Hudson Climate Action NetworkHCAN

BOSTON AREA SOLAR ENERGY ASSOCIATION

2011-08-16T11:43:00.001-04:00

Promoting Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future.

Boston GreenFest: August 18-20th. BASEA will be there -- stop by and say hello! Boston GreenFest

AltWheels: Monday, September 11, 2011. AltWheels is back this year and will be taking place at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood, MA. Register Now! AltWheels/FleetDayFlyer

The 7th Annual Conference on Clean Energy: November 1, at the Westin Waterfront. The Conference is part of Clean Energy Week. Investor Pitch Deadline is August 29th for early decision; September 19th, final deadline: Investor Pitch Application Conference Information Clean Energy Week

And information about the fall BASEA forums will be coming soon.

Boston GreenFest 11'

2011-08-16T11:38:00.002-04:00

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Boston GreenFest 2011
Thursday-Saturday, August 18-20
Boston City Hall Plaza

Boston GreenFest is organized by the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. As the region's largest multicultural environmental festival, Boston GreenFest celebrates the many ways we can create a better world by greening our lives and our communities. We can have fun at the same time!

Bill McKibben is Coming!
Thursday Night 8/18 He Will be Our EcoMC!

Got HEET?

2011-08-14T20:58:00.002-04:00

If you ever wondered whether helping complete strangers save money and energy was putting you in a better state of mind, you can now rest easy.

Our next event will be at the Zen Center in Central Square, Cambridge, which is sure to put you in a better state of mind by the end of the day.

Saturday, Sept. 10th, from 8:30 am (bright and early) until 1 pm, you can help the Cambridge Zen Center lower its energy bill while you learn about energy efficiency and maybe a bit about Buddhism. Every hour a bell will ring to remind us to be mindful for a moment, while we help steward the planet.

A great way to start your weekend.http://heetma.com/

1000 watt light bulbs!?!

2011-06-21T17:42:00.000-04:00

June 25 Barnraising

Join us Saturday, June 25th from 12:30 to 5 pm at

St. Bartholomew's Church, 239 Harvard St.

There will be lots of great skills to learn including caulking, replacing
bulbs, lowering water bills with faucet aerators and toilet banks,
correctly program a thermostat and more.

It is also a great opportunity to see something you may never have
witnessed before: 1,000 watt light bulbs. That's not a decimal error,
these bulbs use 1,000 watts.

Find out how adding insulation helped this church reduce its heating bill by $8,000 per year.

Maynard-Acton Green Drinks

2011-05-26T18:22:00.002-04:00

Wednesday, June 8 · 6:30pm - 8:30pm

The new hangout for our local Green Drinks is Julie's Place,

208A Main Street Acton, Massachusetts
(on the same little strip as Acton Ace Hardware, plenty of parking.) See you there!

Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.

We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you'll be made welcome. Just say, "are you green?" and we will look after you and introduce you to whoever is there. It's a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts. Everyone invites someone else along, so there’s always a different crowd, making Green Drinks an organic, self-organising network.

These events are very simple and unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, done deals and had moments of serendipity. It's a force for the good and we'd like to help it spread to other cities. Contact your local node to get the latest info about coming along.

http://www.greendrinks.org/MA/list

Recycling news for Earth Day

2011-04-28T08:08:00.002-04:00

From: jacqueline_gillis@hms.harvard.edu
Subject: Recycling news for Earth Day

Hi all:
Wanted to share the details of the upcoming Electronics Recycling Event sponsored by Intel as well as Styrofoam recycling event.

Here are all the details:

WHEN: Collection starts on Friday, April 29 from 12-6pm; on Saturday, April 30 from 8am-2pm.

WHO: The event is open to the entire community and provides the opportunity to dispose of electronic-waste properly. There is no residency requirement to for recycling.

WHAT: Items accepted for recycling include computer monitors, CRTs, fax machines, copiers, typewriters, CPUs, DVD or VCR players, radios, telephones, cameras, microwaves, and stereo equipment. Items NOT accepted for recycling include large home appliances (stoves, refrigerators, etc.), air conditioners, and electronic devices that contain liquid/gas.

