Sunday, February 27, 2022

Energy (and Other) Events - March, 2022

These kinds of events below are happening all over the world every day and most of them, now, are webcast and archived, sometimes even with accurate transcripts. Would be good to have a place that helped people access them. 


This is a more global version of the local listings I did for about a decade (what I did and why I did it at http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html) until September 2020 and earlier for a few years in the 1990s (https://theworld.com/~gmoke/AList.index.html).  

A more comprehensive global listing service could be developed if there were enough people interested in making it happen, if it hasn’t already been done.  

If anyone knows whether such a global listing of open energy, climate, and other events is available, please put me in contact.

Thanks for reading,

Solar IS Civil Defense,
George Mokray
gmoke@world.std.com

http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com - notes on lectures and books
http://solarray.blogspot.com - renewable energy and efficiency - zero net energy links list
http://cityag.blogspot.com - city agriculture links list
http://geometrylinks.blogspot.com - geometry links list
http://hubevents.blogspot.com - Energy (and Other) Events
http://www.dailykos.com/user/gmoke/history - articles, ideas, and screeds

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Conferences
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Climate Implications of Computing & Communications Workshop
Thursday, March 3 - Friday, March 4
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-implications-of-computing-communications-workshop-registration-243650744937

This workshop focuses on exploring initiatives that can potentially lower the climate impacts of the computing and communications sectors.
About this event
When you register for March 3rd, you will receive access to BOTHMarch 3rd and 4th virtual links, and be registered for both days.
This virtual two-day event (March 3 & 4) will feature discussions and opportunities for collaboration with MIT faculty and industry leaders during multiple sessions. The demand for computing and wireless communications technologies is expected to increase significantly, resulting in a considerable impact on the planet. The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and MIT Schwarzman College of Computing are hosting a workshop to explore initiatives that could lower the climate impacts of the computing and communications (e.g. telecommunications) sectors. 

Topics will include:
Algorithms and custom hardware for efficient computing
Wireless, networked, and distributed systems
Energy-efficient sources and delivery systems
Materials and hardware for new architectures 
Confirmed speakers include:
Takashi Ando, Principal Research Staff Member, IBM Research
Ahmad Bahai, Chief Technology Officer, Texas Instruments
Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research, NVIDIA
Jeff Dean, Senior Vice President, Google Research and Google Health
Dario Gil, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, IBM
Evgeni Gousev, Senior Director, Qualcomm
Helen Greiner, CEO, Tertill; Co-Founder, iRobot
Heidi Hemmer, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Verizon
Sam Naffziger, Senior Vice President, Corporate Fellow, and Product Technology Architect, AMD
Heike Riel, IBM Fellow, Head Science & Technology, Lead IBM Research Quantum Europe, IBM Research
MIT faculty participation includes:
Jesús del Alamo, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Joel Emer, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 
Song Han, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
David Perreault, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Vivienne Sze, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Bilge Yildiz, Nuclear Science and Engineering
EVENT AGENDA:
March 3 | Day 1 of Workshop
10:00 - 11:30: The climate impacts of computing and communications
Welcome: Anantha Chandrakasan, Dean of the MIT School of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Moderator: Vivienne Sze, Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT 
Speakers: Dario Gil, IBM Senior Vice President and Director of Research & Jeff Dean, Senior Vice President of Google Research and Google Health
11:30 - 11:45: Break
11:45 - 12:45: Algorithms for efficient computing
Moderator: Song Han, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
Speakers: Helen Greiner, Co-Founder of iRobot and CEO of Tertill & Evgeni Gousev, Senior Director, Qualcomm
12:45 - 1:00: Break
1:00 - 2:00: Custom hardware for efficient computing
Moderator: Joel Emer, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
Speakers: Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research of NVIDIA & Ahmad Bahai, CTO of Texas Instruments
March 4 | Day 2 of Workshop
10:00 - 11:15: Wireless, networked, and distributed systems
Moderator: Muriel Medard, Cecil H. Green Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT 
Speaker: Heidi Hemmer, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Verizon
11:15 - 11:30: Break
11:30 - 12:30: Energy-efficient systems
Moderator: David Perreault, Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT
Speaker: Sam Naffziger, AMD Senior Vice President, Corporate Fellow, and Product Technology Architect
12:30 - 12:45: Break
12:45 - 2:00: Hardware for new architectures
Moderator: Bilge Yildiz, Breene M. Kerr (1951) Professor in the Departments of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at MIT
Panelists:  Jesús del Alamo, Donner Professor and Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT; Takashi Ando, Principal Research Staff Member, IBM Research; and Heike Riel, IBM Fellow, Head Science & Technology, Lead IBM Research Quantum Europe, IBM Research

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Soil Carbon Storage: Combating Climate Change From the Ground Up
Friday, March 25
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM EDT
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soil-carbon-storage-combating-climate-change-from-the-ground-up-registration-253163929127
Cost:  $0 – $70

Event Information
The Soil and Water Conservation Society Southern New England Chapter (SWCS SNEC) is proud to present our 2022 Annual Winter Conference.

About this event
Join soil scientists and environmental professionals from across New England on Friday, March 25th at SNEC's annual Winter Conference. We are very pleased to announce Dr. Rattan Lal as our keynote speaker. Dr. Lal is a globally renowned soil scientist whose research ranges from regenerative agriculture, soil carbon sequestration, soil restoration, natural resource management, and global food security. Lal received the Glinka World Soil Prize in 2018, the World Food Prize in 2020, the Good Will Ambassador of IICA in 2020, and the Padma Shri Award in 2021. 

Dr. Lal will be joined by several presenters representing all angles of soil conservation who will dive into topics like blue carbon, carbon credits, regenerative agriculture, soil productivity, and climate change regulations and mitigation. Participants of this year's conference are eligible to receive continuing education credits and will also have the opportunity to network with other attendees. Secure your spot and register today! Email info@swcssnec.org if you have any questions.

Editorial Comment:  Geotherapy not geoengineering, please

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Climate Change & Ethics : Where are we? 
March 25 and 26
http://ethics.iit.edu/ClimateChangeEthics

A virtual symposium hosted by Elisabeth Hildt and Kelly Laas of the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology. 

In light of the slow progress being made to mitigate climate change, there is a need to reflect on the ethical considerations at play. How can ethics help structure the discussion and facilitate climate justice?

This symposium seeks to engage stakeholders in a debate around the ethical assumptions implicit in our discussions and actions around climate change.

This event will be held virtually, and there will be no charge for participation. To register, visit our Eventbrite site.

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Lecture Series
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Yale Energy Justice Speaker Series: Spring 2022
Mondays at 2:30 pm EST

This spring, the Yale Center for Environmental Justice (YCEJ) and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY) are joining forces in an effort to raise awareness on energy justice and bring the voices of experts in the field to the public.

Join us on Mondays at 2:30 pm EST for this public speaker series exploring the multifaceted and exciting role of justice in the clean energy transition! 

The Yale School of the Environment will host its inaugural Energy Justice course in the spring of 2022, co-led by Yale energy economics professor, Ken Gillingham, and by Yale law and environmental justice professor, Gerald Torres. The course will feature experts from industry, government, and non-profits. Through a collaborative approach, YCEJ and CBEY are making some course lectures and all guest speaker components of the course available outside of Yale as part of this speaker series. All are welcome to attend.  

Energy justice refers to the goal of achieving equity in the social and economic participation in the energy system, while also remedying social, economic, and health impacts on those disproportionately harmed by the way we produce and consume energy. This series will draw from multiple disciplines, including but not limited to law, sociology, anthropology, and economics, and will cover broad topics on policy and regulation, community advocacy, housing, transportation, labor, utilities, and more. Details will be added here as speakers and dates are confirmed.  

Dates and registration links will be made available on this page as we go through the semester. You can see the current schedule below.
 
