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

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Providential Experimentation
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/26/1190128/-Providential-Experimentation

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Event Index - full Event Details available below the Index

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Monday, March 4
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11am Equilibrium tropical cyclone size in radiative-convective equilibrium
12pm A New Social Safety Net?
12pm "Frugal Innovation"
12:15pm Challenges for Machine Learning in Computational Sustainability
4pm Energy Efficient Design: Amplifiers for High Data Rate Wireless Communications
4pm What matters in Social Networks: Defining Factors of Interest for Agent-Based Socio Cognitive Simulations
4pm Nuclear Policies, Practices, and Problems: 2013 David J. Rose Lectureship in Nuclear Technology
4pm Through the Looking Glass: Examining the Intersection of Politics, Policy, and the Future of the Conservative Movement
5pm Future of Energy
5:30pm "Consilience: Science and the Human Past"
5:30pm Teaching Empathy and Preventing Bullying: Solutions for Families and Schools
6pm Can Computers Read Our Minds? Real-Time Brain Input for Interactive Systems
6:30pm Microfinance 101 with Accion International
7pm Experiments in Thinking, Action & Form: CINEMATIC MIGRATIONS II

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Tuesday, March 5
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NESEA Building Energy Conference
10am "Quantifying Emissions of Greenhouse Gases from South Asia through a Targeted Measurement Campaign"
12pm Science Policy Lunch with Robert K. Coughlin
12pm "The Path to Profit for News and Magazines."
12:30pm Cleantech Innovations New England Technology Showcase NECEC Institute
12:30pm Beyond Participation: Transforming Local Civic Engagement Through an Online Game
1pm Finding Truth Even If The Crowd Is Wrong
4pm Quantum Dots: From MIT to Market
4pm The Early History of the Moon: 41st Annual James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award Lecture
4pm 2013 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Announcement & Invention Showcase
4pm "Energy Politics: After Carbon Democracy"
4pm The Art of Communications: Communicating in Crisis
4:30pm Syria, Two Years into the Revolution
5pm Bessora: "Literature in the Digital Age"
5:30pm Happy Hour at Greentown Labs with NEWIEE and YPE
6pm Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting Keynote with Nicholas Kristoff
6pm Preparing Massachusetts for Climate Change: Do State and Local Government Have a Role, and What Are They Doing?

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Wednesday, March 6
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9am Goldsmith Seminar panel discussion
4pm A Conversation with Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
4pm Cumulative Carbon Emissions and the Climate Mitigation Challenge
4pm Borders, Geography, and Oligopoly: Evidence from the Wind Turbine Industry
4:10pm Localizing Development: Does Participation Work?
4:15pm SSRC Seminar Series: Designing Systems for a Complex World
4:15pm "Corporate Political Strategy and Environmental Sustainability in China"
5:30pm Big Data - and its Dark Side
5:30pm "Taking the Car Out of Carbon: Sustainability Notes from the MTA"
6pm Congo’s Invisible War: An exploration through the work of war correspondent Finbarr O'Reilly
7pm Meadowscaping in Urban & Suburban Spaces
7pm Divest Harvard Teach-In

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Thursday, March 7
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NESEA Building Energy Conference
11:30am The Logical Illusion of ECO-Ships
12pm Permaculture and the Sacred: A Conversation with Starhawk
12:30pm Information Technology, Crime, and Security
3pm Andrew Young and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
5:30pm Is Cleanweb the Future of Cleantech?
6:30pm The Design of Robotic Fabricated Architecture: The 7th Goldstein Lecture
7pm Lightning talks: H/H & Nieman-Berkman are looking for the top new apps, cos.
7pm Urban Films: The World of Buckminster Fuller

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Friday, March 8
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7:30am 16th Annual International Women's Day Breakfast
9am The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: RGGI Amendments: Implications for New England & the Nation
9am Boston Freedom in Online Communications Day
3pm Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table
6pm The Game’s Afoot: Video Game Art

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Saturday, March 9
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9am Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table
9am Urban Farming Conference - “Cultivating Lands, Nourishing Communities, Building Businesses”
1:30pm The Green Neighbors Education Committee, Inc. and the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. present:
Spring Planting 2013

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Sunday, March 10
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9:30am MCAN / TAC Local Environmental Action Conference

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Monday, March 11
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12pm The Crises In Employment, Consumption, Economic Growth, and the Environment: Could a Shorter Workweek and a Greener Economy Provide Relief?
12pm “Open Source Science and Social Science: Forming a Public Laboratory”
12pm "Using Feed-in Tariffs to Foster the Development and Diffusion of Clean Energy Technologies - Lessons from the Case of Solar Photovoltaic Power in Germany"
12:30pm "Approach to Net Zero": Building Technology Lecture Series
7pm The Environmental Crisis and Capitalism
7pm I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You

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Tuesday, March 12
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6:30pm Cooperative Networking Night

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Event Details

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Monday, March 4
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Equilibrium tropical cyclone size in radiative-convective equilibrium
Monday, March 04, 2013
11:00a–12:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)

Speaker: Dan Chavas (MIT)
Tropical cyclone size remains an unsolved problem in tropical meteorology, yet size plays a significant role in the damage caused by tropical cyclones due to wind, storm surge, and inland freshwater flooding. This work explores the physical determinants of tropical cyclone size and structure in a highly-idealized state of radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE) governed by only four external thermodynamic parameters, which are shown to modulate the storm structure primarily via modulation of the potential intensity. We find that the equilibrium radial wind profile is primarily a function of a single non-dimensional parameter given by the ratio of the storm radial length scale to the parameterized eddy radial length scale, with a secondary non-dimensional parameter modulating only the far outer circulation. The storm radial length scale is found to be the ratio of the potential intensity to the Coriolis parameter, matching the prediction for the "natural" storm length scale embedded within prevailing axisymmetric tropical cyclone theory. Meanwhile, the Rossby deformation radius is shown not to be fundamental.

MIT Atmospheric Seminar Series (MASS)
The MIT Atmospheric Science Seminar (MASS) is a student-run weekly seminar series within PAOC. Seminar topics include all research concerning the atmosphere and climate, but also talks about e.g. societal impacts of climatic processes. The seminars usually take place on Monday from 12-1pm followed by a lunch with graduate students. Besides the seminar, individual meetings with professors, post-docs, and students are arranged. The seminar series is run by graduate students and is intended mainly for students to interact with individuals outside the department, but faculty and post docs certainly participate.

Web site: http://eaps-www.mit.edu/paoc/events/calendars/mass
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate (PAOC), MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars, Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: MASS organizing committee
mass@mit.edu

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A New Social Safety Net?
WHEN Mon., Mar. 4, 2013, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE Taubman, NYE A, 5th floor, Harvard Kennedy School, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) Peggy Levitt, professor of sociology, Wellesley College; Sarah Van Walsum, professor in migration law and family ties, Vrije University in Amsterdam
NOTE Frontline with Faculty Series: http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/1876/spring-2013-frontline-with-faculty-series-2/
LINK http://hausercenter.harvard.edu/1876/spring-2013-frontline-with-faculty-series-2/

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"Frugal Innovation"
Monday, March 4, 2013
12:00pm - 1:30pm
Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

with Daniel Nocera, Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy at Harvard
ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar

Contact Name: Louisa Lund
louisa_lund@hks.harvard.edu

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Challenges for Machine Learning in Computational Sustainability
Mar 04, 2013
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G125, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Tom Dietterich, Oregon State University
Research in computational sustainability seeks to develop and apply methods from computer science to the many challenges of managing the earth’s ecosystems sustainably. Viewed as a control problem, ecosystem management is challenging for two reasons. First, we lack good models of the function and structure of the earth’s ecosystems. Second, it is difficult to compute optimal management policies because ecosystems exhibit complex spatio-temporal interactions at multiple scales.

This talk will discuss some of the many challenges and opportunities for machine learning research in computational sustainability. These include sensor placement, data interpretation, model fitting, computing robust optimal policies, and finally executing those policies successfully. Examples will be discussed on current work and open problems in each of these problems.

All of these sustainability problems involve spatial modeling and optimization, and all of them can be usefully conceived in terms of facilitating or preventing flows along edges in spatial networks. For example, encouraging the recovery of endangered species involves creating a network of suitable habitat and encouraging spread along the edges of the network. Conversely, preventing the spread of diseases, invasive species, and pollutants involves preventing flow along edges of networks. Addressing these problems will require advances in several areas of machine learning and optimization.

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Energy Efficient Design: Amplifiers for High Data Rate Wireless Communications

Monday, March 4, 2013

4:00 pm
BU Photonics Center, 8 Saint Mary’s Street, Room 339, Boston

Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m.