WHERE: We will be located in the Stop and Shop Parking lot; section is indicated by the yellow box.

DONATION: A minimum donation of $10 and $20 will be requested from individuals and businesses, respectively. Donations will benefit the United Way of Tri-County, and Intel volunteers will be on hand to assist with unloading recyclable electronics from the vehicles.

Hope this helps.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Also if you are interested in recycling Styrofoam, I have found this event that worked out well in the fall when I did it. They seem to do it 2x a year and it is run by Refoamit.com. Just what you need in your garage, stock piles of Styrofoam:)
You can bring:
* Packing blocks
* Packing peanuts (must snap)
* Produce and meat trays (no biodegrable ones)
* Take out containers
* Hot cups such as Dunkin Donuts and Honey Do (We can not take Starbucks and most McDonalds because they have cardboard infused on them.)
* Trays
* Plastic utensils (Must be kept separate from any of the above Styrofoam pieces)
* White insulation sheets

Event occurs April 30, 2011
Grace Church, Framingham, MA, 10-3, 76 Salem End Rd., Framingham, MA Open to residents and non-residents of Framingham! This event is part of Framingham's Earth Day Celebration.

Share these events with any one else you think may want the info.

Jackie Gillis

GOT HEET?

2011-04-17T07:55:00.001-04:00

Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) organizes free weatherization parties to teach volunteers how to lower their energy bills and carbon emissions. The work takes place in homes or nonprofits where we improve a building while teaching important skills.

The labor is free to the home-owners/tenants. They only pay for materials, unless they are low-income, in which case we raise the money for materials. All Cambridge residents are eligible to have HEET work on their homes. Just email us.

Anyone can sign up to volunteer for our events. You gain hands-on skills on how to lower energy use. According to a survey of our volunteers, 76% go on to use these skills in their own homes.

We do a thorough audit before each event to make sure we pinpoint the work that will effectively lower energy use. Our audits include a blower door test, combustion analysis, and more.

We continue to monitor the energy use of the buildings we work in to ensure we have been successful. On average we have lowered electricity use by 10% and heating by 11% (controlling for heating degree days, or how cold the winter was). All this is accomplished in just three hours of team labor.

The work we do concentrates on air-sealing (stopping drafts) and electrical and water efficiency. The majority of the work we teach can be done yourself using materials you can buy at most hardware stores.

For volunteers who want to learn more, we also offer an introduction to the more challenging work in the attic and using the blower door.

At our events, neighbors meet each other and work together, building community. They also see everyone working together on energy efficiency, demonstrating that energy efficiency is something people like us should, and do, take action on.

We call our events "barn-raisings" after the historical barn-raisings of 18th and 19th-century rural North America, in which a community came together to assemble a barn for one of its families. Neighbors worked together, pooling strengths and tools to take on tasks too big for any one of them. Fighting climate change is a task too big for any one of us as well.

2011-04-16T16:54:00.002-04:00

Latent members of Hudson Climate Action Network ARISE!
We have work to do.