March 7 – Intersection of Energy Justice and Labor/Workforce Issues – Vincent Alvarez, President of the New York City Central Labor Council
March 14 – Energy Insecurity and Energy Justice: Two sides of a Coin – Diana Hernandez, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University
March 28 – Housing and Energy Justice – Donnel Baird, CEO of Bloc Power
April 4 – Energy Justice in Philanthropy – Danielle Deane, Director of Equitable Climate Solutions, Bezos Earth Fund
April 11 – Energy Justice and Public Health – Surili Patel, Vice President, Metropolitan Group
April 18 – Energy Poverty and Global Justice Issues – Narasimha Rao, Yale

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Negotiating at the Brink : How Does the World Solve the Climate Crisis?
March 3, March 10, March 17

To address the politics of climate change the UBC Centre for Japanese research hosts a 3-part series on COP26 and the environmental crisis
About this event
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges our world has ever faced, already devastating our environment, economy, and our health. The difficulty of addressing climate change is that it requires global coordination. World leaders have made attempts through conferences and accords but the proposed measures will not stop global temperatures from rising above 1.5 ℃--the limit set by the International Panel on Climate Change to avoid the worst effects of climate change. This has pitted climate activists who demand more robust climate governance against state actors who must balance environmental concerns with other political agendas. To address the politics of climate change, the Konwakai Chair in Japanese Research at the UBC Centre for Japanese research, in collaboration with the International Relations StudentAssociation (IRSA), will host a three-part series event in March.
Part 1: Climate Summit Legacy: Ambition and Unmet Goals, COP26 Retrospective [Remote: ZOOM ONLY]
March 3rd, 2022
12:30PM – 14:00PM PST // 15:30PM – 17:00PM EST
20:30PM – 22:00 PM UTC // 21:30PM – 23:00PM CET
March 3rd, 2022The first event will provide a critical evaluation of the outcomes of COP26, giving a multi-level analysis of implications, with a special focus on its impact on the Asia-Pacific region. This will be led by highly esteemed scholars and professors such as professor Michael Small, speaking of the strengths and weaknesses of the climate conference in creating a more sustainable future.
Discussant: Yves Tiberghien (Konwakai Chair in Japanese Research at the Institute of Asian Research)
Speakers:
Jennifer Allan (key UK expert on COP 26) (TBC)
Michael Small (expert on Global Governance and Climate policy)
Miranda Schreurs (expert on Japan/China and EU) (TBC)
Karolina Lagercrantz (IHEID Geneva, MA student) 
Sandeep Pai (Senior Associate of Energy Security and Climate Change Program at CSIS)
Part 2: Global Leadership or Status Quo Proponent?: Japan at the COP 26[REMOTE: ZOOM ONLY]
5:30PM – 7PM PST // 8:30PM – 10:00PM EST; March 10th, 2022
10:30AM – 12:00AM JST; March 11th, 2022
The second event will focus on the Japanese environmental agenda. Japan has played a leading role in climate change policy in the past. However, after making some bold commitments toward carbon neutrality in 2050, Japan appears to play a more defensive role at COP 26. What are the key drivers behind climate innovation and the energy status quo inJapan? This panel brings together leading experts, civil society leaders, and a top political leader to discuss Japan’s critical role in addressing the global climate emergency.”
Speakers:
Dr. Hiroshi Ohta (Waseda University)
Dr. Masako Konishi (WWF Japan) (TBC)
Dr. Kameyama Yasuko (NIES Japan, Social System Division Director) (TBC)
Dr. Llewelyn Hughes (Crawford School of Public Policy, scholar on climate policy inJapan) (TBC)
Part 3: Future Paradigm for Climate Change Movement[HYBRID: ZOOM AND IN-PERSON]
5:30PM – 7PM PST // 8:30PM – 10:00PM EST; March 17th, 2022
9:30AM – 11:00AM JST; March 18th, 2022
The third event of the series will cover the normative considerations of the future of climate justice. We will primarily focus on young activists and students, as well as indigenous speakers who are involved in the climate movement, such as Anika Kurebayashi. They will address what climate justice means and what actions need to be taken to create a just future for our planet.
Moderator: Meghan Wise (UBC Climate Hub)
Anika Kurebayashi (Youth climate activist in Japan), Japan) 
Eden Luymes (UBC Political MA candidate) (TBC)
Dr. Yolanda Lopez (Environmental Science Specialist and Maya Community Expert)
Detmer Kremer (Policy and Communications Officer, Protection Approaches)
Khelsilem Rivers (Council Chairperson of the Squamish Nation) (TBC)
’Qátuw̓ as Jessica Brown (Haíłzaqv Climate Action) (TBC)
Follow us for more events like this!
Twitter – @ubcCJR
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/CJRatUBC 
Newsletter – https://cjr.iar.ubc.ca/news-events/newsletters



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Events
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Fireside Chat: Understanding Autonomous Weapons
Wednesday, March 2
11:00am to 12:00pm
Register for this MIT Horizon webinar: https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_amHsBT6PR2mGMFAbrRrnyg

Militaries around the world are racing to build robotic systems with increasing autonomy. What happens when a Predator drone has as much autonomy as a Google car? Should machines be given the power to make life and death decisions in war? Paul Scharre, a former Army Ranger and Pentagon official and author of the recent book, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War, will join MIT Horizon to discuss the emergence of autonomous weapons. He’ll cover the current state of autonomy in weapons, how nations are advancing the technology, and debates surrounding the future of autonomous weapons.

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The Pre-History—and Likely Sequels—of the Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol
Wednesday, March 2
4pm ET

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was the most violent assault on democracy in modern American history.

Join NHC Fellow and award-winning historian Nancy MacLean for a talk on the events of last January 6th including the deep historical roots of what happened on that day, the motives of those involved, and why those events could be a pilot for and prologue to a far worse outcome in the future.

This event is offered free of charge via YouTube Live.

A recording of the discussion will be available both on the Center's YouTube channel 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC1dBJAfaxN03mBTEGpvEDw
and on the NHC website
https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/category/videos/

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Forum: The Constitutional Case for Saving the News
Wednesday, March 2
7 – 8 p.m.
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xpdi1yrhQ5yB3S_vdOlOeg

SPEAKER(S) Martha Minow
Nancy Gibbs
Sewell Chan
Steven Waldman
Joan Donovan

DETAILS  Join Harvard's 300th Anniversary University Professor and former Dean of Harvard Law School Martha Minow (MEd ‘76) for a discussion about the constitutional case for saving the news and what the government's role should be in redressing news deserts, halting online amplification of misinformation, and ensuring independent, reliable journalism.
After her remarks, Professor Minow will be joined by a panel of experts and practitioners, moderated by Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs, to discuss the dramatic shifts in our information ecosystem that is being flooded with disinformation at the same time that the free and independent press is under threat. Panelists include Sewell Chan (AB’ 98), editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, Steven Waldman, chair of the Rebuild Local News Coalition and co-founder and president of Report For America, and Dr. Joan Donovan, research director at the Shorenstein Center and director of its Technology and Social Change Project.
CONTACT INFO iop_info@hks.harvard.edu

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Coping with Climate Change Distress
Thursday, March 3
7:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Unprecedented Funding for Unprecedented Times: Demystifying Federal Funds for Climate Resilience
Friday, March 4
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
https://climateadaptationforum.org/event/climate-adaptation-forum-march-4-2022/
A virtual event hosted on the Zoom platform
Cost:  $0 - 15

The Climate Adaptation Forum is a collaboration between the Environmental Business Council and the Sustainable Solutions Lab at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act are bringing unparalleled amounts of funding to state and local governments to address climate change and its various impacts. With seemingly unending project wish lists but a limited amount of time to spend their funds, professionals in the public and private sector alike will need to take an efficient and coordinated approach to make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity for public investments. The Forum will bring speakers from various levels of government and community organizations to help us understand ways to leverage these funds to make lasting changes that will boost our climate resilience.

In an attempt to bring in some of the Climate Adaptation Forum networking that everyone misses, this virtual event will leverage breakout room capability to provide small-room experiences with speakers and moderators.

