Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke@world.std.com
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Trash Technology and Recycled Solar: Plastic Bottles http://solarray.blogspot.com/2011/09/trash-technology-and-recycled-solar.html
Climate CoLab Contest Final Entry Date: September 30 - crowdsourcing climate solutions - http://bit.ly/pCrr0Y
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Monday, September 19
8 am to 5 pm
Sixth Annual AltWheels Fleet Day - Alternative fuel vehicles for fleet applications
at the Four Points by Sheraton, Norwood MA
http://www.altwheels.org/
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State House Rally Against Subsidizing Dirty Biomass Incinerators
Nurse's Hall, 2d Floor
State House, Boston
Monday Sept. 19, 10:30-11:30am
We need your help. You can make a real difference! Join us for the rally and press conference (press conference starts at 11 a.m.). A coalition of health, environmental, and social justice groups is urging Governor Patrick and Lt. Governor Murray to strengthen the state's laws so we aren?t forced to subsidize biomass incinerators that pollute our air, destroy our forests, and worsen climate change. We will be delivering thousands of petitions and post cards to the Patrick Administration from residents around the state.
For more information, visit www.stopspewingcarbon.org. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Sierra Club, Biomass Accountability Project, Toxics Action
Center, and others.
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September 19, 2011
151 Forsyth, Northeastern University, 70 Forsyth Street, Boston
11:45 AM
Special Seminar
“Mechanically-Tunable Materials Inspired from Nature”
Prof. LaShanda Korley, Nord Distinguished Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University
ABSTRACT
An understanding of the architecture and deformation behavior of natural materials, such as titin, collagen, nacre, and spider silk, gives clues to the unique interplay between structure, hierarchy, and function and influences the rational design of mechanically-enhanced materials. These bio-inspired design principles have motivated our exploration of several approaches to enhancing mechanical behavior. I will highlight recent developments in my group related to nature-inspired nanocomposites with self-assembling small molecule fillers, confinement-induced block copolymer in multilayered films, and hierarchical elastomers for energy absorption. Tunability in extensibility, toughness, and modulus as well as opportunities to impart additional functionality have been achieved through these strategic approaches.
BIOGRAPHY
LaShanda Korley is the Nord Distinguished Assistant Professor in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2005 and entered the Case Western faculty in 2007 following postdoctoral training at Cornell University. She is the recipient of CAREER (2010 ) and BRIGE (2008) awards from the National Science Foundation. In 2011, she was selected as one of eighteen DuPont Young Professors.
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Monday, September 19
12-1:30
ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar Series
Developing Renewable Energy Projects in the U.S.: Perspectives from Enel Green Power
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
Francesco Venturini
President and CEO, Enel Green Power North America
http:// www.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/events.htm
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Building Technology Lecture Series: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR EMERGING ARCHITECTURE
Speaker: Jan Knippers, Prof. Dr. Ing.: Knippers Helbig-Advanced Engineering Stuttgart, New York
Time: 12:30p–2:00p
Location: MIT, Building 7-431, AVT, 77 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
Builiding Technology Fall 2011 Secture Series
Digital design and production open new ways for architecture. Computer controlled fabrication methods allow for structures, which would not have been possible a few years ago. But how does one transfer 3D geometries into a load bearing structure without loosing the architectural vision of smoothly shaped building envelopes? An intense discussion is necessary to navigate architectural visions of elegant 3D shapes through the technical and economic constraints of realization. From the very early stages of form finding to the assembly on site, a consistent design process is absolutely necessary to achieve high quality free formed structures. In this lecture different examples are shown to demonstrate this. The projects vary from a timber shell in Cologne with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the large entrance axis for the Expo 2010 in Shanghai to the new international airport in Shenzhen with Massimilano Fuksas.
Jan Knippers received his Ph.D. at the Technical University of Berlin in 1992. From 1993 until 2000 Dr. Knippers worked at the office of Schlaich, Bergermann and Partners in Stuttgart. In 2001 he founded, together with Thorsten Helbig, the office Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering in Stuttgart with a branch in New York City since 2009. The office has developed an expertise in the designs of bridges, roofs and facades, and is always after creative and highly innovative solutions in materials and construction.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): School of Architecture and Planning, Building Technology Program
For more information, contact:
Kathleen Ross
253-1876
kross@mit.edu
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Unionization and the Distribution of Employee Earnings: Evidence from Certification Elections
Speaker: B. Frandsen
Time: 4:00p–5:30p
Location: MIT, Building E51-151
Unionization and the Distribution of Employee Earnings: Evidence from Certification Elections
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Public Finance/Labor Workshop
For more information, contact:
Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu
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Will Knowledge Workers of the World Unite?
WHEN Mon., Sep. 19, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Labor & Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, 125 Mt. Auburn St., 3rd floor conference room
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Labor & Worklife Program, HLS
SPEAKER(S) Vincent Mosco, professor emeritus, Queen's University, Canada, and editor of Getting the Message: Communication Workers and Global Value Chains
CONTACT INFO john_trumpbour@harvard.edu, 617.495.9265
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Gas Turbines for Electric Power Generation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Speaker: Dr. S. Can (John) Gulen, GE Energy, Schenectady N.Y.
Time: 4:15p–5:15p
Location: MIT, Building 3-370, 77 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
Center for Energy and Propulsion Research Seminar Series
The origins of the gas turbine as a concept go back to the early 19th century. Its first practical application took place about a hundred years ago. Gas turbine?s meteoric rise in the last few years of the Second World War and its development in the second half of the 20th century were driven by its role as the primary engine system for military and civilian aircraft propulsion. While gas turbines have always been a part of land-based electric power generation, their emergence as the key fossil fuel technology for large-scale electric power generation is quite recent.
As of today, in the second decade of the 21st century, natural gas fired gas turbine in combined cycle configuration is the most efficient and cleanest technology for fossil fuel based electricity generation.
Interestingly, the basic machine has not changed appreciably from its 40s vintage forebears. The development was mainly driven by increasing turbine inlet temperatures facilitated almost exclusively by advanced materials (superalloys), coating and cooling technologies.
This brief presentation covers the gas turbine history and its current status as the most advanced electric power generation technology as well as its future role, which seems to be even more pronounced than the present one due to its unique capabilities to supplement the increasingly important share of renewable technologies in our generation portfolio.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): RGD Lab
For more information, contact:
Patrick Kirchen
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Everything Akimbo: Welcoming the Electronic Literature Organization to MIT
Time: 5:30p–8:00p
Location: MIT, Building E14-674, Media Lab Extension, 6th Floor
Purple Blurb
Open House / Open Mic / Open Mouse
Please join us in welcoming the Electronic Literature Organization to MIT with an open house / open mic / open mouse featuring 5-7 minute presentations and readings by a host of electronic literature authors (perhaps including you)!
