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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Ecological Design for Geoengineering http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/06/1097724/-Ecological-Design-for-Geoengineering
Ray Bradbury and Me http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/07/1098398/-Ray-Bradbury-and-Me
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Tuesday, June 12
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The Extreme Vulnerability of Network of Networks
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
2 p.m.
BU, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 339, Boston
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 1:45 p.m.
Shlomo Havlin
Bar-Ilan University
Network research and percolation theory have been focused on the properties of a single isolated network that does not interact or depend on other networks. In reality, many real-networks interact with other networks. Shlomo Havlin will present a framework for studying percolation of interacting networks. In interdependent networks,
when nodes in one network fail, they cause dependent nodes in other networks to fail also. This may happen recursively and can lead to a cascade of failures. In fact, a failure of a very small fraction of nodes in one network may lead to the complete and sudden fragmentation of a system of many interdependent networks. Havlin will
present exact analytical solutions for the critical threshold and giant component of a network of n interdependent networks. For n=1, he and his research team obtain the classical known result for a single isolated network of second order percolation transition. For n>1 cascading failures occur and the transition becomes a first order.
Their results for a network of n interdependent networks suggest that the classical percolation theory extensively studied in physics and mathematics in the past 50 years is only a limiting case of n=1 of a more general case of network of networks. As Havlin will show, this general theory has many novel features that are not present in classical percolation theory. For example, while a failure of a fraction of nodes in a single network can lead only to small damage to the system, in interacting networks, it can lead to a sudden (discontinuous) collapse due to cascading failures. He will show that reducing the coupling between the networks leads to a change from a discontinuous percolation transition to a smooth transition at a critical coupling. He will also show that interdependent networks embedded in space are even more vulnerable compared to random networks.
For more information: www.bu.edu/ece/calendar
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Energy Solutions Open House at Next Step Living.
Tuesday, June 12
5:00-8:00 PM
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3620204128?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_eventv2&utm_term=eventname_text
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Thursday, June 14
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Citizens clean energy lobby day at the State House.
Thursday, June 14
9:30 AM-1:00 PM
No experience lobbying your elected officials is required!
For more information, please e-mail lord.ma@husky.neu.edu
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New England Games SIG Event: Can Games Save Education
Thursday, June 14, 2012
6:00p–9:00p
Microsoft NERD Center, 11th Floor One Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Robert Johnson, President, Becker College Dave McCool, CEO, Muzzy Lane Mike Connell, CEO, Native Brain Moderator: John Dyer, Latitude News
Education is at a cross roads. Students have access to unprecedented resources and interact with content and other students around the globe faster than they can turn to page 236 in their text books.
Games dominate interactive time with young learners and have proven their ability to engage, entertain, teach and impact. Can games really impact education as we know it today? Our panel takes a focused look at the state of education and the reality of changing education in a 21st century way.
Web site: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/new-england-games-sig-event-can-games-save-education/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
For more information, contact: Amy Goggins
617-253-3937
entforumcambridge@mit.edu
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Boston Gardeners Council Speaker Series: Your Garden as an Agent for Food Access in Boston
Thursday, June 14
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, 2nd Floor, Downtown Crossing
A panel featuring insight from food pantry employees, community gardeners, healthcare workers and food policy advocates on how, together, we can increase access to fresh produce throughout the city.
For more information contact Karen Chaffee at karen@bostonnatural.org or 617-542-7696. Registration required.
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Bill McKibben Live at The Paramount, with WBUR's On Point
Thursday, June 14, 2012
7:00 PM
Paramount Mainstage & Black Box Theatre at the Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/TransitionBoston/events/16240826/?a=mc1_grp&rv=mc1&_af_eid=16240826&_af=event
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Solar Financing and Sustainable Economics: Understanding Your Solar Financing Options including Purchasing, Leasing and Power Purchase Agreements
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist; 3 Church Street, Harvard Square
The pace of change in the solar industry, including technology innovation, regulation and finance, is accelerating. With solar installers advertizing on AM sports radio, claims of "no money down!", and the cost of solar panels continuing its long, downward trend, thoughts of installing solar electric systems are entering the mainstream mind. In this month's BASEA Forum, we seek to take stock of the current state of the solar evolution.
Brad Bradshaw, solar project developer for Mercury Solar Systems and co-founder of the New England Clean Energy Council, will compare the three major financing options now available for solar projects: outright purchase, lease-to-own and power purchase agreements (PPAs). In addition, Mr. Bradshaw will discuss the critical economic incentives which are making solar economically practical, including Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC's) and Net Metering.
A vital debate is currently taking place in the Massachusetts state legislature regarding Senate Bill 2214, to extend the Green Communities Act. This pending legislation puts in place mechanisms to extend additional investments in solar energy, increasing the net metering caps. Mr. Bradshaw will discuss our topic and these developments within the greater context of Sustainable Economics, which focuses on how true value is created within an economy.
Brad Bradshaw is a senior executive with significant experience in clean energy, gained through his work with Honeywell's Energy Services Division, Arthur D. Little's Advanced Energy Group, and as CEO of Hy9 Corporation (hydrogen systems for backup power). He founded and led the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition, co-founded the New England Clean Energy Council and, for five years, co-hosted the annual Conference on Clean Energy.
Mr. Bradshaw has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, an MBA from Babson College and is currently engaged in developing large solar projects for Mercury Solar Systems.
Please Join Us! And remember, your donations and membership support BASEA.
The Boston Area Solar Energy Association, www.BASEA.org; a chapter of NESEA
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The Discipline of Entrepreneurial Thinking: How Revolutionary Strategies can be Created
WHEN Thu., June 14, 2012, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE RCC conference room, 26 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Real Colegio Complutense
SPEAKER(S) Enrique Cortés Alonso, IE Business School & UCM
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO rcc_info@harvard.edu
LINK http://realcolegiocomplutense.harvard.edu
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Friday, June 15
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The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: The Impact of Natural Gas on the Future of Electricity Markets and Clean Energy Strategies in New England
June 15, 2012
9 am to 12:30 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston
Panel I: How Will Natural Gas Impact New England's Electricity Markets and Reliability?
