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
http://zeronetenrg.blogspot.com - zero net energy links list
http://cityag.blogspot.com - city agriculture links list
http://geometrylinks.blogspot.com - geometry links list
http://hubevents.blogspot.com - Energy (and Other) Events
http://www.dailykos.com/user/gmoke/history - articles, ideas, and screeds
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Index
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Sunrise Boston Get Together and Open Hub Meeting
Sunday, June 30
5:30PM
Lincoln Park, Somerville, MA
RSVP at bit.ly/SunBosInterest
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Scientist Rebellion English-language welcome meeting
Monday, July 1
1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAod-qhrD4iG9RWzSgZkskwuK_Fr4oSrJwe#/registration
Also Monday, July 8, July 15, July 22 at the same time and Zoom registration
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IRENA National Energy Transition Planning Dashboard
Tuesday, July 2
8am EDT [14:00 – 14:30 CET | 16:00 – 16:30 GST]
Online
RSVP at https://irena-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6dXUxeieS66iaIkv_dqs7A#/registration
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Green Iron Corridors
Tuesday, July 2
9-10:30 a.m. ET
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-green-iron-corridors/
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Healing Our Land & Our Climate!
July 9 – September 24
Tuesdays: 12 noon -or- 7 pm ET
Next Introductory Session: July 2 at 12 noon
Online
RSVP at https://bio4climate.org/course-offerings/healing-our-land-and-our-climate/?blm_aid=25138
Cost: $0 - $250
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How to process ammonia as hydrogen carrier for energy generation
Tuesday, July 9
9am EDT [3 p.m. - 4 p.m. CEST]
Online
RSVP at https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/events/webinar-h2-carrier-ammonia-2024.html
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Spotlighting Cost-Effective and Scalable Solutions to Reduce Methane in the Agriculture Sector
Thursday, July 11
8am EDT [14:00 - 15:00 (Paris)]
Online
RSVP at https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/36ed7d06-1eb8-41cd-9adc-4ee98a712da2@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70
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Introducing a major new version of Low Emissions Analysis Platform [LEAP]
Thursday, July 11
9–10:30 a.m. EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.sei.org/events/major-new-version-leap/
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Advanced nuclear energy – Electricity and beyond
Thursday, July 11
2:00pm to 3:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pqbUZFk0SB-Gx6cgQpJkWg#/registration
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Youth Action for Climate and Clean Air Now
Friday, July 12
08:00 - 09:30
Online
RSVP at https://www.ccacoalition.org/events/youth-action-climate-and-clean-air-now
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Ferris Jabr, author of Becoming Earth, in conversation with Deborah Blum
Tuesday, July 16
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge, MA 02140
RSVP at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/ferris-jabr-author-becoming-earth-conversation-deborah-blum
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Introducing a major new version of Low Emissions Analysis Platform [LEAP]
Thursday, July 17
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.sei.org/events/major-new-version-leap/
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Advance Film Screening: Force of Water
Wednesday, July 17
6:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142
RSVP at https://tickets.mitmuseum.org/events/01900802-8266-f31f-263f-5b7dec05a6ff
Cost: $15 General Public; $5 MIT ID Holders
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Carbon & Energy Special Roundtable: The Future of Mass Save Incentives
Thursday, July 18
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Online
RSVP at https://builtenvironmentplus.org/event/carbon-energy-roundtable-7-18/
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What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic
Thursday, July 18
5:30 - 6:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-happens-in-the-arctic-doesnt-stay-in-the-arctic-tickets-928574741047
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Climate Justice = Migrant Justice
Monday, July 22
1 - 2:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-justice-migrant-justice-tickets-927809732887
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Disability and Climate Justice: Moving Together for Our Futures
Tuesday, July 23
7 - 9pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disability-and-climate-justice-moving-together-for-our-futures-tickets-925360677697
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Healthy Building Tour
Thursday, July 25
5:30pm – 6:30pm, Happy Hour: 6:30 – 8:00pm
Location: TBA
RSVP at https://builtenvironmentplus.org/event/health-and-wellness-roundtable-7-25/
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The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking
Friday, July 26
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tickets
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/shannon_vallor/
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Climate Resilience at the Local Level
Tuesday, July 30
3 - 4pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-resilience-at-the-local-level-tickets-885902647667
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Events
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Sunrise Boston Get Together and Open Hub Meeting
Sunday, June 30
5:30PM
Lincoln Park, Somerville, MA
RSVP at bit.ly/SunBosInterest
This will be a place to hangout, get to know each other, and maybe even YOU. So come and join us!
