Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

PARK(ing) Day Redux

LivableSt_Cambridge_052 by LivableStreets Alliance LivableSt_Cambridge_112 by LivableStreets Alliance
For those of you who missed PARK(ing) day, the Boston Globe had some coverage as did WBUR. And the Livable Streets Alliance have posted a mess of pictures to flickr.

PARK(ing) Day

Energy 2.0 is(was) temporarily offline. You might also be interested in the local PARK(ing) Day festivities (PDF).

Second Annual Urban Ag Fair

Who:You
What:The Second Annual Urban Ag Fair is coming up in Harvard Square just a couple of weeks. If you are a vendor, there is still time to sign up for a table. If you are a foodie who wants to make their opinion heard, there is still time to sign up to be a judge. If you are just a lover of fresh food and want to have a fun free day in Harvard Square, we’ll see you next weekend!
When:September 19th, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Where:Winthrop Park, Harvard Square
Contact:www.harvardsquare.com

Energy Efficiency: Why Is the Low-Hanging Fruit so High?

The Green Light Distrikt has posted video of their even, “Energy Efficiency: Why Is the Low-Hanging Fruit so High?” which occurred a few weeks ago. Panelists included CEA’s community outreach manager Lilah Glick (below) as well as representatives from Wattzy, Next Step Living, EnerNOC and Powerhouse Dynamics. Additional videos of their presentation are available

Green Business Transportation Workshop- 8/25

Brad Winnett from MassRIDES discusses green alternatives while other panelists look on.

On Wednesday August 25th, the Cambridge Energy Alliance and the Sustainable Business Leader Program hosted a Green Transportation Workshop. Panelists discussed ways to make a key facet of business operations, employee transportation, “green.”

Stephanie Anderberg from Cambridge Community Development discussed how businesses can support alternative transportation with help from Pre-tax Commuter Benefits. Basically, these are ways in which businesses can pay for their employees’ green travel (e.g. shuttles, vanpools, biking, the T) before taxes are considered. These can be administered in several fairly easy ways, including giving vouchers or using a 3rd party administrator.

Jim Gascoigne from the Charles River TMA opened with a significant statistic: a staggering 67% of people… [view entry]

The World Where Oil Flows Free

Bubbling crude, La Brea by antgirl The Gulf Oil Spill has been the event at the top of everyone’s mind for many weeks now, almost to the point of our adapting to the initially shocking concept. The images that have surfaced have been heartrending enough, though, that the shock factor hasn’t been allowed to completely fade. Predictions of the results to come in the next weeks and months are concerning to say the least, and the estimate of how much has been leaking each day continues to rise. BP comes up with a new method to “fix” the problem every few weeks, each seeming promising with a side-serving of bad news.  Effects on humans are starting to surface, some gruesome news and some simply tragic projections. With all of… [view entry]

Gubernatorial Forum- Energy & Environment

On June 29th, a two-hour gubernatorial forum was held in downtown Boston’s historic Old South Meeting House.

All candidates for Governor were welcomed to make a statement, followed by a short Q&A by the audience and two panelists.

The first candidate to speak, Governor Deval Patrick, spoke about Cape Wind, and addressed a question about the alternative of purchasing clean energy from other places, if it were cheaper than producing our own. In response to this, he unwittingly quoted Chairman Mao, “I don’t know who said it, but, we’re going to have to let a thousand flowers bloom,” and concluded that we’ve still got a long way to go, and no avenue should be left unexplored. Other topics he discussed were the state of parks after cut funding, the Evergreen… [view entry]

King Corn, 1st in Environmental Film Series

corn extending into the sky by *MarS Several Boston/Cambridge groups have collectively organized an open-ended Environmental Film series, the kick-off of which was this past Tuesday, at Cambridge’s Main Library. The second film in the series, Kilowatt Ours, will be shown on July 29th in the same location: Bottom floor (L2), Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138-4191 at 6:30pm. Another (yet to be selected) film will be shown on August 19th, so save this date!

The first documentary “King Corn” was shown at 6:30 and light refreshments were served afterward.

This film follows two young men who, after finding corn molecules in strands of their hair,  trace their genealogical footsteps back to their Iowan homeland and learn that the land their ancestors once farmed is covered in corn. Not just corn, but a variety… [view entry]

Burning breakfasts for bus fuel

Biofuels by Peter Hoey for the Sierra Club

Although the specifics may have since changed, this chart from Bio Hope, Bio Hype in the September 2007 issue of the Sierra Club’s magazine provides a nice overview of the major biofuel options.

What about moving Beyond the Corn Field: Balancing Fuel, Food and Biodiversity? After all, if there’s one thing that thing that our reliance on fossilized sunlight has taught us, it’s that that there should be room for every fuel that makes ecological (and economic) sense. Indeed, there are a number of exotic fuel feedstocks you are probably not yet familiar with. Indeed, on Earth Day the Navy tested a bio-blend jet fuel made from 50% German sesame seed oil. What of the much touted cellulosic ethanol? An alternative to the use of… [view entry]

Green Your Marketing! Workshop Review

Thanks to Emily Kanter at the Sustainable Business Leader Program & CEA‘s Lilah Glick, a group of Cambridge’s small business leaders were able to come together for a Green Marketing workshop on June 17th, led by Leah Bloom, the media-proclaimed “green business guru.”