Saturday, July 27, 2024

Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - August 2024

 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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Covering climate change before (and beyond) the 2024 election
Monday, July 29
3pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covering-climate-change-before-and-beyond-the-2024-election-tickets-951046695267

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Seminar on Fuel Cell and Water Electrolyzer Development at Toyota
Tuesday, July 30
11:30am to 12:30pm
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 

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Unpacking new guidelines for health information credibility on social media
Tuesday, July 30
12:30 PM ET
Online
RSVP at https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/2003203/1952913/

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Unlocking Solar for Nonprofits
Tuesday, July 30
2 p.m. ET
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-unlocking-solar-for-nonprofits/

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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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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

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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/

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Webinar: Halt Holtec – the Nuclear Mafia
Tuesday, July 30  
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/xhFQ51S3xUGJeESdXn_C-w2

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Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers – Green Corn Moon
Wednesday, July 31
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Museum Galleries, Smith Hall, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point Boston, MA 
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wampanoag-nation-singers-and-dancers-green-corn-moon-tickets-920321214527

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What Does Water Want? Summit
Thursday, August 1 - Sunday, August 4
https://www.waterislovefilm.org/schedule
Cost:  Donation or free

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Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior from a Social Psychological Perspective
Thursday, August 1
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Online
RSVP at https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q0000029p7wAAA&mapLinkHref=

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Innovations in AI for Education: A Talk by Cynthia Breazeal
Tuesday, August 6
8:00am to 9:15am
Online
RSVP at https://jconnector.mit.edu/events/93755

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Procurement transformation: The future through the lens of artificial intelligence
Wednesday, August 7
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ht89Rx_dSHeRUkKRcRdyhw#/registration

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The Twilight of an Empire: The Russo-Ukrainian War in the Eyes of a Historian
Wednesday, August 7
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Harvard, CGIS-Knafel/North Building, 3rd Floor, Room K-354, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://huri.harvard.edu/event/serhii-plokhii-twilight-of-empire-russo-ukrainian-war-in-eyes-of-historian

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Turning out the Climate Vote for 2024 through Deep Canvassing
Wednesday, August 7
7 - 8pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turning-out-the-climate-vote-for-2024-through-deep-canvassing-tickets-950201898457

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Press Briefing: Covering the Climate Story for a Texas Audience
Thursday, August 8
1pm ET [12pm CT]
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3517217737980/WN_jbzUpD15QBKx6apWX7WXhQ#/registration

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The Connection Cure
Thursday, August 8
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Trident Book Cafe, 338 Newbury Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.tridentbookscafe.com/event/julia-hotz-conversation-ashley-kirsner

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International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact
Friday, August 9
9-10:30 am EST/New York Time
Online
RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Indigenous  (Interpretation available in Spanish, Portuguese and English)

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American Pipe Dream: Natural Gas and Its Health Impacts in the United States
August 13
12:00 PM EDT TO 1:00 PM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://pulitzercenter.org/event/american-pipe-dream-natural-gas-and-its-health-impacts-united-states

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An Evening of Jazz History with Live Music
Wednesday, August 14
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Museum Galleries, Smith Hall, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point Boston, MA
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-of-jazz-history-with-live-music-tickets-920323340887

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EnergyBar: Summer Rooftop Party
Thursday, August 15
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Greentown Labs, 444 Somerville Ave, Somerville, Massachusetts, 02143
RSVP at https://lu.ma/gbou4bfb

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Swapfest -- The Flea at MIT -- Tech, tools, and gadgets flea market
Sunday, August 18
9:00am to 2:00pm
MIT, Building N4, 32 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA

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Neglected and Exposed
Tuesday, August 20
12:00 PM TO 1:00 PM
Online
RSVP at https://pulitzercenter.org/event/webinar-neglected-and-exposed

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Lab-to-Launch Lounge:  Drug Discovery Platform and Software Solutions for Grid Decarbonization
Thursday, August 22
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT
The Node (SEC 2.203), 150 Western Ave, Boston, MA 
RSVP at https://www.grid.harvard.edu/event-details/lab-to-launch-lounge-10

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World Water Week 2024: 25-29 August
Stockholm Sweden and Online
More information at https://event.trippus.net/Home/Index/AEAKgINwoafUOTY0oW53dgzJNGXw8gNEd8UeZ8jQ_rxTt9LQIqFfJLPhC1jNXurmHv6UpVWCE5N5/AEAKgIMgfLVpyqEio5bKw5tn4lZGBhnyOHByeFn-cWE-dXwGWp8fJzGZA-f84F-tWrfx9ApVi10L/eng

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Cheaper, Faster, Better: Tom Steyer on Winning the Climate War
Tuesday August 27
6:00 PM
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco CA
And online
RSVP at https://www.climateone.org/events/cheaper-faster-better-tom-steyer-winning-climate-war
Cost:  $5 - $20

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Every Breath You Take: Human Impact on Air Quality
Wednesday, August 28
8pm ET [7:00pm - 8:15pm CDT]
Online
RSVP at https://chicago-council-science-technolo.betterworld.org/events/every-breath-we-take-human-impac
Cost:  Donation - $10