natural cleaners

2009-09-06T15:41:00.001-04:00

natural cleaners
what can I do?
Avoid products with these words on the container: chlorine, ethylene/ethyl, butyl/alkyl, benzene, phenol and formaldehyde. Buy green products or make your own:
all-purpose cleaner: soap and water; or two tablespoons of baking soda in a litre of water.
stain remover (surfaces): sprinkle with salt and lemon juice, leave for a while (a few hours for really bad stains) and wipe clean.
stubborn stains: as a paste, baking soda and a little water removes stubborn stains from coffe cups, doors, appliances etc.
carpet freshener: sprinkle baking soda before vaccuuming.
eliminating odours: cat litter trays â baking soda; fridge â baking soda/water paste.
removing grease: vinegar (white) with salt.
disinfectant: (kitchen chopping boards, bathrooms and toilets) spray with white vinegar, then spray with hydrogen peroxide solution; wipe clean.
oven cleaner: make a paste with equal parts salt, baking soda and water, paste onto oven walls, leave for a while (overnight is good), then wipe off.
metal polish: vinegar or lemon juice (donât use baking soda on aluminium as it will attack it).
furniture polish: Â½ cup lemon juice with a teaspoon of olive oil, apply with a soft rag.
window cleaner: 1 litre water, Â¼ cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, shake, keep in spray bottle and use like ordinary window cleaner.
drain cleaner: Â½ cup baking soda, then Â½ cup vinegar, leave for 15 minutes, then pour down a kettle of boiling water.
washing dishes: buy green washing-up liquid (see links) â phosphate free.
air freshener: open the window; cut lemons or baking soda in a dish; in the kitchen, simmer cinnamon and cloves.
toilet cleaner: spray with vinegar and water mix around rim, pour cup of vinegar and couple of spoons baking soda into a bowl, leave for 15 mins, brush and flush.
rust remover: scour with cream of tartar.
mould remover: spray with equal parts vinegar and water, leave for 5 minutes and wipe clean.
laundry liquid: green products (see links).
stain remover (clothes): equal parts vinegar and water; for grease, mix borax and water, rub in and wipe off.
laundry bleach: donât use chlorine-based bleaches; Â½ cup washing soda in wash cycle; Â½ cup lemon juice in rinse cycle; hang washing out â sunlight is a natural bleach.
dry cleaning: donât do it â wash woollens with mild soap and cold water.

Shared via AddThis

Goodbye, Hudson!

2008-12-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'd meant to post this last month, but I've been a bit busy, what with moving and settling into a new place and all.

I recently moved to Ohio. But on my last full day in Hudson, walking to do an errand in town, this scene greeted me, in the walled creek, running between Main St. and South St., that feeds the Assabet:

Of course, I was shocked and angry. Who could be so base as to dump their old TVs into the river? The river! I was carrying my camera, so I snapped this photo. Then I went into the Ace Hardware, whose property borders the offended section of river; I told them about the dumped TVs. They seemed confused that I would mention it to them. I had presumed that, as a town business, they would feel some notion of pride of place or responsiblity toward cleanup. I guess not. But they suggested letting the city know. Town hall is a block away, so I headed over there and reported the illegal dumping, not expecting any immediate response. They took the information pleasantly and I left.

Later in the day, when I passed the spot again, I was surprised and pleased to see a city flatbed truck parked near the spot bearing the two TV sets. The river was clear. Was it a just a slow day in Hudson? or did civic pride or sense of responsibility of place put this task high enough on the priority list to merit same-day attention? That choice faces each of us in our daily lives, in countless instances: do I pick up that litter? do I drive or walk to the store for that small item? do I offer that neighbor or friend a few CFLs for their home?

You have been a good temporary home for me, Hudson. Farewell!

Ben Gorman

Christmas with No Presents?

2008-12-07T16:07:00.003-05:00

by Colin Beavan (Yes Magazine article)

One family’s daring experiment: Christmas without all the stuff.



	Colin Beavan plays with his daughter Isabella at Washington Square Park near their home. As creator of the “No Impact Man” blog, Beavan and his family committed to living in the middle of New York City without making any net impact on the environment. Photo by Paul Dunn for YES! Magazine

If Christmas is about presents, then in 2007, my little family and I had no Christmas. I mean, we had the caroling and the uncle playing the piano and the cousins running around with my three-year-old, Isabella, and the grandfather coaxing her to sit on his lap and the good food.

We had, in other words, an amazingly good time.

What we didn’t have, though, was the average American’s $800 hole in our bank accounts, gouged out by Christmas-present spending. Nor did we have the credit card debt still unpaid by June. Nor the forcing of smiles for gifts we didn’t really want. Nor the buying of extra luggage to bring home those unwanted gifts. Nor the stressful rush of last-minute crowds at the mall.

Without presents, you see, we didn’t have the sensation that I, at least, normally associated with Christmas—the stress. And without stress or presents, it’s not Christmas, right? But of course it was. It was the best of Christmas, the part that, research shows, makes people happiest. It was all the upside without the downside.