Forum Co-Chairs
Nasser Brahim, Senior Climate Resiliency Specialist, Woods Hole Group
Carolyn Meklenburg, Regional Coordinator for Greater Boston, Municipal Vulnerability Program, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Alex Papali, Political Director, Center for Economic Democracy
Forum Speakers
Mayor Gary Christenson, City of Malden, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Kasia Hart, Government Affairs Policy Analyst, Metropolitan Area Planning Council

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Environmental diplomacy for water-energy-food nexus with Animesh Gain
Friday, March 4
1:00pm to 2:00pm
http://calendar.mit.edu/event/environmental_diplomacy_for_water-energy-food_nexus_with_animesh_gain#.YhruGC2ZNBY

About the talk
The world’s resources such as water, energy, and food are inextricably linked, which bring about trade-offs but also synergies under different decisions and policies. Although these resources are interconnected, they are often studied and managed separately. Integrating these resources within a 'nexus' approach can better transition societies towards a green economy and hence wider sustainability. However, implementation of nexus approach faces multiple challenges such as conflicts among diverse stakeholders. The implementation challenges can be resolved through environmental diplomacy, a negotiated approach that blends science and policy for resolving conflicts of boundary crossing resource management problems. Using multiple cases (i.e., Ganges-Brahmaputra, Nile), Dr. Gain will present transboundary resource conflicts problems. For resolving such problems and enabling cooperation, he will describe mutual gain negotiation of diplomacy and WEF nexus approach.  
 
About the speaker
Animesh Gain is a research fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy.  As a Marie-Curie Global Fellow, he worked at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As a principal investigator, funded by the European Commission, he is currently working on understanding and resolving transboundary water conflicts through water diplomacy approach and mutual gain negotiation. His broad area of interest is in the field of environmental sustainability with particular focus on human-nature interactions and water-energy-food nexus. He conducted a PhD in science and management of climate change from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), in collaboration with Utrecht University (Netherlands) and United Nations University (Germany). He conducted interdisciplinary research in multiple institutions in Italy, Germany, Netherlands, UK, U.S., and Bangladesh. He is the recipient of Outstanding Young Scientists Award 2016 of European Geosciences Union (EGU). He published 45 peer reviewed journal articles in the field of water management and sustainability. He is an editor of two peer-reviewed journals.
 
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AI, innovation, and welfare: A conversation with Joseph E. Stiglitz
Monday, March 7
2:00 PM EST - 3:00 PM EST
https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-stiglitz-ai

Join the conversation on Twitter using #FutureofAI
Technological innovation has driven humanity’s rapidly advancing living standards since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related emerging technologies offer the promise of another wave of heightened social welfare. However, technological innovations sometimes extract rents and destroy value rather than creating widespread benefits. In addition, these innovations may have large, inexorable distributive effects.

On March 7, Anton Korinek, David M. Rubenstein fellow at the Center on Regulation and Markets in Brookings’ Economic Studies program, and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz will discuss how to ensure innovation creates value and increases social welfare. They will examine types of innovation to avoid, how to steer technological advancement in a desirable direction for society, and how to design a regulatory framework that pursues these objectives.

This event will be part of the Brookings Center on Regulations and Markets’ series, “The economics and regulation of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies,” which focuses on analyzing how AI and other emerging technologies impact the economy, markets, and society, and how they can be regulated most effectively.

Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter using #FutureOfAI.

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Next in Climate Change: The Ethel and David Jackson Next in Science Program
Friday, March 4
2 PM–4:30 PM ET
Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
OR Online on Zoom

The Next in Science series provides an opportunity for early-career scientists whose creative, cross-disciplinary, and cutting-edge research is thematically linked to introduce their work to non-specialists, fellow scientists, and one another.
The speakers in “Next in Climate Change” will discuss emerging scientific research and multi-dimensional implications of climate change for people, society, and our planet. The program will focus on five critical areas of inquiry and the connections among them: extreme weather and its impacts on communities, infrastructure, and the environment; economic effects of climate change, as well as economic opportunities; consequences of climate change on global health, ranging from cancer to pandemics; impacts on particularly vulnerable populations; and approaches to mitigation for the results of climate change. 
Harvard Radcliffe Institute gratefully acknowledges the Ethel and David Jackson Fund for the Future Climate, which is supporting this event.
Program
2 PM  
Welcome and introduction of first two speakers
Immaculata De Vivo, codirector of the science program, Harvard Radcliffe Institute; professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School; and professor of epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
2:10 PM         
Kimberley R. Miner, scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and research assistant professor, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine
Extreme Weather under Climate Change: Causes and Consequences
2:25 PM         
R. Jisung Park, assistant professor of public policy, Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA
How Heat Hurts: The Hidden Costs of a Warmer World
2:40 PM         
Break
2:50 PM         
Welcome back and introduction of next two speakers 
Immaculata De Vivo
2:55 PM         
Amruta Nori-Sarma, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health
How Climate Affects Our Mental Health and Wellbeing
3:10 PM         
Joan A. Casey, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Blackout: Power Outage Distribution and Disparities Nationwide
3:25 PM         
Break
3:35 PM         
Welcome back and introduction of final speakers
Edo Berger, codirector of the science program, Harvard Radcliffe Institute and professor of astronomy, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
3:40 PM         
Greeshma Gadikota, assistant professor and Croll Sesquicentennial Fellow; Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability Fellow, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University
Exploring Unconventional, Earth-Inspired, and Sustainable Solutions for Meeting Energy and Resource Needs in Response to a Changing Climate
3:55 PM         
Discussion and audience Q&A (all speakers)
Moderator: Edo Berger
4:25 PM         
Close of program
Edo Berger

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TEDxBoston @ The ‘Quin House
Monday, March 7
11:00 AM – 8:00 PM EST
The ‘Quin House, 217 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA

Apply to attend Mar 7th @ The ‘Quin House as we bring together 40+ Speakers sharing the latest thought-provoking ideas!
About this event
Apply to attend (details below) on Mar 7th @ The ‘Quin House in the Back Bay as we bring together Speakers for three blocks of the latest thought-provoking ideas and serendipitous connections.
Space is extremely limited at The ‘Quin House, we are asking you to apply for there three blocks (11 am, 230 pm & 530 PM and will be accepting people to attend through this application process:
Application Process
2.22  application opens to attend in person
We will email notifying those accepted / waitlisted to attend in person
Simulcast link will be sent to those who applied but not attending in person.

Schedule and more:  https://tedxboston.com/events/mar-7th-tedxboston/

Still have Qs? info@tedxboston.com

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Energy Policy Seminar: Solar Geoengineering and U.S. Politics
Monday, March 7
12 – 1 p.m.
https://www.belfercenter.org/event/energy-policy-seminar-solar-geoengineering-and-us-politics

SPEAKER(S)  Kelly Wanser, Executive Director, SilverLining
Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund

How does solar geoengineering figure into U.S. climate politics, which are so often characterized by sharp disagreements among Democrats and a general failure to engage by Republicans? Join Kelly Wanser, Executive Director of SilverLining, and Steven Hamburg, Chief Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, as they examine the current landscape in Washington, D.C., and consider solar geoengineering's future prospects. HKS Professor Joe Aldy will serve as respondent and HKS Professor David Keith will moderate the discussion.
CONTACT INFO Elizabeth Hanlon (ehanlon@hks.harvard.edu)

Editorial Comment:  See Soil Carbon Storage: Combating Climate Change From the Ground Up on Friday, March 25 in “Conferences” for a different point of view.
Geotherapy, not geoengineering, please

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Jorge Otero-Pailos and Gisela Winckler - Climate and Society
Monday, March 7
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Fayerweather Hall, 1180 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: 513
https://events.columbia.edu/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo

The Climate School at Columbia University launched officially in fall 2021; this newest School at Columbia promises to form a hub of interdisciplinary research. Complex phenomena such as the climate crisis are so multidimensional that they need more than just a scientific or technological lens; instead the combined expertise of researchers in social and human behavior, culture, politics and policy, economics, communication, and other areas must be brought to bear. This series will showcase the work of leading scholars and Columbia researchers on climate, environment, sustainability and their social and cultural dimensions.

Event Speakers
Jorge Otero-Pailos, Professor of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University
Gisela Winckler, Lamont Research Professor at Columbia University

Free and open to the public; registration required to receive Zoom link. Columbia University ID holders may attend in person. Members of the public must attend virtually via Zoom. Please email scienceandsociety@columbia.edu with any questions. 