Over the past two decades, New England's electricity generation has increasingly come to rely on natural gas. With the development of the Marcellus Shale in nearby New York and Pennsylvania, natural gas could be both plentiful and relatively inexpensive for years to come. Our first panel at the June 15th Roundtable will explore the potential impacts of natural gas on New England's electricity markets and reliability, exploring a wide range of questions and issues including:
What are "realistic" natural gas supply and price expectations?
What infrastructure is needed to deliver more gas to New England, and can we count on it?
What will be the likely impacts of more gas on electricity generation mix and electricity prices?
Should we be concerned about electric reliability from increasing reliance on natural gas-fired generation especially on cold days (FERC seems to be), and what should we do about it?
To help enlighten us on theses issues, we have assembled a tremendous panel of experts who carefully follow the gas and electricity markets from different vantage points. Susan Tierney, Managing Principal at Analysis Group, will share both her expertise on electricity markets, as well as her recent experience serving on U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board (including its Shale Gas Subcommittee). Richard Paglia, Vice President of Spectra Energy, will discuss Spectra's plans to build additional pipeline capacity in several different directions from Marcellus, and will also discuss a study that Spectra recently commissioned on New England's gas markets. Richard Levitan, President & Principal, at Levitan & Associates, Inc. will share his expectations for both the gas and electricity markets in New England, based on his extensive study of both markets and their interactive effects. Rounding out the panel isPeter Brandien, Vice-President for Systems Operation at ISO-New England, who will share the results of a recent study ISO commissioned on natural gas and the electricity markets, as well as the ISO's perspective on managing an increasingly gas-based electricity system.
Panel II: Revisiting Clean Energy Strategies in New England (in an era of potential cheap and plentiful natural gas?)
Following on the heels of the first panel, our second panel will reflect on whether or not (and, if so, how) New England should revisit and revise its clean energy strategies in light of the potential for plentiful and relatively inexpensive natural gas for the foreseeable future. Despite substantial reductions over the last decade in the cost of renewable energy resources, most notably in wind and solar, and given projections for further price reductions, (and in the face of diminished renewable energy tax credit support and low natural gas prices) most RPS-eligible renewables are still more expensive than conventional electricity sources. Some states are exploring opening up RPS eligibility to existing hydro and even energy efficiency resources, seeking less expensive ways to meet clean energy goals. Others argue that the long-term benefits of continuing to aggressively pursue our clean energy goals and targets with our existing strategies far outweigh any short-term price premiums. Meanwhile, Cape Wind may begin construction soon and Hydro-Quebec is ready to finance transmission to deliver substantial additional hydro resources into New England.
To discuss these issues, we have put together a full-spectrum panel including a regulator, a utility executive, and representatives from the Clean Energy Council, CLF, and AIM.
Commissioner David Cash, Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities
James Robb, Senior VP Enterprise Planning, Northeast Utilities
Peter Rothstein, President, New England Clean Energy Council
Robert Rio, Sr. Vice President & Counsel, Associated Industries of MA
Jonathan Peress, VP & Director, Clean Energy & Climate Change, CLF
Free and open to the public with no advanced registration
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Title: Development of New Materials Powered by Organic Synthesis
Friday, June 15, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Shigeru Yamago, Kyoto University
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemistry Department
For more information, contact: Chemistry Department
617-253-1879
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Common Boston dParty
Friday, June 15, 2012
6:30 PM to 11:00
Boston Society of Architects (BSA), 290 Congress Street, 2nd Floor, Pearl Room, Boston
Join Boston’s architecture, design and nonprofit community at the BSA for this year’s launch of Common Boston festival week at the dParty. In the spirit of our theme, “Off the Grid,” you will be exposed to sustainable-living ideas that are already at your disposal in Boston. Learn about bike sharing, urban gardening, community-supported agriculture and bike-powered machines; see a bee-and-honey-production presentation; listen to good music; and taste beverages grown from a city garden plot, all under a canopy of a suspended bicycle display, curated by BSA Space curators, over,under. In addition, there will be an art installation by Mary Hale, honey-infused beverages concocted by the local apiarist at the Intercontinental Hotel, and a raffle with the possibility to win a sustainable opportunity. Admission is free with a new or working flashing bicycle light that will be donated to Boston Cyclist Union, or $10 at the door.
RSVP at http://dparty-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=33
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Saturday, June 16
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Design for Coders: SND + H/H visual workshop
Saturday, June 16, 2012
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
MIT Media Lab, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
We'll be in E14-240, one of the large conference rooms on the 2nd floor
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/67125132/?fromms=1&a=ea1_grp&rv=ea1&_af_eid=67125132&__domain=meetupbos.hackshackers.com&_af=event
Interface design is every bit as rewarding as programming: Inch by inch, you're crafting a story that people will use and, hopefully, love. Executing a well-designed interface is both exhilarating and satisfying, offering the reader a clear path, immersing them in a story. Learning to create effective, beautiful layouts is a learned skill, akin to learning a new programming language or framework.
What we'll do:
This workshop is geared toward our beloved journo-hackers who keep getting asked to create sophisticated, usable visual, designs as well as all of the interaction and software powering the experience. We will talk about UI patterns, how to use typography and color create a visual identity.
Workshop attendees will leave with some great getting-started resources.
Why the weird time?:
A Saturday, in June, at 1 p.m.? Really?! This time and location has been chosen to coordinate with the OpenNews Hack event, a 24-hour hack day as a lead-in to the 2012 MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. While the conference is invite-only, the hack day is open to talented developers who want to spend their weekend working with others to build amazing things. Following the conference theme of the "the Story and the Algorithm," this hack day will be focused on new ways that data lets us tell compelling stories.
The design workshop attendees should come prepared with a project idea for discussion, sketching and brainstorming, even if they are not participating in the aforementioned event.
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Knight-Mozilla-MIT "Story & Algorithm" Hack Day
Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 3:00 PM - Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 4:00 PM (ET)
MIT Media Lab, 5th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Come and hack with an all-star cast of developers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and media thinkers at the MIT Center for Civic Media.
The Knight-Mozilla OpenNews project is sponsoring at 24-hour hack day as a lead-in to the 2012 MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. While the conference is invite-only, the hack day is open to talented developers who want to spend their weekend working with others to build amazing things.
Following the conference theme of the "the Story and the Algorithm," this hack day will be focused on new ways that data lets us tell compelling stories.
Sign up and hack with us!
Sign up at http://opennews-mit-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=338
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Monday, June 18
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Can Social Games Solve America’s Biggest Health Challenge?