Let me back up

For the rest of this article, please visit "Yes Magazine."

State starts a green era

2008-07-10T18:10:00.001-04:00

State starts a green era

(Boston Globe July 3, 2008)

Law encourages renewable sources; Utilities expected to help cut costs

By Beth Daley Globe Staff / July 3, 2008

Governor Deval Patrick signed a landmark energy bill yesterday that does away with long-standing obstacles to building renewable power projects in Massachusetts and making homes and businesses more energy efficient.

The Green Communities Act was hailed by environmentalists as among the most innovative efforts in the nation to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to encourage use of clean technologies that don't contribute to global warming.

The law will probably result in utilities' designing customized plans for homeowners and businesses to cut energy costs and providing rebates to pay for measures such as installing insulating windows and more efficient boilers. Homeowners and businesses will be able to rent solar panels from utilities to avoid expensive up-front costs, and the law makes it easier for homeowners who have installed wind turbines or solar panels to sell surplus energy.

Supporters said the new law could save hundreds of millions of dollars through energy efficiency, helping to hold down consumers' electric bills as energy prices are skyrocketing.

"I am here today to sign into law the best clean energy bill in America," a jubilant Patrick said during a signing ceremony at the Museum of Science. "Climate change is the challenge of our times, and we in Massachusetts are rising to that challenge."

Massachusetts has long been a leader in energy legislation, and it is taking part in a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gases from power plants. Patrick has set an aggressive goal to increase solar power in the state by 600 percent in four years.

The law "maintains Massachusetts' status as a state leader," said Patrick Hogan of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a Virginia-based environmental policy think tank.

Business leaders praised the legislation, saying it could stabilize electric rates in New England, already among the highest in the nation. Utilities, including NStar and National Grid, said they have long focused on energy efficiency but are eager to ramp up the effort, as well as to provide solar power to customers.

"It pushes us to a new level," said Tom May, NStar's chief executive. "We get to cross the street to our customer side and help them with energy choices . . . such as windmills in a neighborhood or solar panels. It's helping them reduce their carbon footprint."

Among the law's major provisions:

A requirement for utilities to invest in energy efficiency when it is cheaper to do so than it is to buy power. Historically, companies would simply buy more power when demand went up, which over time would lead to construction of very costly and polluting power plants. Now, utilities will have to invest in energy efficiency if to do so is equal to or cheaper than buying power. The law will also use at least 80 percent of the revenue from the regional effort to cap power plant emissions for efficiency programs, such as home energy audits to identify how to save on energy bills. For remainder of article see Boston.com

Rideshare!

2008-06-12T22:20:00.005-04:00

With rising gas prices and the threat of permanent climate change, it's time for folks to step up to the plate and take action. And what could be easier than ridesharing or carpooling? With millions of cars on the road each day and so many people driving to the same places, let's get it together!

One great web resource for commuters-- or anyone, really-- to find rideshares is
GoLoco. With this service, you sign up as a member, post ride offerings, and GoLoco calculates costs (based on $0.50/mile), divvied up among the number of people in the car. GoLoco takes 10% of the total ride cost to offer this great service. Members have GoLoco accounts and move funds from passenger to driver accounts on a per-ride basis.

Also look into the more casual craigslist rideshare postings. Pick your nearest craigslist city, and look for the rideshare link. I used that service to find a ride from an airport to my final destination on a visit out of state. Trusting the safety of your ride is an issue, perhaps especially for women traveling alone; but contacting parties by phone in advance can at least offer some level of security. I felt safe enough, anyway.

Let's start getting more out of our gasoline and reduce our carbon load on the environment at the same time.

Rideshare to work or to your weekend destination!

Cheers!