With Taylor Barton, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Microsystems Technology Laboratories, MIT

Abstract: The past few years have shown an explosive increase in demand for smartphones and mobile devices with high data rate capabilities. Data streaming and mobile connectivity anywhere, anytime has become ubiquitous. In order to meet this ever-increasing demand for data traffic, modern communications standards require wide-bandwidth circuits that transmit signals with high peak-to-average ratios. At the same time, a combination of the rising cost of energy and interest in limiting energy consumption has increased demand for energy-efficient systems. The combination of these two effects has generated an urgent need for efficient RF power amplifiers in order to avoid a future energy crunch in wireless networking.Power efficiency in RF amplifiers has been a longstanding challenge. The difficulty stems from the linearity/efficiency tradeoff in conventional designs, which is at odds with the modern requirement of power amplifiers with linear output control that is efficient over a wide operating range. As we move toward multi-gigabit data rates, it will be necessary to employ aggressive modulation schemes to higher frequency bands, exacerbating the design difficulty.In order to surmount this challenge, I have developed a new power combining system for wireless communications based on the principle of outphasing, i.e. phase-based output power control using multiple switched-mode power amplifiers. In contrast to conventional outphasing techniques such as Chireix outphasing, this new power combining system provides nearly resistive load modulation, and thus considerably improved loading conditions for the power amplifiers. The architecture takes advantage of GaN devices, which enable the development of switched-mode power amplifiers that operate efficiently at high frequencies and high power. In this seminar, I will present the architecture along with its implementation in both discrete and microstrip-based forms.About the Speaker: Taylor Barton received an ScD degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012 for her research in energy-efficient power amplifiers for wireless communications. Dr. Barton also holds ScB, MEng, and EE degrees from MIT's department of electrical engineering and computer science. Her research interests and background are in the areas of analog and RF circuits, particularly applied to microwave communications. She is currently a postdoctoral research associate at MIT in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories.Dr. Barton received the Goodwin Medal for effective teaching at MIT and the Analog Devices Outstanding Student Designer Award in 2011. Her extracurricular pursuits include building autonomous sailing robots.

More information at http://www.bu.edu/ece/files/2013/02/Barton.pdf

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What matters in Social Networks: Defining Factors of Interest for Agent-Based Socio Cognitive Simulations
March 4, 2013
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Tufts, Kreplick conference room, Psychology Dept, 490 Boston Avenue, Medford

Speaker: Frank Ritter, Penn State

Abstract
This talk examines social tie formation, and how cognitive and environmental factors influence the formation of dyadic ties. Using agent models instantiated in ACT-R that interact in a large-scale social simulation, we capture the effect of environmental factors including population size, running time, and map configurations, as well as memory constraints. To explore and test these relationships, we ran simulations using a factorial design and used the simulation data to generate a large corpus of networks. Our analyses suggest five interesting conclusions: (a) that the three environmental factors all influence both network density and some aspects of network structures; (b) that agent memory strongly and decisively alters the network's density and structure; (c) the growth pattern of these networks approximates a power law distribution; (d) that the environment structure influences the networks' generation speed; and finally, (e) certain map configurations tend to have more asymmetric activation patterns. These findings are interesting in that they imply that the size of a social network primarily depends on internal cognitive factors rather than environmental factors, providing support for and deepening our understanding of Dunbar's (1998) number. These findings also suggest that future simulations examining generative social networks should account for and carefully report these factors.

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Nuclear Policies, Practices, and Problems: 2013 David J. Rose Lectureship in Nuclear Technology
Monday, March 4, 2013
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
MIT Wong Auditorium, E 51-115, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Barbara Judge
Lady Judge, a trained commercial lawyer with both British and American citizenship, has an unusually broad and successful international career as a senior executive, chairman and non-executive director in both the private and public sectors.

She received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and Juris Doctor with honours from New York University Law School and was a partner in a major US law firm specialising in corporate and financial transactions.

In 1980 she was appointed by the President as a Commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Thereafter she was appointed as the first woman executive director of both Samuel Montagu and subsequently News International, among others.

She was appointed a Director of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in 2002 and became its Chairman in 2004 and was reappointed in 2007. In 2010, upon completion of her two terms, she was appointed Chairman of the UK Pension Protection Fund. In addition she is a member of the UK Nuclear Development Forum and Chairman of The Energy Institute of University College London. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Istanbul International Energy & Climate Center at Sabanci University.

In November 2010 Lady Judge was appointed by the Prime Minister as a Business Ambassador for the UK.

She is also Chairman of the International Advisory Board of SOAS and its London Middle East Institute. In addition she was the first woman member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School of Management and is currently a member of its Executive Board for Europe, Middle East and Africa and a member of the International Advisory Board of Sabanci University.

Lady Judge is also Deputy Chairman of the Tepco Nuclear Reform Committee and a member of the UAE Advisory Board for the Development of Peaceful Nuclear Energy and a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, Centre for Corporate Reputation.

In June 2010 she was awarded Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the nuclear and financial services industries.

For more information, contact: Lisa Magnano-Bleheen
617-253-7522
magnano@mit.edu

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Through the Looking Glass: Examining the Intersection of Politics, Policy, and the Future of the Conservative Movement
WHEN Mon., Mar. 4, 2013, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Littauer 166, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Institute of Politics, Fellowships & Study Groups
SPEAKER(S) John Murray, spring 2013 IOP Fellow; Ali Lapp, House majority PAC
CONTACT INFO eric_andersen@hks.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.iop.harvard.edu/through-looking-glass-led-john-murray-1

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Future of Energy
Monday, March 4, 2013
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Harvard, Science Center C, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Allison Macfarlane, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Honorable Allison M. Macfarlane was sworn in as chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission July 9, 2012. She was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to a term expiring June 30, 2013.

Dr. Macfarlane, an expert on nuclear waste issues, holds a doctorate in geology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s of science degree in geology from the University of Rochester. Prior to beginning her term as the NRC’s 15th chairman, Dr. Macfarlane was an associate professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

From 2010 to 2012 she served on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, created by the Obama Administration to make recommendations about a national strategy for dealing with the nation’s high-level nuclear waste. Her research has focused on environmental policy and international security issues associated with nuclear energy, especially the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. In 2006, MIT Press published a book she co-edited, Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation’s High-Level Nuclear Waste, which explored technical issues at the proposed waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nev.

During her academic career, she held fellowships at Radcliffe College, MIT, and Stanford and Harvard Universities. From 1998 to 2000 she was a Social Science Research Fellow-MacArthur Foundation Fellow in International Peace and Security. She has served on National Academy of Sciences panels on nuclear energy and nuclear weapons issues. From 2003 to 2004, she was on the faculty at Georgia Tech in Earth science and international affairs.

Dr. Macfarlane is the third woman to serve as chairman, the 33rd member and the only individual with a background in geology to serve on the Commission.

Contact Name: Lisa Matthews
lisa_matthews@harvard.edu

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"Consilience: Science and the Human Past"

Monday, March 04, 2013
5:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building 14E-304, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Michael McCormick
The advances of the sciences are producing revolutionary changes in our knowledge of the human past, from genomic archaeology that detects ancient migrations and admixtures from living genomes, to climate science, which is reconstructing the changing environmental context of human civilizations from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Jamestown Colony, via the myriad contributions of computer science, for instance in the growth of digital texts ancient and modern, culturomics, hyperspectral imaging and Geographic Information Systems.??

Michael McCormick is Francis Goelet Professor of Medieval History at Harvard University.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Literature Section, SHASS Dean's Office, Ancient & Medieval Studies Program
For more information, contact: Arthur Bahr
253-3616

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Askwith Forum: Teaching Empathy and Preventing Bullying: Solutions for Families and Schools
WHEN Mon., Mar. 4, 2013, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138
TYPE OF EVENT Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
BUILDING/ROOM Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME Amber DiNatale
CONTACT EMAIL askwith_forums@gse.harvard.edu
CONTACT PHONE 617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED No
ADMISSION FEE This event is free and open to the public.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Education, Lecture, Special Events
NOTE Moderator: Richard Weissbourd, director, Human Development and Psychology Program; lecturer on education,HGSE
Speakers: Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Empathy, and R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder.

Though bullying has increasingly moved to the Internet, kids still torment each other in the hallways at school. In fact, in person and online bullying usually go together. In this new landscape, what should schools and parents do? What about social network sites—what kind of help should we expect from them? In conversation, Bazelon and Palacio will discuss the lessons they’ve learned about the approaches that proven most effective.

Please note: Seating for all Askwith Forums is on a first-come, first-serve basis unless otherwise noted. It is recommended you arrive early in order to obtain a seat as seats cannot be saved.
Want to win a reserved seat for this forum? Become a fan of the Ed School on Facebook (www.facebook.com/harvardeducation) and watch for a posting about this event.

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Can Computers Read Our Minds? Real-Time Brain Input for Interactive Systems

Monday, 4 March

6:00 PM
MIT, Room 32-124, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Dr. Erin Solovey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Most human-computer interaction techniques cannot fully capture the richness of the user’s thoughts and intentions when interacting with a computer system. For example, when we communicate with other people, we do not simply use words, but also accompanying cues that give the other person additional insight to our thoughts. At the same time, several physiological changes occur that may or may not be detected by the other person. When we communicate with computers, we also generate these additional signals, but the computer cannot sense such signals, and therefore ignores them. Detecting these signals in real time and incorporating them into the user interface could improve the communication channel between the computer and the human user with little additional effort required of the user.

In this talk, I will discuss our research using brain sensor data as a passive, implicit input channel that expands the bandwidth between the human and computer by providing supplemental information about the user. Using a relatively new brain sensing tool called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we can detect signals within the brain that indicate various cognitive states. This device provides data on brain activity while remaining portable and non-invasive. The cognitive state information can be used as input to provide the user with a richer and more supportive environment, particularly in challenging or high workload situations such as management of unmanned aerial vehicles, driving, air traffic control, video games, health care, education, mobile situations, and anything involving information overload, interruptions or multitasking. In addition, while most of my research has focused on the broader population of healthy users, many of the results would benefit disabled users as well, by providing additional channels of communication in a lightweight manner.