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Escape from Shadow Physics: The Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory 
Tuesday, September 3
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/adam_forrest_kay/

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Daniel Levitin: Music as Medicine 
Tuesday, September 3 
9pm ET [6:00 PM PDT]
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
And online
RSVP at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-09-03/daniel-levitin-music-medicine
Cost:  $10 - $55

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People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal 
Monday, September 9
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/marshall_ganz/

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MIT Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation
September 19 · 8am - September 20 · 5pm EDT
MIT Media Lab, Bartos Theater, E15-070, 20 Ames Street Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-global-summit-on-mine-tailings-innovation-tickets-877445251367
Cost:  $50 -$500

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Events
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Covering climate change before (and beyond) the 2024 election
Monday, July 29
3pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covering-climate-change-before-and-beyond-the-2024-election-tickets-951046695267

Climate change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The decisions of policymakers — especially at the local level — impact the United States’ ability to reduce carbon emissions, limit mass-produced waste, and recover from severe weather. Co-produced by Grist and Democracy Day, this panel will provide local reporters with answers to some pretty big questions: What are the major climate issues that could be affected by the 2024 election? How do I determine their impacts on my community? And, crucially, how can I report on these topics without sending everyone into a doom spiral?

Our panel of expert climate reporters and educators will help attendees:
Identify the environmental issues most relevant to the 2024 election and find ways to report on them locally
Avoid framing pitfalls when covering the impacts of climate change by focusing on solutions and intersectionality
Feel confident about holding elected officials and candidates accountable for climate policy by demystifying the connections between government and the environment.
This session will be conducted via Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided on the Online Event Page once you RSVP.

About our panelists:
Jake Bittle is a staff writer at Grist, where he covers climate impacts and adaptation. He is also the author of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration, published by Simon & Schuster.
Adam Mahoney is the national climate and environment reporter at Capital B News. His work has garnered awards and recognition from the Columbia Journalism Review, Covering Climate Now, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Online News Association. He is the co-author of a forthcoming book on the plastic pollution crisis that will be published by the New Press in 2025.
Amara Ifeji is a National Geographic Young Explorer and award-winning non-profit leader in climate and environmental justice. As the Director of Policy with the Maine Environmental Education Association, she leverages grassroots advocacy and participatory justice to advance research-backed state and federal policy solutions. She served as the lead coordinator for Maine's first Climate Education Summit, mobilized a youth-led movement that spearheaded Maine's $2+ million climate education program, and served on the Maine Climate Council as the governor-appointed Youth Representative.

About our moderator:
Matthew McKnight is a senior editor at Grist, where he helps to lead the newsroom's accountability coverage. He most recently worked at Wired, where he was a features editor, collaborating with staff writers and freelancers on stories at the intersection of technology, culture, and justice. McKnight’s own writing about art, literature, and contemporary American life has appeared in The Point, The Baffler, and The Nation.

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Seminar on Fuel Cell and Water Electrolyzer Development at Toyota
Tuesday, July 30
11:30am to 12:30pm
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 

Join us for a seminar by Atsushi Ida from Toyota on Fuel Cell and Water Electrolyzer Development at Toyota.
Toyota Motor Corporation has been dedicated to the development of fuel cells for over 30 years. We introduced the first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle, the MIRAI, in 2014, and released the second generation in 2020. This development focused on improving power output and driving range while reducing costs, with advancements in materials and production technology. To promote the widespread adoption of fuel cells, they are exploring various applications beyond passenger vehicles There is also a growing demand for enhanced durability in fuel cells for commercial vehicles like trucks. Additionally, in response to the increasing demand for green hydrogen, they are conducting demonstrations of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, which utilize the technology of the MIRAI. We would like to discuss how to innovate fuel cell and electrolyzer technology to achieve a hydrogen society.

CONTACT mkcooke@mit.edu

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Unpacking new guidelines for health information credibility on social media
Tuesday, July 30
12:30 PM ET
Online
RSVP at https://signup.e2ma.net/signup/2003203/1952913/

Join us for a conversation about the new Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Guidelines on “Assuring the credibility of health information sources on social media platforms.” This conversation will feature Dr. James O’Donovan, creator of the Doctor O’Donovan Medical Education channels, and Ifelola Ojuri, Strategic Partner Manager at YouTube Health.  

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Unlocking Solar for Nonprofits
Tuesday, July 30
2 p.m. ET
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-unlocking-solar-for-nonprofits/

Join RE-volv’s virtual conversation to learn about the new direct pay provision of the Inflation Reduction Act and how installers can expand their services to include nonprofits with real-life success stories of projects benefiting communities. The event will also provide solar installers with the know-how and means to finance these projects.

RMI’s Yuning Liu speaks about the direct pay incentive in the IRA and what this means for nonprofits, communities, and solar installers.

Speakers include:
Ronald Newman, US Department of the Treasury, Senior Advisor of the Inflation Reduction Act
Yuning Liu, Manager on the RMI Cities & Communities Team, US Program
Dana Clare Redden, Co-Founder of BOSS
Patrick Molesworth, President of ProSolar
Ben Norris, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at SEIA
Marques Mason, Solar Account Manager at RE-volv

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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.