5:30 pm > Kickoff: Signup begins
6:30 pm > Readings & presentations
Presenters will include:
> Nick Montfort, president, Electronic Literature Organization
> Other directors and members of the ELO
> John Cayley, Brown University, Organizer of the 2010 ELO Conference
Snacks provided > Free and open to the public > Free, open, and AKIMBO.
Part of the purple blurb reading series
Fall 2011
sponsored by the Angus N. MacDonald Fund
and the Council for the Arts at MIT
http://nickm.com/if/purple_blurb/
http://eliterature.org/
Web site: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=271215609563006
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, The Angus N. MacDonald Fund, The Council for the Arts at MIT
For more information, contact:
Amaranth Borsuk
617-253-4532
amaranth@mit.edu
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Monday, 19 September
5:45 pm to 7:15 pm
MIT Building 9, Room 9-450A, Cambridge
Strategies for Sustainable Mobility: Mitigating Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Rapidly Developing Cities
Professor Chris Zegras, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Urbanization and economic growth lead to more people making more trips, across longer distances, in more and larger cities across the globe. In the face of this growth, urban transportation systems must balance two basic needs. On the one hand, we need transportation to continue to contribute to economic development and human welfare. On the other, we need to mitigate transportation’s negative effects, both current – exemplified by pollution and accidents – as well as future, including climate change risks and exhaustion of non-renewable resources.
Prof. Zegras will base his discussion of sustainable mobility on the concept of accessibility. Accessibility represents the welfare that people derive from the interaction among transportation, land use, and the social system. This concept is particularly important in cities of the developing world, where many citizens sorely lack accessibility to the means of satisfying their daily needs. Prof. Zegras will propose a sustainable mobility framework that will provide steady or increasing accessibility over time. Sustainability requires that we bequeath to future generations the means to achieve at least the level of accessibility we enjoy today.
Chris Zegras is the Ford Career Development Associate Professor at the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Chris teaches graduate-level courses in urban transportation planning, statistics, and land use-transportation planning, and has co-taught urban design and planning studios and practica in Beijing, Santiago de Chile, and Mexico City. His research interests include the relationship between transportation and the built environment, transportation system finance, and transportation energy use and greenhouse gas mitigation.
For more information, please contact Jim Ernstmeyer, ernstmeyer@ieee.org, or visit the IEEE website at http://www.ieeeboston.org/
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Sustainability@MIT Fall Kickoff Information Session
Speaker: Sam Crawford and Nancy Kim, Co-Presidents
Time: 6:00p–7:30p
MIT, Building 5-233
Want to help spread sustainability across campus and beyond? Come to our fall kickoff meeting and information session to learn about Sustainability@MIT and how you can get involved. There are many opportunities available, so come and check us out!
Dinner provided.
Web site: http://sustainability.mit.edu/events/sustainabilitymit-fall-kickoff-meeting-information-session
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Sustainability@MIT
For more information, contact:
Sam Crawford
sustainability-president@mit.edu
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Monday, September 19, 2011
AKPIA@MIT LECTURE: The Avenue of Sphinxes, Luxor, Egypt; Historical and Cultural Challenges in Urban Design
Speaker: Hala Nassar, Assistant Professor in Planning & Landscape Architecture Clemson University
Time: 6:00p–7:30p
Location: MIY, Building 7-431, 77 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
An Evening With... AKPIA@MIT LECTURE
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/akpia/www/lecturescurrent.htm
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE
Sponsor(s): Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
For more information, contact:
Jose Luis Arguello
253-1400
akpiarch@mit.edu
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Science and Cooking: The Many Faces of Chocolate
WHEN Mon., Sep. 19, 2011, 7 – 9 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Science Center C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Science, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
SPEAKER(S) Ramon Morató (Aula Chocovic)
COST Free. All are welcome to attend.
LINK https://www.seas.harvard.edu/cooking
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September 19, 2011 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
EcoMind Talk and Book Signing with Frances Moore Lappé
Porter Square Books
25 White Street, Cambridge, MA
Join Frances at Porter Square Books for a discussion and signing of her new book EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want.
About EcoMind
Drawing on the latest research from disciplines ranging from anthropology to neuroscience and her own field experience, Lappé argues that the biggest challenge to human survival isn't our fossil fuel dependency, melting glaciers, or other calamities. Rather, she says, it's our faulty way of thinking about these environmental crises that robs us of power. Lappé dismantles seven common "thought traps" that belie what we now know about nature, including our own, and offers contrasting "thought leaps" that suggest our hidden power.
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HUCE Special Seminar: "Coupled Atmosphere-biosphere Models as a Tool for Conservation and Environmental Planning and Policy”
WHEN Tue., Sep. 20, 2011, 12 p.m.
WHERE HUCE Seminar Room, 24 Oxford Street, 3rd floor Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Marcos Heil Costa, professor of climatology and environmental modeling at the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE In this perspective talk, Marcus Heil Costa (1) provides a brief overview of the development, characteristics and sensitivity of coupled atmosphere-biosphere models, (2) discusses the potential application of these models to conservation and environmental policy, planning and practice and, finally, (3) outlines the various challenges faced by the modeling and conservation and environmental research communities to fully utilize and exploit the results of coupled models.
*Lunch provided!*
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-09-20/huce-special-seminar
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Tuesday, September 20, 12 p.m.
"A Media Lesson from the Financial Meltdown."
Speaker Series with Diana Henriques, senior financial writer at The New York Times, author of The Wizard of Lies.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
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A self-standing financing model to help sustain the non-market digital commons
Philippe Aigrain, Sopinspace
Tuesday, September 20, 12:30 pm
Berkman Center, 23 Everett Street, second floor
RSVP required for those attending in person via http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/09/aigrain#RSVP
This event will be webcast live (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast) at 12:30 pm ET and archived on our site shortly after.
What if we consider that sharing a digitally published work in one's possession with other individuals is a fundamental right? What if we break away from the idea of compensating the entertainment right holders for supposed harms resulting from this sharing and ask ourselves what is a reasonable reward and financing model for sustaining a many-to-all cultural society? How many people do we need to reward, how much money for support to production of new works? What will be the diversity of attention to works and creators? Which reward for a given level of usage? The talk will open a discussion on these topics, based on work conducted for "Sharing: Culture and the Economy in the Internet Age", forthcoming at Amsterdam Univ. Press in November 2011.