Erin Solovey, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the Humans and Automation Lab (HAL) at MIT, working with Missy Cummings. Her main research area is human-computer interaction, specifically next-generation interaction techniques, such as tangible interfaces and reality-based interaction. Her dissertation research investigated the use of non-invasive brain sensor data as an implicit, supplemental input channel to interactive systems. She is particularly interested in supporting users dealing with multitasking, interruptions and information overload, as well as understanding human interaction with complex and autonomous systems.

Dr. Solovey has received several awards including the NSF/CRA Computing Innovation Fellowship and a CHI Best Paper Honorable Mention Award, and her work has been covered in MIT Technology Review, Slashdot, Engadget and others. She received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Harvard University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from Tufts University, working in the Human-Computer Interaction Research Group with Robert Jacob. She also has conducted research at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and in the Computational User Experiences group at Microsoft Research with Desney Tan and Dan Morris. Previously, she was a software engineer at Oracle, and also has experience at several startups.

This meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Emily Anesta,eanesta@ieee.org, (781) 981-6731, or visit the IEEE website at http://www.ieeeboston.org/

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Microfinance 101 with Accion International
Monday, March 4, 2013
6:30 PM
Hostelling International Boston, 19 Stuart Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-International-Volunteers/events/104645042/

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is well and survived the blizzard. Just wanted to let you all know that Accion International, a Boston-based NGO, is hosting a very special presentation delving into the world of microfinance. Senior Director of Resource Development, Erika Eurkus, and Kate McGrath, Manager of the Accion Ambassadors Program, will be discussing the basics of microfinance development here in the US and abroad. In addition, they'll highlight the pressing issues within the microfinance industry today and how each of you can get involved, namely through the Accion Ambassadors Program. The program sends interested volunteers to Accion's partner microfinance institutions where they can document the impact of microfinance on the poor. Event starts at 6:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be served.

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Experiments in Thinking, Action & Form: CINEMATIC MIGRATIONS II
Monday, March 04, 2013
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-001, ACT Cube, Wiesner Building, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

John Akomfrah, OBE
Director, filmmaker, and writer, Smoking Dogs Films, UK
Lina Gopaul
Producer and writer, Smoking Dogs Films, UK
Considering the Stuart Hall Project
The Stuart Hall Project (2012) is a film on the cultural theorist and sociologist Stuart Hall. Directed by John Akomfrah and produced by Lina Gopaul, the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2013. Through archival footage, television excerpts, family photographs, and music, Akomfrah's portrayal of Hall's life, work, and cultural impact explores issues of identity, cultural acceptance, immigration, and assimilation. In their lecture, the filmmakers will reflect on the film's cultural and technological context.

John Akomfrah, OBE, and Lina Gopaul co-founded the seminal film and video group Black Audio Film Collective and the more recent production company Smoking Dogs Films. Their collaborative and long-standing partnership has won them over thirty-five international awards and over one hundred official film festival selections. Exploring the fertile grounds of film, television, and new technologies, their work challenges and redefines traditional modes of documentary filmmaking.

This lecture is presented in collaboration with the MIT Visiting Artists Program.

Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/lectures-series/2013-spring/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Department of Architecture, Arts at MIT
For more information, contact: Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act@mit.edu

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Tuesday, March 5
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NESEA Building Energy Conference
March 5-7
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston
Register at http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/

Editorial Comment: Building Energy is the premier green building and energy conference in the Northeast. It's audience is primarily professional architects, buildings, planners, and designers but it showcases the latest technology available for the energy conscious consumer as well.

It costs money but is definitely worth it, even if you are just going to the trade show. However, here's a promo code for $50 off conference passes : 50GMOKEBE13 .

This year should be especially good as Paul Eldrenkamp of Biggmeister, a fine energy craftsman, led the conference committee.

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Doctoral Dissertation Defense entitled: "Quantifying Emissions of Greenhouse Gases from South Asia through a Targeted Measurement Campaign"

Tuesday, March 05, 2013
10:00a–11:00a
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)

Speaker: Anita Ganesan

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Jacqui Taylor
617-253-2127

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"The Path to Profit for News and Magazines."

Tuesday, March 5

12 p.m.

Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge

Speaker Series with Josh Tyrangiel, editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and an executive editor of Bloomberg News.

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Science Policy Lunch with Robert K. Coughlin
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
12:00p–1:00p
Location: RSVP to spi-lunch@mit.edu for location

As President and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Bob's mission is to foster a positive environment that enables each biotechnology company to achieve its full potential in Massachusetts, making the state a world center for biotechnology. He is very familiar with all areas of the Massachusetts life sciences super cluster and is a passionate advocate for research and the biotechnology community.

Web site: web.mit.edu/spi
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Science Policy Initiative
For more information, contact:
spi-lunch@mit.edu

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Cleantech Innovations New England Technology Showcase NECEC Institute
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
12:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
EPA New England Headquarters, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston

Calling all InnovateMass applicants, Cleantech Innovations New England awardees and Cleantech Open Northeast 2012 alumni! New England's Cleantech leaders have been asking about you...

Join the NECEC Institute, the U.S. EPA and New England's cleantech leaders on March 5th for a FREE poster pitch training followed by a poster session and coordinated networking with leaders in New England's cleantech ecosystem.

Cleantech Innovations New England EPA Water Challenge Applicants Only - will have an opportunity to pitch before a panel who will provide them with direct, friendly, and actionable feedback. There are no 'awards' in this pitch session, it's simply an opportunity for entrepreneurs to receive feedback from friendly and informed community leaders, away from the pressure of business plan competitions.

AGENDA
Whenever you plan on arriving, allow yourself 30 minutes to get through EPA security. The security is comparable to that at an airport so be sure not to bring any weapons or sharp objects (e.g. swiss army knives) and be prepared to de-shoe.

12:30pm - 3:00pm - 30-minute, 1:1 Coaching Sessions for InnovateMass Cleantech Innovations New England-EPA Water Challenge applicants
2:00pm - 3:00pm Set-up for Poster Session
Open to entrepreneurs from the Cleantech Innovations New England, Cleantech Open Northeast 2012 and InnovateMass competitions.
(Please plan to bring your poster and stand. Extra points for entrepreneurs that bring products to touch!)
3:00pm - 4:30pm Poster Pitching 101 - How to Sell Your Concept
Classroom-style interactive workshop - Refine your message and prepare your pitch.
Open to all entrepreneurs who participated in Cleantech Innovations New England, Cleantech Open Northeast 2012, and InnovateMass competitions.
4:45pm - 6:00pm Pitch / Panel Session for Cleantech Innovations New England EPA Water Challenge applicants
Pitch in a friendly environment and receive constructive feedback from our panel of business experts.
6:00pm - 7:30pm Networking Mixer (Details TBA)

Questions? Please contact Kim Herb, kherb@nececinstitute.org or 617-600-7205.

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Beyond Participation: Transforming Local Civic Engagement Through an Online Game
March 5
12:30pm ET
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St, 2nd Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2013/03/gordon#RSVP
This event will be webcast live at 12:30pm ET.

Eric Gordon, Berkman Center Fellow
The problem of civic engagement is often understood as a lack of participation. People do not show up to meetings, they do not engage in their civic institutions or communicate with decision-makers. Engagement strategies often involve a lot of bean counting, where the quantity of people participating is more important than the quality of participation created. The Engagement Game Lab has developed an online game called Community PlanIt to explore how game mechanics and social interaction can move local civic processes beyond transactive participation towards civic learning – or a sustained, reflective mode of civic interaction. Over the past year, Community PlanIt has been played in six distinct planning processes ranging from urban planning in Detroit and Philadelphia to education planning in Boston. This talk explores the unique affordances of Community PlanIt for building social trust, engaging youth in civic life, and developing shared local narratives. It will address the complexities of implementing an online game within official public feedback processes, including dealing with positive and negative perceptions of games, assuring a commitment from organizations and decision-makers to being responsive to an online social network, and cultivating trust and civility amongst players and between players and decision-makers. Ultimately, Community PlanIt serves as a multi-site case study in the design of playful, place-specific and networked local engagement that should inform how government thinks about community participation.

About Eric
Eric Gordon is a researcher and game designer who investigates how games and social media can enhance civic learning and local engagement. He is the director of the Engagement Game Lab and an associate professor in the department of Visual and Media Arts at Emerson College. He is the co-author (with Adriana de Souza e Silva) of the book Net Locality: Why Location Matters in a Networked World (2011) and the author of the Urban Spectator: American Concept-cities from Kodak to Google (2010). While at the Berkman Center, Eric will study the impact of game-based learning on local civic engagement and explore how new technologies can enhance citizenship and collective efficacy.

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Finding Truth Even If The Crowd Is Wrong
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
MIT Building E62-446, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

Drazen Prelec
Abstract: Distilling the 'wisdom of the crowd' from diverse opinions is challenging, especially if most people hold an incorrect view. I will describe an approach based on the following definition of the best answer: It is the one given by those individuals who would be least surprised by the true answer if it were revealed. Since this definition is of interest only when the true answer is unknown, algorithmic implementation is nontrivial. The problem can be solved by asking respondents not only to answer the question, but also to predict the distribution of others’ answers. The principle can be implemented by a variety of algorithms, including the 'Bayesian truth serum.' I will review several recent applications, to knowledge questions, forecasting and medical diagnosis. (Joint work with Sebastian Seung and John McCoy)

Bio: Drazen Prelec is the DEC LGO Professor of Management and Economics in the Sloan School, and the Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Economics at MIT. He received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology and AB in applied mathematics from Harvard University. His research deals with the psychology and neuroscience of decision making (behavioral economics and neuroeconomics; risky choice, time discounting, self-control, consumer behavior). He is interested both in the development of normative decision theory and the exploration of the empirical failures of that theory, using behavioral and fMRI methods. His work was recognized by several awards and fellowships, including those from the Harvard Society of Fellows, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Study.

