Sunday, August 21, 2016

Energy (and Other) Events - August 21, 2016

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
What I Do and Why I Do It:  The Story of Energy (and Other) Events

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Index
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Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings.

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Monday, August 22
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12pm  NE Resilience and Transition Network Collective Inquiry: Building a Resilient, Sustainable and Equitable Food System
5pm  Public Sector Leaders Forum: How Technology Is Transforming Citizen Engagement
6pm  How to Become a Digital Nomad Lessons Learned Through Location Independence
7pm  Wild Socialism: Workers Councils in Revolutionary Berlin, 1918-1921

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Tuesday, August 23– Friday, August 28
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9am - 5pm  Harvard Habitat for Humanity Stuff Sale

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Tuesday, August 23
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3pm  Hearing on Cambridge Urban Agriculture 
6pm  Reinventing Boston: A City Engineered

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Wednesday, August 24
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12pm  BINJ Pop-Up Newsroom: Occupy Boston 5-Year Anniversary Edition
12pm  DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
1pm  Innovative Technology Pilots Webinar
6pm  Comics and the Art of Visual Storytelling
6pm  The Future of Boston: Millennial Mixer

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Thursday, August 25
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9am  DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
10am  Hull Wind Turbine Tour
10am  Thesis Defense: Computational Design of Foldable Robots via Composition
6pm  Get Paid to Vote? Voter Engagement Committee Meeting
7pm  Aravani Girl - documentary screening

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Friday, August 26
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8am  EITA Smart Cities Forum 2016 - (EITA Knowledge and Smart Technology 2016)
9am  DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
10:30am  PSFC Seminar: Outlook towards a Commercial Fusion Reactor

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Saturday, August 27
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8am  DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
9am  Conserving Bumble Bees

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Sunday, August 28
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8am  DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
1pm  Tree Mob™! - Saving Monarch Butterflies
2pm  Public Art Tour: Ceilings, Floors, and Everything in Between

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Monday August 29
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5:30pm  Kick Money Out of Politics in Cambridge
7pm  Tell Me the Number Before Infinity: The Story of a Girl with a Quirky Mind, an Eccentric Family, and Oh Yes, a Disability

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Tuesday, August 30
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7pm  The Age of Longevity:  Re-Imagining Tomorrow for Our New Long Lives

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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:

The Technical Challenge of Hate Speech

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Monday, August 22
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NE Resilience and Transition Network Collective Inquiry: Building a Resilient, Sustainable and Equitable Food System
Monday, August 22
12 - 1:30pm
webinar/phone conference

NERT is teaming up with members of the Food Solutions New England (FSNE) network to think about how we can create a resilient, sustainable and equitable food system. Beginning on August 22, we'll explore this topic for several weeks with folks from around New England using video, phone and text-based platforms. We can't fully predict where the Inquiry will take us, but here’s a taste of what we might explore together:
What are the challenges and successes in local food work — farmers markets, CSAs, farms, permaculture projects, food forests, and more?
As individuals, have we been able to secure affordable, nutritious food that squares with our values? What would it be like to test out FSNE's "Omnivore's Delight" diet for a few days or weeks?
What could a regional-scale food system look like, as opposed to the current global system? What would we eat? Who would grow it, and where? What is the role of seafood in this diet?

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Public Sector Leaders Forum: How Technology Is Transforming Citizen Engagement
Monday, August 22
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Microsoft New England, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

Program Overview: The evolution of technology has radically disrupted citizen engagement - elevating and expanding the way government officials can innovate to engage citizens at critical junctures of the electoral process and engage citizen voices in day-to-day governance. Operating from the belief that an informed and engaged citizen is critically important to a well-functioning democracy, this event will convene public, private, and non-profit sector leaders to discuss what’s working, examine challenges, and surface emerging innovations that stand to shape the landscape of citizen engagement in the future. 
Speakers:  
Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
Cathy Wissink, Senior Director, Technology & Civic Engagement, Microsoft New England 
Pratt Wiley, National Director Voter Expansion, Democratic National Committee  
Katie Stebbins, Assistant Secretary, Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship, Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
Howard Lim, Open Data Manager, City of Boston
Zinelle October, Vice President, Network Advancement, American Constitution Society 
Aaron Myran, Harvard University

Format:   Keynote & Leaders Roundtable, followed by Networking Reception
Participant Outcomes:  The event is intended to spark ideas on how leaders and citizens can leverage the power of technology for better public service delivery. Leaders will discuss how the open government movement and game-changing disruptive technologies are – and are not – transforming civic participation, governance, and what is needed to create channels via which citizen sentiment can inform the most important issues facing communities.
About the Organizers:  The Civic Innovation Project
The Civic Innovation Project is a national platform focused on emerging government innovation that was recognized with a 2015 State of Boston Innovation Award. To learn more, follow Twitter @civinnovation and visit, www.civicinnovationproject.com.
The Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center
The Microsoft Innovation and Policy Center aims for Microsoft to be “of” the community, not just exist within it. Through the Innovation and Policy Center, we are extending beyond the tech community to: Connect stakeholders from tech to the broader business, academic and government community; Catalyze important technology and public policy discussions; and Contribute more directly with the health and vitality of greater New England.

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How to Become a Digital Nomad Lessons Learned Through Location Independence
Monday, August 22
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM (EDT) 
Plug Cambridge, 618 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

Thanks to advances in technology and the resulting growth in remote work, the 9 to 5 and traditional brick and mortar office are becoming increasingly antiquated. In its place are coworking spaces, the gig economy, and newfound freedom to work from anywhere. The location independent movement is about empowering people to live the life they deserve, on their own terms. The motivations behind this movement have led to the rise of digital nomads (those who combine work and travel) who seek to work in places that inspire creativity and collaborate across industries and cultures. These trends have significant implications for the future of work.
We love to see people getting more fulfillment out of their lives while concurrently advancing their careers. In How to Become a Digital Nomad - Lessons Learned Through Location Independence we will discuss the growing ecosystem around location independence, the resources available, and travel tips for those who are interested in the digital nomad lifestyle. This will be a presentation followed by an open Q&A.

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Wild Socialism: Workers Councils in Revolutionary Berlin, 1918-1921
Monday, August 22 
7:00 p.m.
Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Avenue, Somerville

Somerville author Marty Comack will discuss his recent work, Wild Socialism: Workers Councils in Revolutionary Berlin, 1918-1921.
Wild Socialism examines the rise, development, and decline of revolutionary councils of industrial workers in Berlin at the end of the First World War.  This popular movement spread throughout Germany, and was without precedent in either the theory or practice of the Social Democratic party and the trade unions allied to it.