Monday, June 18, 2012
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM (ET)
IBM Center for Social Business,1 Rogers Street, Cambridge
Register at http://shapeup-social-games.eventbrite.com/?ref=enivte&invite=MjA0ODE4OS9nbW9rZUB3b3JsZC5zdGQuY29tLzA%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=invitenew&utm_term=attend
Event Details
The IBM Center for Social Business welcomes Dr. Rajiv Kumar, literally a game changer in tackling healthcare issues. His company, ShapeUp, designs social games for companies to bring employees together so they can help each other be healthy. The theory is that peer support and accountability are the keys to wellness success.
Refreshments at 3:30. Talk starts at 3:45.
About the talk
Facing rapidly rising health care costs driven by unhealthy behaviors and a national obesity epidemic, self-insured employers have told their employees to “shape up.” But regular physical activity and healthy eating are easier said than done. Many years and millions of dollars have been wasted on employee wellness programs that get astonishingly low participation.
Social gaming is changing that. ShapeUp has developed an online behavior change solution for employee populations that uses social gaming, in the form of team-based competitions, to activate, motivate, and guide participants toward reaching their healthy goals. This approach generates extraordinary company-wide engagement rates and has been shown to produce clinically significant health outcomes.
This talk will describe how ShapeUp has used social games over the past 5 years to reach 2 million lives across 93 countries at companies like HP, Aetna, Raytheon, and Sprint. It will also explore how the latest advances in mobile apps, personal fitness devices, and real-time rewards are creating new ways to enhance the wellness experience.
Rajiv Kumar on how ShapeUp came to be
"During medical school, I realized that many of the worst health problems we face as a nation--diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension, osteoarthritis, depression--are related to our collective unhealthy lifestyle. I also learned through my clinical encounters that the patients who succeeded in adopting and sustaining healthy behaviors were those who leveraged their trusted social network for support, motivation, and accountability.
By launching a community non-profit organization (Shape Up Rhode Island) and a for-profit company (ShapeUp), I've dedicated my life to helping people reverse and prevent obesity-related illnesses through group behavior change models.
Our goal is to build the largest online social application that connects people around the world to improve their health."
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Social Innovation in the Public Sector
Monday, June 18, 2012
6:00 PM
MIT, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
More information at https://boston.tie.org/
Public awareness of the significant value of social innovation is growing rapidly in the United States. Governments at the local, state and federal level have promoted policies to encourage social innovation, public/private partnerships and entrepreneurship in a wide variety of ways. What is happening in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to cultivate and strengthen social innovation? Come network and interact with our panel of government-oriented social enterprise champions who represent the fields of finance, community development and technology.
Panelists include:
Steve Goldberg, General Counsel, SocialFinance, Inc.
Following 30 years in government, law, and business, Steve Goldberg began consulting on growth, management, and scalability for numerous nonprofits. Steve is the author of Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets: Why Philanthropy Doesn’t Advance Social Progress (Wiley, 2009), a former lead consultant for “Charity Navigator 2.0,” and one of 50 expert reviewers selected nationally for the first Social Innovation Fund. Steve currently leads Social Finance’s government relations and partnership efforts.
Nigel Jacob, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics
With an extensive background in collaborative, citizen-facing technology projects, Nigel Jacob co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics - a civic innovation incubator within Boston’s City Hall. Nigel also serves as Mayor Menino's advisor on emerging technologies. In both of these roles, Nigel works to develop new models of innovation for cities in the 21st century. Prior to joining the City of Boston in 2006, Nigel worked for and launched a series of technology start-ups in the Boston area. Nigel is also a fellow at the Center for the Advancement Public Action at Bennington College.
Chris Osgood, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics
Chris Osgood co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics, bringing to the office nearly ten years of experience in city government. Much of his work during that time has focused on designing operations and policy that help cities engage and respond to constituents. Before joining the City, Chris earned his MBA from Harvard after serving for 5 years in the NYC Parks & Recreation Department as its Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor.
Chris and Nigel have received a number of awards for their ground breaking work in Boston, including being named Public Officials of the year in 2011 by Governing Magazine and the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation award for 2012.
Todd Fry, Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, Deshpande Foundation
Todd Fry joined the Deshpande Foundation as Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox. Todd comes to the Foundation after a distinguished career at the Boston Center for Community Justice, as a teacher at Milton Academy, and social entrepreneur for 20 years in Greater Boston. His career spans work with youth and adults in prep school and in prison, in business and in Boston City Hall. Todd chairs the USA Advisory Board for the Rwanda Youth Healing Center, a grassroots NGO in Rwanda that helps young people with emotional healing from the genocide and leadership development. Todd grew up in Ohio, holds a bachelors degree in Communication Education from Northwestern University, and lives in Roxbury today.
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Wednesday, June 20
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"Global Pitchfest 2012."
Wednesday, June 20
6 - 11:55p.
Masschallenge, One Marina Park Drive, 14th floor, Boston
The Global “PitchFest” is the traditional closing event for the Venture Leaders program. It will take place on the June 20 at theMassChallenge facilities, one of the epicenters of the Boston start-up scene. The rules of the PitchFest could not be simpler: 20 Swiss entrepreneurs competing with the new generation of MassChallenge entrepreneurs. Who will have the best pitching abilities?
You will be the judge!
In 1 minute and 1 slide, the Swiss and Local entrepreneurs representing a wide range of industries will convince you to vote for their venture. By using our Text-Message-based polling system, you will choose the 5 best pitches of the night. Our jury will pick a final winner who will receive a special prize from our generous sponsor: Mondaine, the Swiss Watch Maker.
Call for Startups!
Be part of the 2012 Global Pitchfest- pitch you own start-up!
Have you recently launched a start-up in Boston and want to train your pitch, while getting more visibility for your business? Join our lineup of presenters by contacting Marian Toader at marian@swissnexboston.org
Please note that - due to logistics constrains - we will accept a limited amount of candidates. First come, first served!