GO LEED! Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a "No-Brainer"

2008-06-11T15:50:00.002-04:00

As stated in a previous essay (on Paradigms4Progress.com), I do believe our world has gone slightly mad, and that it is an act of courage to read the daily news. Having stated that however, I also believe we live in an incredible time in human history, a time of potential transformation on the scale of the scientific revolution. The factors driving this transformation are many to include climate change, peak oil and water shortages. I have come to believe that underlying these factors is humanity's disconnect to our ultimate relatedness to and reliance on one another and nature.

Consequently, the solutions we generate to respond to the numerous crises that we face together must seek to both heal our battered earth to avoid catastrophes in our times and develop more harmonious ways of living in the world at every level of society to protect quality of life potential for future generations.

While national political leadership and policy are desperately needed there are market solutions emerging that hold great promise. One such solution is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED.

LEED is a third party, Green Building Council, certification program and a benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings.

According to the Wikipedia entry on the topic, LEED began in 1994 under the direction a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) senior scientist Robert K. Watson who, as founding chairman of the LEED Steering Committee until 2006, led a broad-based consensus process which included non-profit organizations, government agencies, architects, engineers, developers, builders, product manufacturers and other industry leaders.

Over the years, LEED grew from one standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of five interrelated performance areas of human and environmental health to include:

1) Sustainable site development

2) Water savings

3) Energy efficiency

4) Material selection and indoor air quality

5) Indoor air quality

These performance areas are uniquely applied to several different types of construction projects to produce tailored rating systems for certain types of projects or sectors. For example, presently there are rating systems for new construction, existing buildings, governmental interiors, core & shell, schools, retail, healthcare, homes, and neighborhood development.

While LEED is gaining traction as the industry green building standard, it is interesting to note that the organization has announced that as of January 2009 it will no longer certify buildings. That responsibility will pass to independent, accredited certifiers overseen by USGBC's sister nonprofit corporation, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). GBCI has administered the LEED Accredited Professional (LEED-AP) program since January 2008 (see Environmental News Network for full article).

According to this news article, this move is necessary to meet the growing demand for LEED certification. Growing demand for green buildings is GREAT news as it represents the type of movement we must make to address our environmental and energy challenges while shifting toward sustainability.

If you are involved in the building of a new structure or renovation of an existing one, I invite you to go GREEN by becoming LEED certified. The benefits to do so are extensive to include greater overall resource efficiency and healthier buildings. In addition, initial investments are quickly recovered then yield interest over the life of the building. According to Wikipedia,"studies have suggested that an initial up front investment of 2% will yield over ten times the initial investment over the life cycle of the building!" Wow. It is simply the right thing to do too! Sounds like a "no- brainer" to me!

Essay by Denise Frizzell. For more musings from Denise, visit, www.paradigms4progress.com.

Biomimicry: Design Inspired By Nature

2008-06-04T17:24:00.003-04:00

It certainly is an interesting time to be alive. While there is a lot of bad news these days, there is also a lot of very promising news as well. People, individuals and collective bodies, all across the world are responding to the numerous challenges we face as a species-global warming, peak oil, water and food shortages, mass extinction of species, etc. by rethinking every aspect of how we organize ourselves and operate at every level society.

One such promising concept and design practice is biomimicry, called bionics in Europe, is design inspired by nature. According to the Biomimicry Institute website the term, from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate, represents a new discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

Also as outlined on the Institutes's website:

The core idea is that nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts here on Earth. This is the real news of biomimicry: After 3.8 billion years of research and development, failures are fossils and what surrounds use is the secret to survival.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n77BfxnVlyc&hl=en]

Janine Benyus (You Tube video of her giving a lecture on 12 Sustainable Design Ideas), author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature writes that a biomimetic revolution has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business by nature acting as model, measure and mentor. The Biomimicry Institutes's website outlines each of these as follows:

Nature as model. We would manufacture the way animals and plants do, using sun and simple compounds to produce totally biodegradable fibers, ceramics, plastics, and chemicals.

Nature as measure. Beside providing the model, nature would also provide the measure-we look to nature as a standard against to judge the ‘rightness' of our innovations. Are they life promoting? Do they fit in? Will they last?

