Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston area that catch the editor's eye.
Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com is the web version.
If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke@world.std.com
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Fukushima Nuclear Accident Reports: Civil Engineering and Nuclear Engineering
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/08/1024327/-Fukushima-Nuclear-Accident-Reports:-Civil-Engineering-and-Nuclear-Engineering
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The Boston Wikipedia Meetup Group Monthly Meetup
Monday, October 10, 2011, 7:00 PM
Clover Food Lab, 7 Holyoke St., Cambridge, MA (map)
Eating, drinking, science, art, and Wikipedia.
Discussion of future speakers, Wikiversity, regional Wikipedia Ambassador efforts, and collabs with Boston-area libraries and museums.
Register at http://www.meetup.com/wikipedia-5/events/32346212/
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Gelation
José Andrés (ThinkFoodGroup, minibar, Jaleo)
When: Oct 10, 2011
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Harvard Science Center B, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Speaker Biography:
José Andrés is a native of Spain and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup, the team responsible for Washington’s popular and award-winning dining concepts Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlantico and the critically-acclaimed minibar by josé andrés, as well as Los Angeles’ exciting destination, The Bazaar by José Andrés, part of the SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills. ThinkFoodGroup oversees all of José’s creative endeavors such as cookbooks, television programming, concept consulting and project development.
Host: Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Contact: Christina Andujar
candujar@seas.harvard.edu
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International Organizations and Information: Intervening Between the Causes and Effects of Nuclear Proliferation
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
WHERE Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S) Robert L. Brown, Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch@harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5601/international_organizations_and_information.html
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Tuesday, October 11, 12 p.m.
"Haunting Legacy: How a Lost War Still Influences White House War Policy."
Speaker Series with Marvin Kalb, founding director of the Joan Shorenstein Center and author of Haunting Legacy with Deborah Kalb. Co-sponsored with the Belfer Center on Science and International Affairs.
Taubman 275, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
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Almost Wikipedia: What Eight Collaborative Encyclopedia Projects Reveal About Mechanisms of Collective Action
Tuesday, October 11
12:30pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, Cambridge, MA. This event will be webcast live and archived:
From Benjamin Mako Hill: I'm going to present some preliminary findings from a qualitative, inductive, case-study based analysis of 8 early projects to create online collaborative encyclopedias. It's quite likely that the only project in my dataset that you've heard of is Wikipedia. I'm am still finishing interviews but I'm hoping I can use feedback from the group to help frame the work going forward. My initial results are based on data from 8 projects -- the full population -- in the form of interviews of the projects' founders and extensive archival data. My findings are a set of propositions focused on suggesting why Wikipedia succeeded in attracting contributors while the other projects did so less effectively. In a follow-up project, I'm hoping to test these in a quantitative dataset I've been building. The project is part of a larger research project that attempts to use failure cases to understand why some attempts at online collective action are successful while most never take off. Benjamin Mako Hill is an scholar, activist, and consultant working on issues of technology and society. He is currently a researcher and PhD Candidate in a joint program between the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Media Lab, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and a Research Fellow at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.
RSVP Required> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/makohill#RSVP
More information on our website> http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2011/10/makohill
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In operationalizing sustainability, a primary challenge is in removing barriers to energy efficiency. A range of companies and institutions have done this successfully and realized dramatic savings.
October Growing GIBN Conversation
Removing Barriers to Energy Efficiency
Date: October 11, 2011
Time: 2pm ET
Call-in information: (760) 569-9000, Code: 160031#
Please join us by sending your RSVP to info@digin.org
Sitar Mody from Environmental Defense Fund will kick off a conversation about how companies can reap immediate rewards through energy efficiency. She will share the latest results, and highlight useful case studies, from EDF's Climate Corps program. This past summer, Climate Corps worked with 78 companies, cities and universities around the country and uncovered efficiencies in lighting, computer equipment, and heating and cooling systems that could:
Cut 600 million kilowatt hours of electricity use and 27 million therms of natural gasannually, equivalent to the annual energy use of 38,000 homes;
Avoid 440,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the annual emissions of 87,000 passenger vehicles; and
Save $650 million in net operational costs over the project lifetimes.