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Scientist Rebellion English-language welcome meeting
Monday, July 1
1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAod-qhrD4iG9RWzSgZkskwuK_Fr4oSrJwe#/registration
Also Monday, July 8, July 15, July 22 at the same time and Zoom registration
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IRENA National Energy Transition Planning Dashboard
Tuesday, July 2
8am EDT [14:00 – 14:30 CET | 16:00 – 16:30 GST]
Online
RSVP at https://irena-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6dXUxeieS66iaIkv_dqs7A#/registration
The IRENA National Energy Transition Planning Dashboard is a global repository of official energy planning documents and modelling tools developed and/or used by governmental institutions for official planning purposes. It provides information for government planners, enabling them to benchmark their practices against their peers and learn about the activities of their counterparts.
The data in the dashboard was partly collected through surveys shared with government officials and complemented through desktop research where necessary. The Dashboard currently features 113 National Planning Documents from 73 countries and is constantly expanding.
Featured speakers:
Angela Mutsotso, Associate Professional,Clean Energy Transition Scenarios
Juan Jose Garcia, Programme Officer, Clean Energy Transition Scenarios
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Green Iron Corridors
Tuesday, July 2
9-10:30 a.m. ET
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-green-iron-corridors/
The Green Hydrogen Catapult is investigating the viability of green iron pathways by linking major iron ore producing regions with abundant renewable energy sources to importers with advanced steelmaking capabilities.
Our recent analysis suggests that establishing Green Iron Trade Corridors could unlock considerable cost saving potential for importers whilst serving as a scaling vector for green hydrogen trade. Join us in a webinar to understand this concept, its benefits, and challenges, including remarks from Dolf Gielen and Megan Meyer of The World Bank. For a sneak peak, take a look at our article jointly published with Green Hydrogen Catapult discussing Green Iron Corridors and their crucial role in reducing carbon emissions in the steel industry.
SPEAKERS
DEAN BIALEK, CWP Global
KAITLYN RAMIREZ, RMI
QUAILAN HOMANN, Associate, Climate-Aligned Industries
SASCHA FLESCH, Manager, Global South
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Healing Our Land & Our Climate!
July 9 – September 24
Tuesdays: 12 noon -or- 7 pm ET
Next Introductory Session: July 2 at 12 noon
Online
RSVP at https://bio4climate.org/course-offerings/healing-our-land-and-our-climate/?blm_aid=25138
Cost: $0 - $250
In order to heal our climate, we must FIRST heal our land. In order to heal the land, we must restore the health of the soil, and the health of each of Earth’s ecosystems including the forests, grasslands and wetlands.
During this course, we will explore the power of healthy soil and ecosystems to prevent flooding, drought, wildfires, and extreme heat, remove carbon from the atmosphere, and deliver nutrients to our plants, making them healthy, resilient and nutritious. We will learn how to make the soil healthy, and discover how healing the land increases our access to clean water and increases food security in our communities. We will also explore communication strategies we can use to become effective at sharing these solutions in our conversations with others.
Join Hart Hagan for this course on Healing Our Land & Our Climate! to discover how you can implement or advocate for these critical solutions to restore a livable climate.
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How to process ammonia as hydrogen carrier for energy generation
Tuesday, July 9
9am EDT [3 p.m. - 4 p.m. CEST]
Online
RSVP at https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/events/webinar-h2-carrier-ammonia-2024.html
Speaker: Dr. Tobias WeissenbergerHydrogen is a crucial energy carrier for the transition of the global industry, transport and energy sectors from fossil fuels to carbon-free energy sources. However, hydrogen has a very low volumetric energy density which makes its transport and storage challenging. Hydrogen carriers such as ammonia can mitigate this problem. Ammonia is carbon free, contains 17.6% hydrogen, has a much higher energy density compared to hydrogen and can be liquified at a moderate pressure of about 9 bar at 20.0°C.
Furthermore, ammonia is the second most widely produced chemical and its transport in large quantities by land and sea is daily practice, for this reason the technology and safety procedures are well established. At site of demand the ammonia can be cracked to release hydrogen and nitrogen. While fuel cell applications require purification of the hydrogen and promise highest system efficiency, ammonia/hydrogen mixtures produced by partial cracking of ammonia can also directly be fed into internal combustion engines and turbines.