Nature as mentor. Biomimicry is a new way to viewing and valuing nature. It introduces and era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

In her book and on the Institutes's website, she outlines several examples of biomimicry pioneers in action. Here is a sample of those pioneers with what their research:

Wes Jackson (The Land Institute) is studying prairies as a model for an agriculture that features edible, perennial polycultures and that would sustain, rather than strain, the land.
Thomas and Ana Moore and Devins Gust ( University of Arizona) are studying how a leaf captures energy, in hopes of making a molecular-sized solar cell. Their light-sensitive "pentad" mimics a photosynthetic reaction center, creating a tiny, sun-powered battery.
J. Herbert Waite ( University of California Santa Barbara) is studying the blue mussel, which attaches itself to rocks via an adhesive that can do what ours can't-cure and stick underwater. Various teams are attempting to mimic this underwater glue.
Peter Steinberg (Biosignal) has created an anti-bacterial compound that mimics the sea purse. These red algae keeps bacteria from landing on surfaces by jamming their communication signals with an environmentally friendly compound called furanone.
Bruce Roser (Cambridge Biostability) has developed a heat-stable vaccine storage that eliminates the need for costly refrigeration. The process is based on a natural process that enables the resurrection plant to remain in a desiccated state for years.

I have barely scratched the surface of this promising design model. Thus, I encourage you to read this landmark book and/or check out the Institute's website. Another interesting read on this topic is Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Biomimicry offers a much needed solution to making design and manufacturing sustainable which is an absolute must for a healthy, just, prosperous, and sustainable future.

"The more our world functions like the natural world, the more likely we are to endure on this home that is ours, but not ours alone."

~ Janine Benyus

Essay by Denise Frizzell. For more musing from Denise, visit, www.paradigms4progress.com.

Can't eat ethanol

2008-04-13T20:54:00.000-04:00

Great boston sunday globe editorial

April 13, 2008 http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/04/13/cant_eat_ethanol/

CORN should be used for food, not motor fuel, and yet the United States is committed to a policy that encourages farmers to turn an increasing amount of their crop into ethanol. This may save the nation a bit of the cost of imported oil, but it increases global-warming gases and contributes to higher food prices.

Candidates for president need to tell Americans the truth about ethanol, but they are falling over themselves in pursuit of the farm belt vote. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want more ethanol factories built than even President Bush envisaged when he called for 15 percent of US gasoline consumption to be replaced by alternative fuels by 2017. John McCain, who correctly called the ethanol push a boondoggle in 2000, now says that it is "a very important way to achieve energy independence."

Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production. The energy self-sufficiency that all the candidates seek should not come at the expense of the environment or the food supply.

Increased ethanol production isn't the only reason for the spike in food costs, but it's more controllable than drought in Australia, higher fertilizer prices, or increased meat consumption by the Chinese. Unlike those other cost-drivers, ethanol production is encouraged by federal subsidies.

And it's not as though ethanol improves the environment. When emissions inherent in the production process are included, ethanol consumption generates more carbon dioxide per gallon than gasoline, according to a recent report in Science magazine. Conversion of other cultivated biomass, such as sugarcane or soy, presents the same problem. The only biofuel that produces a net benefit is agricultural waste, an uncertain source. The best way for American motorists to use less gasoline is to drive fewer miles in lighter vehicles, rather than rely on the false promise of biofuels.

Ethanol is now usually sold as 10 percent of a fuel mixture that includes 90 percent gasoline. The government is thinking of ordering refiners to raise the blend to 15 or 20 percent. Ethanol generates fewer miles per gallon than regular gasoline. And it's not yet clear, according to the Consumer Reports website, how the higher blends would affect engine reliability or longevity. Before the government insists on a new fuel blend, it ought to examine all the hidden costs.

Greater use of ethanol means more greenhouse gases and more expensive food for people and livestock, hardly a fair exchange. There's a limited role for biofuels, excluding corn, in reducing oil imports from volatile regions, but they are not the answer to the world's need for energy on the go.

