Author: Anne Stratton (Page 4 of 16)

May 15: Financing the Future of Energy Summit

Join the Sustainable Endowments Institute and our 15 partner institutions for the Financing the Future of Energy Efficiency Summit at Harvard University on May 15, 2012.

This one-day gathering will bring together national leaders in sustainability and finance with presidents, trustees, and senior officials in finance, facilities and sustainability at colleges, universities, foundations and other nonprofit institutions.

The Summit’s theme is Transforming Energy Efficiency Upgrades from Expenses to High Return Investments; the focus is on colleges and universities as pivotal points to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to demonstrate the groundbreaking budget benefits of green revolving funds.

Please email conference@greenbillion.org with any questions or inquiries about how to register. Registration will be made available only to those that have been invited.

To see a full agenda and registration information, visit the website.

Aug 11-19: Suburban Permaculture Design & Leadership Course, Common Circle (Eugene, OR)

Join an unforgettable program in leadership, permaculture and sustainable design in Oregon with the world’s most renowned instructors and change your life, your community and your planet.  Not only do Common Circle Education courses offer the most complete curriculum of any similar program, but the people who come to the programs make this the most powerful training offered anywhere.

Gain cutting-edge skills in nature-inspired sustainable design that’s applicable virtually anywhere design is used — from green businesses to your own back yard.  Visit ecovillages, organic farms, the nation’s first biofuel station (ever seen a gas station with solar panels and a green roof selling kombucha? ;), while spending two weeks with some of the most inspiring people around!

During the workshop, we will talk about:

* Smart nature-inspired design principles
* Rainwater catchment and storage
* Greywater – smart water re-use with plant filters
* Food forests & garden design for food abundance
* Eco-psychology and Regenerative Leadership
* Intentional community design and dynamics
* Bio-remediation and toxic waste cleanup
* Natural building design – cob, strawbale and more
* Soil biology and regeneration
* Sustainable transportation and fuels
* Green business and sustainable economics
* Natural patterns and principles
* Everything you ever wanted to know about plants and soil!

We’re thrilled to announce the availability of a limited number of scholarships for our upcoming Urban Permaculture & Regenerative Leadership training in August.
Permaculture Design & Regenerative Leadership Course – Aug 11-19th
Tuition co-pay with scholarship:  $1000 (regular price: $3000!)
-> Discount code:  AUGUSTSCHOLARSHIP (only valid for august course)

We’re making ONLY TEN of these need-based scholarships available
first-come-first-serve.  Just sign up online, and if the system
accepts your credit card information with the code, you’re in.

Common Circle Education is the nation’s ecological design and
sustainable living school with courses in Oregon, Hawaii and
California; our instructors are some of the most well-known
leaders in sustainability, organics and permaculture design.

May 2-3: Community Visioning Workshops, Medford LEAP

Medford Local Energy Action Program – Community Visioning Workshops

The City of Medford and the Metropolitan Area  Planning Council (MAPC) are pleased to invite you to the Medford Local Energy Action Program Community Visioning Workshops. The Workshops are being held to solicit your input on how the City can best deliver and support energy reduction programs to Medford residents and businesses, as well as how the City can reduce its own energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Come give your opinion on how the City can help you.

There will be two workshops held, and each will have the same format and content.
1st Workshop Date: Wednesday, May 2, 7:00PM – 9:00PM

2nd Workshop Date: Thursday, May 3, 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Location: Medford City Hall, Council Chambers, 85 George P. Hassett Drive

The Community Visioning Workshops are open to the public, and residents, local business owners, students, and community stakeholders are all encouraged to attend. The workshops will include:

– An introduction to the Local Energy Action Program
– An overview of Medford’s past energy accomplishments
– Brainstorming sessions focused on energy opportunities and interests in Medford

For more information or to request special accommodations, please contact Erin Brandt at (617) 451-2770 ext. 2044 or at ebrandt@mapc.org.

May 14-20: Bay State Bike Week, MassDOT and MassBike

May 14-20 is Bay State Bike Week, a week when Massachusetts celebrates bicycle transportation. Once again, MassDOT and the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) have collaborated to make Bay State Bike Week an exciting statewide happening, with events scheduled throughout Massachusetts.

Bay State Bike Week is an annual celebration of human-powered, two-wheeled transportation. It is fitting that Massachusetts would be the only state in the nation with a truly statewide bike week, given our long history of biking. Bay State Bike Week has grown from a small crop of bike path coffee set-ups and organized rides to a cornucopia of film screenings, bike breakfasts, festivals and more. We certainly can’t plan all the events ourselves. We depend on thousands of hours of work from local advocates, bike shop owners, and just people who like seeing others go by bike to make this week work. Last year we had over 180 events, and we’re hoping for even more this year!

The 2012 Bay State Bike Week website is live!  Please visit the website to learn more about events that are already registered, how to participate in an existing event, or how to organize your own bicycling event for 2012. Also check Facebook and/or on Twitter for events.

If you are interested, you can also register for the MassCommute Bicycle Challenge through the Bay State Bike Week website.

Apr 30: Senior Projects Poster Session,Tufts Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering

When: Monday 4/30 from 12 to 1:15pm
Where: Atrium of SciTech

Join the Tufts Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering next Monday for a poster session highlighting senior student projects! Four out of seven of the projects relate to sustainability.

Project Appetizers:

1 & 2: These projects involve ways of removing carbon dioxide from the waste stream of a power plant.  The titles of these projects are “CO2 Capture with Lithium Zirconate” and “Fabrication and Analysis of a Wetted Wall Column for CO2 Analysis”.

3: This project involves a new method for fabricating solar energy collectors using electro-deposition.  Its title is “Increasing Conductivity in Cuprous Oxide: Doping with Electro-deposition and Hot-Point Probe Construction.”

4: For this project, the students are synthesizing ethanol from a plant called duckweed as an alternative to using corn.  The title of their project is “Hydrolysis Stage Optimization for the Production of Ethanol from Duckweed.”

While these projects don’t directly affect sustainability on our physical campus, it’s worth noting (and celebrating) that our students are thinking about sustainable practices in their research. These undergraduate research projects show the present and future trends in what Tufts students may contribute to sustainability beyond our campus.  We would like to give our students the opportunity to display their hard work and commitment to sustainability with like-minded members of the Tufts community.

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