Part of the Climate and Society series. Hosted by
Center for Science and Society
Columbia Climate School
Dean of Humanities
Earth Institute
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Climate and Society MA Program
The Center for Science and Society makes every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend a Center for Science and Society event, please contact us at scienceandsociety@columbia.edu or (212) 853-1612 at least 10 days in advance of the event. For more information, please visit the campus accessibility webpage.

Event Contact Information: 
Center for Science and Society
(212) 853-1612
scienceandsociety@columbia.edu

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Climate Lyricism with Min Hyoung Song
Monday, March 7
6:30 PM EST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-lyricism-with-min-hyoung-song-tickets-269308427757

Join us for a talk and discussion with Min Hyoung Song about his new book, Climate Lyricism.

In Climate Lyricism, Min Hyoung Song articulates a climate change-centered reading practice that foregrounds how climate is present in most literature. Song shows how literature, poetry, and essays by Tommy Pico, Solmaz Sharif, Frank O’Hara, Ilya Kaminsky, Claudia Rankine, Kazuo Ishiguro, Teju Cole, Richard Powers, and others help us to better grapple with our everyday encounters with climate change and its disastrous effects, which are inextricably linked to the legacies of racism, colonialism, and extraction. These works employ what Song calls climate lyricism—a mode of address in which a first-person “I” speaks to a “you” about how climate change thoroughly shapes daily life. The relationship between “I” and “you” in this lyricism, Song contends, affects the ways readers comprehend the world, fostering a model of shared agency from which it can become possible to collectively and urgently respond to the catastrophe of our rapidly changing climate. In this way, climate lyricism helps to ameliorate the sense of being overwhelmed and feeling unable to do anything to combat climate change.

Min Hyoung Song is Professor of English and Director of the Asian American Studies Program at Boston College, as well as a steering committee member of Environmental Studies and an affiliated faculty member of African and African Diaspora Studies. He is the author of three books: Climate Lyricism (Duke, 2022), The Children of 1965: On Writing, and Not Writing, as an Asian American (Duke, 2013) and Strange Future: Pessimism and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots (Duke, 2005). In addition, he co-edited the Cambridge University Press series Asian American Literature in Transition (2021),  The Cambridge History of Asian American Literature (Cambridge, 2015) and Asian American Studies: A Reader (Rutgers, 2000). Short essays by him can be found at the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Washington Post, Public Books, The Chicago Review of Books, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Women and Climate Change: Leading the way to a more sustainable and equitable world
Tuesday, March 8
GMT 4-5:00
Location: SAF G34, Sir Alexander Fleming Building
Campus: South Kensington Campus

Our panelists represent different geographical regions and disciplines; covering physical science, social science, policy, and business
Chair: Ms Karen Makuch, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law in Centre for Environmental Polict at Imperial College London
Dr Courtnae Bailey, PhD Scholar at Imperial College London's Centre for Environmental Policy
Dr Friederike Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London
Dr Mirabelle Muuls, Assistant Professor in Economics at the Imperial College Business School and programme director of the MSc Climate Change, Management and Finance. 
Dr Florence Gschwend, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder atLixea
Dr Amiera Sawas, Director of Programmes and Research at Climate Outreach

Women’s vulnerability to climate change stems from a number of factors – social, economic and cultural. Women have limited access to and control of environmental goods and services; they have negligible participation in decision-making, and are not involved in the distribution of environment management benefits. Consequently, women are less able to confront climate change. In many societies, socio-cultural norms and childcare responsibilities prevent women from migrating or seeking refuge in other places or working when a disaster hits. Women, in many developing countries suffer gender inequalities with respect to human rights, political and economic status, land ownership, housing conditions, exposure to violence, education and health. Climate change becomes an added stressor that will aggravate women’s vulnerability.

Globally, the evidence has been mounting in linking gender equality and enhanced environmental outcomes: when gender inequality is high, forest depletion, air pollution and other measures of environmental degradation are also high. Recognising the important contributions of women as decision makers, stakeholders, educators, carers and experts across sectors and at all levels can lead to successful, long-term solutions to climate change. Across sectors, women’s innovations and expertise have transformed lives and livelihoods, and increased climate resilience and overall well-being. Global negotiations have increasingly reflected the growing understanding of gender considerations in climate decision making over the last few years. 

Hear from our panel of Imperial researchers on their latest research, their diverse geographical regions of interests and their own experiences as women tackling climate change. 

STRUCTURE
A 40-minute panel discussion, where each speaker reflects on their experience, and their observation of the contribution that women have made to the climate change narrative (in science, policy, business). They will discuss the positive steps taken by scientists/academics, funding organisations/donors, and local governments to bring women’s skills and knowledge to the forefront of climate change adaptation and mitigation; How COP26 framed and tackled vulnerability in relation to gender-bias and the recommendations set forth in the Glasgow Pact that recognise the role of women, with a focus on what we need to see more of at COP27. The session ends with a 20-minute question session, moderated by Karen Makuch.

This is a hybrid event: Please indicate when registering whether you will be attending in person at our South Kensington campus, or if you will join the online livestream.

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Personal AI-based robots as lifetime human companions
Wednesday, March 9
12:00 PM ET

SPEAKERS:TETSUYA OGATA, D.ENG.,SHIGEKI SUGANO, D.ENG.,SETHU VIJAYAKUMAR, PH.D.
MODERATOR:SEAN SANDERS, PH.D.

This webinar is brought to you by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office.
Robots and other automated devices are increasingly becoming a part of our everyday lives and include every conceivable application, from intelligent online assistants to self-driving cars. But what is the next frontier in robot development? During this webinar, we invite three experts in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) to share the latest technology developments that give us some insight into what a future world might look like. They’ll examine what advances are needed—particularly in software—to allow the next generation of robots to be more independent, flexible, interactive, and helpful.

During the webinar, the speakers will:
Describe the shift from isolated decision making to more shared control, giving greater autonomy to the robot
Discuss the optimal trade-off between autonomy and automation that doesn’t sacrifice safety or the user’s sense of security
Introduce the concept of novel deep predictive learning AI, which will allow robots to better move through and interact with unfamiliar environments
Illustrate how recent advances can produce cognitively flexible robots that move closer to becoming true human companions.
This webinar will last for approximately 60 minutes.

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Rising Seas: Planning for the Future
Wednesday, March 9
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Baylor Fox-Kemper, professor of earth, environmental, and planetary sciences at Brown University; Courtney Humphries, journalist and author; Paul Kirshen, professor of climate adaptation at the University of Massachusetts Boston; Sanjay Seth, climate resilience program manager for the City of Boston; and the Rev. Vernon K. Walker, senior program manager at Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), explore sea level rise and its implications for coastal areas, including cities like Boston, with Barbara Moran, correspondent on WBUR’s environmental team.

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International Streets: Combatting Emissions in Medellín
March 10th, 2022
11:30am - 12:30pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-streets-combatting-emissions-in-medellin-tickets-269198458837

Speakers & Participants
Carlos Cadena-Gaitán, EAFIT University
Louise Yeung

Join Urban Design Forum for a discussion with Carlos Cadena-Gaitán and Louise Yeung on creating climate-resilient streets in Medellíin, Colombia as part of our Streets Ahead series. 
In 2021, Medellín premiered the first Zona Urbana de Aire Protegido (ZUAP), or low-emission zone. As the first of its kind in Colombia, this new program looked to dramatically reduce air pollutants by restricting private car traffic from the city’s center. Coupled with major investments in green corridors, expansion of bike lanes and electric buses, Medellín has made strides to become the preeminent “eco-city” of Latin America.

For his presentation, Carlos Cadena-Gaitán will share the successes and challenges of leading the creation of the first low-emission zone as Medellín’s Transport Secretary, followed by a discussion with New York-based resiliency expert Louise Yeung. How can cities combat the climate crisis by revolutionizing the use of the street? 