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Quantum Dots: From MIT to Market
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 34-101, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge
Refreshments at 3:45 p.m.

Speaker: Seth Coe-Sullivan, QD Vision, Inc.

Web site: http://mtlweb.mit.edu/seminars/spring2013.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact: Valerie Dinardo
253-9328
valeried@mit.edu

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The Early History of the Moon: 41st Annual James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award Lecture
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 10-250, Huntington Hall, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Professor Maria Zuber, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences
Maria Zuber, a pioneer in space exploration who has made seminal breakthroughs in understanding solar system planets and their evolution, is the recipient of MIT's James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award for 2012-13.

The award, established in 1971 to honor the Institute's 10th president, recognizes extraordinary professional achievements by an MIT faculty member. Each year, candidates for the award are nominated by their peers, and a winner is chosen by a faculty committee.

Zuber, the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), has spent much of her career charting new territory in planetary science, spearheading missions to map planetary bodies within the solar system in unprecedented detail. Such maps have revealed new information about the composition and atmosphere of Mercury, Mars, and the moon.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/killian-award-0529.html?tmpl=component&print=1
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free

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2013 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Announcement & Invention Showcase
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Lobby 13, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Come meet MIT's most inventive students!
Join
Eric Grimson, MIT Chancellor,
Dorothy Lemelson,Chair of The Lemelson Foundation,
Carol Dahl, Executive Director of the The Lemelson Foundation, and
The Lemelson-MIT Program for
A special Reception to announce the
Winner of the 2013 $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and an Invention Showcase featuring all of the 2013 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize Applicants.

Web site: http://2013inventionshowcase.eventbrite.com/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Tickets: http://2013inventionshowcase.eventbrite.com/
Sponsor(s): Lemelson-MIT
For more information, contact: Shannon O'Brien
617.258.5798
shannon1@mit.edu

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The Art of Communications: Communicating in Crisis
WHEN Tue., Mar. 5, 2013, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE Littauer 166, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Institute of Politics, Fellowships & Study Groups
SPEAKER(S) Karen Hughes, spring 2013 IOP Fellow; Karen Doyne, leader issues and crisis practice, Burson-Marsteller
CONTACT INFO eric_andersen@hks.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.iop.harvard.edu/art-communications-led-karen-hughes-2

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"Energy Politics: After Carbon Democracy"
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
4:00pm - 6:00pm
Hauser 102, Harvard Law School, 1575 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Timothy Mitchell, Columbia University

Abstract: Professor Mitchell will lead a discussion on the themes raised in his recent book Carbon Democracy. He will share his thoughts as they have developed after completing that book and will reflect on the forms of politics that may arise in tandem with future energy transitions.

Biography: Timothy Mitchell is Professor and Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University. His books include Colonising Egypt (1991), exploring the emergence of the modern state in the colonial period and the forms of reason, power and knowledge that define the experience of modernity; Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity (2002), drawing on his work in Egypt to examine the making of “the economy” and “the market” as objects of twentieth-century politics and the wider role of expert knowledge in the formation of the contemporary state; and Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (2011), arguing that no nation escapes the political consequences of our collective dependence on oil and that the politics of the West have become dependent on an undemocratic Middle East.

Co-sponsored by the Program on Science, Technology and Society and the Institute for Global Law and Policy at Harvard Law School.
Special Event: STS/IGLP Expertise Seminar

Contact Name: Shana Rabinowich
Shana_Rabinowich@hks.harvard.edu

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Syria, Two Years into the Revolution
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
4:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building E51-395, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Christina Markus Lassen, Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and former Ambassador to Syria and Jordan from Denmark
Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar
The Syrian uprising broke out more than two months into the Arab Spring and took everyone by surprise. For a number of reasons, the prospect of an uprising taking place in Syria at this point was deemed to be low, but the resilience and bravery of the Syrian people facing the regime's brutality defied all expectations. Starting out as peaceful protests for reform and democratic change, the situation in Syria has after two years developed into a full scale conflict between opposition forces and regime loyalists. Based on her experience as a diplomat in Syria during the first year and a half of the uprising, Ambassador Lassen will analyze the development and major turning points of the crisis, the power bases of the regime and the role of minorities, the changing nature of the opposition, the role of the international community and the potential regional consequences of the current crisis.

The Bustani Middle East Seminar is organized under the auspices of the MIT Center for International Studies, which conducts research on contemporary international issues and provides and opportunity for faculty and students to share perspectives and exchange views. Each year the Bustani Seminar invites scholars, journalists, consultants, and other experts from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States to MIT to present recent research findings on contemporary politics, society and culture, and economic and technological development in the Middle East.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cis/bustani/
Open to: the general public
Cost: free
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Technology and Culture Forum
For more information, contact: Heidi Erickson
252-1888
hae@mit.edu

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Bessora: "Literature in the Digital Age"
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
5:00p–6:30p
MIT, Building E51-057, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Besmear
Bessora is a French writer, born in Brussels from a Gabonese father and a Swiss mother. She has lived in many countries including the US. After studying finance and anthropology, she now dedicates herself to writing. She is the author of seven novels and three collections of short stories.

Bessora's writings focus on the Representations of identity, taboos and the need to categorize people. She questions the path to finding one's own identity and the difficulty of relationships in a globalized and technology-oriented world.

Bessora will present Cyr@no, her latest novel published in 2011 by Belfond. Cyr@no is a free reinterpretation of the play by Edmond Rostand Cyrano de Bergerac. Roxane is a XXIst century actress, Cyrano her imaginary friend, Christian her former lover, and Cyr@no the avatar Roxane created on the net in an attempt to regain the love of Christian. Her witty and funny story mixing slang, numeric language and language from the XVIIth century is a satire of the constant readjustment of identity, promoted by the web.

Open to: the general public
Cost: 0
Sponsor(s): Foreign Languages & Literatures
For more information, contact: Lisa Hickler
617-253-4771
lhickler@mit.edu

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Happy Hour at Greentown Labs with NEWIEE and YPE
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
5:30 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Greentown Labs, 337 Summer Street, Boston

Join us for a joint NEWIEE and YPE happy hour at Greentown Labs. With three different groups, this is a great opportunity to meet new people and see old friends from within the environment and clean energy fields. We'll provide the space, food, and drink, and you'll bring the clean energy excitement. Everyone is welcome!

New England Women in Energy and Environment (NEWIEE) was founded to harness the passion, intelligence and leadership experience of New England women to promote and encourage public interest in the energy and the environment sectors. NEWIEE is comprised of members across the public and private sectors, as well as various age groups, NEWIEE is also a stimulating forum for networking, sharing of expertise and information and mentoring.

Young Professionals in Energy (YPE) is a non-profit energy industry networking organization with over 20,000 members worldwide. YPE is dedicated to providing a forum for networking and career development for professionals in the global energy industry. YPE's Boston Chapter includes more than 1,270 members and it’s goal is to organize and sponsor events to facilitate discussions about energy and to build and strengthen relationships in the energy community.

Greentown Labs provides entrepreneurs the research and development space they need to launch their clean technology ventures. Currently housing 24 early stage companies in 19,000 square feet of lab and office space, and located in downtown Boston's Innovation District, Greentown Labs is a not-for-profit organization that sprung from a grassroots cluster of award-winning clean technology companies looking for low-cost working space near MIT.

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Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting Keynote with Nicholas Kristoff

Tuesday, March 5

6 p.m.

JFK Jr. Forum, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Nicholas D. Kristof, columnist, The New York Times.

Watch the livestream at http://forum.iop.harvard.edu/content/2013-goldsmith-awards-ceremony

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Preparing Massachusetts for Climate Change: Do State and Local Government Have a Role, and What Are They Doing?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Suffolk University Law School, First Floor Function Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston

Severe weather events like Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and their catastrophic results, underscore the need to prepare for climate change. In Massachusetts, flooding is of particular concern. Join in a discussion with leaders and experts in government, public policy, and environmental science about how climate change is expected to affect Massachusetts, what the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston are doing to prepare, and what public policy changes need to be made to optimize the response.
Panel:
Hon. Will Brownsberger, Massachusetts State Senator, Second Suffolk and Middlesex District
Philip Griffiths, Massachusetts Undersecretary for Environment
Kathleen Baskin, Massachusetts Director of Water Policy and Planning
Brian Swett, City of Boston Chief of Environment and Energy
Paul Kirshen, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire
Sue Reid, Vice President and Director, Massachusetts Conservation Law Foundation
Moderator:
David Barron, Honorable S. William Green Professor of Public Law, Harvard University Law School

A complimentary light meal will be provided. Please bring a travel mug to reduce waste!

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited, so RSVP to reserve your seat today at
http://rappaportcenterclimatechange030513.eventbrite.com

Co-sponsored by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy at Suffolk University Law School, and the Suffolk University Sustainability Committee, the Institute for Public Service, theGovernment Department, and the Environmental Science Department

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Wednesday, March 6

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NESEA Building Energy Conference
March 5-7
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston
Register at http://www.nesea.org/buildingenergy/

Editorial Comment: Building Energy is the premier green building and energy conference in the Northeast. It's audience is primarily professional architects, buildings, planners, and designers but it showcases the latest technology available for the energy conscious consumer as well.

