Tufts Gets Green

8th Annual Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit
June 18 and 19, 2013
Springfield Sheraton Hotel, Springfield, MA

The 8th annual Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit returns to Massachusetts and will be held June 18 and 19 at the Springfield Sheraton Hotel. This year’s Summit focuses on Accelerating Innovation in Efficiency – the Northeast has long been a national leader in efficiency and to continue to carry that torch requires the region to look at innovative approaches to overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of moving towards larger and more aggressive savings goals. Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) is offering student scholarships to the 2012 Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit. Each scholarship includes complimentary admission to the opening reception on June 18 and the full day speaker program and lunch on June 19. Additionally, students will be assigned an industry mentor to assist with networking. Scholarship recipients will be chosen on the relevance of their career plans, interest in the industry and commitment to attend the entire day’s schedule of events. This opportunity is open to all higher education students, both undergraduate and graduate as well those enrolled in job training programs.

Register here.

Your community has partnered with MassCEC and DOER to become part of the SolarizeMass program. Come out to meet your communities installer and find more out about the program and how you can get involved.

For more information, click here.

This summer, join the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston for the 7th Annual Biomimicry Education Summit and first Global Conference, keynoted by scientist, author, and Institute co-founder Janine Benyus.

The Education Summit is the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute’s annual event focused on sharing the best in resources for bringing biomimicry to students of all ages. This year, the Summit will be held in conjunction with the Institute’s first Global Conference, which will gather those interested in applying biomimicry to address issues such as climate change and economic development.

Program Highlights

Biomimicry thought leaders will give morning plenary presentations on the future of biomimicry in community resilience, materials and manufacturing, and economic development.

Day 1:  Resilient cities with leading architecture firm, HOK
Day 2:  3D printing, informed by nature: with MIT and Warner Babcock Institute
Day 3:  Companies changing the landscape of environmental debt

Breakout sessions will follow, in two tracks:

Global Conference Track
Meet members of the Global Biomimicry Network, contribute to a global conversation on how biomimicry offers solutions critical challenges, and gain valuable tools to build your effectiveness as a biomimicry leader.

Education Summit Track
Meet educators from around the world and learn how peers are using biomimicry to engage students of all ages in STEM learning, design, and systems thinking. Whether you are an elementary classroom teacher, university faculty member, zoo or museum educator, the 7th Annual Biomimicry Education Summit will offer outstanding opportunities to bring biomimicry more deeply into your teaching.

New to teaching biomimicry? Join us a day early for an Introduction to Biomimicry in Education workshop. Save $50 when you register for both the Workshop and the Summit. PDPs are available through UMass Boston.

Register for the event here.

On Friday, June 21, three dance companies representing diverse movement traditions will join together to draw attention to the global climate crisis. Featured artists are the Zoé Dance Company, the Navarasa Dance Theater, and Nani Agbeli  & The Agbekor Society.  The music begins at 7:00 pm, at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Tickets are $20; $15 students/seniors. All proceeds will go to 350ma, the Massachusetts chapter of the environmental organization www.350.org. For information, please call 781-396-0734, visit “Dancing For The Planet” on Facebook, send us an email, or go to the event website.

“Dancing For The Planet” is the seventh concert in the “Playing For The Planet” series, conceived as a way for creative performers to contribute to the urgent struggle against global warming. Because the climate problem recognizes no national boundaries, the artists represent styles from three different parts of the globe.   Their choice of beneficiary, 350MA.org, is focused on building global consensus on reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels — action which climatologists agree is necessary to avoid catastrophic outcomes. It’ll be an evening of brilliant dance and movement — for the central cause of our century.

Advance Ticket Orders Are Accepted Until 3 pm on June 21.  Orders received after Tuesday, June 18 will be held at the door.

To buy tickets, click here.

The UMass Permaculture Initiative has had remarkable success in the creation of campus edible and sustainable landscapes, the development of experiential and academic programming  and the strengthening of local networks toward community resilience.

On June 23-26, 2013 the University of Massachusetts Amherst is hosting the second annual Permaculture Your Campus Conference 2013!