Hence, ammonia cracking will foreseeably become an important process for hydrogen generation for decentralized and mobile applications. At Fraunhofer IMM we develop ammonia cracking systems applying proprietary catalyst and reactor technology. The reactors are designed as microstructured heat exchanger reactors with catalyst coating and enable the use of off-gasses from the hydrogen purification for heating via catalytic combustion. Additionally, the reactors offer better heat management and catalyst utilization compared to conventional reactors and are therefore much more compact.
In our webinar, we will give you an insight into our expertise in the ammonia cracking technology. We show you possibilities how you can benefit from our experience as a facility for applied research and development with us as a partner.
The presentation will be held in English.
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Spotlighting Cost-Effective and Scalable Solutions to Reduce Methane in the Agriculture Sector
Thursday, July 11
8am EDT [14:00 - 15:00 (Paris)]
Online
RSVP at https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/36ed7d06-1eb8-41cd-9adc-4ee98a712da2@0f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70
Climate change and air pollution increasingly threaten food production and supply, making the challenge of ending hunger and malnutrition more difficult than ever. Reducing super-pollutants (like methane, nitrous oxide, and black carbon) will quickly reduce air pollution and climate change with immediate benefits for food security.
Solutions in the agriculture sector exist, including improved feeding, breeding for improved productivity and lower methane emissions, and better veterinary care. Each are well-documented, but substantial capacity, finance, and awareness barriers remain — particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Digital agricultural extension services and results-based payments provide an opportunity to reduce barriers to adoption of these practices by derisking farmer investment and improving access to agricultural knowledge.
At this event, leading countries in the UNEP-convened Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) will launch an agriculture sector brief on ‘Scaling underfinanced SLCP mitigation solutions: driving innovation and technology in the agriculture sector.’ The brief is the first of its kind, developed under the leadership of Ireland and Senegal as the co-chairs of the CCAC’s new Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (CCAC-TEAP).
The event will gather national government representatives, sector experts, and finance stakeholders to share motivations, experiences, and challenges in addressing super pollutants from agriculture, and to make a call to action for enhanced ambition across sectors.
This builds on the work that the CCAC is supporting in more than 50 countries, and implementation of the Global Methane Pledge – a voluntary commitment from more than 155 countries to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 relative to 2020 levels.
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Introducing a major new version of Low Emissions Analysis Platform [LEAP]
Thursday, July 11
9–10:30 a.m. EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.sei.org/events/major-new-version-leap/
SEI is thrilled to announce the release of a major new version of SEI’s Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP), a tool which supports energy policymaking in more than 190 countries worldwide, which will make this software more relevant and accessible than ever.
Join us for one of two webinars occurring 11 and 17 July to learn about the new features and how they can support your work.
LEAP supports governments, researchers, energy utilities and more all over the world in integrated energy planning. It has become a critical tool for many countries in developing greenhouse gas mitigation assessments, low emission development strategies and intended nationally determined contributions on climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Now, LEAP will offer a variety of new features to allow more policy-relevant analysis and become more accessible to users seeking to address emerging concerns in the energy planning world.
More than two years in the making, this new version of LEAP is a major advance for the world’s most popular energy, climate and air pollution planning platform with new analytical capabilities, including full energy system optimization, designed to help create and communicate more credible and ambitious plans. LEAP is now upgraded to make it easier to use and more accessible to a broader audience. It also incorporates new methodologies that can help planners examine energy affordability and environmental justice concerns.
SEI’s LEAP team will host two demonstrations of the new features to accommodate different time zones. Each session will last 90 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the experts. Register now for one of the following free webinars, which will take place on Microsoft Teams
Speakers
Silvia Ulloa, Scientist, SEI US
Charlotte Wagner, Scientist, SEI US
Charles Heaps, Senior Scientist
Contact: Charles Heaps / charlie.heaps@sei.org
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Advanced nuclear energy – Electricity and beyond
Thursday, July 11
2:00pm to 3:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pqbUZFk0SB-Gx6cgQpJkWg#/registration
U.S. C3E Women in clean energy seminar series
Are you looking to learn more about recent developments in nuclear reactor design, demonstration, and legislation? The advanced reactors being designed and demonstrated today will be capable of doing more than just producing electricity. Hear how nuclear energy, when integrated with other generating sources, can be an enabling technology for local economic development. In this webinar, the panel will discuss new technologies and the status of demonstrations, future energy systems that include the integration of multiple generating sources, and the role of DOE and national laboratories in bringing these technologies to market.