It costs money but is definitely worth it, even if you are just going to the trade show. However, here's a promo code for $50 off conference passes : 50GMOKEBE13 .

This year should be especially good as Paul Eldrenkamp of Biggmeister, a fine energy craftsman, led the conference committee.

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Goldsmith Seminar panel discussion with the winners and finalists of the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Wednesday, March 6, 9 a.m.

Nye Conference Center, Taubman Building, 5th Floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge

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A Conversation with Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission

Wednesday, March 06, 2013
4:00p–4:45p
MIT, Building 32-123, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairman
Sworn in as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in June 2009, Julius Genachowski has focused the agency on unleashing the opportunities of wired and wireless broadband pursuing policies to promote investment and job creation, drive innovation, foster competition, and empower consumers. Under Genachowski's leadership, the FCC has been a model for excellence in government, named the most improved agency in the federal government, and one of Wired magazine's "Top Seven Disruptors".

Prior to his FCC appointment, Genachowski spent more than a decade working in the technology and media industries as an executive, investor, and board member. He was Chief of Business Operations and General Counsel at IAC/InterActiveCorp; Special Advisor at the private equity firm General Atlantic; and co-founder of the technology incubator LaunchBox Digital. Genachowski received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991 and is a 1985 graduate of Columbia College.

Wireless@MIT Speaker Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): EECS HQ
For more information, contact: Mary McDavitt
617-253-9620
mmcdavit@csail.mit.edu

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Cumulative Carbon Emissions and the Climate Mitigation Challenge

Wednesday, March 06, 2013
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)

Speaker: Professor Damon Matthews from the Geography, Planning and Environment Department at Concordia University.

EAPS Department Lecture Series
Web site: http://eapsweb.mit.edu/events/lectures
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact: Jacqui Taylor
617-253-2127

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Borders, Geography, and Oligopoly: Evidence from the Wind Turbine Industry

Wednesday, March 06, 2013
4:00p–5:30p
Harvard, Littauer M15, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Kerem Cosar (Chicago Booth)

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): International Seminar
For more information, contact: Theresa Benevento
theresa@mit.edu

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Localizing Development: Does Participation Work?
WHEN Wed., Mar. 6, 2013, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE 124 Mt. Auburn Street, Suite 200-North, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Classes/Workshops, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School
SPEAKER(S) Vijayendra Rao, lead economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO bruce_jackan@hks.harvard.edu, 617.495.7548
NOTE Vijayendra Rao integrates his training in economics with theories and methods from anthropology, sociology, and political science to study the social, cultural, and political context of extreme poverty in developing countries. Rao has published in leading journals in economics and development studies on subjects that include the rise in dowries in India, the social and economic context of domestic violence, village democracy, and how to integrate economic and social theory to develop more effective public policy. He has co-edited Culture and Public Action; History, Historians and Development Policy; and co-authored the 2006 World Development Report on equity and development. Most recently, with Ghazala Mansuri, he co-authored the World Bank's Policy Research Report Localizing Development: Does Participation Work?
LINK http://www.ash.harvard.edu/Home/News-Events/Events/Localizing-Development-Does-Participation-Work

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SSRC Seminar Series: Designing Systems for a Complex World

Wednesday, March 06, 2013
4:15p–5:30p
MIT, Building E25-111, 45 Carleton Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Joseph M. Sussman, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems

Please join the MIT community for a seminar series highlighting a systems approach to critical contemporary issues.
Health | Energy | Environment | Global Economy International Development | Cybersecurity | Productivity | Mobility
Web site: http://ssrc.mit.edu/
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Sociotechnical Systems Research Center
For more information, contact: Keeley Rafter
(617) 253-0477
ssrcinfo@mit.edu

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"Corporate Political Strategy and Environmental Sustainability in China"
WHEN Wed., Mar. 6, 2013, 4:15 – 5:45 p.m.
WHERE CGIS South, Doris and Ted Lee Gathering Room (S030), 1730 Cambridge Street, Harvard University
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Business, Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies Director's Seminar
SPEAKER(S) Christopher Marquis, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Marvin Bower Fellow, Harvard Business School
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO lkluz@fas.harvard.edu
NOTE China's rapid industrialization and economic development in the past three decades has been accompanied by extreme environmental degradation. However, recently there has been increasing awareness among the government, business community, and general public of the importance of environmental protection. Christopher Marquis will focus on how Chinese corporations have responded to recent government attention to these issues.
LINK http://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/event/christopher-marquis

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Big Data - and its Dark Side
Wednesday, March 6

5:30pm ET
Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 1015, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/2013/03/bigdata#RSVP

with Professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, OII, and Kenneth Neil Cukier, The Economist.
The power of big data -- analyzing huge swaths of information to uncover insights and make predictions that were largely impossible in the past -- is poised to transform business and society. Fueling it is the realization that data has a value beyond the primary purpose for which it was collected. Yet there is a dark side. Privacy is eroded like never before. And a new harm emerges: predictions about human behavior that may result in penalties prior to actual the infraction being committed. In this talk Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier take a look at big data's power, the dangers it poses and how to address them.

About Viktor
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is the Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation at Oxford. His research focuses on the role of information in a networked economy. Earlier he spent ten years on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Professor Mayer-Schönberger has published seven books, as well as over a hundred articles (including in Science) and book chapters. His most recent book, the awards-winning 'Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age' (Princeton University Press 2009) has received favorable reviews by academic (Nature, Science, New Scientist) and mainstream media (New York Times, Guardian, Le Monde, NPR, BBC, Wired) and has been published in four languages. Ideas proposed in the book have now become official policy, e.g. of the European Union.

A native Austrian, Professor Mayer-Schönberger founded Ikarus Software in 1986, a company focusing on data security, and developed Virus Utilities, which became the best-selling Austrian software product. He was voted Top-5 Software Entrepreneur in Austria in 1991 and Person-of-the-Year for the State of Salzburg in 2000.

He chaired the Rueschlikon Conference on Information Policy, is the cofounder of the SubTech conference series, and served on the ABA/AAAS National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists. He is on the advisory boards of corporations and organizations around the world, including Microsoft and the World Economic Forum. He is a personal adviser to the Austrian Finance Minister on innovation policy.

About Kenneth
Kenneth Neil Cukier is the Data Editor of The Economist. From 2007 to 2012 he was the Japan business and finance correspondent, and before that, the paper's global technology correspondent based in London, where his work focused on innovation, intellectual property and Internet governance.

Previously, he was the technology editor of The Asian Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong and a regular commentator on CNBC Asia. Earlier still, he was the European Editor of Red Herring and worked at The International Herald Tribune in Paris. From 2002 to 2004 Mr. Cukier was a research fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, working on the Internet and international relations.

His writings have also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Prospect, The Financial Times and Foreign Affairs, among others. He has been a frequent commentator on business and technology matters for CBS, CNN, NPR, the BBC and others.

Mr. Cukier serves on the board of directors of International Bridges to Justice, a Geneva-based NGO promoting legal rights in developing countries. Additionally, he serves on the board of advisors to the Daniel Pearl Foundation.

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"Taking the Car Out of Carbon: Sustainability Notes from the MTA"

Wednesday, March 6

5:30pm - 7:00pm
Nye A, 5th floor Taubman Building, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge

with Projjal Dutta, Director, Sustainability Initiatives, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Commentary by Andrew Brennan, Director of Environmental Affairs, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Contact Name: Amanda Sardonis Amanda_Sardonis@harvard.edu

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Congo’s Invisible War: An exploration through the work of war correspondent Finbarr O'Reilly

Wednesday, March 6

6-7:30 p.m.
Wiener Auditorium, Taubman ground floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge

The event will feature a panel discussion with Finbarr O’Reiley; Dr. Jennifer Leaning, who has worked in the Congo with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; and Roger Liwanga, a Congolese lawyer whose work focuses on trafficked children especially in the artisanal mines. There will be a reception and exhibition of O'Reilly's work in the Carr Center from 4:30–5:45 p.m. Co-sponsored by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Portions of the exhibition will remain on display in the Carr Center until March 27, 2013.

More information at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr/news-events/carr-center-events/event-details/2013/congo’s-invisible-war

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Meadowscaping in Urban & Suburban Spaces

Wednesday, March 6, 2013
7:00 PM
The Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge

Catherine Zimmerman, founder of the Meadow Project, tells us why meadow and prairie habitats are so beneficial, both economically and environmentally. Ms. Zimmerman is passionate about getting Americans to forgo their devotion to monocultures of pesticide-ridden lawns. She will give us a step-by-step primer on reducing lawn size and installing a beautiful meadow garden in its stead. No space is too small. Join the movement to bring back native habitat for wildlife and human life! Ms. Zimmerman is a filmmaker, and author of "Urban & Suburban Meadows." Both her book and CD will be available for sale.

More information at: http://www.grownativemass.org/programs/eveningswithexperts

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Divest Harvard Teach-In

Wednesday, March 6

7:00pm - 9:00pm
Harvard, Emerson Hall, Room 305, 19 Quincy Street, Cambridge

Learn more about the campaign to divest Harvard’s endowment from fossil fuels.
Contact Name: Alli Welton awelton1215@gmail.com

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Thursday, March 7

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The Logical Illusion of ECO-Ships

Thursday, March 07, 2013
11:30a–1:00p
MIT, Building E51-325, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Dr. John Coustas
In the last couple of years, ship design optimization at low service speeds has been a dominant issue of discussion in the shipping industry. Korean and Chinese shipyards are marketing "Eco Ship" designs offering up to a 25% reduction of fuel consumption at sea, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions.
Is this actually true or is it a marketing tool for thirsty shipyards? If it is true, would these so called "Eco Ship" designs make the existing fleet redundant? Does it make any commercial sense to order new "Eco ships" today?

