Energy (and Other) Events Monthly - September 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

———
Index
———

Free Screenings of “Generation Growth”
August 15 to September 4
Online
RSVP at https://generationgrowthfilm.com/

————— 

Carbon Brief’s webinar live from the Arctic
Friday, August 30
5:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) [10-11am UK time]
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1017243421392/WN_okVcr0tcS-ymo7QLb3FFkg

—————

MIT Mobility Forum:  The 15-Minute City
Friday, August 30
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0ofuChqD8sH9DUCdsTzbRa2fGoZ9xchuKo?_x_zm_rtaid=Ys0_-w_qTJqG6C_lWPOO_Q.1722978350054.c3b519fc87fdf83722d6cc5fce3780c7&_x_zm_rhtaid=902#/registration

————— 

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/

—————

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

————— 

Leveraging Comprehensive Performance Based-Regulation to Build a Resilient and Affordable Energy System for All
Wednesday, September 4
11am EDT [1-2 p.m. MT]
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-leveraging-comprehensive-performance-based-regulation-to-build-a-resilient-and-affordable-energy-system-for-all/

————— 

AI and the future of education
Wednesday, September 4
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w1TjHjIITp6H8V_ycAGoUg#/registration

—————

NO to Nuclear Weapons and NO to Fossil Fuels!
Wednesday, September 4
8:00 PM –  9:00 PM ET
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/iGJAyy3mtkOuHnrWcH0b9g2

————— 

Humane & Sustainable Food Lab Seminar Series: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Thursday, September 5
7am EDT [10am to 11am PT]
Stanford School of Medicine, Alway M112, Stanford, CA
And online
RSVP at https://events.stanford.edu/event/humane-sustainable-food-lab-seminar-series-christopher-gardner-phd

————— 

Systems Leaders in the 21st Century: Why Environmental Literacy Matters
Thursday, September 5
11AM – 1:30PM
Tufts, Alumnae Hall, 40 Talbot Ave., Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PxYp2HOwQWufcCOCpssNhg

————— 

Leading through Crisis:  Building a Visionary Movement for Climate Survival
Thursday September 5
6pm Eastern Time/3pm Pacific Time
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/FSuEo8-Nc0CUL1XXwmO3SQ2?emci=948d0d61-c463-ef11-991a-6045bddbfc4b&emdi=507e0e68-c463-ef11-991a-6045bddbfc4b&ceid=15533

————— 

Big Data Conference 2024
September 6 @ 9:00 am - September 7 @ 5:00 pm
Harvard University CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge
And online
RSVP for in-person: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1G9IwVHNo-HnGi_rZRy-c_RlU29QnDm2mjfPG3XuZ8Wg/viewform?edit_requested=true
RSVP for online:  https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m9kdZk4BSAK0LKfvGOxe6Q#/registration

—————

The fall 2024 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
Saturday, September 7
NOON to 2 pm
Rain date—in case of DOWNPOUR—is Sunday Sep. 8, 12-2
at Fayette Park (near the corner of Broadway and Fayette St.), Cambridge, MA

————— 

Reaching Net Zero: The Power of Aligning NDCs with Long-term Strategies
Monday, September 9
8 - 9:30am EDT  
Online
RSVP at https://www.wri.org/events/2024/9/reaching-net-zero-power-aligning-ndcs-long-term-strategies

————— 

MIT Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Talk
Monday, September 9
12:00 - 1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://eaps.mit.edu/events/paocq-raymond-a-shaw-michigan-technological-university/

————— 

Making Climate Policy Models More Decision-relevant
Monday, September 9
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

————— 

Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power
Monday, September 9
6 - 7:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KqXZCqHsTZKqBNVTbhyF0Q#/registration

————— 

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/

—————

The Human-AI Ecosystem:  A Holistic Framework for Research, Education, and Impact
Tuesday, September 10
11:00am — 12:00pm ET
MIT Media Lab, E14 - 633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA
And online at https://www.media.mit.edu/events/hossein-rahnama-seminar/

————— 

Humanitarian Impacts of Climate Change
Tuesday, September 10
12pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/humanitarian-impacts-of-climate-change-tickets-1000217486427

————— 

Deals: The Economic Structure of Business Transactions
Tuesday, September 10
1 – 2 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y2iHy_3VQHKMKwZNgdYl6A#/registration

————— 

Induction: The New High-Performance Way to Cook
Tuesday, September 10
3:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D3YAm_NaRuKn9QcURZB3vQ

————— 

Living Materials, Prof. Seunghyun (Seu) Sim (UC Irvine)
Tuesday, September 10
3:30pm to 4:45pm
MIT, Building 66, Room 110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

————— 

A Cognitive View of Policing
Tuesday, September 10
4:00pm to 5:15pm
MIT, Building E52, E52-324 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142

————— 

Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change 
Tuesday, September 10
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/premal_dharia/

————— 

Motives in Territorial Conflicts: Competition or Valuing the Land Itself?
Wednesday, September 11
12:00pm to 1:30PM EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

————— 

Scientific foundation models for genetic disease research
Thursday, September 12
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OOOhH7dITSWCjJkdBU218A#/registration

————— 

Tackling Carbon, Resilience, and Ambivalence: Lessons Learned From One Decade in Sustainable Architecture
Thursday, September 12
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q0iv736uQnGW2lXzd9jBxQ#/registration

————— 

AI and Climate: Leveraging Technology for Environmental Impact
Thursday, September 12
1 pm EDT [5:00 - 06:00 GMT-4]
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-and-climate-leveraging-technology-for-environmental-impact-tickets-851466939537

————— 

The 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony
Thursday, September 12
6 pm US eastern time
MIT building 10 room 250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
And online
RSVP at https://improbable.com/ig/archive/2024-ceremony/#tickets

————— 

The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI
Friday, September 13
6:00pm to 7:30pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142
Evening Write Science programs are $5. 

————— 

Ig Nobel: Face to Face
Saturday, September 14
12:30pm to 3:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142

—————— 

Swapfest -- The Flea at MIT -- Tech, tools, and gadgets flea market
Sunday, September 15
9:00am to 2:00pm
MIT, Building N4, 32 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

—————— 

Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, & the Fight for Global Security
Wednesday, September 16
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM ET
Harvard, Rubenstein 414ab, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://hksexeced.tfaforms.net/f/registration?e=a4oPp000001Nr1RIAS&_gl=1*cwce5w*_gcl_au*MTMzMjg5MTI1Mi4xNzIxOTMzMzIz*_ga*OTgwODMzMzc0LjE3MTU4Mjg2NjI.*_ga_72NC9RC7VN*MTcyNDU1Njc4NS4zLjEuMTcyNDU1Njk5NS42MC4wLjA.

—————— 

MIT Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Talk
Monday, September 16
12:00 - 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 | MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://eaps.mit.edu/events/paocq-dan-westervelt-columbia-ldeo/

—————— 

Understanding Climate Change Implications for Human Welfare: Research and Policy Applications
Monday, September 16
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

—————

Jane Goodall: Celebrating 90
Monday September 16 
3pm EST [6:00 PM PT]
Sydney Goldstein Theater, 275 Hayes St, San Francisco CA 94102
And online
RSVP at https://www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3052
Cost:  $12 - $259

————— 

Climate Innovators Café
Monday, September 16
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Swissnex Boston, 420 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
RSVP at https://events.swissnexboston.org/ClimateInnovatorsCafe3

—————— 

“The Biggest Story of Our Time” - Climate Actvism and the Election
Monday, September 16 
7 - 9pm EDT
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02116
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-biggest-story-of-our-time-climate-actvism-and-the-election-tickets-945170208537

—————

Climate on the Ballot: A Virtual Summit for Journalists:  How to cover the story of our time in this unprecedented election year
Tuesday, September 17 - Thursday, September 19
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-on-the-ballot-a-virtual-summit-for-journalists-tickets-957456898357

————— 

From words to action: implementing biodiversity and climate strategies for resilient societies

Tuesday, September 17
8am EDT [14:00-15:30 CEST]
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.se/e/from-words-to-action-on-nature-and-climate-tickets-1000021419987
This live Zoom event is open to all.

————— 

Environmental Business Council of NE [EBC] Sixth Annual New England Energy Leadership Conference
Tuesday, September 17
9:00 am - 12:00 pm EST
Online
RSVP at https://ebcne.org/event/ebc-sixth-annual-new-england-energy-leadership-conference/
Cost:  $30 - $150

————— 

Understanding the Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal in Long-term Climate Planning
Tuesday, September 17
10 - 11:15am EDT  
Online
RSVP at https://www.wri.org/events/2024/9/understanding-role-carbon-dioxide-removal-long-term-climate-planning

————— 

What can we learn from Sweden’s rollout of heat pumps?  How to make good things happen: global lessons for UK policymakers
September 17 
2:30pm EDT [9:30 – 10:30 London Time]
58 Victoria Embankment, London, UK
And online
RSVP at https://www.nesta.org.uk/event/what-can-we-learn-from-swedens-rollout-of-heat-pumps/

————— 

Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey, with Erika Dyck, PhD, Professor of History, University of Saskatchewan
Tuesday, September 17
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tVGnof8LQAyaUejl0TGxnQ#/registration

————— 

Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point
Tuesday, September 17
7:00 PM ET Location
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/daniel_ziblatt/

————— 

2024 Transatlantic Cleantech Summit
Wednesday, September 18
8:30am - 5:30pm EDT
The Engine, 750 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-transatlantic-cleantech-summit-tickets-944962958647
Cost:  $50 -$150

————— 

Collective Punishment of the Other: Perceptions of Groupness and Public Responses to Foreign Influence
Wednesday, September 18
12:00pm to 1:30PM, EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

————— 

Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World’s Richest Country Book Talk
Wednesday, September 18
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Harvard, James Room East, Swartz Hall Rm 120, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bQjIFWUHBdFOHDE
Please RSVP by noon on Monday, September 16 to secure your spot. Lunch will be provided

————— 

Justin Pearson: No Justice Without Climate Justice
Wednesday, September 18
3pm EST [6:00 p.m. PT]
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco CA 94105
And online
RSVP at https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb000000K58PMAS
Cost:  $20

————— 

Daniel Ziblatt with Joe Kennedy: Tyranny of the Minority
Wednesday, September 18
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA 02446-2908
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/daniel-ziblatt-with-joe-kennedy-tyranny-of-the-minority-tickets-968732072707

—————

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

—————— 

Designing Just Futures Summit: Collaborative Practices for Spatial Justice
September 19
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM 
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston, MA
RSVP at https://www.architects.org/events/756747/2024/09/19/designing-just-futures-summit-collaborative-practices-for-spatial-justice
COST:  Two-day summit tickets are $125 for non-members, $100 for BSA/AIA members, and $50 for students and emerging professionals (no CE credits).

—————

Mounting Risks to Wetlands: A Journalist’s Perspective
Thursday, September 19
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-MvKzBoZQFqJDdHZyexguQ#/registration

—————

Counting Feminicide Book Launch & Signing Party
Thursday, September 19
4:30pm - 6:00pm
Samuel Tak Lee Building, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT Building 9, Room 255, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/counting-feminicide-book-launch-signing-party-tickets-961547403167

————— 

The future of US climate policy: Issues at stake in the 2024 election
Thursday, September 19
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM EDT
Annenberg Auditorium, Weill Hall,  735 South State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
And online
RSVP at https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-michigan-climate

—————

Grid Modernization, Distributed Energy Resources, and Affordability
Friday, September 20
9:00 am-12:30 pm (Networking over breakfast refreshments 8:30-9:00 am)
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd 17th Floor Boston, MA 02210
And online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/9-20-2024-new-england-electricity-restructuring-roundtable-tickets-942854361777
Cost:  $0 - $110

—————

Advancing Biodiversity for Community Resilience and Global Stability: Insights Ahead of COP16
Friday, September 20
9:30 AM EDT TO 11:00 AM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://engage.wilsoncenter.org/a/advancing-biodiversity-community-resilience-and-global-stability-insights-ahead-cop16

—————

CID Speaker Series: “Rethinking the Global Economic Development Architecture?”
Friday, September 20
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET
Democracy Lab (rubenstein 414-ab), 79, John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA

————— 

The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future
Friday, September 20
3:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/benji_backer/

—————

XR Boston Week of Rebellion 2024
Sunday, September 22 - Saturday, September 28
Schedule of events at https://xrboston.org/news/xr-boston-announces-the-week-of-rebellion-2024/

—————

Somerville Garden Club Annual Plant Sale
Sunday September 22
11 to 2pm
331 Summer Street, Somerville, MA 

—————

Cash Transfers Reduce Climate-Induced Migration in Kenya
Monday, September 23
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

—————

This is Climate: The Global Stakes
Monday, Sept. 23
2:00 p.m. ET
Online at http://wapo.st/climatesept23 
RSVP at https://climatesept23.splashthat.com/

—————

Risk and Reward in the Age of AI
Monday, September 23
6:30pm - 7:30pm
WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
RSVP at https://www.wbur.org/events/955164/the-minds-mirror-daniela-rus-gregory-mone

—————

Global and Local Perspectives on a Just Energy Transition
Monday, September 23
8:30 - 10pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-and-local-perspectives-on-a-just-energy-transition-tickets-996672402987

—————

Thinking with Plants and Fungi: "The Quest for the Plant Script
Tuesday, September 24
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Harvard, Common Room, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP for in person:  https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5dpYI21mwqYZWwC
RSVP online:  https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UsVcC-u2RwmZ7kBhz2keRA#/registration

—————

Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II
Wednesday, September 25
12:00pm to 1:30PM, EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

—————

TEDxNewEngland 
Wednesday, September 25
Groton Hill Music Center, 122 Old Ayer Road, Groton, MA
1pm - 8pm
RSVP at https://tedxnewengland.com/
Cost:  $99 - $249 (use password SCIENCE for early access)

—————

Rethinking Multilateral Governance: Securing Our Future
Wednesday, September 25
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Harvard, S010, Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

————— 

Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer – An EBC Leadership Program
Wednesday, September 25
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EST
Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston MA
RSVP at https://ebcne.org/event/network-learn-massachusetts-climate-chief-melissa-hoffer-an-ebc-leadership-program/
Cost:  $30 - $160

—————

Webinar: global ageing and climate change – regional dialogue Eurasia and the Middle East
Thursday, September 26
5am EDT [11:00 GST - 13:00 GST]
Online
To register for the webinar, please email jana.busch@sei.org.