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A Women in STEM Seminar: Women and Sustainable Food Systems: Different perspectives towards a healthier world
Thursday, March 10
11:00 - 12:00 GMT-05:00
Audience: Open to all

Event speakers:
Beth Hart
Title: VP Supply Chain and Brand Trust
Organisation: McDonalds
Dr Tilly Collins
Title: Senior Teaching Fellow
Organisation: Centre for Environmental Policy
Louise Mabulo
Title: Youth entrepreneur in the Philippines and Founder
Organisation: The Cacao Project
Elysia Lucas
Title: PhD student researching the environmental sustainability of global food and dietary patterns
Organisation: Grantham

Food production is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. A key challenge we face nationally and globally is feeding a rapidly growing population with nutritious food from sustainable and resilient food systems. Transforming how we produce food and shifting our eating patterns can help to reverse environmental degradation whilst enhancing the health of the population. 

In this seminar, we will bring together speakers who work towards sustainable food systems across academia, industry and social entrepreneurship. The chair, Elysia Lucas, is a Grantham Institute PhD student researching the global sustainability of food and diets. During this seminar, she will lead a discussion with three speakers who each approach sustainable food and diets in different ways: Professor Tilly Collins, who researches insects as food and feed; Beth Hart, with expertise improving the sustainability of the food and beverage industry; and Louise Mabulo, a youth entrepreneur who works to equip farmers in the Philippines with sustainable and resilient livelihoods. 

Together, these inspiring women bring a unique insight to our food system and in establishing successful careers as women. This seminar will explore their past experiences and views for the future in cultivating sustainable food systems and how getting gender right is essential to achieve this.

This is an online event. We will send you a link to join the event remotely.

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Starr Forum: Putin’s Revisionist Battle: Success or Failure?
Monday, March 14
11:30am to 12:30pm
Please register for this Zoom event at https://bit.ly/PutinsBattle

Speaker:  Joshua Yaffa is a Moscow correspondent for The New Yorker and the author of “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia.”

Co-chairs:
Carol Saivetz is a senior advisor in the MIT Security Studies Program. She is the author and contributing co-editor of books and articles on Soviet and now Russian foreign policy issues.
Elizabeth Wood is professor of history at MIT. She is the author most recently of Roots of Russia’s War in Ukraine. She is co-director of the MISTI MIT Russia Program, coordinator of Russian studies, and adviser to the Russian Language Program. 

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The Code Breaker: A Conversation with Jennifer Doudna
Monday, March 14
7:00 - 8:00 PM (EDT) 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-code-breaker-a-conversation-with-jennifer-doudna-tickets-170115862123

Join Ruth Lehmann, Director, Whitehead Institute as she speaks with Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Berkeley professor and Nobel Laureate, about her role in the development of CRISPR-Cas9. They will discuss the potential applications of this world-changing genetic technology, the societal and ethical implications of gene editing as well as current research projects, collaborations, and new advances in biology.
Free, live virtual event. Open to all.

Jennifer Doudna
Founder and President, Innovative Genomics Institute; Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair, UC Berkeley; Professor, Dept of Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley; Nobel Laureate
Dr. Jennifer A. Doudna is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair and a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her groundbreaking development of CRISPR-Cas9 as a genome-engineering technology, with collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, earned the two the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and forever changed the course of human and agricultural genomics research.
This powerful technology enables scientists to change DNA — the code of life — with a precision only dreamed of just a few years ago. Labs worldwide have re-directed the course of their research programs to incorporate this new tool, creating a CRISPR revolution with huge implications across biology and medicine.
In addition to her scientific achievements, Doudna is a leader in public discussion of the ethical implications of genome editing for human biology and societies, and advocates for thoughtful approaches to the development of policies around the safe use of CRISPR technology.
Doudna is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and the President of the Innovative Genomics Institute. She co-founded and serves on the advisory panel of several companies that use CRISPR technology in unique ways.
She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Doudna is also a Foreign Member of the Royal Society and has received numerous other honors including the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2015), the Japan Prize (2016), Kavli Prize (2018), the LUI Che Woo Welfare Betterment Prize (2019), and the Wolf Prize in Medicine (2020). Doudna’s work led TIME to recognize her as one of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2015 and a runner-up for “Person of the Year” in 2016. She is the co-author of “A Crack in Creation,” a personal account of her research and the societal and ethical implications of gene editing.

Ruth Lehmann
President and Director, Whitehead Institute 
Lehmann earned her undergraduate degree and a PhD in biology with Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard from the University of Tübingen, in her home country of Germany. She has conducted research at the University of Washington, the University of Freiburg, the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. She was a Member of the Whitehead Institute Member and on the faculty of MIT from 1988-1996. She then moved to New York University (NYU), where she served in a number of leadership roles specifically as the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Cell Biology and director of the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine (2006-2020) and from 2014-2020 as the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine. She also became an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 1990 and again in 1997. In 2020, Lehmann took on the role of president and director of the Whitehead Institute. She has received national and international recognition, including election to the National Academy of Sciences as Foreign Associate in 2005 and election as Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization in 2012. She is currently editor-in-chief of the Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology and will serve as president of the American Society for Cell Biology starting in 2021.

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The Emissions Gap: How Far Are We from the Goals of the Paris Agreement?
Tuesday, March 15
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT

The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports provide annual assessments of the gap between estimated future global GHG emissions if countries implement their climate mitigation pledges and the global emission levels aligned with achieving the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C. Based on the latest science and the most recent climate change mitigation pledges made by countries before and during the latest climate conference in Glasgow, this talk provides an overview of where we are in terms of global emissions, where we are headed, where we need to be and how we get there.

Speaker
Anne Olhoff has more than twenty years’ experience in international policy advice, technical assistance and research on climate change mitigation and adaptation in the context of sustainable development. Since 2012, Anne has been heavily involved in the management, authoring, editing and outreach of the two annual UNEP flagship reports on climate change: the Emissions Gap Report and the Adaptation Gap Report, guiding and coordinating the work of 60+ scientists from 35+ institutions across 20+ countries. Anne joined CONCITO in January 2022 as International Senior Advisor. She holds a PhD in Development and Resource Economics.
Moderator
Cornelia Colijn is the executive director of the Kleinman Center. She envisions, plans, and manages all center programming, while building connections with students, faculty, and leaders in the energy industry.

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A deep time perspective on climate and ecology
Tuesday, March 15
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-deep-time-perspective-on-climate-and-ecology-tickets-228234273857
Cost:  £0 – £11.37

This talk will integrate fossil and modern data to disentangle some of the long-term ecological and evolutionary responses of species to climate change. More specifically, I will discuss some of my recent research that examines (1) potential climate mechanisms responsible for the latitudinal diversity gradient; (2) the role of geography in regulating extinction magnitude during climate change; and (3) the degree to which climate has shifted the geographic distributions of entire groups over time. These studies provide a bottom-up perspective on the generation and maintenance of biodiversity under climate change and enhance our understanding of the interaction of species’ intrinsic macroecological characteristics with a dynamic extrinsic climate.
Speaker: Erin Saupe
Erin Saupe is a Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Oxford, Department of Earth Sciences. Her Research investigates the interactions between life and environments over geological time scales. She is specifically interested in elucidating the controls on community and species’ responses to environmental change across various spatial and temporal scales. Before joining the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oxford, she was a research fellow at the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies at Yale University. She received a BA in Natural Sciences from the College of St. Benedict (USA) in 2007, and a PhD in palaeobiology from the University of Kansas (USA) in 2014.

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Urban Waterscapes and Global Climate Justice: Views from Jakarta
Wenesday, March 16
08:00 – 09:15 EDT

Speaker:  Kian Goh
From the flooding along one river, one watershed, how do we understand broader regional and global debates about urban water? The problem of cities and environments takes on different forms depending on point of view, framework of understanding, and scale of investigation. In this talk I trace the conceptual and physical contours of urban waterscapes in Jakarta across conflicting ideas and narratives, and link them to emerging debates around climate change responses around the world and critical concerns of justice. Building on research explored in my book Form and Flow: The Spatial Politics of Urban Resilience and Climate Justice (MIT Press 2021), which examined the politics of urban climate change responses within and between Jakarta, New York, and Rotterdam, I focus on what it means, riffing on Ananya Roy’s exhortation, to view all urban ecologies from this particular place on the map. Here I take seriously – and attempt to hold in view, if not resolve – contested claims and questions about worldviews, knowledge production, and privilege and positionality in urban environmental research

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Electric Vehicle Expo
Thursday, March 17
10am - 2pm
BU, Blandford Mall, Boston

Join Boston University and Recharge Massachusetts for an Electric Vehicle expo! Take an EV, e-bike, or e-scooter out for a spin, get hands-on experience with charging, and get a feel for how EVs can fit into YOUR life. Discover the current and near-future plans for public charging and learn about local, state, and federal rebates!