Immediately following the webinar, you are invited to an optional informal networking session with the panelists, providing a chance for more Q&A, interaction, and career-path-based questions and advice. When registering for the webinar, please indicate if you are interested in the networking session to receive the separate networking session Zoom link.
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Youth Action for Climate and Clean Air Now
Friday, July 12
08:00 - 09:30
Online
RSVP at https://www.ccacoalition.org/events/youth-action-climate-and-clean-air-now
Join us on 12 July for a discussion on the crucial role that young people play in addressing climate change and air pollution. This event aims to empower and inspire youth to act on improving air quality. A panel of experts, including SEI’s Sarah West, will explore air pollutants impact on climate change, air quality, specific health risks to young people, and the role of youth leadership in addressing cleaner air.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) launched the Youth Engagement Strategy on climate change and air pollution in 2023 with the aim of equipping and inspiring young leaders to reduce air pollutants and improve air quality on a global scale.
The strategy recognizes the crucial role that young people play in tackling climate change and air pollution. To empower youth in their efforts, the CCAC in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute and the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP (CYMG), Fast Action on Climate to Ensure Intergenerational Justice (FACE), NDC Partnership, and OpenAQ, will host a webinar on youth action for climate change and air pollution.
The webinar will focus on the impact of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), such as methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which significantly contribute to global warming and air pollution. Addressing these pollutants can yield immediate benefits for both the climate and public health. As future leaders and innovators, young people are uniquely positioned to drive solutions for these urgent issues.
Sarah West, SEI York Centre Director, will engage in a panel discussion on youth leadership and innovative solutions as well as citizen science to improve air quality.We invite youth activists, students, young professionals, and members of youth-led environmental organizations to join us for this collaborative event. By bringing together youth leaders, experts, and advocates, we will create an environment where innovative ideas and practical solutions can be shared.
Contact Jennifer Aghaji / jennifer.aghaji@york.ac.uk
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Ferris Jabr, author of Becoming Earth, in conversation with Deborah Blum
Tuesday, July 16
7:00pm
Porter Square Books, 25 White Street, Cambridge, MA 02140
RSVP at https://www.portersquarebooks.com/event/ferris-jabr-author-becoming-earth-conversation-deborah-blum
Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Ferris Jabr for his latest book Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life! Deborah Blum will join Jabr in conversation. This event will take place on Tuesday, July 16 at 7pm at Porter Square Books (25 White St. Cambridge, MA 02140).
RSVP below to let us know you're coming and to receive event updates!ABOUT BECOMING EARTH
A vivid account of a major shift in how we understand Earth, from an exceptionally talented new voice. Earth is not simply an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather a planet that came to life.
One of humanity’s oldest beliefs is that our world is alive. Though once ridiculed by some scientists, the idea of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. We, and all living things, are more than inhabitants of Earth—we are Earth, an outgrowth of its structure and an engine of its evolution. Life and its environment have coevolved for billions of years, transforming a lump of orbiting rock into a cosmic oasis—a planet that breathes, metabolizes, and regulates its climate.
Acclaimed science writer Ferris Jabr reveals a radical new vision of Earth where lush forests spew water, pollen, and bacteria to summon rain; giant animals engineer the very landscapes they roam; microbes chew rock to shape continents; and microscopic plankton, some as glittering as carved jewels, remake the air and sea.
Humans are one of the most extreme examples of life transforming Earth. Through fossil fuel consumption, agriculture, and pollution, we have altered more layers of the planet in less time than any other species, pushing Earth into a crisis. But we are also uniquely able to understand and protect the planet’s wondrous ecology and self-stabilizing processes. Jabr introduces us to a diverse cast of fascinating people who have devoted themselves to this vital work.
Becoming Earth is an exhilarating journey through the hidden workings of our planetary symphony—its players, its instruments, and the music of life that emerges—and an invitation to reexamine our place in it. How well we play our part will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.