—————

Managing the Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Budget
Thursday, September 26
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online 
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fx7m8aFFTrWro4OUMRtPww#/registration

————— 

Transitioning to the Future Grid in MA
Thursday, September 26
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The Engine Accelerator, 750 Main St, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP and more information at https://www.masscec.com/event/transitioning-future-grid-ma-event-series-3

—————

Level Up Game Design / Cambridge Science Festival
Thursday, September 26
4:00pm to 6:00pm
The Ragon Institute 400 Technology Square, Cambridge 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/level-up-game-design-tickets-984156397277

—————

Catalyst Conversations: Game Matters
Thursday, September 26
6:00pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Bartos Theatre 20 Ames Street, Bldg. E15 Atrium level Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 
RSVP at https://listart.mit.edu/calendar/catalyst-conversations-game-matters

————— 

Community Engagement for Climate Resilience: What is it and how do you do it well?
Friday, September 27
9:30 am - 12:30 pm EST
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02110
And online
RSVP at https://climateadaptationforum.org/event/community-engagement-for-climate-resilience-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-do-it-well/
Cost:  $15 - $45

—————

Planetary Play: Design for Outer Space / Cambridge Science Festival
Friday, September 27
10:00am to 1:00pm
The Ragon Institute 400 Technology Square, Cambridge 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planetary-play-design-for-outer-space-tickets-984162455397?aff=oddtdtcreator

—————

Moms on Mars
Friday, September 27
7:00pm - 9:00pm
The MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
RSVP at https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/programs/moms-on-mars

—————

Net Impact Boston SDG Summit
Saturday, September 28
9am - 2pm EDT
NonProfit Center, 89 South Street Boston, MA 02111
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/net-impact-boston-sdg-summit-tickets-982302823187
Cost:  $15-$20

—————

How the climate triad can address the planetary polycrisis
Saturday, September 28 
12 - 1pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-the-climate-triad-can-address-the-planetary-polycrisis-tickets-998039732707

————— 

Justice Considerations in Climate Research
Monday, September 30
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

—————

Visionary Leaders and Green Cities
Monday, September 30
9 - 10pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/visionary-leaders-and-green-cities-tickets-1001613180987

————— 

What If We Get It Right?
Tuesday, October 1 
9am EDT [12:00 PM PDT]
The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 94105
And online
RSVP at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-10-01/what-if-we-get-it-right-ayana-elizabeth-johnson-bill-mckibben-and-abigail-dillen
Cost:  $5 - $54

—————

Can AI Help Courts be Fair and Just? Unlocking the Positive Effects of Justice on Economic Development
Wednesday, October 2
12 – 1 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2024-daniel-l-chen-fellow-presentation-virtual

—————

The Complexities of Community-Led Climate Solutions From an Outsider
Thursday, October 3
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OeMd69E3QNG46-Vh4PrHzg#/registration

—————

AltWheels Fleet Day
Monday, October 7
8am - 5pm EDT
Four Points by Sheraton Norwood, 1125 Boston-Providence Turnpike Norwood, MA 02062
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/altwheels-fleet-day-tickets-910905381517
Cost:  $0 -$200

—————

A Pragmatic Approach to Cumulative Impacts: Coordinating Decisions to Address Impacts Cumulatively
Monday, October 7
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

—————

2024 Stanford Bright Award for Environmental Sustainability honoring Rodrigo Botero
Tuesday, October 8
5:30pm to 8pm PT
Stanford, Law School, Classroom Building, Room 290, 559 Nathon Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305 
And online
RSVP at https://events.stanford.edu/event/2024-stanford-bright-award-for-environmental-sustainability-honoring-rodrigo-botero

—————

Landing the Paris Climate Agreement: How It Happened, Why It Matters, and What Comes Next
Tuesday, October 8
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/todd_stern_at_harvard_book_store/

———— 
Events
————  

Free Screenings of “Generation Growth”
August 15 to September 4
Online
RSVP at https://generationgrowthfilm.com/

Generation Growth tells the story of Green Bronx Machine and its founder, Stephen Ritz, as they grow high performing public schools, happy & healthy children, empowered teachers, and equitable, resilient communities across the nation. 

Editorial Comment:  Stephen Ritz is a teacher who with his students has made growing food a core part of the curriculum and a motivation for deep learning.  Stephen is a force of Nature and the Green Bronx Machine is a replicable project that not only teaches but also inspires.

————— 

Carbon Brief’s webinar live from the Arctic
Friday, August 30
5:00 AM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) [10-11am UK time]
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1017243421392/WN_okVcr0tcS-ymo7QLb3FFkg

Carbon Brief’s associate editor Daisy Dunne is travelling to the UK’s Arctic research station in Ny-Ålesund on the Norwegian island of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. She will join British Antarctic Survey scientists as they carry out research into how climate change is affecting the region’s ice, ecosystem and ocean. Join Daisy and the scientists live from the Arctic to hear more about their expedition. They will also be answering your questions on everything from Arctic climate science to what life is like for researchers living and working in Svalbard.

Confirmed speakers:  Dorothea Moser, ice cores scientist at the British Antarctic Survey 
Henry Burgess, head of Arctic Office, British Antarctic Survey 
More Arctic scientists to be confirmed 
Moderator: Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief’s associate editor 

Questions for the speakers can be submitted in advance by email via webinar@carbonbrief.org, or via Twitter using the hashtag #CBWebinar

————— 

MIT Mobility Forum:  The 15-Minute City
Friday, August 30
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0ofuChqD8sH9DUCdsTzbRa2fGoZ9xchuKo?_x_zm_rtaid=Ys0_-w_qTJqG6C_lWPOO_Q.1722978350054.c3b519fc87fdf83722d6cc5fce3780c7&_x_zm_rhtaid=902#/registration

We kick start the MIT Mobility Forum Fall 2023 by hosting Prof. Carlos Moreno. 

In this talk, Prof. Carlos Moreno will discuss his recent book “The 15-Minute City” and will deliver an exciting and insightful discussion of the deceptively simple and revolutionary idea that everyday destinations like schools, stores, and offices should only be a short walk or bike ride away from home. The talk will describe a new way of looking at living, that tackles many of the most intractable challenges of our time, strategies for cities to recover and adapt to benefit residents, and techniques to change the habits of automobile-dependent city residents to maximize social benefits of living in a human-centric city  with reduced car dependency.  

Carlos Moreno is Scientific director of the Chaire ETI “Entrepreneurship Territory Innovation”(Research Lab at IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School, University Paris1 Panthéon Sorbonne). He is a Senior University Professor, an international expert of the Human Smart City, and a Knight of the French Legion of Honour. He was awarded the 2019 Prospective Medal of the Academy of Architecture in 2019. He is also a winner of the Obel Award 2021, for his work on urban and territorial proximity and its impact in the world. In November 2021, he won the Leadership Award at the World Smart Cities Awards, organized by the Smart City Expo World Congress. He works at the heart of issues of international significance, bringing an innovative perspective on urban issues and offering solutions to the issues faced by the cities and metropolises.

————— 

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.

—————

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.

————— 

Leveraging Comprehensive Performance Based-Regulation to Build a Resilient and Affordable Energy System for All
Wednesday, September 4
11am EDT [1-2 p.m. MT]
Online
RSVP at https://rmi.org/event/webinar-leveraging-comprehensive-performance-based-regulation-to-build-a-resilient-and-affordable-energy-system-for-all/

This public webinar focuses on how state public utility commissions can employ performance-based regulation (PBR) to achieve key goals such as affordability, decarbonization, resilience, and social equity. It is intended for commissioners, commission staff, and key actors that participate in state regulatory proceedings (e.g., consumer advocates), though it will likely also be of interest to others (e.g., state policymakers, other thought leaders).

In the webinar, co-authors Kaja Rebane and Cara Goldenberg present the main takeaways from our new report How to Restructure Utility Incentives. These include the key shortcomings of the traditional cost-of-service regulatory model, how PBR can help, and our Four Pillars Model of comprehensive PBR. We also give tips for how regulators and advocates can apply the Four Pillars Model, and provide a case study of a state that has adopted a comprehensive PBR framework (Hawaii). We reserve time at the end for an interactive Q&A.

Participants will walk away with a new framework for thinking about comprehensive PBR, a deeper understanding of the ways PBR tools can be combined to achieve key regulatory goals, and practical tips they can apply in their own jurisdictions.

————— 

AI and the future of education
Wednesday, September 4
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_w1TjHjIITp6H8V_ycAGoUg#/registration

The rush is on to understand how new AI applications can integrate into classrooms. This webinar will explore how generative AI may help address ongoing problems in education and will look at potential pitfalls we should seek to avoid. Kristen DiCerbo of Khan Academy will draw on Khanmigo, an AI-powered tutor for students and assistant for teachers for examples of AI-assisted interactions and activities. We will explore how we wade through the hype to understand what's possible.

————— 

NO to Nuclear Weapons and NO to Fossil Fuels!
Wednesday, September 4
8:00 PM –  9:00 PM ET
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/iGJAyy3mtkOuHnrWcH0b9g2

September 2024: Two Weeks to Pressure the Corporations putting Profit ahead of People and Planet
Continued burning of fossil fuels will make this world uninhabitable within a few decades. A nuclear war would make this world uninhabitable in a few minutes. We must end our addiction to fossil fuels and nuclear weapons before it’s too late.

The top 40 companies that profit from fossil fuels and nuclear weapons spend millions on lobbying, elections and propaganda to maintain their control over Congress and the White House. But these companies – and their investors – also care about their public image and their reputations. Boycotts, divestment and shaming are very effective tools we can use to pressure the profiteers. It’s been done before and we can do it again!

Speakers:  Kathy Kelly is board president of World BEYOND War. She co-coordinates the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, she has coordinated an international network to assist young Afghans forced to flee their country. She made over two dozen trips to Afghanistan from 2010 – 2019, living with young Afghan Peace Volunteers in a working-class neighborhood in Kabul. Kathy has been an educator for most of her life, but she believes children of war and those who are victims of violence have been her most important teachers.

————— 

Humane & Sustainable Food Lab Seminar Series: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Thursday, September 5
7am EDT [10am to 11am PT]
Stanford School of Medicine, Alway M112, Stanford, CA
And online
RSVP at https://events.stanford.edu/event/humane-sustainable-food-lab-seminar-series-christopher-gardner-phd

Most of Dr. Gardner's 30 years of research at Stanford has been focused on investigating the potential health benefits of various dietary components or food patterns using randomized controlled trials. The interventions have involved vegetarian diets, soy, garlic, omega-3 fats/fish oil/flax oil, antioxidants, Ginkgo biloba, and popular weight loss diets. These trials have studied outcomes that include weight, blood lipids and lipoproteins, inflammatory markers, glucose, insulin, and body composition. Most of these trials have been NIH-funded. Until recently (see below), the most impactful of these was an NIH-funded weight loss diet study - DIETFITS (Diet Intervention Examining The Factors Interacting with Treatment Success) that involved randomizing 609 generally healthy, overweight/obese adults for one year to either Healthy Low-Fat or Healthy Low-Carb diet (JAMA, 2018).

In the past decade, the interests of Gardner's research group have shifted to include three additional areas of inquiry. One of these is Stealth Nutrition. The central hypothesis driving this is that in order for more effective and impactful dietary improvements to be realized, health professionals need to consider adding non-health related approaches to their toolbox of strategies. Examples would be connections between food and 1) global warming and climate change, 2) animal rights and welfare, and 3) human labor abuses (e.g., slaughterhouses). An example is a summer Food and Farm Camp run in collaboration with the Santa Clara Unified School District since 2011. Every year ~125 kids 5-14 years of age come for a 1-week summer camp to tend, harvest, chop, cook, and eat vegetables...and play because it is summer camp! The objective is to study the factors influencing the behaviors and preferences that lead to maximizing vegetable consumption in kids.

A second area of interest and inquiry is institutional food. Universities, worksites, hospitals, and schools order and serve a lot of food, every day. If the choices offered are healthier, the consumption behaviors will be healthier. A key factor to success in institutional food is to make the food options "unapologetically delicious" a term he borrows from Greg Drescher, a colleague and friend at the Culinary Institute of America (the other CIA). Chefs in institutional food settings can be part of the solution to improving eating behaviors. In 2015 Gardner helped to initiate a Stanford-CIA collaboration that now involves ~70 universities that have agreed to use their dining halls as living laboratories to study ways to maximize the synergy of taste, health and environmental sustainability. If universities, worksites, hospitals and schools change the foods they order and serve, that kind of institutional demand can change agricultural practices - a systems-level approach to achieving healthier dietary behaviors.

The third area is diet and the microbiome. His lab partnered with the world renowned lab of Drs. Justin and Erica Sonnenburg at Stanford to conduct multiple human nutrition intervention studies. The most impactful of these studies was the Fe-Fi-Fo study (Fermented and Fiber-rich Foods) study published in Cell in 2021. In that 10-week intervention, study participants consuming more fermented foods increased their microbial diversity and decreased blood levels of ~20 inflammatory markers. Their Maternal and Offspring Microbiome Study (MOMS) examined the transfer of the maternal microbiome to the infant among 132 pregnant women randomized to increase fiber, or fermented food, or both, or neither for their 2nd and 3rd trimester; the infants were tracked for 18 months.