We look forward to your participation in our conversation!
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For the Common Defense — A Study Group for American Military Affairs: Closing the Gap Between Military and Civilian Understanding
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 4:10 – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE Belfer Library, Littauer 369, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Support/Social
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR HKS Armed Forces Committee
SPEAKER(S) Charlie Lewis, captain, U.S. Army
COST Free
NOTE A weekly study group led by active duty members and veterans, to bridge the gap in understanding between civilian and military spheres. No military experience required; the less you know, the more we encourage you to attend!
This week, U.S. Army Capt. Charlie Lewis will discuss the Army's operational approach to land warfare and some of the principles that influence this approach.
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Biodiversity, Ecology, & Global Change: “Catchers in the Rye: Ecology, Society, and Climate Change”
WHEN Tue., Oct. 11, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE Biolabs Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Josh Tewksbury, Walker Professor of Natural History, Department of Biology, University of Washington.
CONTACT INFO Lisa Matthews: matthew@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE The talk will discuss links between ecosystem conditions and human health, security, and well-being, primarily focusing on the impacts of climate change, at scales ranging from thermal physiology of insects to global food security. The research described will provide an example of the importance of broad collaborative frameworks that are often needed for ecology to influence policy.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-10-11/biodiversity-ecology-global-change-“catchers-rye-ecology-society-and-climate-chang
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The Birth of the Risk Economy. Futures Trading in the 19th and 20th Centuries
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE Cabot Room, Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Visiting Scholars Seminar: New Research on Europe, Center for European Studies
SPEAKER(S) Alexander Engel, Kennedy Fellow, Center for European Studies
COST Free
CONTACT INFO Arthur Goldhammer: art.goldhammer@gmail.com
LINK http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/studygroups/sg26.html
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October 12, 2011
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future public hearing
BRC Draft Report to the Secretary of Energy http://www.brc.gov
Registration will open at 7:30 am and the meeting will begin at 8:00 am and end at 5:00 pm.
Harvard Medical School Conference Center, 77 Louis Pasteur, Longwood, Boston, MA
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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A World of 7 Billion: Matters Arising
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 4 – 5:15 p.m.
WHERE Pop Center, 9 Bow Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies
SPEAKER(S) Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director, United Nations Population Fund
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Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy: On Welfare Frameworks and Catastrophic Climate Risks
WHEN Wed., Oct. 12, 2011, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Kennedy School Room Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Environmental Sciences
SPEAKER(S) Antony Millner
LINK http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k82245&pageid=icb.page443881
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
4 p.m.
BU, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 211, Boston
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m.
Context Aware Wireless Networks: A Physical Layer Perspective
Professor Behnaam Aazhang
The recent surge in wireless data usage has demonstrated one important fact – our networks are not ready for application-rich mobile Internet. All of our current wireless architectures, including Wi-Fi and cellular, are based on interference avoidance that advocates eliminating simultaneous transmissions to avoid collisions at the receivers. In contrast, if neighboring nodes pool their resources and cooperate in their signal transmissions, the network could turn interference to its advantage for a potentially large increase in network capacity. In this presentation, Professor Aazhang will propose a paradigm in which nodes cooperate by pooling power and bandwidth resources and where flows interact opportunistically to avoid interference and increase network utilization. In particular, he will explore location information and network awareness to develop access strategies to significantly increase spectral and power efficiencies of the network. This
presentation is targeted to an audience with a broad range of expertise and background.
For more information:
www.bu.edu/ece/distinguished-lectures
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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Legatum Lecture: Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles of Practical Leadership
Speaker: Ruma Bose
Time: 5:00p–6:30p
Location: MIT, Building 32-155, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Spiritual leader and CEO?
Join us October 12th to learn how you can apply the leadership style of this great humanitarian- no sainthood required.
Web site: http://legatum.mit.edu/content/1103
Open to: the general public
Cost: none
Sponsor(s): Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship
For more information, contact:
Agnes Hunsicker
617-324-2768
agnesh@mit.edu
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Nuclear Power Plant Exporters' Principles of Conduct: Evolution, Status, and Prospects
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 10 – 11:45 a.m.