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Upcoming
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“TOUR DE HIVES” BUZZING THROUGH TOWN
On Saturday, June 23rd bring your family and friends out to join Boston’s own Tour de Hives crew as we pedal our way across the river to explore the lives of bees and their keepers in 4 apiaries spread across Somerville and Cambridge. We will start our day at 9:30am in the ¼ acre permaculture garden at the GrowingCenter in Somerville, where Kagen Weeks (of Hive at Your Home) will introduce us to one of his “Weeks” hives (a variation of the traditional but uncommon Warre beehive). Next, we’ll hop on our bikes and make our way over to a private residence in Inman Square where (at ~11:15am) Noah of BestBees will provide insight on his beekeeping style and honeybee health. Our third stop brings us to the Dewolfe Boathouse on Boston University’s campus at ~12:30pm, where the BU Beekeepers Club will show us their hives and talk briefly about their educational approach to beekeeping (focused on training new beekeepers rather than maximum honey production) before we take a break for lunch, picnic-style along the banks of the Charles River. We will then screen a short film at BU titled Sister Bee, a lyrical documentary about 6 beekeepers who encounter startling beauty and spiritual truth in honeybees. At ~3:15 we will make our way to the final stop – the Museum ofScience – where we will check out the museum’s observation hive and get an up-close view of the bees hard at work! The day will wrap up around 4:00pm.
Join us for a single site demo or spend the day touring by bike from hive to hive as we gain insight into the lives of local honeybees and their tenders. Don’t forget your helmet, water and picnic lunch if you plan to be with us all day! Total mileage from start to finish is just under 6 miles.
Pre-registration (which guarantees you a Tour de Hives T-shirt and VIBee access to the Museum of Science’s observation hive exhibit) is available now at:http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/247983. The suggested donation of $20 covers event costs; any proceeds will be reinvested in education and outreach initiatives by the Boston Beekeepers Community. No one will be denied Tour de Hives access/enjoyment for lack of funds (FYI: Museum of Science access requires an event T-shirt be purchased and worn, drop-ins welcome at all other stops).
Further details, a link to a map of the route and other updates can be found at:https://www.facebook.com/BostonBeekeepers#!/events/297115667029162/Questions can be directed to: BostonTourDeHives@gmail.com.
Hosted by: Boston Beekeepers Club
Sponsored by: Maxant Industries, the Beekeeper's Warehouse, the Museum of Science, Boston University, and New England Bees
Contact: Boston Beekeepers Club (BostonTourDeHives@gmail.com)
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GreenPort Forum: Solar Hot Water is Hot
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Av, Cambridge (corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)
Meghan Shaw, Cambridge Energy Alliance
Solar hot water systems are a great way to provide 50% to 75% of all hot water for a household or business. Most solar hot water systems will work with existing plumbing or water heating systems. If building owners act before November 2012, the combined rebates from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the City of Cambridge could mean a net cost of less than half the full cost of the system. Come to talk about how we can encourage and facilitate more solar installations in Cambridgeport.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is a City-staffed program that is also a collaborative effort of people dedicated to taking action on climate change. CEA relies on the expertise and energy of community activists, businesses, and non-profits.
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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SOCIAL MOVEMENTS & ELECTORAL POLITICS
A Roundtable Connecting #Occupy, Global Movements, the World Social Forum, and Elections
Saturday, June 30, 2012, 6:00 p.m. at encuentro 5 (33 Harrison Ave, 5th
floor, Boston, MA 02111)
featuring: Sarah Francis, Jeff Juris, Suren Moodliar, Thomas
Ponniah, Monica Poole, and (chair) Heike Schotten
The Arab Spring signaled a global wave of social movements challenging inequality, repression, austerity, war, & corporate power. Whatever their strengths, these movements have all had to give serious consideration to how they relate to electoral politics. This timely conversation brings together a diverse group of thoughtful activists and engaged scholars who have connections to the #Occupy movement, the World Social Forum, solidarity movements and grassroots organizing.
NOTE: encuentro 5 is NOT yet wheelchair accessible, call 888-400-1225 to join the conversation via Skype or conference call. Visit website for speaker bios, background information and selected articles.
Speaker bios and more information to follow; light refreshments provided.
More details at http://www.encuentro5.org. See flyer here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1042836/flyer-2012-06-30.pdf
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Opportunity
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Boiler Rebate
If your boiler is from 1983 or earlier, Mass Save will give a $1,750 to $4,000 rebate to switch it out for a new efficient boiler that uses the same fuel (i.e. if you have oil, you have to continue to use oil) so long as it is installed by July 31, 2012.
Call Mass Save (866 527-7283) to sign up for a home energy assessment or sign-up online at www.nextsteplivinginc.com/HEET and HEET will receive a $10 contribution from Next Step Living for every completed assessment.
This is a great way to reduce climate change emissions for the next 20 or so years the boiler lasts, while saving money.
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CEA Solar Hot Water Grants
Cambridge, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiative, is offering a limited number of grants to residents and businesses for solar hot water systems. The grants will cover 50% of the remaining out of pocket costs of the system after other incentives, up to $2,000.
Applications will be accepted up to November 19, 2012 and are available on a first come, first serve basis until funding runs out. The Cambridge grant will complement other incentives including the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center solar thermal grants. For more information, seehttp://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha@sbnboston.org
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Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as being at least partially caused by human pollution. Only 42% of the state’s residents say global warming will have very serious consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused by humans compared to the 60+ age group. African-American (56%) and Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left unaddressed. The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge: What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent-challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei@wellesley.edu
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
Arts and Cultural Events List http://aacel.blogspot.com/
http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
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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Ecological Design for Geoengineering http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/06/1097724/-Ecological-Design-for-Geoengineering
Ray Bradbury and Me http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/07/1098398/-Ray-Bradbury-and-Me
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Tuesday, June 12
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The Extreme Vulnerability of Network of Networks
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
2 p.m.
BU, 8 Saint Mary’s St., Room 339, Boston
Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 1:45 p.m.
Shlomo Havlin
Bar-Ilan University
Network research and percolation theory have been focused on the properties of a single isolated network that does not interact or depend on other networks. In reality, many real-networks interact with other networks. Shlomo Havlin will present a framework for studying percolation of interacting networks. In interdependent networks,
when nodes in one network fail, they cause dependent nodes in other networks to fail also. This may happen recursively and can lead to a cascade of failures. In fact, a failure of a very small fraction of nodes in one network may lead to the complete and sudden fragmentation of a system of many interdependent networks. Havlin will
present exact analytical solutions for the critical threshold and giant component of a network of n interdependent networks. For n=1, he and his research team obtain the classical known result for a single isolated network of second order percolation transition. For n>1 cascading failures occur and the transition becomes a first order.