Dr. John Coustas serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Danaos Corporation and has over 28 years of experience in the shipping industry. Danaos Corporation is a leading international owner of containerships, chartering vessels to many of the world's largest liner companies. Danaos currently has a fleet of 64 active container ships, aggregating 363,049 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), making it among the largest container ship charter owners in the world.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT International Shipping Club
For more information, contact: Georgios Skarvelis
gvskar@mit.edu

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Permaculture and the Sacred: A Conversation with Starhawk
WHEN Thu., Mar. 7, 2013, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE Braun Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Religion, Sustainability
SPONSOR Center for the Study of World Religions; HDS Operations; Women's Studies in Religion Program; and the CSWR Reading Group on Ecology, Sustainability, and the HDS Curriculum, coordinated by Professor Dan McKanan
CONTACT Dan McKanan
NOTE Join contemporary Witch, activist, and permaculturist Starhawk to learn how earth-based spirituality can inform and empower efforts to build sustainable communities and societies. Starhawk is a founder of Reclaiming, a contemporary Pagan tradition that blends Goddess spirituality and social activism, and of Earth Activist Trainings, which equips people to combine permaculture design with political organizing and spiritual practice. A leading interpreter of feminist Wicca, she is the author of The Spiral Dance, The Fifth Sacred Thing, The Empowerment Manual, and many other books.
Due to limited seating, RSVPs are appreciated but not required: dmckanan@hds.harvard.edu

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Information Technology, Crime, and Security
WHEN Thu., Mar. 7, 2013, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Information Technology, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
SPEAKER(S) Talks byTakashi Watanabe, Asahi Shimbun, Hiroyuki Fujimura, Mamoru Kishibe, and Yomiuri Shimbun, with discussant Mary Alice Haddad
CONTACT INFO wnehring@wcfia.harvard.edu
LINK http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/

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Andrew Young and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
WHEN Thu., Mar. 7, 2013, 3 p.m.
WHERE Tsai Auditorium, CGIS - South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research
SPEAKER(S) Andrew Young, Civil Rights leader; Dan Carpenter, Freed Professor of Government, Harvard University; Jonathan Walton, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church and Professor of Religion and Society; Diane McWhorter, Du Bois Institute Caperton Fellow and author of "Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution"
COST Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO dbievent@fas.harvard.edu, 617.495.8508
LINK dubois.fas.harvard.edu

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Is Cleanweb the Future of Cleantech?
Thursday, March 7, 2013

5:30-6:30 pm Networking
6:30-7:30 pm Panel Discussion
7:30- 8:30 pm Networking

Greentown Labs, 2nd Floor, 337 Summer St., Boston

RSVP at http://cleanwebpanel-es2005.eventbrite.com

Cleanweb is the “most powerful lever available to entrepreneurs hoping to solve environmental and ecological challenges.” - Sunil Paul, Spring Ventures

Panel Description:
The current climate for manufacturing-based cleantech investment may be tough, but one of of the few bright spots is “Cleanweb.”

Cleanweb leverages the capability of the internet, social media, and mobile technologies to solve energy and other resource scarcity problems. Since the term Cleanweb was coined by Sunli Paul of Spring Ventures in mid-2011, grassroots cleanweb communities have popped up organically around the world. These communities host local meetups and hackathons that have brought together the developers and cleantech entrepreneurs to create apps and software solutions across diverse sectors spanning transportation, energy, waste, water, and agriculture.

Join us March 7 to learn more about Cleanweb from our rockstar panel of experts, investors and companies in the space!

Moderator:

Walter Frick, Business Editor at BostInno
Panelists:
Hugh Scandrett, VP Engineering at EnerNOC
Matthew Nordan, Vice President at Venrock
Tom Pincince, President and CEO at Digital Lumens

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The Design of Robotic Fabricated Architecture: The 7th Goldstein Lecture

Thursday, March 07, 2013

6:30-8:30pm

MIT, Building 10-250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Matthias Kohler, Architecture and Digital Fabrication; Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich

Architecture Lecture Series
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact:
617-253-7791

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Lightning talks: H/H & Nieman-Berkman are looking for the top new apps, cos.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
7:00 PM
Lippmann House, 1 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
RSVP at http://meetupbos.hackshackers.com/events/103990562/

Interested in giving a 5-10 minute presentation about your great app, company, site, or research to a broad range of journalists and technologists?
Here's your chance.
There's only one requirement -- it must be related to media or journalism in some fashion. (And yes, we take a broad view on this.) .
If interested, e-mail Matt Carroll at matthewscarroll (at) msn.com. Include a short (2-3 sentence) description of what you would like to talk about and put"Lightning talk" in the subject line.
If there is a large number of interested parties, we may have H/H members vote on what they would like to see.

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Urban Films: The World of Buckminster Fuller (1974)

Thursday, March 07, 2013
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

Architect, engineer, geometrician, cartographer, philosopher, futurist, inventor of the famous geodesic dome and the dymaxion car, and one of the most brilliant thinkers of his time, Fuller was renowned for his comprehensive perspective on the world's problems. For more than five decades he developed pioneering solutions reflecting his commitment to the potential of innovative design to "do more with less" and thereby improve human lives. Now more relevant than ever, this film captures Fuller's ideas and thinking, told in his own words. 80 minutes.

Urban Planning Film Series
A mostly-weekly series showing documentary and feature films on topics related to cities, urbanism, design, community development, ecology, and other planning issues. Free.
Web site: http://www.urbanfilm.org
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Urban Studies and Planning
For more information, contact: Ezra Glenn
617-253-2024
eglenn@mit.edu

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Friday, March 8

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16th Annual International Women's Day Breakfast
Women and Hunger: Putting Food on the Table
Friday, March 8, 2013
7:30 AM (EST)
Simmons College, Linda K. Paresky Conference Center, 300 The Fenway, Boston
Suggested Donation $6.00 to be paid at the door
RSVP at http://iwd2013.eventbrite.com

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The New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Presents: RGGI Amendments: Implications for New England & the Nation
March 8, 2013
9 am to 12:15 pm
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, 13th Floor, Boston

On March 8th we will hold a special Roundtable on the just-amended Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Among the changes is an agreement by our six New England states, along with New York, Delaware, and Maryland, to reduce the cap by approximately 45%!

Please join us as we review the various RGGI amendments and their rationales, and explore the implications for energy markets in New England and the nation as a whole in the wake of President Obama's re-commitment to addressing climate change in his recent state-of-the-union address.

Our panel members were all actively and directly involved in the RGGI negotiations, and are well-poised to help us understand the changes and their implications for our region and the nation:
Commissioner Ken Kimmell, Massachusetts DEP (RGGI Secretary)
Commissioner David Littell, Maine PUC (RGGI Vice-Chair)
Peter Shattuck, Director of Market Initiatives, Environment Northeast
Brian Jones, Senior Vice President, MJ Bradley & Associates
A Generator (TBD)

We will use the same format debuted at last Friday's standing-room only Roundtable on Energy Efficiency, where the panelists make their presentations before our customary "networking" break, and then return for detailed discussion and questions from the audience after the break.

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Boston Freedom in Online Communications Day

Friday, March 8, 2013

9:00 AM. to 5:00 PM.

Boston University

RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1b67Uq43slMNVjK8AbBBi-mEQsCo6S9wXtAIEOYypo88/viewform

Attendance is free, but registration is required!

The Internet offers great promise for improving the communication capabilities of citizens, but our increasing dependence on networked communications also makes it easier for organizations and governments to control, monitor, and block communications. The growing trend toward blocking, tampering, or otherwise restricting communications on the Internet calls for improved techniques both for monitoring the state of restrictions on Internet content and communications, in order to inform users, and for circumventing attempts to censor, degrade, or otherwise tamper with Internet communications.

Many researchers and practitioners in the Boston area are engaged in studying, detecting, or circumventing practices that inhibit free and open communications on the Internet. Building on the success of many recent Boston and NYC “Days” (e.g. this, this andthis), the main purposes of BFOC is to encourage collaboration between local researchers and practitioners in technology, law, and policy that are working in this area.