About Philippe
Philippe Aigrain is presently CEO of Sopinspace, Society for Public Information Spaces, a company that he founded in 2004. Sopinspace develops free software and provides commercial services for democratic processes and collaborative work over the Internet. In parallel, he is active as an analyst of the stakes of the information revolution and engaged in actions for the reform of intellectual rights regimes. This is part of a long commitment to the development of technical tools, processes and social environments that help everyone to be more creative, more capable of critical thinking and constructive exchanges with others.
Philippe has a number of NGO responsibilities. He is one of the founders of La Quadrature du Net, a citizen group defending fundamental rights and freedoms in the digital sphere and promoting policy proposals for the the digital era. He serves of the board of directors of the Software Freedom Law Center and on the Board of Trustees of the NEXA Center for Internet and Society (Torino, Italy).
---------------------------
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
"Thoughts on Some Factors That Led Up to the Signing of the Montreal Protocol to Protect the Ozone Layer"
Speaker: Dr. Susan Solomon, CIRES/University of Colorado at Boulder
Time: 3:00p–4:30p
Location: MIT Bartos Theater, E15- Atrium Level
Houghton Lecture Series Lecture 1 (of 2)
Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/houghton-lectures
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
For more information, contact:
Roberta Allard
617-253-3382
allard@mit.edu
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September 20, 2011 (Tuesday)
3:30pm (Refreshments at 3:15pm)
SCI 113, Metcalf Science Center, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
Silicon Micromachines for Science and Technology
David Bishop, Boston University
In my talk I will discuss silicon micro machines and their use in both science and technology. Applications include optical switching, acoustics and RF systems. Scientific experiments include mesoscopic vortex physics, high sensitivity magnetometers and the Casimir effect.
Contact : Winna Somers (wsomers@bu.edu) (617) 353-9320
--------------------------
Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change: "How Could Nature Thrive in Urban Regions? Could the Future of Roads Have No Driving, No Emissions, and Nature Reconnected?”
WHEN Tue., Sep. 20, 2011, 4 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Richard T. T. Forman, PAES Professor of Landscape Ecology, Harvard University
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE The lecture will be followed by a reception.
The ring around today’s cities holds the destiny for tomorrow’s mainly urban world, and for natural systems far beyond. Focusing ecologically on nature, food, water, built systems, and built areas in the ring-around-the-city offers promise.
The Biodiversity, Ecology, and Global Change lecture series is sponsored by the Harvard University Center for the Environment with generous support from Bank of America.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-09-20/biodiversity-ecology-and-global-change-how-could-nature-thrive-urban-regions-could
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Nanogenerators and self-powered system and portable electronics
Speaker: Zhong Lin Wang, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Time: 4:00p–5:30p
Location: 10-250
Ever since the wide range applications of laptop computers and cell phones, seeking of power sources for driving portable electronics is becoming increasingly important. The current technology mainly relies on rechargeable batteries. But for the near future, micro/nano-systems will be widely used in health monitoring, infrastructure and environmental monitoring, internet of things and defense technologies; the traditional batteries may not meet or may not be the choice as power sources for the following reasons. First, with the increasingly shrinkage in size, the size of the total micro/nano-systems could be largely dominated by the size of the battery rather than the devices. Second, the number and density of micro/nano-systems to be used for sensor network could be large, thus, replacing batteries for these mobile devices becoming challenging and even impractical. Lastly, the power needed to drive a micro/nano-system is rather small, in the range o f micro- to milli-Watt range. To meet these technological challenges, the author proposed the self-powering nanotechnology in 2005, aiming at harvesting energy from the environment to power the micro/nano-systems based sensor network. This talk will introduce the nanogenerator as a sustainable self-sufficient power source for micro/nano-systems by harvesting energy from our body and living environment. Co-sponsored by MITEI and the China Energy and Environment Research Group.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Initiative
For more information, contact:
Minjie Chen
minjie@MIT.EDU
------------------------------
Join the conversation! We organizing 3 informational conference calls for folks who want to learn more about this year's Digital Media Conference/Grassroots Use of Technology Conferences. So if you want to organize a workshop, to meet informally with progressive activists using digital tools, to learn more about the range of issues being addressed, and help plan and organize, join one of the conference calls:
After-work Call: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Lunchtime Call: Monday, September 26, 2011, 12 noon - 1:00 p.m.
After-work Call: Monday, September 26, 2011, 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Conference Call Dial-in Number: 424-203-8400 Access Code: 184850# [note: this is NOT a toll-free call; long-distance charges may be incurred]
Call Agenda:
1. Welcome - Suren Moodliar (Coordinator, Mass. Global Action) 2 minutes
2. Conference Objectives & Highlights - Jason Pramas (Editor &
Publisher, Open Media Boston) 10 minutes
3. Venue, Workshops, Tracks, Website - Suren Moodliar 5 minutes
4. Q & A + Open Dialogue 25 minutes
5. Next Steps/Summation: Suren Moodliar & Jason Pramas 10 minutes
ABOUT: The Digital Media Conference 2011, incorporating the Grassroots Use of Technology Conference 2011, is being organized by Open Media Boston, Massachusetts Global Action, the Organizers' Collaborative and TecsChange in cooperation with a growing list of sponsors including the Boston Media Reform Network. The conference is organized around a frame that connects technology and social change, "Social Movements/Digital Revolutions."
Here's the short account of the conference frame: The conference is being called to look at new developments in technology, social media, journalism and the creative world from the perspective of grassroots movements for social justice. We’re also interested to debate some of the key issues facing progressive organizers today.
Expanded and more fully introduced, we have drafted a "framing document" to serve as a "conference call" and help workshop organizers choose a track or category for their proposal. This longer version can be downloaded from here:
http://www.digitalmediaconference.org/2011/sites/default/files/SM_DR-conference_framing_document_rev.pdf
Conference Dates: October 21-23, 2011; MIT & Lesley University.
Register here: http://www.digitalmediaconference.org
Conference Registration Fee: $30 (sliding scale, $20 for students,
low-income and unemployed individuals); Co-sponsoring Organization
Rates available (contact: info@digitalmediaconference.org)
---------------------------
Tuesday, September 20
5:30-7:00PM
Location TBA
The American Islamic Congress and World Boston present "Bearers of Change: Muslim Women on the Frontlines"
Featuring: Mona Eltahawy (left), award-winning Egyptain-American Journalist
Yasmin Ratansi (right), the first Muslim woman elected to the Canadian Parliament
Souad Akib, local Moroccan-American community Organizer
Light refreshments served
Free - but please RSVP
AIC and World Boston proudly co-present a new series on "Women's Leadership in the Muslim World." Sponsored by The Boston Foundation, the program features seasoned reformers and dynamic emerging voices exploring the road ahead for women's rights in Muslim communities around the world, including right here in Boston.