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Keynote Lecture: Sustainability for Africa: The role of forefront scientific and technological innovation in achieving sustainable development on the African continent
Thursday, March 17
4:00pm to 5:00pm
 MIT Welcome Center (Building E38)
http://calendar.mit.edu/event/keynote_lecture_sustainability_for_africa_the_role_of_forefront_scientific_and_technological_innovation_in_achieving_sustainable_development_on_the_african_continent#.Yhry4S2ZNBY

In-person attendees: please note that MIT CovidPass or Tim Tickets are required, and all participants must follow all MIT COVID safety protocols.
For virtual registrants: Webcast link will be emailed closer to the event.

The MIT-Africa Distinguished Visitor Program presents Dr. Mohamed Hassan, President of The World Academy of Sciences, for a lecture on the role of frontier science, technology and innovation in achieving the sustainable development goals in Africa.

Dr. Hassan will highlight the sustainability challenges that African countries face in their efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals are complex, multidisciplinary and interconnected and achieving them will require building, sustaining and applying innovation capacities in frontier science, technology and innovation (STI), especially in low-income African countries. Dr. Hassan will illustrate how cutting-edge scientific and technological innovations in digital technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology and renewable energy technology can be instrumental in accelerating the achievement of SDGs in Africa. He will also examine the role of science diplomacy in promoting global partnerships to address global challenges and how such partnerships can help Africa to build and sustain its homegrown capacities in quality education and research.

Bio
Professor Mohamed Hag Ali Hassan is President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Italy; President of the Sudanese National Academy of Sciences (SNAS); Chairman of the Governing Council of the United Nations Technology Bank, Turkey and Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Centre for International Development (ZEF), Germany. He was Professor and Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Khartoum; President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP); founding Executive Director of TWAS; President of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS); founding President of the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC); Chairman of the Council of the United Nations University (UNU); and Chairman of the Honorary Presidential Advisory Council for Science and Technology, Nigeria. Among his honors: Comendator, Grand Cross, and National Order of Scientific Merit, Brazil; and Officer, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. He is a recipient of the G77 Leadership Award and the Abdus Salam Medal for Science and Technology. He is a member of several merit-based academies of science, which include, TWAS, AAS, the academy of Sciences of South Africa; the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology.

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Data + Climate Change + Critical Communication

Underwater event focused on technology and storytelling about climate change hosted by Lancaster University’s Data Science Institute.
About this event
“Data + Climate Change + Critical Communication” is an extension of a 2020 UK Underwater event focused on technology and storytelling about climate change hosted by Lancaster University’s Data Science Institute. 

This March 18, 2022 event launches a double special issue of Journalism Practice that emerged from the 2020 workshop and features global perspectives on issues of data journalism, storytelling, and mis- and dis-information, around climate change. The special issue is edited by Lancaster’s Robert E. Gutsche, Jr. and Juliet Pinto from Pennsylvania State University and will be published in March.

Articles featured during the event, include:
Setting the Agenda to Tackle Environmental Issues with Data and Collaboration, by Mathias-Felipe de -Lima-Santos
Reporting on the 2019 European Heatwaves and Climate Change: Journalists’ Attitudes, Motivations and Role Perceptions, by Nadine Strauß, James Painter, Joshua Ettinger, Marie Noëlle Doutreix, Anke Wonneberger, and Peter Walton 
Calm During the Storm: Micro-assemblage, Meteorology and Digital Community Building During Hurricane Harvey, by Marcus Funk
The Potential of Interactivity and Gamification Within Immersive Journalism & Interactive Documentary (I-Docs) to Explore Climate Change Literacy and Inoculate Against Misinformation, by Lawrence Brannon, Lisa Gold, Johnny Magee, & Geoff Walton

For more information, visit www.ukunderwater.com or email r.gutschejr@lancaster.ac.uk. 
Registered Participants will receive a link to the Microsoft Teams event.

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Daoism in China’s Climate Change Policy
Tuesday, March 22
08:30 – 09:30 EDT
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/daoism-in-chinas-climate-change-policy-tickets-260046033687

This talk will examine the unique Daoist understanding of the climate crisis and its impacts on the future of civil society action in China.

This talk is co-organised with the Manchester Museum. 
In 2009 the UN, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), the Chinese Government and representatives of over a thousand Daoist temples, monasteries and organisations met at the ancient sacred site of Hua Shan. There, the Daoists launched their first eight year plan to combat climate change, address bio-diversity issues and work for a sustainable environment. This event also launched a totally unique way in which Daoism expresses why the forces driving climate change are fundamentally wrong - a view which was later taken up by the UN. It also launched a whole series of practical actions across China - guided, enabled and inspired by Daoism.
In the most recent Five Year Plan of China, the Daoists have been given a central role in civil society programmes on environmental education and action – the first time any faith has been highlighted in any of the Five Year Plans. And later this year a new eight-year Daoist plan will be launched. Martin Palmer, former Secretary General of ARC, religious advisor to HRH The Duke of Edinburgh for 35 years and now CEO of FaithInvest as well as being one of the world’s leading translators of Chinese classics, has worked with the Daoists on environmental issues since 1993.
Martin Palmer was the Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) until June 2019. ARC was founded with HRH Prince Philip in 1995 to help faiths develop environmental and conservation projects based on their own beliefs and practices. Although ARC closed in 2019, having achieved its major goals, its legacy includes FaithInvest and WWF's International Beliefs and Values Programme. Martin is an international specialist on all major faiths and religious traditions and cultures. He is the author and editor of more than 20 books on religious and environmental topics. He has translated many ancient Chinese texts, is a regular contributor to the BBC, and is a lay preacher in the Church of England

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Women on the Frontlines of Revolution
Wednesday, March 23
12 – 1 p.m.

SPEAKER(S)  Erica Chenoweth, The Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at Harvard Radcliffe Institute; the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard 
DETAILS In this event, Erica Chenoweth, a Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at Harvard Radcliffe Institute and the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard Kennedy School, will present her ongoing research for her next book, written with Zoe Marks. Titled “Rebel XX: Women on the Frontlines of Revolution,” the book is about the impact of women’s participation on revolutionary outcomes.
They are the author of numerous books and articles, including “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict” with Maria J. Stephan, which won the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order and the 2012 best book award from the American Political Science Association. Their research has been featured in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the New Yorker, the New York Times, NPR’s Morning Edition, TEDxBoulder, the Washington Post, and elsewhere.
CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu

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Restoring Ecosystems in a Time of Ongoing Global Change (Virtual Event)
Wednesday, March 23
6 – 7 p.m.
https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0JrvjFo6QnijrTNRSDbOhg

SPEAKER(S) David Moreno Mateos, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Affiliate of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
DETAILS
How long does it take for an ecosystem to recover after it is disturbed or destroyed by human activities? How do we know when an ecosystem has recovered? In this lecture, restoration ecologist David Moreno Mateos will discuss the traditional methods used to assess the recovery of terrestrial ecosystems—such as changes in biodiversity or soil carbon levels—and highlight their limitations. He will make a case for more comprehensive and long-term approaches to understanding and measuring ecosystem recovery and highlight their potential for enhancing environmental policies and large-scale restoration strategies.
CONTACT INFO hmscpr@hmsc.harvard.edu

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Federal Support for Clean Energy & Equitably Decarbonizing the Northeast
Equity Case Study:  Hydro-Québec/Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke MOU
Friday, March 25
9:00 am-12:00 pm
Cost:  $0 - 100

Convener/Moderator: Dr. Jonathan Raab, Raab Associates, Ltd. 
Host: Foley Hoag

Note: We are currently planning for a Zoom-only event, 
but we may provide an in-person option for registrants, 
COVID-permitting.