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Webinar: Halt Holtec – the Nuclear Mafia
Tuesday, July 30  
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/xhFQ51S3xUGJeESdXn_C-w2

Halt Holtec – the Nuclear Mafia Forever Waste in New Mexico and Massachusetts
As the moribund nuclear industry is frantically marketing itself as a clean alternative to fossil fuels and making an aggressive grab for the subsidies being allocated to renewable energy, it is urgent that we remind Congress and the public that the problem of nuclear waste disposal has never been solved. Even as old nuclear power stations are decommissioned, their highly radioactive spent fuel remains, and must be monitored and contained in perpetuity. This webinar examines the current status of nuclear waste disposal in the United States, with a focus on Massachusetts in the Northeast and New Mexico in the Southwest. Nuclear power is not clean, green, renewable, or safe. Stop Forever Waste!

Speakers
Linda Pentz Gunther – Beyond Nuclear
Linda is the founder of Beyond Nuclear, which she established in 2007, and she currently works as an international specialist there. In addition, she writes for Truthout, Counterpunch, Capitol Hill Citizen and others to highlight the necessity to move away from fossil and fissile energy use. In 2018, Linda created a web platform, Beyond Nuclear International, reframes typical anti-nuclear messaging through a more human lens by conveying the humanitarian impacts of nuclear power and weapons.

Massachusetts: Diane Turco – Capedownwinders
Diane Turco is Executive Director of Cape Downwinders, a Cape Cod volunteer community grassroots organization with the mission to investigate, educate, and agitate for  protection of the people and environment from ongoing threats to communities from Holtec-Pilgrim’s decommissioning plans and nuclear waste dump at the site in Plymouth. After meeting Dr. Helen Caldicott in 1981, Diane began working then to end nuclear weapons and nuclear power and continues today. She is a retired teacher of children with intensive special needs and a grandmother of three sweet boys.

Melissa Harding-Ferretti – Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe
Melissa is the chairwoman of the Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe in Cedarville, Massachusetts. She is also a town selectman for the city of Bourne, which lies close to the Holtec Pilgrim Nuclear Plant.

New Mexico: Douglas Meiklejohn –  Water Quality & Land Restoration
Douglas Meiklejohn is a Water Quality & Land Restoration advocate Advocate at Conservation Voters New Mexico.  He is active in the legal opposition to Holtec International’s proposed construction of a high level radioactive waste disposal facility in Southeastern New Mexico near the town of Eunice, New Mexico.

Rose Gardner – Alliance for Environmental Strategies
Rose is a New Mexican environmentalist living in Eunice and Lea County New Mexico site of the construction of the Holtec Nuclear Waste depository. She is the co-founder of Alliance for Environmental Strategies. She lives five miles from the Holtec Plant. She received the “unsung hero” award from Beyond Nuclear in 2019 for her work in fighting the Holtec plant.

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Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers – Green Corn Moon
Wednesday, July 31
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Museum Galleries, Smith Hall, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point Boston, MA 
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wampanoag-nation-singers-and-dancers-green-corn-moon-tickets-920321214527

Join us for a special late night at the Library! From 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., visitors will receive free admission to the Museum. Learn about JFK’s formative years in the Young Jack exhibit, join him on the campaign trail up through election night, and experience the 1,000 days of his presidency in our galleries.

In celebration of the Green Corn Moon and summer corn harvest, Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers educate through song and dance and encourage full audience participation. Join us as we gather together to celebrate our shared appreciation for the Earth’s gifts, and much more during this fun-filled evening for all ages.

National Park Service rangers from the John F. Kennedy National Historic Sitewill be onsite so visitors can learn more about the President's birthplace in Brookline, MA. Special food and drink options will be available for purchase. The JFK Café and the Museum Store will be open late.
Registration is recommended but not required.

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What Does Water Want? Summit
Thursday, August 1 - Sunday, August 4
https://www.waterislovefilm.org/schedule
Cost:  Donation or free

A Free Online Summit About Regenerating Ecosystems and Ourselves

Join us live from August 1-4 for expert teachings and conversations on ecological restoration and climate resilience, accompanying a limited online screening of the “Water is Love” documentary. Come learn with us and take an active part in the regeneration revolution!

More and trailer for the film at https://www.waterislovefilm.org/what-does-water-want

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Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior from a Social Psychological Perspective
Thursday, August 1
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Online
RSVP at https://act.sierraclub.org/events/details?formcampaignid=7013q0000029p7wAAA&mapLinkHref=

Dr. Joel Ginn, a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Social Influence and Social Change Lab at Boston College, will give a virtual presentation on changing human behavior to mitigate climate change. He will discuss how to encourage people towards more environmentally-friendly choices, with a focus on sustainable diets. By understanding and applying these social psychological insights, advocates can develop strategies that foster pro-environmental behavior, contributing to climate action.Joel received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where his research focused on peoples beliefs about social change and their perceptions of social change actions/actors. He has primarily focused on environmental action and meat reduction/veganism, examining how social identity (e.g., flexitarianism vs. vegetarianism) and beliefs about the efficacy of individual and systemic actions affect support for and reactions to social movements.