The event is free and open to the public, but kindly RSVP to reserve your place.
RSVP via 617-266-0080 or email events@aicongress.org.
--------------------------
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
There is Nothing so Practical as a Good Theory: The Economics Behind Honest Tea
Speaker: Barry Nalebuff
Time: 6:00p–7:15p
Location: MIT, Building NW86, MP room
The Sidney-Pacific Committee on Scholarly Interaction (CoSI) will be hosting Professor Barry Nalebuff, an MIT alumnus ('80), world-leading expert in game theory, bestselling author, Forbes columnist, and founder of Honest Tea, one of Inc. Magazine's fastest-growing companies. He will speak on the topic "There's Nothing so Practical as a Good Theory: The Economics Behind Honest Tea", with a Q+A session following the lecture. Sidney-Pacific residents may RSVP for the dinner afterward.
Web site: http://s-p.mit.edu/#ThereisNothingsoPracticalasaGoodTheory:TheEconomicsBehindHonestTea
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Sidney-Pacific Graduate Community, ODGE Presidential Fellows Program
For more information, contact:
SP CoSI Chairs
sp-cosi-chair@mit.edu
---------------------------
NOW YOU SEE IT: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn
WHEN Tue., Sep. 20, 2011, 6 – 7:15 p.m.
WHERE Austin East Classroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Humanities, Information Technology, Law, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Berkman Center for Internet & Society
SPEAKER(S) Cathy Davidson, Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English and John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Duke University and co-founder of HASTAC
COST Free
NOTE Approximately fifteen years into industrial-era management science, the medieval university began its rapid metamorphosis into the modern twentieth-century research university. Now, fifteen years after the commercialization of the Internet and the World Wide Web, we are at an optimal moment for reconsidering these fundamental institutions for our own era. Davidson is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the role of technology in our lives but, rather, asks how we can use technology as an engine of transformation. This talk helps us to think in historical, theoretical, and practical ways about how, as individuals and institutions, we can learn new ways to thrive in the interactive, digital, global world we already inhabit.
LINK http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2011/09/davidson
RSVP at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2011/09/davidson#RSVP
--------------------------------
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
From Sociological Art to The Aesthetics of Communication, A lecture by Fred Forest
Time: 6:30p–8:00p
Location: MIT, Building E-15, Bartos Theatre
French media artist and theorist Fred Forest (born in 1933) is one of the earliest pioneers of video and media art. His work with interactive environments using computer and video elements, began as early as 1968. At the forefront of interactive art and new media, sociology, and institutional critique, his work frequently immaterial and relational, raises questions about the nature and function of art in a market-driven age of information.
The List Visual Arts Center wishes to thank The Cultural Service of the French Consulate in Boston, Residency Unlimited, and the MIT-France Program for their generous assistance in making this talk possible.
Web site: http://listart.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): List Visual Arts Center
For more information, contact:
Mark Linga
617-253-4680
------------------------
Tuesday, September 20
7 pm
Greenport Forum – Topic: The Next Big Thing
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge
Greenport has had great success generating and incubating innovative, community building responses to global warming and climate change. These include HEET and the Climate Emergency Congress. What project(s) should Greenport take on this year – district heating? A neighborhood food center? Cooperative neighborhood solar hot water installations?
What are your ideas? Come join us at the first fall forum to discuss your ideas and think about action plans!
For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman@gis.net
--------------------------
Wednesday, September 21, 12 p.m.
"Social Media, Journalism and the Arab Spring."
Speaker Series with Andy Carvin, Senior Strategist, Social Media Desk, NPR.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
-----------------------
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Realizing Hager's 1991 Idea: Weighing the Greenland Ice Sheet Using GPS
Speaker: Professor Michael Bevis, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: 54-915
EAPS Department Lecture Series
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/news/dls.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: $0.00
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
For more information, contact:
Jacqui Taylor
253-2127
jtaylor@mit.edu
---------------------------
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Building Bridges Between Genes, Brains and Language
Speaker: Dr. Simon Fisher, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Time: 4:00p–5:00p
Location: MIT, Building 46-3002
MIT Colloquium Series on the Brain & Cognition
Genes that are implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders can provide novel insights into neural mechanisms contributing to human spoken language. My colleagues and I previously discovered that people with mutations of the FOXP2 gene have problems mastering sequences of mouth movements needed for fluent speech, accompanied by expressive and receptive language impairments. FOXP2 is an evolutionarily ancient gene which switches on and off other genes in brain circuits of diverse vertebrates. Researchers are now studying it in a wide range of systems, from neuronal models, mutant mice and songbirds, to humans themselves. Intriguingly, dysfunction of this gene impairs neural plasticity and motor-skill learning in mice, and impedes vocal imitation during song learning in zebra finches. Analyses of molecular evolution in primates indicate that FOXP2 protein sequence underwent accelerated change on the human lineage after splitting from the chimpanzee. Nevertheless, FOXP2 should not be viewed as the mythical "gene for language" but as one piece of a complex puzzle. Overall, my talk will demonstrate how our multidisciplinary investigations of genes like FOXP2 are helping build the first bridges between genes, brains and spoken language.
Web site: http://bcs.mit.edu/newsevents/colloquia.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Brain and Cognitive Sciences
For more information, contact:
617-253-5748
bcs-info@mit.edu
--------------------------
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Civic Media Session: "Social Movement Media Across Platforms"
Speaker: Jason Pramas, editor/publisher of Open Media Boston; Steve Meacham, organizing coordinator of City Life/Vida Urbana
Time: 5:00p–7:00p
Location: MIT Building E14-648
Civic Media Sessions
Social movements have always been productive spaces for the creation and circulation of media texts, tools, and frames for understanding the world. In the past, movement narratives were often told by specialists: filmmakers, writers, radio producers.
These roles still exist, but more recently, the rapid spread of digital literacies allows increased participation in movement media making by everyday participants.
This session brings together social movement media makers and scholars in a conversation about what the transformation of the media ecology means for movements. Under what conditions does media making by a movement's base help strengthen the movement and advance its goals, and when does it produce confusion and a lack of narrative power? How can filmmakers rooted in movements open up their processes to increased participation? What movements today are engaged in innovative cross platform practices?