In January 2024, Netflix released a documentary TV series which chronicles portions of the experiences of four pairs of identical twins who participated in an eight week study run by Dr. Gardner which compared the impacts of a vegan diet with an omnivore diet. The full study included a total of 22 pairs of identical twins and randomized one twin from each pair to either a vegan or omnivore diet. Allowing his research to be featured in the series, titled You Are What You Eat, has been one of the most impactful choices he's made. (See https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/01/qa-christopher-gardner-featured-netflixs-eat for more details.)

Dr. Gardner's long-term vision in this area is to help create a world-class Stanford Food Systems Initiative and build on the idea that Stanford is uniquely positioned geographically, culturally, and academically, to address national and global crises in the areas of obesity and diabetes that are directly related to our broken food systems.

————— 

Systems Leaders in the 21st Century: Why Environmental Literacy Matters
Thursday, September 5
11AM – 1:30PM
Tufts, Alumnae Hall, 40 Talbot Ave., Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PxYp2HOwQWufcCOCpssNhg

Saleem Ali, chair of the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences and the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware, will provide insights from his acclaimed book Earthly Order: How Natural Laws Define Human Life to suggest how we can lead in connecting natural order to social, economic, and political order. His book has received endorsements from leaders of a Nobel laureate in chemistry, the former environment minister of Brazil, and the Chief Environment Officer of Microsoft Corporation. And, come to celebrate the Environmental Studies Program's 40th Anniversary with us!

Contact Sinet Kroch  sinet.kroch@tufts.edu

————— 

Leading through Crisis:  Building a Visionary Movement for Climate Survival
Thursday September 5
6pm Eastern Time/3pm Pacific Time
Online
RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/FSuEo8-Nc0CUL1XXwmO3SQ2?emci=948d0d61-c463-ef11-991a-6045bddbfc4b&emdi=507e0e68-c463-ef11-991a-6045bddbfc4b&ceid=15533

In communities across the U.S., leaders are growing roots that are the foundation of a visionary national movement. Grassroots groups are building the economic and social infrastructure that working-class BIPOC communities need to heal, survive, and lead through accelerating ecological crises – while divesting from the systems threatening our livelihoods. 

Together, we'll take an inside look at climate survival programs in three communities. We will share highlights and lessons learned from on-the-ground pilot projects this year; amplify approaches to movement-building that will help our movements thrive in an era of crises; offer resources to build up your organizing and leadership skills; and ground together during this challenging election season to build and grow a grassroots climate survival movement rooted in economic and political self-determination. 

————— 

Big Data Conference 2024
September 6 @ 9:00 am - September 7 @ 5:00 pm
Harvard University CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge
And online
RSVP for in-person: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1G9IwVHNo-HnGi_rZRy-c_RlU29QnDm2mjfPG3XuZ8Wg/viewform?edit_requested=true
RSVP for online:  https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m9kdZk4BSAK0LKfvGOxe6Q#/registration

The Big Data Conference features speakers from the Harvard community as well as scholars from across the globe, with talks focusing on computer science, statistics, math and physics, and economics.

Speakers:
Tianxi Cai, Harvard Chan School
Raj Chetty, Harvard
Bianca Dumitrascu, Columbia
Boris Hanin, Princeton
Peter Hull, Brown
Jamie Morgenstern, U Washington
Kavita Ramanan, Brown
Neil Thompson, MIT
Melanie Weber, Harvard
Kun-Hsing Yu, Harvard Medical School

————— 

The fall 2024 Mid-Cambridge PLANT SWAP
Saturday, September 7
NOON to 2 pm
Rain date—in case of DOWNPOUR—is Sunday Sep. 8, 12-2
at Fayette Park (near the corner of Broadway and Fayette St.), Cambridge, MA

As ever, bring anything you’d like to share. No need for elegant packaging, but please do write down the names of plants. We expect to have perennials, seedlings, seeds, indoor plants, books, pots, tools, and lots of "whatever."  Feel free to come empty-handed or bring a carload—drop by and chat with neighbors, talk gardening. And if you can help with setup or cleanup, thank you. Please let me know. Note: To avoid spreading jumping worms, if you have them, please wash off plant roots, and either pot the plants in clean soil or bring them bare-root, wrapped in moist paper and/or a baggie.  Thanks!

Contact:  hmsnively@aol.com

————— 

Reaching Net Zero: The Power of Aligning NDCs with Long-term Strategies
Monday, September 9
8 - 9:30am EDT  
Online
RSVP at https://www.wri.org/events/2024/9/reaching-net-zero-power-aligning-ndcs-long-term-strategies

The last round of national climate plans submitted to the UN (known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs) outlined countries’ commitments to cut emissions ahead of 2030. But even if fully achieved, national plans put planetary warming on track to rise by 2.5°C by the end of the century, with the potential to trigger global tipping points. To keep the 1.5°C target within reach, countries must put forward much more ambitious commitments early next year. Aligning these next-generation NDCs with long-term climate plans – due this November ahead of the COP29 summit – can help drive the economy-wide transformations necessary to promptly drive down emissions.

During this technical session, leading experts representing Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa will outline the steps they are taking to craft a more ambitious NDC that aligns with their longer-term aims to reach net-zero and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Speakers will reflect on how these plans can collectively provide sectoral roadmaps, signal investment priorities, and help integrate climate mitigation and adaptation into countries’ national development approach. 

Speakers:
Aloisio Lopes P. de Melo, Director of Climate Policy, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil
Anna Amalia, Associate Planner, Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Ministry of National Development Planning, Indonesia
Jongikhaya Witi, Chief Director, Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa 
Rachel Harris, Branch Head, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia
Melanie Robinson, Global Climate, Economics and Finance Program Director, WRI (Moderator)

————— 

MIT Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Talk
Monday, September 9
12:00 - 1:00pm
Online
RSVP at https://eaps.mit.edu/events/paocq-raymond-a-shaw-michigan-technological-university/

Raymond A. Shaw, Michigan Technological University

This week’s talk is being held virtually.[PAOCQ] PAOC Colloquium Interdisciplinary seminar series that brings together the whole PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) community. Seminar topics include all research concerning the physics, chemistry, and biology of the atmospheres, oceans and climate, as well as talks about societal impacts of climatic processes.  Contact: paoc-colloquium-comm@mit.edu 

————— 

Making Climate Policy Models More Decision-relevant
Monday, September 9
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

Wei Peng, Assistant Professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
Abstract: Efforts to achieve decarbonization targets often fall short. Energy system modeling based on integrated assessment models (IAMs) has been used widely to assess current climate policies and quantify the additional efforts needed to close the gap. Yet, most energy modeling still lacks adequate considerations of socio-political factors that are central to climate policy making. This makes them overly abstract and simplistic to inform concrete decisions by national and subnational policymakers. In this talk, I will discuss our work focused on three areas to make IAMs more decision-relevant: 1) enhancing policy realism by incorporating political economy insights on policy instrument choices; 2) assessing winners and losers of climate policy by coupling IAMs with fine-scale impact assessment models; and 3) identifying robust policy strategies by assessing multiple objectives under future uncertainties. I will demonstrate a range of modeling examples, such as the impacts of near-term industrial policy on long-term decarbonization in the US and the unintended regional health effects of a global carbon price.

Bio: Wei Peng is an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. She is a climate policy researcher and an integrated assessment modeler of energy, climate, and health. Her work focuses on modeling human-centered decarbonization pathways to inform energy strategies that are realistically implementable and politically durable. Her research has been published in Nature, Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability, PNAS among others, and was featured in national and local media such as PBS and NPR. She also served as a contributing author of the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment. 

Peng received her PhD degree in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy from Princeton University and her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences from Peking University. She was a faculty member at the Penn State University and a postdoc fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. 

————— 

Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power
Monday, September 9
6 - 7:30pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KqXZCqHsTZKqBNVTbhyF0Q#/registration

Join us for this installment of our popular Chat & Chowder series, featuring former Ambassador Robert Blackwill, Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, to discuss his new book Lost Decade: The U.S. Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power.

Chat & Chowder programs are an excellent opportunity to engage with expert speakers and to network with other globally-oriented participants in an informal environment. Each event features a presentation, audience Q&A, dedicated time for networking, and (of course!) a selection of chowders and beverages.

Thanks to the generous support of The Lowell Institute, Chat & Chowder is now free of charge for all participants (Zoom live-streams remain free as well). We sincerely appreciate The Lowell Institute’s commitment to our mission, as well as the support of our venue, Foley & Lardner LLP. Please consider helping sustain this work by making a contribution here.

This program will be streamed to Zoom from 6:15 to 7:15. 

Advance registration is required. We cannot accommodate walk-ins for the in-person program.

Robert D. Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Blackwill served as deputy national security advisor for strategic planning under President George W. Bush, as presidential envoy to Iraq, and ambassador to India from 2001 to 2003. He is the recipient of the German government’s Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit for his work on German Unification at the White House in the George H.W. Bush administration. His previous books include War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft (2016), and Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World (2013). His CFR Special Reports include The End of World Order and American Foreign Policy (2020); Implementing Grand Strategy Toward China: Twenty-Two U.S. Policy Prescriptions (2020); Containing Russia (2018).

————— 

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.

—————

The Human-AI Ecosystem:  A Holistic Framework for Research, Education, and Impact
Tuesday, September 10
11:00am — 12:00pm ET
MIT Media Lab, E14 - 633, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge, MA
And online at https://www.media.mit.edu/events/hossein-rahnama-seminar/

Hossein Rahnama 

————— 

Humanitarian Impacts of Climate Change
Tuesday, September 10
12pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/humanitarian-impacts-of-climate-change-tickets-1000217486427

Join us for this special briefing, which will examine the humanitarian impacts of climate change and what we’re doing to address them.

Please join us to learn more about the health-related impacts of climate change and how International Medical Corps is working to address them. We will be joined by Paul Knox Clark, Principal of ADAPT, an initiative working with humanitarian and emergency response organizations to address the realities of climate change, and Erica Tavares, Senior Director of US Programs for International Medical Corps.

For more information about our work around the world helping people affected by conflict, disaster and disease, please visit our website at www.internationalmedicalcorps.org.

————— 

Deals: The Economic Structure of Business Transactions
Tuesday, September 10
1 – 2 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y2iHy_3VQHKMKwZNgdYl6A#/registration

SPEAKER(S) Guhan Subramanian, Chair, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School
A book talk with Guhan Subramanian. "Deals" captures the range of real-life transactional complexities with case studies covering many high-profile negotiations that show how to tackle challenges, such as information asymmetry between buyer and seller, moral hazard, and opportunistic behavior. The book lays out responses to common risks associated with long-term contracts, emphasizing that a deal’s exit rights should be carefully considered at the start of transaction design.
This book is unique in its practical application of economic theory to actual dealmaking and will provide a resource for students and professionals across the business and legal world.

CONTACT INFO ponevents@law.harvard.edu

————— 

Induction: The New High-Performance Way to Cook
Tuesday, September 10
3:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Online
RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D3YAm_NaRuKn9QcURZB3vQ

Induction is now entering the mainstream. As more and more people discover the benefits of cooking with induction, the myth of the superiority of gas cooking is going up in flames. Induction cooking offers clear benefits for the environment and our health and safety, but it also provides a better cooking experience. With more control, faster heating, and easy cleaning, this technology is poised to transform the way we cook. Join Electrify Now as we explore why and how to make the switch to induction. Our guest chef Rachelle Boucher will provide an interactive exploration and demonstration of induction cooking, including the performance advantages of induction, the pros and cons of cooktops versus ranges, what features and options to consider and what you need to know to have one installed in your home. We’ll even cover tips on how to cook with induction to get the best results. This webinar will answer the following questions and more: What is an induction stove and why do they offer a superior cooking performance? Why is natural gas dangerous to use for cooking in your home? What brands are currently available? What are the features to look for in an induction range? How much do induction stoves cost? What about the cookware? What are some tips for installing and using an induction stove?

Editorial Comment:  I have an induction cooker and a programmable cooker (Insta-Pot).  Hardly use the gas stove any more.

————— 

Living Materials, Prof. Seunghyun (Seu) Sim (UC Irvine)
Tuesday, September 10
3:30pm to 4:45pm
MIT, Building 66, Room 110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM) Seminar
http://polymerscience.mit.edu/?page_id=5475

————— 

A Cognitive View of Policing
Tuesday, September 10
4:00pm to 5:15pm
MIT, Building E52, E52-324 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142

Oeindrila Dube (University of Chicago)

Behavioral Economics Seminar
Contact:  dgarrity@mit.edu

————— 

Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change 
Tuesday, September 10
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/premal_dharia/

Harvard Book Store and Inquest welcome Premal Dharia—executive director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration at Harvard Law School—for a discussion of her new book Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change. She will be joined in conversation by Andrew Manuel Crespo—Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

Premal will be donating a portion of the proceeds from book sales at the event to Inquestto support its work amplifying incarcerated writers. 
About Dismantling Mass Incarceration

In recent years, a searching national conversation has called attention to the social and racial injustices that define America’s criminal system. The incarceration of vast numbers of people, and the punitive treatment of African Americans in particular, are targets of widespread criticism. But despite the election of progressive prosecutors and the passage of reform legislation, the system remains very much intact. How can the damage and depredations of the carceral state be undone?

In this pathbreaking reader, three of the nation’s leading advocates—Premal Dharia, James Forman Jr., and Maria Hawilo—provide us with tools to move from despair and critique to hope and action. Dismantling Mass Incarceration surveys new approaches to confronting the carceral state in all its guises, exploring ways that police, prosecutors, public defenders, judges, prisons, and even life after prison can be radically reconceived. The book captures debates about the comparative merits of reforming or abolishing prisons and police forces, and introduces a host of bold but practical interventions. The contributors range from noted figures such as Angela Davis, Clint Smith, and Larry Krasner to local organizers, judges, and people currently or formerly incarcerated. The result is an invaluable guide for students, activists, and anyone who wishes to understand mass incarceration—and hasten its end.