Marty has been employed as a soldier, merchant seaman, civil servant and university lecturer.  He received a doctorate in political science from Northeastern University, holds graduate degrees from Harvard and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and attended the Academy of Labor and Social Relations (Moscow) as well as the Fundacion para la Education de Trabajadores (Mexico).He is a past member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and served a term on its executive board.

This event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Fountain Avenue Labor Support Committee

NB:  The history of alternative organizations is useful for affecting change today and the events around WWI are still reverberating throughout our world.

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Tuesday, August 23– Friday, August 28
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Harvard Habitat for Humanity Stuff Sale
Tuesday, August 23– Friday, August 28
9 am–5 pm
Harvard, Science Center Plaza, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Come to the Harvard Science Center Plaza to shop 200 truckloads of student-donated micro-fridges, microwaves, lamps, mirrors, chairs, rugs, coffee tables, books, clothing, fans, storage containers, shower caddies, waste baskets, posters, room décor and more!  All proceeds support Harvard Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build housing for the homeless. 

Cut your expenses, support Habitat, help the planet and reduce Harvard’s disposal fees, all at the same time.  All sales occur from 9 am–5 pm, weather permitting. 

For more details about the Stuff Sale, contact Brian Wagner, HHH Stuff Sale Captain bwagner@college.harvard.edu

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Tuesday, August 23
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Hearing on Cambridge Urban Agriculture 
Tuesday, August 23
3 p.m.
Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

The City Council will hold a joint committee hearing of the Ordinance Committee and the Health and Environment Committee to review a proposal that would allow Urban Agriculture in Cambridge. Urban agriculture seeks to improve the availability of healthy and affordable food while supporting sustainable, economic, and educational opportunities. Activities that are under consideration include but are not limited to ground level and rooftop farming, hydroponics, aquaponics, small-scale neighborhood gardens, the keeping of honey bees and hens, and the production, sale, and donation of agricultural products in both residential and commercial districts.Come share your thoughts!

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Reinventing Boston: A City Engineered
Tuesday, August 23
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
Tremont and Court Street, Boston
Cost:  $10 – $15

Boston has repeatedly reinvented its urban fabric to accommodate a growing population, the needs of business and industry, and the development of public and private transportation. From the first subway through the Big Dig, Boston has led the nation in transforming its cityscape. Join Boston By Foot and the BSA Foundation on this guided walking tour to uncover some of Boston’s many layers and explore its physical evolution, from the first American subway to the rise and fall of interstate highways to the recovery of Boston harbor. 

Meet your guide at the corner of Tremont & Court Streets near the Government Center T stop, in front of Starbucks.

This is a program of the BSA Foundation in partnership with Boston By Foot. Boston By Foot promotes public awareness and appreciation of Boston’s rich history and architectural heritage by offering a wide range of guided tour tours and programs.
Registrants to this event will be added to the BSA Space mailing list for updates on future public programs and exhibitions, and may unsubscribe at any time. Email addresses will not be shared or sold to third parties.
Interested in becoming a Friend of BSA Space? Sign up now, it’s free!

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Wednesday, August 24
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BINJ Pop-Up Newsroom: Occupy Boston 5-Year Anniversary Edition
Wednesday, August 24
12 PM - 8 PM
Dewey Square, Boston
@ Biddy Early’s from 5pm to 8pm

If you were active in Occupy Boston, we would like to interview you about your activist experience there and in the five years since. Please bring your stories by our pop-up newsroom, which we will have set up at Dewey Square during lunchtime on August 24, and at Biddy Early’s (141 Pearl St.) that night. With your help we will be producing a podcast series and a feature article.

CHECK OUT BINJ COLUMNS AND FEATURES HERE: https://medium.com/binj-reports

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DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
Wednesday, August 24
12:00p–8:30p
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge

Speaker: DEAPS 2016
EAPS provides a unique environment to study the multi-faceted nature of the science of the Earth and other planets. We thrive on interdisciplinary ventures, seeking to understand the fundamental workings of natural systems by examining physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring across a vast spectrum of time and space. 

The EAPS three-day exploration program in Extreme Weather and Climate will cover some of the most interesting and challenging aspect of weather and climate research. 

**Today's Schedule** 
12:00 - Meet in rm 923 for lunch and registration 
2:00 - Activity 1: Height of the Green Building 
4:00 - Discussion of afternoon activities 
6:00 - Travel to Harvard Sq and dinner at Fire & Ice 
8:30 - Ice-cream in Harvard Sq

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:  Lodovica Illari

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Innovative Technology Pilots Webinar
Wednesday, August 24
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Webinar
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States : +1 (408) 650-3123
Access Code: 580-170-789

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (“MassCEC”) seeks proposals for the piloting of innovative technologies at publicly owned wastewater treatment (“WWT”) facilities in Massachusetts under the Wastewater Treatment Plant Innovative Technology Pilot Program (the “Program”). WWT facilities in Massachusetts offer opportunities to pilot new water technologies that (1) increase energy efficiency, (2) recover resources for reuse, or (3) remove nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorous. In support these potential technology advancements, MassCEC expects to make awards of up to $150,000 to Applicant Teams (comprised of a wastewater treatment utility and at least one innovative water technology provider) that jointly propose meaningful pilots of commercially available (or near commercial) innovative technologies.

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Comics and the Art of Visual Storytelling
Wednesday, August 24
6:00pm to 9:00pm
CCTV, 438 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Comics aren’t just cartoon superheroes and villains – they are a language all their own in the world of storytelling, combining words and pictures in a way no other medium can. In this lecture, we will explore the history, structure and vocabulary of comics, unlocking their potential to tell stories both simple and complex, funny or serious. 

Instructor: Jon Dorn

Advance registration is required and is accepted on a first-come basis. Early registration is advised since courses may fill up or be canceled due to low enrollment. Call 617-661-6900 or email allison@cctvcambridge.org for details. Schedules are subject to change.

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The Future of Boston: Millennial Mixer
Wednesday, August 24
6:00 pm – 9:30 pm 
Hatch Fenway, 401 Park Drive, Boston

For today's millennials, Boston is the place to be. So, we've partnered with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, City Awake, Hatch Fenway, and more to host an evening of mingling for these young professionals with some of the city’s most curious and innovative minds.

Come by on Wednesday, August 24 for Tto meet your next potential collaborator; hear what’s going behind the scenes of new startups and companies; and grow your network in one night.

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Thursday, August 25
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DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
Thursday, August 25
9:00a–7:00p
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge

Speaker: DEAPS 2016
EAPS provides a unique environment to study the multi-faceted nature of the science of the Earth and other planets. We thrive on interdisciplinary ventures, seeking to understand the fundamental workings of natural systems by examining physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring across a vast spectrum of time and space. 