2007-11-03T21:33:00.000-04:00

here is a verycool carbon calculator
found on nature conservancy page

2007-10-31T15:33:00.000-04:00

Revolutionary Energy Rally

Concord, MA

November 3, 2007 02:00PM to 03:30PM

Hosted by Global Warming Education Network

The following politician(s) will be attending this event:

	Sen. John Kerry
	Rep. Niki Tsongas

Invite Leaders

Event Description:

Honoring the heroic leadership shown by the brave American Minutemen of 1775, we invite all citizens within a Paul Revere's ride to come -- whether by cycle, carpool, hybrid, or bus -- to hear today's state and national (to be announced) leaders share their views on the American Energy Revolution we need to address the climate crisis. Confirmed local leaders include: Senator Bill Brownsberger, Representative Jamie Eldridge, Senator Susan Fargo, Representative Jim Marzilli, and Senator Pam Resor. Rob Garrity, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) will emcee the Revolutionary Energy Rally.

Given strength in numbers, we invite past StepItUp organizers, and other concerned citizens, to join with us in making this a regional event. Many surrounding cities and towns are planning gathering/walks followed by "Revolutionary Rides" -- by bicycle and/or carpool -- that will join us at Minute Man National Park to kick things off at 2 PM. See, e.g., separate descriptions of events in Bedford, Boston (2 events), Cambridge, Carlisle, Framingham, Lexington and Weston. Local, historically-uniformed Minuteman companies -- complete with fife and drum -- are also expected to participate.

Inspiring remarks by today’s climate change leaders will be followed by a group Step It Up photo at 3:00 PM. Please bring a sign or banner, or better yet, wear revolutionary garb! Special recognition will be given to the city, town, or group with the largest number of representatives present.

We will add more details in the coming days, so check back often. Thanks!

Note: To help promote this event in your area, please post our event flier: http://www.gwenet.org/stepitup2.pdf , and mention it to you friends.

Location:
269 Monument Street

Directions:
Please see Minute Man National Historical Park's website ( http://www.nps.gov/mima/). Parking near the Old Manse; walk over the Old North Bridge to the flag pole on the hill.

Questions? Email the Host

RSVP:

Sixth MCAN Global Warming Action Conference - Nov. 18, 2007

2007-10-17T22:36:00.000-04:00

Download the latest MCAN Conference Flier (pdf).

When: Sunday, Nov. 18, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
Where: MIT Stata Center, 32 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA

Plenary speakers and more than 16 workshops will cover:

Climate Initiatives around the Country
What's New under the Dome: Hot Issues in the Massachusetts Legislature
Green Building Incentives and Legislation in Massachusetts
Cambridge Energy Alliance, and Other State and Local Energy Efficiency Initiatives
Community Climate Action Plans Made Easy
Challenges and Successes of Local Climate Activists
Promoting Low Carbon Living in Your Community
Working with Local Officials
Framing the Climate Message
Global Warming Campaign Organizing: Case Study
Fundraising for Chapters and Community Projects
Saving Energy at Home: New Technologies and Energy Efficiency Tips
Basics of HERS Rating, Blower-Door Test, and Infared Scan
Renewable Power for the People: Residential Renewables
Computerized Car Pooling Programs
BioFuels Basics
Global Warming Impacts in New England
Health Impacts of Global Warming

Organized & hosted by:
MCAN & MIT’s Technology & Culture Forum
Major Sponsor:
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative – Renewable Energy Trust
Co-sponsors include
Clean Water Action and Conservation Law Foundation

Cost: MCAN members $45 (members who have paid dues since June 2006 will be emailed an access code for online registration savings). Non-members: $60 before Nov 10, $75 after. Non-members can join and register online for a special low price. Light breakfast and full lunch provided with all registrations.

Lecture: Climate Change in the Northeast

2007-10-10T14:10:00.000-04:00

OARS Annual Meeting: Thursday, October 25

7:30-9:00 pm
at the Portuguese Club 13 Port St, Hudson, MA

click here for map

An expert from the Union of Concerned Scientists will speak on Climate Change in the Northeast: The science, the impacts, including consequences for watersheds, and proposed solutions.