—————

Motives in Territorial Conflicts: Competition or Valuing the Land Itself?
Wednesday, September 11
12:00pm to 1:30PM, EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

Kathleen Powers, Dartmouth College

MIT Security Studies Wednesday Seminar

————— 

Scientific foundation models for genetic disease research
Thursday, September 12
12:00pm to 12:30pm
Online
RSVP at https://mit.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OOOhH7dITSWCjJkdBU218A#/registration

Scientists are creating scientific foundation models, a type of large language model trained on natural data, such as proteins, DNA, and chemicals. These models are able to learn the language of life and can be used to create novel molecular compounds of enormous medical potential. And they can run on a single GPU rather than a large-scale institutional computing cluster, which greatly expands the universe of researchers who can access them. AI scientist Stanley Bishop will discuss the impact scientific foundation models could have on our medical system, with focus on rare genetic disease and oncology research.

————— 

Tackling Carbon, Resilience, and Ambivalence: Lessons Learned From One Decade in Sustainable Architecture
Thursday, September 12
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q0iv736uQnGW2lXzd9jBxQ#/registration

Elaine Hoffman, A10, is the director of sustainability at Goody Clancy, a Boston-based architecture firm focused on higher education. Hoffman will reflect on how sustainability and architecture have changed in the ten years she entered practice, focusing on the evolution of carbon and resilience conversations. She will discuss the critical role higher education campuses play in driving progress towards a more sustainable future, lay out challenges the architecture industry face in the next decade, and highlight skillsets that the industry must expand to meet emissions targets and other environmental goals successfully.

Contact Sinet Kroch  sinet.kroch@tufts.edu

—————  

AI and Climate: Leveraging Technology for Environmental Impact
Thursday, September 12
1 pm EDT [5:00 - 06:00 GMT-4]
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ai-and-climate-leveraging-technology-for-environmental-impact-tickets-851466939537

Explore how AI can significantly contribute to tackling climate change and fostering sustainability in this engaging session. Understand the potential of AI in environmental monitoring, resource management, and developing sustainable practices.

————— 

The 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Ceremony
Thursday, September 12
6 pm US eastern time
MIT building 10 room 250, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
And online
RSVP at https://improbable.com/ig/archive/2024-ceremony/#tickets

The webcast will be in English. There will also be a Japanese-language-captioned webcast.

The 2024 ceremony will be about 90 minutes or so in length. It will include these and other elements:
Winners — Ten new Ig Nobel Prize winners will be introduced. Each winner (or winning team) has done something that makes people LAUGH, then THINK.
Presenters — A gaggle of genuine, genuinely bemused Nobel laureates will physically present the Ig Nobel Prizes to the new Ig Nobel winners. Here are this year’s prize presenters:
Abhijit Banerjee
Moungi Bawendi
Esther Duflo
Jerry Friedman
Eric Maskin
Robert Merton
and perhaps others

Eight-year-old Miss Sweetie Poo will ensure that all speeches will be kept brief and thus delightful.
Theme — the theme of the 2024 ceremony will be: MURPHY’S LAW (“If anything can go wrong, it will”).
Mini-Opera — A new mini-opera will premiere as part of the ceremony. Called “The International Murphy’s Law Song Competition Contest Opera”, it’s about a competition to see who can perform the most Murphy-esque song about Murphy’s Law. During the opera, things might go wrong.
24/7 Lectures — Several of the world’s great thinkers will tell us, briefly, what they are thinking about (first in 24 seconds, then in 7 words) in the 24/7 Lectures. 
Paper Airplanes — Paper airplanes will be thrown by the people in the room. Simultaneously, video clips will be displayed, sent in advance by groups of paper-airplane-throwing people in many countries.
Welcome, Welcome; Goodbye, Goodbye — The traditional Welcome, Welcome Speech and the traditional Goodbye, Goodbye Speech will maintain the standard for what welcome speeches and goodbye speeches should be.
And other things.

————— 

The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI
Friday, September 13
6:00pm to 7:30pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142
Evening Write Science programs are $5. 

Join renowned computer scientist Neil Lawrence for a conversation with MIT Professor David Mindell on Lawrence's new book, The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI.

The greatest fear of AI is not that it rules our digital lives but that it displaces human intelligence entirely. If artificial intelligence takes over decision-making what, then, is unique and irreplaceable about human intelligence? The Atomic Human is a journey of discovery to the core of what it is to be human, in search of the qualities that cannot be replaced by the machine.

Lawrence brings a timely, fresh perspective to this new, emerging era, recounting his personal journey to understand the riddle of intelligence. By understanding the essential element of what makes us human — the "atomic human" — Lawrence shows how AI can enable us to choose the future we want.
Copies of The Atomic Human will be available for purchase onsite from the MIT Coop.

————— 

Ig Nobel: Face to Face
Saturday, September 14
12:30pm to 3:00pm
MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center, Cambridge MA 02142

Join us at the Museum for an Ig Nobel Prize companion event, Ig Nobel Face-to-Face. 

The very first Ig Nobel ceremony was held in the former MIT Museum building in 1991. We're excited to now host a new twist on this very popular celebration of scientific achievement in our new space. Ig Nobel: Face to Face brings 2024 Ig Nobel Prize winners together, in-person, with the opportunity to ask each other questions about their work, and answer questions from the audience. The event will be hosted by Improbable Research Founder Marc Abrahams. 

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate ten achievements "so surprising that they make people LAUGH, and then THINK." The 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony will be held on September 12, 2024 in lecture hall 10-250 at MIT. 

Free with museum admission. 

————— 

Swapfest -- The Flea at MIT -- Tech, tools, and gadgets flea market
Sunday, September 15
9:00am to 2:00pm
MIT, Building N4, 32 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02139

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)
More at https://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit/

————— 

Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, & the Fight for Global Security
Wednesday, September 16
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM ET
Harvard, Rubenstein 414ab, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://hksexeced.tfaforms.net/f/registration?e=a4oPp000001Nr1RIAS&_gl=1*cwce5w*_gcl_au*MTMzMjg5MTI1Mi4xNzIxOTMzMzIz*_ga*OTgwODMzMzc0LjE3MTU4Mjg2NjI.*_ga_72NC9RC7VN*MTcyNDU1Njc4NS4zLjEuMTcyNDU1Njk5NS42MC4wLjA.

How is the U.S. military strategizing around climate change?

Join us for an Energy Policy Seminar featuring Sherri Goodman, senior fellow at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program and Polar Institute and former Chief Environmental Officer at the Pentagon. Drawing from her new book, Threat Multiplier, Goodman will address pressing questions at the nexus of climate change and national security: how military leaders’ thinking has evolved, what are their contingency plans, and where do they see conflict coming next.

Q&A to follow. Buffet-style lunch will be served.

Registration: RSVP required. A Harvard University ID is required for in-person attendance; all are welcome to attend via Zoom.

Contact Liz Hanlon 617-495-5964

Editorial Comment:  I’ve gone to these events for years and years.  As COVID started, I realized that such open access to Harvard was probably going to go away.  Last year I went to one event at Harvard’s Kennedy School and for the first time was stopped and asked for ID at the door.  Now, I couldn’t get in without a Harvard affiiation.

————— 

MIT Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate Talk
Monday, September 16
12:00 - 1:00pm
MIT, Building 54-915 | MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP at https://eaps.mit.edu/events/paocq-dan-westervelt-columbia-ldeo/

[PAOCQ] PAOC Colloquium Interdisciplinary seminar series that brings together the whole PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) community. Seminar topics include all research concerning the physics, chemistry, and biology of the atmospheres, oceans and climate, as well as talks about societal impacts of climatic processes. Contact: paoc-colloquium-comm@mit.edu 

————— 

Understanding Climate Change Implications for Human Welfare: Research and Policy Applications
Monday, September 16
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

Fran Moore, Department of Environmental Science and Policy , University of California, Davis
Frances C. Moore is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the University of California Davis. She studies the risks climate change poses to human welfare and how individuals and communities respond to mitigate those risks. Her work is highly interdisciplinary with a focus on climate science and environmental economics, but including collaborations with engineers, psychologists, ecologists, and political scientists. Recent research topics include the relationship between climate change and economic growth, climate change effects on natural capital, endogenizing climate policy in models of the coupled climate-social system, and the interaction of climate risk with insurance markets. Between 2022 and 2023 she served as a Senior Economist in the Council of Economic Advisers in the Biden Administration, providing economic and policy analysis on climate change and clean energy issues. She holds the Hurlstone Presidential Chair and is a UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow.”

————— 

Jane Goodall: Celebrating 90
Monday September 16 
3pm EST [6:00 PM PT]
Sydney Goldstein Theater, 275 Hayes St, San Francisco CA 94102
And online
RSVP at https://www.cityboxoffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3052
Cost:  $12 - $259

Environmental icon Jane Goodall returns to Climate One in person to reflect back on her life’s work and offer a look forward to how we can heal our relationship with nature by better understanding ourselves. The indefatigable Goodall is now focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental inequity.
Dr. Goodall will be in conversation with Climate One Founder Greg Dalton and Rhett Butler, founder of Mongabay, a nonprofit media organization that delivers news and inspiration from nature's frontline via a network of more than 900 journalists in about 80 countries. Mongabay covers forests, wildlife, oceans, and other conservation topics in six languages and is celebrating its 25th birthday this year.

Join us for an inspiring evening on the harsh truths facing all life on Earth and a bright yet narrow path forward. 

Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute, United Nations Messenger of Peace
Rhett Butler, Founder and CEO of Mongabay

————— 

Climate Innovators Café
Monday, September 16
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Swissnex Boston, 420 Broadway, Cambridge, MA
RSVP at https://events.swissnexboston.org/ClimateInnovatorsCafe3

Connect with an international group of innovators working on next-generation climatetech solutions.
Join an international gathering of innovators working on global solutions to climate change. During the event, selected climatetech founders will take the stage to pitch their startups. The presenters will include the participants in the Swiss-US startup exchange program Climate Collider. Following the pitches, there will be the opportunity to network over drinks.

Climate Collider, a startup exchange program powered by Swissnex and Innosuisse, aims to build a transatlantic startup community and foster international collaboration in climate innovation.

Program
5:30pm – Doors open
6:15pm – Opening remarks
6:25pm – Pitches
6:35pm – Networking
8:30pm – End

————— 

“The Biggest Story of Our Time” - Climate Actvism and the Election
Monday, September 16 
7 - 9pm EDT
Goethe-Institut Boston, 170 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02116
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-biggest-story-of-our-time-climate-actvism-and-the-election-tickets-945170208537

How Can Climate Activism Influence the Election? Transatlantic Talks presented by the American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut

The American Council on Germany and the Goethe-Institut are holding a series of in-person events across the United States highlighting how German and American journalists based in the United States see political and social developments in Germany, the United States, and internationally. Our guests will take a step back from the stories they follow day to day and address a range of topics that affect citizens in both countries. Following the in-person gatherings, the discussions are released as podcasts.

From sea-level rise, melting glaciers and extreme heat waves to the transition to renewables- climate change affects everyone, it’s the biggest story of our time. How are a climate activists in both the US and Germany addressing the topic? What is at stake and how could the US election impact the future of fossil fuels? Is there more awareness for climate change in Germany than in the US?

We are talking to Luisa Neubauer, climate activist from Germany and the most prominent representative of the German climate movement and Bill McKibben, environmental activist, educator, founder of Third Act and author of many books.

Moderated by Sabrina Shankman, who is reporting on climate change for the Boston Globe.

————— 

Climate on the Ballot: A Virtual Summit for Journalists:  How to cover the story of our time in this unprecedented election year
Tuesday, September 17 - Thursday, September 19
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-on-the-ballot-a-virtual-summit-for-journalists-tickets-957456898357

The 2024 election will have a profound effect on how, and whether, the US government addresses the climate crisis. Over three days — through panels, workshops, and more — we’ll dig into the challenges and opportunities of elevating the climate angle in journalists’ political storytelling. Polling shows that a clear majority of the public cares about climate change and wants to know more. So, how can we tell stories that capture audiences’ attention and drive public discussion in a news cycle that is moving so fast? How can we be accurate and honest about climate change, while guarding against allegations of partisanship? And how can we demonstrate to audiences the connection between this election and the climate action, or inaction, they’re seeing in their backyards? During this summit, we’ll tackle these questions and more — together.

Sign up now to receive detailed agenda information, as it becomes available.
DAY 1 - TUESDAY, SEPT. 17: THE STAKES VS. THE HORSE RACE
How can elections coverage prioritize informing voters of the climate stakes and hold leaders accountable for their climate positions?

DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18: THE STATE & LOCAL CLIMATE ELECTION
State and local officials have important roles to play in championing or stymying climate action, and billions of dollars are flowing into communities across the country, due to recent federal climate legislation. How do we best cover the climate story locally, and what can we learn from colleagues who are doing it well?

DAY 3 - THURSDAY, SEPT. 19: SPECIAL GUESTS & MORE
Tune in for high-impact discussions with headliner guests. More information to come.

Read more: For the Guardian, CCNow co-founders Mark Hertsgaard & Kyle Pope argue that 2024 “should be the year of the climate election” and explain how journalists might cover it this way:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/07/climate-change-presidential-election-media-coverage

Climate on the Ballot newsletter: CCNow’s weekly newsletter to help you and your newsroom make climate change an integral part of your elections coverage. Sign up here.
Please note: This event is open to the public, but interactive breakout sessions will be for JOURNALISTS ONLY, to ensure the conversations are constructive and actionable.

————— 

From words to action: implementing biodiversity and climate strategies for resilient societies

Tuesday, September 17
8am EDT [14:00-15:30 CEST]
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.se/e/from-words-to-action-on-nature-and-climate-tickets-1000021419987
This live Zoom event is open to all.