The EAPS three-day exploration program in Extreme Weather and Climate will cover some of the most interesting and challenging aspect of weather and climate research. 

**Today's Schedule** 
9:00 - Breakfast: rm 923 
9:15 - Talk by students and staff (accompanied by breakfast): rm 915 
11:00 - Activity 2: Hurricane flow: rm 1527 and 1623 
12:30 - Lunch and tour of MIT with undergraduate TAs 
2:00 - Activity 2 (continued) : rm 1527 and 1623 
3:30 - Coffee break 
4:00 - Discussion of Activity 2 in rm 915 
5:30 - Dinner in rm 923 
7:00 - Astronomy night with a visit of Wallace Observatory in Westford, MA

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:  Lodovica Illari

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Hull Wind Turbine Tour
Thursday, August 25 (rain date Fri Aug 26) 
10am to 11:30am
Hull High School, 100 Main Street, Hull

A FREE tour at Hull's first wind turbine!
The tour is about 45 min long. Attendees will be able to enter and tour the turbine followed by ample time for Q&A with an expert.
(Max. tour group capacity is 30 people)

*** After the tour HEEC is planning to hang out for lunch at Marvel's Lunchbox (varied menu) located near Hull Wind Turbine, come and join us!

Transportation options include:
Public MBTA transportation
Carpooling (email heecpr@gmail.com for more information about this transportation option)

A FREE tour at Hull's first wind turbine! The tour is about 45 min long. Attendees will be able to enter and tour the turbine followed by ample time for Q&A with an expert.

Contact Name:  Jessica Bermudez

More information at Harvard Environmental Extension Club

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Thesis Defense: Computational Design of Foldable Robots via Composition
Thursday, August 25
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
MIT, Building 32-G449 (Patil/Kiva), 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Cynthia Sung , MIT CSAIL, Distributed Robotics Lab 
Recent advances in rapid fabrication technologies have given designers the ability to manufacture increasingly complex geometries with little increase in cost, making it easier than ever to build a robot. However, the process of designing a functional robot remains challenging. Robots are complex systems that tightly integrate mechanical, electrical, and software subsystems. As a result, traditional robot development often requires iterations of design and testing to ensure that the result is both functional and manufacturable.

This thesis explores intuitive tools for robot design and proposes composition as a design approach. We leverage a print-and-fold paradigm of manufacturing, which has been shown to enable functional robots to be created within a day. The main challenge in using composition is that in general, even if two modules function correctly individually, the combination of the two may not be a valid design. We therefore develop algorithms and systems for robot composition that guarantee validity of the design geometry and that check the resulting kinematics.

Our main contributions include a database containing parameterized designs for printable joints and mechanisms, algorithms for composition of fold patterns and motion sequences that guarantee no self-intersection, automated generation of fabrication plans for multiple modes of print-and-fold fabrication, an interactive user interface in which users can compose custom robots and receive real-time feedback about their designs, and experimental verification in the form of functional mechanisms and robots. The results provide designers with a framework for rapid design exploration and bring us closer to a future of easy robot design and customization.

Thesis committee: Prof. Daniela Rus (Chair), Prof. Erik Demaine, Prof. Wojciech Matusik, Prof. Vijay Kumar

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Get Paid to Vote? Voter Engagement Committee Meeting
Thursday, August 25
6 PM
Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue # 202, Cambridge

Let's increase voter turnout!

The Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration and Civic Unity Committees are having a meeting to discuss the recent policy order to improve voter turnout for municipal elections in Cambridge.

The policy order can be read here: 

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Aravani Girl - documentary screening
Thursday, August 25, 2016
7:00p–9:00p
MIT, Building 1-190, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

A free screening of the documentary that tracks the lives of two transgender persons in Southern part of India. This will be followed by a discussion about the Transgender Persons Bill 2016 in India. Dinner will be served.

Open to: the general public
Cost: None 
Sponsor(s): AID-MIT, GSC Funding Board
For more information, contact:  Sanket Navale
6174158955

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Friday, August 26
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EITA Smart Cities Forum 2016 - (EITA Knowledge and Smart Technology 2016)
Friday, August 26
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (EDT)
MIT, Building 4, 182 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

The EITA Smart Cities Forum 2016 - (the EITA Knowledge and Smart Technology 2016), will be held on Friday, August 26, 2016 at the Maclaurin Buildings (4), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.. The conference theme of the EITA Smart Cities Forum 2016 is "Knowledge, Smart Technology and the Internet of Things: Challenges, Opportunities and Future Directions". We are pleased to invite you to attend the EITA-Smart Cities Forum 2016 at MIT. The event is free of charge.

The main objective of the EITA Smart Cities Forum 2016 is to provide a platform for researchers, engineers, academicians as well as industrial professionals from all over the world to present their research results and development activities in "Smart Cities, Knowledge, Smart Technology, Big Data, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things". This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish business or research relations and to find global partners for future collaboration.


We look forward to seeing you there!

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DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
Friday, August 26
9:00a–8:00p
MIT, Building 54-923 (the tallest building on campus), Cambridge

Speaker: DEAPS 2016

EAPS provides a unique environment to study the multi-faceted nature of the science of the Earth and other planets. We thrive on interdisciplinary ventures, seeking to understand the fundamental workings of natural systems by examining physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring across a vast spectrum of time and space. 

The EAPS three-day exploration program in Extreme Weather and Climate will cover some of the most interesting and challenging aspect of weather and climate research. 

**Today's Schedule** 
9:00 - Breakfast: 923 (Bring your luggage with you) 
9:30 - Talk by Prof Noelle Selin on climate change and policy: rm 915 
10:30 - Activity 3: Climate/General circulation : rm 1527 
12:00 - Lunch and get ready to leave 
1:30 - meet in rm 923 
2:00 - Depart for lodge at base of Mt. Washington (New Hampshire) 
6:30 - Dinner and overnight stay at the Fox Ridge Resort 
8:00+ - Evening activities: Astronomy exploration

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:  Lodovica Illari

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PSFC Seminar: Outlook towards a Commercial Fusion Reactor
Friday, August 26
10:30a–11:30a
MIT, Building NW17-218, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Guenter Janeschitz
When one extrapolates from today's knowledge on ITER construction, even considering that ITER could have been built much more economically, it is clear that a fusion power plant will cost > 10 to 15 BE. Therefore in order to have an economically attractive fusion reactor it will need to produce a large amount of power (on the order of 2 GW electric delivered to the grid). Due to the fact that such a machine will need ~500 MW for its own use, it has to produce 2.5 GW electric which means a fusion power of > 5 GW and thus a thermal power > 6 GW. The possible size (R~10 m) and reasonably conservative physics basis of such a machine will be briefly described. If successful in achieving advanced physics in a burning plasma, e.g. in ITER, then the machine can be made slightly smaller but the principle arguments for a large machine will not change significantly. 
Key technologies and their status will be discussed with particular emphasis on realistic blanket and divertor designs, and the size and issues of a tritium plant as well as the challenges which have to be overcome beyond what is needed for ITER. In particular the fact that such a machine will be nuclear (neutron fluency/streaming, corrosion effects, safety, contamination, radiation level for personnel, etc) will make many concepts shown today regarding blanket, divertor design, maintenance, etc., in reactor studies not viable.