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Introducing a major new version of Low Emissions Analysis Platform [LEAP]
Thursday, July 17
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.sei.org/events/major-new-version-leap/
SEI is thrilled to announce the release of a major new version of SEI’s Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP), a tool which supports energy policymaking in more than 190 countries worldwide, which will make this software more relevant and accessible than ever.
Join us for one of two webinars occurring 11 and 17 July to learn about the new features and how they can support your work.
LEAP supports governments, researchers, energy utilities and more all over the world in integrated energy planning. It has become a critical tool for many countries in developing greenhouse gas mitigation assessments, low emission development strategies and intended nationally determined contributions on climate change under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Now, LEAP will offer a variety of new features to allow more policy-relevant analysis and become more accessible to users seeking to address emerging concerns in the energy planning world.
More than two years in the making, this new version of LEAP is a major advance for the world’s most popular energy, climate and air pollution planning platform with new analytical capabilities, including full energy system optimization, designed to help create and communicate more credible and ambitious plans. LEAP is now upgraded to make it easier to use and more accessible to a broader audience. It also incorporates new methodologies that can help planners examine energy affordability and environmental justice concerns.
SEI’s LEAP team will host two demonstrations of the new features to accommodate different time zones. Each session will last 90 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the experts. Register now for one of the following free webinars, which will take place on Microsoft Teams
Speakers
Silvia Ulloa, Scientist, SEI US
Charlotte Wagner, Scientist, SEI US
Charles Heaps, Senior Scientist
Contact: Charles Heaps / charlie.heaps@sei.org
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Advance Film Screening: Force of Water
Wednesday, July 17
6:00pm to 8:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142
RSVP at https://tickets.mitmuseum.org/events/01900802-8266-f31f-263f-5b7dec05a6ff
Cost: $15 General Public; $5 MIT ID Holders
Join us for a special screening of Force of Water, a documentary film that follows two communities, one in Ecuador and one in Uganda, as they mobilize to build their own piped water systems.
For 2.2 billion people, clean, safe water flowing through a tap is a distant dream. Force of Water explores this reality through the eyes of local community members and regional program staff working together to build community-wide water access. As the story unfolds, they meet challenges big and small. How will organizers confront their neighbors who are not showing up for communal work days? Will budget deficits derail or reshape the projects? And we begind to understand the collaboration needed between local, national, and international stakeholders to create lasting change.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with Andrea Johnson, Executive Director of Green Empowerment. Light refreshments will be served.
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Carbon & Energy Special Roundtable: The Future of Mass Save Incentives
Thursday, July 18
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Online
RSVP at https://builtenvironmentplus.org/event/carbon-energy-roundtable-7-18/
Join the BE+ Carbon and Energy Roundtable, a venue for architects, designers, construction managers, and sustainability professionals to discuss issues related to carbon and energy in buildings.
This special Carbon & Energy roundtable focuses on The Draft Massachusetts 2025-2027 Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization Plan. The Sponsors of Mass Save® will detail high-level accomplishments and will present a forward-thinking vision for the future. Topics will include the Draft Three-Year Plan summary, GHG reduction efforts, equity and accessibility, streamlined customer experience and workforce development. Focused content will be presented on commercial new construction and major renovation, existing buildings, as well as a new embodied carbon component.
The first hour of the roundtable will be a presentation by experts from the Sponsors of Mass Save, Eversource and National Grid. The second hour is a community discussion where questions and comments are welcome from all attendees.
Subject Matter Experts:
Kimberly Cullinane | Manager, New Construction Energy Efficiency | Eversource Energy
Ryan Willingham | Senior Energy Efficiency Consultant | Eversource Energy
Joel Martell | Senior Analyst – Customer Energy Management | National Grid
Josh Kessler | Lead, Energy Efficiency | National Grid
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What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic
Thursday, July 18
5:30 - 6:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-happens-in-the-arctic-doesnt-stay-in-the-arctic-tickets-928574741047
Join us for an evening with Dr. Erich Osterberg to learn about his research on Arctic climate change using ice cores!
We'll learn how rapid changes in the Arctic - warming at the fastest rate in the world - impact sea level and extreme storms here in New England. We'll see how ice cores are collected from the highest mountaintops in Alaska and the Greenland Ice Sheet, and how they help us better understand the climate changes we're seeing today and what's to come in the future. Erich will also discuss recent progress to reduce climate impacts locally and internationally.