From words to action is a new series of six interconnected events held by SEI’s global centres during fall 2024. The events will foster discussion, elevate scientific findings and present key tools for locally relevant action.

Stockholm Environmental Institute’s [SEI] global centres in Bogotá, Nairobi, Bangkok, Washington, Tallinn and Stockholm will host a series of six interconnected events across four continents, tailored to support regional stakeholders’ needs.

These events, available both online and in-person, will highlight regionally relevant interdependencies and amplify scientific methods for integrated implementation of global biodiversity and climate agreement goals.

Attendees will gain access to the latest findings from state-of-the-art research, tools and evidence from the SEI research landscape, showcasing the benefits of coordinated action on biodiversity and climate.

From words to action on nature and climate
The series will launch at an integrated online event, with keynotes from the Chairs of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). SEI presenters will preview the events in the series and discuss tools and evidence from the SEI research landscape which demonstrate the win-wins of acting on biodiversity and climate in concert.

Jim Skea
Sir Prof. Jim Skea was elected IPCC Chair for the Seventh Assessment cycle in July 2023. From 2015 to 2023, Jim was Co-chair of Working Group III of the IPCC, focusing on climate change mitigation.

He was part of the scientific leadership for the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C. Jim Skea was a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College London from 2009 to 2023 and Chair of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission from 2018 to 2023. He was a founding member of the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, acting as its Scottish champion.

Between 2012 and 2017 Professor Skea was Research Councils UK’s Energy Strategy Fellow and was President of the Energy Institute between 2015 and 2017. He was Research Director of the UK Energy Research Centre from 2004-2012.

David Obura
Dr. David Obura was elected in October 2023 to lead IPBES, the largest scientific organization on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the world.
He is a Founding Director of CORDIO East Africa, a knowledge organization supporting sustainability of coral reef and marine systems in the Western Indian Ocean. Dr. Obura was active in bringing sustainability science into the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. He is Chair of the coral specialist group of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and a member of the Earth Commission.

Dr. Obura was awarded Kenya’s national honour, Moran of the Burning Spear in December 2021, and the Coral Reef Conservation Award of the International Coral Reef Society in 2022.

SEI speakers
Åsa Persson, Research Director and Deputy Director, SEI Headquarters
Karina Barquet, Team Leader: Water, Coasts and Ocean; Senior Research Fellow, SEI Headquarters
Francis X. Johnson, Senior Research Fellow, SEI Asia
Ivonne Lobos Alva.Team Leader: Sustainable Transitions; Senior Expert, SEI Latin America
Ed Carr, SEI US Centre Director and Senior Scientist, SEI US
Ivo Krustok, Head of Unit, Senior Expert (Climate Systems and Energy Policy Unit), SEI Tallinn

Event contact
Maya Rebermark / maya.rebermark@sei.org

————— 

Environmental Business Council of NE [EBC] Sixth Annual New England Energy Leadership Conference
Tuesday, September 17
9:00 am - 12:00 pm EST
Online
RSVP at https://ebcne.org/event/ebc-sixth-annual-new-england-energy-leadership-conference/
Cost:  $30 - $150

Information for viewing the webinar will be shared with registered attendees in a confirmation email.

Contact
Phone: (617) 505-1818
Email: ebc@ebcne.org

————— 

Understanding the Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal in Long-term Climate Planning
Tuesday, September 17
10 - 11:15am EDT  
Online
RSVP at https://www.wri.org/events/2024/9/understanding-role-carbon-dioxide-removal-long-term-climate-planning

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it clear that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a needed complement to deep and rapid emissions reductions to avoid the worst consequences of climate change and limit temperature rise to 1.5C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. Ultimately, carbon removal is the only way to reach net-negative emissions and reduce the excess carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere that is causing the climate impacts we’re seeing today. Scaling carbon removal to the needed level we expect requires a concerted effort from policymakers, project developers, civil society, and many others.

Significant progress has been made in the past five years. Carbon removal has evolved from a niche concept to a well-accepted component of climate commitments. While maintaining and increasing natural carbon sinks has long been included in climate plans, now more than 25 of the 72 long-term strategies submitted by parties to the UNFCCC also mention interest or plans to use novel carbon removal approaches (such as direct air capture) to meet their climate goals.

This identified need and growing interest raise important questions about how countries should think about the role of CDR in meeting their climate targets: How much CDR should they plan for? What’s the best way to determine that level? How can mitigation deterrence be minimized? What types of CDR make sense in different locations? What regulatory and governance mechanisms are needed to ensure CDR projects are done responsibly and provide local benefits? How can we build capacity in countries to enable them to scale these technologies?

These questions are particularly relevant as countries are working to develop the next round of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and long-term low emission development strategies (LTSs) under the Paris Agreement.

Join us on September 17 for a discussion of these important questions around the role of carbon removal in helping meet climate targets.Speakers will discuss how carbon removal is featured in key climate reports, emerging challenges related to defining its role in climate action, and how countries can and should be thinking about the topic of carbon dioxide removal. We will introduce a recently launched initiative, the Group of Negative Emitters, and discuss its potential role in addressing these questions and ultimately driving ambition to achieve net-negative emissions.

Speakers:
Oliver Geden, Senior Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs & Vice-Chair, IPCC Working Group III
Asser Berling, Director, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Denmark
Katie Lebling, Research Associate, Carbon Removal, World Resources Institute
Harry Smith, Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar at the University of East Anglia & Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Additional speakers to be announced

—————

What can we learn from Sweden’s rollout of heat pumps?  How to make good things happen: global lessons for UK policymakers
September 17 
2:30pm EDT [9:30 – 10:30 London Time]
58 Victoria Embankment, London, UK
And online
RSVP at https://www.nesta.org.uk/event/what-can-we-learn-from-swedens-rollout-of-heat-pumps/

As a new government gets to work, we’re looking at successful past policies from across the globe and what UK policymakers can learn from them, as part of our event series: how to make good things happen.

The UK needs to act swiftly to transition to clean heat and meet net-zero targets. Home heating accounts for 15% of total carbon emissions, so replacing our heating systems with low-carbon systems like heat pumps will be crucial. But our heat pump adoption rate is currently too slow - only 1% of heating installations per year are heat pumps.
What can the UK learn from our Nordic neighbours to pick up the pace? In Sweden, the rate of heat pump adoption is high. Despite having one of the coldest climates in Europe, there are more than 40 heat pumps per 100 households and the nation has consistently reached 100,000 installations per year for the last decade.

On 17 September, 9:30-10:30, we’ll be exploring how Sweden has become a heat pump powerhouse, at a live in-person event with a panel of industry experts. We’ll be deep-diving into the policy initiatives that helped support a national rollout of heat pumps – such as carbon taxes and government incentives – and exploring insights that policymakers can apply in the UK to get us to net zero.

Nesta’s sustainable future mission director Madeleine Gabriel will be joined by:
Daniel Särefjord, Aira Group CCO and Aira UK CEO
Dr Jan Rosenow, Principal and Director of European Programmes, Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)
Charlotte Lee, Chief Executive, Heat Pump Association (HPA)

This breakfast event will be held at 58 Victoria Embankment in central London and will involve an interactive Q&A session and networking reception. The event will also be streamed online for those who can’t make it in person.

Register to attend to receive event details, reminders and live stream links.

————— 

Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey, with Erika Dyck, PhD, Professor of History, University of Saskatchewan
Tuesday, September 17
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tVGnof8LQAyaUejl0TGxnQ#/registration

In this conversation with Jeffrey Breau and Paul Gillis-Smith, CSWR's Program Leads for “Spirituality and Psychedelics,” Erika Dyck will discuss her recently released book, Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey (The MIT Press, 2024). 

About the Book:   Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey takes readers on a profound and captivating journey through the long-held fascination with mind-altering plants. Author Erika Dyck blends academic rigor, insight, and entrancing imagery to explore the global history of psychedelics—from ancient Greek culture, symbolic Christian sacraments, Buddhist philosophies, and indigenous ceremonies—to the cultural consciousness of the twenty-first century, influencing and inspiring music, art, fashion, and science. Despite their rich and often controversial history, psychedelic plants and chemical synthetics have provided meaning to humans throughout time. From Colonial resistance and fear, to peace, health, and creativity, Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey reveals how psychedelic visions flow from the imagination into the structures of human understanding. 

Author's Bio: Erika Dyck, PhD, is a Professor of History and Canada Research Chair in History of Health and Social Justice at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the author of many publications, including Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD From Clinic to Campus (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008) and Facing Eugenics: Reproduction, Sterilization, and the Politics of Choice (University of Toronto Press

CONTACT Laurie D. Sedgwick, CSWR Event Coordinator

————— 

Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point
Tuesday, September 17
7:00 PM ET Location
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/daniel_ziblatt/

Harvard Book Store welcomes Daniel Ziblatt—director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University—for a discussion of his latest book, newly out in paperback, Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point.

About Tyranny of the Minority
America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it?

With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples—from 1930s France to present-day Thailand—to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies—from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand—have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind.

In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to reform our politics. It’s a daunting task, but we have remade our country before—most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all.

————— 

2024 Transatlantic Cleantech Summit
Wednesday, September 18
8:30am - 5:30pm EDT
The Engine, 750 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2024-transatlantic-cleantech-summit-tickets-944962958647
Cost:  $50 -$150

Agenda
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Check-In & Networking Breakfast
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM
Welcome to the Transatlantic Cleantech Summit
9:45 AM - 10:00 AM
InnoEnergy Keynote: Building the Bridge for Transatlantic Decarbonization 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Panel 1: Scaling Net Zero Industries in the EU This panel will examine Europe's advancements in deploying clean technologies in carbon-intensive industries, discussing the required financial capital and workforce development, lessons learned, and...
11:00 AM - 11:10 AM
BREAK
11:10 AM - 12:10 PM
Panel 2: Regulation as a Catalyst for the Clean Energy Transition This panel will examine the regulatory environments in the EU and US, comparing incentives and mandates being used as catalysts for cleantech deployment, with insights from startups who have leverage...
12:10 PM - 1:15 PM
LUNCH
1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Panel 3: Driving Industrial Decarbonization through CollaborationThis panel will explore the pivotal role of industrial partnerships in fostering ecosystems for emerging technologies, emphasizing their ability to derisk novel solutions and accelerate industrial de...
2:15 PM - 2:30 PM
BREAK
2:30 PM - 2:50 PM
Fireside Chat: Bridging the Funding GapThis session will address the financing gap that exists between the EU and US for growth-stage companies and explore how private sector collaboration can bridge this gap, with insights from leading U...
2:55 PM - 3:15 PM
Fireside Chat: Navigating Scale Across Oceans The founder of one of InnoEnergy’s portfolio companies will join us for a fireside chat to share their unique perspective on building and scaling a startup, securing funding, and preparing for intern...
3:20 PM - 3:40 PM
Fireside Chat: Financing and Deploying Energy Storage in the EU and Beyond This fireside chat will highlight opportunities for innovation and deployment within the energy storage industry and the diverse forms of capital required to get grid, microgrid, and behind-the-meter...
3:40 PM - 3:50 PM
Concluding Remarks 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Networking Reception

—————

Collective Punishment of the Other: Perceptions of Groupness and Public Responses to Foreign Influence
Wednesday, September 18
12:00pm to 1:30PM EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

Jonathan Chu, National University of Singapore

MIT Security Studies Wednesday Seminar

————— 

Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World’s Richest Country Book Talk
Wednesday, September 18
1 – 2:30 p.m.
Harvard, James Room East, Swartz Hall Rm 120, 45 Francis Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bQjIFWUHBdFOHDE
Please RSVP by noon on Monday, September 16 to secure your spot. Lunch will be provided

This book talk features authors of Going for Broke: Living on the Edge in the World’s Richest Country, and voices from the Economic Hardship Reporting Project (EHRP). Exposing the truth about economic insecurity in America, they will assert that communal luxury is found in collective experience and cultural production, not in material goods. They will also discuss why so many of the stories of those on the margins are deleted from the mainstream media and what it means to write first-person about homelessness or financial insecurity in honest and gripping ways.

The anthology Going for Broke brings together a diverse group of voices who have lived through economic struggles. This event is an opportunity to explore narratives that are often overlooked and what it takes to bring them to the fore.
Featuring
Alex Miller, writer, journalist, and reporting fellow at EHRP
Alissa Quart, writer, journalist, and executive director of EHRP
Deborah Jian Lee, writer, journalist, senior editor at EHRP, RPL Fellow in the Professions
Moderator
Phillip Martin, senior investigative reporter for the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting.

CONTACT rpl@hds.harvard.edu

————— 

Justin Pearson: No Justice Without Climate Justice
Wednesday, September 18
3pm EST [6:00 p.m. PT]
110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco CA 94105
And online
RSVP at https://commonwealthclub.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/instances/a0FVb000000K58PMAS
Cost:  $20

On March 27, 2023, six people were gunned down in a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. The horrific event led Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson and two colleagues to protest for common sense gun legislation on the Tennessee House floor. House Republicans retaliated by expelling Pearson and his colleague Justin Jones. Pearson ran and won back his seat with 94% of the vote.

Pearson became a national voice for common sense gun regulation. He is also a strong advocate for climate and environmental justice, having worked to defeat a multi-billion dollar crude oil pipeline that could have poisoned Memphis drinking water and taken land from South Memphis residents. The Sierra Club recognized him as the 2023 National Changemaker of the Year.

Join us for a conversation with a rising voice for environmental justice.

————— 

Daniel Ziblatt with Joe Kennedy: Tyranny of the Minority
Wednesday, September 18
7:00pm - 8:00pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA 02446-2908
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/daniel-ziblatt-with-joe-kennedy-tyranny-of-the-minority-tickets-968732072707

Celebrate the paperback release of Tyranny of the Minority with author Daniel Ziblatt, in conversation with Joe Kennedy. Register for the event!RSVP to let us know you're coming! Depending on the volume of responses, an RSVP may be required for entrance to the event. You will also be alerted to important details about the program, including safety requirements, cancellations, and book signing updates. In the event that we reach capacity and have to close RSVPs, there will not be a waiting list.