Web site: http://civic.mit.edu/event/civic-media-session-amplified-streets-from-print-to-tweets-social-movement-media-across
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for Future Civic Media
For more information, contact:
Andrew Whitacre
---------------------------
Wednesday, Sept. 21
6-9pm
*"We Destroy the Environment, We Destroy Ourselves" - Jonas Salk*
A Roundtable Discussion
Join us to discuss the climate crisis, global warfare, and transitions to sustainability from community organizing perspectives. With presentations on community models adapting to climate change, a look at root causes and the effects of corporate imperialism and global warfare, we will engage in a multi-issue open discussion on 'where we are' and 'where we're going' with the increasing vulnerability of our ecosystems and social cohesion.
Institute for Human Centered Design
200 Portland Street, Boston, MA
Close to Gov't St, Charles/MGH T
Click Here for Directions
Light snacks offered
FREE event
*Among the Presenters:*
Valerie Fletcher, Institute for Human Centered Design, Executive Director discussing Social Equity and the Global Accessibility Movement
Garry Sotnik, Systems Science student, PSU, presenting on Portland's Five Ecodistricts and methods for communities transitioning to sustainability
Maggie Zhou, Molecular and Computational Biologist, Climate SOS, UNAC, Antiwar Activist discussing global warfare , crop failures, pandemics, and ecosystem collapses
Follow on Facebook: Climate Crisis, Global Wars, and Sustainability
More info at: www.encuentro5.org
Organized by: MESA sin fronteras
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Date: 9/22/2011
Time: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location: Microsoft New England R&D Center, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142
Audience: Members of Online News Assoc/Hacks Hackers
Description: Journalists, developers and designers: Come join Hacks/Hackers Hacking @ ONA, the first annual Hacks/Hackers hack event at ONA's annual conference, sponsored this year by Knight-Mozilla News Tech Partnership. Meet new people, make new friends and prototype projects at the Microsoft NERD Center on Sept. 22. What we produce together at the all-day hackathon will help shape the future of news and civic information. Hacks/Hackers will provide delicious food, snacks and beverages from great local establishments to keep you going as you demo, not memo, your ideas.
$20 for non-members of the Online News Association
Register at https://ona.site-ym.com/events/register.asp?id=165276
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September 22, 2011
11:00am - 12:00pm
Geological Museum Room 204, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge
“Ice Sheet/Shelf Collapse the Sedimentologic and Biotic Consequences”
An EPS Special Seminar featuring Eugene Domack, Hamilton College.
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
"Surprises in Radiative Forcing: What Chemicals Are Changing Our Climate?"
Speaker: Dr. Susan Solomon, CIRES/University of Colorado at Boulder
Time: 12:00p–1:00p
Location: MIT Bartos Theater, E15- Atrium Level
Houghton Lecture Series
Lecture 2 (of 2)
Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/houghton-lectures
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
For more information, contact:
Roberta Allard
253-3382
allard@mit.edu
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Thursday, September 22
12 p.m. - 1 p.m.
Pound 204, Harvard Law School
Barry Eastabrook
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit
A two-times James-Beard-Award-winning journalist, Estabrook will discuss his recently published book, Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit. The bland Florida winter tomato is the poster child for many of the problems of large-scale farming. As revealed in his writing, workers in the industry are routinely sprayed with pesticides, paid below minimum wages, and are often victims of slavery and indentured servitude.
Eastabrook was a contributing editor at Gourmet magazine. His work has also appeared in the New York Times “Dining” section and the New York Times Magazine, Men’s Health, Saveur, Gastronomica, TheAtlantic.com and many other national magazines. He has been anthologized in The Best American Food Writing 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. His James-Beard-Award Winning website is www.politicsoftheplate.com.
The talk will be open to the public.
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Thursday, September 22
4:00–6:00 pm
MIT, Building E19-623
Gauging Ecosystem Response to Climate Change
Charles Marshall, Director, Museum of Paleontology, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
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Did Things Have to Turn Out This Way? Energy, Technology, Markets and the Environment in the North American West
WHEN Thu., Sep. 22, 2011, 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.
WHERE Harvard CGIS-South 050, 1730 Cambridge Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Center for History and Economics
SPEAKER(S) Richard White, Stanford University
COST Free
CONTACT INFO gauth@fas.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~histecon/index.html
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
From Online Matching to Online Advertising
Speaker: Amin Saberi
Time: 4:15p–5:15p
Location: MIT, Building E62-550
ORC Fall Seminar Series
The OR Center organizes a seminar series each year in which prominent OR professionals from around the world are invited to present topics in operations research. We have been privileged to have speakers from business and industry as well as from academia throughout the years. For a list of past distinguished speakers and their seminar topics, please visit our Seminar Archives.
ORC Fall Seminar Series
Seminar reception immediately following the talk.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/orc/www/seminars/seminars.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Operations Research Center
For more information, contact:
Shi Cong, Shubham Gupta or Wei Sun
617-253-6185
shicong@mit.edu, shubhamg@mit.edu, sunwei@mit.edu
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
Sloan Automotive Laboratory FALL 2011 SEMINAR SERIES
Speaker: Morgan Andreae, Cummins, Inc., MIT Alum 2006
Time: 4:15p–5:30p
Location: MIT Building 37-212
Sloan Automotive Laboratory FALL 2011 SEMINAR SERIES
Seminars on topics related to engines, fuels, vehicle behavior, broader transportation energy questions presented by graduate students, faculty, researchers, and special guest speakers of Sloan Automotive Laboratory.
Topic: Technology Development at Cummins to Reduce Fuel Consumption: High Efficiency Clean Combustion, Waste Heat Recovery, and SuperTruck
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/sloan-auto-lab/seminars/thisweekseminar.pdf
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Mechanical Engineering Dept.
For more information, contact:
Janet Maslow
617-253-4529
jsabio@mit.edu
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Thursday, September 22, 2011
MIT Communications Forum: Local News in the Digital Age
Speaker: Callie Crossley, WGBH; David Dahl, Boston Globe; Adam Gaffin, Universal Hub; Dan Kennedy moderates
Time: 5:00p–7:00p
Location: MIT Building E15-070, Bartos Thetear (E15-070)
Is local news a casualty of the digital age? A recent report from the Federal Communications Commission suggests that although the broad media landscape is more vibrant than ever, many state and local communities face a shortage of professional reporting, undermining journalism's watchdog role at the local level. This Forum will assess the state of local journalism, paying special attention to the changing environment for news in New England. Our speakers, drawn from traditional as well as online media, include Callie Crossley, host of her own talk show on WGBH; David Dahl, who oversees local news initiatives for the Boston Globe; and Adam Gaffin of the online news site Universal Hub. Dan Kennedy, a media analyst who teaches at Northeastern University, will moderate the discussion.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Communications Forum
For more information, contact:
Brad Seawell
617-253-3521
seawell@mit.edu
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Rags, Bones, and Plastic Bags: Trash in Industrial America
WHEN Thu., Sep. 22, 2011, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) Susan Strasser, Richards Professor of American History, University of Delaware
COST Free
CONTACT INFO 617.496.1027
LINK http://www.peabody.harvard.edu
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Join us for the Greater Boston Slow Money Entrepreneur Showcase!
