Happy New Year (and Bah Humbug!)
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 - Full event information follows the Index and notices of my latest writings. Keep scrolling, please.
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Sunday, January 1
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7:30pm AIAS Forum 2016: Revolution Reception at the Boston Architectural College
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Tuesday, January 3
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6pm ProfDev: Art of the Schmooze
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Thursday, January 5
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7pm If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body
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Friday, January 6
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7pm Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs
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Saturday, January 7
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1:30pm Winter Solstice Luncheon! Chip Berlet on "Trump, Populism, and Fascism”
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Sunday, January 8
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2pm The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
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Monday, January 9
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6pm Open Project Night: Boston
7pm 23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement
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Tuesday, January 10 - Friday, January 13
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ComputeFest 2017 //Computational & Data Science Workshops
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Tuesday, January 10
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2pm Technological Improvement, Regulatory Avoidance, and the Case of Ride-hailing Services
2:30pm Creating Scientific Figures with Adobe Illustrator
6pm NATASHA LAMB: PUSHING THE ENVELOPE OF SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
6pm Boston New Technology January 2017 Startup Showcase #BNT73
6:30pm The Vital Role of Seagrass in Marine Ecosystems
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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
Breaking the Barrier: The Rise of Solidarity
China’s National Cap and Trade Program
Some Tools for Moving Forward
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2017
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Sunday, January 1
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AIAS Forum 2016: Revolution Reception at the Boston Architectural College
Sunday, January 1
7:30-9:30pm
Boston Architectural College, 320 Newbury Street, Boston
Hosted by BAC's Karen Nelson, Dean of Architecture, and Richard Griswold, Associate Vice President + Dean of Students
Stop by for drinks and bites
Listen to music provided by Berklee College of Music students
Explore Knoll's Working Now exhibit to discover the latest office environments
Mingle with the BAC community
21+? Bring your ID!
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Tuesday, January 3
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ProfDev: Art of the Schmooze
Tuesday, January 3
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
The NonProfit Center, 89 South Street, Boston
Price: $15.76 /per person
Are you ready to stop wasting time networking?
Join Socializing for Justice for a fast-paced, fun & interactive ProfDev (professional development training) on the Art of the Schmooze on Tuesday, January 3, 6:00 - 8:30 PM.
Fee: $15 advance/$30 door is split with the trainer.
Limited space - register ahead of time
Credit cards accepted online and at the door.
Newcomers always welcomed!
Art of the Schmooze
Forming and cultivating relationships is at the heart of any successful fundraising campaign, volunteer drive, committee effort or community building activity. This training will give you the confidence to pursue your personal and professional goals - from the importance of shaking hands and making eye contact, to tips on the best opening line and how to exit a conversation gracefully. An amazing side benefit is that you'll learn how to create a welcoming community space by keeping an eye out for outliers, considering yourself a host instead of a guest and knowing how to compliment someone without "othering" them.
ABOUT OUR PRESENTER
Robbie Samuels has been recognized as a networking expert by Inc. and Lifehacker, and profiled in Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It. Since 2009, his engaging and fun presentations have helped a wide array of audiences increase their confidence when it comes to building their professional network and strong, welcoming communities.
Learn more about his work and get connected at www.RobbieSamuels.com.
He is the host of On the Schmooze, his podcast about leadership, career challenges, work/life balance, and building a professional network - www.OntheSchmooze.com.
In 2006, he founded Socializing for Justice (SoJust.org) to build a cross-cultural, cross-issue progressive community and network in Boston based on the philosophies of abundance and radical inclusion.
SCHEDULE
6:00-6:30 Socializing - bring your own dinner
6:30-8:30 Training and Q&A
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Thursday, January 5
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If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body
Thursday, January 5
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes senior editor at The Atlantic JAMES HAMBLIN for a discussion of his book, If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body.
About If Our Bodies Could Talk
In 2014, James Hamblin launched a series of videos for The Atlantic called "If Our Bodies Could Talk." With it, the doctor-turned-journalist established himself as a seriously entertaining authority in the field of health. Now, in illuminating and genuinely funny prose, Hamblin explores the human stories behind health questions that never seem to go away—and which tend to be mischaracterized and oversimplified by marketing and news media. He covers topics such as sleep, aging, diet, and much more:
Can I “boost” my immune system?