A short business meeting with a vote to change the by-laws with respect to acquiring land will precede the presentation.

Organization for the Assabet River
9 Damon Mill Square
Suite 1E
Concord, MA 01742

Tel: 978-369-3956
Email: oar@assabetriver.org

A presentation on Peak Oil and Climate Change

2007-10-10T13:53:00.000-04:00

Converging Storms: Peak Oil, Climate Change,

and the Fate of Industrial Civilization

Dick Lawrence, Board Member

Association for the Study of Peak Oil

A Free Lecture at First Parish Lexington ma

Open to the Public

Thursday October 25, 2007 at 8 pm

LEXINGTON MA September 25, 2007 First Parish Lexington (Unitarian-Universalist) will host the fall 2007 Elizabeth Howe Lecture in the First Parish Sanctuary entitled Converging Storms: Peak Oil, Climate Change, and the Fate of Industrial Civilization. Dick Lawrence, co-founder and Board member of ASPO-USA, will examine the controversy, the facts, and the ethics of energy consumption in the 21st century. A reception and refreshments will follow the lecture.

ASPO-USA is the US branch of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas. "Peak Oil" is the conclusion of many geologists and other oil industry experts that world oil production has or will peak within a few years leading to increasingly significant yearly shortfalls between global oil demand and supply. These shortfalls will have very serious impacts on just about every aspect of industrial modern life including our food supply, transportation, and, ironically, our ability to mitigate global warming.

The Association for Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) Global's website describes the association as a network of scientists and others, having an interest in determining the timing and impact of the peak and decline of the world's production of oil and gas, due to resource constraints. Independent national associations are in existence or in formation in thirty countries including the United States. The mission of ASPO is (1) to evaluate the world's endowment and definition of oil and gas; (2) to study depletion, taking due account of economics, demand, technology and politics; (3) to raise awareness of the serious consequences of oil and gas decline for our industrialized civilization.

Dick Lawrence has followed energy issues closely for more than two decades, and in 2005 he co-founded ASPO-USA (Association for Study of Peak Oil and Gas, USA affiliate) where he currently serves on the Board of Directors. In 2006 he organized the group's second annual conference in Boston, which was hosted by Boston University and attracted over 500 attendees for 3 days of presentations on energy issues and climate change. He now coordinates a project to model world energy flow and the economy, with Millennium Institute (Washington, DC) and SUNY-ESF (Syracuse, NY).

Dick worked as a system and IC design engineer for Digital Equipment for 22 years, followed by 8 years at Intel, and is now semi-retired. He has lived in Hudson, MA since 1979. Dick also serves on the Board of Directors for OAR, a watershed advocacy group for the Assabet and Concord Rivers. He is a member of HCAN, the Hudson-area Climate Action Network, and is a volunteer for the Hudson Recycling Committee. He cycles 3000 to 4000 miles a year and in his spare time tries to make a c. 1825 farmhouse more energy efficient.

This lecture is being sponsored by the Elizabeth Howe Lecture Fund and the Social Action Committee of First Parish Lexington. Elizabeth Howe was a long-time First Parish member and Lexington teacher. Her bequest to First Parish established a fund to support an annual lecture series by nationally recognized speakers who address matters of national and global concern. Past years' speakers have included environmentalist Bill McKibben and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Joseph Nye. For more information please contact Janet McKenney or John Oberteuffer via the church office.

First Parish in Lexington

7 Harrington Road, adjacent to the Green

Lexington, MA 02421

(781) 862-8200; email: admin.fplex@verizon.net

http://www.fplex.org/

Parking is available, wheelchair accessible

2007-10-07T20:58:00.000-04:00

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Hudson Climate Action NetworkHCAN

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Rideshare!

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Hosted by Global Warming Education Network

Sen. John Kerry

Rep. Niki Tsongas

RSVP:

Sixth MCAN Global Warming Action Conference - Nov. 18, 2007

Lecture: Climate Change in the Northeast

A presentation on Peak Oil and Climate Change