hubevents: Energy (and Other) Events

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

---------------------------------------------------------

************************************************

---------------------------------------------------------

************************************************

---------------------

Monday, June 18

--------------------

MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference: The Story and the Algorithm

Schedule at http://civic.mit.edu/conference2012

Livestream at http://knightfoundation.org/live/

---------------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Monday, June 18th

10am – 6pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

Das Haus is a traveling pavilion, a North American tour and an ONGOING INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUEabout advanced technologies for home construction and solar energy use. The purpose – to share German innovations that have achieved sustainable construction and operational energy savings. Attendees will represent leading organizations and businesses in building materials, architecture, engineering, renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses, universities, and public officials.

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

-----------------------------

MIT Economics Department Seminar: Government support of R&D-the Israeli case

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

11:00a–12:00p

MIT, Building E62-223, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Avi Hasson, Chief Scientist, Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor

Mr. Avi Hasson is Israel's Chief Scientist leading the implementation of government policy to support industry R&D. His office is responsible for Assisting technology development in Israel as a means of fostering economic growth. In his talk he will discuss policies designed to encourage technological innovation and entrepreneurship, leverage Israel's scientific potential and enhance the knowledge base of industry, by stimulating high value-added R&D and encouraging R&D collaboration both nationally and internationally. In particular he will highlight the role of specific programs that have been vital to enabling Israel's success as a center for entrepreneurship.

Previously, Mr. Hasson was a general partner at Gemini Israel Funds where he managed the Fund's investments in communication, storage and consumer electronics sectors, supervised portfolio companies throughout their life cycle, was an active board member of companies in the Gemini portfolio. Prior to Gemini, Mr. Hasson had management positions in Israeli high-tech companies ECI Telecom, ECtel and Tadiran Systems.

Hosted by Professor Robert S. Pindyck, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Professor of Economics and Finance, Sloan School of Management

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): Economics Department, Research Laboratory of Electronics

For more information, contact: Tina Gilman

617.253.5957

tgilman@mit.edu

------------------------------

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."

------------------------

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.

---------------------

Tuesday, June 19

---------------------

MIT-Knight Civic Media Conference: The Story and the Algorithm

Schedule at http://civic.mit.edu/conference2012

Livestream at http://knightfoundation.org/live/

---------------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Tuesday, June 18th

10am – 6pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

----------------------------------

Who can Learn Online, And How?

Tuesday, June 19

12:30 pm

Classroom 1010, Wasserstein Hall, Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2012/06/kamenetz#RSVP

This event will be webcast live at 12:30 pm ET at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/webcast and archived on our site shortly after.

Anya Kamenetz, Fast Company Magazine

The selection of free online higher learning experiences--as distinguished from merely raw learning materials, like MIT's Open Courseware --- has expanded greatly in the past six months. Udemy, Coursera, the Minerva Project, Udacity, and edx all offer courses created by faculty at top universities in the Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) format, each with some combination of video lectures, exercises, a social component (chat rooms, wikis, Facebook groups) and even a form of certification for your learning. And many of them are offering these courses for free. Much of the conversation around this new wave of education startups has focused on what they mean for the incumbent institutions, from for-profit online universities to the traditional Ivy League. But what about what they mean for learners? Who is currently succeeding in open learning contexts? What are the missing pieces of the ecosystem--from discovery, to peer support, to mentoring, to assessment--that will allow the most severely underserved learners to succeed in this new learning environment?

About Anya

Anya Kamenetz is a senior writer at Fast Company Magazine. She's the author of two books and two ebooks about the future of education. Generation Debt (Riverhead, 2006), dealt with student loans, generational economics and politics, and DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education, (Chelsea Green, 2010) investigated the roots of the cost, access, and quality crises in higher education as well as innovations to address these crises. Her 2011 ebooks were The Edupunks' Guide, funded by the Gates Foundation, and Learning, Freedom and the Web, produced in collaboration with the Mozilla community. She was named a 2010 Game Changer in Education by the Huffington Post, received two National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2009 and 2010, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing by the Village Voice in 2005. She travels and speaks across the country, Twitters @anya1anya, and occasionally gives commentary on NPR, CNN and other news networks. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

-----------------------------

9/11: EXPLOSIVE EVIDENCE EXPERTS SPEAK OUT- FINAL EDITION

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Doors Open at 6:00 PM. Film Starts at 7:00 PM.
West Newton Cinema, 1296 Washington Street, West Newton, MA 02465

$10 admission

Order your tickets on line now at 911ExpertsSpeakOut.org

Live in person introduction by Director/Architect Richard Gage, AIA
Discussion to follow the film.

40 whistle blowing experts present the evidence of controlled demolition of the three World Trade Center skyscrapers on 9/11.