Does caffeine make me live longer?
Do we still not know if cell phones cause cancer?
How much sleep do I actually need?
Is there any harm in taking a multivitamin?
Is life long enough?
In considering these questions, Hamblin draws from his own medical training as well from hundreds of interviews with distinguished scientists and medical practitioners. He translates the (traditionally boring) textbook of human anatomy and physiology into accessible, engaging, socially contextualized, up-to-the-moment answers. They offer clarity, examine the limits of our certainty, and ultimately help readers worry less about things that don’t really matter.
If Our Bodies Could Talk is a comprehensive, illustrated guide that entertains and educates in equal doses.
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Friday, January 6
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Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs
Friday, January 6
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes author ALEXANDRA CHASIN, associate professor of literary studies at the New School, for a discussion of her latest book, Assassin of Youth: A Kaleidoscopic History of Harry J. Anslinger’s War on Drugs.
About Assassin of Youth
Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from its establishment in 1930 until his retirement in 1962, Harry J. Anslinger is the United States’ little known first drug czar. Anslinger was a profligate propagandist with a flair for demonizing racial and immigrant groups and perhaps best known for his zealous pursuit of harsh drug penalties and his particular animus for marijuana users. But what made Anslinger who he was, and what cultural trends did he amplify and institutionalize? Having just passed the hundredth anniversary of the Harrison Act—which consolidated prohibitionist drug policy and led to the carceral state we have today—and even as public doubts about the drug war continue to grow, now is the perfect time to evaluate Anslinger’s social, cultural, and political legacy.
In Assassin of Youth, Alexandra Chasin gives us a lyrical, digressive, funny, and ultimately riveting quasi-biography of Anslinger. Her treatment of the man, his times, and the world that arose around and through him is part cultural history, part kaleidoscopic meditation. Each of the short chapters is anchored in a historical document—the court decision in Webb v. US(1925), a 1935 map of East Harlem, FBN training materials from the 1950s, a personal letter from the Treasury Department in 1985—each of which opens onto Anslinger and his context. From the Pharmacopeia of 1820 to death of Sandra Bland in 2015, from the Pennsylvania Railroad to the last passenger pigeon, and with forays into gangster lives, CIA operatives, and popular detective stories, Chasin covers impressive ground. Assassin of Youth is as riotous and loose a history of drug laws as can be imagined—and yet it culminates in an arresting and precise revision of the emergence of drug prohibition.
Today, even as marijuana is slowly being legalized, we still have not fully reckoned with the racist and xenophobic foundations of our cultural appetite for the severe punishment of drug offenders. In Assassin of Youth, Chasin shows us the deep, twisted roots of both our love and our hatred for drug prohibition.
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Saturday, January 7
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Winter Solstice Luncheon! Chip Berlet on "Trump, Populism, and Fascism"
Saturday, January 7
1:30 PM
India Pavilion, 17 Central Square, Cambridge
One of our oldest continuous traditions at Greater Boston Humanists is putting on our Winter Solstice Luncheon, as always a way to recognize the holiday season, a new year, and the return of lengthening days in our hemisphere, with the Earth's tilt.
We'll share a buffet lunch at our newest gathering place for such events, the India Pavilion Restaurant in Central Square Cambridge, on SATURDAY January 7 at 1:30 pm.
Our after-lunch speaker will be Chip Berlet, on "Trump, Populism, and Fascism"
"As President, Donald Trump, a classic demagogue, will continue to use right-wing populist rhetoric to build an angry mass base that includes fascist forces unleashed and empowered by his bigotry and fraudulent conspiracy theories of liberal and progressive treachery. This is a toxic and dangerous reality that threatens democracy itself. We need to unpack these concepts to craft a practical toolset for resistance."
Berlet, co-author with Matthew N. Lyons of Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort, has written for the Progressive, The New York Times, and the Boston Globe. His scholarly studies have been published in book chapters & journal articles in four languages.
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Sunday, January 8
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The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
WHEN Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, 2 – 3 p.m.