Erich is an Associate Professor of Earth Science at Dartmouth who studies how earth’s climate system and glaciers responded to natural climate changes in the past, and how they are responding to human-caused climate change today. In addition to his research and teaching at Dartmouth, Erich is the chair of the Upper Valley Climate Adaptation Workgroup, a group of municipal, non-profit, governmental, business, and academic leaders working to increase community resilience to climate change.
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Climate Justice = Migrant Justice
Monday, July 22
1 - 2:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-justice-migrant-justice-tickets-927809732887
People have always moved to build a better life. But as more communities are forced from their homes by the climate crisis, they are met with militarised borders and violent migration policies. This is how states are responding to global climate breakdown, instead of funding climate action where people are most affected. In response, our movements must come together in solidarity.
As the climate crisis deepens, we must fight for people’s right to stay in our homes and homelands, but also our right to move safely across borders if we need to. Human mobility is a key form of adaptation to a changing climate, and it must happen safely, with dignity.
Come along to hear from organisers from Climate Justice Coalition, Tipping Point, No Borders in Climate Justice and Migrants Organise on climate, migration and borders and discuss what solidarity at the intersection can look like!
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Disability and Climate Justice: Moving Together for Our Futures
Tuesday, July 23
7 - 9pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disability-and-climate-justice-moving-together-for-our-futures-tickets-925360677697
This workshop explores the intersections of Disability and Climate Justice and the importance of centering disability justice practices and principles in climate justice movements for our futures to be possible.
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Healthy Building Tour
Thursday, July 25
5:30pm – 6:30pm, Happy Hour: 6:30 – 8:00pm
Location: TBA
RSVP at https://builtenvironmentplus.org/event/health-and-wellness-roundtable-7-25/
Join the BE+ Health and Wellness Roundtable, a venue for architects, designers, construction managers, and sustainability professionals to discuss issues related to healthy buildings.
Reach out to wellness@builtenvironmentplus.org with any inquiries, questions, or concerns.
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The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking
Friday, July 26
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tickets
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/shannon_vallor/
Harvard Book Store welcomes SHANNON VALLOR—Baillie Gifford Professor in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh and author of Technology and the Virtues—for a discussion of her new book The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking.
About The AI Mirror
For many, AI technology inspires hope for the future-the promise of shared human flourishing and collective liberation from drudgery that defines the "good life," but always seems to elude our species. Yet today's AI technology is forged from human-generated data into immensely powerful but flawed mirrors that endlessly reflect the same errors, biases and failures of wisdom we are striving to escape. To open new futures for ourselves with these tools is as misguided as gazing into a mirror while trying to climb an uncharted mountain. At this crucial juncture for humanity and our planet, we need something new from AI, and more importantly, from ourselves. We need to find new hope-not to surrender our greatest moral and intellectual ambitions to machines that have none, but to renew those ambitions, collectively, for ourselves. Shannon Vallor makes a wide-ranging, prophetic, and philosophical case for what AI could be, and what we can be with it. She calls us to reclaim our human potential for moral and intellectual growth, rather than losing sight of our shared humanity as we gaze dully into our AI mirrors.
For many, technology offers hope for the future—that promise of shared human flourishing and liberation that always seems to elude our species. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies spark this hope in a particular way. They promise a future in which human limits and frailties are finally overcome—not by us, but by our machines.
Yet rather than open new futures, today's powerful AI technologies reproduce the past. Forged from oceans of our data into immensely powerful but flawed mirrors, they reflect the same errors, biases, and failures of wisdom that we strive to escape. Our new digital mirrors point backward. They show only where the data say that we have already been, never where we might venture together for the first time.
To meet today's grave challenges to our species and our planet, we will need something new from AI, and from ourselves.
Shannon Vallor makes a wide-ranging, prophetic, and philosophical case for what AI could be: a way to reclaim our human potential for moral and intellectual growth, rather than lose ourselves in mirrors of the past. Rejecting prophecies of doom, she encourages us to pursue technology that helps us recover our sense of the possible, and with it the confidence and courage to repair a broken world. Vallor calls us to rethink what AI is and can be, and what we want to be with it.
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Autocracy, Inc.
Tuesday, July 30
3pm EST [12:00 PM PDT]
Online
RSVP at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-07-30/anne-applebaum-autocracy-inc
Cost: $10
Anne Applebaum:
People think they know what an autocratic state looks like: There is an all-powerful leader at the top; he controls the police; the police threaten the people with violence; there are evil collaborators, and maybe some brave dissidents.