AE911truth Contact: eso-info@ae911truth.org
Local Contact: rich.mccampbell@crbusa.com

Editorial Comment: In the interest of promoting heterodox opinions and uncomfortable controversy

-------------------------

Wednesday, June 20

-------------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Tuesday, June 18th

10am – 12:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

-----------------------------------

Biologically Inspired Miniature Robot Locomotion

Wednesday, Jun 20, 2012

2:00pm – 3:00pm

60 Oxford Street, Room 330 Cambridge

Speaker: Metin Sitti, Ph.D., NanoRobotics Lab & Center for Bio-Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract: Biological systems have evolved to find just-good-enough solutions to survive. By understanding and adapting the underlying principles of these solutions to engineering systems, new miniature mobile robots that can operate in unstructured environments robustly and efficiently are investigated in this presentation. First, various palm-size climbing robot platforms using gecko foot-hairs inspired micro-fiber adhesives as their repeatable and power efficient attachment materials are proposed. Geckos are very agile and robust climbers on wide range of smooth and slightly rough surfaces. Understanding the principle of gecko foot-hair adhesion, synthetic fibrillar adhesives are designed and fabricated. Vertical polyurethane elastomer micro-fiber arrays with mushroom like tip endings are shown to enhance adhesion and friction as strong as gecko foot-hairs on smooth surfaces. Also, angled elastomer micro-fibers with angled tips are proposed to enable highly directional/anisotropic friction and controlled adhesion similar to biological foot-hairs. Next, miniature robots with legged locomotion on water surface are proposed inspired by water striders and basilisk lizards. Water striders can stay on water surface using surface tension based lift forces due to their very hydrophobic hairy supporting legs and can move on water up to 1.5 m/s peak speeds by rowing two side legs. On the other hand, basilisk lizard uses very fast rotation of its two legs with a specific elliptic trajectory at 6-10 Hz frequencies. By slapping and stroking their feet into the water, the lizard lifts and propels its body. Legged robots utilizing similar principles on water surface are proposed and demonstrated. Bio-inspired robots are aimed to enhance our understanding of animal locomotion and also have potential applications in mobile sensor networks, environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and inspection.

Contact information:caitlin.wells@wyss.harvard.edu

--------------------------------

An Archaeology of Disaster and Desert at Deir Mar Musa, Syria

WHEN Wed., June 20, 2012, 4 – 5 p.m.

WHERE Semitic Museum, Room 201, 3 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge

GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences

ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Art Museums and the Semitic Museum

SPEAKER(S) Robert Mason

COST Free

CONTACT INFO semiticm@fas.harvard.edu

NOTE Typically when archaeologists study the remains of the people of the past in the Middle East they focus on where people commonly lived, the lands often referred to as the Fertile Crescent. But the founders of the Monastery of St Moses, or Deir Mar Musa, deliberately chose to live where people did not commonly live: in the desert. Study of this complex is aimed at understanding the sequence of construction, often related as much to earthquake as planning, and occupation of the site, including extra-mural contacts. A major aspect of this is to attempt to understand the desert context in which the monastery exists. As such it includes a survey of the surrounding desert aimed at determining changing use of the environment going back to the earliest traceable times.

LINK http://www.semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k66717&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup115733

--------------------------------

The Microbiology of Food

Wed, June 20

4:00pm – 5:30pm

Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) seminar room, 24 Oxford St, 3rd Floor, Room 310, Cambridge

contact noramillanrivas@gmail.com

-------------------------------

Seeds of Resistance Gathering: COUNTER CONFERENCE
Wednesday, June 20th
5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth Street, Jamaica Plain
Suggested $5-$10 donation, to go towards cost of space and food

Contact Ashley, one of the organizers, with any questions, comments, or
concerns, at ashley@ciclovida.org, 774-460-1274

A gathering to share, organize, learn, and strategize in resistance to industrial agriculture and for alternative solutions.

Featuring the world premiere of Ciclovida: Lifecycle's new short film about agrofuels!

--------------------------------

"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!

----------------------

Thursday, June 21

----------------------

Building Technologies Symposium at MIT

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

9:00AM - 2:00PM

Building 7, Room 431 (Long Lounge), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

If you are interested in attending, we encourage you to RSVP.

This cross-disciplinary symposium will feature a dialogue among policymakers, industry and researchers who will address real-world market challenges in building technologies.