WHERE Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
SPEAKER(S) David R. Montgomery, Ph.D., University of Washington, Earth and Space Sciences, and Ann Bikle, M.L.A., Biologist and Environmental Planner
COST $10 general; Free Arboretum member and student
TICKET INFO 617-384-5277
DETAILS From garden to gut, David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé will present a new view of the tiniest creatures on Earth and how it is changing the way we see nature and ourselves. Through the twists and turns of history, science, and personal experience, they’ll reveal our tangled relationship with the microbial world, including the stunning similarities between what’s going on around the roots of plants and deep within the human gut.
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Monday, January 9
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Open Project Night: Boston
Monday, January 9
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST
Impact Hub Boston, 50 Milk Street - 15th Floor, Boston
Are you interested in co-creating a better Boston? Please join us at Impact Hub Boston for our next Open Project Night! We're opening our space the first Monday night of each month for you to host small events, co-work, network, trade skills and get involved with projects that change Boston for the better.
At Open Project Night you can:
Network with local people who share an interest in a better Boston, Cambridge, and beyond. Imagine together, share opportunities to get involved, and trade skills.
Work on existing local project ideas or come to work on your own (post-its and white boards provided, laptops are not).
Host your event or meeting in one of our meeting spaces (one is for up to 15 people, others are 4-6 comfortably).
Our January 9th Open Project Night will feature the following open workshops/discussions/events for you to join :
An opportunity to get involved with the public education working group from SURJ (Stand Up for Racial Justice) Boston.
A design workshop for the first Venture Cafe themed around social impact work in Boston.
A discussion/workshop on strengthening democracy through citizen journalism.
A constructive feedback session for pitch practices with local entrepreneurs who don't otherwise have access to workspace to work on their projects
A continued Democracy conversation and brainstorm around projects and actions to take in this new post-election reality.
An open networking table for people to connect and find projects they are passionate about.
FAQ’s:
Do I need to have a project of my own to come along?
No, not at all! Just come along if you:
are keen to meet different people in your area who care about making Boston a better place.
want to brainstorm how your local street, library, or housing system might be different
want to work together with others to make changes happen in your area
want to find out about volunteering and work opportunities
want to find volunteers or recruits for your project
are running something like a neighbourhood garden, a friends of library group or an early-stage business and want a space to host events and meetings
What should I bring?
Materials you need to workshop / present your project
Your ideas & inspirations
A collaborative spirit to work with new + old friends
A snack to share, if you can! We’re believers of food as love, and sharing as caring.
Know someone who would be interested?
Open Project Night is free and open to everyone. Send this link their way!
When is it?
Open Project Night is held one Monday night per month (typically the first Monday, except Federal Holidays) at Impact Hub Boston, from 6.00pm to 10.00pm.
The next few are scheduled for January 9th, February 6th and March 6th.
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23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement
Monday, January 9
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes former Human Rights Watch associate KERAMET REITER—assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine—for a discussion of her book, 23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement.
About 23/7
Originally meant to be brief and exceptional, solitary confinement in U.S. prisons has become long-term and common. Prisoners spend twenty-three hours a day in featureless cells, with no visitors or human contact for years on end, and they are held entirely at administrators’ discretion. Keramet Reiter tells the history of one “supermax,” California’s Pelican Bay State Prison, whose extreme conditions recently sparked a statewide hunger strike by 30,000 prisoners. This book describes how Pelican Bay was created without legislative oversight, in fearful response to 1970s radicals; how easily prisoners slip into solitary; and the mental havoc and social costs of years and decades in isolation. The product of fifteen years of research in and about prisons, this book provides essential background to a subject now drawing national attention.
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Tuesday, January 10 - Friday, January 13
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ComputeFest 2017 //Computational & Data Science Workshops
WHEN Tuesday - Friday, Jan. 10 -13, 2017
WHERE Harvard, Northwest Building B1 Level, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Classes/Workshops, Information Technology, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR The Institute for Applied Computational Science (IACS) at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
COST Free and open to the public.
TICKET INFO Registration required.