Their results for a network of n interdependent networks suggest that the classical percolation theory extensively studied in physics and mathematics in the past 50 years is only a limiting case of n=1 of a more general case of network of networks. As Havlin will show, this general theory has many novel features that are not present in classical percolation theory. For example, while a failure of a fraction of nodes in a single network can lead only to small damage to the system, in interacting networks, it can lead to a sudden (discontinuous) collapse due to cascading failures. He will show that reducing the coupling between the networks leads to a change from a discontinuous percolation transition to a smooth transition at a critical coupling. He will also show that interdependent networks embedded in space are even more vulnerable compared to random networks.
For more information: www.bu.edu/ece/calendar
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Energy Solutions Open House at Next Step Living.
Tuesday, June 12
5:00-8:00 PM
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3620204128?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_eventv2&utm_term=eventname_text
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Thursday, June 14
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Citizens clean energy lobby day at the State House.
Thursday, June 14
9:30 AM-1:00 PM
No experience lobbying your elected officials is required!
For more information, please e-mail lord.ma@husky.neu.edu
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New England Games SIG Event: Can Games Save Education
Thursday, June 14, 2012
6:00p–9:00p
Microsoft NERD Center, 11th Floor One Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Robert Johnson, President, Becker College Dave McCool, CEO, Muzzy Lane Mike Connell, CEO, Native Brain Moderator: John Dyer, Latitude News
Education is at a cross roads. Students have access to unprecedented resources and interact with content and other students around the globe faster than they can turn to page 236 in their text books.
Games dominate interactive time with young learners and have proven their ability to engage, entertain, teach and impact. Can games really impact education as we know it today? Our panel takes a focused look at the state of education and the reality of changing education in a 21st century way.
Web site: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/new-england-games-sig-event-can-games-save-education/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
For more information, contact: Amy Goggins
617-253-3937
entforumcambridge@mit.edu
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Boston Gardeners Council Speaker Series: Your Garden as an Agent for Food Access in Boston
Thursday, June 14
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, 2nd Floor, Downtown Crossing
A panel featuring insight from food pantry employees, community gardeners, healthcare workers and food policy advocates on how, together, we can increase access to fresh produce throughout the city.
For more information contact Karen Chaffee at karen@bostonnatural.org or 617-542-7696. Registration required.
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Bill McKibben Live at The Paramount, with WBUR's On Point
Thursday, June 14, 2012
7:00 PM
Paramount Mainstage & Black Box Theatre at the Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/TransitionBoston/events/16240826/?a=mc1_grp&rv=mc1&_af_eid=16240826&_af=event
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Solar Financing and Sustainable Economics: Understanding Your Solar Financing Options including Purchasing, Leasing and Power Purchase Agreements
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m
First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist; 3 Church Street, Harvard Square
The pace of change in the solar industry, including technology innovation, regulation and finance, is accelerating. With solar installers advertizing on AM sports radio, claims of "no money down!", and the cost of solar panels continuing its long, downward trend, thoughts of installing solar electric systems are entering the mainstream mind. In this month's BASEA Forum, we seek to take stock of the current state of the solar evolution.
Brad Bradshaw, solar project developer for Mercury Solar Systems and co-founder of the New England Clean Energy Council, will compare the three major financing options now available for solar projects: outright purchase, lease-to-own and power purchase agreements (PPAs). In addition, Mr. Bradshaw will discuss the critical economic incentives which are making solar economically practical, including Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC's) and Net Metering.
A vital debate is currently taking place in the Massachusetts state legislature regarding Senate Bill 2214, to extend the Green Communities Act. This pending legislation puts in place mechanisms to extend additional investments in solar energy, increasing the net metering caps. Mr. Bradshaw will discuss our topic and these developments within the greater context of Sustainable Economics, which focuses on how true value is created within an economy.
Brad Bradshaw is a senior executive with significant experience in clean energy, gained through his work with Honeywell's Energy Services Division, Arthur D. Little's Advanced Energy Group, and as CEO of Hy9 Corporation (hydrogen systems for backup power). He founded and led the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition, co-founded the New England Clean Energy Council and, for five years, co-hosted the annual Conference on Clean Energy.
Mr. Bradshaw has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, an MBA from Babson College and is currently engaged in developing large solar projects for Mercury Solar Systems.
Please Join Us! And remember, your donations and membership support BASEA.
The Boston Area Solar Energy Association, www.BASEA.org; a chapter of NESEA
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The Discipline of Entrepreneurial Thinking: How Revolutionary Strategies can be Created
WHEN Thu., June 14, 2012, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
WHERE RCC conference room, 26 Trowbridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Real Colegio Complutense
SPEAKER(S) Enrique Cortés Alonso, IE Business School & UCM
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO rcc_info@harvard.edu
LINK http://realcolegiocomplutense.harvard.edu
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Friday, June 15
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The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: The Impact of Natural Gas on the Future of Electricity Markets and Clean Energy Strategies in New England
June 15, 2012
9 am to 12:30 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston
Panel I: How Will Natural Gas Impact New England's Electricity Markets and Reliability?
Over the past two decades, New England's electricity generation has increasingly come to rely on natural gas. With the development of the Marcellus Shale in nearby New York and Pennsylvania, natural gas could be both plentiful and relatively inexpensive for years to come. Our first panel at the June 15th Roundtable will explore the potential impacts of natural gas on New England's electricity markets and reliability, exploring a wide range of questions and issues including:
What are "realistic" natural gas supply and price expectations?
What infrastructure is needed to deliver more gas to New England, and can we count on it?
What will be the likely impacts of more gas on electricity generation mix and electricity prices?
Should we be concerned about electric reliability from increasing reliance on natural gas-fired generation especially on cold days (FERC seems to be), and what should we do about it?