America is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it?

With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples—from 1930s France to present-day Thailand—to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies—from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand—have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind.

In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to reform our politics. It’s a daunting task, but we have remade our country before—most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all.
Daniel Ziblatt is the director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University, where he is also the Eaton Professor of Government. He also leads a research group based in Germany at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). His research focuses on European politics and the comparative study of democracy. Ziblatt's previous positions at Harvard include Professor of Government and Paul Sack Associate Professor of Political Economy. He holds a PhD in Political Science from UC Berkeley and a BA from Pomona College. In 2023, he was elected member of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. Ziblatt is the co-author, with Steven Levitsky, of the New York Times bestsellers How Democracies Die and Tyranny of the Minority.

————— 

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.

—————

Designing Just Futures Summit: Collaborative Practices for Spatial Justice
September 19
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM 
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston, MA
RSVP at https://www.architects.org/events/756747/2024/09/19/designing-just-futures-summit-collaborative-practices-for-spatial-justice
COST:  Two-day summit tickets are $125 for non-members, $100 for BSA/AIA members, and $50 for students and emerging professionals (no CE credits).

This two-day summit on Sept. 19 and 20 is dedicated to exploring and promoting equitable design practices and spatial justice. By bringing together thought-leaders, professionals, and community advocates, this event will foster meaningful dialogue, share innovative solutions, and inspire systemic change in the design of our built environments.

Day 1 includes a reception beginning at 5:30 on Sept. 19.

More information at https://www.architects.org/designing-just-futures

————— 

Mounting Risks to Wetlands: A Journalist’s Perspective
Thursday, September 19
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-MvKzBoZQFqJDdHZyexguQ#/registration

Miranda Willson is a reporter at E&E News, a subscription-based environmental news site run by Politico. She covers water policy, including EPA regulations and water debates and bills in Congress. In this lecture, Willson will discuss what’s at stake as U.S. wetlands continue to be filled in for development, and how the high court ruling could accelerate what scientists view as an alarming trend of wetlands loss. She will also dive into a wetlands restoration debate in Louisiana on which she recently reported and explain how she covers water issues for an audience of lawmakers, scientists, oil industry executives, NGOs and many others.

Contact Sinet Kroch  sinet.kroch@tufts.edu

————— 

Counting Feminicide Book Launch & Signing Party
Thursday, September 19
4:30pm - 6:00pm
Samuel Tak Lee Building, 105 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT Building 9, Room 255, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/counting-feminicide-book-launch-signing-party-tickets-961547403167

Counting Feminicide documents the creative, intellectual, and emotional labor of feminicide data activists across the Americas who are at the forefront of a data ethics that rigorously and consistently takes power and people into account. Catherine D'Ignazio will do a short talk about the overall project, followed by talks by two junior scholars who have worked on this project. Harini Suresh (Computer Science) will speak about her contributions to the co-design of AI/ML technologies with feminist activists and Alessandra Jungs de Almeida(International Relations, Women & Gender Studies) on her leadership of participatory action research and design with Brazilian activists.

—————

The future of US climate policy: Issues at stake in the 2024 election
Thursday, September 19
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM EDT
Annenberg Auditorium, Weill Hall,  735 South State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
And online
RSVP at https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-michigan-climate

Climate policy has been a significant focal area at the federal level over the past three years, notably with the passage of legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IRA and IIJA will be essential for the transition of the United States to a carbon-free society by 2050. They will also have wide-reaching state and local impacts, including in Michigan.

The 2024 election is an ideal time to examine how current U.S. climate policy is working and what the next few years could look like. For instance, many challenges remain in the implementation of the IRA and the IIJA (e.g., permitting and land use), while the impacts on major industries like automotive manufacturing are still being studied. On September 19, Brookings and the University of Michigan will bring together their policy and research expertise to explore important aspects of recent legislation as well as the future of climate policy in the United States. Please join us for a reception following the program. 

Online viewers can submit questions via email to events@brookings.edu.

————— 

Grid Modernization, Distributed Energy Resources, and Affordability
Friday, September 20
9:00 am-12:30 pm (Networking over breakfast refreshments 8:30-9:00 am)
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd 17th Floor Boston, MA 02210
And online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/9-20-2024-new-england-electricity-restructuring-roundtable-tickets-942854361777
Cost:  $0 - $110

Two Panels on Grid Modernization, Distributed Energy Resources, and Affordability  
Capturing the benefits of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), including energy efficiency, demand flexibility, storage and distributed generation, will require better integrating them into the electricity system. This will necessitate investments in grid capabilities (aka grid modernization) to enhance visibility and situational awareness so that utilities and system operators can continue to run the system safely and reliably. Grid modernization, through advanced metering, can also provide customers with more information about their energy use and production to better manage and reduce their costs. The significant costs associated with grid modernization and DER support, in addition to ongoing electricity system investments will affect equity and affordability. Increasing electricity prices could also discourage electrification, a critical path decarbonization strategy. How can regulators, utilities, DER providers, and other stakeholders meet these challenges?

 Regulators Balancing Multiple Objectives and Needs
Recent public policy discussions have crystallized the importance of balancing among the needs for grid modernization, advancing and integratin g DERs, and affordability. Policymakers and regulators, including those serving on Northeast public utilities commissions, are currently grappling with these complex issues. 

The first panel of commissioners will share how they are addressing multiple - and what sometimes appear to be competing – objectives: to reduce carbon, empower customers, improve reliability and resilience, and to support investment in the related infrastructure equitably and affordably. 

Ron Gerwatowski, Chair, Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, will discuss ways to achieve policy objectives for clean energy, ensure affordability, and support investment to maintain and modernize the electricity system, potentially looking beyond electricity rates. 

Christine Guhl-Sadovy, President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, will describe her state’s leadership on solar and offshore wind, how New Jersey is looking at economic development and related new load (including data centers), and considerations related to ensuring equitable and affordable rates. 

Staci Rubin, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, will share her perspective on the utilities’ Electric Sector Modernization Plans, incentives for clean DER, and affordability – all of which are front and center at the Department. 

Carrie Gilbert, Commissioner, Maine Public Utilities Commission, will report on her state’s recent distribution grid planning process, as well as new proceedings on rate design and grid resilience, and how they can help to reduce electricity costs and improve service for customers. 

 Stakeholders Investing and Integrating to Benefit Customers
Modernizing the grid, integrating DERs, and ensuring affordability are also priorities for stakeholders, many of whom will be making the investments needed to realize them. All will play key roles in analyzing the benefits and costs of both grid modernization and DERs, how to think about their interactions, and options for pursuing their implementation. 

Come hear the perspectives of a consumer counsel, a utility leader, a clean energy developer, and an environmental advocate on the key issues, challenges, and opportunities presented by pursuing grid modernization, DERs, and affordability. 

Claire Coleman, Connecticut Consumer Counsel, will describe how her office is balancing multiple objectives in the Equitable Modern Grid proceeding, the annual DER reviews, and in Performance-Based Regulation dockets, using benefit-cost analysis, “right sized” incentives, and focusing on engagement and equity. 

Lisa Wieland, President, National Grid New England, will discuss National Grid’s plans for delivering safe, reliable, and affordable energy while helping Massachusetts achieve its climate goals.

Dan Berwick, President and CEO, New Leaf Energy, will present New Leaf’s experience nationally, addressing proactive distribution system planning, interconnection and cost allocation, as well as the interaction of wholesale market opportunities and incentives for DER. 

Bradley Campbell, President and CEO, Conservation Law Foundation will highlight the need to approach grid modernization through an equity and environmental justice lens, to prioritize resilience in the face of climate change, and to engage communities related to infrastructure development. 

————— 

Advancing Biodiversity for Community Resilience and Global Stability: Insights Ahead of COP16
Friday, September 20
9:30 AM EDT TO 11:00 AM EDT
Online
RSVP at https://engage.wilsoncenter.org/a/advancing-biodiversity-community-resilience-and-global-stability-insights-ahead-cop16

Biodiversity is in sharp decline, and the implications for global stability are significant. The World Wildlife Fund has estimated a 69% decrease in monitored wildlife populations since 1970, driven by climate change, deforestation, pollution, and human encroachment. While the moral imperative to protect life on our planet is strong, healthy ecosystems are also vital for human health, food and water security, and climate resilience.

Next month, experts and country representatives will convene in Colombia for the United Nations Biodiversity Summit (COP16) to deliberate on global goals and actions to protect the diversity of life on our planet. The 2022 meeting—hosted by China—resulted in a landmark global deal to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030. This year’s Biodiversity COP will focus on next steps to implement the 30x30 agreement, and how to reform global financial systems to support developing countries in achieving their commitments.

Join the Wilson Center with a distinguished panel of experts as they explore the significance of the biodiversity summit, why it matters to the resilience of communities around the world and global stability, and what investments are needed to advance biodiversity protection.

Panelists
Anton Delgado - Freelance Multimedia Journalist; Rainforest Investigations Network Fellow, The Pulitzer Center
João Campos-Silva - Co-Founder, Instituto Jura; National Geographic Explorer
Jennifer Tauli Corpuz - Global Policy and Advocacy Lead, Nia Tero
Rod Schoonover - Co-Founder, The Ecosecurity Council; Founder and CEO, Ecological Futures Group; former Director of Environment and Natural Resources, National Intelligence Council
Moderated by Lauren Herzer Risi, Program Director of Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program.

————— 

CID Speaker Series: “Rethinking the Global Economic Development Architecture?”
Friday, September 20
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET
Democracy Lab (rubenstein 414-ab), 79, John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA

Speaker
Gayle Smith, Chief Executive Officer at The ONE Campaign
Join the Harvard Center for International Development (CID) on Friday, September 20th at 12pm for a lunchtime panel discussion on rethinking the global economic development architecture which was borne out of the ashes of World War II. As Bretton Woods institutions like the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund celebrate their 80th anniversary, calls to decolonize aid, localize assistance, and shift power and resources from rich countries to developing economies grow louder and more urgent. What would a new world economic order on development look like? And can a new US president get us there? Join us for a thought-provoking discussion by leading development experts including former USAID Administrator Gayle Smith and CID Faculty Director Asim I. Khwaja. This event is part of Harvard Kennedy School’s Candid and Constructive Conversations series in fall 2024.

Contact Linda Almeida  617-495-8157

————— 

The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future
Friday, September 20
3:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/benji_backer/

Harvard Book Store and The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics welcome Benji Backer—founder and executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition—for a discussion of his new book The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future. He will be joined in conversation by Christopher Robichaud—Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Director of Pedagogy and Civil Disagreement at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics.

About The Conservative Environmentalist
Politicians, pseudo-experts, and other partisans have led us to believe that there are only two approaches to climate change: doomerism or denial. Benji Backer, Founder and Executive Chairman of the American Conservation Coalition, argues that both are dead ends. In The Conservative Environmentalist, he delivers an entirely new strategy to take care of the planet while putting put the economic interest of the American people first.

Backer makes the compelling case that conservative principles are the key to climate solutions that actually work. In this book, you’ll visit the country’s most diverse ecosystems and consequential manufacturing hubs—from Utah coal mines and Texas oil fields to Louisiana wetlands and Rhode Island offshore wind farms—witnessing the power of individual entrepreneurship and local problem-solving. You’ll be inspired by groundbreaking efforts to strengthen earth’s ecosystems (that Green New Dealers and other Big Government advocates would prefer to keep hidden), like partnerships between oil and gas companies and environmental nonprofits to preserve thousands of acres of wetlands.
Drawing on cutting-edge science, a deep understanding of local community needs, and his experience rallying politicians on both sides of the aisle to take action, Backer offers hope for everyone who cares about the state of the great outdoors. Fascinating, clear-headed, and full of surprises, The Conservative Environmentalist is the fresh, audacious approach needed to ensure a sustainable future, and particularly one that works for America.

—————

XR Boston Week of Rebellion 2024
Sunday, September 22 - Saturday, September 28
Schedule of events at https://xrboston.org/news/xr-boston-announces-the-week-of-rebellion-2024/

Some as protest, others as education, and some online

————— 

Somerville Garden Club Annual Plant Sale
Sunday September 22
11 to 2pm
331 Summer Street, Somerville, MA 

Great stuff, at good prices, and lots of advice.  Plus books, pots, etc.  http://omervillegardenclub.org/plant-sale/

—————

Cash Transfers Reduce Climate-Induced Migration in Kenya
Monday, September 23
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

Valerie Mueller, Associate Professor, Arizona State University
Valerie Mueller received her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University (ASU). Prior to joining ASU, she was an economist at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and an Earth Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University. Dr. Mueller has devoted her career to measuring rural household vulnerability to climate variability in Africa and Asia. Her recent interest is in identifying the extent to which existing poverty-reduction programs prompt improved adaptation practices in low-and middle-income country settings.   

—————  

This is Climate: The Global Stakes
Monday, Sept. 23
2:00 p.m. ET
Online at http://wapo.st/climatesept23 
RSVP at https://climatesept23.splashthat.com/

No story is more global than climate change. No story is as consequential for future generations. As world leaders gather for the United Nations General Assembly this September, Washington Post Live will explore the course of climate change across all seven continents, one at a time.