Plasma Science and Fusion Center Seminar Series

on-reactor
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Plasma Science and Fusion Center
For more information, contact:  Paul Rivenberg
617-253-8101

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Saturday, August 27
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DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
Saturday, August 27
8:00a–9:30p
Fox Ridge Resort, North Conway, NH

Speaker: DEAPS 2016
EAPS provides a unique environment to study the multi-faceted nature of the science of the Earth and other planets. We thrive on interdisciplinary ventures, seeking to understand the fundamental workings of natural systems by examining physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring across a vast spectrum of time and space. 

The EAPS three-day exploration program in Extreme Weather and Climate will cover some of the most interesting and challenging aspect of weather and climate research. 

**Today's Schedule** 
8:00 - Breakfast at the Resort 
9:00 - Activity 4: Ascent to Mt. Washington and observations of the area 
12:00 - Lunch at summit and tour of Mt. Washington Observatory 
2:00 - Hike to the Alpine garden and observations of the area 
5:00 - Descent and return to lodge 
6:30 - Dinner in North Conway, NH 
9:30+ - Evening activities and overnight stay at the Fox Ridge Resort

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:  Lodovica Illari

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Conserving Bumble Bees
Saturday, August 27
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain

You have heard about the status of the European honey bee, and maybe even learned the fate of some of our 3,600 native bees. The truth is that bees are in trouble and in need of our attention. The good news is that there is much that you can do to help. Come join in this unique opportunity to learn from the Xerces Society about the status of our native bumble bees, the threats that they face, and what you can do to help. Included will be information on basic life-history and ecology, as well as learning which species are most imperiled throughout the eastern U.S. You will also learn about the threats they face, and what can be done in your yards to help protect them. A focus of the workshop will be training participants how to identify the bumble bees in their backyard, and throughout New England.

This day-long workshop will include classroom sessions in the morning, and a field visit to nearby habitat at the arboretum where we will practice bumble bee identification and survey techniques in more detail, while we sample the local area for foraging bumble bees. Participants will also be instructed in how to participate in a collaborative citizen science project called Bumble Bee Watch.

This workshop is free and open to the public. Lunch will not be provided, so please bring a sack lunch. A recommended book for this workshop is Bumble Bees of North America by Williams, Thorp, Richardson, and Colla.

Instructor 
Rich Hatfield, Senior Conservation Biologist, The Xerces Society 
Rich has a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from San Francisco State University. His degree focused on the habitat requirements of bumble bees in the Sierra Nevada. He has authored several publications on bumble bees, including a recently published set of management guidelines entitled Conserving Bumble Bees. He is the Red List Authority for the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Bumble Bee Specialist Group, and recently facilitated an assessment of all of the bumble bees of the New World. He has investigated native bee pollination in agricultural systems in the Central Valley of California, and studied endangered butterflies in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and throughout the Pacific Northwest. In addition to his work as a research biologist, he has extensive classroom teaching experience with a focus on conservation biology, ecology and sustainability.

Registration Contact:  Michele Blackburn, The Xerces Society 
503-232-6639 

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Sunday, August 28
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DEAPS: A 5-day Exploration of Extreme Weather & Climate
Sunday, August 28
8:00a–2:00p
Fox Ridge Resort, North Conway, NH

Speaker: DEAPS 2016
EAPS provides a unique environment to study the multi-faceted nature of the science of the Earth and other planets. We thrive on interdisciplinary ventures, seeking to understand the fundamental workings of natural systems by examining physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring across a vast spectrum of time and space. 

The EAPS three-day exploration program in Extreme Weather and Climate will cover some of the most interesting and challenging aspect of weather and climate research. 

**Today's Schedule** 
8:00 - Breakfast at the Resort 
9:00 - Activity 4: Hike and geology of the area 
11:00 - Depart for Boston, lunch on the way 
2:00 - Adjourn at MIT

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS)
For more information, contact:  Lodovica Illari

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Tree Mob™! - Saving Monarch Butterflies
Sunday, August 28
1:00pm
Arnold Arboretum, Valley Road, Jamaica Plain

Jose Luis Alvarez, Forester and Founder, Forests for Monarchs
Jose Luis Alvarez is a Mexican tree nurseryman, who for decades has been growing trees for reforestation projects. In 1997, he created Forests For Monarchs (FFM) also known as La Cruz Habitat Protection Program (LCHPP), an innovative non-profit designed to restore monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) forest habitat in Mexico and at the same time give indigenous people a desperately needed source of wood for cooking, heating and building houses. Alvarez will discuss monarch evolution, migration and population changes. He will also review the science which led to the discovery of over-wintering grounds in Mexico and the effort to reforest them. Alvarez will also address monarch habitat issues in the United States, and the work being done to stabilize the monarch population. Meet at the Dawn Redwood (Acc. # 524-48*Z), close to the intersection of Valley Rd and Hemlock Hill Rd on Sunday, August 28 at 1:00pm.

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Public Art Tour: Ceilings, Floors, and Everything in Between
Sunday, August 28
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, BuildingE-15, MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge

Dive into public art this summer at MIT. 

Examine the ways artists like Matthew Ritchie and Frank Stella have reconsidered MITs campus as their canvas. From ceilings to floors to immersive installations, interiors and in-between spaces across the Institute provide rich (if often overlooked) places for artistic discovery. Say goodbye to summer in style by thinking outside the gallery!

Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE 
Sponsor(s): List Visual Arts Center
For more information, contact:  Mark Linga
617-253-4680

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Monday August 29
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Kick Money Out of Politics in Cambridge
Monday, August 29 
5:30 PM - 7 PM
Cambridge City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave # 202, Cambridge

Let’s set a model for good governance everywhere by becoming the first Massachusetts Municipality to publicly fund elections!

Join the Neighborhood & Long Term Planning and the Government Operations Committees at 5:30 on August 29th at City Hall to discuss clean election initiatives that will put power in the hands of voters, not donors. 

If you cannot attend the meeting, make sure to write into City Clerk’s office at pcrane@cambridgema.gov to express your support of publicily funded elections in the City.