To help enlighten us on theses issues, we have assembled a tremendous panel of experts who carefully follow the gas and electricity markets from different vantage points. Susan Tierney, Managing Principal at Analysis Group, will share both her expertise on electricity markets, as well as her recent experience serving on U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board (including its Shale Gas Subcommittee). Richard Paglia, Vice President of Spectra Energy, will discuss Spectra's plans to build additional pipeline capacity in several different directions from Marcellus, and will also discuss a study that Spectra recently commissioned on New England's gas markets. Richard Levitan, President & Principal, at Levitan & Associates, Inc. will share his expectations for both the gas and electricity markets in New England, based on his extensive study of both markets and their interactive effects. Rounding out the panel isPeter Brandien, Vice-President for Systems Operation at ISO-New England, who will share the results of a recent study ISO commissioned on natural gas and the electricity markets, as well as the ISO's perspective on managing an increasingly gas-based electricity system.
Panel II: Revisiting Clean Energy Strategies in New England (in an era of potential cheap and plentiful natural gas?)
Following on the heels of the first panel, our second panel will reflect on whether or not (and, if so, how) New England should revisit and revise its clean energy strategies in light of the potential for plentiful and relatively inexpensive natural gas for the foreseeable future. Despite substantial reductions over the last decade in the cost of renewable energy resources, most notably in wind and solar, and given projections for further price reductions, (and in the face of diminished renewable energy tax credit support and low natural gas prices) most RPS-eligible renewables are still more expensive than conventional electricity sources. Some states are exploring opening up RPS eligibility to existing hydro and even energy efficiency resources, seeking less expensive ways to meet clean energy goals. Others argue that the long-term benefits of continuing to aggressively pursue our clean energy goals and targets with our existing strategies far outweigh any short-term price premiums. Meanwhile, Cape Wind may begin construction soon and Hydro-Quebec is ready to finance transmission to deliver substantial additional hydro resources into New England.
To discuss these issues, we have put together a full-spectrum panel including a regulator, a utility executive, and representatives from the Clean Energy Council, CLF, and AIM.
Commissioner David Cash, Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities
James Robb, Senior VP Enterprise Planning, Northeast Utilities
Peter Rothstein, President, New England Clean Energy Council
Robert Rio, Sr. Vice President & Counsel, Associated Industries of MA
Jonathan Peress, VP & Director, Clean Energy & Climate Change, CLF
Free and open to the public with no advanced registration
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Title: Development of New Materials Powered by Organic Synthesis
Friday, June 15, 2012
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 6-120, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Shigeru Yamago, Kyoto University
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Chemistry Department
For more information, contact: Chemistry Department
617-253-1879
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Common Boston dParty
Friday, June 15, 2012
6:30 PM to 11:00
Boston Society of Architects (BSA), 290 Congress Street, 2nd Floor, Pearl Room, Boston
Join Boston’s architecture, design and nonprofit community at the BSA for this year’s launch of Common Boston festival week at the dParty. In the spirit of our theme, “Off the Grid,” you will be exposed to sustainable-living ideas that are already at your disposal in Boston. Learn about bike sharing, urban gardening, community-supported agriculture and bike-powered machines; see a bee-and-honey-production presentation; listen to good music; and taste beverages grown from a city garden plot, all under a canopy of a suspended bicycle display, curated by BSA Space curators, over,under. In addition, there will be an art installation by Mary Hale, honey-infused beverages concocted by the local apiarist at the Intercontinental Hotel, and a raffle with the possibility to win a sustainable opportunity. Admission is free with a new or working flashing bicycle light that will be donated to Boston Cyclist Union, or $10 at the door.
RSVP at http://dparty-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=33
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Saturday, June 16
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Design for Coders: SND + H/H visual workshop
Saturday, June 16, 2012
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
MIT Media Lab, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
We'll be in E14-240, one of the large conference rooms on the 2nd floor
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/67125132/?fromms=1&a=ea1_grp&rv=ea1&_af_eid=67125132&__domain=meetupbos.hackshackers.com&_af=event
Interface design is every bit as rewarding as programming: Inch by inch, you're crafting a story that people will use and, hopefully, love. Executing a well-designed interface is both exhilarating and satisfying, offering the reader a clear path, immersing them in a story. Learning to create effective, beautiful layouts is a learned skill, akin to learning a new programming language or framework.
What we'll do:
This workshop is geared toward our beloved journo-hackers who keep getting asked to create sophisticated, usable visual, designs as well as all of the interaction and software powering the experience. We will talk about UI patterns, how to use typography and color create a visual identity.
Workshop attendees will leave with some great getting-started resources.
Why the weird time?:
A Saturday, in June, at 1 p.m.? Really?! This time and location has been chosen to coordinate with the OpenNews Hack event, a 24-hour hack day as a lead-in to the 2012 MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. While the conference is invite-only, the hack day is open to talented developers who want to spend their weekend working with others to build amazing things. Following the conference theme of the "the Story and the Algorithm," this hack day will be focused on new ways that data lets us tell compelling stories.
The design workshop attendees should come prepared with a project idea for discussion, sketching and brainstorming, even if they are not participating in the aforementioned event.
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Knight-Mozilla-MIT "Story & Algorithm" Hack Day
Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 3:00 PM - Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 4:00 PM (ET)
MIT Media Lab, 5th Floor, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
Come and hack with an all-star cast of developers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and media thinkers at the MIT Center for Civic Media.
The Knight-Mozilla OpenNews project is sponsoring at 24-hour hack day as a lead-in to the 2012 MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference. While the conference is invite-only, the hack day is open to talented developers who want to spend their weekend working with others to build amazing things.
Following the conference theme of the "the Story and the Algorithm," this hack day will be focused on new ways that data lets us tell compelling stories.
Sign up and hack with us!
Sign up at http://opennews-mit-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=338
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Monday, June 18
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Can Social Games Solve America’s Biggest Health Challenge?
Monday, June 18, 2012
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM (ET)
IBM Center for Social Business,1 Rogers Street, Cambridge
Register at http://shapeup-social-games.eventbrite.com/?ref=enivte&invite=MjA0ODE4OS9nbW9rZUB3b3JsZC5zdGQuY29tLzA%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=invitenew&utm_term=attend
Event Details
The IBM Center for Social Business welcomes Dr. Rajiv Kumar, literally a game changer in tackling healthcare issues. His company, ShapeUp, designs social games for companies to bring employees together so they can help each other be healthy. The theory is that peer support and accountability are the keys to wellness success.
Refreshments at 3:30. Talk starts at 3:45.
About the talk
Facing rapidly rising health care costs driven by unhealthy behaviors and a national obesity epidemic, self-insured employers have told their employees to “shape up.” But regular physical activity and healthy eating are easier said than done. Many years and millions of dollars have been wasted on employee wellness programs that get astonishingly low participation.