AGENDA
9:00 Welcome and Introductions—Dr. Jonathan Raab
9:05 Keynote: Federal Support for Clean Energy
Patricia A. Hoffman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Electricity, U.S. DOE
9:50 Break 
10:00 Panel: Equitably Decarbonizing the Northeast
 Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, Chief of Environment, Energy & Open Space, City of Boston
Joe Curtatone, President, Northeast Clean Energy Council
Stephan Roundtree, Northeast Director, Vote Solar 
Staci Rubin, Vice President, Environmental Justice, Conservation Law Foundation
12:00 Adjourn

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Shared Mobility and Automated Vehicles: Responding to Socio-Technical Changes and Pandemics
Friday, March 25

Susan Shaheen, Professor In Residence in Energy, Civil Infrastructure & Climate, Transportation Engineering at UC Berkeley, will present at the MIT Mobility Forum. The Forum is a weekly seminar series showcasing the groundbreaking transportation research occuring across the Institute.

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Sam Olbekson, “Culture, Community, and Environmental Justice in Contemporary Indigenous Design”
Wednesday, March 30
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Harvard Graduate School of Design, Gund Hall, Piper Auditorium (for HUID holders only), all others virtual
https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/sam-olbekson-culture-community-and-environmental-justice-in-contemporary-indigenous-design/

SPEAKER(S)  Sam Olbekson
DETAILS  Creating a strong sense of place is critical to cultural identity in Native American communities. New tribal building and planning projects provide significant opportunities for tribal communities to reinforce cultural revival efforts while advancing economic, educational, and healthcare initiatives. This session will encourage an open and interactive discussion of the central issues in tribal design and efforts to lead a fundamental shift toward culturally appropriate design solutions and self-determination. From rural reservation single-family houses to inner-city multifamily mixed-use urban developments, Native American communities face unique challenges and opportunities. Legal and political constraints, complicated funding mechanisms, and a lack of infrastructure all contribute to a critical shortage of adequate housing and economic opportunity in most Native American communities. Many design solutions for tribal communities, unfortunately, fall back on one-size-fits-all models of development and design cliches that do not respond to the distinct social structures of Native families or reflect the diverse range of cultural and artistic expression unique to each tribe. This discussion will highlight diverse Native American projects that have challenged the status quo of typical tribal design and planning projects with innovative and culturally respectful design solutions.

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Saving Us: Q&A with a hopeful climate scientist
Join us for a discussion with climate scientist, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, about hope-in-action in the face of climate change.
About this event
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, shares that "the data tells us the planet is warming; the science is clear that humans are responsible; the impacts we’re seeing today are already serious; and our future is in our hands." Yet, most people aren't talking about climate change.
Where do we begin? What do we say when people are skeptical? How do we stay hopeful in the face of overwhelming global trends? And what is our call as Christians?
Join us for some real talk with renowned climate-scientist and hopeful Christian, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.
You can start hope-in-action to limit climate change right now!
Read Saving Us: a climate scientist's case for hope and healing in a divided world and prepare yourself to talk about climate change with others.
Watch and learn more about climate change with a small group at church or with youth by utilizing resources like Tearfund's video series on Christianity and climate change or the Global Weirdingchannel on PBS.
Talk about why you care about climate change with at least one other person. Search for common ground. If you're a pastor, include the topic in a sermon or Sunday school class. 
Join us on March 31st to ask Dr. Hayhoe your questions!
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Tuesday, February 08, 2022

Science Fiction Futures Now at Boskone 59

 Boskone is the annual science fiction convention of New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) and the oldest science fiction/fantasy/horror [SF/F/H] convention in New England.  Boskone is an entirely fan volunteers operation.

Boskone 59

February 18-20, 2022

Westin Boston Seaport District

$70 - $10

RSVP at <a href="https://boskone.org">https://boskone.org</a>


Here are some of the talks and panels that caught my eye.


Friday, February 18, 2022

2:00 PM

VIRTUAL: Climate Change Mitigation

Arkady Martine, Karl Schroeder, Les Johnson (moderator), Thiago Ambrosio Lage, Vandana Singh

What real steps can we take to slow, then stop, the climate catastrophes already wrecking our civilization? Fossil fuel enthusiasts cheerfully propose humungo geoengineering experiments on the only planet we have: like injecting sulfur dioxide (a major pollutant) into the upper atmosphere for (temporary) cooling. (Opponents call for injecting fossil fuel executives into the atmosphere instead.) Will mega-scale investment in energy-efficient technology and renewables, plus planetary remediation of forests and oceans work instead? If not these, what? If not now, when?

VIRTUAL: New Ways to Think About Media Rights

Ada Palmer, Cerece Rennie Murphy, Cory Doctorow, Malka Older, Scott Drakeford (moderator)

Creatives have been conditioned to seek copyrights on everything they produce, attempting to tightly restrict their use. However, some non-copyright media rights approaches may still hold value for creators — while also actually improving their share of the income generated by their work. We take a look at what these approaches may entail, and how they might mutually benefit creators, publishers/studios, and readers/viewers/fans.

3:00PM

VIRTUAL: OneHome: Experiencing the Sight of Earth as an Astronaut

Jean Pierre Goux

Astronauts in orbit have experienced a profound love for the Earth and felt that we all share one home. It is called the "Overview Effect" and it changed them forever. Using unique Earth images taken from 1 million miles away by NASA, the idea is to bring the overview effect to millions of people.

5:00 PM

VIRTUAL: Uplifting Dystopian Fiction?

Carrie Vaughn, Cory Doctorow, David McDonald, Kelly Robson, Sarah Pinsker (moderator)

Dystopias unfurl charts to navigate around real abysses — social inequality, authoritarian governments, violence against minorities, scientific denialism, etc. Even at their darkest, moments of utopian bliss unveil themselves to push the story forward. Julia’s love note to Winston in 1984; the poetry in Parable of the Sower; the power of friendship in the Broken Earth trilogy. What function do these serve in their stories? In this third year of the Plague, what other examples might bring us a little hope?

VIRTUAL: Facts Behind Folklore

Fran Wilde, Greer Gilman, Jane Yolen, Marie Brennan (moderator)

There is usually some authentic foundation to folklore — a true story, a common belief, an insight into the human condition. This starting point becomes transformed through the storytelling process into the familiar tales we hear from parents or fairy tale books. How can we dig into these stories to find their center? How can we use that knowledge to craft stories that take on a life of their own?

7:00 PM

VIRTUAL: Apocalypse Now and Then: Pandemic-Inspired SF/F/H

D Burton, Faye Ringel (moderator), Henry Jenkins, Jennifer Marie Brissett, Tabitha Lord, Vandana Singh

How will the ongoing COVID-19 catastrophe inform apocalyptic fiction in our genres, moving forward? What will writers do with all their new material — from greater knowledge of epidemiology to personal experiences of loss, sorrow, anger, fear, or determination to increased optimism or pessimism about the human future?

Saturday, February 19, 2022

9:00 AM

VIRTUAL: Can Quantum Computing Explain Everything in SF?

Elías Combarro

Science fiction characters often use hand-waving "quantum sciences" — particularly quantum computing — to explain the inexplicable. What is quantum computing? What could it be? Does “quantum supremacy” mean it beats calculations from boring regular computers? Dr. Elias Combarro, an SF fan who happens to work as a computer science professor and advise CERN on quantum technology, discusses definitions plus news on the latest developments.

10AM  

In Person:  Climate Change — Global Impacts

Ana Rusche, César Santivañez, Robert V.S. Redick, Vince Docherty (moderator)

We know generally that catastrophic anthropogenic climate change is already here. But let’s review some facts on the ground (and in the waters and skies). How many species are changing habitats and migratory patterns? Where are all the new (and very old) pathogens coming from? Are rising sea temperatures shutting down the Atlantic Current? How many days a year are the Boston, Miami, Venice, and Mumbai waterfronts now their underwaterfronts? How many plants and animals are simply due for extinction — and are we among them?