CONTACT INFO iacs-info@seas.harvard.edu
DETAILS ComputeFest is an annual two week program of knowledge- and skill-building activities in computational and data science. This year's workshop topics include Tableau/Data Viz, MATLAB, Deep Learning, R, SQL, and Python (data science track).
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Tuesday, January 10
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Technological Improvement, Regulatory Avoidance, and the Case of Ride-hailing Services
Tuesday, January 10
2:00p–3:30p
MIT, Building E52-432, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Sara Ellison (MIT)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics IAP
For more information, contact: economics calendar
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Creating Scientific Figures with Adobe Illustrator
Tuesday, January 10
2:30p–4:30p
MIT, Building 68-181, 31 Ames Street, Cambridge
Sera Thornton, Digital Learning Fellow, MITx Biology
Visual aids are one of the most important tools we have in communicating our research to others, be it in a publication, a talk, or a class. In the first hour, learn how to efficiently use Adobe Illustrator to make and edit figures, and work on your own figure during the second hour. Geared towards beginners, but all levels welcome ??? we may have some tricks you don???t know yet! Please bring a laptop with Adobe Illustrator installed and working, and an idea or figure to work on.
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Biology
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NATASHA LAMB: PUSHING THE ENVELOPE OF SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Tuesday, January 10
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
Cambridge Innovation Center - Venture Cafe, 1 Broadway, 5th Foor, Cambridge
Cost: $8 - $12
BASG returns from its winter break on January 10th with a guest speaker and topic sure to ignite your 2017 and to appeal to your activist side. If you haven't yet heard of or read about Natasha Lamb, Managing Partner of Arjuna Capital, in the many media segments covering her progressive work, now is your chance to hear it from her directly. Natasha will present to BASG on the evolution of shareholder activism highlighting key efforts such as her shareholder campaign for gender pay equity and her 2014 landmark negotiation with Exxon Mobil that led to the company’s first public report on global warming and carbon asset risk.
About Our Speaker
Natasha Lamb, Managing Partner, Arjuna Capital
Natasha integrates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into Arjuna’s investment process while engaging major corporations to improve their performance through shareholder advocacy. Previously, Natasha was Vice President, Shareholder Advocacy and Corporate Engagement, and an Equity Analyst at Trillium Asset Management. Natasha has been profiled in Forbes and the Boston Globe, while her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, as well as on NPR and CNN. In 2016, Natasha received the Upstart Business Journal Upstart 100 Award and the Aiming High Award from Legal Momentum for pioneering a shareholder campaign on gender pay equity. Her 2014 landmark negotiation with Exxon Mobil led to the company’s first public report on global warming and carbon asset risk. Natasha is a trustee of The Food Project and Chairman of the Crane Institute of Sustainability, host to the Intentionally Designed Endowments Network. She teaches sustainable investing at Pinchot University and holds an M.B.A in Sustainable Business from Pinchot. Natasha received her B.A. cum laude from Mount Holyoke College.
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Boston New Technology January 2017 Startup Showcase #BNT73
Tuesday, January 10
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Akamai Technologies, 150 Broadway, Cambridge
Akamai staff will be escorting attendees from the lobby up the stairs to the first floor, where you'll find our check-in table. Type the first few letters of your name on the screen and tap your name to print your name tag.
Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community!
Each presenter gets 5 minutes for product demonstration and 5 minutes for Q&A.
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The Vital Role of Seagrass in Marine Ecosystems
Tuesday, January 10
6:30 PM
Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington Street, Belmont
Barnabas Daru, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
Seagrasses are fundamental to the health of marine ecosystems, providing food and shelter to many organisms. Because of the dual impact of climate change and ocean pollution, many seagrass varieties are dying off. This loss in turn affects the many marine species that depend on the grasses. Dr. Daru explains the vital role of seagrasses in maintaining marine life, and how different seagrass varieties vary in the ability to adapt to changing ocean environments around the world. This area of research is very important in the urgent effort today to save marine biodiversity.
Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations
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Upcoming Events
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Wednesday, January 11
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Fusion energy and MIT's pathway for accelerated demonstration with high-magnetic field tokamaks
Wednesday, January 11
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building 1-190, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Speaker: Zach Hartwig
This talk will introduce the key concepts of producing clean, safe, and carbon-free electricity from magnetic fusion energy. It will review the present state of fusion energy research and then introduce MIT's proposed pathway to use high-field superconducting magnets to achieve fusion energy at smaller unit size, at lower cost, and on a timescale relevant to climate change.
Web site: http://www.psfc.mit.edu/
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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The Thermal Resonance of Massive Buildings
Wednesday, January 11
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
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Mass Innovation Nights #94 - Sembler at Draper Labs
Wednesday, January 11
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
Draper, 555 Technology Square, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mass-innovation-nights-94-sembler-at-draper-labs-tickets-30496951202
Start the year off right and join us for this cool technology focused event with Draper's startup-focused Sembler Officehosting and sponsoring. We will have it all -- robotics, a pressure sensor tool for prosthetic and protective gear, a device to disable smartphones while driving and so much more! We will have ten products in all to showcase along with two products from Wentworth Institute of Technology's Accelerate. We are looking forward to our first ever event with Draper in Cambridge on Wednesday, January 11th 2017 at 6pm.
Don't miss it -- Wednesday, January 11th 6pm-8:30pm for Mass Innovation Nights #94
Draper's Sembler Office empowers your vision by leveraging Draper’s extensive resources and 80+ years of expertise in solving the world’s toughest engineering problems.
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The Case Against Sugar
Wednesday, January 11
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Harvard Book Store welcomes award-winning science journalist GARY TAUBES, the bestselling author of Why We Get Fat, for a discussion of his latest book, The Case Against Sugar.
About The Case Against Sugar
From the best-selling author of Why We Get Fat, a groundbreaking, eye-opening exposé that makes the convincing case that sugar is the tobacco of the new millennium: backed by powerful lobbies, entrenched in our lives, and making us very sick.
Among Americans, diabetes is more prevalent today than ever; obesity is at epidemic proportions; nearly 10% of children are thought to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. And sugar is at the root of these, and other, critical society-wide, health-related problems. With his signature command of both science and straight talk, Gary Taubes delves into Americans' history with sugar: its uses as a preservative, as an additive in cigarettes, the contemporary overuse of high-fructose corn syrup. He explains what research has shown about our addiction to sweets. He clarifies the arguments against sugar, corrects misconceptions about the relationship between sugar and weight loss; and provides the perspective necessary to make informed decisions about sugar as individuals and as a society.
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Normalizing Denial
Wednesday, January 11
7 PM
3 Church Street, Cambridge
The climate science debate is heating up – join the discussion.
Bill McKibben, author, educator, founder of 350.org
Dr. Gretchen Goldman, Research Director, Center for Science and Democracy
Tim DeChristopher, climate activist
Zahra Hirji, science writer and reporter for InsideClimate News
Moderated by Wen Stephenson, author and writer, The Nati
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Thursday, January 12
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Do You Really Need Social Media for Your Business?
Monday, January 12
9am until 11am
Harvard Ed Portal, 224 Western Avenue, Allston
The Harvard Ed Portal, in partnership with SCORE Boston, is proud to host a free workshop and information session on social media for your business.
Social media can be an amazing resource for attracting customers, but how do you sort through the seemingly endless options to find the best ones to market your business? Do you really need social media in the first place? And if you do, how do you keep social media marketing from taking up every spare moment of your time? Join us for an overview of social media marketing concepts, options, and strategies.
Online registration information will be available soon. For more information, contact Jim Barrows at jim_barrows@harvard.edu
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News, Opinion, and the Importance of the Medium
Thursday, January 12
2:00p–3:30p
MIT, Building E52-432, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
Speaker: Sara Ellison (MIT)
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Economics IAP
For more information, contact: economics calendar
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The Alchemy of Creativity with Chip Sullivan
WHEN Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, 2 – 5 p.m.