WHERE Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, Harvard Kennedy School
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Project on Managing the Atom
SPEAKER(S) Ariel Levite, senior associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
CONTACT INFO susan_lynch@harvard.edu
LINK http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/5605/nuclear_power_plant_exporters_principles_of_conduct.html
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Brazil Studies Program Seminar: Membrane Technology for Coping with Water Problems in Brazil’s Megacities
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 12 – 2 p.m.
WHERE CGIS South, S-050, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
SPEAKER(S) José Carlos Mierzwa, associate professor of environmental engineering and water treatment, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo; visiting scholar, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
CONTACT INFO brazil@fas.harvard.edu
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
3:30 PM Refreshments in CAS 500, 4:00 PM Talk
BU, 725 Commonwealth Ave. CAS 502, Boston
The Number of Terrestrial-Size, Habitable-Zone Planets as Projected from Kepler Mission Transits
Wesley Traub, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Data from Kepler’s first 136 days of operation are analyzed to determine the distribution of exoplanets with respect to radius, period, and host-star spectral type. The analysis is extrapolated to estimate the percentage of terrestrial, habitable-zone exoplanets. The Kepler census is assumed to be complete for bright stars (magnitude brighter than 14.0) having transiting planets of size greater than 0.5 Earth radius and periods less than 42 days. It is also assumed that the size distribution of planets is independent of orbital period, and that there are no hidden biases in the data. Six significant statistical results are found: there is a paucity of small planet detections around faint target stars, probably an instrumental effect; the frequency of mid-size planet detections is independent of whether the host star is bright or faint; there are significantly fewer planets detected with periods less than 3 days, compared to longer periods, almost certainly an astrophysical effect; the frequency of all planets in the population with periods less than 42 days is 29%, broken down as terrestrials 9%, ice giants 18%, and gas giants 3%; the population has a planet frequency with respect to period which follows a power-law relation dN/dln(P) = A*P^\beta , with \beta = 0.71 +/- 0.08; and an extrapolation to longer periods gives the frequency of terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of FGK stars as eta-sub-Earth = 34 +/- 14%. Thus about one-third of FGK stars are predicted to have at least one terrestrial, habitable-zone planet.
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The Global Economy, Leadership Gap and the G20
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
WHERE Belfer Case Study Room (S020), CGIS South Bld., 1730 Cambridge St.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The SBS Endowment at the Korea Institute, Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) SaKong Il, chairman of Korea International Trade Association (KITA), former chairman, Korea’s Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit, former finance minister of Korea
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO dmironen@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE Public reception to follow
LINK http://korea.fas.harvard.edu/events
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Thursday, October 13
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
MassDevelopment, 33 Andrews Parkway, Devens, MA
Zero Net Energy Housing Workshop
A review of building techniques for high energy-efficient homes that produce as much energy as they consume. Enjoy a tour of Zero Net Energy homes already under construction in Devens and engage in a question and answer period with Carter Scott, one of the state's pre-eminent sustainable developers.
There is no cost to attend but space is limited. To register, contact scorbeil@massdevelopment.com
Editorial Comment: Carter Scott does great work and is well worth hearing.
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Future of Energy: "The Development of Liquid Fuels from Lignocellulose"
WHEN Thu., Oct. 13, 2011, 5 p.m.
WHERE Science Center D, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard University Center for the Environment
SPEAKER(S) Chris Somerville, director of the Energy Biosciences Institute; professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley; and visiting scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
NOTE The efficient production of cellulosic fuels by biochemical routes will require innovation in three main areas: sustainable production of feedstocks that do not compete with food production, depolymerization of feedstocks, and conversion of feedstocks to liquid fuels.