Speakers
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
John F. Kerry, Former U.S. Secretary of State, Inaugural U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Susana Muhamad, Minister, Environment & Sustainable Development of Colombia
Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary & Special Envoy for International Climate Action for Germany
Bill Weir, Anchor & Chief Climate Correspondent CNN
Tina Stege, Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands
James Balog, Environmental Photographer, Filmmaker & Explorer, Earth Vision Institute
Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director, Africa & Global Partnerships, World Resources Institute
James I. Mwangi, Founder & CEO, Africa Climate Ventures
Tim Latimer, CEO & Co-Founder, Fervo Energy
Mateo Jaramillo, CEO & Co-Founder, Form Energy
Kimberly Budil, Laboratory Director, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Kasha Patel, Environment Reporter. The Washington Post
Juliet Eilperin, Deputy Climate and Environment Editor, The Washington Post
Maxine Joselow, Climate Policy and Politics Reporter, The Washington Post
Michael Birnbaum, National Security Reporter, The Washington Post
Bina Venkataraman, National Security Reporter, The Washington Post

————— 

Risk and Reward in the Age of AI
Monday, September 23
6:30pm - 7:30pm
WBUR CitySpace, 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
RSVP at https://www.wbur.org/events/955164/the-minds-mirror-daniela-rus-gregory-mone

AI has been dominating the news cycle for the last year and yet many still are confused by this technology’s benefits and perils. On one hand, AI has the potential to create new life-saving drugs or help unlock mysteries of the natural world. On the other hand, it could displace millions of workers or, most terrifyingly, lead society to its own destruction.
Join us for a conversation with MIT researcher Daniela Rus and science writer Gregory Mone, about their new book, “The Mind’s Mirror: Risk and Reward in the Age of AI,” where they wade through the hype and fear-mongering to offer a clear-eyed, balanced and accessible explanation of the technology’s limitations and possibilities.
Copies of the book will be available and the authors will sign following the conversation.

————— 

Global and Local Perspectives on a Just Energy Transition
Monday, September 23
8:30 - 10pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-and-local-perspectives-on-a-just-energy-transition-tickets-996672402987

Join us for a virtual discussion on how we can achieve a fair shift towards sustainable energy from both global and local viewpoints!

Join Pratt Institute’s MS in Sustainable Environmental Systems program for an exciting Climate Week NYC 2024 panel on important energy justice topics. Panelists working on local and global energy issues will come together to discuss systemic and historic barriers in realizing a true Just Transition. This timely discussion will happen during the UN General Assembly, where key climate and energy transition issues will be at the center of next steps for the sustainable development goals.

Key themes of the conversation will include: decarbonization, the path to net zero, supply chains, incentives for transition, green economy, athe SDGs, and community ownership.

Panelists:
Claudia Villar-Leeman | Senior Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST)
Elena Crete | Head of Climate and Energy Program, Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Martha Molfetas | Visiting Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute GCPE & Senior Fellow, New America
Summer Sandoval | Visiting Assistant Professor, Pratt Institute GCPE & Environmental Justice Federal Funding Lead, Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN)

————— 

Thinking with Plants and Fungi: "The Quest for the Plant Script
Tuesday, September 24
5:30 – 7 p.m.
Harvard, Common Room, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA
And online
RSVP for in person:  https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5dpYI21mwqYZWwC
RSVP online:  https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UsVcC-u2RwmZ7kBhz2keRA#/registration

Why have our writers, artists, thinkers, and scholars been compelled to turn their attention towards the ‘plant script’ in the last one hundred years? Beginning from Jagadish Chandra Bose’s “torulipi”—the handwriting of plants or the plant script through which he hoped plants would write their autobiography—and moving through Rabindranath Tagore’s songs about the language of flowers; to poets writing about the syntax of the falling of leaves to artists trying to coax a vocabulary out of plants or creating a “tree alphabet,” Sumana Roy shall speak about the quest for the plant script, its codes, its compulsions, and its intimate histories.  

Speaker's Bio:  Sumana Roy is the author of many publications, including How I Became a Tree (Aleph Book Company, 2019; Yale University Press, 2022), Provincials: Postcards from the Peripheries (Yale University Press, 2024), and VIP: Very Important Plant, a collection of poems (Shearsman Books, 2022). She is an Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at Ashoka University. 

————— 

Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II
Wednesday, September 25
12:00pm to 1:30PM, EST. 
Online at 12:05pm. at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5ooD8Ydk4vd83Ac8VNEoQ

Lena Andrews, University of Maryland

MIT Security Studies Wednesday Seminar

————— 

TEDxNewEngland 
Wednesday, September 25
Groton Hill Music Center, 122 Old Ayer Road, Groton, MA
1pm - 8pm
RSVP at https://tedxnewengland.com/
Cost:  $99 - $249 (use password SCIENCE for early access)

Enjoy the spectacular performing arts center as you join the brightest minds in science at our half-day event, which will spotlight groundbreaking scientific ideas from 11 brilliant speakers — plus two incredible performances.

————— 

Rethinking Multilateral Governance: Securing Our Future
Wednesday, September 25
4:30 – 6 p.m.
Harvard, S010, Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge

SPEAKER(S) Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Social scientist and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Abstract: Humanity today faces a world of complex, interconnected crises: deadly pandemics, climate change, cyber insecurity, and protracted conflicts. These threats are exacerbated by eroded trust in political institutions, rising social divisions, and weakened multilateral governance. In conflict zones, civilians suffer as international laws are disregarded due to the lack of effective enforcement.

This lecture seeks to rethink these challenges, drawing on the speaker’s UN experiences. The discussion will highlight the importance of transnational alliances and the role of women leaders in transforming societies, particularly through the Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. Additionally, the speaker will address experiences from the 2008 global financial crisis in the Asia-Pacific to promote inclusive and sustainable development. The central theme is imagining a “people-centered multilateralism” to reshape power dynamics and secure a better future for humanity.

More information at https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/events/rethinking-multilateral-governance-securing-our-future

CONTACT INFO Tenzin Ngodup (tngodup@fas.harvard.edu)

————— 

Massachusetts Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer – An EBC Leadership Program
Wednesday, September 25
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EST
Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston MA
RSVP at https://ebcne.org/event/network-learn-massachusetts-climate-chief-melissa-hoffer-an-ebc-leadership-program/
Cost:  $30 - $160

Contact
Phone: (617) 505-1818
Email: ebc@ebcne.org

————— 

Webinar: global ageing and climate change – regional dialogue Eurasia and the Middle East
Thursday, September 26
5am EDT [11:00 GST - 13:00 GST]
Online
To register for the webinar, please email jana.busch@sei.org.

The impacts of climate change are profound for older persons in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. SEI and HelpAge International are hosting a webinar on 26 September 2024 to address these critical issues.

This event, part of the Global Ageing and Climate Change Regional Dialogues webinar series, aims to foster a robust exchange of ideas among a diverse group of stakeholders. Specifically, we invite policymakers and practitioners from international organizations, regional and national governments, NGOs, and donor agencies to join this critical conversation. Your insights and experiences are crucial in shaping policies that effectively support older persons amidst the shifting climate landscape.

During the webinar, experts will share best practices and strategies for integrating the needs of older persons into climate adaptation and mitigation policies. We will explore how various stakeholders can collaborate to enhance their resilience against environmental changes.

Join us to contribute to this vital discussion and make a difference to the lives of older persons across Eurasia and the Middle East.

————— 

Managing the Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Budget
Thursday, September 26
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online 
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fx7m8aFFTrWro4OUMRtPww#/registration

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) seeks to protect, preserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s environmental resources while ensuring a clean energy future for the state’s residents. Accomplishing statewide environmental, energy, climate, and justice and equity goals requires a strategic and creative distribution of resources. This talk will explore EEA’s budget by discussing where its funding comes from and how those funds are allocated.

Contact Sinet Kroch  sinet.kroch@tufts.edu

————— 

Transitioning to the Future Grid in MA
Thursday, September 26
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
The Engine Accelerator, 750 Main St, Cambridge, MA 02139
RSVP and more information at https://www.masscec.com/event/transitioning-future-grid-ma-event-series-3

This is Event 3 of NECEC's Transitioning to the Future Grid in MA Event Series.
MassCEC will update this page with more information as it is announced.

————— 

Level Up Game Design / Cambridge Science Festival
Thursday, September 26
4:00pm to 6:00pm
The Ragon Institute 400 Technology Square, Cambridge 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/level-up-game-design-tickets-984156397277

Come learn about game design and dream up new games!

Discover the world of game design through a panel with game designers followed by a hands-on workshop with other high schoolers and professionals with a passion for play.

Join a panel of innovative game designers who will share insights on the role of the designer in creating engaging play experiences. After a conversation and time for a Q&A, participants will collaborate in a creative environment to bring their ideas to life.

The workshop will be in collaboration with Scot Osterweil, a research scientist and creative consultant to the Education Arcade and Game Lab at MIT, and designer of award-winning games. During the workshop-hour students from Innovators for Purpose will be demoing one of their new games.
AUDIENCE
Primarily high schoolers and their teachers, but all are welcome to join!
PERKS
Snacks will be provided, and students will get to work with game designers and like-minded peers. High Schoolers working with Innovators for Purpose will be demoing their game, “Uncover,” and looking for feedback from you!
PANELISTS
Scot Osterweil, research scientist and creative consultant to the Education Arcade and MIT Game Lab
Frank Pinto, game design teacher at Innovators for Purpose
He and a group of students will demo their game "Undercover" during the second part of the workshop.
Sara Verrilli, development director at MIT Game Lab
THE POWER OF DESIGN FOR LEARNING DISCOVERY
This workshop is part of MAD’s Power of Design series, dedicated this year to the ways in which Design Transforms Learning, and a part of Cambridge Science Festival.

—————

Catalyst Conversations: Game Matters
Thursday, September 26
6:00pm to 7:00pm
MIT, Bartos Theatre 20 Ames Street, Bldg. E15 Atrium level Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 
RSVP at https://listart.mit.edu/calendar/catalyst-conversations-game-matters

Join the MIT List Visual Arts Center in partnership with Catalyst Conversations for Game Matters, Jeremy Couillard and Mikael Jakobsson in Conversation.
How do we respond to technology?
Why do games matter?
Play and games are interactive, why do we need to play?
How do we learn by play?
How do games help us see our own social arrangements?
How do we create those important social spaces?

Artist Jeremy Couillard whose projects exist as playable games, web projects, and video installations will be in conversation with research scientist Mikael Jakobsson. Their conversation will explore some of these large questions from both a critical and design point of view. Join us for what promises to be an exciting and timely conversation.
Jeremy Couillard, a self-taught coder and digital artist, drawing on the ideas of the anthropologist David Graeber, says that its imaginative world can help us see the contingency and hallucinatory quality of our own social arrangements.

Mikael Jakobsson conducts research on the border between game design and game culture. He investigates how gaming activities fit into social and cultural practices, and how this knowledge can be integrated into the development process. During his stay at MIT, he serves as Project Manager for the Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory.

This program has been developed in conjunction with the first institutional solo exhibit of Jeremy Couillard, whose work straddles the worlds of contemporary art and independent video games.

A Cambridge Science Festival Event.

————— 

Community Engagement for Climate Resilience: What is it and how do you do it well?
Friday, September 27
9:30 am - 12:30 pm EST
Foley Hoag LLP, 155 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02110
And online
RSVP at https://climateadaptationforum.org/event/community-engagement-for-climate-resilience-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-do-it-well/
Cost:  $15 - $45

New regulations and grant programs are increasingly requiring project teams to meaningfully engage with the people who will be most affected by their proposals, particularly when projects take place in environmental justice communities. What does meaningful community engagement look like, and how does it affect project outcomes?
This Climate Adaptation Forum will help new and long-term practitioners alike understand what skills and practices are involved and what benefits are possible when project teams and community members partner to identify both problems and viable solutions to climate challenges.

Forum Speakers
Vicente S. Harrison, Health, Safety, and Emergency Manager, Vibrant Communities Support Services, Parks & Recreation, City of Portland, OR
Melissa Liu, Participatory Budgeting and Engagement Coordinator, City of Cambridge
Fidel Maltez, City Manager, City of Chelsea, MA

Contact
Phone: (617) 505-1818
Email: ebc@ebcne.org

————— 

Planetary Play: Design for Outer Space / Cambridge Science Festival
Friday, September 27
10:00am to 1:00pm
The Ragon Institute 400 Technology Square, Cambridge 02139
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planetary-play-design-for-outer-space-tickets-984162455397?aff=oddtdtcreator

Combine your passion for space with the power of design in this hands-on workshop!

Explore how to design for outer space and extreme environments alongside MIT students and guest speaker Skylar Tibbits, an Associate Professor at MIT. The group might even be joined by an astronaut!

Focusing on design skills applicable to various disciplines, students will engage in activities around the theme of outer space: ideation, low-fidelity prototyping, and compelling presentations.

This event is organized in partnership with WPS, whose mission is to catalyze the shift to connected, empowering, and unbounded learning.
AUDIENCE
In this session, middle and high school teachers are encouraged to sign up with 5-10 of their students. Students and teachers will have the opportunity to work together, and will also break out into student-only and teacher-only groups.
PERKS
Lunch will be provided and students will get to take their prototypes home.
PANELISTS
Skylar Tibbits, founder and co-director of the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT; associate professor of design research in the MIT Department of Architecture; assistant director for education at the MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD)

THE POWER OF DESIGN FOR LEARNING DISCOVERY
This workshop is part of MAD’s Power of Design series, dedicated this year to the ways in which Design Transforms Learning, and a part of Cambridge Science Festival.

————— 

Moms on Mars
Friday, September 27
7:00pm - 9:00pm
The MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142
RSVP at https://mitmuseum.mit.edu/programs/moms-on-mars

Mars: humanity's next moonshot? Or massive, expensive, ethically complicated suck pile? Let's find out!

There's a lot to be excited about on Mars, it's true. But Teslas in space aside, very few talk about what it really means to build a settlement on another planet: we're asking female astronauts to give birth and raise babies on Mars. And we don't entirely know what's going to happen when they do. Some fantastic and weird new scientific research is starting to shed light on that problem – mostly by hurling pregnant rodents into space – but a lot like the knowledge gap around women's health here on Earth, we actually aren't sure how those intrepid space frontierswomen will fare. We do know that Mars only has 38% of Earth's gravity. We do know that radiation is bad. And we know that the human body has long evolved to live – and make babies – on Earth. So what might it really look like ti be pregnant, give birth, and nurse babies on Mars? And how can we help these poor women?