Thursday, September 22
6pm – 9pm
Non-Profit Center
89 South Street, Boston
South Street Conference Center
We will be bringing together investors, sustainable food entrepreneurs and leaders working together to rebuild our local food system. Learn about investment opportunities and how you can participate in rebuilding local economies based on the principles of soil fertility, sense of place, care of the commons and economic, cultural and biological diversity.
For investors: The Entrepreneur Showcase will provide access to sustainable food and farming businesses at different stages of development from start-up to expansion of existing businesses. The businesses and initiatives are also seeking different levels of financing — from small loans to major capital, as well as donations. Greater Boston Slow Money encourages investors of all resource levels to attend including institutional, individual, accredited, and unaccredited investors. This showcase event is not an offer to sell securities or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
For Entrepreneurs: The Showcase is a tightly produced event. Each entrepreneur will have five minutes and 6 slides to tell their stories, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A from the audience. Presenters will also benefit from the networking opportunity specifically designed to encourage and elevate investor dialog. Throughout the event, your collateral will be available for attendees, and you will be mentioned in all promotional materials for the event.
The Entrepreneur Showcase offers all the advantages of a traditional venture fair and many more. Because of the shared vision that brings us all together, it is an unparalleled opportunity for you to build relationships with investors and entrepreneurs from all over the region. We are confident that, if chosen to participate, you will have opportunities to make important connections that add value to your enterprise.
Given the relatively short time horizon, please submit your application no later than Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Demand for participation in the Showcase is high; spots will fill up.
To apply: send an email to gbslowmoney@gmail.com and we will send you the application. It is free to apply, but costs $25 to present and take advantage of this exciting opportunity.
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Energy Discussions: Implications of Biofuel Sources
September 22, 2011 6:00p–7:00p
Biofuels--liquid fuels synthesized from new organic materials--have the possibility of replacing some or all of the overwhelming majority of today's transportation fuel that currently comes from oil. However, the economics, technical challenges, and environmental implications vary widely for different plant sources and refining technologies. For example, corn refined through a biochemical process might have a very different role in our society and economy than stover treated through a thermochemical process.
Join members of the MIT Energy Club coming from chemical engineering, climate, and policy backgrounds for a round-table discussion of the costs and benefits of different biofuel options.
If you were not able to attend last week's Biofuels 101 presentation, please follow the links on the Energy Club website for background information about biofuels and biorefining.
Category: MIT events/clubs: interest clubs/groups
Speaker: Mark Wright
Location: MIT Building 56-191
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club
Admission:
Open to the public
Contact Rebecca Dell
rwdell (at) mit.edu
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series
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Friday, September 23, 2011
Comic Book Fair "Release Your Inner SuperHero"
Time: 9:00a–4:00p
Location: MIT, Building 10-105
A day-long celebration of pop culture art and helping others! Featuring Archie Comics, Geppi's Entertainment Museum and orginal art work by local web-artist Michael "Mookie" Terracciano (Dominic-Deegan.com) and MIT students and staff. A portion of sales will benefit the MIT Community Service Fund.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/COMMUNITY-GIVING/events.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Tickets: N/A
Sponsor(s): Community Giving at MIT, MIT Community Services
For more information, contact:
Traci Swartz
(617) 253-5507
tswartz@mit.edu
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Friday, September 23, 2011
The American Supermarket and the Cold War "Farms Race"
Speaker: Shane Hamilton, History Department, University of Georgia
Time: 2:30p–4:30p
Location: MIT, Building E51-095
Seminar on Environmental and Agricultural History
The supermarket was a key point of contestation in the Cold War era "farms race." From the late 1940s onward, the United States and the Soviet Union vied to demonstrate to the world that their contrasting approaches to industrial agriculture were better suited to providing consumers with food abundance. This "farms race" framed the efforts of key American policymakers and non-governmental organizations, such as Nelson A. Rockefeller's International Basic Economy Corporation, to export the American supermarket and its attendant system of capitalist industrial agriculture as a means of waging an economic and propaganda war against socialism.
Web site:http://web.mit.edu/history/www/nande/modTimes%202011-2012.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): History Office
For more information, contact:
Margo Collett
253-4965
history-info@mit.edu
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Waltham Farm Day
Saturday, September 24th 2pm-5pm
Waltham Fields Community Farm
240 Beaver St., Waltham
RAIN OR SHINE!
Waltham Fields Community Farm will be hosting Waltham Farm Day on Saturday, September 24 from 2pm-5pm in celebration of the 5th Annual Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week and the Let’s Move Waltham initiative. Waltham Farm Day is a free eventand all are welcome to come out for an afternoon of family-friendly volunteering, educational activities, and harvest-time fun! Ongoing activities will include cider-pressing, live music by Royer’s One Man Band, a demonstration of techniques for cooking healthy meals with farm-fresh produce presented by Healthy Waltham, chicken and bee activities hosted by the Waltham 4-H Clubs, and a variety of games, art projects and gardening activities for children and adults.
The City of Waltham Mayor’s Office is sponsoring a free shuttle service which will be available to transport event attendees from Waltham Common (right across from the train station) to the farm starting at 2pm.
We hope you can join us for some harvest-time fun!!
Sincerely,
Ms.Jericho Bicknell
Education and Volunteer Coordinator
Waltham Fields Community Farm
240 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452
(781) 899-2403 ext.2
www.communityfarms.org
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Meet Up in Cambridge for Moving New England Parade and Rally
On Saturday, Sept. 24, come to the – Moving Planet – march and rally in Boston calling on our elected leaders, businesses and communities to get serious about moving beyond fossil fuels. Join one of the contingents leaving Cambridge to march together in Boston.
Moving Planet is part of a worldwide day of events spearheaded by 350.org.
•Walkers meet in front of Cambridge City Hall at 1:45.
•Bicyclists meet at the First Parish Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square at 2:30.
•T-riders, the Cambridge T-parties, meet at Alewife (east entrance), Porter (plaza), Harvard (Church St. & Mass. Ave.), and Central (Mass. Ave. & Western) at 2:15.