More information at http://www.bu.edu/cs/bfoc/

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Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table
WHEN Fri., Mar. 8, 2013, 3 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE Austin North and West, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Food Law Society
SPEAKER(S) Urvashi Rangan, director, Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group; Rebecca Goldberg, assistant chief counsel, FDA; Michael Roberts, adjunct professor at UCLA Law School; Jennifer Pomeranz, director, Legal Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University; Jesse LaFlamme, CEO and president, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs; Carter Dillard, director of litigation, Animal Legal Defense Fund; Andrew Gunther, program director, Animal Welfare Approved; and Christina Roberto, Health & Society Scholar, Harvard School of Public Health
COST $5 for non-students
TICKET WEB LINK hlsforumonfoodlabeling.eventbrite.com/#
NOTE Register at hlsforumonfoodlabeling.eventbrite.com/#
Free for students with ID.
LINK www.hlsforumonfoodlabeling.com

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The Game’s Afoot: Video Game Art

Friday, March 8, 2013

6-9pm

Boston Cyberarts Gallery, 141 Green Street, Jamaica Plain (In the Green Street T Station on the Orange Line)

Opening reception for a new exhibition curated by George Fifield

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Saturday, March 9

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Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table
WHEN Saturday, March 9, 9am–12pm
WHERE Pfizer Lecture Hall, Mallinckrodt Building, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Health Sciences, Law, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Food Law Society
SPEAKER(S) Urvashi Rangan, director, Consumer Safety and Sustainability Group; Rebecca Goldberg, assistant chief counsel, FDA; Michael Roberts, adjunct professor at UCLA Law School; Jennifer Pomeranz, director, Legal Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University; Jesse LaFlamme, CEO and president, Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs; Carter Dillard, director of litigation, Animal Legal Defense Fund; Andrew Gunther, program director, Animal Welfare Approved; and Christina Roberto, Health & Society Scholar, Harvard School of Public Health
COST $5 for non-students
TICKET WEB LINK hlsforumonfoodlabeling.eventbrite.com/#
NOTE Register at hlsforumonfoodlabeling.eventbrite.com/#
Free for students with ID.
LINK www.hlsforumonfoodlabeling.com

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Urban Farming Conference - “Cultivating Lands, Nourishing Communities, Building Businesses”
Saturday, March 9, 2013
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Roxbury Community College Reggie Lewis Center, Boston, MA

Presented by: City Growers And Urban Farming Institute (UFI)
In partnership with: MA Department of Agricultural Resources

The annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference (UFC) is designed to advance the opportunities and address the barriers involved in cultivating a thriving urban farming sector. The UFC is a forum to share information regarding what is currently happening in Boston and other local urban communities and to map out a vision for urban farming in Massachusetts.

The UFC brings together participants representing all aspects of urban farming including, but not limited to, farmers (including roof top, chicken, bees, etc.), commercial buyers, policy makers, and investors. The UFC conference is being convened to foster best urban farming practices, sustainable networks and business relationships. This will be achieved with following interactive panels and roundtable discussions:

Open Field Farming and Season Extension Techniques
Organic Farming and Its Importance
Lessons from Successful CSA Strategies
Composting: Policy, Practice and Viable Business Enterprise
Roof Top Techniques
Food System Investors Meeting
Urban Farming Thought Leaders: A Panel Discussion
Land: Strategy, Community Control, Zoning and Policy
Viable Enterprises Other Than Fruits and Vegetables
Investing in Workforce Training
Marketing Options

Registration $25. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4701198411
Limited Seating. Register Early.
Limited Scholarships are available.
For Inquiries and Sponsorship Details, Please Contact: Crystal Johnson at Crystal@isesplanning.com, 617-416-4915

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The Green Neighbors Education Committee, Inc. and the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. present:
Spring Planting 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
1:30 PM until 5:30 PM
First Parish Church, 10 Parish Street in the Meeting House Hill section of Dorchester.

Learn to grow food at your own home, in your yard, on your porch, inside your house.

This is a free event to help people learn how they can fight the world food crisis by learning to grow your own fresh, healthy nutritious foods.

Our co-sponsors include:
First Parish Church in Dorchester
Boston Natural Areas Network
The Food Project
The Family Nurturing Center of Dorchester
College Bound Dorchester
Bowdoin Street Health Center
Richard Mather School
Mather Parent Council

Information tables, displays and demonstrations including .
The Food Project
Boston Natural Areas Network
Home Depot
Victory Programs – Revision Urban Farm
Boston Vegetarian Society
Bowdoin Street Health Center
Next Step Living
Laurel Valchuis of Landless Gardens – grow food in only two square feet of
space!
Massachusetts Master Gardener’s Association
And more!

Are you interested in volunteering? Please contact me:
Owen Toney
Green Neighbors Education Committee, Inc.
281 Humboldt Avenue
Dorchester, MA 02121
(617) 427-6293 (voice, no text)
otoney@comcast.net

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Sunday, March 10

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MCAN / TAC Local Environmental Action Conference
Sunday, 10 March, 2013
09:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Northeastern University, Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

We are so very happy to announce that this year MCAN is partnering with the great organization the Toxics Action Center and putting together our two conferences. For the past several years we've been working with TAC on their annual "Environmental Action" conference and they've been coming to our Climate Change conference, and it has become apparent that both our organizations share the mission of supporting and inciting local environmental action so a joint conference made a lot of sense.
The conference will feature the usual variety of workshops and panels on climate issues, the nuts and bolts of local organizing, and now other local environmental issues as well. It has become very clear to us at MCAN that climate change affects and is affected by a host of issues not traditionally thought of as "global warming" subjects. By putting our two conferences together we're hoping to give local activists the opportunity to learn more about the topics near and dear to their hearts, but also the chance to branch out and learn about other topics affecting their and their children's quality of life.

We will be rolling out details over the coming weeks, and will open registration after the first of the year. If you have ideas for things you'd like to have as a part of the conference, we have a web form here. For updated info, check out our conference webpage at http://massclimateaction.net/conference.html
Looking forward to seeing you there!

Event Contact Info Rob Garrity
Email: rob.garrity@massclimateaction.net
Phone: 6175150600

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Monday, March 11

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The Crises In Employment, Consumption, Economic Growth, and the Environment: Could a Shorter Workweek and a Greener Economy Provide Relief?

Monday, March 11, 2013
12:00p–1:00p
Virtual at http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_031113/webinar-ashford-workweek-green-economy.html

Speaker: Prof. Nicholas Ashford
MIT System Design and Management Systems Thinking Webinar Series
The MIT System Design and Management Systems Thinking Webinar Series features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni, students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate information on how to employ systems thinking to address engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges.

The crises we encounter today could be described as a 'perfect storm.' The global financial crisis that began in 2008 has left many people with too little money and/or willingness to spend. This results in too few goods and services being produced and too little being purchased. This in turn exacerbates unemployment and underemployment. As a result, a vicious circle is created in which less money is spent in consumption and in investment in subsequent and repeated cycles, further worsening the crisis in consumption. On the other hand, some people and economic actors consume too much from an energy and resource perspective, exacerbating environmental problems. Two solutions are frequently suggested to the present crises: spread work out through a shorter workweek and green the economy. An analysis of the likelihood of success of each is the focus of this presentation. Insights from a recent book: Technology, Globalization, and Sustainable Development: Transforming the Industrial State (2011, Yale University Press) will inform the presentation.

Web site: http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_031113/webinar-ashford-workweek-green-economy.html
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to all
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division, MIT System Design and Management (SDM) program
For more information, contact: Lois Slavin
617.253.0812
lslavin@mit.edu

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

“Open Source Science and Social Science: Forming a Public Laboratory”
Monday, March 11, 2013
12pm
Northeastern University, 450 Renaissance Park, 1135 Tremont Street, Room 426, Boston

Sara Wylie
Senior Research Scientist, Social Science and Environmental Health Research Institute, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Contact Northeastern Humanities nuhumanities@neu.edu
617-373-4140

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"Using Feed-in Tariffs to Foster the Development and Diffusion of Clean Energy Technologies - Lessons from the Case of Solar Photovoltaic Power in Germany"

Monday, March 11

12:00pm - 1:30pm
Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor, Belfer Building, HKS, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

with Joern Hoppmann, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy Research Group, Harvard Belfer Center

ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar

Contact Name: Louisa Lund louisa_lund@hks.harvard.edu

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"Approach to Net Zero": Building Technology Lecture Series

Monday, March 11, 2013
12:30-2:00

MIT, Building 7-429, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Claire Maxfield, Atelier Ten, San Francisco

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture
For more information, contact: Kathleen Ross
617-253-1876
kross@mit.edu

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The Environmental Crisis and Capitalism

Monday, March 11, 2013
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Fred Magdoff, Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont
Lawrence Susskind, Department of Urban Studies and Planning; Director, MIT Science Impact Collaborative; Co-Director, Water Diplomacy Workshop
Daniel Fireside, Equal Exchange

Web site: web.mit.edu/tac
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): The Technology and Culture Forum at MIT
For more information, contact: Patricia-Maria Weinmann
617-253-0108
weinmann@mit.edu

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I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You

Monday, March 11, 2013
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building E15-001, ACT Cube, Wiesner Building, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Karim Ainouz
Filmmaker and artist
I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You
Screening and Lecture

Karim Ainouz is a Brazilian-Algerian filmmaker and visual artist whose work addresses issues of gender, identity, and personal histories. His films focus on characters who break universal taboos and transcend stereotypes. I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You (2010) is a film about a geologist who surveys water sources in an isolated region in the northeast of Brazil and finds himself immersed in feelings of abandonment and loneliness.

Ainouz's oeuvre includes films such as Madame Sata, O Ceu de Suely, and Sunny Lane, an essay on border crossing and exile that was commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial in 2011. In the early 90's, Ainouz co-directed MIX NYC, an organization dedicated to queer experimental film and the New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film Festival. Ainouz has won prizes at numerous international festivals including the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Cinema Brazil Grand Prize, and Havana International Film Festival, among others. In 2012, he was a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival. He is currently finishing his new feature, Praia do Futuro. Ainouz lives and works in Berlin.

Web site: http://act.mit.edu/projects-and-events/lectures-series/2013-spring/
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sponsor(s): Department of Architecture, School of Architecture and Planning, MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology
For more information, contact: Laura Anca Chichisan
617-253-5229
act@mit.edu

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Tuesday, March 12

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Cooperative Networking Night
Tuesday, March 12
6:30pm
Lucy Parsons Center, 358A Centre Street, Jamaica Plain

Housing, Mental Health, Urban Permaculture, Green Cleaning, Transportation, Worker-owned, and much more…
Bring your ideas, energy and experience! Meet other people who want to build a movement of democratic and sustainable coops!