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Tell Me the Number Before Infinity: The Story of a Girl with a Quirky Mind, an Eccentric Family, and Oh Yes, a Disability
Monday August 29
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline

Tell Me the Number before Infinity is an honest, moving, informative, often funny and inspiring account of a girl and her mother’s journey. Becky Taylor is a mathematical whiz, who has cerebral palsy and a B.S. in Computer Science. With her mother, Dena Taylor, M.S.W., they describe life in their family and the realities of having a disability. The Taylors’ pivotal action hugely contributed to California’s historical mainstreaming of disabled children into the public school system.

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Tuesday, August 30
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The Age of Longevity:  Re-Imagining Tomorrow for Our New Long Lives
Tuesday, August 30
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Harvard Book Store welcomes senior scientist at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University ROSALIND C. BARNETT and award-winning jouranlist CARYL RIVERS for a discussion of their book The Age of Longevity: Re-Imagining Tomorrow for Our New Long Lives.
About The Age of Longevity

Long, productive lives are the destiny of most of us, not just the privilege of our great-grandchildren. The story of aging is not one of steady decline and decay; we need a new narrative based on solid research, not scare stories. Today Americans enjoy a new, healthy stage of life, between roughly 65 and 79, during which we are staying engaged in the workplace, starting new relationships and careers, remaining creative and becoming entrepreneurs and job creators. 

We are in the midst of a major paradigm shift in the way we live. Our major milestones are shifting. The definition of “normal” behavior is changing. Today, we marry later or not at all; cohabitation is not just a stepping stone to marriage, but a long-term arrangement for many. Women often have their first child in their 40s, and increasingly before they marry. People enjoy active sex lives well into their 6th, 7th or even 8th decades. None of our institutions will remain the same. 
People are working longer, and given the declining birth rate, older workers will be in great demand. Four generations are increasingly working side by side, learning from each other. But we must ensure that the benefits of long life are not limited to a wealthy few. 

The Age of Longevity shows how we as a society can embrace the life-altering changes that are either coming in the near future or are already underway. The authors give readers a panoramic view of how they, the institutions that affect them, and the country as a whole will need to adapt to what’s ahead. They offer strategies, based on cutting-edge research, that will enable individuals, institutions, companies, and governments to make the most of our lengthening life spans. Using real life examples throughout, the authors paint a picture of what our new longer lives will look like, and the changes that need to be made so we can all make those years both more productive and more enjoyable.


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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, August 31
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META Presentation and VR for PTSD
Wednesday, August 31
6:00 PM
Cambridge Innovation Center, Venture Cafe, One Broadway, 5th Floor, Cambridge
Cost: $4.00 /per person

John Werner, META 
John was the Head of Innovation at the MIT Media Lab Camera Culture group, organizer of Vision Cafe, and founder and curator of TedxBeacon. John recently joined META as the VP for strategic partnerships, and is staying in Boston to develop the augmented reality ecosystem. 

Please note that unfortunately no META glasses will be available for demo during this meetup.

Dr. Andrea Webb, Draper
Dr. Andrea Webb is Group Leader of the Cognitive and Behavioral Understanding group and Principal Member of Technical Staff at Draper.  She has led and been a significant contributor to the majority of Draper’s externally and internally funded Human Signals and Systems projects.  Dr. Webb has designed experiments, submitted and managed IRB protocols, guided statistical analysis and model development, and led several data analytic teams during her time at Draper.  She serves as the Engineering Coordinator for Human Subject Testing at Draper and ensures that Draper is compliant in human subject testing procedures and data management.  She has extensive experience in experiment design, quantitative methods, and psychophysiological measurement and analysis.  Dr. Webb’s research has focused on deception and malintent detection, dyadic interaction, and mental health disorders such as PTSD and depression.  She has published and presented her work in a variety of peer-reviewed forums.  Dr. Webb holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Utah.


We are very excited to host the following demos:
VirZOOM - VR that moves you! VirZOOM creates thrilling experiences that are powered by you! Hop on their custom exercise bike and power your way through multiple video games they have made. One of the best VR experiences out there!

OssoVR - The next generation of surgical simulation. Led by an amazing team, OssoVR is a VR experience where you can learn the steps involved with various surgeries, and actually go through the motions yourself in a realistic way. OssoVR won 2nd place at NVIDIA's GTC conference, and has been catching the attention of investors nationwide.

PLEASE NOTE: Our venue requires our guests to sign in with a photo ID at the security desk. When you RSVP you'll get a pop up question; please enter your full name as it appears on your ID. Thanks for your cooperation.

Schedule
6 - Doors open, demos begin, pizza is served thanks to BostonVR
7 - 7:30 - META Presentation
7:30 - 8 - Draper Presentation
8 - 8:15 - Demo intros & announcements
8:15 - 9:45 Demofest!!
9:45pm - Come with us to the afterparty at Firebrand Saints (it's right downstairs!!) 

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Uproot:  Travels in 21st Century Music and Digital Culture
Wednesday, August 31
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Harvard Book Store welcomes essayist JACE CLAYTON for a discussion of his book Uproot: Travels in 21st Century Music and Digital Culture.
About Uproot

In 2001, Jace Clayton was an unknown DJ who recorded a three-turntable, sixty-minute mix called Gold Teeth Thief and put it online to share with his friends. Within months, the mix became an international calling card, whisking Clayton away to a sprawling, multi-tiered nightclub in Zagreb, a tiny gallery in Osaka, a former brothel in São Paolo, and the MoMA. And just as the music world made its fitful, uncertain transition from analog to digital, Clayton found himself on the front lines of an education in the creative upheavals of art production in the twenty-first-century globalized world.

Uproot is a guided tour of this newly opened cultural space, mapped with both his own experiences and his relationships with other industry game-changers such as M.I.A. and Pirate Bay. With humor, insight, and expertise, Clayton illuminates the connections between a Congolese hotel band and the indie rock scene, Mexican rodeo teens and Israeli techno, Whitney Houston and robotic voices in rural Moroccan song, and offers an unparalleled understanding of music in a digital age. Uproot takes readers behind the turntable decks to tell a story that only a DJ—writer—of this caliber can tell.