LINK http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2011-10-13/future-energy-development-liquid-fuels-lignocellulose
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
Energy Discussions: The Politics of Renewable Energy
Speaker: Leah Stokes
Time: 6:00p–7:00p
Location: MIT, Building 4-153, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Because of climate change, we need to create a carbon free energy system over the coming century. Although we usually think of this transformation as a technical challenge, it is also a political issue. The politics play out at every scale, from government decisions to local acceptance. In this discussion, we will look at some theories of innovation and socio-technical transformation and some specific cases in Europe and the United States. One relevant case that has recently been in the news is the government funding received by the solar energy company Solyndra and the related issues of political acceptance of climate change.
Join members of the MIT Energy Club for a roundtable discussion on the politics of renewable energy.
Please prepare for the discussion by reading the articles on te event webpage:
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series
A light dinner will be served.
Web site: http://www.mitenergyclub.org/events-and-programs/discussion-series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Energy Club
For more information, contact:
Rebecca Dell
rwdell(at)mit(dot)edu
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October 13th
BASEA Forum: Ken Ward, Apeiron Institute/350.org
A reception begins at 7:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 7:30 p.m.
1st Parish Unitarian Church, #3 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
http://www.basea.org
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Molecules, Movement, and Motors
Fri, 2011-10-14
http://www.radcliffe.edu
Radcliffe Gymnasium 10 Garden Street, Radcliffe Yard Cambridge, Massachusetts
Registration is required and opens on September 7.
This all-day event is free and open to the public.
The symposium will bring together experts in genetics, chemistry, biology, physics, medicine, and engineering to discuss the mechanics of motors—from naturally occurring motors, such as those inside cells, to new synthetic motors made from DNA. The exploration about how motors work and what we can learn from studying them will address an array of questions: Are motors specific for a single task, or can they adapt to multiple functions? What makes motors start and stop moving? What are common features that make an effective motor? How can we build on new understandings of motors to cure disease and make other improvements to human life?
Speakers
Anna Christina Balazs
Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Robert Von der Luft Professor
University of Pittsburgh
Steven M. Block
Stanford W. Ascherman, M.D., Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and Biology and Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at Freeman Spogli Institute
Stanford University
Susan K. Dutcher
Professor and Interim Head, Genetics, Cell Biology and Physiology
Washington University in St. Louis
Larry Goldstein
Distinguished Professor, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine; Director, UC San Diego Stem Cell Program; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
University of California at San Diego
Ayusman Sen
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
Pennsylvania State University
James A. Spudich
Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascular Disease
Stanford University
Viola Vogel
Professor in the Department of Materials and Head of the Laboratory for Biologically Oriented Materials
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)
For more information, please visit www.radcliffe.edu or call 617-495-8600.
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Friday, October 14
25th Anniversary Celebration of the Shorenstein Center
Nye Conference Center, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
All meals are by invitation only.
9 a.m. Welcome: Alex S. Jones
Conversations
9:15–10:15 a.m. Ken Auletta (Annals of Communications columns, The New Yorker) and Vivek Kundra (Former U.S. Chief Information Officer)
10:15–11:15 a.m. Xeni Jardin (founding partner and co-editor of the blog Boing Boing) and Miles O'Brien (science correspondent, PBS NewsHour)
11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Steve Grove (Head of News and Politics, YouTube) and Anne Marie Slaughter (Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University)
12:30–1:45 p.m. Richard Salant Lecture on Freedom of the Presswith lunchtime speaker Clay Shirky (Professor of New Media, New York University)
2–3 p.m. Rebecca MacKinnon (senior fellow, New America Foundation) and Abderrahim Foukara (Washington bureau chief, Al Jazeera)
3–4 p.m. David Carr (columnist and reporter, The New York Times) and Danah Boyd (senior researcher, Microsoft Research)
4–5 p.m. Dan Okrent (writer and editor) and Adam Moss (editor-in-chief, New York magazine)
5–10 p.m. HKS and Harvard Anniversary Celebration
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Oct 14, 2011
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Where: Pierce 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Black Carbon, Snow and Climate: A Perspective from the Field
Sarah Doherty , Research Scientist, University of Washington
Speaker Biography: http://jisao.washington.edu/research/bios/doherty_sarah.html
Contact: Brenda Mathieu
bmathieu@seas.harvard.edu 495-5745
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Undergraduate Poster Session: Energy Projects
October 14, 2011 1:00p–3:00p
Join the MIT Energy Club and the MIT Energy Initiative for a poster session focused on undergraduate energy projects. The event will give you a window into the world of undergraduate energy research and the opportunity to discuss projects with students from a variety of departments and disciplines.