WHERE Weld Hill, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Classes/Workshops, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and The Garden Conservancy
SPEAKER(S) Charles (Chip) H. Sullivan, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, University of California, Berkeley
COST $55 general; $45 member of cosponsoring orgs; $35 student
TICKET INFO 617-384-5277
DETAILS Author of Drawing the Landscape, and most recently, Cartooning the Landscape, Chip Sullivan will present a series of exercises to help the participant find their own individual sources of intuition, inspiration and imagination to elevate ones perception of the environment. We will explore the creative process using such techniques as dream mapping, creative biorhythms, visual note taking, journals and sketchbooks and the sequential narrative.
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Citizen Journalism Info Session
Thursday, January 12
6:30PM
CCTV, 438 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Are you passionate about community? Are you concerned about your rights and the rights of others? Are you concerned about social justice, the environment, housing, development, education, or mainstream media?
Become a citizen journalist in Cambridge -— and get paid for it! Your articles and videos will be published to NeighborMedia.org, the citizen journalism site of Cambridge Community Television.
Learn more when you attend the NeighborMedia info session on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at CCTV, 438 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square. Contact 617-401-4007 or frank@cctvcambridge.org to learn more.
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Progressivism During Trump: What's Next?
Thursday, January 12
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM EST
First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, 633 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
Learn from organizations that are fighting back for progressive values locally and nationally! When core progressive principles like the defense of civil liberties, women's rights, anti-racism, protection of immigrants, and respect for our climate and future are at risk, Jamaica Plain can take action. Hear from leaders in:
NAACP Boston
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Planned Parenthood
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (MIRA)
Boston Climate Action Network (BCAN)/Boston 350
We are particularly thrilled that Tanisha Sullivan, the new President of the NAACP Boston will be joining the panel. Don't despair over the direction of our country; help change it by acting with these organizations that have worked for us through good times and bad, and need our support more than ever in the next four years. We look forward to seeing you in January!
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Cartooning the Landscape: Art, Nature, Consciousness
WHEN Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE Weld Hill, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Art/Design, Environmental Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and The Garden Conservancy
SPEAKER(S) One of the singular talents in landscape design, Chip Sullivan has shared his expertise through a seemingly unusual medium that, at second glance, makes perfect sense--the comic strip. For years Sullivan entertained readers of Landscape Architecture Magazine with comic strips that ingeniously illustrated significant concepts and milestones in the creation of our landscapes. These strips gained a large following among architects and illustrators, and now those original works, as well as additional strips, are collected in a new book, Cartooning the Landscape.
COST $20 general; $10 member of cosponsoring org; Free student
TICKET INFO 617-384-5277
DETAILS In this lecture, Chip Sullivan's ecological narrative aims to provide a map to help one find his or her way back to a world of wonder, imagination, and mystery. Chip provides a visual tour of a variety of unique landscapes and gardens throughout history while exploring the use of optical device to perceive the landscape in new ways.
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Democratic Socialists of America, Boston and the Dollars and Sense Collective present: The Wealth of Nations: A New Gospel
Thursday, January 12
7 PM
Encuentro 5, 9A Hamilton Place, Boston (Near Park St. T)
Discussant: Autumn Beaudoin of Dollars and Sense
Disconnecting Adam Smith the economist from Adam Smith the moral philosopher has led to tragic distortions that have profoundly shaped our global economic system, as well as a complete misrepresentation of what Smith meant by a "free market."
"The Wealth of Nations: A New Gospel", part of documentary series on capitalism, shows how a misinterpretation of Adam Smith has led to
distortions that have tragically shaped our global economic system. The underpinnings of contemporary capitalism lie in an ideology born in the 19th century; one which privileges greed over other equally deep-seated human drives. Smith did not favor a completely unregulated free market - in fact, he thought it would be disastrous.
The film features interviews with Noam Chomsky, economist Ha-Joon Chang, and Smith biographer Nicholas Phillipson, as well as archival footage of free market ideologues such as Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman.
Autumn Beaudoin believes that educating individuals about their personal finances is the first step in creating awareness around the ways in which
the current capitalist financial industry is exploitative of the individual. In their role on the Dollars and Sense collective, Autumn directly engages in creating awareness of the necessity to change our current political and economic systems of oppression.
Film courtesy of Icarus Films.