Sara Sezun  scplantbasedplanet@gmail.com

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Innovations in AI for Education: A Talk by Cynthia Breazeal
Tuesday, August 6
8:00am to 9:15am
Online
RSVP at https://jconnector.mit.edu/events/93755

Join the MIT Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) to explore the revolutionary potential of AI-powered education with MIT Professor Cynthia Breazeal, a pioneer in the field of social robotics. 

Setting the stage with highlights from her groundbreaking work with Jibo, the social robot she designed, Breazeal will share her reflections on launching a new field and describe her current work at the MIT Media Lab on intelligent personified robots that help learners–particularly children–learn and flourish. Continuing to connect research and implementation, as the Director of MIT RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education), Breazeal develops approaches for AI-supported learning to empower teachers and engage students. At RAISE she launched a K-12 education outreach program and the Day of AI, an event for teachers across the U.S. to introduce foundational concepts in AI and its education role. Breazeal will offer her thoughts on what the growth of these initiatives reveals about global interest in AI.

To inspire thinking about possible futures, Breazeal will describe the key insights from her work on multimodal, emotionally savvy AI for learning, painting a vivid picture of what education could look like in five years if we leverage AI effectively.
During the discussion, we invite you to ask Breazeal about AI-powered education and consider AI's use in pK-12 education, higher education, and workforce learning. You'll also meet a member of her research team. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation with an MIT pioneer whose career is built around the potential for AI to revolutionize education.

The talk is open to the general public, and the J-WEL team invites you to share this invitation with others in your community who can benefit from global conversations about AI-powered education. Later in the month, we invite J-WEL members to discuss their visions for AI-powered education in conversation with Breazeal's colleagues in her Personal Robots group.

Guest Speaker:
Cynthia Breazealm Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Personal Robots Group, MIT Media Lab, Dean for Digital Learning, MIT Open Learning
Cynthia Breazeal is a professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, where she founded and directs the Personal Robots group at the Media Lab.  She is the MIT dean for digital learning, and in this role, she leverages her experience in emerging digital technologies and business, research, and strategic initiatives to lead Open Learning’s business and research & engagement units. She is also the Director of the MIT-wide Initiative on Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (raise.mit.edu). MIT RAISE is a research and outreach effort that advances access and inclusivity in AI education to people of all ages and backgrounds with a focus on K12 and the workforce. 

She co-founded the consumer social robotics company, Jibo, Inc., where she served as Chief Scientist and Chief Experience Officer.
Breazeal is a pioneer of social robotics and human-robot interaction. Her work balances technical innovation in AI, UX design, and understanding the psychology of engagement to design personified AI technologies that promote human flourishing and personal growth. Her recent work focuses on the theme of "living with AI" and understanding the long-term impact of social robots that can build relationships and provide personalized support as helpful companions in daily life. Her research group actively investigates social robots applied to education, pediatrics, health and wellness, and aging. As part of this mission, her group also develops design justice frameworks for human-robot interaction and inclusive AI literacy education for under-served K12 students.

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Procurement transformation: The future through the lens of artificial intelligence
Wednesday, August 7
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ht89Rx_dSHeRUkKRcRdyhw#/registration

Artificial intelligence has the ability to revolutionize processes in procurement, driving efficiency and creating substantial business value. Ignacio Cabrera, chief procurement officer at Cloudflare, will discuss how an autonomous sourcing platform can streamline procurement, reduce manual efforts, and enhance supplier diversity and competition. He will demonstrate the benefits of AI-driven procurement and share critical takeaways from the AI integration journey, emphasizing the importance of clear problem statements, targeted scope, quick wins, and selecting the right technology partner.

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The Twilight of an Empire: The Russo-Ukrainian War in the Eyes of a Historian
Wednesday, August 7
5 – 6:30 p.m.
Harvard, CGIS-Knafel/North Building, 3rd Floor, Room K-354, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://huri.harvard.edu/event/serhii-plokhii-twilight-of-empire-russo-ukrainian-war-in-eyes-of-historian

SPEAKER(S) Serhii Plokhii, Mykhailo S. Hrushevs'kyi Professor of Ukrainian History and Director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University
Serhii Plokhy, a leading historian of Ukraine and the Cold War, offers a definitive account of this conflict, its origins, course, and the already apparent and possible future consequences. Though the current war began eight years before the all-out assault—on February 27, 2014, when Russian armed forces seized the building of the Crimean parliament—the roots of this conflict can be traced back even earlier, to post-Soviet tensions and imperial collapse in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Providing a broad historical context and an examination of Ukraine and Russia’s ideas and cultures, as well as domestic and international politics, Plokhy reveals that while this new Cold War was not inevitable, it was predictable. Ukraine, Plokhy argues, has remained central to Russia’s idea of itself even as Ukrainians have followed a radically different path. In a new international environment defined by the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the disintegration of the post–Cold War international order, and a resurgence of populist nationalism, Ukraine is now more than ever the most volatile fault line between authoritarianism and democratic Europe.

