, http://artisansasylum.com/, a public workshop, offers a series of skill-building courses.

Boston Latin Youth School Climate Action Network, http://www.blsyouthcan.org/, could use your help in winning a grant to build a green roof on America's oldest public school. See their website for further details.

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Also available as a listserv, email gmoke@world.std.com to subscribe
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/

Monday, August 16, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - August 15, 2010

Harvard

Thursday, August 19, 2010
Doors open at 7:00 pm; programs begin at 7:30 pm
"Is Anybody Out There? The Search for ET with Help from Eight Million Volunteers," Dr. Daniel Werthimer, UC Berkeley
Tonight, Dan Werthimer will discuss the possibility of life in the universe, the search for radio and optical signals from other civilizations, and public participation science. The SETI@home project analyzes data from the world's largest radio telescope using desktop computers from millions of volunteers. SETI@home participants have formed one of Earth's most powerful supercomputers; users have the small but captivating possibility their computer will detect the first signal from a civilization beyond Earth. Werthimer will also discuss next generation telescopes and speculate on when Earthlings might discover other civilizations.

Phillips Auditorium at the Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge

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Other

Come hear Boston College's Charlie Derber on Solving Climate Change
Thursday, August 19, 2010; 6:30 p.m.
Somerville Public Library (Main Branch),79 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

Charles Derber speaks on his hopeful book, From Greed to Green: Solving Climate Change and Remaking the Economy.
This presentation is organized by the Majority Agenda Project and Mass. Global Action.

For more information, directions, and flyer, please visit:
http://bit.ly/d2Znvs or call 781-662-7299, or email
gobeiltchen@earthlink.net

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August 19-21, Boston City Hall Plaza
Thursday 10 AM to 4:30 PM Green Jobs Forum
Thursday 5 PM to 10 PM Kick-Off Concert
Friday 10 AM to 10 PM (Exhibits 10 AM to 6 PM)
Saturday 10 AM to 10 PM (Exhibits 10 AM to 4 PM)

Gubernatorial Green Debate! Sat. Aug 21st 4 pm.
Talk to the Candidates! 20,000 Seats!

FREE ADMISSION - GRATIS - GRATUIT COME JOIN US ON CITY HALL PLAZA!
¡VENGAN A LA PLAZA DE LA ALCALDIA!
VENEZ TOUS A L'HOTEL DE VILLE!


http://www.bostongreenfest.org/

Editorial Comment: I may show up on Friday with some of my solar models.

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Say Hi to PubCampBoston (Saturday, 8/21)
Published on 08.04.2010 by nxu in Local Camps
We see Boston as both a media-rich and tech-rich city. We think Boston’s pubmedia presence should draw upon its resources and become a leader in media innovation. By throwing open the doors of the imposing new WGBH station for one day, we want writers, producers, designers, hackers, developers, community leaders and long-time media makers to bring in talent and leave with work to do. We want to increase the new media reporting we see growing throughout public media. We expect public media staffers to form new working relationships with guests who can inform their stories on local and national levels. We expect guests to leave having a new sense of access to their local public media stations. We expect to have new seedlings of ideas to incubate in our local news and public media stations, with the help of new friends. We expect the people of Boston to know “something happened” at 1 Guest Street on August 21 that changed how their media stations work together.

When: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday, August 21

Where: WGBH Educational Foundation | One Guest Street, Boston MA, 02135

This event was organized with the help of people from WGBH, WBUR, OpenMediaBoston.org, PRX and PEG access stations in Brookline and Cambridge.

Learn more about our goals for the PublicMediaCamp here

After registering (http://pubcampboston.eventbrite.com/), you may suggest a session you would like to lead on the wiki at http://wiki.publicmediacamp.org/PubCampBostonSchedule

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Upcoming

Boston Solutions Lab September 16, 2010 at Microsoft NERD Center

"This year, the event is co-organized by Environmental Defense Fund, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Net Impact Boston, Rocky Mountain Institute, Ashoka, GreenBiz.com, and other partners. The central theme of the day will be how companies are overcoming the barriers to energy efficiency. We’ll bring together experts in energy efficiency from leading companies, financial institutions, NGOs, and government agencies to ensure a high-value experience for all.

"Please plan to join us - and spread the word! Visit the Solutions Lab – Boston registration page (http://gibn2010boston.eventbrite.com/) for more information and to register.

"This year, we are encouraging participants to:

• Tell us what specific topics they would like to discuss by completing a survey upon registering.
• Contribute to the "Solutions Salon": If you have a specific challenge you would like the collective brainpower of the Solutions Lab to tackle, let us know via the wiki."
Event Details

What: Green Innovation in Business Network: Boston Solutions Lab 2010

When: Thursday, September 16th, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (followed by a networking reception)

Where: Microsoft New England Research & Development Center

One Memorial Drive

Cambridge, MA 02142

Editorial Comment: I went to last year's conference and ended up leading one of the workshops (on zero emissions). It costs $75 for the day but it is well worth it and part of a series of Solutions Labs the organizers have been doing around the country. In general, Energy (and Other) Events avoids paid events but makes exceptions from time to time.