The 2013 Permaculture Your Campus Conference brings together participants from international universities to learn why and how permaculture design is being used as the guiding framework for some of the most cutting-edge sustainability programs around the world. At this conference, we will provide you with the tools necessary to transform your campus using permaculture design to be more ecologically, economically, and socially regenerative.

At this conference, attendees will:

• Explore diverse models of institutional sustainability designed using the permaculture framework
• Participate in experiential learning programs
• Gain hands-on permaculture design and implementation experience
• Explore transformative strategies for creating a campus permaculture initiative
• Establish an international network of students, faculty, staff, and community members working to create a culture of sustainability

AASHE June 2013 Webinar: Taking Action to Mitigate Climate Change on Campus and Beyond (Free)
June 25, 2013 at 2 p.m. Eastern

RSVP for this event.

“Scientific instruments showed that the gas had reached an average daily level above 400 parts per million — just an odometer moment in one sense, but also a sobering reminder that decades of efforts to bring human-produced emissions under control are faltering.” – New York Times

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have passed a milestone. While these numbers and their implications may seem daunting, many college campuses and other organizations are taking action to mitigate climate change. Through education and awareness, it is these groups that are impacting how future generations are living in order to secure a sustainable future for all.

Join this webinar to learn how to make positive change towards climate change mitigation on your campus and in your community by learning from best practices. Climate neutral campuses Colby College and the University of Minnesota, Morris will share their stories as well as lend helpful advice to those institutions working toward the same goal. Clean Air-Cool Planet will share its work with campuses and communities to reduce carbon emissions and plan for climate change. The Energy Action Coalition will share its experience with more than 50 youth-led led environmental and social groups working together to mitigate climate change on the local and national level in North America.

Presenters during this webinar include:
Jillian Buckholz, Senior Programs Coordinator, AASHE
Jennifer Andrews, Acting Executive Director, Clean Air-Cool Planet
Kevin Bright, Sustainability Coordinator, Colby College
Maura Cowley, Executive Director, Energy Action Coalition
Troy Goodnough, Sustainability Coordinator, University of Minnesota, Morris
Pat Whitney, Director of the Physical Plant, Colby College

If you are concerned about the climate and ready to commit to action, you are welcome and encouraged to join with climate activists from across Massachusetts to share ideas and set plans for the climate movement. We will emerge from this assembly with an updated vision and 12-month plan.

The assembly will be organized around three themes described below. Each theme should identify current state and going forward plans to be included in an action report from the assembly, along the lines of this example.

1. Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

2. Legislation

Announcing the 3rd annual
SUMMER INSTITUTE ON SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY
Hosted by the Energy Initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory; Clean Energy Trust; Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (University of Chicago); Energy and Sustainability Engineering (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Initiative for Sustainability & Energy at Northwestern (Northwestern University); Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (Illinois Institute of Technology)

2013 Program Theme: Sustainable Transportation

The Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) is a two-week intensive workshop and lecture series geared towards individuals interested in the title subjects: sustainability and energy.  From August 5-16, a diverse body of participants will converge on the UIC campus and immerse itself in a broad spectrum of sustainability and energy related topics.  Issues presented will be of interest to scientists, economists, political scientists, urban planners, engineers, architects, and entrepreneurs.  Participants will engage these issues through interactive and interdisciplinary lectures and panel discussions, collaborative research projects that stress scientific innovation and entrepreneurship, networking opportunities with academics and professionals, and tours of sustainability and energy related sites in the Chicago area.  This experience leaves graduates of the Summer Institute with a firm foundation for future careers in sustainability and energy, and inspires them to lead the next generation as thoughtful and informed global citizens.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED.

Admission into the program is highly competitive. 60-80 participants will be accepted from a pool of national applicants.  Those accepted into the program can expect to receive financial support including transportation getting to and from Chicago, lodging during the duration of the program, and most meals.

LEARN MORE ABOUT US!
We invite you to learn more about the Summer Institute.
Visit us on the web at: http://sise.phy.uic.edu/