CONTACT INFO duncansmith@fas.harvard.edu

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Turning out the Climate Vote for 2024 through Deep Canvassing
Wednesday, August 7
7 - 8pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/turning-out-the-climate-vote-for-2024-through-deep-canvassing-tickets-950201898457

With the election coming up, and the massive importance of dealing with climate change now more than ever, come learn about a new initiative for getting voters to prioritize climate change as an issue at the ballot box as well as getting already climate conscious individuals to turn out. This initiative called “Be the Climate GOAT: Get out the Climate Vote” has already entailed hundreds of conversations conducted by higher Ed and youth action team volunteers reaching out to people they know (friends, family, etc.) and then recruiting some of the people they talk to as volunteers in a process of relational organizing. And on average it has shifted voters up the scale in terms of prioritizing climate as an issue, particularly utilizing our own deep canvassing script, based off of other successful deep canvassing efforts. If you’d like to learn more about these methods, please come and join the workshop to see how you can use these methods in your own election work!

Learn more at https://citizensclimatehighered.org/climate-goat. Our future is on the ballot!

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Press Briefing: Covering the Climate Story for a Texas Audience
Thursday, August 8
1pm ET [12pm CT]
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3517217737980/WN_jbzUpD15QBKx6apWX7WXhQ#/registration

In this webinar co-sponsored by Covering Climate Now and The Texas Tribune, panelists will discuss how journalists in Texas can reach their local audiences by making the climate connection.

Texas is already suffering from climate change with worsening extreme heat, wildfires, and floods. But, in a state that’s also home to major greenhouse gas-emitting petrochemical companies, state-level Texas politicians and regulators are often reluctant to even mention climate change. So, what can journalists do to answer audience questions about worsening climate change in that environment?

In this webinar, co-sponsored by Covering Climate Now and The Texas Tribune, our expert panel will discuss strategies for how journalists in Texas and elsewhere can still make climate change a part of the conversation and offer insight on what is working to address the problem at the state and local levels. The panel will also discuss how to use climate science in stories about extreme weather — perhaps the simplest way for audiences to start to understand how climate change is impacting our daily lives. Brandi Addison, Connect Reporter for the USA Today Network (Texas); Professor Jay L Banner of the Department Earth and Planetary Science at the University of Texas; and Priya Zachariah, Chief Resilience Officer for the Harris County Flood Control District will join Emily Foxhall of The Texas Tribune for a one-hour press briefing.  Invite your Texas-based colleagues!

Panelists
Brandi Addison, Connect Reporter, USA Today Network (Texas)
Jay L Banner, Professor, Department Earth and Planetary Science, University of Texas
Priya Zachariah, Chief Resilience Officer, Harris County Flood Control District
Emily Foxhall, climate reporter for The Texas Tribune, will moderate.

Editorial Comment:  If you can talk with Texans about climate, who knows?, constructive dialogue might break out.

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The Connection Cure
Thursday, August 8
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Trident Book Cafe, 338 Newbury Street, Boston
RSVP at https://www.tridentbookscafe.com/event/julia-hotz-conversation-ashley-kirsner

Traditionally, when we get sick, health care professionals ask, “What’s the matter with you?” But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers have started to flip the script, asking “What matters to you?” Instead of solely pharmaceutical prescriptions, they offer ‘social prescriptions’—referrals to community activities and resources, like photography classes, gardening groups, and volunteering gigs.

The results speak for themselves. Science shows that social prescribing is effective for treating symptoms of the modern world’s most common ailments—depression, ADHD, addiction, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, dementia, diabetes, and loneliness. As health care’s de facto cycle of “diagnose-treat-repeat” reaches a breaking point, social prescribing has also proven to reduce patient wait times, lower hospitalization rates, save money, and reverse health worker burnout. And as a general sense of unwellness plagues more of us, social prescriptions can help us feel healthier than we’ve felt in years.

As Hotz tours the globe to investigate the spread of social prescribing to over thirty countries, she meets people personifying its revolutionary potential: an aspiring novelist whose art workshop helps her cope with trauma symptoms and rediscover her joy; a policy researcher whose swimming course helps her taper off antidepressants and feel excited to wake up in the morning; an army vet whose phone conversations help him form his only true friendship; and dozens more. The success stories she finds bring a long-known theory to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health. By reconnecting to what matters to us, we can all start to feel better.
About the Author:
Julia Hotz is a journalist and author of The Connection Cure, America’s first book exploring the science, the stories, and the spread of social prescribing. Her stories have appeared in the New York Times, WIRED, Scientific American, the Boston Globe, Time, and more. She helps other journalists report on the big new ideas changing the world at the Solutions Journalism Network.

About Ashley Kirsner:
Ashley Kirsner is the founder and director of Skip the Small Talk™, a social impact startup focused on combating the loneliness epidemic through nationwide, in-person events. Skip the Small Talk™ events are based on Kirsner’s social and clinical psychology research at Cornell University, the Harvard Decision Science Lab, the Harvard Business School, the University of Miami, the Psychotherapy and Emotion Research Lab at Boston University, and McLean Hospital. The success of Kirsner’s events have been featured in Forbes and The Boston Globe, and on the Today show and NPR.