Link to facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/433698750046006/
LPC calendar event page: http://lucyparsons.org/calendar.php?action=event&eventid=1342

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Upcoming
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Music and Theater Arts Composer Forum presents Don Byron, MIT Visiting Artist
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
5:00 PM talk
MIT, Lewis Music Library 14E-109, 160 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Free and Open to the public. Reception follows.

Byron will speak about his new Clarinet Concerto to be premiered by the MIT Wind Ensemble; Evan Ziporyn, soloist, on March 16 in Kresge Auditorium.

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Forks Over Knives

Thursday, March 14

7:30 pm
Charlestown Branch Library, 179 Main Street, Charlestown

film screening followed by a discussion moderated by Amy Levine of Boston Organics and a reception

The feature film examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.

“A film that can save your life.” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure. Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to “battle” these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.

Throughout the film, the idea of food as medicine is put to the test. The cameras follow patients who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole-foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments — while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.

Forks Over Knives, filmed all over the US, Canada and China and released in 2011, utilizes state of the art 3-D graphics and rare archival footage. The film features leading experts on health, examines the question “why we don’t know,” and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years.

Further background information on the presenters:
Boston Organics, located in Charlestown, provides access to fresh, organic produce to promote and support healthy living in a mindful and sustainable way that respects the environment, supports local farms, local businesses, and fair-trade practices. In 2011, Boston Organics received the Sustainable Food Leadership Award from Mayor Menino and the City of Boston. www.bostonorganics.com

The Friends of the Charlestown Branch Library was formed in 1953, becoming the second Friends group to organize within the Boston Public Library system. The Friends schedule four to six evening programs a year, support the Reading is FUNdamental programs for children, and maintain the library’s landscaping. The mission of the Friends remains today what it was in 1953: to serve as an advocacy and support group for the needs of the Charlestown Branch Library, its staff and users. www.charlestownonline.net/libraries.htm

Free and open to everyone. Wheelchair accessible.
For more information: 617-242-1248, www.bpl.org/branches/charlestown.htm.

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“Building Social-Ecological Cities: Community Development and the Institutional Challenge of Urban Environmentalism”
Monday, March 18, 2013
12pm
Northeastern University, 450 Renaissance Park, 1135 Tremont Street, Room 426, Boston
James Connolly
Assistant Professor, Political Science and Public Policy and Urban Affairs, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Contact Northeastern Humanities nuhumanities@neu.edu
617-373-4140

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BioEnergy Lecture Series - Joule Fuels: A Transformative Production Platform for Liquid Fuel from the Sun
March 21, 2013

4:00p–5:00p

MIT, Building 54-100 (the tallest building on campus)

Dan Robertson, Chief Scientific Officer, Joule Unlimited

Joule was founded in 2007 to develop and implement direct photosynthetic conversion to fuels and commodity products. The company has developed cyanobacterial photobiocatalysts that operate continuously in a proprietary SolarConverter to use sunlight, waste CO2 and brackish water to synthesize drop-in ethanol and paraffins.

This lecture is part of the BioEnergy Lecture Series offered by the new BioEnergy Community at MIT.

Sponsored by: MIT Energy Club
Admission: Open to the public
For more information: Contact MIT Energy Club
energyclub@mit.edu

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

Guns Don't Kill People, The Media Kills People
Thursday, March 21

6:30-8 pm
Suffolk University Law School, McLaughlin Moot Court Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston

Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents with John Rosenthal and Charlton McIlwain; moderated by Edward Powell.

The media shapes how we see things, even when we know the truth is otherwise. After all, why is the national conversation on guns framed as "pro-gun vs. anti-gun" despite most of our perspectives being much more nuanced? Moderator Edward Powell (Executive Director, The Boston Foundation's StreetSafe Boston) shines a spotlight on how the media's distortion of reality exacerbates gun violence. He speaks with John Rosenthal (gun owner and founder/Chairman of Stop Handgun Violence) and Charlton McIlwain (Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU Steinhardt) to identify how TV, internet, and newspaper reporting paints an inaccurate picture of guns' effects on communities of color and engages in fear-mongering that fails to prevent further tragedies.

Further background information on the participants:
Charlton McIlwain is an Associate Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University at Steinhardt. His research interests focus broadly on issues of race and media, particularly within the social and political arena. McIlwain co-authored/edited the books Race Appeal and The Routledge Companion to Race and Ethnicity.His other scholarly works have appeared in the International Journal of Press/Politics, American Behavioral Scientist, Communication Quarterly, and many more. Currently, he is researching individuals' cognitive and physiological responses to race-based messages in political ads. McIlwain is also exploring how people use digital media to influence both the discourse and political work surrounding racial equality and equal opportunity. Additionally, he recently launched a new site, KidsOnColor.com, a forum for exchanging childhood stories about racial awareness.

Edward M. Powell is the executive director of StreetSafe Boston, bringing 20 years of experience in the private, not-for-profit, and government sectors to StreetSafe’s mission of transforming Boston’s toughest youth in an effort to make city neighborhoods safe. Powell comes to StreetSafe Boston from the Boston Private Industry Council, one of the nation’s premier public-private partnerships that connects business, the Boston Public Schools, higher education, government, labor, and community organizations to create innovative workforce and education solutions. A decade ago, he co-founded the All For One AAU Basketball program where he served as an assistant coach and oversaw the academic component of the program. Powell now serves on the board of the Manny Wilson Developmental Basketball League at the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club which receives academic support through an educational component implemented by Powell.

In 1995, gun-owner and recreational Trap Shooter John Rosenthal founded Stop Handgun Violence, an organization known for its giant billboard along the Mass Turnpike near Fenway Park. Their billboard campaign communicates the extent of the national gun violence problem as well as practical solutions. In 2005, Rosenthal co-founded a membership organization called American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA). AHSA is an alternative membership organization to the NRA for moderate gun owners who care about gun rights as well as gun safety, conservation and wildlife habitat, and support for law enforcement. John Rosenthal is also the President of Meredith Management (real estate development) and the founder of Friends of Boston’s Homeless.

Admission is free and open to all. Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station. For more information, contact Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University: 617-557-2007, www.fordhallforum.org.

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“Ecological Forecasting: How Science Can Help Society to Proactively Prepare for a Warmer World”
Monday, March 25, 2013
12pm
Northeastern University, 450 Renaissance Park, 1135 Tremont Street, Room 426, Boston
Brian Helmuth
Professor, Marine and Environmental Science and Public Policy, College of Science and College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Contact Northeastern Humanities nuhumanities@neu.edu
617-373-4140

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2nd Annual Boston Baseball Hack Day
Saturday, March 30, 2013
9:30 AM To 7:00 PM
Thoughtbot, 41 Winter Street, 7th floor, Boston
Register at http://bbhd2013.eventbrite.com/

Are you a web developer, designer, or a programmer who is interested in baseball? Or a passionate baseball fan with ideas?

Boston Baseball Hack Day on March 30, 2013, is the second annual hacking event where area baseball minds come together, form a team, and collaborate to create baseball-related project and bring an idea to life. The goal of the day is to bring creative minds into one room and see what they can produce within a limited time. The project could be (but is not limited to) a tool, simple web app, website, or data visualization. See what we did in 2012 to get an idea.

It is also a great opportunity to network and socialize among like-minded people. Projects will be judged by area experts, and a brief awards ceremony (with prizes courtesy of our sponsors) will conclude the program.

At the end of the day, projects will be judged by area experts, and a brief awards ceremony will conclude the event.

Baseball Hack Day is a free event thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Registration is required and seating is limited. So Register NOW!

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Landscaping with Climate in Mind
April 3
7:00 pm
Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge

Sue Reed, Author of Energy-Wise Landscape Design.
Learn how to manage your landscape to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint—essential actions in this era of climate change.

Sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts
http://www.grownativemass.org/programs/eveningswithexperts

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Cambridge Mini Maker Faire

Saturday, April 13

Noon - 4pm
Tennis courts outside Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School/Cambridge Public Library

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Save the Date: Friday 19 April, 2013
20th Anniversary Celebration of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP)
Convened in Honor of CIERP’s Director, Professor William Moomaw

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On the afternoon of Friday, April 19, the Fletcher community will host a symposium on campus celebrating CIERP’s 20th Anniversary and honoring the distinguished career of William "Bill" Moomaw,Professor of International Environmental Policy and CIERP’s Founder and Director. The event will be themed around scaling renewable energy.

Please mark your calendars! More details to follow. All are welcome.

The Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP), established in 1992 at The Fletcher School, Tufts University, develops innovative approaches to shifting global development onto an environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable path. We analyze how economic and social activities impact the environment, and design strategies for meeting human needs without straining the planet’s resources. CIERP advances theory, turns it into practice, educates the international community, and prepares students for careers as global leaders and citizens.

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SUSTAINABILITY: PRACTICES AND POSSIBILITIES
3rd Massachusetts Sustainable Communities Conference
2nd Massachusetts Sustainable Campuses Conference
April 24, 2013
8am - 4pm
DCU Center, Worcester, MA

Conference details at http://masustainablecommunities.com
Register early and save at http://masccc.eventbrite.com
Cost: $45 to $75

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Opportunity

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Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!

Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch. No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.

For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home

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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, see
http://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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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/

Cambridge Civic Journal http://www.rwinters.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/Johnny_Monsarrat/index.html

http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/

hubevents

Sunday, March 03, 2013

Energy (and Other) Events - March 3, 2013

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