•Canoers and kayakers will leave earlier from Kendall Square. Email ethork@ix.netcom.com for more info.
Bring your ideas and vision for solutions. (Banners and art are encouraged). Above all, bring yourself.
More info about
Cambridge at www.cceag.org or email to info@cceag.org, the Boston rally at www.moving-newengland.org, global efforts at www.350.org.
Editorial Comment: I'll be part of the biking contingent. If I get it finished in time, I'll be riding my three generator bike with a generating hub, a wheel-rub generator, and a magnet generator on the spokes.
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Sunday, September 25, 2011
OrigaMIT Meeting
Time: 3:00p–5:00p
Location: MIT, Building W20-491
Weekly meeting of the MIT Origami Club, OrigaMIT
Web site: http://origamit.scripts.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
This event occurs on Sundays through December 11, 2011, except October 16, 2011, November 6, 2011, September 11, 2011, September 18, 2011, November 20, 2011 and November 13, 2011.
Sponsor(s): Origamit
For more information, contact:
Jason Ku
origami-info@mit.edu
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Upcoming
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Cambridge Community Center Winter Market
Cambridge's first Winter Market is coming to the Cambridge Community Center. The market is expected to run every Saturday from January 7th to April 28th 2012. The market will take place inside the gym of the community center. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with setup and breakdown of the market.
We are also holding advisory committee meetings where we will be discussing the details of the market.
The first meeting will take place on September 27th 2011.
If you would like to attend please request an invitation by emailing Jose Mendez the Director of Marketing and Outreachatjosem@cambridgecommunitycenter.org.
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"Creating More Sustainable Suburbs: Lessons from Around the World"
A Conversation with Paul Lukez
Tuesday, September 27, 7:30pm
Arlington High Learning Commons, 869 Massachusetts Avenue
Organized by Sustainable Arlington in collaboration with Arlington Community Education
Across the globe, suburbia and its by-products have evolved into a complex array of urban conditions that consume an ever-increasing portion of our landscape and resources. What can be done to make the modern metropolis more sustainable? Based on his research in the US, China and Europe, architect Paul Lukez will discuss new models for building more sustainable environments and consider how they apply to Arlington and other local communities.
Paul Lukez is the author of Suburban Transformations and the forthcoming Transforming the Mid-Polis.
This event is the first in Arlington Community Ed’s Tuesday Night Conversation series moderated by Fortune magazine editor-at-large David Whitford.
Admission is $5. Advance registration is recommended. For registration information use this link
and use CODE: TC001, or call 781 316-3568.
For additional Arlington Community Education class offerings, visit http://arlingtoncommunityed.org/index.php.
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The 3rd annual Massachusetts Green Career Conference will be held September 30th, 2011.
Holiday Inn, Marlborough, MA
Join us to learn what's new! Register @ http://greencareer.eventbrite.com.
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September 30
8:30 am
TROMP Tutorial with Green Streets Walk/Ride Day,
Kennedy/Longfellow School, 158 Spring Street, Cambridge
http://www.trompcambridge.com
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HONK!
SIXTH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ACTIVIST STREET BANDS
September 30 – October 3
events based in Davis Square, Somerville, Harvard Square, Cambridge, & Boston Harbor
ALMOST ALL EVENTS FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE [THE FRIDAY NIGHT KICKOFF & SUNDAY NIGHT BOAT CRUISE ARE VERY AFFORDABLE!]
HONK!: the worthy craze sweeping the nation – from Boston to Providence to Brooklyn to Austin to Seattle -- and every Fall back to Boston, with HONK! bands migrating from far and near, descending upon the HONK! epicenter, where festival participants (including the audience) can gaggle, gander, and generate the gregarious racket that signifies the HONK! experience.
The HONK! phenomenon was born 6 years ago in Davis Square spurred on by a need of a certain species of street band to congregate and celebrate their social activist side. HONK! lets the good times roll while being ever mindful that some bad times need fixing. HONK! believes that street-wise music can be the agent of change for the better. HONK! is the universal tongue for hey-wake-up-and-pay-attention!
This year there will be honk-like opportunities galore with outdoor band concerts in Davis, spilling over into Harvard Square and surrounding neighborhoods, and for the first time ever, splashing out into the Boston Harbor. Rain or shine from September 30 through October 3, HONK! will release its clarion call throughout the Boston-area – a call to wage peace, harmony, and just plain fun.
The confirmed HONK! band count is currently almost 30, with one to two new ones being added weekly. But when the final count is in, there’ll still be plenty of chances for folks to jump in at the last minute and join the merry fray. For example, individual musicians not connected to any particular HONK! band are invited to participate on Sunday, October 2nd, in the impromptu “community band” which will be part of the gigantic HONK! Parade to Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes and Feet.
Take note that in previous years HONK! has been held on Columbus Day weekend, but due to the 2011 dates conflicting with Yom Kippur, the festival has been scheduled a week earlier. Festival updates can be found at www.honkfest.org, http://twitter.com/honkfest, and www.facebook.com/honkfestival, or by calling 617-383-HONK (4665).
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HEET is organizing a workshop on reducing energy bills in larger buildings on Oct. 1st. It's being run by Marc Rosenbaum, an award-winning building systems analyst, and sponsored by Mass. Interfaith Power and Light. People-in-the-know murmur Rosenbaum's name with awe. Paul Eldrenkamp of Byggmeister fame will moderate.
The workshop will take place in the First Church in Cambridge, a large historical building being used in a wide variety of ways such as a homeless shelter, childcare center and office space.
During the workshop we will be guided through the church to examine its problems, then in small groups design a longterm plan going forward to reduce the church's energy use. Rosenbaum will comment on each of the plans to help us learn.
We're assembling a star-studded cast of guides to teach folks about how the building systems work and what can help.
We will also have a NSTAR representative explain available rebates, and the president of New Generation Energy talk about a great new financing mechanism for raising money through a community for energy efficiency.
We want to leave people with the practical knowledge about buildings and financing to reduce their building's energy use.
The workshop itself is on Sat. Oct 1st from 9 am to 5 pm. Lunch will be provided and the cost is only $75. Normally Rosenbaum's classes cost 3 times that.
Here's more info https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OVgK56hrB7m2roHQ2KW9cUysRnbMzJNi5e1HCf_rueI/edit?hl=en_US, and the sign up formhttps://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dDljTHE3V0VGcnFEWWZlU3pTTGtVUXc6MQ#gid=0
Please post the info wherever you can or mention it to all who might be interested. I think it will be a very helpful workshop.