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International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact
Friday, August 9
9-10:30 am EST/New York Time
Online
RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Indigenous  (Interpretation available in Spanish, Portuguese and English)

TENTATIVE PROGRAMME High Level Segment
Traditional ceremony by TBC
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Mbororo), Chair, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Panel Discussion: Facing theThreats
Eduardo Pichilingue Ramos Director, Pachamama Foundation Rukka Sombolinggi (Torajan), Secretary General, AMAN Alicia Cahuiya (Waorani), Vice President, Nacionalidad Waorani
Dialogue: Responses to Protect Rights
Manuel Carmona Yebra, Deputy Head of Global Issues and Innovation & Counsellor for Environment and Oceans, Delegation of EU to US
Francisco Cali Tzay (Maya Kaqchikel), UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Caroline Pearce, Executive Director, Survival International
Closing Remarks
Freddy Mamani Machaca (Quechua), Coordinator of Indigenous Affairs, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization
Moderated by Brian Keane, Director, Land is Life 

Live transmission on Zoom and UNPFII Facebook Live
Online participation by using: #WeAreIndigenous #IndigenousDay #SomosIndígenas #DíaIndígena #NousSommesAutochtones #JournéeAutochtone

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American Pipe Dream: Natural Gas and Its Health Impacts in the United States
August 13
12:00 PM EDT TO 1:00 PM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://pulitzercenter.org/event/american-pipe-dream-natural-gas-and-its-health-impacts-united-states

Part of the "Fuel, Foul Air, and Fallout: The Health Tolls of Energy and Defense in the United States" webinar series

In 2014, fracked natural gas was the so-called energy bridge to the green future. Natural gas powers 43% of the United States’ power grid as of 2023. And liquified natural gas (LNG), stored at ultra-low temperatures for transport, is now one of the United States’ largest exports. As this bridge to the future lengthens, Americans who live near fracking and export sites are confronting adverse health effects and climate impacts.
Hear from panelists in a webinar on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, about the gas boom in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Appalachia: Who is affected? Who is responsible? How did we get here? And what are the stakes for our future?

Pulitzer Center Senior Editor Steve Sapienza will moderate the discussion. Registration is required. 

Panelists:
Carlyle Calhoun is the managing producer of WWNO/WRKF's podcast Sea Change. Before joining WWNO in New Orleans, she produced documentary films and audio documentaries focused on environmental issues. Calhoun began her career as a photographer at the Jackson Hole News & Guide and the Wilmington Star-News before moving to the Balkans, where she worked as a freelance photographer.
Quinn Glabicki is a reporter and photographer covering climate and environment for PublicSource. Born and raised in the Rust Belt, Glabicki's long-term work focuses on communities impacted by climate change and the footprint of industry in Appalachia.
Debbie Gordon is a senior principal in RMI’s Climate Intelligence Program, where she co-leads the Oil and Gas Solutions Initiative. Gordon serves as a senior fellow at the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University and is an affiliate at the Brown Climate Solutions Lab.

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An Evening of Jazz History with Live Music
Wednesday, August 14
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Museum Galleries, Smith Hall, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point Boston, MA
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-of-jazz-history-with-live-music-tickets-920323340887

Join us for a special late night at the Library! From 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., visitors will receive free admission to the Museum. Learn about JFK’s formative years in the Young Jack exhibit, join him on the campaign trail up through election night, and experience the 1,000 days of his presidency in our galleries.

This last Late Night celebrates jazz and explores its role in the civil rights movement. Larry Tye will discuss his new book The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America with Jared Bowen, Executive Arts Editor and Host at GBH. Ron Mahdi and the Rightly Guided Ensemble will perform.

Don’t miss the Ask An Archivist table for a one-night only display of selected items from the collections.

National Park Service rangers from the John F. Kennedy National Historic Sitewill be onsite so visitors can learn more about the President's birthplace in Brookline, MA. Special food and drink options will be available for purchase. The JFK Café and the Museum Store will be open late.
Registration is recommended but not required.

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EnergyBar: Summer Rooftop Party
Thursday, August 15
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Greentown Labs, 444 Somerville Ave, Somerville, Massachusetts, 02143
RSVP at https://lu.ma/gbou4bfb

EnergyBar is Greentown Labs' networking event devoted to connecting partners and investors to our community of climatetech entrepreneurs!
Join us for a summer edition of our signature EnergyBar networking event! In collaboration with MassMutual Ventures, we're inviting entrepreneurs, investors, students, and friends of climatetech to attend, meet colleagues, and expand our growing regional climatetech network. Come network and enjoy a beverage on the Greentown roof deck! We'll also have plenty of indoor space available for networking and taking a break from the heat.

ABOUT ENERGYBAR
EnergyBar is Greentown Labs' signature networking event that fosters conversation and collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, students, neighbors, and other climate champions passionate about innovations in climatetech and the energy transition.