RSVP and more information at http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/

---------------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Thursday, June 21th

10am – 5:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

-------------------------------

e-Heritage, Cyber-Archaeology, and Cloud Museum

Thursday, June 21 2012

3:00PM to 4:00PM

Refreshments: 2:45PM

MIT, Building 32-D463, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Katsushi Ikeuchi, University of Tokyo

We have been conducting e-Heritage project, which converts assets that form our cultural heritage into digital forms, by using computer vision and computer graphics technologies, so that we can utilize such forms 1) for preservation in digital form of our irreplaceable treasures for future generations, 2) for planning and physical restoration using the digital forms as basic models from which we can manipulate data, 3) for cyber archaeology, investigation of digitized data through computer analysis, and 4) for education and promotion through multimedia contents based on the digital data. This talk briefly overviews our e-Heritage projects in Italy, Cambodia, and Japan, and explains what were hardware and software issues, how to overcome them by designing new sensors using recent computer vision technologies, and how to process these data using computer graphics technologies. Also, we explain how to use such data for archaeological analysis, and what are new findings. Finally, we emphasize a new way to display such digital data by using the mixed reality systems, i.e. head-mount displays on site, connected from cloud computers.

Brief Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Katsushi Ikeuchi is a Professor at the University of Tokyo. He received a Ph.D. degree in Information Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1978. After working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AI Lab for two years, Electrotechnical Lab, Japan for five years, and Carnegie Mellon University for ten years, he joined the university in 1996. His research interest spans computer vision, robotics, and computer graphics. He has received several awards, including the IEEE Marr Award, the IEEE RAS most active distinguished lecturer award and the IEEE-CS ICCV Significant Researcher Award as well as Shiju Houshou (the Medal of Honor with Purple ribbon) from the Emperor. He is a fellow of IEEE, IEICE, IPSJ, and RSJ.

Contact: Maysoon Hamdiyyah, (617) 253-6693, maysoon@csail.mit.edu

---------------------------

Solar & Home Energy Efficiency Workshop

Thursday, June 21, 2012

6:30 PM to 8:00 PM

Brighton Public Library, 40 Academy Hill Rd, Boston

We solved the energy crisis - it's called paying less!

It's time that you saved money on your electricity costs by going SOLAR! And don't be the last one on your block to get your Mass Save Home Energy Assessment - come find out how you can save even more money and energy in your home!

Brighton Residents can now find out more about these great opportunities by joining your friends and neighbors at the library to meet a member of your community who has already experienced just how these great programs in Massachussets save you money every month and lower your carbon footprint.

See if you can GO SOLAR with little to no cost and save money every month on your electric bills. A solar adviser will help you determine if your home qualifies for the prorgam and answer all of your questions.

Never considered solar before? This is a great way to get your first introduction to how Massachusetts residents are taking control of their energy costs and doing your part to help the environment while getting to meet some of your neighbors and fellow community members.

Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP with your name and number of attendees at http://brightonsolarworkshop-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=319

We look forward to meeting with you!

-------------------------------

Democracy is a design problem: How changes in design change the outcome of elections

Thursday, 21 June

7:00 PM,

MIT Room E51-315, the corner of Wadsworth and Amherst Streets and Memorial Drive

Dana Chisnell

This is a story about how a simple change in type size on a commonly used form led to two major wars and a world wide economic crisis. Design matters.

We keep learning this lesson on ballots, on web sites, in software and devices, and in the interactions we have with customers and users. And yet, there are glimmers of hope everywhere - successful designs where small changes made all the positive difference. Dana will discuss some of the lesser-known disasters, show some surprising successes, and share results from her research and usability testing on ballot designs and instructions to voters.

Even if your day job is seemingly far away from world-changing events, Dana will show you how you, too, can get involved and start contributing your super powers to make your world a better place.

Dana is the person federal and state election officials call on when they need to do something about ballot usability and design.

Over the last 8 years, Dana E. Chisnell has trained more than a thousand election officials to test the design of their ballots to avoid costly mistakes and unwarranted attention. She's given highly rated presentations and workshops for a dozen state election departments and conferences, as well as voter advocacy groups and secretaries of state.

As a member of the Brennan Center for Justice's ballot design task force, Dana advises on plain language, ballot design, and usability testing. She's also one of the leaders of the Usability in Civic Life Project, which developed the LEO Usability Testing Kit, a simple training tool for local election officials.

This is a joint meeting of the Boston Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society on Social Implications of Technology, and GBC/ACM

Up-to-date information about this and other talks is available online at http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/boston/computer/. You can sign up to receive updated status information about this talk and informational emails about future talks at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/ieee-cs, our self-administered mailing list.

-------------------

Friday, June 22

-------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Fridday, June 22th

10am – 5:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

----------------------------

Friday June 22

7pm-9pm

Encuentro 5, 5th floor, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston

Facilitated by OBIT and Jeremy Stark

OBIT is proud to present a consensus building tool focused on accessing direct democracy and using technology to influence political outcomes at the state and federal levels.

http://www.occupyboston.org/2012/06/15/technology-direct-democracy/

----------------------

Saturday, June 23

----------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Saturday, June 23th

10am – 5:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

--------------------------------

“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)

--------------------

Sunday, June 24

--------------------

Das Haus Pavilion

Sundday, June 24th

10am – 5:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

-----------------------------

Cool Green Homes Brookline

Sunday, June 24, 2012

1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Devotion School Lawn 345 Harvard St Brookline

Home Energy Solutions Outdoor Workshop and Family Fair

Open to Renters, Homeowners, Landlords, and Kids!