Questions? Call (617) 702 2186, or email webmaster@dsaboston.org
Democratic Socialists of America
http://dsausa.org http://dsaboston.org @Boston_DSA
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The Next Four Years: Organizing Followup
Thursday, January 12
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The venue will be announced shortly after January 1 and will be in
Cambridge.
More information at http://masspeaceaction.org/event/the-next-four-years-organizing-followup/
Save the date for an organizing meeting to follow up on the ideas raised at The Next Four Years conference at Simmons College on December 3. Read a report on the conference, view pictures at http://bit.ly/2gFpHFV and http://bit.ly/2h4zbI5, and watch the video recording at http://bit.ly/2h4hWK
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Friday, January 13
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Starr Forum: The White Ribbon
Friday, January 13
12:00p–2:30p
MIT, Building E15-070, Bartos Theater, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
CIS Starr Forum
A public events series on pressing issues in international affairs, sponsored by the MIT Center for International Studies.
The White Ribbon is a 2009 black-and-white German-language drama film written and directed by Michael Haneke. It darkly depicts society and family in a northern German village just before World War I and, according to Haneke, "is about the roots of evil. Whether it's religious or political terrorism, it's the same thing."
The film premiered at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in May 2009 where it won the Palme d'Or, followed by positive reviews and several other major awards, including the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film also received two nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2009: Best Foreign Language Film (representing Germany) and Best Cinematography (Christian Berger).
Part of the MIT Independent Activities Period (IAP)
Co-sponsored by MIT Germany, MIT France, and MIT Language Conversation Exchange (LCE)
For more information or accessibility accommodations please contact starrforum@mit.edu.
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free
Sponsor(s): MIT-France Program, MIT-Germany Program, Center for International Studies, MIT Language Conversation Exchange (LCE)
For more information, contact:
253-8306
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Green 'Up Launch Event
Friday, January 13
5:30 PM
Harpoon Brewery, 306 Northern Avenue, Boston
Join us for a new year of sustainability discussions and social fun!
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Ignite Craft Boston 2017
Friday, January 13
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST
MIT [BLDG & ROOM TBD], Cambridge
Craft, Community, and 5-Minute Talks
Ignite Craft Boston is an Ignite event with a crafty crowd. If you had 5 minutes on stage to talk about your crafty passion in Boston, what would you say? What if you only got 20 photos or visuals, and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world, folks have been putting together Ignite events to show their answers.
For more about this event please visit Common Cod Fiber Guild's website at: http://www.commoncod.com/ignite/
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Saturday, January 14
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Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist's Lens
WHEN Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION Exhibitions
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR Harvard Museum of Natural History
COST Price of General Admission
TICKET WEB LINK http://hmnh.harvard.edu/plan-your-visit
TICKET INFO $12 general/$10 Seniors and Students/$8 Children
CONTACT INFO 617-496-1027
DETAILS We live in a time when an alarming array of plants and animals struggle to even exist in a world that is increasingly dominated and altered by an exploding human population. Showcasing the work of artist Christina Seely, in collaboration with Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris of The Canary Project, this exhibition presents a provocative and powerful new perspective on the biodiversity extinction crisis. Next of Kin: Seeing Extinction through the Artist’s Lens uses special photography techniques, lighting and sound design, and specimens carefully chosen from the collections of Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology to generate an exchange between the viewer and animal kingdom and evoke empathy with our “next of kin.”
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Designing Games to affect Social Change
Saturday, January 14
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
MIT, Building E15 on the 3rd floor, Comparative Media Studies / Writing suite, 20 Ames Street, Cambridge
Due to the current events, many of gamers have been asking how they can be more involved in affecting positive change in our new political climate. You can volunteer for worthy causes, you can contact your representatives, and you can design a game.
Games are unique mediums for story-telling. We love them because they are immersive and because they are interactive. Those same qualities allow them to have potent qualities in delivering a social message.
We'll present some games that have been successful in this regard, talk about common pitfalls serious game designers encounter, start the ball rolling on having you design your own game to make a statement and have a positive impact on your society.