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Swapfest -- The Flea at MIT -- Tech, tools, and gadgets flea market
Sunday, August 18
9:00am to 2:00pm
MIT, Building N4, 32 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA

Swapfest is a huge electronics, tools, technology, amateur radio, and gadget flea market held on the third Sunday of every month from April to October in the Albany St. parking garage at MIT. Come buy, sell, or just look at objects as diverse as WWII Enigma machines, motors, power tools, computers, space capsules, and more. Early bird buyer admission starts at 7:00 AM for $15. Normal buyer admission starts at 9 AM (MIT students are free, general public admits are $6 or $5 with printed flyer, MIT affiliates are $5). 
Vendors can preregister by the 5th of the month by mailing in our flyer with a check.

Events ends officially at 2 PM, but come earlier in the day for the best deals. Bring cash.

Proceeds fund the following MIT student groups: MIT Radio Society W1MX, MIT Electronic Research Society, and MIT UHF Repeater Association W1XM
Come to 32 Albany St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (MIT Building N4)

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Neglected and Exposed
Tuesday, August 20
12:00 PM TO 1:00 PM
Online
RSVP at https://pulitzercenter.org/event/webinar-neglected-and-exposed

Residents in Cloverleaf and Galena Park describe the air as smelling like rotten eggs, nail polish, and burning tires. The “poison-like smell[s]” waft from 200 nearby petro-chemical processing facilities along the Houston Ship Channel. Their smokestacks spew particulate matter, benzene, and other cancer-causing pollutants. Respiratory and skin irritation are common among the majority-Latino residents, as is childhood asthma, which occurs at rates 1.9% higher than the state average.

Air quality monitors installed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) measure the six pollutants required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The apparatus does not, however, monitor for every cancer-causing pollutant, nor is the web-based dashboard accessible as it outputs raw measurement data in English alone. Critically, the TCEQ air monitoring system fails when Houston residents need it most, like after chemical fires, explosions, or other toxic releases.

Organizations like Air Alliance Houston have stepped in with their own air monitoring systems where TCEQ’s fall short. Hear from journalists Alejandra Martinez, Wendy Selene Pérez, and a representative from Air Alliance Houston about the investigation, Neglected and Exposed, and about possible ways to strengthen air quality measurement and awareness in Houston. Valeria Fernández, managing editor of palabra, will moderate.

Panelists:
Wendy Selene Pérez is a freelance journalist with a two-decade career spanning various media outlets in Mexico, Argentina, and the United States. Her work focuses on social justice, victims of violence, government accountability, transparency, and immigration. 
Alejandra Martinez joined The Texas Tribune in the fall of 2022 as an environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial facility.
Valeria Fernández is the founder of Altavoz Lab. She is an independent investigative journalist focused on amplifying voices of immigrant communities. Previously, she has worked at La Voz, CNN Spanish, Radio Bilingüe, and the Associated Press.

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Lab-to-Launch Lounge:  Drug Discovery Platform and Software Solutions for Grid Decarbonization
Thursday, August 22
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM EDT
The Node (SEC 2.203), 150 Western Ave, Boston, MA 
RSVP at https://www.grid.harvard.edu/event-details/lab-to-launch-lounge-10

Join us this week as we sit down with Dr. Shardule Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Lime Theraputics, and Dr. Wenbo Shi, CEO and Founder of Singularity. Lime Theraputics is inventing breakthrough lipid-targeting therapeutics using our novel drug discovery platform. Singularity Energy provides data and software solutions for grid decarbonization

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World Water Week 2024: 25-29 August
Stockholm Sweden and Online
More information at https://event.trippus.net/Home/Index/AEAKgINwoafUOTY0oW53dgzJNGXw8gNEd8UeZ8jQ_rxTt9LQIqFfJLPhC1jNXurmHv6UpVWCE5N5/AEAKgIMgfLVpyqEio5bKw5tn4lZGBhnyOHByeFn-cWE-dXwGWp8fJzGZA-f84F-tWrfx9ApVi10L/eng

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Cheaper, Faster, Better: Tom Steyer on Winning the Climate War
Tuesday August 27
6:00 PM
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco CA
And online
RSVP at https://www.climateone.org/events/cheaper-faster-better-tom-steyer-winning-climate-war
Cost:  $5 - $20

Most people know of Tom Steyer as the billionaire investor and climate organizer who ran for president in the 2020 election on a climate platform. While he didn’t win, his dedication to supporting and advancing climate solutions has remained steadfast.

In his new book, “Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We’ll Win the Climate War,” Steyer argues that we are in a defining moment: We face the daunting, existential threat of climate change. And yet, with this great challenge comes a great opportunity for innovation, global leadership and economic growth.

Join us for a lively conversation about the market’s role in solving the climate crisis. Can capitalism really save us?

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Every Breath You Take: Human Impact on Air Quality
Wednesday, August 28
8pm ET [7:00pm - 8:15pm CDT]
Online
RSVP at https://chicago-council-science-technolo.betterworld.org/events/every-breath-we-take-human-impac
Cost:  Donation - $10

How do we measure air quality? What causes poor air quality? Are there particular things humans do that impact air quality the most?
The quality of the air we breathe every day can have large impacts on our health and wellness. Scientists are working to learn more about what exactly causes poor air quality in certain areas as well as working to find solutions to help improve the air quality in the places we live and work. Join C2ST virtually on Aug 28th from 7:00 pm to 8:15 pm as we talk with two experts doing this work right now. We will hear about their current research as well as get a chance to ask questions.