Join New York Times bestselling authors Cat Bohannon and Kelly Weinersmith for a science comedy fashion show, where models and dancers will present new wearables on a hilarious, science-focused catwalk. Each piece is designed in collaboration with Cat, Kelly, and a prominent feminist artist, using the latest cutting-edge scientific research to model what pregnant and postpartum bodies might really need to make it on Mars.

The wearables and artworks for Moms on Mars are conceived and created by a team of feminist artists and scientists including Cat, Kelly, Zach Weinersmith, Lucy McRae, Ani Liu, and Hazel Lee Santino.

Copies of Eve by Cat Bohannon and A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith will be available for purchase onsite from the MIT Press Bookstore. Kelly and Cat will be available for book signings after the show.
This program is intended for audiences 18 and older.

This program is presented as part of the Cambridge Science Festival. The MIT Museum is free during the Cambridge Science Festival.

————— 

Net Impact Boston SDG Summit
Saturday, September 28
9am - 2pm EDT
NonProfit Center, 89 South Street Boston, MA 02111
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/net-impact-boston-sdg-summit-tickets-982302823187
Cost:  $15-$20

A half day summit focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and what is being done locally in the Greater Boston Area to achieve them

Agenda
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Coffee and Light Refreshments
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome and Overview of the Event
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
Panel 1 - The SDGs and Enacting A Green New Deal for BostonThe City of Boston has laid out a Green New Deal to serve as a roadmap for tackling climate change at the local level through “policies that address economic, social and racial inequities, while adva...
View More
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Exhibition Break #1
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Panel 2 - The SDGs and Advancing Social Equity, Access and Justice in BostonThe Greater Boston Area is home to diverse communities across race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, class, and ability as well immigrants from around the world. Yet, institutional barriers rema...
View More
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Exhibition Break #2
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Panel 3 - The SDGs and Driving Innovation for Good in Boston
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Networking and Light Refreshments

————— 

How the climate triad can address the planetary polycrisis
Saturday, September 28 
12 - 1pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-the-climate-triad-can-address-the-planetary-polycrisis-tickets-998039732707

Let's dive into how the climate, biodiversity, and social justice can work together to tackle the multiple crises facing our planet!

Join us for a fascinating online event titled 'How the climate triad can address the planetary polycrisis'where experts will discuss the interconnected issues of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. Learn about innovative solutions and collaborative efforts that can help tackle these pressing global challenges. Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights and contribute to a sustainable future!

————— 

Justice Considerations in Climate Research
Monday, September 30
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

Kian Mintz-Woo, Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, University of Cork, Ireland

Brief bio: Kian Mintz-Woo is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy at University College Cork (Ireland). He is also affiliated with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis' Equity and Justice group (Austria). This semester, Mintz-Woo is a Visiting Fellow at Princeton's University Center for Human Values. Mintz-Woo also a member of the Irish Government's Carbon Budgets' Working Group, helping to propose and support national planning. He works primarily on moral philosophy, both theoretical and applied to climate policy. Some of his recent work has focused on questions related to carbon prices including carbon taxes; loss and damage in the post-Paris climate policy space; justice aspects of shared socioeconomic pathways and just transitions; and the ethics of carbon dioxide removal.

Abstract: We use the term “justice” in many climate contexts (e.g. “just transition”)—and indeed in a variety of other political and policy contexts (e.g. “social justice”). What does it mean? In this talk, I break down some common forms of justice from a philosophical point of view in order to inform climate science and policy. The goal is to have a flexible, modular, but powerful framework that makes discussions of justice accessible and practically applicable. 

————— 

Visionary Leaders and Green Cities
Monday, September 30
9 - 10pm EDT
Online
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/visionary-leaders-and-green-cities-tickets-1001613180987

A fireside chat with John J. Berger, author of "Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save the Earth"

In this fireside chat, John J. Berger Ph.D, environmental science and policy specialist, journalist, and prize-winning author, joins Wei-Tai Kwok, co-founder of Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter and Lafayette (CA) city council member, to discuss "Visionary Leaders and Green Cities," a key chapter of Mr. Berger's new book, Solving the Climate Crisis: Frontline Reports from the Race to Save Earth.

Six years in the making, Solving the Climate Crisis features interviews with governors, mayors, ranchers, scientists, engineers, business leaders, energy experts, and entrepreneurs, as well as carbon farmers, solar and wind innovators, forest protectors, non-profit leaders, and activists. It makes the case that replacing the fossil-fuel system with a newly invigorated, modernized, clean-energy economy will produce tens of millions of new jobs and save trillions of dollars — protecting the climate while offering the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

Emceed by Alma Soongi Beck, founder of ClimateHope.us and co-chair of Climate Justice at Climate Reality Project Bay Area chapter.
Presented by Climate Reality Project Bay Area chapter, ClimateHope.us, and AboveTheBeehive.org

————— 

What If We Get It Right?
Tuesday, October 1 
9am EDT [12:00 PM PDT]
The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 94105
And online
RSVP at https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-10-01/what-if-we-get-it-right-ayana-elizabeth-johnson-bill-mckibben-and-abigail-dillen
Cost:  $5 - $54

It’s easy enough to look around and see signs of current climate destruction and future climate doom. But marine biologist, and co-founder of The All We Can Save Project, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson asks us instead to focus on the question, “What if we get it right?”

Johnson, Third Act Founder Bill McKibben, and Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen have all dedicated their lives to saving all they can of this beautiful planet. In their different ways, through science, public education and legal action, they have been at the forefront of enacting solutions at the nexus of science, policy and justice. Conservation is an ongoing struggle. Johnson, McKibben and Dillen recognize that it will take all of us—not just scientists and lawyers, but farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, with all our diverse skills—to get us through to the other side of the present existential crisis.

Join Climate One Co-host Ariana Brocious for an inspiring, live conversation with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Bill McKibben and Abigail Dillen.

SPEAKERS
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Marine Biologist; Co-founder, The All We Can Save Project
Abigail Dillen, President, Earthjustice
Ariana Brocious, Editor, Producer and Co-Host, Climate One
Bill McKibben, Author, Educator, Environmentalist

————— 

Can AI Help Courts be Fair and Just? Unlocking the Positive Effects of Justice on Economic Development
Wednesday, October 2
12 – 1 p.m.
Online
RSVP at https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2024-daniel-l-chen-fellow-presentation-virtual

SPEAKER(S) Daniel L. Chen, Director of research at CNRS, Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics, Moral AI cochair at ANITI
Daniel L. Chen—director of research at CNRS, professor at the Toulouse School of Economics, and moral AI cochair at ANITI—specializes in law, economics, and data science to uncover patterns in human behavior and legal decision-making. During his Radcliffe fellowship, he will synthesize his work on using AI to diagnose issues in judicial systems, drawing on global court collaborations to demonstrate efficiency gains, economic impacts, and human-AI interaction.

CONTACT INFO events@radcliffe.harvard.edu

————— 

The Complexities of Community-Led Climate Solutions From an Outsider
Thursday, October 3
12 – 1PM
Tufts, Curtis Hall Multipurpose Room, 474 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA
And online
RSVP at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OeMd69E3QNG46-Vh4PrHzg#/registration

From forest conservation and river restoration in Papua New Guinea and Mexico to reducing health and climate harming pollution from vehicles in the US freight system, Andrea Savage, campaign manager for the Clean Transportation Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrestles with unexpected tensions in community-led solutions to climate change, but often as an outsider. Join Andrea in exploring the lessons and tensions related to supporting bottom-up solutions in a world that’s mostly top-down.

Contact Sinet Kroch  sinet.kroch@tufts.edu

————— 

AltWheels Fleet Day
Monday, October 7
8am - 5pm EDT
Four Points by Sheraton Norwood, 1125 Boston-Providence Turnpike Norwood, MA 02062
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/altwheels-fleet-day-tickets-910905381517
Cost:  $0 -$200

AltWheels Fleet Day is an annual sustainable transportation event that brings together corporate and municipal fleet managers and clean-fleet stakeholders working to reduce emissions and lower costs for tomorrow’s transportation needs.

AltWheels is a leading place municipal and corporate fleets come each year to understand more sustainable transportation options. AltWheels showcases the latest vehicle and fuel technologies, educates passenger and fleet consumers on best practices, promotes real choices that exist in the marketplace, and stimulates the demand for choices that will improve our health, air quality, and survival. AltWheels has won awards from the EPA and WTS for its effectiveness in changing thinking about transportation and real practices and behaviors.

AltWheels participants include Fleet Managers from more than 30 cities and towns in California, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Georgia and Vermont. Additionally, many state and federal agencies such as MassDOT, DOT, EPA, CALSTART, attend AltWheels. We have 11 Clean Cities coalitions represented as well as support from National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) and North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).
AltWheels Fleet Day attracts Fleet Managers from colleges/universities, hospitals, and last mile delivery providers among others. Recent attendees from institutions include Brown University, Harvard University, Merrimack College, MIT, New York University, Princeton, University of Vermont, the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, Suffolk University, Yale University, and the University of New Hampshire among others.

Registration fees include: Breakfast, Lunch, Cocktail Hour, Panels, Exhibits, Ride and Drives, and Parking for the day.

————— 

A Pragmatic Approach to Cumulative Impacts: Coordinating Decisions to Address Impacts Cumulatively
Monday, October 7
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm
Princeton, 300 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ
And online at https://mediacentrallive.princeton.edu/

Timothy M. Barzyk, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency/ Office of Research and Development
What cumulative impacts needs is a simple solution to a complex problem, or at least a simplified approach if solution is a too ambitious goal. A solution implies that they would cease to exist, yet cumulative impacts are a part of everyone’s everyday lives. The question remains whether a feasible, standardized approach can be designed to coordinate across sectors, scales, and stakeholders, or whether the conundrum of cumulative impacts shall remain uncoordinated through time. The work presented here attempts to operationalize cumulative impacts. It is based on the premise that only through human decision-making can change occur through programs, policies, and decisions acting as points of intervention and levers for change, supported by science and targeted to relevant stakeholders. This work presents a simple and familiar conceptual model and four real-world applications; not designed to address cumulative impacts, but rather to address impacts cumulatively. The process to address impacts cumulatively is simple; not easy, but straightforward, and can be done by any individual, team, or organization – public, private, or government; local, regional, or national – motivated to improve public health and environmental quality.

Tim Barzyk is a physical scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development. Over the past two decades, he has worked with dozens of community residents and leaders, state environmental and public health agencies, and national regulatory program offices to apply scientific research to policies and decision-making while seeking measurable improvements in environmental quality and public health. After many trials and more than a few errors of applying measurements, models, and data analysis to the issue of cumulative impacts, he contends that it’s the willingness of people to work together that ultimately effects change on the ground, and not so much the measurements we take. His current work focuses on convening appropriate stakeholders and collecting relevant measurements to strategically target programs, policies, and decisions that demonstrably improve public health and environmental quality through coordinated decision-making.

————— 

2024 Stanford Bright Award for Environmental Sustainability honoring Rodrigo Botero
Tuesday, October 8
5:30pm to 8pm PT
Stanford, Law School, Classroom Building, Room 290, 559 Nathon Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305 
And online
RSVP at https://events.stanford.edu/event/2024-stanford-bright-award-for-environmental-sustainability-honoring-rodrigo-botero

2024 Stanford Bright Award winner Rodrigo Botero is a leading environmental activist in Colombia who has dedicated his career to preserving the Amazon rainforest and advocating for local communities and indigenous land rights.

As part of this work, he has had to negotiate with groups who seek to occupy and exploit the Amazonian region—including armed rebels engaged in illegal mining and drug trafficking. And he has done this in what has been ranked as the world’s most dangerous country for environmental activists and people who defend land rights for indigenous people.

Join Botero at SLS on October 8 for the Stanford Bright Award to hear about these negotiations and his work to expand Chiribiquete National Park, the heart of the Colombian Amazon. The park is now the largest protected area in Colombia and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

————— 

Landing the Paris Climate Agreement: How It Happened, Why It Matters, and What Comes Next
Tuesday, October 8
7:00 PM ET
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
RSVP at https://www.harvard.com/event/todd_stern_at_harvard_book_store/

Harvard Book Store welcomes Todd Stern—former Special Envoy for Climate Change at the Department of State, where he was President Barack Obama’s chief climate negotiator-—to celebrate the release of Landing the Paris Climate Agreement: How It Happened, Why It Matters, and What Comes Next

About Landing the Paris Climate Agreement
The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change was one of the most difficult and hopeful achievements of the twenty-first century: 195 nations finally agreed, after 20 years of trying, to establish an ambitious, operational regime to address one of the greatest civilizational challenges of our time. In Landing the Paris Climate Agreement, Todd Stern, the chief US negotiator on climate change, provides an engaging account from inside the rooms where it happened: the full, charged, seven-year story of how the Paris Agreement came to be, following an arc from Copenhagen, to Durban, to the secret U.S.-China climate deal in 2014, to Paris itself.

With a storyteller’s gift for character, suspense, and detail, Stern crafts a high-stakes narrative that illuminates the strategy, policy, politics, and diplomacy that made Paris possible. Introducing readers to a vivid cast of characters, including Xie Zenhua, Vice Minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Bo Lidegaard, chief strategist for Denmark’s Prime Minster, and Indian minister Jairam Ramesh, Stern, who worked alongside President Barack Obama and Secretaries of State John Kerry and Hillary Clinton, depicts the pitfalls and challenges overcome, the shifting alliances, the last-minute maneuvering, and the ultimate historic success. The book concludes with a final chapter that describes key developments since 2015 and the author’s reflections on what needs to be done going forward to contain the climate threat.

A unique peek behind the curtain of one of the most important international agreements of our time, Landing the Paris Climate Agreement is a vital and fascinating read for anyone who cares about the future of our one shared home.

—————