But in the 21st century, that bears little resemblance to reality. Nowadays, autocracies are underpinned not by one dictator, but by sophisticated networks composed of kleptocratic financial structures, surveillance technologies, and professional propagandists, all of which operate across multiple regimes, from China to Russia to Iran. Corrupt companies in one country do business with corrupt companies in another. The police in one country can arm and train the police in another, and propagandists share resources and themes, pounding home the same messages about the weakness of democracy and the evil of America.
So what can be done?
Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times bestselling author Anne Applebaum says that international condemnation and economic sanctions cannot move the autocrats. Even popular opposition movements, from Venezuela to Hong Kong to Moscow, don't stand a chance. The members of “Autocracy, Inc.,” as she dubs the movement, aren't linked by a unifying ideology, like communism, but rather a common desire for power, wealth, and impunity.
Applebaum joins us for a special online program to share her urgent call for the world’s democracies to fundamentally reorient their policies to fight a new kind of threat. Join us the find out how that can be done.
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Climate Resilience at the Local Level
Tuesday, July 30
3 - 4pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-resilience-at-the-local-level-tickets-885902647667
Workshop to understand the current landscape of climate action in municipalities across Canada & opportunities to take action where you live
Are you curious about how local governments are progressing climate resilience across Canada? Join us for a webinar in partnership with the The Climate Reality Project Canada to hear all about how local governments across Canada are taking climate action. Together, we'll explore what actions we can take.
This workshop will cover:
How local government is building climate reslience at the local level
How to evaluate your community's climate plans
How continue the momentum in your own municipality
About the Organizations:
Women Transforming Cities (WTC) is a grassroots Vancouver-based non-profit that seeks to dismantle intersecting systems of oppression to transform where we live into places of social, economic and political equity. They do this with an intersectional feminist lens through civic literacy and education, research, advocacy and collaboration. Become a member of WTC.
The Climate Reality Project Canada was founded and chaired by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore. The Climate Reality Project is dedicated to catalyzing a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society. To tackle climate change, we focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as its main culprit, and on education and grassroots action as the solution.
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The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It
Tuesday, July 30
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 Tickets
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/dr_genevieve_guenther/
Harvard Book Store welcomes DR. GENEVIEVE GUENTHER—Expert Reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and founding director of End Climate Silence—for a discussion of her new book The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It. She will be joined in conversation by MARTIN PUCHNER—author of The Written World and Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University.
About The Language of Climate Politics
The Language of Climate Politics offers readers new ways to talk about the climate crisis that will help get fossil fuels out of our economy and save our planet. It's an analysis of the current discourse of American climate politics, but also a critical history of the terms that most directly influence the way not just conservatives but centrists on both sides of the political divide think and talk about climate change. In showing how those terms lead to mistaken beliefs about climate change and its solutions, the book equips readers with a new vocabulary that will enable them to neutralize climate propaganda and fight more effectively for a livable future.
A groundbreaking investigation into the propaganda justifying the fossil-fuel economy, The Language of Climate Politics offers readers powerful new ways to talk about the climate crisis that will help create transformative change.
In an illuminating analysis, Dr. Genevieve Guenther shows that the climate debate is not, in fact, neatly polarized, with Republicans obstructing climate action and Democrats advancing climate solutions. Partisans on the right and the left often repeat the same fossil-fuel talking points, and this repetition produces a centrist consensus upholding the status quo, even as global heating accelerates.
Weaving this analysis through fascinating critical histories of the terms that dominate the language of climate politics—the words we, alarmist, cost, growth, "India and China," innovation, and resilience—Dr. Guenther shows how this consensus is established. Fossil-fuel interests weaponize the discourses of science, economics, and activism, co-opting and twisting climate language to help greenwash their plans for ongoing extraction. But all too often climate scientists, economists, and even advocates will unwittingly echo the false and dangerous assumptions of their supposed political opponents. This apparent agreement between foes, filtered through the news media, not only influences our common-sense yet mistaken views about the climate crisis but also enables powerful decisionmakers to justify the corporate and policy actions that threaten us all. Revealing this dynamic, Guenther shows how to transform it.
Ultimately, The Language of Climate Politics is an inspiring call to arms, a book that equips readers with powerful new terms that will enable them to fight more effectively for a livable future.