11AM

What's Delaying Self-Driving Cars?

Erin Underwood (moderator), Ian Randal Strock, Mark Olson, Ted Chiang

Our cars were supposed to drive us to the con by now. But we’re all still waiting at the curb. Why? We’ll discuss a few issues such as safety, sensor and AI technologies, cars versus taxis, space, weight, intercommunication, infrastructure, security, legislation, costs, preconceptions and perceptions, and the old clunker in the next lane whose most dangerous car part will remain the one behind the wheel. 


1PM

VIRTUAL: Learning from Indigenous Experience

César Santivañez, Gabriela Damián Miravete (moderator), Hugo Espinoza, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki

Modern civilization has acquired much knowledge from Indigenous people. We’ve learned elements of pharmacology from Amazonians, navigation from Polynesians, and nutrition from people who ate the original all-natural diet. Now, can immersing ourselves in their experience of managing biodiverse regions and agroecological systems help manage humanity’s future: protecting from infectious disease and climate catastrophe? And what other lessons might their wisdoms impart?

2:00PM  

VIRTUAL: Is Social Media Here to Stay?

Cory Doctorow, Henry Jenkins, Julia Rios (moderator), Kate Heartfield, Paul Di Filippo

Will they have Snapchat on starships? And right now, how are social media apps affecting relationships among SF/F/H readers/fans and writers? Finally, since Jennifer Egan’s awesome 2012 futuristic spy story “Black Box” (composed entirely of tweets on The New Yorker Twitter account) — how has social media affected genre fiction? Has it generated a wave of new plot twists, new characters, new forms? If not, why not?

3:00PM  

VIRTUAL: Inclusive Design For the Future

Ace Tilton Ratcliff, Ada Palmer (moderator), Elsa Sjunneson, Fran Wilde, Karl Schroeder

Science fiction set in the future often assumes every disability will be cured — a problematic assumption. Is it realistic for every disabled person in tomorrow’s world to have individual accommodations? What does it look like when SF instead depicts inclusive design? Can we imagine a more accessible starship than the Enterprise-D?

5:00PM

In Person:  The Future of Astronomy

Jeffrey A. Carver, Mark Olson (moderator), Martin Elvis, Steven Popkes

What's in the works with worlds, stars, galaxies, and more (or less, when you count black holes)? A noted astrophysicist and his enthusiastic amateur sidekicks plumb the latest secrets of the universe, then fearlessly predict where it's all going.

6:00 PM

In Person:  Power Grid

Manage your resources, manipulate the board — and the other players — to build up your network of power plants, and rule the land! [6 players, intermediate, 11+]

Is Science Losing? Improving Science Communication

Allen M. Steele, Andrea Kriz PhD, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert (moderator), Tom Easton

Though it’s needed more than ever, our world may actually be backsliding in terms of science literacy, as well as in communicating scientific truths — and their implications — to the public. What’s causing these problems? How can professionals and educated citizens become effective science communicators? How can society as a whole improve its scientific literacy?

10:00PM  

In Person:  Haunted: Horror as a Way to Heal Trauma

Jennifer Williams (moderator), Julian K. Jarboe, Justin C. Key, Tonia Ransom

They can be exploitative — but many horror stories instead tackle traumatic themes with nuance and complexity. Whether you are consuming it or creating it, horror can become a vehicle for power when you feel otherwise powerless. What is the value in seeing our worst experiences writ large? How can these kinds of stories help us to heal?

Sunday, February 20, 2022

10:00AM

In Person:  Diversity, Genetics, and Myths

Andrea Kriz PhD, Dr. Stephen P. Kelner Jr. (moderator), Jason Comander, Justin C. Key

Did you know that "race" has no biological basis? How about the fact that gender is a continuum, not a binary? Or that a group of just 100 humans retains 85% of our genome's variability? Let's talk about the science!

In Person:  Architecture in Speculative Fiction

Dave Seeley, Gary Ehrlich, William Hayashi (moderator)

From Victorian houses to stone mosques to glass skyscrapers, structures play important roles in creating atmosphere, developing the setting, and inspiring feelings associated with that space and place. We look at well-known structures in fiction that serve as iconic examples of how built spaces can impact the story, connect with characters, and convey backstory purely through description of their design

11AM

In Person:  Future of Education

Tamsyn Muir, Tim Griffin, Tom Easton (moderator)

Our Special Guest Tamsyn Muir and Musical Guest Tim Griffin both have extensive teaching backgrounds. What do they think about the future of education — public, private, charter, other? Is "education by Zoom" just a COVID-19 patch? Or will it be an important part of pedagogy going forward? Will technology help or hinder education? How about long-term: VR classrooms? Sleep learning? Nanite injections?

VIRTUAL: Civic Imagination Workshop

Henry Jenkins

Join this hands-on workshop for social change, that teaches attendees how to borrow principles from areas of fandom and apply them to real-world activities to help generate lasting, positive change. The workshop will apply ideas from activities such as speculative worldbuilding and fan fiction writing.

12PM

In Person:  The Future of Us

Martin Elvis, Rich Larson, Suzanne Palmer (moderator), Tom Easton

Imagine that in the far future we've destroyed the planet, leaving the climate in chaos — and humanity is on life support. What comes next? Is there a way to start again? If so, how might humanity survive and evolve? And without the overwhelming presence of humanity's current population levels, how might other creatures adapt and evolve? 

In Person:  Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

This is the latest installment of Terraforming Mars. It's a card game at heart — but the board is just as important. [4 players, intermediate, 12+]


In Person:  Mother Nature's Sense of Humor as Expressed Through Animal Procreation Techniques

Chris Panatier (moderator), Jennifer Pelland, Priscilla Olson, Steven Popkes

Did you know that the lonely male angler fish attaches to the female and becomes part of her — living out the rest of his life as an on-demand sperm satchel? Did you know giraffes drink each other’s pee to see if it’s business time? Did you know some snails have both male and female organs and repeatedly stab each other with “love darts” until they both end up pregnant or DEAD? Learn about how they do it ... and speculate how this could be applied to aliens.

In Person:  Human Genetic Engineering: A Look at What's Happening

Andrea Kriz PhD, Jason Comander


VIRTUAL: Multiple Versions of the Future

Ana Rusche (moderator), Arkady Martine, Karl Schroeder, Larry Niven, Malka Older

Since even before ancient astronomers scanned Sumerian skies for clues to coming events, we’ve tried to imagine the future. Certainly people have entertained myriad pictures of possible tomorrows. But what broad agreements do we see among the futures described by diverse SF writers? On the other hand, what singular or contrarian visions do we find most arresting? Whose futures are the most multilayered and complex? Which is most likely to come true?


1PM

In Person:  Is This AI?

Dr. Stephen P. Kelner Jr., Edie Stern (moderator), Erin Underwood, Mike Squatrito Jr, Ted Chiang

Panelists consider technologies both real and imagined, discussing which are actually artificial intelligence and which aren't. Goal: a realistic sketch of our current understanding of AI: what it is, what it can do — and what we might expect (hope? fear?) it could become.


VIRTUAL: Terraforming Terra: for Good or Ill

Jeff Hecht (moderator), Jennifer Marie Brissett, Julie Czerneda, Les Johnson, Scott Drakeford

A major engine of climate change: burning fossil fuels, which generates carbon dioxide, which retains heat, which raises atmospheric temperatures. In other words, we’ve been terraforming Earth already for more than 140 years. On a smaller scale, Dutch dykes change sea to land. Altogether, what have we done to make Earth uninhabitable? What have we done — or might we do, for instance with techniques like geoengineering — to make Earth more habitable (again)? And can we control the consequences a little better this time?


VIRTUAL: Love and Sex with Robots

Charles Stross, Laurence Raphael Brothers (moderator), Malka Older, Ted Chiang, Thiago Ambrosio Lage

Sexuality presented by robots and AI characters is commonplace in SF books and films. What does this say about human society, and what are the implications in the near term for technologically plausible sex machines as well as in the future for AGI persons designed to be human romantic partners? Our panel may touch on topics ranging from technology, sentience, and AI to philosophy, ethics, legality, and psychology.

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