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Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area (http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html)
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - August 8, 2010

MIT

Monday, August 09, 2010
MIT Energy Club Energy 101 Series: Nuclear Fusion
Speaker: Andrea Schmidt
Time: 12:00p–1:00p
Location: 2-136
Nuclear fusion holds the promise of essentially unlimited fuel, no greenhouse gas emissions, short-lived radioactive waste, and inherent safety. Fusion power could be put on the grid without a massive overhaul in conventional electricity storage and distribution. But commercial fusion, initially thought to be "50 years away," is still several decades away despite the US fusion program being nearly 60 years old. Why has it taken so long to reach the holy grail and what is the current road-map to success? This talk will be a basic overview of the technology behind fusion and challenges that lie ahead, with a focus on the tokamak-type reactors. MIT's own tokamak will be introduced, as well as ITER, the massive international tokamak to be built in France.

Lunch will be provided. No RSVP necessary.


Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/energy-101/nuclear-fusion
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club

For more information, contact:
MIT Energy Club
cbotero@mit.edu

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Harvard

Yardswap II- Harvard Freecycle Event
WHEN
Tue., Aug. 10, 2010, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
WHERE
Science Center Atrium, 1 Oxford St.
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR
Law School Green Team, FAS Green Program, Harvard Recycling, Harvard Office for Sustainability
COST
Free
CONTACT INFO
sustainability@harvard.edu
NOTE
Back by popular demand! Items went quickly last time, and we heard from you that there’s much more to donate.
Donate items from 8am-11am by bringing them to Science Center classroom 110. Browse and take from 11:30am-2:30pm in the Science Center Atrium. Both office supplies for Harvard re-use and items from home are welcome. File folders, cabinets, printers/cartridges, books, movies, music, housewares, games, sports equipment, art supplies, clothes, etc., welcome. All leftover items will be donated to local charities. Check out this video of our June Freecycle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6S6jLyDST0
Please, NO: TVs, computers, large electronics, large furniture, or IT-managed equipment.
http://green.harvard.edu/events
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Other

Berklee City Music Scholarship Concert

Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
Berklee Performance Center
136 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston MA 02115

Hosted by J. Curtis Warner, associate vice president for education outreach/executive director, Berklee City Music, this musical extravaganza will feature Boston's most talented inner-city youth in concert at the Berklee Performance Center. Showcasing students from a cross section of Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, and Somerville public high schools, this evening promises to be exciting for all! Noteworthy will be the traditional awarding of full-tuition SYSTEM 5 Continuing Scholarships to eight deserving students who will have successfully completed Berklee's five-week summer performance program. Featuring Sharon Young, Marty Walsh, Winston Maccow, Mike Tucker, and Nichelle Mungo.

Admission: $5 in advance, $10 day of show. Student discount available at the Berklee Performance Center box office.

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http://acp.repoweramerica.org/page/s/jointhecall?source=em-fwd&utm_source=crm_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jointhecall-20100803&utm_content=link2
RSVP for Conference Call with Al Gore
Please join Al Gore on Tuesday, August 10 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, 7:30 p.m. CDT, 6:30 p.m. MDT, and 5:30 p.m. PDT for a Virtual Town Hall. He will discuss potential next steps for the climate movement.
Use this form to RSVP for the conference call. You will receive a confirmation email with the call-in details.
You can also include a question to submit with your RSVP. Although we may not get to address every submission, we will try to discuss as many as possible during the length of the call.

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Ignite Spatial: Boston
Thursday, August 12th, 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Microsoft NERD, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA

If you would like more information please contact us atignitespatialboston@gmail.com

Special thanks to Microsoft New England Research & Development for providing the venue for this event.

The event is free, however, due to limited space at the venue you must RSVP:

http://ignite.oreilly.com/2010/07/ignite-spatial-boston-2.html

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CFL swap
Central Square
August 14th
12:30 to 5 pm

We will go door to door, exchanging highly efficient CFLs (compact florescent bulbs) for incandescent light bulbs.

Each CFL saves $11 and 70 lbs of CO2 a year (assuming it's left on 3 hours a day). Replacing 200 bulbs = 70 tons of CO2 and $22,000 saved over the next decade.

For those of you averse to our normal barn-raisings, which may involve crawling around in attics with cans of spray foam, this is your chance to save a lot of carbon without ripping your favorite pair of pants.

Meet your neighbors and hand them a gift. This is community at its finest.
Pizza and a band afterward. Sign up here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGlBZlQwQkxZQ1NEb3c0cFM5Yk5mTEE6MQ

CFLs kindly donated by the Cambridge Energy Alliance.

Organized by the Home Energy Efficiency Team http://www.heetmacom

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Perseid Meteor Shower

August 12 and 13

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Upcoming

August 19-21, Boston City Hall Plaza

http://www.bostongreenfest.org/

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Energy (and Other) Events - August 1, 2010

MIT

Tuesday, August 03, 2010
"Low carbon electricity = Integrate Resource Strategic Planning(IRSP) + Smart grid" - Professor HU Zhao Guang.
Speaker: Professor HU Zhao Guang. Vice President and Chief Energy Specialist. China's State Grid Energy Research Institute.
Time: 11:00a–12:30p
Location: E19-319
Title: Low carbon electricity = Integrate Resource Strategic Planning(IRSP) + Smart grid
Abstract: Integrate Resource Strategic Planning(IRSP) balances the power supply side and demand side, making the optimal electricity savings on the demand side and optimal power generation on the supply side. It can be used as a tool for policy makers to evaluate the effectiveness of targeted incentive policies, such as price rebate for energy efficiency equipment, in creating energy saving and mitigating GHG. IRSP can also improve the targeting of Smart Grid investments for energy savings and clean energy generation. So, it can be put as:

Low carbon electricity = IRSP + Smart grid

Speaker Bio: Dr. Zhaoguang Hu is the vice president and chief energy specialist at the State Grid Energy Research Institute (former State Power Economic Research Institute) as well as the head of the Power Supply and Demand Research Laboratory. He is the director of Power Economic Committee of CSEE (Chinese Society of Electric Engineering). He is an honorary professor at North-China Electric University and Beijing Jiaotong University. He is a chief editor of Energy Technology and Economics (Chinese).His main areas of interest are: low-carbon energy, energy economy, energy efficiency and demand side management (DSM), smart grid, and policy study on the above areas.

Open to: the general public

Sponsor(s): Center for Energy & Environmental Policy Research, MIT Energy Initiative, MIT, Future of the Electric Grid Study

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Other

First Corvid College Lecture Series in collaboration with the Global Economic Alternatives Network (GEAN) Present:
Marie Trigona
NEU - Snell Library
Tuesday, August 3rd, 4:00 to 7:00 PM

Please forward to interested contacts and friends

Title: Report from Buenos Aires: How ordinary Argentinians have been coping with the ravages of political and corporate irresponsibility.
Guest Speaker: Marie Trigona
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Venue: Snell Library, Room 090, Northeastern University Main Campus, Boston, Mass.
Time: From 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
Program:
4:00 - Video
5:00 - Lecture
6:00 - Discussion

"Marie Trigona has reported from Argentina for numerous media outlets around the world. A writer, radio producer, and film maker, her work focuses on labor struggles, social movements and human rights in Latin America. Her writing has appeared in publications including Z Magazine and ZNet, NACLA, Monthly Review, Canadian Dimension, The Buenos Aires Herald, Left Turn, Americas Program, Clamor, Venezuela Analysis, Upsidedown World, Dollars and Sense and many others. She collaborates with video and direct action collective Grupo Alavío and their project Ágora TV. She reports for Free Speech Radio News, a daily syndicated radio news program broadcast in the U.S."
http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/marietrigona
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Andrew Rimas, Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilization
Start: Tue, 08/03/2010 - 7:00pm
"With a flavor of Jared Diamond, Empires of Foodthoughtfully weaves the religion, military history, and science into a historical arc of how food undergirds civilization's rise and fall. Sprinkling discussions of monks and bird guano in with the Roman Empire and colonization, the book elucidates the inherent instability of how our current food infrastructure has evolved and will make you rethink how you eat."
Jennifer 8. Lee, author of The Fortune Cookies Chronicles

"Empires of Food deals with a subject of grave importance and profound implications for the political economy of the world. Although the subject is serious, it is written in a compelling and readable style. While not pedantic or ponderous in any way, it is of impressive academic rigor. This book needs to be read and thoughtfully considered by policy-makers and citizens everywhere. And if you enjoy lunch, don't fail to read it!"
John Maley, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

Andrew Rimas is a journlist and the managing editor at theImproper Bostonian magazine; previously he was an associate editor and staff writer at Boston Magazine. His work has frequently appeared in those publications and in The Boston Globe Magazine and The Boston Globe.
Location:
Porter Square Books
25 White St
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140-1413

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Mary Roach, Packing for Mars
Start: Fri, 08/06/2010 - 7:00pm
"Popular science writer Roach entertainingly addresses ... life in outer space. There is much good fun with - and a respectful amount of awe at - the often crazy ingenuity brought to the mundane matters of surviving in a place not meant for humans. .... A delightful, illuminating grab bag of spaceflight curiosities."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An impish and adventurous writer with a gleefully inquisitive mind and a stand-up comic's timing, Roach celebrates human ingenuity (the odder the better), and calls for us to marshal our resources, unchain our imaginations, and start packing for Mars."
Donna Seaman, Booklist Review

Mary Roach is the author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, andPacking for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. She lives in Oakland, California.
Location:
Porter Square Books
25 White St
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02140-1413

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Thanks to Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area (http://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html)
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/