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Thursday, September 1
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Historical GIS and Digital Humanities based on Virtual Kyoto
Thursday, September 1
Noon - 1:30
Harvard, Room S354 CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

Keiji Yano (Geography Department and Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan)
Abstract: Virtual Kyoto is a virtual time-space created on the computer for the purpose of investigating the past, present and future of the historical city, Kyoto. Using the cutting-edge technologies in GIS and VR, we have conducted Virtual Kyoto as a 4D-GIS that comprises a series of 3D-GIS at various points in time. From a viewpoint of Digital Humanities, Virtual Kyoto is an infrastructure to place numerous digitally archived materials associated with the city, and to disseminate Kyoto’s cultural assets to the world over the Internet (Yano et al., 2007; Yano et al. 2011). Virtual Kyoto consists of a wide variety of GIS-based geo-spatial data of Kyoto, whose most important data sources are historical maps and landscape paintings. This talk will explore Virtual Kyoto as historical GIS using some landscape paintings (e.g. Rakuchu rakugai-zu) based on the context of Digital Humanities.http://www.geo.lt.ritsumei.ac.jp/webgis/ritscoe.html

This Geography Colloquium is co-sponsored by Reischauer Center for Japanese Studies.

Lunch will be served.

Editorial Comment:  Kyoto is a city close to my heart.

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EnergyBar!
Thursday, September 1
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville

EnergyBar is Greentown Labs' monthly networking event devoted to helping people in clean technology meet and discuss innovations in energy technology. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and ‘friends of cleantech,’ are invited to attend, meet colleagues, and expand our growing regional clean technology community. 
Our attendees typically span a variety of disciplines within energy, efficiency, and renewables. In general, if you're looking for a job in cleantech or energy, trying to expand your network, or perhaps thinking about starting your own energy-related company this is the event for you. Expect to have conversations about issues facing advanced and renewable energy technologies and ways to solve our most pressing energy problems. 

Light appetizers and drinks will be served starting at 5:30 pm. Suggested dress is shop floor casual. Parking is incredibly limited at Greentown Labs and we encourage attendees to consider taking advantage of public transportation. 
Hope to see you there! 

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Friday, September 2 – Monday, September 5
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Harvard Habitat for Humanity Stuff Sale
Friday, September 3 – Monday, September 5
9 am–5 pm
Harvard, Science Center Plaza, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Come to the Harvard Science Center Plaza to shop 200 truckloads of student-donated micro-fridges, microwaves, lamps, mirrors, chairs, rugs, coffee tables, books, clothing, fans, storage containers, shower caddies, waste baskets, posters, room décor and more!  All proceeds support Harvard Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build housing for the homeless. 

Cut your expenses, support Habitat, help the planet and reduce Harvard’s disposal fees, all at the same time.  All sales occur from 9 am–5 pm, weather permitting. 

For more details about the Stuff Sale, contact Brian Wagner, HHH Stuff Sale Captain bwagner@college.harvard.edu. 

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Friday, September 2
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Materials and Devices for Efficient Solar and Thermal Energy Utilization
Friday, September 2 
4:00pm to 5:15pm
Harvard, Pierce 209, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Gang Chen, MIT

Applied Physics Colloquia

Host: David Clarke
Contact: Sarah Lefebvre

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Sidney Pacific Dance Party
Friday, September 2
9:00p
MIT, Building NW86-157, 70 Pacific Street, Cambridge

Dance the night away under blacklights at the Sidney Pacific orientation dance party! Enjoy snacks, dancing, and a live DJ in the SidneyPacific courtyard. Refreshments will be served (21+ bring ID).

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Sidney-Pacific Graduate Community
For more information, contact:  Brian Ward
617-452-4753

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Sunday, September 4
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Bread and Puppet:  Whatforward Circus
Sunday, September 4
3:00 pm
On the Cambridge Common, Cambridge

"... fight the anonymous monster,
the big fat Wrong."
[Peter Schumann, director]


(Cambridge, MA 02138) Bread & Puppet Theater: Whatforward Circus. Sunday, September 4, 3:00 pm. Held outdoors on the Cambridge Common, near the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Waterhouse St. [Rain venue: First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St.] Free performance (pass-the-hat donations); all ages welcome. For further details, call the Bread & Puppet Theater's Boston-area hotline 617-286-6694 or visit www.breadandpuppet.org.

The award-winning Vermont-based Bread & Puppet Theater takes its annual Labor Day weekend "little big tour" down from Vermont to the Boston area, this year bringing their new Whatforward Circus to the Cambridge Common, to be presented outdoors on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend.

The Whatforward Circus, in true Bread & Puppet slapstick fashion, follows the escapades of a group of stone age technology puppeteers, brass players, and percussionists, as they, according to director Peter Schumann: "check out the prominent forward moving passions and politics of our capitalist culture, and make real and unreal against-the-grain proposals to identify and fight the anonymous monster, the big fat Wrong."

As always with Bread & Puppet circus events, if some of the circus acts are politically puzzling to adults, accompanying kids can usually explain them. Sourdough rye bread will be served after the show, along with the sale of the theater's Cheap Art. The audience is also welcome to stick around and check out all the masks and puppets.

Special thanks to the Cambridge Arts Council, the Harvard Square Business Association, and the First Church in Cambridge for assisting in Bread & Puppet's return to the Cambridge Common, which has been under renovation for the past few years. The Whatforward Circus on the Common is also funded in part by the Cambridge Arts Council.

[Bread & Puppet will also be performing their Whatforward Circus on Monday September 5th, at the Bread & Roses Heritage Festival in Lawrence, MA. (www.breadandrosesheritage.org)]

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON BREAD & PUPPET THEATER
Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance and slapstick. Its shows are political and spectacular, with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York City's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in the North East Kingdom of Vermont since the early 1970s.

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Tuesday, September 6
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Boston TechBreakfast: September 2016
Tuesday, September 6
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD, Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

Interact with your peers in a monthly morning breakfast meetup. At this monthly breakfast get-together techies, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs share learn from their peers through show and tell / show-case style presentations.
And yes, this is free! Thank our sponsors when you see them :)

Agenda for Boston TechBreakfast:
8:00 - 8:15 - Get yer Food & Coffee and chit-chat 
8:15 - 8:20 - Introductions, Sponsors, Announcements 
8:20 - ~9:30 - Showcases and Shout-Outs! 
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~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words Boston TechBreakfast Sponsors:

Note: This is a secured facility, so you will be asked to show ID and sign in when entering the building 

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GMOS: SCIENCE, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CONSUMER TRANSPARENCY
Tuesday, September 6
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
Cambridge Innovation Center, 5th Floor, Venture Cafe, One Broadway, Cambridge
Cost:  $8 - $12

The Boston Area Sustainability Group returns from its summer break on Tuesday September 6th with a topic sure to draw a diverse crowd and to inspire robust discussion. With the help of two exceptionally qualified guest experts, Gary Hirshberg and Tim Griffin, our community will explore the most recent research and consumer advocacy efforts related to genetically engineered (GE) crops and foods. As always, we welcome your open minds and thoughtful contributions to this conversation.