We only have room for 100 attendees, so people might want to sign up soon.
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ENDING THE ENDLESS WARS AND OCCUPATIONS
Saturday, October 1, 2011 9am to 5pm Suffolk University, Boston
Register Online Now!
Keynote speaker
NOAM CHOMSKY
2011 from Egypt to Libya: Triumph and Turmoil in the Arab world
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The Conference
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Fall 2011 marks ten years since 9/11, the War on Terror, the Afghanistan War, and the founding of UJP. The US/NATO bombing of Libya is the latest in the
series of wars. Domestically, greed is rampant and serious problems are getting worse. Few peace and justice activists can remember a more troubling time.
How did we get here and how can we change things?
What can we learn from the historic events in Egypt, where the people triumphed against huge odds, and the workers of Wisconsin?
How can the peace movement continue its work to end the wars and cut the military budget while also building cooperation with the economic and racial
justice movements?
We want a peaceful foreign policy based on democracy to focus on the pressing economic and human problems that must be solved.
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Featuring Presentations by:
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Kathy Kelly
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Report from Afghanistan and Iraq
Ann Wright
former U.S. Army Colonel
Report on the Gaza Flotilla and Palestine
Michael McPhearson
National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice
Connecting to the War at Home
Will Hopkins
Iraq Veterans Against the War and New Hampshire Peace Action
The crisis and youth today
Max Elbaum
War Times/Tiempo de Guerras
Fighting for Peace Against an Empire in Decline
Patricia Montes
Centro Presente
How the wars affect immigrant rights at home
Registration Fee: $15, includes morning coffee and pastry. Free for Suffolk University students and faculty with ID. ?No one turned away.
Register online at http://justicewithpeace.org/ten-years-after-registration
Lunch: $10 - pizza, salad and drink, served in Donahua Building cafeteria.
Directions: Take the T to Park Street or Government Center.
Suffolk University, Donahue Building, 41 Temple St.
Do not confuse Temple Street with Temple Place.
Registration opens at 9am at the Donahue Building, 41 Temple St.
Sessions will be held in Donahue and in the C. Walsh Theatre next door.
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The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future public hearing
October 12, 2011
Harvard Medical School Conference Center, 77 Louis Pasteur, Longwood, Boston, MA
BRC Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy http://www.brc.gov
The Blue Ribbon Commission On America’s Nuclear Future is a Presidentially-mandated group composed of 16 people to make recommendations for national radioactive waste policy. The record of the work the Commission has done over the last year--available on-line in video form, transcript, written testimony, and public comments all posted at http://www.brc.gov
These additional meetings in September and October are to collect public comments on the Commission's draft recommendations. The full draft report is available here: http://www.brc.gov/index.php?q=announcement/brc-releases-their-draft-full-commission-report
The Commission website states: All public are welcome to attend. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged but not required. Information about registration will be available in the near future. The meetings will not be video webcast. Transcripts of the meetings will be available on the website, along with all written comments anyone chooses to offer. Comments can either be made directly to the website at www.brc.gov or by email to:CommissionDFO@nuclear.energy.govand via US postal mail:
Mr. Timothy A. Frazier
Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20585
Comment deadline is October 31, 2011. NIRS will share a more complete set of comments for sign-on in October.
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Opportunity
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AC Swap – The Cambridge Energy Alliance’s window air conditioner swap program is in progress. Residents can obtain a voucher for $125 if they swap an inefficient window AC unit for an Energy Star rated model This is a limited time offer. Go to the CEA website for participation details:http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/a-c-swap
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Free Solar Panels for Houses of Worship
From a recent Mass Interfaith Power & Light (http://mipandl.org/) email
"We've recently been talking with DCS Energy (http://www.dcsenergy.com/) who has an unbeatable offer: if your site qualifies, they design and install the panels at no cost, don't charge you for any electricity, and donate the system to your house of worship after five years. Your only costs will be for a building permit, possibly a structural engineer to verify that your roof can support their weight, and any preparatory work such as roof work or tree removal. If solar panels are so expensive how can anyone give them away for free? First, there is a federal grant program that is only available until November that pays for 30% of the cost of the system. Then there is an accelerated depreciation option that gives certain kinds of investors another tax advantage. Finally, the state awards a special allowance called a "Solar Renewal Energy Credit" (SRECs) to owners of solar electricity systems which are sold at auctions to utilities who buy them to meet their requirements under the Massachusetts' renewable portfolio standard. DCS is betting that the price of these SRECs will remain high. Jim Nail, president of MA IP&L, has talked to DCS Energy and is currently having them prepare a proposal for his church, St. Dunstan's Episcopal in Dover. Jim says, "The references I've talked to have been quite positive about the program and the company has been very responsive. "If you think your site might qualify, contact Peter Carli, pete@dcsenergy.com, with the address of your house of worship and your contact information. He'll take a preliminary look at your site and advise you if it meets their criteria."
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Young World Inventors Success!
Young World Inventors (http://yinventors.wordpress.com/) finished their Kickstarter campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1036325713/youngworldinventorscom) to fund insider web stories of African and American innovators in collaboration successfully.
New contributions, however, will be accepted.
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What you need to know: The Staples Youth Social Entrepreneur (YSE) Competition is a global competition created by Staples Foundation and Ashoka to recognize exceptional young people using innovation and technology to advance social change and improve their community and the world.
Who’s eligible?: Young people (age 12-24), living anywhere in the world, are eligible to apply.
Dates and details: Apply online between June 22 and September 19, 2011.
For more information: http://ashokayouthcompetition.org/
--
Laura Sampath
MIT International Development Initiative
77 Mass Ave, 10-110
Cambridge MA 02139
617.253.7052
Sign up for the 2011 Yunus Challenge Facebook page: yunus2011@groups.facebook.com
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Resource
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Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as being at least partially caused by human pollution. Only 42% of the state’s residents say global warming will have very serious consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused by humans compared to the 60+ age group. African-American (56%) and Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left unaddressed. The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge: What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent-challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.
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The presentations from the recent Affordable Comfort National Home Performance Conference are available online at
http://2011.acinational.org/downloadable_resources
Lots of good information from what some call the best energy conference in the USA on Deep Energy Retrofits to Community Energy Challenges with details on insulation, heat flow, energy metering, ducting, hot water, and many, many other topics. If you are a practical energy wonk, this should make your eyes light up.
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations http://thesprouts.org/studios
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@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://fhapgood.fastmail.fm/site02.html
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://sustainability.mit.edu/
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://pechakuchaboston.org/blog/
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
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