Learn how to keep your home cool in the summer and

warm in the winter with Green Homes Brookline! Green Homes Brookline is a town-sponsored program for home energy improvements.

Topics will include:

No cost home energy assessments

No cost “air sealing” to reduce drafts

Up to $2,000 for improvements in each unit!

Zero-interest financing with no money down

Affordable Solar Electric options

Affordable multi-zone heating and cooling systems

Activities will include:

Face painting, fun demonstrations, energy quiz, and other environmentally geared kids activities

Solar-powered TV's can show you if your roof is right for Solar!

Home Energy Solutions Workshop and Demonstration

HVAC system demonstration

Free food and cool drinks and more..

Top 10 Summertime Benefits of Acting Now for Home Energy Solutions:

1. No-cost CFL lightbulbs give off less heat

2. Insulation makes your home cooler in the summer and warmer in winter

3. Get rid of your bulky, expensive, loud air conditioners – learn about our high efficiency, zone cooling/heating systems.

4. Stay cool with the HEAT Loan, a 0% interest loan for up to $25,000 in financing for HVAC upgrades and other improvements.

5. Weatherize before the Fall rush. September begins the busy heating season, which can mean a longer wait to insulation and weatherize your home.

6. Weatherizing in the summer is easier! a. On your house b. On your house siding materials c. On our crews

7. Capture the power of the summer sun and moderate those skyrocketing summer electric bills - Go solar!

8. Keep cool air circulating longer with no-cost air sealing.

9. Help keep summers cool by lowering 30-40% of your global warming impact.

10. Stop losing money now – start saving energy today!

RSVP appreciated but not required. Please contact Marisa Antolino at 603-498-4430 or marisa.antolino@nextsteplivinginc.com to RSVP or for more information about the workshop. Visit our website at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/green-homes-brookline/ or call 866-867-8729 to sign up.

--------------------

Monday, June 25

--------------------

Renewable Energy Lending 101 for Massachusetts Community Banks

Monday, June 25, 2012

9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Bingham McCutchen LLP, One Federal Street, Boston

This session will present an overview of key concepts in renewable energy development and finance presented by experts from MassCEC, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and Bingham McCutchen. Topics include:

Overview of renewable energy project development: What are key milestones in the development process for commercialized renewable energy technologies?

RECs / SRECs: How do these credit markets function and to what extent should revenues be included in project economics?

Interconnection: What is interconnection and how does its acquisition influence project viability?

Permitting: What are key state and local permits that must be acquired for project construction?

Net metering: What is net metering, how do projects obtain the right to net meter, and how does this influence project economics?

PPA structures: What are the main power purchase agreement (PPA) structures present in the state today? What are some of the benefits and disadvantages of each structure?

Tax benefits: How do tax benefits contribute to project owner and developer returns? How can banks monetize this value to improve debt coverage?

Please RSVP no later than June 18, 2012 at http://massachusettsrenewableenergy101-es2.eventbrite.com/?srnk=447

If you have any questions, please contact Sumit Kadakia at skadakia@masscec.com

----------------------------

Gravity, Pendulums and the Conservation of Energy

Monday, June 25, 2012

1:00p–2:00p

MIT, Building 26-100, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Walter Lewin, Professor of Physics, Emeritus, author of "For the Love of Physics"

These lectures are free and open to the public. They will be videotaped to air on Japanese Public Television (NHK). By attending you are giving NHK your consent to possibly appear on this television program without any compensation or credit.

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): Physics Colloquia and Seminars

For more information, contact: Nina Wu

ninawu@mit.edu

**********

------------
Upcoming
------------

**********

Das Haus Pavilion

Tuesday, June 26th

10:30am – 4:30pm

219 Vassar Street, Cambridge

PAVILION OPEN HOURS

http://cambridge.dashaustour.com/rsvp/

-------------------------------------

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

------------------------------

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

*************

----------------

Opportunity

---------------

*************

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.

------------------------

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

-----------------------

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).

---------------------

Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ

-----------------------

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.)

*********

-----------

Resource

-----------

*********

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

--------------------------------------------------

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.

----------------------------------------------------

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/

---------------------------------------

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

----------------------

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

------------------------

Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

********************************************

-----------------------------------------------------

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/

http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/calendar

http://harddatafactory.com/mobileapp.shtml

http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/

hubevents

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Energy (and Other) Events - June 17, 2012

No comments: