**Conferences**
Cambridge Science FestivalSunday, October 2 - Sunday, October 9
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HONK! Festival 2022
Friday, October 7, 3 PM – Sunday, October 9, 6 PM
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Winter Is Coming: Europe’s Energy Crisis and What It Means for Climate Change
Eighth Annual Columbia Global Energy Summit
Wednesday, October 12
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ClimateTech
Wednesday, October 12, 9:00 AM – Thursday, October 13, 5:00 PM EDT
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Global Environmental Justice Conference 2022
Thursday, October 13 - Friday, October 14
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Love.Earth.Justice.2022
Sunday, October 16
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Power of Design
Tuesday, October 18
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Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education: The Urgency of Now!
October 18, October 26, and November 3
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MIT D-Lab 20th Anniversary Events
Friday, October 21
————
EBC Fourth Annual New England Energy Leadership Conference
Tuesday, October 25
————
Yale Clean Energy Conference
Thursday, November 3 — Friday, November 4
————
**Lecture Series**
People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic
Tuesday, October 4
————
Federal Funding Learning Series #4 - How Unprecedented Incentives and Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act Can Advance Local Climate Action
Description
Tuesday, October 4
————
The Amazon Forest and Climate Change: A Sustainable Pathway to Avoid a Tipping Point
Wednesday, October 5
————
Environmental Justice in Albaydha: The Story of a Rural Desert Community
Wednesday, October 5
————
Starr Forum: An Update on Russia's War Against Ukraine
Friday, October 7
————
China and Japan in the Global Politics of Climate Change
Monday, October 17
————
Seeing the forest beneath the trees: Mycorrhizal fungi as trait integrators of ecosystem processes
Thursday, October 20
————
The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change
Thursday, October 20
————
Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective
Monday, October 24
————
Environmental Justice in an Age of Upheaval
Thursday, October 27
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Planning Transformational Coastal Adaptation with a Climate Justice Lens
Monday, October 31
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**Events**
African Perspectives on Climate and Climate Adaptation in Eygpt
Monday, October 3
————
Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power
Wednesday, October 5
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Deploying the Synergies Between Energy Access and Sustainable Development
Thursday, October 6
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Global Refugee Crisis: What can scientists and engineers do to ease the suffering and protect the vulnerable?
Thursday, October 6
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Wholehearted Regeneration: Boosting Communal and Climate Resilience One Pocket Forest at a Time
Thursday, October 6
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Governing the 'China Boom' in the Amazon Basin: Social and Environmental Regulation Amid A Commodity Supercycle
Tuesday, October 11
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Research and development for the public good: Strengthening societal innovation
Tuesday, October 11
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Pedagogy of the Rainforest: An Indigenous Yanomami Perspective
Wednesday, October 12
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Great Decisions | Outer Space
Wednesday, October 12
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Disinformation and free speech: perspectives on the future of information
Thursday, October 13
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Brain, Body + Breath
Saturday, October 15
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Nouriel Roubini: Megathreats
Tuesday, October 18
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A Pale Blue Dot under Pressure: Climate Change, Justice, and Resilience in Our Rapidly Warming World
Friday, October 21
————
MIT Energy Night 2022
Friday, October 21
————
Environmental, Energy, and Engineering Career Fair
October 24
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Trauma to Transformation: A Set of Existential Opportunities to Address Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis
Tuesday, October 25
————
Energy Seminar: Lauren Culver, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Monday, October 31
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Wet + Dry: Landscapes of Resilience and Material Exploration
Thursday, November 3
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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 doing it, if it hasn’t already been done.
If anyone knows of 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
**Conferences**
Cambridge Science Festival
Sunday, October 2 - Sunday, October 9
https://cambridgesciencefestival.org
Including
Borealis, a sound and light show representing the Northern Lights in Kendall Square
DearTomorrow: Envisioning a Sustainable Future in a Time of Climate Change at Boston Public Library
and many, many other events all over town.
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HONK! Festival 2022
Friday, October 7, 3 PM – Sunday, October 9, 6 PM
Davis Sq, Somerville, MA 02144, United States
https://honkfest.org
Street bands from all over the world, playing, marching, and holding workshops
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Winter Is Coming: Europe’s Energy Crisis and What It Means for Climate Change
Eighth Annual Columbia Global Energy Summit
Wednesday, October 12
9am - 4pm
Columbia University, Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: Roone Arledge Auditorium
RSVP for in person event at https://events.columbia.edu/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo;jsessionid=o1Bpuj-SmdiKM_8ztC-wY4pM1SbLTnIP74W41TTu.calprdapp05
RSVP for Livestream at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hMFhV27fR7ePjB4P-OocVg
More information at https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/columbia-global-energy-summit-2022
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ClimateTech
Wednesday, October 12, 9:00 AM – Thursday, October 13, 5:00 PM EDT
MIT Media Lab 75 Amherst St Cambridge, MA 02139 and Online
https://event.technologyreview.com/climatetech-2022 for complete information.
Cost: $395 – $1,295
MIT Technology Review's conference on solutions for climate change
New technologies across all industries are making it possible to craft business plans that transition to clean energy systems while maintaining - if not improving - market competitiveness. Net zero 2050 commitments no longer need to be based on hope, but instead can be built on technology, policy, and societal changes that will re-architect the economy for a sustainable future.
Join us in Boston or virtually for MIT Technology Review's first conference on solutions for climate change, ClimateTech, for an attendee-centric experience that features globally renowned experts, live presentations, interactive Q&As, expert-led discussions and rich networking experiences.
ClimateTech will explore:
Energy Matters: Technology is a critical mechanism to bend the emissions curve down and provide clean energy to feed our insatiable need for power. We examine the opportunities that will clean up our energy infrastructure while maintaining market competitiveness.
All Systems Go: Climate change is a global problem with many interconnected, contextual, and collectively essential solutions. None is a silver bullet. We examine the ways individuals and organizations can make sustainable behavior the default.
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Global Environmental Justice Conference 2022
Thursday, October 13 - Friday, October 14
RSVP at https://resources.environment.yale.edu/calendar/listing/117856
The Yale Center for Environmental Justice and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are partnering this year to present the Fourth Annual Global Environmental Justice Conference at the Yale School of the Environment. This year’s conference will focus on the intersection of equitable climate action and sustainable development.
Contact: kristin.barendregt-ludwig@yale.edu
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Love.Earth.Justice.2022
Sunday, October 16
2-5pm
First Unitarian Church, 90 Main Street, Worcester and online via Zoom
For more information or to register, visit: https://bit.ly/lej-2022
The event aims to inspire people of faith to take climate action and build climate resilience. A celebratory multi-faith worship opens the afternoon, with Rev. Vernon K. Walker of CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather) preaching; several workshops to build skills and engagement follow. The event is organized and presented by Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light and Worcester Congregations for Climate and Environmental Justice. Admission is free; donations appreciated during the free will offering.
Prior registration requested for Zoom access and for planning purposes.
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Power of Design
Tuesday, October 18
10:30am to 5:00pm
Virtual Event
RSVP at https://web.mit.edu/webcast/sap/f22/
The MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD) is celebrating its launch with The Power of Design, a day of dynamic presentations by design luminaries and thought leaders. The in-person and online audiences will join for an expansive dialogue about how interdisciplinary design can influence and frame our responses at this time of extraordinary global need.
The forum will reveal the importance of design to a variety of disciplines and enterprises: from the humanities to STEM, from industrial production to community-based solutions. Each of the three sessions will be followed by a conversation moderated by an MIT faculty member, with audience engagement encouraged.
Session 1: Design Catalyzes Innovation
Moderator: Maria Yang
Design practices are key drivers of research and innovation in different fields—from health, to mobility, to sustainability. The first session explores the history, present, and future of design in order to emphasize how design drives advanced research, produces new knowledge, and fosters new modes of coexistence.
Session 2: Design Transforms Learning
Moderator: Skylar Tibbits
Positioning design at the core of education is transforming how we teach and learn at all levels. Our second session brings to light the forms of design pedagogy which are emerging at academic institutions across the world. Design gives students powerful tools to understand, reframe, and address in novel ways our most demanding challenges.
Session 3: Design Empowers Society
Moderator: Dava Newman
The last session focuses on how to make design innovations address societal needs and become accessible to everyone. The contributors explore the forms of business and social entrepreneurship that allow designers to scale up new products and consolidate new types of design practices.
Hosted in the new Exchange Room at the MIT Museum, the event will be free of charge for the MIT community, open to the public, and live streamed at design.mit.edu.
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Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education: The Urgency of Now!
October 18, October 26, and November 3
RSVP at https://www.aashe.org/conference/
Cost: $10 - $300
The Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education brings together sustainability leaders from around the world in a virtual format to share effective models, policies, research, collaborations and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities.
New Format for 2022
This year’s virtual Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (#GCSHE) will take place on three separate dates – Oct. 18, Oct. 26 and Nov. 3! Save the date to join us for a new format that will allow increased conversation, connection and learning.
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MIT D-Lab 20th Anniversary Events
Friday, October 21
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Two locations: MIT D-Lab, 265 Massachusetts Ave, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139 (morning) and MIT Media Lab
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-d-lab-20th-anniversary-events-october-21-tickets-416019805437
Email
nadamsx@mit.edu
Website https://d-lab.mit.edu/20th-anniversary
MORNING OPEN HOUSE
At MIT D-Lab - MIT Building N51, 3rd floor - Directions
9:00-9:45: Morning Coffee Reception
10:00 – 11:30: Morning Program
Build-it activity with D-Lab Founding Director Amy Smith
Evaporative Cooling Lecture-Demonstration with D-Lab Research Engineer Eric Verploegen
Humanitarian Innovation session with Humanitarian Innovation Program Coordinator Heewon Lee
Coffee with D-Lab Executive Director Ana Pantelic
SurgiBox history and demo with D-Lab Intstructor and COO of SurgiBox Macauley Kenney
And more!
Register!
AFTERNOON SHOWCASE & SYMPOSIUM
At the MIT Media Lab - MIT Building E14, 6th floor - Directions
12:00 – 1:30: Lunch
Lunch with affinity group tables and a student and alumni showcase
1:30 – 5:00: Afternoon Program
OPENING REMARKS - Ana Pantelic, D-Lab Executive Director
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN, AND DUCT TAPE
In this discussion, members of the wider D-Lab community (including alumni, community partners, students and faculty) will talk about the role that design plays in development. The panel will explore this theme in terms of their personal journey as well as their experiences in using design as a tool for community empowerment. The discussion will be led by Founding Director Amy Smith who will weave in her own experiences with D-Lab, development, design, and duct tape from the past 20 years.
Panelists:
John Jal Dak of Youth Social Advocacy Team (Uganda, South Sudan)
John Ochsendorf, Professor, MIT Departments of Architecture and of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Director, Morningside Academy of Design
Mustafa Naseem, Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Emily Young, MIT D-Lab lecturer and Moving Health CEO
Viviana Rivera, MIT ’23.
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN IN ACTION - A conversation curated by MIT D-Lab Associate Director for Research Kendra Leith and MIT D-Lab Inclusive Economies Specialist Libby McDonald
THAT TRANSFORMATIVE D-LAB STUDENT EXPERIENCE - A conversation with D-Lab students and alumni curated by D-Lab Associate Director of Academics Libby Hsu, with introduction by Maria Yang, Associate Dean of Engineering, Gail E. Kendall Professor; MIT D-Lab Faculty Academic Director.
CLOSING REMARKS - Kim Vandiver, Forbes Director of the MIT Edgerton Center; Director, Project Manus; MIT D-Lab Faculty Research Director
5:00-6:00: Reception
A toast to D-Lab and all of the students, alumni, instructors, researchers, community partners, staff, and members of the MIT community who have been part of it! Refreshments will be served.
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EBC Fourth Annual New England Energy Leadership Conference
Tuesday, October 25
9:00 am - 12:15 pm EST
RSVP at https://web.cvent.com/event/d70a5632-09e4-434c-b87e-d5f988240322/register
Cost: $25 - $120
Please join EBC for the fourth annual New England Energy Leadership Conference bringing together state leaders in energy policy and programs from across New England. This virtual conference provides an opportunity for the state energy leaders to present their energy plans, program priorities, and implementation strategies that reflect the challenges for their respective states. Leaders will also discuss the ways in which New England states are working together on regional energy issues.
Speakers will cover their top 3-4 energy priorities for the year, including:
Energy Efficiency
Renewable Energy
Offshore Wind
Net-Zero Emissions
Energy Storage
Electric Vehicles
Clean Energy Jobs
Grid Modernization
Emerging Technologies
Also participating will be ISO New England, the organization that is authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform three critical, complex, interconnected roles: grid operation, market administration, and power system planning for the region.
A robust panel discussion between the speakers and attendees will conclude the program.
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VERGE 22: THE CLIMATE TECH EVENT
Tuesday, October 25 - Thursday, October 27
SAN JOSE CONVENTION CENTER, SAN JOSE, CA
More information at https://events.greenbiz.com/events/verge/2022
Cost: $50 - $1975
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Yale Clean Energy Conference
Thursday, November 3, 4:30 PM EDT — Friday, November 4, 6:30 PM EDT
More information at https://web.cvent.com/event/aea7d4be-b582-474d-9a6e-08acbad4ed82/summary
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**Lecture Series**
People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic
Tuesday, October 4
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
RSVP at https://environment.princeton.edu/event/hmei-faculty-seminar-agustin-fuentes/
Agustin Fuentes, professor of anthropology, will present “Multispecies Mutual Ecologies: People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic” in Guyot Hall, Room 10, and online via Zoom. Fuentes is the second speaker in the fall 2022 HMEI Faculty Seminar Series.
Human-driven responses to current climate and ecological crises are many and varied and, in some instances, do more harm than good. Fuentes will draw on biocultural, ethnographic, demographic and ecological examples to argue for a more inclusive, integrative, and transdisciplinary approach to addressing planetary challenges that decenters mainstream human ecological tactics and recognizes multispecies mutual ecologies to evolve more optimistic views for the future.
This seminar is free and open to the public with registration. Lunch will be available in the Guyot Atrium at noon. All attendees can register here in advance to attend this event via Zoom livestream
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Federal Funding Learning Series #4 - How Unprecedented Incentives and Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act Can Advance Local Climate Action
Description
Tuesday, October 4
1:00 PM ET
RSVP at https://rmi-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsce6qrD4sHNEvQfyLOn8pEQBOksCg-IyI
The City Renewables Accelerator, co-led by RMI and WRI, is excited to announce a 4th installment of our federal funding learning series. To date, our learning series has focused on helping local governments and community partners understand, navigate, and pursue federal funding opportunities that can advance ambitious local climate action and resilience projects. This upcoming session will spotlight the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, help communities better understand the latest federal funding opportunities and related changes, and highlight the most up-to-date tools and resources.
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The Amazon Forest and Climate Change: A Sustainable Pathway to Avoid a Tipping Point
Wednesday, October 5
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
RSVP at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAudOGqpzktHtFk3RcJabclIypjlmPgxmLJ
Carlos Nobre and Ailton Fabricio-Neto (University of Sao Paulo and UFES, Brazil)
Based upon the book, Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, published by World Scientific, a unique set of authoritative lectures on climate change impacts and adaptation by world-recognized leading scientists. There is nothing like it available elsewhere.
Bi-Weekly Webinar Series: Each of the 25 chapters in the new book will be presented by its author as a slide-based lecture in A Bi-Weekly Webinar Series hosted by CCRUN, a NOAA RISA Project. The series presents key adaptation topics including methods for impacts and adaptation assessment, impacts on sectors, effects on different regions and countries, and adaptation policy and practice.
The book Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation on which the webinar series is based can be purchased as an e-book, soft cover, or hard cover copy at the World Scientific Publishing website: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12312
Webinars will take place bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 10:00–12:00PM. No purchase of book necessary for viewing the webinar series. All webinars are recorded and made available on the CCRUN website: http://www.ccrun.org/resources/lectures-in-climate-change-volume-2/
Event Contact Information:
Manishka de Mel
manishka.demel@columbia.edu
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Environmental Justice in Albaydha: The Story of a Rural Desert Community
Wednesday, October 5
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Northeastern, West Village F 020, Boston
RSVP at https://cssh.northeastern.edu/impactlab/from-boston-to-beirut-reimagining-social-change-in-the-middle-east/#_ga=2.193858666.690818571.1664338852-667078588.1640460424
Part of the Open Classroom Series
As climate crises displace people around the world, what can be learned from Albaydha, a semi-nomadic rural community in Saudi Arabia whose grazing lands were destroyed by desertification? Offered in collaboration with the Dukakis Center's Open Classroom, this session will examine how participatory processes informed by Social Impact Lab (SIL) principles and frameworks have engaged over a thousand families in the design and implementation of a community-led resettlement initiative. The program employs sustainable building technologies and ecosystem regeneration while honoring traditional family structures and cultural practices. Lebanese social investor and human rights advocate Lynn Zovighian and SIL Director Rebecca Riccio will explain how their commitment to centering community members’ voices has led to this project being designated a national housing pilot for vulnerable communities in Saudi Arabia.
Moderator: Ted Landsmark, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Director, Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.
This event is part of the Social Impact Lab's weeklong series From Boston to Beirut: Reimagining Social Change in the Middle East.
We recognize that members of our community will be observing Yom Kippur October 4-5 and wish you a meaningful holy day and fast. We will make the recordings of all events available on the event website as soon as possible so you can have access to the content. We also encourage students to attend one of the three student-only workshops with Lynn Zovighian on Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7.
Registration is required to attend in person or online.
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Starr Forum: An Update on Russia's War Against Ukraine
Friday, October 7
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Virtual Event
A Zoom webinar | Registration required: bit.ly/UkraineWarUpdate
Speakers:
Volodymyr Dubovyk is an associate professor at the Department of International Relations and director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine). He has conducted research at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, taught at the University of Washington (Seattle) and at St. Edwards University/University of Texas (Austin). He is the co-author of “Ukraine and European Security” and has published numerous articles on US-Ukraine relations, regional and international security, and Ukraine’s foreign policy.
Michael Kofman serves as a senior research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, and a fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. His research focuses on Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in the Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy. Previously, he served at National Defense University as a research fellow, and subject matter expert, advising senior military and government officials on issues in Russia and Eurasia.
Steven Simon is the Robert E Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies. He has served as the National Security Council (NSC) senior director for the Middle East and North Africa during the Obama Administration and as the NSC senior director for counterterrorism in the Clinton White House. His academic appointments include: the John J McCloy ’16 Professor of History at Amherst College, lecturer in government at Dartmouth College, and as Professor in the Practice of International Relations at Colby College. Most recently, he has written and provided commentary on the US policy toward the war in Ukraine.
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 Urkaine as well as articles on Vladimir Putin, the political cult of WWII, right-wing populism in Russia and Turkey, and US-Russian Parternships in Science. She is co-director of the MISTI MIT-Eurasia Program.
Co-sponsors: MIT Center for International Studies (CIS), MIT Security Studies Program (SSP), MISTI MIT-Russia
Free & open to the public
Also watch it on YouTube.
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China and Japan in the Global Politics of Climate Change
Monday, October 17
12:00pm to 1:15pm
Online Only
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsf-qrqT0iE9UdZh57eJGY0b9_qfXxcDWM
Kelly Gallagher, Academic Dean; Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy; Director, Climate Policy Lab; Co-Director, Center for International Environment & Resource Policy, The Fletcher School Tufts University
Miranda Schreurs, Professor of Environment and Climate Policy, School of Government, Bavarian School of Public Policy, Technical University of Munich
Moderator: Christina L. Davis, Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, Department of Government; and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
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Seeing the forest beneath the trees: Mycorrhizal fungi as trait integrators of ecosystem processes
Thursday, October 20
3:30pm
Hybrid: Biological Laboratories 1080, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge and Online
RSVP at https://oeb.harvard.edu/event/oeb-seminar-series-richard-phillips
Richard Phillips, Professor, Department of Biology, Science Director, Research and Teaching Preserve, Indiana University Bloomington
Abstract: Global environmental change is shifting the distribution and abundances of species globally; yet, the ecosystem consequences of such profound change are poorly understood. Here, I present a framework that seeks to unify the heterogeneity of plant-microbe-soil interactions in forests, as a means for predicting the impacts of community change. The Mycorrhizal-Associated Nutrient Economy (MANE) hypothesis predicts that species that associate with different types of mycorrhizal fungi possess an integrated suite of nutrient-use traits that lead to the maintenance of biogeochemical syndromes in forests. Specifically, it predicts that trees that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi possess nutrient acquisitive traits (e.g., fast-decaying litters and nutrient scavenging), such that soils dominated by AM trees contain greater abundances of N-cycling microbes, accelerated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses via leaching and gaseous efflux, and enhanced C and N retention via mineral stabilization. By contrast, trees that associate with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi possess nutrient conservative traits (e.g., slow-decaying litters and nutrient mining), such that soils dominated by ECM trees are characterized by high fungal to bacterial ratios, slow C and N cycling, and limited C and N stabilization to minerals. To test MANE, I combined observations, experiments, syntheses and modeling in forest stands across the US, and examined the effects of trait variation and community composition on ecosystem processes. I found strong support for MANE in temperate forests (relative to boreal and sub-tropical/tropical forests), and in eastern forests relative to western forests. The response variables that most consistently track the relative abundance of AM vs. ECM trees are soil variables, and mycorrhizal dominance is a good predictor of forest sensitivity to numerous global change factors. Given that these dynamics appear to be detectable by remote sensing and can be incorporated into large-scale models, the MANE framework can serve as a useful tool for predicting forest response to global change. Finally, I discuss key knowledge gaps pertaining to MANE, specifically the need for: improved quantification of the costs/benefits of mycorrhizal-mediated nutrient uptake, an enhanced understanding of root-microbe effects on soil organic matter formation, stabilization and turnover, and increased knowledge about how mycorrhizal community composition affect forest productivity. Collectively, these results suggest that shifts in the relative abundance of AM and ECM trees will likely have profound implications for how forests function and the services they provide.
The hybrid seminar will take place in the Biological Laboratories, Room 1080. Registration is required to attend via Zoom. Please note, Zoom attendees are muted during the talk, but are able to ask questions during Q&A.
Editorial Comment: Mycorrhizal fungi has been a topic of great interest to all the ecological designers and soil scientists I know for decades. Understanding soil systems and the carbon cycle is of utmost importance in dealing with climate.
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The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change
Thursday, October 20
6:30pm
New England Aquarium, Simons Theatre 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=108586&view=Detail
The John H. Carlson Lecture featuring Caltech Professor Jess Adkins, PhD ’98
With the burning of fossil fuels, the human race is conducting an experiment of unprecedented magnitude—carbon dioxide (CO2) is warming the planet and we are not sure how this will turn out. Even as we move to electrify the economy and leave fossil fuels behind, we must find ways to remove CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. Reducing CO2 emissions alone is no longer enough. In this talk, Dr. Adkins—a chemical oceanographer who studies the history of the Earth’s climate—will share how a project that started with the basic science question of ‘How quickly do corals dissolve when the ocean acidifies?’ turned into a possible way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at scale.
Free and open to the public. Students and families welcome.
Doors open at 5:30pm with exhibits from MIT students and climate scientists in the Simons Theatre lobby.
About the Speaker
Jess Adkins is the Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science in the California Institute of Technology's Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. As a chemical oceanographer, Adkins focuses on geochemical investigations of past climates using corals, sediments, and their interstitial waters; rate of deep ocean circulation and its relation to mechanisms of rapid climate changes; metals as tracers of environmental processes; and radiocarbon and U-series chronology. After completing a bachelor's degree in chemistry at Haverford College, Adkins earned his PhD in 1998 studying chemical oceanography, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry in the MIT–Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Adkins joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 2000.
About the Series
The John H. Carlson Lecture Series communicates exciting new results in climate science. Free of charge and open to the general public, the lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT, and is presented in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute.
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Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective
Monday, October 24
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Online via Media Central Live
RSVP at https://environment.princeton.edu/event/bradford-seminar-getting-to-net-zero-a-canadian-perspective/
Simon Donner, a professor of climatology at the University of British Columbia, will present “Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective.” This seminar will be held in-person (PUID holders only) and available via livestream (open to all).
Donner will discuss the Canadian government’s approach to achieving its recently passed goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, which requires shifting from incremental to transformational public policy in a physically large country with decentralized governance and a substantial fossil fuel industry. He will examine the lessons for American climate action based on his work as a member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which was created to advise the federal government on realizing its 2050 goal.
This event is part of the David Bradford Energy and Environmental Policy Seminar Series organized by the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE) in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and co-sponsored by the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI)
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Environmental Justice in an Age of Upheaval
Thursday, October 27
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room and Online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NaZH9SNoTQOLmxbTRBtHmQ
David Bond, Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College
COVID-19 withdrew government oversight of many dirty industries. Some industries found this an opportune moment to dump pollution into nearby communities with brazen disregard for environmental law and public health. The talk describes how engaged social research helped shine an unflattering light on the pandemic negligence of a hazardous waste incinerator in upstate NY and a mammoth refinery in the Caribbean. Anthropology – as a method of inquiry and as a matter of emphasis – came to play an instrumental role in broadcasting both sites into national news and federal deliberation, and effectively demanding change. This talk also reflects on: 1) the pursuit of justice within a complicit system; 2) the ability of anthropology to build common ground in an age of upheaval; and 3) following the example of frontline residents, insists on revolutionary hope in dark times.
David Bond teaches anthropology and the environment at Bennington College, where he also helps direct the Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). Bond is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on the scientific measurement and political management of the disastrous qualities of crude oil. He has conducted ethnographic research on leaky refineries in the Caribbean, on the figure of the Keystone XL Pipeline, corporate social responsibility in the tar sands of Alberta, and the scientific and political response to the BP Oil Spill. Bond is currently working on three projects: a critical history of the category of the environment; a collaborative ethnography on the ends of oil in northern Alaska; and a community-engaged response to the discovery of the chemical PFOA in Bennington, VT, and Hoosick Falls, NY. His research has been supported by Wenner Gren, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and the National Science Foundation; his publications have appeared in Anthropology Now, Cultural Anthropology, and American Ethnologist. Bond holds a PhD in Anthropology from the New School for Social Research. He has taught on the environment and public action at Bennington since 2013 and is the associate director of the Elizabeth Coleman Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). He is also co-founder of the Bennington College Prison Education Initiative.
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Planning Transformational Coastal Adaptation with a Climate Justice Lens
Monday, October 31
10:00am to 11:30am
Northeastern, Renaissance Park, 310R 1135 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02120
Julia Hopkins (Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Laura Kuhl (School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs)
Attend a series of in-person public talks and brainstorms led by collaborators on BARI-affiliated projects. Your attendance and insights will help to build stronger projects and partnerships across disciplines and in our local communities.
More information at https://calendar.northeastern.edu/event/planning_transformational_coastal_adaptation_with_a_climate_justice_lens_by_julia_hopkins_civil_and_environmental_engineering_and_laura_kuhl_school_of_public_policy_and_urban_affairs#.YzPO9i2ZOiI
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**Events**
African Perspectives on Climate and Climate Adaptation in Eygpt
Monday, October 3
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
RSVP at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n1Okquq6Qv6qXfp50zCR7w
In November 2022, Egypt will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27), the UN’s annual conference on climate change. The country finds itself in an important position. Egypt as the host country will be looked upon to be a strong voice for the Global South and help further just energy transitions in growing economies. Moreover, Egyptian perspectives on climate adaptation can also help shed light on the priorities of many other developing countries and emerging markets.
The Center on Global Energy Policy will host a panel of Egyptian experts drawn from academia, international organization, and civil society to share their views on the inter-linked challenges of energy governance, water management, and public services delivery in Africa's most urbanized state against a background of sea-level rises, erratic climate financing, and growing water scarcity.
Moderator: Dr. Harry Verhoeven, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Panelists:
Dr. Lama El Hatow, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Mohamed Nada, World Bank Group
Eng Mohamed Kamal, Greenish Foundation
This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event.
This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Natalie Volk (nv2388@columbia.edu).
For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.
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Energy Insecurity and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tuesday, October 4
12:00PM - 1:30PM
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/energy-insecurity-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-registration-416840891327
Energy insecurity, or the inability to pay one’s energy bills, is a problem facing millions of American households. In this lecture, Sanya Carley discusses the results from a four-wave survey that she and her coauthors administered to a representative sample of low-income U.S. households during the COVID-19 pandemic. She examines the findings on the prevalence of energy insecurity, the factors that contribute to it, what strategies households use to cope when facing energy insecurity, and how well temporary protections help energy insecure households. Carley also considers a set of reflections and recommendations on policy and scholarship.
Speaker
Sanya Carley is the Paul H. O’Neill Professor and Director of the Master of Public Affairs programs at Indiana University. Carley is a 2022-2023 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Moderator
Shelley Welton is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy with the Kleinman Center and Penn Carey Law. Her research focuses on how climate change is transforming energy and environmental law and governance.
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Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power
Wednesday, October 5
9am - 10am EST (12:00 - 1:00 p.m. AZ Time)
RSVP at https://asu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ca1hHFL-Tvy9leOBARztPg
Join us for a virtual discussion with L. Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell, social entrepreneur, and former White House official.
In her new book, Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power, Moore argues we don’t have to wait for new legislation or technologies to begin our work to bring the far-reaching benefits of clean power to small communities, particularly in rural America. Michelle describes five pathways to clean power in rural America and strategies for achieving them.
Moderated by Lauren Withycombe Keeler, assistant professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, this event is in partnership with Island Press, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that shines a spotlight on crucial issues and focuses attention on sustainable solutions.
You can purchase Rural Renaissance from the independently owned Changing Hands Bookstore.
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Deploying the Synergies Between Energy Access and Sustainable Development
Digital Zukunftssalon in the "The Forces of Transformation” series
Thursday, October 6
4:30 AM - 6:00 AM EDT (10.30 am to 12.00 pm CET)
RSVP at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/218475582309100300
Securing universal access to clean and reliable energy is a critical milestone for both: realising the just and green transformations of our energy systems and achieving the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted through the Agenda 2030.
On 6 October 2022 the Wuppertal Institute will hold a digital Zukunftssalon from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm CET as part of the "The Forces of Transformation" series to dive deeper into "Deploying the synergies between energy access and sustainable development".
By 2020 730 Million people still lived without access to electricity and almost a third of the world population relied on inefficient and unhealthy fuels and technologies for cooking their daily meals. Overcoming these energy inequalities and marginalisation is one of the core tasks for the realisation of just energy transitions. Moreover, energy marginalisation not only implies living conditions out of the reach of energy infrastructures. Very often it is also linked to poor access to other basic services, such as health, education, water, sanitation, transport and communication networks. And energy is often key for securing the provision of such services. Indeed energy is inextricably linked to virtually all other sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In the last decade, important advances have been achieved in attending the energy needs of marginalised population. However, the current pace of change is insufficient for reaching universal access to electricity, clean fuels, and technologies for cooking by 2030, as set under the SDG7. Moreover, the dynamics in other SDGs is similarly worrying. Therefore, more than ever before it is important to understand and effectively deploy the synergies between energy access and other sustainable development dimensions. In principle, energy can (em)power practically any component of the livelihoods of people. However, achieving real and long-lasting impacts remains a crucial challenge.
What are those general synergies between energy access and other SDGs?
How can energy access projects recognise and effectively attend the context-specific development opportunities, motivations and challenges of the involved communities?
What are the factors that influence the actual impact on sustainable development from energy access projects?
In this digital Zukunftssalon Dr. Long Seng To, Joint Director of the Centre for Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience (STEER) at Loughborough University, and Dr. Julia C. Terrapon-Pfaff, Co-Head of the Research Unit International Energy Transitions at the Wuppertal Institute, will discuss both conceptual advances and evidence from empirical research about how energy access interventions can effectively spark sustainable development of the involved communities. The online seminar will be hosted by Dr. Willington Ortiz, Researcher in the Research Unit International Energy Transitions at the Wuppertal Institute.
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Global Refugee Crisis: What can scientists and engineers do to ease the suffering and protect the vulnerable?
Thursday, October 6
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
RSVP at https://trusted.bu.edu/s/1759/2-bu/19/1col.aspx?sid=1759&gid=2&pgid=11886&cid=22801
Speakers Muhammad H. Zaman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and International Health Director, Center on Forced Displacement
The UN refugee agency estimated earlier this year that more than 100 million people are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, and climate change. Since then, the number has continued to increase due to ongoing war in Ukraine, economic devastation in Afghanistan, floods in Pakistan and protracted crises in many other places. While this is one of the great global challenges of our time, historically, the issues surrounding refugees have been looked at from the lens of international relations or humanitarian aid, with science and engineering research playing a minimal role. Research at Boston University aims to change this paradigm. In this talk, Professor Zaman will discuss some of his work in the lab, in the field, and in the classroom that aims to address this issue: innovative approaches that are being developed and utilized in refugee camps and urban informal settlements for disease surveillance and better access to healthcare among the most vulnerable, policy recommendations that we have been a part of in multiple countries hosting refugees and internally displaced communities, and pedagogical strategies developed at BU to train more informed, well-rounded, socially conscious and ethical leaders of the future.
Contact Name Kati Reusche
Phone 617-353-6044
Contact Email kreusche@bu.edu
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Wholehearted Regeneration: Boosting Communal and Climate Resilience One Pocket Forest at a Time
Thursday, October 6
3 – 4:30pm ET
Cambridge Public Library, Main Branch, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://bio4climate.org/events/cambridge-science-festival-talk/?blm_aid=25138
On Thursday, October 6, we are joining the Cambridge Science Festival’s climate hub to share insights on ecosystem restoration and urban rewilding.
Maya Dutta, Assistant Director of Regenerative Projects at Bio4Climate will share her work on Miyawaki Forests, which includes caring for the first forest of this kind planted in the Northeast US in Danehy Park, Cambridge in September 2021. She will share the story of that project and ongoing rewilding work in the Greater Boston area and beyond, and discuss how this method and other forms of ecosystem restoration can build community resilience, equity, and wellbeing while addressing global climate change.
This presentation and Q&A session will run for approximately an hour and a half, from
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Governing the 'China Boom' in the Amazon Basin: Social and Environmental Regulation Amid A Commodity Supercycle
Tuesday, October 11
9:00 am to 10:00 am
RSVP at https://bostonu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0M4otLYVQJeZgs9Kz3Zv3w
Latin America’s recent commodity 'supercycle,' a synchronized and sustained price increase lasting more than five years, was largely driven by a major influx in Chinese investment, finance and demand for raw materials. Throughout that boom – and the slump that followed – Amazon basin countries sought to balance economic, social and environmental priorities by strengthening and then relaxing their regulatory regimes. To what extent has the cooling of the 'China boom' led to a region-wide relaxation of social and environmental standards? And where protections were relaxed, did those reforms lead to greater, faster or higher-risk Chinese investment? In forthcoming research, Paulo Esteves, Coordinator, Socio-Environmental Platform and the Global South Unit for Mediation, BRICS Policy Center of the PontifÃcia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, and Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher with the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, explore the implications for managing environmental and social protections amid natural resource booms, protecting the cultural and biological diversity of the Amazon basin and promoting host country governance throughout the Belt and Road Initiative
Join us on Tuesday, October 11, for a discussion on governing the 'China boom' in the Amazon basin. This webinar is part of the Fall 2022 Global China Research Colloquium.
Speakers:Paulo Esteves, Coordinator, Socio-Environmental Platform and the Global South Unit for Mediation, BRICS Policy Center of the PontifÃcia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
Cecilia Springer (Moderator), Assistant Director, Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
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Research and development for the public good: Strengthening societal innovation
Tuesday, October 11
10:00 AM EDT - 11:00 AM EDT
RSVP at https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-research-and-development
Join the conversation on Twitter using #USInnovation
Investments in research and development (R&D) are important keys to future prosperity. What countries spend on generating new knowledge, products, services, and processes is important for economic development and technology innovation.
Yet currently there are a number of barriers to R&D support in the United States. There exist limitations in terms of vision, strategy, and policies that could keep America from achieving vital national goals. A new report by Governance Studies Vice President Darrell West will address these barriers and outline ways to strengthen societal innovation in the United States, and do more to safeguard the country’s future.
On October 11, join Governance Studies at Brookings for an in-depth discussion on how to invest in R&D for the public good.
Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at @BrookingsGov by using #USInnovation.
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Pedagogy of the Rainforest: An Indigenous Yanomami Perspective
Wednesday, October 12
12 PM ET
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-emil-keme-fellow-presentation-virtual
"Ancestral principles held by Indigenous peoples represent the grounding force against environmental injustices and destruction in Abiayala (The Americas). By focusing on The Falling Sky (2013), a testimonial and biographical account by Indigenous Yanomami elder, Davi Kopenawa, I show the Yanomami’s relationship to the rainforest and the 'more than human' world (Abram 2013) in the Amazonian forests in the northeast region of present-day Brazil and Venezuela. Indigenous peoples and their worldview demonstrate to humanity a different way of living and caring for the Earth, one that understands the Earth and all their expressions as a living being and that humanity is not separate from nature.”
Emil’ Keme, a.k.a. Emilio del Valle Escalante, is an Indigenous K’iche’ Maya scholar and activist and a professor in the Department of English at Emory University. He is a member of the Maya anti-colonial, binational collective Ix’balamquej Junajpu Wunaq’.
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Great Decisions | Outer Space
Wednesday, October 12
6:00 PM 7:30 PM
Boston Public Library, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02116
RSVP at https://www.worldboston.org/calendar/2022/10/12/outer-space
The launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 marked the beginning of the space era and of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, there are many more participants in space, including countries such as India and China, and commercial companies such as SpaceX. How will the United States fare in a crowded outer space?
Join us for a discussion of this complex topic with Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
This program will simultaneously be streamed to Zoom from 6:00 to 7:00 PM ET.
Copies of Lori Garver's recently published memoir, Escaping Gravity, will be available for purchase at the event.
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Disinformation and free speech: perspectives on the future of information
Thursday, October 13
12:00pm to 1:30pm
MIT, Building 14, The Nexus, Hayden Library (Room 14S-130), 160 MEMORIAL DR, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disinformation-and-free-speech-perspectives-on-the-future-of-information-tickets-425870238347
Political discourse depends on the sharing of accurate information and an open exchange of ideas. Can we have both?
A panel of experts from a range of disciplines will share their perspectives on how fact, fiction, and opinion converge, diverge, and occasionally collide. Based on their research, the speakers will share their views on how access to accurate information aligns with free speech; how we can help people evaluate information; and much more.
Panelists:
Adam Berinsky, Mitsui Professor of Political Science and Director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab
David Karger, Professor of Computer Science and member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
David Rand, Erwin H. Schell Professor and Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT
Moderator: Alexia Hudson-Ward, Associate Director of Research and Learning, MIT Libraries
In-person event is open to current MIT community members only; lunch will be provided to in-person attendees who pre-register.
Live stream is available to anyone. Link will be emailed to registrants prior to the event. Streaming will begin at 12:15pm.
Pre-register for either option here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disinformation-and-free-speech-perspectives-on-the-future-of-information-tickets-425870238347
A link to the recording will be emailed to all registrants when it becomes available.
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Brain, Body + Breath
Saturday, October 15
7:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Cambridge MA 02142
RSVP at https://tickets.mitmuseum.org/events/0f8f0038-981f-adc1-06d6-d3e9d8056834
Lower Level Seated - $20
Upper Level General Admission - $5
Seating is limited. Advance purchase is strongly recommended.
Brain, Body + Breath is a multisensory musical experience created by composer and innovator Tod Machover for the opening of the new MIT Museum.
Featuring three Machover world premieres, the concert explores the ways that music affects our bodies and minds while we produce, create or listen to sound.
The three compositions will be accompanied by spectacular graphics by Peter Torpey and performed by a handpicked ensemble of young New York-based soloists, led by violinist Marina Kifferstein. Tod Machover will conduct.
need for affordable, climate-resilient housing in all markets across the country.
This forum is in a hybrid format. Attendees will have the option of being in-person, networking at the Louis D. Brandeis Conference Center at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, or tuning in virtually.
Speakers:
Jane Carbone, LEED AP, Director of Development, Homeowners' Rehab Inc.
David Downs, Vice President, Catholic Charities POP (Progress of Peoples) Development Corporation
Lee Reiners, Policy Director, Duke Financial Economics Center
Laurie Schoeman, Director, Climate and Sustainability, Capital Enterprise Community Partners
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Nouriel Roubini: Megathreats
Tuesday, October 18
12pm EDT (3:00 PM PDT)
RSVP at https://commonwealthclub.secure.force.com/ticket/?_ga=2.166293049.620828836.1664163783-149928173.1643172478#/instances/a0F3j00001YTzcIEAT
Cost: $10
In the 1970s, the United States faced stagflation: high rates of inflation combined with stagnant employment and growth. Global economist Nouriel Roubini predicts we are heading toward another Great Stagflation that will be difficult to recover from.
Is it too late to avoid this economic catastrophe? Financial and geopolitical certainties that we once took for granted have disappeared, and Roubini says we are now facing a period of severe instability, conflict and chaos. He offers a sobering analysis of 10 "megathreats" that are interconnected, immense in scale, and bearing down on us.
Hear more as Roubini predicts what is likely to unfold if we don’t reverse course and act now.
NOTES
This program is online-only. Please pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.
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A Pale Blue Dot under Pressure: Climate Change, Justice, and Resilience in Our Rapidly Warming World
Friday, October 21
9:15 AM–4:30 PM ET
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 and online
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-a-pale-blue-dot-under-pressure-symposium
Climate change is one of the, if not the, most significant threats facing our planet today. It affects life on Earth in countless known, and many still unknown, ways—from atmospheric health to wellness; natural ecosystems to small businesses; global security to neighborhood food insecurity; and international policy to individual decision-making—while exacerbating underlying patterns of inequality.
The Mike and Nina Patterson Science Symposium will explore these interconnected issues through sessions investigating global climate systems and climate disasters, public policy, health, climate justice and activism, and methods of adaptation and remediation.
The program will begin with a keynote address on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 4 PM. Please return to this page for additional information in the coming weeks.
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MIT Energy Night 2022
Friday, October 21
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
MIT Museum 314 Main Street Building E-28 Cambridge, MA 02142
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-energy-night-2022-tickets-418033769257
MIT Energy Night is the first flagship event of the MIT Energy and Climate Club. It showcases close to 40 interactive presentations highlighting MIT’s unique innovation in climate and energy, annually drawing over 1,000 attendees. Presenters include MIT research labs, early-stage start-ups, and other climate and energy-focused companies.
Energy Night is free and open to the public. This is a great opportunity to witness the cutting-edge energy research developing across MIT’s ecosystem and spark conversations with students, researchers, faculty, and industry leaders.
You can find out more by visiting our website at https://www.mitec-night.org/
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Environmental, Energy, and Engineering Career Fair
October 24
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm EST
John B. Hynes Convention Center, Junior Ballroom, 302 & 304, 900 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02115
RSVP at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ejby3x4b3360f40a&llr=jrtn7kqab
The Career Fair is free for all students and job seekers to attend.
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Trauma to Transformation: A Set of Existential Opportunities to Address Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis
Tuesday, October 25
4 PM ET
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 OR Online on Zoom
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-mustafa-santiago-ali-lecture
Mustafa Santiago Ali will discuss opportunities to address environmental justice and the climate crisis as part of the Kim and Judy Davis Dean’s Lecture Series and Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s focus area on climate change.
Speaker
A thought leader, international speaker, policy maker, community liaison, trainer, and facilitator, Mustafa Santiago Ali is the vice president of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. Before joining NWF, he was the senior vice president of the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC), a national nonprofit organization, where he led the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of HHC’s portfolio on climate, environmental justice, and community revitalization.
Ali previously worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 24 years, beginning as a student at age 16. He was a founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and most recently served as senior advisor for environmental justice and community revitalization and assistant associate administrator. He has lectured at over 100 colleges and universities, including Howard, Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, and Spelman. Ali currently serves as a board member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, TREE, Roddenberry Foundation, and Climate Hawks Vote. He is a cohost of HHC’s radio show and podcast, The Coolest Show.
Ali uses a holistic approach to revitalizing vulnerable communities, helping them to move from surviving to thriving. Throughout his career, he has worked with more than 500 domestic and international communities to secure environmental, health, and economic justice.
Discussant
Stephanie LeMenager RI ‘17, Barbara and Carlisle Moore Professor of English and Environmental Studies, University of Oregon
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Energy Seminar: Lauren Culver, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Monday, October 31
1:30pm - 2:30pm ET (4:30pm to 5:20pm PT)
https://stanford-pilot.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=389f460e-1741-41c2-bc16-af1501842447
Lauren Culver is an energy specialist with the World Bank. From 2012-2014, she served as an advisor within the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources advising U.S. policymakers on energy markets and technologies. Previously, Lauren was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she counseled the Undersecretary for Energy on innovation and manufacturing. Lauren earned a PhD in Management and Science and Engineering from Stanford University, an MS in Technology and Policy and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida.
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Wet + Dry: Landscapes of Resilience and Material Exploration
Thursday, November 3
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Harvard, Gund Hall, Piper Auditorium, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
Surfacedesign is a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in San Francisco, California. This internationally award-winning practice focuses on creating dynamic parks, campuses, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes and private gardens. The firm’s approach emphasizes and celebrates the unique context and imaginative potential of each project. The studio’s design process is rooted in asking novel questions and listening to a site and its users – a process that has led to engaging and inspiring landscapes that are rugged, contemporary, and crafted.
Increasingly, water has become a central focus of all landscape interventions. Holistic, systems-based design thinking that actively engages water extremes—from drought to flooding/sea level rise— is at the core of Surfacedesign’s practice. Challenging the formal manifestations of municipal guidelines and standards for water management, each project engages water as an integral design element. James and Roderick will share a range of work from the residential to the infrastructural. These works celebrate water systems and explore how planting, topography and cultural narratives can reinforce water resiliency.
Speakers
James A. Lord, FASLA, Partner, Surfacedesign Inc
James A. Lord is a founding partner of Surfacedesign, Inc. James’ innovative design approach and stewardship of the firm’s design practice has established Surfacedesign as an international leader in urban design and sustainability. He leads projects in New Zealand, Hawaii, Mexico, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. James received his MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his BARCH from the University of Southern California.
Roderick Wyllie, FASLA, Partner, Surfacedesign Inc
Roderick Wyllie is an award-winning landscape architect and a founding partner of Surfacedesign, Inc. Roderick has led a variety of complex projects within the office, including the Uber Campus in Mission Bay, San Francisco’s Bayfront Park, The Land’s End Visitor Center, The Barnacles at Pier 9 and Expedia Global Headquarters in Seattle. His horticultural knowledge and passion for material authenticity reinforce craftsmanship and attention to detail into each project at Surfacedesign.
More information at https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/james-a-lord-and-roderick-wyllie-of-surfacedesign-wet-dry-landscapes-of-resilience-and-material-exploration/
**Lecture Series**
People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic
Tuesday, October 4
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Federal Funding Learning Series #4 - How Unprecedented Incentives and Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act Can Advance Local Climate Action
Description
Tuesday, October 4
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The Amazon Forest and Climate Change: A Sustainable Pathway to Avoid a Tipping Point
Wednesday, October 5
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Environmental Justice in Albaydha: The Story of a Rural Desert Community
Wednesday, October 5
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Starr Forum: An Update on Russia's War Against Ukraine
Friday, October 7
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China and Japan in the Global Politics of Climate Change
Monday, October 17
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Seeing the forest beneath the trees: Mycorrhizal fungi as trait integrators of ecosystem processes
Thursday, October 20
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The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change
Thursday, October 20
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Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective
Monday, October 24
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Environmental Justice in an Age of Upheaval
Thursday, October 27
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Planning Transformational Coastal Adaptation with a Climate Justice Lens
Monday, October 31
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**Events**
African Perspectives on Climate and Climate Adaptation in Eygpt
Monday, October 3
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Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power
Wednesday, October 5
————
Deploying the Synergies Between Energy Access and Sustainable Development
Thursday, October 6
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Global Refugee Crisis: What can scientists and engineers do to ease the suffering and protect the vulnerable?
Thursday, October 6
————
Wholehearted Regeneration: Boosting Communal and Climate Resilience One Pocket Forest at a Time
Thursday, October 6
————
Governing the 'China Boom' in the Amazon Basin: Social and Environmental Regulation Amid A Commodity Supercycle
Tuesday, October 11
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Research and development for the public good: Strengthening societal innovation
Tuesday, October 11
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Pedagogy of the Rainforest: An Indigenous Yanomami Perspective
Wednesday, October 12
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Great Decisions | Outer Space
Wednesday, October 12
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Disinformation and free speech: perspectives on the future of information
Thursday, October 13
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Brain, Body + Breath
Saturday, October 15
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Nouriel Roubini: Megathreats
Tuesday, October 18
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A Pale Blue Dot under Pressure: Climate Change, Justice, and Resilience in Our Rapidly Warming World
Friday, October 21
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MIT Energy Night 2022
Friday, October 21
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Environmental, Energy, and Engineering Career Fair
October 24
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Trauma to Transformation: A Set of Existential Opportunities to Address Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis
Tuesday, October 25
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Energy Seminar: Lauren Culver, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Monday, October 31
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Wet + Dry: Landscapes of Resilience and Material Exploration
Thursday, November 3
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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 doing it, if it hasn’t already been done.
If anyone knows of 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
**Conferences**
Cambridge Science Festival
Sunday, October 2 - Sunday, October 9
https://cambridgesciencefestival.org
Including
Borealis, a sound and light show representing the Northern Lights in Kendall Square
DearTomorrow: Envisioning a Sustainable Future in a Time of Climate Change at Boston Public Library
and many, many other events all over town.
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HONK! Festival 2022
Friday, October 7, 3 PM – Sunday, October 9, 6 PM
Davis Sq, Somerville, MA 02144, United States
https://honkfest.org
Street bands from all over the world, playing, marching, and holding workshops
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Winter Is Coming: Europe’s Energy Crisis and What It Means for Climate Change
Eighth Annual Columbia Global Energy Summit
Wednesday, October 12
9am - 4pm
Columbia University, Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: Roone Arledge Auditorium
RSVP for in person event at https://events.columbia.edu/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo;jsessionid=o1Bpuj-SmdiKM_8ztC-wY4pM1SbLTnIP74W41TTu.calprdapp05
RSVP for Livestream at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hMFhV27fR7ePjB4P-OocVg
More information at https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/columbia-global-energy-summit-2022
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ClimateTech
Wednesday, October 12, 9:00 AM – Thursday, October 13, 5:00 PM EDT
MIT Media Lab 75 Amherst St Cambridge, MA 02139 and Online
https://event.technologyreview.com/climatetech-2022 for complete information.
Cost: $395 – $1,295
MIT Technology Review's conference on solutions for climate change
New technologies across all industries are making it possible to craft business plans that transition to clean energy systems while maintaining - if not improving - market competitiveness. Net zero 2050 commitments no longer need to be based on hope, but instead can be built on technology, policy, and societal changes that will re-architect the economy for a sustainable future.
Join us in Boston or virtually for MIT Technology Review's first conference on solutions for climate change, ClimateTech, for an attendee-centric experience that features globally renowned experts, live presentations, interactive Q&As, expert-led discussions and rich networking experiences.
ClimateTech will explore:
Energy Matters: Technology is a critical mechanism to bend the emissions curve down and provide clean energy to feed our insatiable need for power. We examine the opportunities that will clean up our energy infrastructure while maintaining market competitiveness.
All Systems Go: Climate change is a global problem with many interconnected, contextual, and collectively essential solutions. None is a silver bullet. We examine the ways individuals and organizations can make sustainable behavior the default.
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Global Environmental Justice Conference 2022
Thursday, October 13 - Friday, October 14
RSVP at https://resources.environment.yale.edu/calendar/listing/117856
The Yale Center for Environmental Justice and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are partnering this year to present the Fourth Annual Global Environmental Justice Conference at the Yale School of the Environment. This year’s conference will focus on the intersection of equitable climate action and sustainable development.
Contact: kristin.barendregt-ludwig@yale.edu
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Love.Earth.Justice.2022
Sunday, October 16
2-5pm
First Unitarian Church, 90 Main Street, Worcester and online via Zoom
For more information or to register, visit: https://bit.ly/lej-2022
The event aims to inspire people of faith to take climate action and build climate resilience. A celebratory multi-faith worship opens the afternoon, with Rev. Vernon K. Walker of CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather) preaching; several workshops to build skills and engagement follow. The event is organized and presented by Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light and Worcester Congregations for Climate and Environmental Justice. Admission is free; donations appreciated during the free will offering.
Prior registration requested for Zoom access and for planning purposes.
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Power of Design
Tuesday, October 18
10:30am to 5:00pm
Virtual Event
RSVP at https://web.mit.edu/webcast/sap/f22/
The MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD) is celebrating its launch with The Power of Design, a day of dynamic presentations by design luminaries and thought leaders. The in-person and online audiences will join for an expansive dialogue about how interdisciplinary design can influence and frame our responses at this time of extraordinary global need.
The forum will reveal the importance of design to a variety of disciplines and enterprises: from the humanities to STEM, from industrial production to community-based solutions. Each of the three sessions will be followed by a conversation moderated by an MIT faculty member, with audience engagement encouraged.
Session 1: Design Catalyzes Innovation
Moderator: Maria Yang
Design practices are key drivers of research and innovation in different fields—from health, to mobility, to sustainability. The first session explores the history, present, and future of design in order to emphasize how design drives advanced research, produces new knowledge, and fosters new modes of coexistence.
Session 2: Design Transforms Learning
Moderator: Skylar Tibbits
Positioning design at the core of education is transforming how we teach and learn at all levels. Our second session brings to light the forms of design pedagogy which are emerging at academic institutions across the world. Design gives students powerful tools to understand, reframe, and address in novel ways our most demanding challenges.
Session 3: Design Empowers Society
Moderator: Dava Newman
The last session focuses on how to make design innovations address societal needs and become accessible to everyone. The contributors explore the forms of business and social entrepreneurship that allow designers to scale up new products and consolidate new types of design practices.
Hosted in the new Exchange Room at the MIT Museum, the event will be free of charge for the MIT community, open to the public, and live streamed at design.mit.edu.
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Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education: The Urgency of Now!
October 18, October 26, and November 3
RSVP at https://www.aashe.org/conference/
Cost: $10 - $300
The Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education brings together sustainability leaders from around the world in a virtual format to share effective models, policies, research, collaborations and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities.
New Format for 2022
This year’s virtual Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education (#GCSHE) will take place on three separate dates – Oct. 18, Oct. 26 and Nov. 3! Save the date to join us for a new format that will allow increased conversation, connection and learning.
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MIT D-Lab 20th Anniversary Events
Friday, October 21
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Two locations: MIT D-Lab, 265 Massachusetts Ave, 3rd Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139 (morning) and MIT Media Lab
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-d-lab-20th-anniversary-events-october-21-tickets-416019805437
nadamsx@mit.edu
Website https://d-lab.mit.edu/20th-anniversary
MORNING OPEN HOUSE
At MIT D-Lab - MIT Building N51, 3rd floor - Directions
9:00-9:45: Morning Coffee Reception
10:00 – 11:30: Morning Program
Build-it activity with D-Lab Founding Director Amy Smith
Evaporative Cooling Lecture-Demonstration with D-Lab Research Engineer Eric Verploegen
Humanitarian Innovation session with Humanitarian Innovation Program Coordinator Heewon Lee
Coffee with D-Lab Executive Director Ana Pantelic
SurgiBox history and demo with D-Lab Intstructor and COO of SurgiBox Macauley Kenney
And more!
Register!
AFTERNOON SHOWCASE & SYMPOSIUM
At the MIT Media Lab - MIT Building E14, 6th floor - Directions
12:00 – 1:30: Lunch
Lunch with affinity group tables and a student and alumni showcase
1:30 – 5:00: Afternoon Program
OPENING REMARKS - Ana Pantelic, D-Lab Executive Director
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN, AND DUCT TAPE
In this discussion, members of the wider D-Lab community (including alumni, community partners, students and faculty) will talk about the role that design plays in development. The panel will explore this theme in terms of their personal journey as well as their experiences in using design as a tool for community empowerment. The discussion will be led by Founding Director Amy Smith who will weave in her own experiences with D-Lab, development, design, and duct tape from the past 20 years.
Panelists:
John Jal Dak of Youth Social Advocacy Team (Uganda, South Sudan)
John Ochsendorf, Professor, MIT Departments of Architecture and of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Director, Morningside Academy of Design
Mustafa Naseem, Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Emily Young, MIT D-Lab lecturer and Moving Health CEO
Viviana Rivera, MIT ’23.
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN IN ACTION - A conversation curated by MIT D-Lab Associate Director for Research Kendra Leith and MIT D-Lab Inclusive Economies Specialist Libby McDonald
THAT TRANSFORMATIVE D-LAB STUDENT EXPERIENCE - A conversation with D-Lab students and alumni curated by D-Lab Associate Director of Academics Libby Hsu, with introduction by Maria Yang, Associate Dean of Engineering, Gail E. Kendall Professor; MIT D-Lab Faculty Academic Director.
CLOSING REMARKS - Kim Vandiver, Forbes Director of the MIT Edgerton Center; Director, Project Manus; MIT D-Lab Faculty Research Director
5:00-6:00: Reception
A toast to D-Lab and all of the students, alumni, instructors, researchers, community partners, staff, and members of the MIT community who have been part of it! Refreshments will be served.
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EBC Fourth Annual New England Energy Leadership Conference
Tuesday, October 25
9:00 am - 12:15 pm EST
RSVP at https://web.cvent.com/event/d70a5632-09e4-434c-b87e-d5f988240322/register
Cost: $25 - $120
Please join EBC for the fourth annual New England Energy Leadership Conference bringing together state leaders in energy policy and programs from across New England. This virtual conference provides an opportunity for the state energy leaders to present their energy plans, program priorities, and implementation strategies that reflect the challenges for their respective states. Leaders will also discuss the ways in which New England states are working together on regional energy issues.
Speakers will cover their top 3-4 energy priorities for the year, including:
Energy Efficiency
Renewable Energy
Offshore Wind
Net-Zero Emissions
Energy Storage
Electric Vehicles
Clean Energy Jobs
Grid Modernization
Emerging Technologies
Also participating will be ISO New England, the organization that is authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform three critical, complex, interconnected roles: grid operation, market administration, and power system planning for the region.
A robust panel discussion between the speakers and attendees will conclude the program.
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VERGE 22: THE CLIMATE TECH EVENT
Tuesday, October 25 - Thursday, October 27
SAN JOSE CONVENTION CENTER, SAN JOSE, CA
More information at https://events.greenbiz.com/events/verge/2022
Cost: $50 - $1975
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Yale Clean Energy Conference
Thursday, November 3, 4:30 PM EDT — Friday, November 4, 6:30 PM EDT
More information at https://web.cvent.com/event/aea7d4be-b582-474d-9a6e-08acbad4ed82/summary
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**Lecture Series**
People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic
Tuesday, October 4
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
RSVP at https://environment.princeton.edu/event/hmei-faculty-seminar-agustin-fuentes/
Agustin Fuentes, professor of anthropology, will present “Multispecies Mutual Ecologies: People and Primates Recasting the Anthropocene Dynamic” in Guyot Hall, Room 10, and online via Zoom. Fuentes is the second speaker in the fall 2022 HMEI Faculty Seminar Series.
Human-driven responses to current climate and ecological crises are many and varied and, in some instances, do more harm than good. Fuentes will draw on biocultural, ethnographic, demographic and ecological examples to argue for a more inclusive, integrative, and transdisciplinary approach to addressing planetary challenges that decenters mainstream human ecological tactics and recognizes multispecies mutual ecologies to evolve more optimistic views for the future.
This seminar is free and open to the public with registration. Lunch will be available in the Guyot Atrium at noon. All attendees can register here in advance to attend this event via Zoom livestream
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Federal Funding Learning Series #4 - How Unprecedented Incentives and Funding in the Inflation Reduction Act Can Advance Local Climate Action
Description
Tuesday, October 4
1:00 PM ET
RSVP at https://rmi-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsce6qrD4sHNEvQfyLOn8pEQBOksCg-IyI
The City Renewables Accelerator, co-led by RMI and WRI, is excited to announce a 4th installment of our federal funding learning series. To date, our learning series has focused on helping local governments and community partners understand, navigate, and pursue federal funding opportunities that can advance ambitious local climate action and resilience projects. This upcoming session will spotlight the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, help communities better understand the latest federal funding opportunities and related changes, and highlight the most up-to-date tools and resources.
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The Amazon Forest and Climate Change: A Sustainable Pathway to Avoid a Tipping Point
Wednesday, October 5
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
RSVP at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAudOGqpzktHtFk3RcJabclIypjlmPgxmLJ
Carlos Nobre and Ailton Fabricio-Neto (University of Sao Paulo and UFES, Brazil)
Based upon the book, Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, published by World Scientific, a unique set of authoritative lectures on climate change impacts and adaptation by world-recognized leading scientists. There is nothing like it available elsewhere.
Bi-Weekly Webinar Series: Each of the 25 chapters in the new book will be presented by its author as a slide-based lecture in A Bi-Weekly Webinar Series hosted by CCRUN, a NOAA RISA Project. The series presents key adaptation topics including methods for impacts and adaptation assessment, impacts on sectors, effects on different regions and countries, and adaptation policy and practice.
The book Our Warming Planet: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation on which the webinar series is based can be purchased as an e-book, soft cover, or hard cover copy at the World Scientific Publishing website: https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12312
Webinars will take place bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 10:00–12:00PM. No purchase of book necessary for viewing the webinar series. All webinars are recorded and made available on the CCRUN website: http://www.ccrun.org/resources/lectures-in-climate-change-volume-2/
Event Contact Information:
Manishka de Mel
manishka.demel@columbia.edu
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Environmental Justice in Albaydha: The Story of a Rural Desert Community
Wednesday, October 5
6:00pm to 7:30pm
Northeastern, West Village F 020, Boston
RSVP at https://cssh.northeastern.edu/impactlab/from-boston-to-beirut-reimagining-social-change-in-the-middle-east/#_ga=2.193858666.690818571.1664338852-667078588.1640460424
Part of the Open Classroom Series
As climate crises displace people around the world, what can be learned from Albaydha, a semi-nomadic rural community in Saudi Arabia whose grazing lands were destroyed by desertification? Offered in collaboration with the Dukakis Center's Open Classroom, this session will examine how participatory processes informed by Social Impact Lab (SIL) principles and frameworks have engaged over a thousand families in the design and implementation of a community-led resettlement initiative. The program employs sustainable building technologies and ecosystem regeneration while honoring traditional family structures and cultural practices. Lebanese social investor and human rights advocate Lynn Zovighian and SIL Director Rebecca Riccio will explain how their commitment to centering community members’ voices has led to this project being designated a national housing pilot for vulnerable communities in Saudi Arabia.
Moderator: Ted Landsmark, Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Director, Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy.
This event is part of the Social Impact Lab's weeklong series From Boston to Beirut: Reimagining Social Change in the Middle East.
We recognize that members of our community will be observing Yom Kippur October 4-5 and wish you a meaningful holy day and fast. We will make the recordings of all events available on the event website as soon as possible so you can have access to the content. We also encourage students to attend one of the three student-only workshops with Lynn Zovighian on Thursday, October 6 and Friday, October 7.
Registration is required to attend in person or online.
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Starr Forum: An Update on Russia's War Against Ukraine
Friday, October 7
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Virtual Event
A Zoom webinar | Registration required: bit.ly/UkraineWarUpdate
Speakers:
Volodymyr Dubovyk is an associate professor at the Department of International Relations and director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine). He has conducted research at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, taught at the University of Washington (Seattle) and at St. Edwards University/University of Texas (Austin). He is the co-author of “Ukraine and European Security” and has published numerous articles on US-Ukraine relations, regional and international security, and Ukraine’s foreign policy.
Michael Kofman serves as a senior research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, and a fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. His research focuses on Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in the Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy. Previously, he served at National Defense University as a research fellow, and subject matter expert, advising senior military and government officials on issues in Russia and Eurasia.
Steven Simon is the Robert E Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies. He has served as the National Security Council (NSC) senior director for the Middle East and North Africa during the Obama Administration and as the NSC senior director for counterterrorism in the Clinton White House. His academic appointments include: the John J McCloy ’16 Professor of History at Amherst College, lecturer in government at Dartmouth College, and as Professor in the Practice of International Relations at Colby College. Most recently, he has written and provided commentary on the US policy toward the war in Ukraine.
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 Urkaine as well as articles on Vladimir Putin, the political cult of WWII, right-wing populism in Russia and Turkey, and US-Russian Parternships in Science. She is co-director of the MISTI MIT-Eurasia Program.
Co-sponsors: MIT Center for International Studies (CIS), MIT Security Studies Program (SSP), MISTI MIT-Russia
Free & open to the public
Also watch it on YouTube.
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China and Japan in the Global Politics of Climate Change
Monday, October 17
12:00pm to 1:15pm
Online Only
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMsf-qrqT0iE9UdZh57eJGY0b9_qfXxcDWM
Kelly Gallagher, Academic Dean; Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy; Director, Climate Policy Lab; Co-Director, Center for International Environment & Resource Policy, The Fletcher School Tufts University
Miranda Schreurs, Professor of Environment and Climate Policy, School of Government, Bavarian School of Public Policy, Technical University of Munich
Moderator: Christina L. Davis, Director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations; Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, Department of Government; and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
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Seeing the forest beneath the trees: Mycorrhizal fungi as trait integrators of ecosystem processes
Thursday, October 20
3:30pm
Hybrid: Biological Laboratories 1080, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge and Online
RSVP at https://oeb.harvard.edu/event/oeb-seminar-series-richard-phillips
Richard Phillips, Professor, Department of Biology, Science Director, Research and Teaching Preserve, Indiana University Bloomington
Abstract: Global environmental change is shifting the distribution and abundances of species globally; yet, the ecosystem consequences of such profound change are poorly understood. Here, I present a framework that seeks to unify the heterogeneity of plant-microbe-soil interactions in forests, as a means for predicting the impacts of community change. The Mycorrhizal-Associated Nutrient Economy (MANE) hypothesis predicts that species that associate with different types of mycorrhizal fungi possess an integrated suite of nutrient-use traits that lead to the maintenance of biogeochemical syndromes in forests. Specifically, it predicts that trees that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi possess nutrient acquisitive traits (e.g., fast-decaying litters and nutrient scavenging), such that soils dominated by AM trees contain greater abundances of N-cycling microbes, accelerated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses via leaching and gaseous efflux, and enhanced C and N retention via mineral stabilization. By contrast, trees that associate with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi possess nutrient conservative traits (e.g., slow-decaying litters and nutrient mining), such that soils dominated by ECM trees are characterized by high fungal to bacterial ratios, slow C and N cycling, and limited C and N stabilization to minerals. To test MANE, I combined observations, experiments, syntheses and modeling in forest stands across the US, and examined the effects of trait variation and community composition on ecosystem processes. I found strong support for MANE in temperate forests (relative to boreal and sub-tropical/tropical forests), and in eastern forests relative to western forests. The response variables that most consistently track the relative abundance of AM vs. ECM trees are soil variables, and mycorrhizal dominance is a good predictor of forest sensitivity to numerous global change factors. Given that these dynamics appear to be detectable by remote sensing and can be incorporated into large-scale models, the MANE framework can serve as a useful tool for predicting forest response to global change. Finally, I discuss key knowledge gaps pertaining to MANE, specifically the need for: improved quantification of the costs/benefits of mycorrhizal-mediated nutrient uptake, an enhanced understanding of root-microbe effects on soil organic matter formation, stabilization and turnover, and increased knowledge about how mycorrhizal community composition affect forest productivity. Collectively, these results suggest that shifts in the relative abundance of AM and ECM trees will likely have profound implications for how forests function and the services they provide.
The hybrid seminar will take place in the Biological Laboratories, Room 1080. Registration is required to attend via Zoom. Please note, Zoom attendees are muted during the talk, but are able to ask questions during Q&A.
Editorial Comment: Mycorrhizal fungi has been a topic of great interest to all the ecological designers and soil scientists I know for decades. Understanding soil systems and the carbon cycle is of utmost importance in dealing with climate.
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The Ocean’s Natural Way to Stop Climate Change
Thursday, October 20
6:30pm
New England Aquarium, Simons Theatre 1 Central Wharf, Boston, MA
RSVP at http://support.neaq.org/site/Calendar?id=108586&view=Detail
The John H. Carlson Lecture featuring Caltech Professor Jess Adkins, PhD ’98
With the burning of fossil fuels, the human race is conducting an experiment of unprecedented magnitude—carbon dioxide (CO2) is warming the planet and we are not sure how this will turn out. Even as we move to electrify the economy and leave fossil fuels behind, we must find ways to remove CO2 from the Earth’s atmosphere to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. Reducing CO2 emissions alone is no longer enough. In this talk, Dr. Adkins—a chemical oceanographer who studies the history of the Earth’s climate—will share how a project that started with the basic science question of ‘How quickly do corals dissolve when the ocean acidifies?’ turned into a possible way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at scale.
Free and open to the public. Students and families welcome.
Doors open at 5:30pm with exhibits from MIT students and climate scientists in the Simons Theatre lobby.
About the Speaker
Jess Adkins is the Smits Family Professor of Geochemistry and Global Environmental Science in the California Institute of Technology's Department of Environmental Science and Engineering. As a chemical oceanographer, Adkins focuses on geochemical investigations of past climates using corals, sediments, and their interstitial waters; rate of deep ocean circulation and its relation to mechanisms of rapid climate changes; metals as tracers of environmental processes; and radiocarbon and U-series chronology. After completing a bachelor's degree in chemistry at Haverford College, Adkins earned his PhD in 1998 studying chemical oceanography, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry in the MIT–Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Adkins joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 2000.
About the Series
The John H. Carlson Lecture Series communicates exciting new results in climate science. Free of charge and open to the general public, the lecture is made possible by a generous gift from MIT alumnus John H. Carlson to the Lorenz Center in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT, and is presented in partnership with the New England Aquarium and the Lowell Institute.
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Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective
Monday, October 24
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Online via Media Central Live
RSVP at https://environment.princeton.edu/event/bradford-seminar-getting-to-net-zero-a-canadian-perspective/
Simon Donner, a professor of climatology at the University of British Columbia, will present “Getting to Net-Zero: A Canadian Perspective.” This seminar will be held in-person (PUID holders only) and available via livestream (open to all).
Donner will discuss the Canadian government’s approach to achieving its recently passed goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, which requires shifting from incremental to transformational public policy in a physically large country with decentralized governance and a substantial fossil fuel industry. He will examine the lessons for American climate action based on his work as a member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which was created to advise the federal government on realizing its 2050 goal.
This event is part of the David Bradford Energy and Environmental Policy Seminar Series organized by the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE) in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and co-sponsored by the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI)
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Environmental Justice in an Age of Upheaval
Thursday, October 27
12:00-1:00pm
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room and Online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NaZH9SNoTQOLmxbTRBtHmQ
David Bond, Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College
COVID-19 withdrew government oversight of many dirty industries. Some industries found this an opportune moment to dump pollution into nearby communities with brazen disregard for environmental law and public health. The talk describes how engaged social research helped shine an unflattering light on the pandemic negligence of a hazardous waste incinerator in upstate NY and a mammoth refinery in the Caribbean. Anthropology – as a method of inquiry and as a matter of emphasis – came to play an instrumental role in broadcasting both sites into national news and federal deliberation, and effectively demanding change. This talk also reflects on: 1) the pursuit of justice within a complicit system; 2) the ability of anthropology to build common ground in an age of upheaval; and 3) following the example of frontline residents, insists on revolutionary hope in dark times.
David Bond teaches anthropology and the environment at Bennington College, where he also helps direct the Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). Bond is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on the scientific measurement and political management of the disastrous qualities of crude oil. He has conducted ethnographic research on leaky refineries in the Caribbean, on the figure of the Keystone XL Pipeline, corporate social responsibility in the tar sands of Alberta, and the scientific and political response to the BP Oil Spill. Bond is currently working on three projects: a critical history of the category of the environment; a collaborative ethnography on the ends of oil in northern Alaska; and a community-engaged response to the discovery of the chemical PFOA in Bennington, VT, and Hoosick Falls, NY. His research has been supported by Wenner Gren, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and the National Science Foundation; his publications have appeared in Anthropology Now, Cultural Anthropology, and American Ethnologist. Bond holds a PhD in Anthropology from the New School for Social Research. He has taught on the environment and public action at Bennington since 2013 and is the associate director of the Elizabeth Coleman Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). He is also co-founder of the Bennington College Prison Education Initiative.
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Planning Transformational Coastal Adaptation with a Climate Justice Lens
Monday, October 31
10:00am to 11:30am
Northeastern, Renaissance Park, 310R 1135 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02120
Julia Hopkins (Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Laura Kuhl (School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs)
Attend a series of in-person public talks and brainstorms led by collaborators on BARI-affiliated projects. Your attendance and insights will help to build stronger projects and partnerships across disciplines and in our local communities.
More information at https://calendar.northeastern.edu/event/planning_transformational_coastal_adaptation_with_a_climate_justice_lens_by_julia_hopkins_civil_and_environmental_engineering_and_laura_kuhl_school_of_public_policy_and_urban_affairs#.YzPO9i2ZOiI
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**Events**
African Perspectives on Climate and Climate Adaptation in Eygpt
Monday, October 3
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
RSVP at https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n1Okquq6Qv6qXfp50zCR7w
In November 2022, Egypt will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27), the UN’s annual conference on climate change. The country finds itself in an important position. Egypt as the host country will be looked upon to be a strong voice for the Global South and help further just energy transitions in growing economies. Moreover, Egyptian perspectives on climate adaptation can also help shed light on the priorities of many other developing countries and emerging markets.
The Center on Global Energy Policy will host a panel of Egyptian experts drawn from academia, international organization, and civil society to share their views on the inter-linked challenges of energy governance, water management, and public services delivery in Africa's most urbanized state against a background of sea-level rises, erratic climate financing, and growing water scarcity.
Moderator: Dr. Harry Verhoeven, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Panelists:
Dr. Lama El Hatow, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Mohamed Nada, World Bank Group
Eng Mohamed Kamal, Greenish Foundation
This webinar will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with access details. The event will be recorded and the video recording will be added to our website following the event.
This event is open to press, and registration is required to attend. For media inquiries or requests for interviews, please contact Natalie Volk (nv2388@columbia.edu).
For more information about the event, please contact energypolicyevents@columbia.edu.
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Energy Insecurity and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tuesday, October 4
12:00PM - 1:30PM
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/energy-insecurity-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-registration-416840891327
Energy insecurity, or the inability to pay one’s energy bills, is a problem facing millions of American households. In this lecture, Sanya Carley discusses the results from a four-wave survey that she and her coauthors administered to a representative sample of low-income U.S. households during the COVID-19 pandemic. She examines the findings on the prevalence of energy insecurity, the factors that contribute to it, what strategies households use to cope when facing energy insecurity, and how well temporary protections help energy insecure households. Carley also considers a set of reflections and recommendations on policy and scholarship.
Speaker
Sanya Carley is the Paul H. O’Neill Professor and Director of the Master of Public Affairs programs at Indiana University. Carley is a 2022-2023 Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar.
Moderator
Shelley Welton is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law and Energy Policy with the Kleinman Center and Penn Carey Law. Her research focuses on how climate change is transforming energy and environmental law and governance.
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Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power
Wednesday, October 5
9am - 10am EST (12:00 - 1:00 p.m. AZ Time)
RSVP at https://asu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ca1hHFL-Tvy9leOBARztPg
Join us for a virtual discussion with L. Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell, social entrepreneur, and former White House official.
In her new book, Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power, Moore argues we don’t have to wait for new legislation or technologies to begin our work to bring the far-reaching benefits of clean power to small communities, particularly in rural America. Michelle describes five pathways to clean power in rural America and strategies for achieving them.
Moderated by Lauren Withycombe Keeler, assistant professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, this event is in partnership with Island Press, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that shines a spotlight on crucial issues and focuses attention on sustainable solutions.
You can purchase Rural Renaissance from the independently owned Changing Hands Bookstore.
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Deploying the Synergies Between Energy Access and Sustainable Development
Digital Zukunftssalon in the "The Forces of Transformation” series
Thursday, October 6
4:30 AM - 6:00 AM EDT (10.30 am to 12.00 pm CET)
RSVP at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/218475582309100300
Securing universal access to clean and reliable energy is a critical milestone for both: realising the just and green transformations of our energy systems and achieving the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted through the Agenda 2030.
On 6 October 2022 the Wuppertal Institute will hold a digital Zukunftssalon from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm CET as part of the "The Forces of Transformation" series to dive deeper into "Deploying the synergies between energy access and sustainable development".
By 2020 730 Million people still lived without access to electricity and almost a third of the world population relied on inefficient and unhealthy fuels and technologies for cooking their daily meals. Overcoming these energy inequalities and marginalisation is one of the core tasks for the realisation of just energy transitions. Moreover, energy marginalisation not only implies living conditions out of the reach of energy infrastructures. Very often it is also linked to poor access to other basic services, such as health, education, water, sanitation, transport and communication networks. And energy is often key for securing the provision of such services. Indeed energy is inextricably linked to virtually all other sustainable development goals (SDGs).
In the last decade, important advances have been achieved in attending the energy needs of marginalised population. However, the current pace of change is insufficient for reaching universal access to electricity, clean fuels, and technologies for cooking by 2030, as set under the SDG7. Moreover, the dynamics in other SDGs is similarly worrying. Therefore, more than ever before it is important to understand and effectively deploy the synergies between energy access and other sustainable development dimensions. In principle, energy can (em)power practically any component of the livelihoods of people. However, achieving real and long-lasting impacts remains a crucial challenge.
What are those general synergies between energy access and other SDGs?
How can energy access projects recognise and effectively attend the context-specific development opportunities, motivations and challenges of the involved communities?
What are the factors that influence the actual impact on sustainable development from energy access projects?
In this digital Zukunftssalon Dr. Long Seng To, Joint Director of the Centre for Sustainable Transitions: Energy, Environment and Resilience (STEER) at Loughborough University, and Dr. Julia C. Terrapon-Pfaff, Co-Head of the Research Unit International Energy Transitions at the Wuppertal Institute, will discuss both conceptual advances and evidence from empirical research about how energy access interventions can effectively spark sustainable development of the involved communities. The online seminar will be hosted by Dr. Willington Ortiz, Researcher in the Research Unit International Energy Transitions at the Wuppertal Institute.
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Global Refugee Crisis: What can scientists and engineers do to ease the suffering and protect the vulnerable?
Thursday, October 6
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
RSVP at https://trusted.bu.edu/s/1759/2-bu/19/1col.aspx?sid=1759&gid=2&pgid=11886&cid=22801
Speakers Muhammad H. Zaman, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and International Health Director, Center on Forced Displacement
The UN refugee agency estimated earlier this year that more than 100 million people are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, and climate change. Since then, the number has continued to increase due to ongoing war in Ukraine, economic devastation in Afghanistan, floods in Pakistan and protracted crises in many other places. While this is one of the great global challenges of our time, historically, the issues surrounding refugees have been looked at from the lens of international relations or humanitarian aid, with science and engineering research playing a minimal role. Research at Boston University aims to change this paradigm. In this talk, Professor Zaman will discuss some of his work in the lab, in the field, and in the classroom that aims to address this issue: innovative approaches that are being developed and utilized in refugee camps and urban informal settlements for disease surveillance and better access to healthcare among the most vulnerable, policy recommendations that we have been a part of in multiple countries hosting refugees and internally displaced communities, and pedagogical strategies developed at BU to train more informed, well-rounded, socially conscious and ethical leaders of the future.
Contact Name Kati Reusche
Phone 617-353-6044
Contact Email kreusche@bu.edu
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Wholehearted Regeneration: Boosting Communal and Climate Resilience One Pocket Forest at a Time
Thursday, October 6
3 – 4:30pm ET
Cambridge Public Library, Main Branch, 449 Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at https://bio4climate.org/events/cambridge-science-festival-talk/?blm_aid=25138
On Thursday, October 6, we are joining the Cambridge Science Festival’s climate hub to share insights on ecosystem restoration and urban rewilding.
Maya Dutta, Assistant Director of Regenerative Projects at Bio4Climate will share her work on Miyawaki Forests, which includes caring for the first forest of this kind planted in the Northeast US in Danehy Park, Cambridge in September 2021. She will share the story of that project and ongoing rewilding work in the Greater Boston area and beyond, and discuss how this method and other forms of ecosystem restoration can build community resilience, equity, and wellbeing while addressing global climate change.
This presentation and Q&A session will run for approximately an hour and a half, from
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Governing the 'China Boom' in the Amazon Basin: Social and Environmental Regulation Amid A Commodity Supercycle
Tuesday, October 11
9:00 am to 10:00 am
RSVP at https://bostonu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0M4otLYVQJeZgs9Kz3Zv3w
Latin America’s recent commodity 'supercycle,' a synchronized and sustained price increase lasting more than five years, was largely driven by a major influx in Chinese investment, finance and demand for raw materials. Throughout that boom – and the slump that followed – Amazon basin countries sought to balance economic, social and environmental priorities by strengthening and then relaxing their regulatory regimes. To what extent has the cooling of the 'China boom' led to a region-wide relaxation of social and environmental standards? And where protections were relaxed, did those reforms lead to greater, faster or higher-risk Chinese investment? In forthcoming research, Paulo Esteves, Coordinator, Socio-Environmental Platform and the Global South Unit for Mediation, BRICS Policy Center of the PontifÃcia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, and Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher with the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, explore the implications for managing environmental and social protections amid natural resource booms, protecting the cultural and biological diversity of the Amazon basin and promoting host country governance throughout the Belt and Road Initiative
Join us on Tuesday, October 11, for a discussion on governing the 'China boom' in the Amazon basin. This webinar is part of the Fall 2022 Global China Research Colloquium.
Speakers:Paulo Esteves, Coordinator, Socio-Environmental Platform and the Global South Unit for Mediation, BRICS Policy Center of the PontifÃcia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Rebecca Ray, Senior Academic Researcher, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
Cecilia Springer (Moderator), Assistant Director, Global China Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
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Research and development for the public good: Strengthening societal innovation
Tuesday, October 11
10:00 AM EDT - 11:00 AM EDT
RSVP at https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-research-and-development
Join the conversation on Twitter using #USInnovation
Investments in research and development (R&D) are important keys to future prosperity. What countries spend on generating new knowledge, products, services, and processes is important for economic development and technology innovation.
Yet currently there are a number of barriers to R&D support in the United States. There exist limitations in terms of vision, strategy, and policies that could keep America from achieving vital national goals. A new report by Governance Studies Vice President Darrell West will address these barriers and outline ways to strengthen societal innovation in the United States, and do more to safeguard the country’s future.
On October 11, join Governance Studies at Brookings for an in-depth discussion on how to invest in R&D for the public good.
Viewers can submit questions for speakers by emailing events@brookings.edu or via Twitter at @BrookingsGov by using #USInnovation.
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Pedagogy of the Rainforest: An Indigenous Yanomami Perspective
Wednesday, October 12
12 PM ET
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-emil-keme-fellow-presentation-virtual
"Ancestral principles held by Indigenous peoples represent the grounding force against environmental injustices and destruction in Abiayala (The Americas). By focusing on The Falling Sky (2013), a testimonial and biographical account by Indigenous Yanomami elder, Davi Kopenawa, I show the Yanomami’s relationship to the rainforest and the 'more than human' world (Abram 2013) in the Amazonian forests in the northeast region of present-day Brazil and Venezuela. Indigenous peoples and their worldview demonstrate to humanity a different way of living and caring for the Earth, one that understands the Earth and all their expressions as a living being and that humanity is not separate from nature.”
Emil’ Keme, a.k.a. Emilio del Valle Escalante, is an Indigenous K’iche’ Maya scholar and activist and a professor in the Department of English at Emory University. He is a member of the Maya anti-colonial, binational collective Ix’balamquej Junajpu Wunaq’.
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Great Decisions | Outer Space
Wednesday, October 12
6:00 PM 7:30 PM
Boston Public Library, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02116
RSVP at https://www.worldboston.org/calendar/2022/10/12/outer-space
The launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 marked the beginning of the space era and of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, there are many more participants in space, including countries such as India and China, and commercial companies such as SpaceX. How will the United States fare in a crowded outer space?
Join us for a discussion of this complex topic with Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator of NASA.
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
This program will simultaneously be streamed to Zoom from 6:00 to 7:00 PM ET.
Copies of Lori Garver's recently published memoir, Escaping Gravity, will be available for purchase at the event.
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Disinformation and free speech: perspectives on the future of information
Thursday, October 13
12:00pm to 1:30pm
MIT, Building 14, The Nexus, Hayden Library (Room 14S-130), 160 MEMORIAL DR, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disinformation-and-free-speech-perspectives-on-the-future-of-information-tickets-425870238347
Political discourse depends on the sharing of accurate information and an open exchange of ideas. Can we have both?
A panel of experts from a range of disciplines will share their perspectives on how fact, fiction, and opinion converge, diverge, and occasionally collide. Based on their research, the speakers will share their views on how access to accurate information aligns with free speech; how we can help people evaluate information; and much more.
Panelists:
Adam Berinsky, Mitsui Professor of Political Science and Director of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab
David Karger, Professor of Computer Science and member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
David Rand, Erwin H. Schell Professor and Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT
Moderator: Alexia Hudson-Ward, Associate Director of Research and Learning, MIT Libraries
In-person event is open to current MIT community members only; lunch will be provided to in-person attendees who pre-register.
Live stream is available to anyone. Link will be emailed to registrants prior to the event. Streaming will begin at 12:15pm.
Pre-register for either option here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disinformation-and-free-speech-perspectives-on-the-future-of-information-tickets-425870238347
A link to the recording will be emailed to all registrants when it becomes available.
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Brain, Body + Breath
Saturday, October 15
7:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Cambridge MA 02142
RSVP at https://tickets.mitmuseum.org/events/0f8f0038-981f-adc1-06d6-d3e9d8056834
Lower Level Seated - $20
Upper Level General Admission - $5
Seating is limited. Advance purchase is strongly recommended.
Brain, Body + Breath is a multisensory musical experience created by composer and innovator Tod Machover for the opening of the new MIT Museum.
Featuring three Machover world premieres, the concert explores the ways that music affects our bodies and minds while we produce, create or listen to sound.
The three compositions will be accompanied by spectacular graphics by Peter Torpey and performed by a handpicked ensemble of young New York-based soloists, led by violinist Marina Kifferstein. Tod Machover will conduct.
need for affordable, climate-resilient housing in all markets across the country.
This forum is in a hybrid format. Attendees will have the option of being in-person, networking at the Louis D. Brandeis Conference Center at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, or tuning in virtually.
Speakers:
Jane Carbone, LEED AP, Director of Development, Homeowners' Rehab Inc.
David Downs, Vice President, Catholic Charities POP (Progress of Peoples) Development Corporation
Lee Reiners, Policy Director, Duke Financial Economics Center
Laurie Schoeman, Director, Climate and Sustainability, Capital Enterprise Community Partners
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Nouriel Roubini: Megathreats
Tuesday, October 18
12pm EDT (3:00 PM PDT)
RSVP at https://commonwealthclub.secure.force.com/ticket/?_ga=2.166293049.620828836.1664163783-149928173.1643172478#/instances/a0F3j00001YTzcIEAT
Cost: $10
In the 1970s, the United States faced stagflation: high rates of inflation combined with stagnant employment and growth. Global economist Nouriel Roubini predicts we are heading toward another Great Stagflation that will be difficult to recover from.
Is it too late to avoid this economic catastrophe? Financial and geopolitical certainties that we once took for granted have disappeared, and Roubini says we are now facing a period of severe instability, conflict and chaos. He offers a sobering analysis of 10 "megathreats" that are interconnected, immense in scale, and bearing down on us.
Hear more as Roubini predicts what is likely to unfold if we don’t reverse course and act now.
NOTES
This program is online-only. Please pre-register to receive a link to the live-stream event.
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A Pale Blue Dot under Pressure: Climate Change, Justice, and Resilience in Our Rapidly Warming World
Friday, October 21
9:15 AM–4:30 PM ET
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 and online
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-a-pale-blue-dot-under-pressure-symposium
Climate change is one of the, if not the, most significant threats facing our planet today. It affects life on Earth in countless known, and many still unknown, ways—from atmospheric health to wellness; natural ecosystems to small businesses; global security to neighborhood food insecurity; and international policy to individual decision-making—while exacerbating underlying patterns of inequality.
The Mike and Nina Patterson Science Symposium will explore these interconnected issues through sessions investigating global climate systems and climate disasters, public policy, health, climate justice and activism, and methods of adaptation and remediation.
The program will begin with a keynote address on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 4 PM. Please return to this page for additional information in the coming weeks.
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MIT Energy Night 2022
Friday, October 21
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM EDT
MIT Museum 314 Main Street Building E-28 Cambridge, MA 02142
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-energy-night-2022-tickets-418033769257
MIT Energy Night is the first flagship event of the MIT Energy and Climate Club. It showcases close to 40 interactive presentations highlighting MIT’s unique innovation in climate and energy, annually drawing over 1,000 attendees. Presenters include MIT research labs, early-stage start-ups, and other climate and energy-focused companies.
Energy Night is free and open to the public. This is a great opportunity to witness the cutting-edge energy research developing across MIT’s ecosystem and spark conversations with students, researchers, faculty, and industry leaders.
You can find out more by visiting our website at https://www.mitec-night.org/
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Environmental, Energy, and Engineering Career Fair
October 24
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm EST
John B. Hynes Convention Center, Junior Ballroom, 302 & 304, 900 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02115
RSVP at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ejby3x4b3360f40a&llr=jrtn7kqab
The Career Fair is free for all students and job seekers to attend.
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Trauma to Transformation: A Set of Existential Opportunities to Address Environmental Justice and the Climate Crisis
Tuesday, October 25
4 PM ET
Harvard, Radcliffe Institute, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 OR Online on Zoom
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2022-mustafa-santiago-ali-lecture
Mustafa Santiago Ali will discuss opportunities to address environmental justice and the climate crisis as part of the Kim and Judy Davis Dean’s Lecture Series and Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s focus area on climate change.
Speaker
A thought leader, international speaker, policy maker, community liaison, trainer, and facilitator, Mustafa Santiago Ali is the vice president of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. Before joining NWF, he was the senior vice president of the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC), a national nonprofit organization, where he led the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of HHC’s portfolio on climate, environmental justice, and community revitalization.
Ali previously worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 24 years, beginning as a student at age 16. He was a founding member of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and most recently served as senior advisor for environmental justice and community revitalization and assistant associate administrator. He has lectured at over 100 colleges and universities, including Howard, Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, and Spelman. Ali currently serves as a board member of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Union of Concerned Scientists, TREE, Roddenberry Foundation, and Climate Hawks Vote. He is a cohost of HHC’s radio show and podcast, The Coolest Show.
Ali uses a holistic approach to revitalizing vulnerable communities, helping them to move from surviving to thriving. Throughout his career, he has worked with more than 500 domestic and international communities to secure environmental, health, and economic justice.
Discussant
Stephanie LeMenager RI ‘17, Barbara and Carlisle Moore Professor of English and Environmental Studies, University of Oregon
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Energy Seminar: Lauren Culver, Senior Energy Specialist, The World Bank
Monday, October 31
1:30pm - 2:30pm ET (4:30pm to 5:20pm PT)
https://stanford-pilot.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=389f460e-1741-41c2-bc16-af1501842447
Lauren Culver is an energy specialist with the World Bank. From 2012-2014, she served as an advisor within the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources advising U.S. policymakers on energy markets and technologies. Previously, Lauren was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she counseled the Undersecretary for Energy on innovation and manufacturing. Lauren earned a PhD in Management and Science and Engineering from Stanford University, an MS in Technology and Policy and an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from MIT, and a BS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Florida.
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Wet + Dry: Landscapes of Resilience and Material Exploration
Thursday, November 3
6:30 – 8 p.m.
Harvard, Gund Hall, Piper Auditorium, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
Surfacedesign is a landscape architecture and urban design firm based in San Francisco, California. This internationally award-winning practice focuses on creating dynamic parks, campuses, plazas, waterfronts, civic landscapes and private gardens. The firm’s approach emphasizes and celebrates the unique context and imaginative potential of each project. The studio’s design process is rooted in asking novel questions and listening to a site and its users – a process that has led to engaging and inspiring landscapes that are rugged, contemporary, and crafted.
Increasingly, water has become a central focus of all landscape interventions. Holistic, systems-based design thinking that actively engages water extremes—from drought to flooding/sea level rise— is at the core of Surfacedesign’s practice. Challenging the formal manifestations of municipal guidelines and standards for water management, each project engages water as an integral design element. James and Roderick will share a range of work from the residential to the infrastructural. These works celebrate water systems and explore how planting, topography and cultural narratives can reinforce water resiliency.
Speakers
James A. Lord, FASLA, Partner, Surfacedesign Inc
James A. Lord is a founding partner of Surfacedesign, Inc. James’ innovative design approach and stewardship of the firm’s design practice has established Surfacedesign as an international leader in urban design and sustainability. He leads projects in New Zealand, Hawaii, Mexico, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. James received his MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and his BARCH from the University of Southern California.
Roderick Wyllie, FASLA, Partner, Surfacedesign Inc
Roderick Wyllie is an award-winning landscape architect and a founding partner of Surfacedesign, Inc. Roderick has led a variety of complex projects within the office, including the Uber Campus in Mission Bay, San Francisco’s Bayfront Park, The Land’s End Visitor Center, The Barnacles at Pier 9 and Expedia Global Headquarters in Seattle. His horticultural knowledge and passion for material authenticity reinforce craftsmanship and attention to detail into each project at Surfacedesign.
More information at https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/event/james-a-lord-and-roderick-wyllie-of-surfacedesign-wet-dry-landscapes-of-resilience-and-material-exploration/