Social gaming is changing that. ShapeUp has developed an online behavior change solution for employee populations that uses social gaming, in the form of team-based competitions, to activate, motivate, and guide participants toward reaching their healthy goals. This approach generates extraordinary company-wide engagement rates and has been shown to produce clinically significant health outcomes.
This talk will describe how ShapeUp has used social games over the past 5 years to reach 2 million lives across 93 countries at companies like HP, Aetna, Raytheon, and Sprint. It will also explore how the latest advances in mobile apps, personal fitness devices, and real-time rewards are creating new ways to enhance the wellness experience.
Rajiv Kumar on how ShapeUp came to be
"During medical school, I realized that many of the worst health problems we face as a nation--diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension, osteoarthritis, depression--are related to our collective unhealthy lifestyle. I also learned through my clinical encounters that the patients who succeeded in adopting and sustaining healthy behaviors were those who leveraged their trusted social network for support, motivation, and accountability.
By launching a community non-profit organization (Shape Up Rhode Island) and a for-profit company (ShapeUp), I've dedicated my life to helping people reverse and prevent obesity-related illnesses through group behavior change models.
Our goal is to build the largest online social application that connects people around the world to improve their health."
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Social Innovation in the Public Sector
Monday, June 18, 2012
6:00 PM
MIT, Stata Center, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge
More information at https://boston.tie.org/
Public awareness of the significant value of social innovation is growing rapidly in the United States. Governments at the local, state and federal level have promoted policies to encourage social innovation, public/private partnerships and entrepreneurship in a wide variety of ways. What is happening in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to cultivate and strengthen social innovation? Come network and interact with our panel of government-oriented social enterprise champions who represent the fields of finance, community development and technology.
Panelists include:
Steve Goldberg, General Counsel, SocialFinance, Inc.
Following 30 years in government, law, and business, Steve Goldberg began consulting on growth, management, and scalability for numerous nonprofits. Steve is the author of Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets: Why Philanthropy Doesn’t Advance Social Progress (Wiley, 2009), a former lead consultant for “Charity Navigator 2.0,” and one of 50 expert reviewers selected nationally for the first Social Innovation Fund. Steve currently leads Social Finance’s government relations and partnership efforts.
Nigel Jacob, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics
With an extensive background in collaborative, citizen-facing technology projects, Nigel Jacob co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics - a civic innovation incubator within Boston’s City Hall. Nigel also serves as Mayor Menino's advisor on emerging technologies. In both of these roles, Nigel works to develop new models of innovation for cities in the 21st century. Prior to joining the City of Boston in 2006, Nigel worked for and launched a series of technology start-ups in the Boston area. Nigel is also a fellow at the Center for the Advancement Public Action at Bennington College.
Chris Osgood, City of Boston, Co-Founder, Urban Mechanics
Chris Osgood co-founded the Office of New Urban Mechanics, bringing to the office nearly ten years of experience in city government. Much of his work during that time has focused on designing operations and policy that help cities engage and respond to constituents. Before joining the City, Chris earned his MBA from Harvard after serving for 5 years in the NYC Parks & Recreation Department as its Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor.
Chris and Nigel have received a number of awards for their ground breaking work in Boston, including being named Public Officials of the year in 2011 by Governing Magazine and the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation award for 2012.
Todd Fry, Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox, Deshpande Foundation
Todd Fry joined the Deshpande Foundation as Executive Director for the Merrimack Valley Sandbox. Todd comes to the Foundation after a distinguished career at the Boston Center for Community Justice, as a teacher at Milton Academy, and social entrepreneur for 20 years in Greater Boston. His career spans work with youth and adults in prep school and in prison, in business and in Boston City Hall. Todd chairs the USA Advisory Board for the Rwanda Youth Healing Center, a grassroots NGO in Rwanda that helps young people with emotional healing from the genocide and leadership development. Todd grew up in Ohio, holds a bachelors degree in Communication Education from Northwestern University, and lives in Roxbury today.
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Wednesday, June 20
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"Global Pitchfest 2012."
Wednesday, June 20
6 - 11:55p.
Masschallenge, One Marina Park Drive, 14th floor, Boston
The Global “PitchFest” is the traditional closing event for the Venture Leaders program. It will take place on the June 20 at theMassChallenge facilities, one of the epicenters of the Boston start-up scene. The rules of the PitchFest could not be simpler: 20 Swiss entrepreneurs competing with the new generation of MassChallenge entrepreneurs. Who will have the best pitching abilities?
You will be the judge!
In 1 minute and 1 slide, the Swiss and Local entrepreneurs representing a wide range of industries will convince you to vote for their venture. By using our Text-Message-based polling system, you will choose the 5 best pitches of the night. Our jury will pick a final winner who will receive a special prize from our generous sponsor: Mondaine, the Swiss Watch Maker.
Call for Startups!
Be part of the 2012 Global Pitchfest- pitch you own start-up!
Have you recently launched a start-up in Boston and want to train your pitch, while getting more visibility for your business? Join our lineup of presenters by contacting Marian Toader at marian@swissnexboston.org
Please note that - due to logistics constrains - we will accept a limited amount of candidates. First come, first served!
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Upcoming
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“TOUR DE HIVES” BUZZING THROUGH TOWN
On Saturday, June 23rd bring your family and friends out to join Boston’s own Tour de Hives crew as we pedal our way across the river to explore the lives of bees and their keepers in 4 apiaries spread across Somerville and Cambridge. We will start our day at 9:30am in the ¼ acre permaculture garden at the GrowingCenter in Somerville, where Kagen Weeks (of Hive at Your Home) will introduce us to one of his “Weeks” hives (a variation of the traditional but uncommon Warre beehive). Next, we’ll hop on our bikes and make our way over to a private residence in Inman Square where (at ~11:15am) Noah of BestBees will provide insight on his beekeeping style and honeybee health. Our third stop brings us to the Dewolfe Boathouse on Boston University’s campus at ~12:30pm, where the BU Beekeepers Club will show us their hives and talk briefly about their educational approach to beekeeping (focused on training new beekeepers rather than maximum honey production) before we take a break for lunch, picnic-style along the banks of the Charles River. We will then screen a short film at BU titled Sister Bee, a lyrical documentary about 6 beekeepers who encounter startling beauty and spiritual truth in honeybees. At ~3:15 we will make our way to the final stop – the Museum ofScience – where we will check out the museum’s observation hive and get an up-close view of the bees hard at work! The day will wrap up around 4:00pm.