Recommended advance reading:
Just Label It! Website
NAS study Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects

GUEST SPEAKERS
Gary Hirshberg is Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, and Managing Director of Stonyfield Europe, with organic brands in Ireland and France. Gary serves on several corporate and nonprofit boards including Applegate, Peak Organic Brewing, Late July, Quantum Design, Glenisk, the Danone Communities Fund and the Danone Livelihoods Fund. In 2011, President Obama appointed Gary to serve on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

He is Chairman and a founding Partner of “Just Label It!,” the national campaign to label genetically engineered foods, and is co-author of Label It Now – What You Need to Know About Genetically Engineered Foods. He is the author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World. Gary has received twelve honorary doctorates and numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership including a 2015 Champion for Children Award from Mount Sinai Hospital’s Children’s Environmental Health Center and a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award by the US EPA.

Timothy S. Griffin is an Associate Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University.  At Friedman, he directs the interdisciplinary graduate program, Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and teaches classes on U.S. agriculture, and agricultural science and policy.  He is also involved in the Tufts Institute for the Environment, Water: Science Systems and Society (a cross-university graduate certificate program), and the Center for International Environmental Research and Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. 

His current research focuses on regional food system and climate change impacts on agriculture, and he supervises doctoral students conducting research on topics ranging from precision agriculture to food access. He served as an Advisor to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, focusing on Sustainability, and recently completed work as a member of the National Academy of Sciences study Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects.  Before coming to the Friedman School in 2008, he was Research Agronomist and Lead Scientist with the USDA-Agriculture Research Service in Orono, ME, from 2000 to 2008.  From 1992 to 2000, he was the Extension Sustainable Agriculture Specialist at the University of Maine, the first such position in the U.S. He graduated from Michigan State University (Ph.D) and the University of Nebraska (B.S. and M.S.).

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Substitute:  Going to School With a Thousand Kids
Tuesday, September 6
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Harvard Book Store welcomes National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author NICHOLSON BAKER for a discussion of his latest book, Substitute: Going to School With a Thousand Kids.

About Substitute
In 2014, after a brief orientation course and a few fingerprinting sessions, Nicholson Baker became an on-call substitute teacher in a Maine public school district. He awoke to the dispatcher's five-forty a.m. phone call and headed to one of several nearby schools; when he got there, he did his best to follow lesson plans and help his students get something done. What emerges from Baker’s experience is a complex, often touching deconstruction of public schooling in America: children swamped with overdue assignments, overwhelmed by the marvels and distractions of social media and educational technology, and staff who weary themselves trying to teach in step with an often outmoded or overly ambitious standard curriculum.

In Baker’s hands, the inner life of the classroom is examined anew—mundane worksheets, recess time-outs, surprise nosebleeds, rebellions, griefs, jealousies, minor triumphs, daily lessons on everything from geology to metal tech to the Holocaust to kindergarten show-and-tell—as the author and his pupils struggle to find ways to get through the day. Baker is one of the most inventive and remarkable writers of our time, and Substitute, filled with humor, honesty, and empathy, may be his most impressive work of nonfiction yet.

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Opportunity
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The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tuft University is pleased to accept applications to its Online Graduate Certificate Program in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. 

This program, in its third year, is ideal for professionals engaged in a variety of food-related businesses and organizations, as well as others interested in implementing sustainable practices for their organizations, partners, and communities.  

Because the program is 100% online, students can live and work anywhere in the world and study with the Friedman School’s renowned faculty, while earning graduate credit from Tufts University.  

Course offerings and descriptions are below (courses may be completed individually or as a part of the graduate certificate program): 

NUTC 261: Sustainability on the Farm (fall semester, begins September 6, 2016)
Agriculture is the single largest user of land and water and, thus, has broad environmental impacts. Gains in yield productivity over the last five decades have met increasing demands without increasing agricultural area in the U.S., but environmental, economic and social costs have been considerable. In this first course of the series, the farm level primary costs and benefits will be analyzed, along with a profile of current conventional and alternative approaches to food production in the U.S. Students will examine the policy response to environmental and conservation concerns, focusing on the balance between meeting increased demand while mitigating environmental and social costs.

NUTC 262: Sustainable Food Systems and Markets (spring semester)
The food sector, one of the largest components of the U.S. economy, includes transforming raw agricultural products and moving them to retail points of contact. Although highly integrated and increasingly global, the food system does not provide equal access to all consumers and significant food losses occur at all stages of the supply chain. In this course, students will analyze causes of the market failure to provide equal access; explore solutions to minimize losses within the food system; and evaluate alternative supply chains, including values-based, direct to consumer, and food hubs.

NUTC 263: Sustainability and the Food Consumer (summer semester)
Every day, we make numerous choices about what to eat - and what not to eat. How do consumers and households make these choices, and how can the environments in which we make these choices be shaped to enhance sustainability without sacrificing our health or enjoyment of food? In this course we draw upon insights from economics, psychology, marketing, and nutrition to explore topics such as current food consumption patterns, determinants of food choice, the role of food labeling and market-based initiatives in enhancing sustainability, and the impact of regulation and "nudges" on consumer behavior around food.

To learn more: 
Register for our August 8th Virtual Open House: http://bit.ly/gradcerts-virtualopenhouse 
Read about some of our Graduate Certificate students: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/work-learn-live-online-programs 
Connect with the Program Director: nutritioncertificates@tufts.edu 

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Last fall, Solve (solve.mit.edu/) convened technologists, philanthropists, business leaders, policymakers, and change agents like you from around the world to examine and address problems where technology, business innovation, and smart policy can be leveraged to bring about real and lasting change. 

The Solve program is organized around four “pillars”: Fuel, Learn, Cure, and Make. This year’s program poses three “challenges” within those pillars. Of particular note to the sustainability community are the Fuel challenges: 
Fuel:
Carbon price
How can new technologies (including digital currencies like Bitcoin) be used to put a price on emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases?
Negative carbon emissions
How do we remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a way that is scalable, economical, and ethical?

What can you do right now?

The program is actively seeking proposals for these Fuel challenges. We encourage you to log in to the Solve CoLab platform (http://solvecolab.mit.edu) to propose solutions.  A distinguished panel of judges will select semifinalists, who will present their solutions at the Solve at HUBweek event, September 27 and 28, 2016. Registration for the Solve at HUBweek events is now open at www.hubweek.org.

Thank you for your continued support of the Solve program. Together, we can bring about real and lasting solutions to the world’s most challenging problems.

Editorial Comment:  I’ve alerted my contacts in the Geotherapy movement for enhanced soil carbon sequestration about this opportunity.  May they pick up on it.

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Discounted Solar for Somerville

As part of the State’s Solarize Mass program, local volunteers and the City of Somerville recently launched the Solarize Somerville campaign to make it easier and cheaper for residents and small businesses to install solar panels.