Category: lectures/conferences
Location: 32 TMSC Lobby, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club, MIT Energy Initiative
Admission: Open to the public
Contact Christie Ko
617-253-3478
cko@mit.edu
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Friday, October 14, 2011
FRONTIERS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY LECTURE: Development of liquid fuels from lignocellulose
Speaker: Chris Somerville, Energy Biosciences Institute, UC-Berkeley
Time: 3:00p–4:00p
Location: MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Frontiers of Biotechnology Lectureship
The Frontiers in Biotechnology Lectureship was established in 1999 through a generous donation from Dr. Noubar Afeyan to acknowledge the enabling technologies and developments that have sustained the growth of biotechnology and life sciences. Some of these include bioprocess engineering (upstream and downstream processes), bioanalytical developments, advanced and new instruments, novel delivery concepts, biomedical devices, rational drug design, computational methods, bioinformatics, and information technology. It is the intent of this Lectureship to recognize and honor achievements on the "frontiers of biotechnology" and the distinguished scientists and engineers responsible for them.
The efficient production of cellulosic fuels by biochemical routes will require innovation in three main areas: sustainable production of feedstocks that do not compete with food production, depolymerization of feedstocks, and conversion of feedstocks to liquid fuels. In this respect there is renewed interest in identifying plants that have optimal biomass accumulation and understanding the production issues associated with large-scale cultivation and sustainable harvesting of such species. Additionally, the importance of enhancing soil carbon and nutrient retention while minimizing inputs will require an integrated approach to the development of cellulosic energy crops.
The challenges on the processing side include the development of improved chemical or biological catalysts for polysaccharide and lignin depolymerization and conversion to fuels, the development of microbial strains that can convert a wide range of sugars to next generation fuels under harsh conditions, and numerous innovations in chemical engineering. There appear to be many different routes to improved processes for cellulosic fuels production. However, because of the interdependencies of elements of the overall path from biomass to liquid fuels, research on the design of optimized processes is at a preliminary stage of technical maturity.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cheme/news/seminar.html
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemical Engineering Department
For more information, contact:
Melanie Miller
617-253-6500
melmils@mit.edu
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Hands-on work to weatherize Spontaneous Celebrations in JP, a great organization!
Save the date: Oct 15th
BostonCAN is partnering with HEET again to organize a "barnraising." We won't be raising any barns at this neighborhood weatherization work day, but we will be helping a Jamaica Plain community anchor, Spontaneous Celebrations, to lighten its ecological footprint and save much needed funds for its wonderful programming, such as the Lantern Festival and Wake Up the Earth.
Barnraisings are great opportunities to get hands-on experience making old windows more weather-tight, air sealing in a basement, and weather-stripping doors. Both skilled and untrained volunteers are needed.
Contact Information
Boston Climate Action Network
857-544-6846
bostonclimateaction[at]gmail.com
http://bostoncan.org
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Saturday, October 15
25th Anniversary of Shorenstein Center
Nye Conference Center, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 5 Eliot Street, Cambridge
All meals are by invitation only.
10–11 a.m. Emily Bell (director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia Journalism School) and Joichi Ito (director, MIT Media Lab)
11 a.m.–12 p.m. Mark McKinnon (communications strategist) and Jim VandeHei (executive editor and co-founder, Politico)
12 p.m. Luncheon
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
Inside 150: Project Whirlwind, Sage, and Pioneering MIT Computer Projects
Speaker: Jay Forrester, Robert Everett, Deborah Douglas, John Durant
Time: 2:00p–4:00p
Location: MIT, Building N51, MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
MIT 150 Exhibition
In celebration of the MIT 150 Exhibition and MIT's 150th anniversary celebration the MIT Museum presents an ongoing series of public programs throughout 2011.