Join us for a single site demo or spend the day touring by bike from hive to hive as we gain insight into the lives of local honeybees and their tenders. Don’t forget your helmet, water and picnic lunch if you plan to be with us all day! Total mileage from start to finish is just under 6 miles.
Pre-registration (which guarantees you a Tour de Hives T-shirt and VIBee access to the Museum of Science’s observation hive exhibit) is available now at:http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/247983. The suggested donation of $20 covers event costs; any proceeds will be reinvested in education and outreach initiatives by the Boston Beekeepers Community. No one will be denied Tour de Hives access/enjoyment for lack of funds (FYI: Museum of Science access requires an event T-shirt be purchased and worn, drop-ins welcome at all other stops).
Further details, a link to a map of the route and other updates can be found at:https://www.facebook.com/BostonBeekeepers#!/events/297115667029162/Questions can be directed to: BostonTourDeHives@gmail.com.
Hosted by: Boston Beekeepers Club
Sponsored by: Maxant Industries, the Beekeeper's Warehouse, the Museum of Science, Boston University, and New England Bees
Contact: Boston Beekeepers Club (BostonTourDeHives@gmail.com)
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GreenPort Forum: Solar Hot Water is Hot
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
7:00pm
Cambridgeport Baptist Church, 459 Putnam Av, Cambridge (corner of Magazine St. and Putnam Av)
Meghan Shaw, Cambridge Energy Alliance
Solar hot water systems are a great way to provide 50% to 75% of all hot water for a household or business. Most solar hot water systems will work with existing plumbing or water heating systems. If building owners act before November 2012, the combined rebates from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and the City of Cambridge could mean a net cost of less than half the full cost of the system. Come to talk about how we can encourage and facilitate more solar installations in Cambridgeport.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is a City-staffed program that is also a collaborative effort of people dedicated to taking action on climate change. CEA relies on the expertise and energy of community activists, businesses, and non-profits.
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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SOCIAL MOVEMENTS & ELECTORAL POLITICS
A Roundtable Connecting #Occupy, Global Movements, the World Social Forum, and Elections
Saturday, June 30, 2012, 6:00 p.m. at encuentro 5 (33 Harrison Ave, 5th
floor, Boston, MA 02111)
featuring: Sarah Francis, Jeff Juris, Suren Moodliar, Thomas
Ponniah, Monica Poole, and (chair) Heike Schotten
The Arab Spring signaled a global wave of social movements challenging inequality, repression, austerity, war, & corporate power. Whatever their strengths, these movements have all had to give serious consideration to how they relate to electoral politics. This timely conversation brings together a diverse group of thoughtful activists and engaged scholars who have connections to the #Occupy movement, the World Social Forum, solidarity movements and grassroots organizing.
NOTE: encuentro 5 is NOT yet wheelchair accessible, call 888-400-1225 to join the conversation via Skype or conference call. Visit website for speaker bios, background information and selected articles.
Speaker bios and more information to follow; light refreshments provided.
More details at http://www.encuentro5.org. See flyer here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1042836/flyer-2012-06-30.pdf
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Opportunity
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Boiler Rebate
If your boiler is from 1983 or earlier, Mass Save will give a $1,750 to $4,000 rebate to switch it out for a new efficient boiler that uses the same fuel (i.e. if you have oil, you have to continue to use oil) so long as it is installed by July 31, 2012.
Call Mass Save (866 527-7283) to sign up for a home energy assessment or sign-up online at www.nextsteplivinginc.com/HEET and HEET will receive a $10 contribution from Next Step Living for every completed assessment.
This is a great way to reduce climate change emissions for the next 20 or so years the boiler lasts, while saving money.
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CEA Solar Hot Water Grants
Cambridge, through the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiative, is offering a limited number of grants to residents and businesses for solar hot water systems. The grants will cover 50% of the remaining out of pocket costs of the system after other incentives, up to $2,000.
Applications will be accepted up to November 19, 2012 and are available on a first come, first serve basis until funding runs out. The Cambridge grant will complement other incentives including the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center solar thermal grants. For more information, seehttp://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/additional-resources/solar-hot-water-grant-program
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Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images
Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera? With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat. However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.
HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.
Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras. They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way). Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.
Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.
The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.
Go to Sagewell.com. Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return. Then click on "Here" to request the report.
That's it. When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.
With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).
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Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ
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HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.
During the assessment, the energy specialist will:
Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.
Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729. A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.
HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.
(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment. We won’t keep the data or sell it.)
(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)
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Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide
SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!
To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha@sbnboston.org
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Massachusetts Attitudes About Climate Change – An opinion survey of Massachusetts residents conducted by MassINC and sponsored by the Barr Foundation found that 77% of respondents believe that global warming has “probably been happening” and 59% of all respondents see see it as being at least partially caused by human pollution. Only 42% of the state’s residents say global warming will have very serious consequences for Massachusetts if left unaddressed. The 18 to 29 age group is more likely to believe global warming is appearing and caused by humans compared to the 60+ age group. African-American (56%) and Latino residents (69%) are more likely than white residents (40%) to believe global warming will be a very serious problem if left unaddressed. The MassINC report, titled The 80 Percent Challenge: What Massachusetts must do to meet targets and make headway on climate change (http://www.massinc.org/Research/The-80-percent-challenge.aspx), contains many other findings.
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Free Monthly Energy Analysis
CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.
https://www.carbonsalon.com/
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Boston Food System
"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."
The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas. Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities. Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers. Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.
It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
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Artisan Asylum http://artisansasylum.com/
Sprout & Co: Community Driven Investigations
Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei@wellesley.edu
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Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents http://hubevents.blogspot.com
Thanks to
Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com
Boston Area Computer User Groups http://www.bugc.org/
Arts and Cultural Events List http://aacel.blogspot.com/
http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php
http://www.mitenergyclub.org/calendar/mit_events_template
http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
http://green.harvard.edu/events
http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/tabid/57/Default.aspx
http://boston.nerdnite.com/
http://www.meetup.com/
http://www.eventbrite.com/
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