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Solidarity Fundraiser for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe #NoDAPL
Saturday, January 14
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Calvary United Methodist Church, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington
Arlington United for Justice with Peace is organizing a fundraiser event for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Saturday January 14, 2017 (Doors will open at 7 PM) to aid in their struggle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Join us for a Sing Along to Songs of Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, and more! Performers: The Harmonators, Arc&Land, Chris and Quinn Eastburn, Anne Sandstrum and John Loretz, Liz Buchanan and Gordon
Find out more at http://masspeaceaction.org/event/sing-along-fundraiser-nodapl/
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Sunday, January 15
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Intellectual Snob Meetup: Global Warming: Boston/ Cambridge Local
Sunday, January 15
5:15 PM
John Harvard's Brew House, 33 Dunster Street, Cambridge
I'll be wearing a big black hat.
The past 14 months until last month were the warmest in recorded history.
I hosted a "fall colors" walking event in mid October but many of the leaves hadn't begun to "turn" yet. (Cold would trigger that). There is an explosion of the rabbit population in the Cambridge/ greater Boston area. A few days ago I saw a flock of seven turkeys grazing a lawn near Central Square, Cambridge.
Well this is going to turn against human beings, however, not in our lifetimes, maybe, and the policymakers are counting on that... not in their lifetimes.
Christmases are very rarely "white" anymore near here.
The entire railway systems designed around Jamaica Pond, Spy Pond, and Fresh Pond "Ice Fields" in the nineteen hundreds were created around the incredibly lucrative market of "Ice Harvesting". Layers of ice many feet thick existed and there were shacks built on the ice and then there was a group of people who literally made these ice sections into territory. This ice was shipped all around the world. Obviously this was before refrigeration... it was kept fresh using hay and could last intact a year. Years later, there were ice deliveries.
Obviously anyone who walks around these ponds will see there is no safely walkable ice anymore in the wintertime.
I lived in Geneva NY in the year around 1970 and we used to DRIVE on the ice then... I mean me and my dad. (well, he was a bit nuts). So this global warming is rapid, that was relatively recent.
I don't remember wearing a winter jacket or even needing boots last winter. Slush maybe... and then there was the global warming storm we all remember from two years ago... and as a result of all the workdays off, the baby boom nine months later...
The ice harvesters had a railway bed part of which is now the Minuteman Trail. PHOTO below: skating on the Boston Common-- no artificial ice pond--
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Monday, January 16
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Martin Luther King Day of Service Commemoration and Service
Monday, January 16
11:30am
Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, 838 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Enter at 13 Sellers Street
Martin Luther King asked 'What Have You Done For Others?'
Many Helping Hands of Cambridge
Event is free and open to the public
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Opportunity
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CLIMATE SMART FARMING (BF 107)
January 17th to February 21st, 2017, webinars Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:00 PM EST.
An online course from the Cornell Small Farms Program
Develop an action plan for your farm to stay one step ahead of climate change.
The earth’s climate is always in flux, but today’s rate of change is far beyond what previous generations of farmers have had to face. In this six-week online course, learn to identify the key impacts on your farm, and how to develop a plan of action to both increase resiliency to extreme temperature and precipitation events, or short term drought, as well as strategies to reduce your farm’s greenhouse gas footprint.
Participants will learn from climate experts, educators, and fellow farmers on ways they can proactively approach challenges such as drought, flooding, summer heat stress, changing seasons, freeze risk, and heightened pest and weed pressures.
These practices are not only good for climate preparedness, but also help farms increase their bottom line by building soil health, reducing stress on animals, increasing energy efficiency and efficiency of farm inputs, and protecting crop yields.
Join Allison Chatrchyan and Jonathan Lambert of the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions, along with a number of guest presenters, who offer a range of perspectives and useful solutions to an increasing challenge.
LIMITED OFFER: For the 2017 offering only, attend this course for just $50!
More info and registration:
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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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Boston Maker Spaces - 27 and counting: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zGHnt9r2pQx8.kfw9evrHsKjA&hl=en
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
MIT Energy Club: http://mitenergyclub.org/calendar
Harvard Events: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/
Harvard Environment: http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/
Sustainability at Harvard: http://green.harvard.edu/events
Mass Climate Action: http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/
Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/
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.u
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