MIT's computer pioneers including Whirlwind leaders Jay Forrester and Robert Everett gather for an afternoon program about the design, development and impact of Project Whirlwind, the first real-time computer ever built. Deborah Douglas, MIT's Curator of Science and Technology, and Museum Director John Durant will convene an informal panel discussion with our honored guests at 2 pm followed by a special tour of the MIT 150 exhibition highlighting some of the museum's most treasured computing artifacts at 3 pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to poise their own questions to some of the people most responsible for the computer revolution that has transformed our world.
Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/programs/calendar.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: free with museum admission
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:
Josie Patterson
617-253-5927
museum@mit.edu
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Green Solutions Expo
Mon, 2011-10-17
11 am to 4 pm
http://greendecade.org/green-solutions-expo.html
Newton Centre Green & Wainwright Bank, Newton, MA
A Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce Expo with solutions you need to reduce your carbon footprint & over 60 exhibitors held under a big tent held from 11-5pm in Newton Centre during the Newton Harvest Fair. Continuous entertainment, food and games for the kids. Tips on how be more environmentally friendly and live a "green" life style.
See exhibitors with green products, services and ideas.
Come to our expert workshops every hour.
Find out how you can convert to solar electricity without paying thousands and reduce your electric bills.
Have a green lawn all summer without watering and only cut once a month.
These workshops and more will help you save money and the environment at the same time!
Green Life Style Workshops
Wainwright Bank Community Room, 1255 Centre Street, Newton centre
Green Life Style Workshops, conducted by subject matter experts, will be held every hour.
11:00
Solar Electric for Your Home
Find out how you can convert to solar electricity without paying thousands and reduce your electric bills.
12:00
Environmentally "Green" Lawns
Have a green lawn all summer without watering and only cut once a month.
1:00
"Green" Products for Your Home
Hear about all the new products to enhance your house interior that are durable, good for the environment and safely non-toxic.
2:00
To be announced
3:00
To be announced
4:00
To be announced
Registration: http://greendecade.org/green-solutions-registration.php
Space is limited so register on-line now to reserve your space. Registration is free and only takes a minute.
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Upcoming
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GreenPort Forum: The State of the Birds
With distinguished ornithologist Christopher Leahy. Chris holds the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He has been a professional conservationist for more than thirty-five years, most recently as the Director of Massachusetts Audubon’s Center for Biological Conservation.
We all know that climate change is real and that weather patterns have been more unpredictable than ever. How has climate change and other environmental changes impacted the types and behaviors of local and migrating birds? What can we expect as temperatures continue to warm? The birdlife of Massachusetts is exceptionally rich, containing both a great diversity of species and several populations of global significance. However, it is also clear that in recent decades, many Massachusetts bird populations have decreased significantly and continue to decline. These declines are occurring not just among our rarest species, but affect a broad spectrum of bird families in many habitats and include some of the most familiar and beloved birds of our backyards and countryside –birds that we tend to think of as common. Please join us for a presentation and discussion by one of the key authors of the just issued Mass Audubon report “The State of the Birds” - http://www.massaudubon.org/StateoftheBirds/.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church
459 Putnam Av, Cambrige
(corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)
GreenPort envisions and encourages a just and sustainable Cambridgeport neighborhood
For more information, contact Steve Morr-Wineman at swineman@gis.net
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Oct 21-23, 2011: Social Movements/Digital Revolutions - Conference for Organizers & Activists
SM/DR 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 discuss and debate some of the key issues facing creators and progressive organizers today.
The conference will kick off on Friday Oct. 21st at MIT Room 10-250 with a Town Hall Meeting on Media and Democracy. The event will feature an expert panel - including New York Times' Brian Stelter and Free Press' Craig Aaron - that will reflect on the future of journalism, media and democracy through the lens of the new documentary Page One.
With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. A number of clips from the film will be shown, each will be discussed by the panel in turn, then the floor will be turned over to the audience to help determine what this development means for our democracy - and for grassroots social movements working to revive it.
The conference proper will begin on Saturday Oct. 22nd at Lesley University's Doble Campus, and will feature panels focusing on our Social Movements/Digital Revolutions theme. The rest of the weekend will be filled out with a number of workshops on related topics and practical tutorials on social media and digital media.