The program, which is offering information and guidance, free site consultations, and solar panel discounts through November, has set an ambitious goal to inspire at least 200 property owners to sign up for solar —and each of those private solar installations will also benefit the community directly. For every 400 kW in signed private contracts through the program, the program’s solar vendor SolarFlair will donate a system of up to 5 kW for a public or community purpose. All are invited to the program kickoff at a Meet the Installer event on Tuesday, July 26 at 6-7:30 p.m., 167 Holland St. Additional events on topics such as solar basics, financing, and solar for multifamily homes will be announced.

Unique to the program is its neighbor-to-neighbor approach: trained resident volunteers and a designated volunteer Solar Coach are available essentially as mentors. They can, for example, walk anyone through the process, provide general loan program and tax incentive information, and share their own solar experiences. The campaign’s webpage and blog offers useful information, tips, and a link to websites where you can estimate the solar potential of your home and roughly calculate how much solar could save you on your energy bills at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize.

Somerville is one of the most urban communities ever to participate in Solarize Mass, which makes the neighbor-to-neighbor approach especially helpful due to some of the unique challenges here such as multi-family houses with more than one owner. Winter Hill resident Mary Mangan, the program’s volunteer Solar Coach, went through that process and is ready to share helpful tips.

"I'm excited to work with our eager volunteers to help our neighbors understand the benefits of solar power. As a co-owner of a two-family home with solar, I can also offer some insights about how that process went for us," said Mangan.

Also key to the program is the selection of a designated vendor, which allows the program to offer reduced cost installation through bulk purchasing. Through a competitive process, SolarFlair, based in Ashland, MA, was selected. They were also the selected installer for the communities of Arlington, Hopkinton, Mendon, Brookline, Carlisle-Chelmsford, Newton, and Quincy.

"We're excited to be the selected installer for Solarize Somerville, and look forward to speaking with any home or business owners that are interested in reducing their electric bills while also making a great investment," said Matt Arner, the owner and President of SolarFlair.

Quick facts:
Solar systems can be purchased outright (with a payback of about 4-5 years). The Mass Solar Loan program offers rates of 3.25% or less. 
Or, for no money down owners can choose a power purchase agreement (PPA), where the system is owned and maintained by a third party, and residents buy back the electricity at a discounted price.   
More on-site renewable energy is critical to reducing carbon emissions.  It also saves money for residents.

Tax incentives for solar installations include:
Federal Tax Credit: A 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is available for qualified residential and commercial projects
Massachusetts Personal Income Tax Credit: The lesser of 15% of the total cost of the solar electric system or $1,000, for qualified clean energy projects
Five-year Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS): Business owners can depreciate solar electric systems over a five-year schedule

For more information or to sign up for a free site consultation:

Visit the Solarize Somerville webpage at www.somervillema.gov/sustainaville/solarize for
Helpful information and FAQs
To contact a volunteer or Solar Coach Mary Mangan to discuss solar options and incentives
To set up an appointment for a free site consultation directly with SolarFlair
To find out about events
To volunteer for Solarize Somerville

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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.

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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

Solar map of Cambridge, MA

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Hey Cambridge residents!

Did you know the City of Cambridge is trying to win the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize? It was created to develop a cleaner and more efficient energy future. Energy efficiency and conservation are the best ways to save energy and minimize environmental impact. In that effort, Cambridge is hoping all residents will get a no-cost energy assessment in order to make their homes more efficient and comfortable. Let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment

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

Again, let us know you're interested here: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/sign-up-for-an-assessment and someone will be in contact with you shortly to give you personally tailored contact information on how you can get your no-cost home energy assessment. Renters are also eligible!

Any action to save energy in the home will help Cambridge win this competition while protecting the environment. For additional ideas on how to save energy, please see the Cambridge Energy Alliance website at http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/resources/interactivehome

Please share with your Cambridge friends and family and ask them to get a free energy assessment!

Want to be more involved? Become a neighborhood Block Captain! Block Captains help their community members sign up for and complete no-cost home energy assessments through the MassSave program. Our team will give you the tools and guidance needed to recruit neighbors to get an assessment and improve the efficiency of their homes. Participation is welcome at whatever level you are able to commit to.
If you are interested in becoming a Block Captain, please fill out the form at http://tinyurl.com/blockcaptainsurvey and someone from the Cambridge Energy Alliance will be in contact with you shortly. If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know about this opportunity!

Questions? Contact jnahigian@cambridgema.gov

Cambridge Energy Alliance
@cambenergy 

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Sunny Cambridge has just launched! Sunny Cambridge is the city-wide initiative that makes it easy for all types of residents to get solar power for their homes. Cambridge has lined up local solar installers through the EnergySage Solar Marketplace, which helps you request, receive, and compare solar quotes 100% online with support available every step of the way.

The City of Cambridge is working on many levels to reduce energy use and GHG emissions to make the city more sustainable. As a semifinalist in the nationwide competition for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize, Cambridge Energy Alliance is encouraging residents to take actions to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Get involved by signing up for a no-cost home energy assessment at the Cambridge Energy Alliance home page (www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org/winit)
and going solar at http://www.sunnycambridge.org 

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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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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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The Boston Network for International Development (BNID) maintains a website (BNID.org) that serves as a clearing-house for information on organizations, events, and jobs related to international development in the Boston area. BNID has played an important auxiliary role in fostering international development activities in the Boston area, as witnessed by the expanding content of the site and a significant growth in the number of users.
The website contains:
A calendar of Boston area events and volunteer opportunities related to International Development - http://www.bnid.org/events
A jobs board that includes both internships and full time positions related to International Development that is updated daily - http://www.bnid.org/jobs
A directory and descriptions of more than 250 Boston-area organizations - http://www.bnid.org/organizations
Also, please sign up for our weekly newsletter (we promise only one email per week) to get the most up-to-date information on new job and internship opportunities -www.bnid.org/sign-up
The website is completely free for students and our goal is to help connect students who are interested in international development with many of the worthwhile organizations in the area.
Please feel free to email our organization at info@bnid.org if you have any questions!

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BASEN / Boston Solidarity Network Economy:  http://ba-sen.tumblr.com
Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston:  http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

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Links to events at over 50 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
MIT Events:  http://events.mit.edu
Sustainability at Harvard:  http://green.harvard.edu/events
Microsoft NERD Center:  http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/
Startup and Entrepreneurial Events:  http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/
Cambridge Civic Journal:  http://www.rwinters.com
Cambridge Happenings:   http://cambridgehappenings.org
Cambridge Community Calendar:  https://www.cctvcambridge.org/calendar


If you have an event you would like to see here, the submission deadline is 12 PM on Sundays, as Energy (and Other) Events is sent out Sunday afternoons.


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