Dr. Daniel Horton is an Associate Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University. He is an Earth system scientist who studies Earth’s atmosphere and climate and their interaction with people, places, and things.

Aryiana C. Moore is a 4th year PhD candidate in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Her current research projects focus on freight-related air quality impacts and the air quality impacts of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

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Escape from Shadow Physics: The Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory 
Tuesday, September 3
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/adam_forrest_kay/

Harvard Book Store welcomes Adam Forrest Kay—postdoctoral associate in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—for a discussion of his new book Escape from Shadow Physics: The Quest to End the Dark Ages of Quantum Theory.

About Escape from Shadow Physics
The received wisdom in quantum physics is that, at the deepest levels of reality, there are no actual causes for atomic events. This idea led to the outlandish belief that quantum objects—indeed, reality itself—aren’t real unless shaped by human measurement. Einstein mocked this idea, asking whether his bed spread out across his room unless he looked at it. And yet it remains one of the most influential ideas in science and our culture.

In Escape from Shadow Physics, Adam Forrest Kay takes up Einstein’s torch: reality isn’t mysterious or dependent on human measurement, but predictable and independent of us. At the heart of his argument is groundbreaking research with little drops of oil. These droplets behave as particles do in the long-overlooked quantum theory of pilot waves; crucially, they showcase quantum behavior while being described by classical physics. And that classical-quantum interface points to a true understanding of quantum mechanics and a reasonable universe.
A bold and essential reset of the field, Escape from Shadow Physics describes the kind of true scientific revolution that comes along just once—or less—in a century.

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Daniel Levitin: Music as Medicine 
Tuesday, September 3 
9pm ET [6:00 PM PDT]
Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco, CA
And online
RSVP at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-09-03/daniel-levitin-music-medicine
Cost:  $10 - $55

What are the deep connections between music and healing?
Music is one of humanity’s oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind.
Join us as neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin shares some of the findings he put in his latest book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, in which he explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He examines the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression and pain.
Levitin is not your typical scientist—he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today’s most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history.
Come learn about the critical role music has played in human biology.

Editorial Comment:  I found some years ago that if I don’t play some music most every day I get physically ill.  Music tunes you.

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People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal 
Monday, September 9
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/marshall_ganz/

Harvard Book Store welcomes Marshall Ganz—Rita T. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Harvard Kennedy School—for a discussion of his new book People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal.

About People, Power, Change
Marshall Ganz is one of the world's leading authorities on democratic organizing, and this book is the culmination of his decades of teaching, research, and work. In People, Power, Change, Ganz distills for students, practitioners, and activists the principles he has gleaned over the last half-century about the practice and craft of creating collective action.

Ganz explores the forces, craft, and learned skill of organizing and provides an actionable framework for how to actually do it. He focuses the book on the creation and substance of relationships, the fuel of values and narrative, the resources and power of strategy, the necessity of structure, and the accountability of action. Across these five organizing ideas, Ganz weaves in his personal experiences from a lifetime of organizing in iconic social movements and campaigns to illustrate how collective action actually works and to build the practices and skills that must be developed to do it with intention and with success.

At a moment when our democratic abilities seem to have eroded, and political, economic, and technological forces have weakened the capacity for collective action, People, Power, Changeis a once-in-a-generation book for anyone who wants to create real and lasting change.

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MIT Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation
September 19 · 8am - September 20 · 5pm EDT
MIT Media Lab, Bartos Theater, E15-070, 20 Ames Street Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-global-summit-on-mine-tailings-innovation-tickets-877445251367
Cost:  $50 -$500

A conference aimed at fostering collaboration and innovation for actionable mine tailings solutions
By MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

Increasing demand for metals will lead to more mine waste being produced. Exploring breakthrough solutions to help significantly reduce tailings waste is critical to improving the sustainability of the industry.

The MIT Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation is a first of its kind conference hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with ICMM to convene researchers, industry experts, innovators and start-ups, manufacturers, and government and regulatory officials around a single goal: accelerating the development of solutions to Re-use, Re-duce and Re-imagine mine tailings.

The two-day conference will be held on the MIT campus from September 19-20, 2024. A preliminary agenda and full list of speakers can be found on the ESI website. Confirmed keynotes include:
Helaina Matza, Acting Special Coordinator for the Partnership on Global Infrastructure Investment (PGI) at the U.S. Department of State
Bruno Pelli, the Global Technical Services Director of Mining at Vale S.A.
Jai Prasad, Chief Advisor for Next Generation Processing at Rio Tinto

While this conference is hybrid, we encourage in-person participation. In-person participants will have the opportunity to interact directly with other in-person participants during the formal agenda and networking session. Still, online participants will be able to observe the video stream and submit written questions to the session moderators. Some of the speakers will be remote. There will be an online poster and chatroom resource for all participants.

Please feel free to reach out to the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative at esi-mine@mit.edu with any questions.