From activists looking for an introduction to our crucial technologies to experience electronic campaigners, the conference will have many opportunities to learn and grow. It will also feature plenaries involving activists from Madison, WI, from England's student movement and Egypt's democracy movement; among our workshops will be sessions on Wikileaks and its local implementations, the use of Facebook to challenge deportations, hands-on privacy exercises, and the like.
Join in on October 21, 22 and 23!
Conference website: http://digitalmediaconference.org
Download conference flyers here: http://bit.ly/oLQdOu
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October 28, 2011
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: The Promise and Reality of "Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"
Raab Associates presents:
The 125th NE Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011
Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston, MA 02210
***Free and open to the public with no advanced registration***
October 28, 2011 Roundtable:
The Promise and Reality of
"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing"
"Smart Grid" and "Dynamic Pricing" are emerging nationally and locally here
in New England as "hot" topics. Smart grid at the distribution-to-customer interface promises a range of benefits, from better outage management, to energy savings from improved voltage modulation, to a variety of opportunities created by advanced metering. Dynamic pricing, which entails
a closer matching of rates to actual time-differentiated costs, runs the gamut from time-of-use rates to real-time pricing.
Our first panel is focused primarily on the broader smart grid issues. David O'Brien, former Commissioner of Vermont's Department of Public Service and current Director of Regulatory Strategy at BRIDGE Energy Group, will set the stage by defining smart grid and its various value propositions, and describing the mass deployment of advanced metering by utilities in Vermont. Arepresentative of Oklahoma Gas and Electric, recipient of one of the largest U.S. DOE Smart Grid Grants, will then describe its recent full-court press on installing a wide range of smart grid-related technologies and its pilot on dynamic pricing. Next, Doug Horton, Smart Grid Project Manager at NSTAR, and Cheri Warren,VP of Asset Management at National Grid, will describe theirrespective smart grid pilots. NSTAR's includes a program to integrate distributed resources into downtown networks, and another to test dynamic pricing using its existing AMR meters coupled with wireless communication. National Grid will share what it learned at its smart grid summit in Worcester in September, and provide a preview of its upcoming smart grid pilot.
Our second panel focuses in greater depth on national trends on dynamic pricing. Our lead off speaker, Ahmad Faruqui, a Principal at the Brattle Group and a national expert on dynamic pricing, will share his conclusions from analyzing all the dynamic pricing pilots nationwide. Commissioner Rick Morgan, of the Washington D.C. PUC and the author of a recent article, "Rethinking Dumb Rates," will discuss what he learned from D.C's PowerCentsDC™ pilot on dynamic pricing, and where D.C. plans to go next on advanced metering and dynamic pricing.Nancy Brockway, former NH PUC Commissioner, MA DPU General Counsel, and long-time low-income consumer advocate, will close the panel by sharing some of her concerns about various aspects of dynamic pricing.
September 16 Roundtable Presentations Online
Speakers' presentations from our September 16th Roundtable, FERC Order 1000 (Transmission Planning & Cost Allocation Requirements);and Future of Solar in New England, are available on our website: http://www.raabassociates.org/main/roundtable.asp?sel=108
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Visit GlobeLab: The Boston Globe's take on the (near) future of news
Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 7:00 PM
Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA
Chris Marstall, the Boston Globe’s creative technologist, is throwing open the doors to GlobeLab, the news organization’s space for exploring how news is changing. In his words: “We're a space at the Boston Globe dedicated to understanding, imagining and demonstrating the (near) future of news & advertising.
“Current projects include wall-screen-sized instagram and twitter visualizations, a next-gen TV app, a device synchronizer and a newsroom information radiator. For more information, check out our recent Nieman Journalism Lab profile or follow us @GlobeLab.”
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/35976432/?a=ea1.2_lnm&eventId=35976432&action=detail&rv=ea1.2&rv=ea1.2
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TEDxCambridge Presents: Thrive
November 19, 2011, Harvard University
You have to apply to attend at http://www.tedxcambridge.com/thrive/
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Opportunity
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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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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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