After decades of fits and starts, is solar power finally hitting the big time? BrightSource Energy is about to break ground on one of the largest solar power plants in the world. The 392 megawatt plant will generate almost as much electricity as all the solar capacity installed across the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, Free Members & Students
Timing is Everything: Poverty Alleviation and the Demand for Energy-Using AssetsOver the next several decades, economic development and anti-poverty programs will likely lift the incomes of the world's poor. In this paper, we study the implications for energy use, focusing on the accumulation of energy-using assets. We begin by developing a simple model of household asset accumulation as a function ...
Intoxicating Plants in the GardenJoin us for a stroll throughout the collection to learn about plants used for making intoxicating elixirs. A few plants we'll see and taste along the way are Opuntias, Rhododendrons, Wormwood, Sugar Cane, and more!Limited to 20 participants
Where: BerkeleyCost: $20 general, $15 members & Homecoming Participants
Life Cycle Assessment of Climate Change Mitigation Strategies - Applications to the Passenger Transportation SectorThe mitigation of climate change emissions in the United States and worldwide requires investment in new technologies and new infrastructure. This talk examines climate change mitigation efforts for the passenger transportation sector from a life cycle perspective. It discusses enhanced methods for life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to climate forcing ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Science Safari: Secret World of BatsDid you know there are over 1,000 species of bats in the world, making up a quarter of all mammal species, and that some live for more than 40 years?This very special evening program will begin with a presentation by Dave Johnston, Ph.D, followed by a bat discovery hike. (Yes, ...
Where: Los GatosCost: $10 Adult, $5 Child, $25 Family
Saturday, 10/09/10
Cruisin' Towards RestorationThe salt ponds of the South Bay are undergoing an amazing transformation! We'll journey by van out into this unique landscape to discover the rebirth of the Bay's edge through wetlands restoration. For ages 12 and over. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Call 408-262-5513 ext. 106.
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Saved at the BuzzerHow did five idealists on a budget save a $30 million forest? Join Park Ranger George Durgerian and find out, while hiking through the quietest redwood and mixed evergreen woodlands in the Golden Gate National Parks.Fairly strenuous, 6½ miles.Meet at the lot beyond the entrance kiosk at Huddart County Park ...
Where: WoodsideCost: $5 entrance fee
Not All of Our Ancestors Were Cavemen: Social Life in the Ice AgePopular culture tells us that our ancestors lived in caves and may have had all sorts of behaviors that we admire or reject. However, what archaeology tells us is that cave-dwelling men and the use of caves for art-making was only one small part of their lives and that, of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
TERRAFORMING THE SECOND HOME FOR HUMANITYThe ultimate development of a planet as a second home for Earth life is terraforming. Why is Mars the most productive next place to settle and how can it be terraformed. Speaker: Jim Brown, The Mars SocietyEven if the day is hot, wear layers as it can chill down at night. ...
Where: Mount TamalpiasCost: Free
SMCAS Star PartyThe City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties twice a month. Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event to be canceled without notice.If you have kids interested in space or planets ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free
Sunday, 10/10/10
EcoHouse Tour, and talk on East Bay Native Plant Gardening Come get inspired and learn new skills at the EcoHouse with a tour of the site and gardens, and a talk on East Bay Native Plant Gardening with Lyn Talkovsky. Begin with the tour at 10am and learn about simple improvements that can be made to green an urban home. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $15 General, $10 Members
Water Wizards Life on the 'Blue Planet' would not be possible without our most precious resource-water. Join us at the EEC to learn more about the unique properties of water through a presentation, hands-on activities, and a guided wetlands walk. We will investigate what makes water such an important resource for people ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
In Search of: Endangered California Clapper Rail Come learn about the endangered and rarely-seen California Clapper Rail. What do they look like? What do they eat? How many are left? We will share information about this secretive bird to optimize your chances of capturing a glimpse of them. The tour will be comprised of a 45-minute slide ...
MEASURING CLIMATE CHANGE USING EARTH-SENSING SATELLITESDr. Carl Mears, a Senior Scientist at Remote Sensing in Santa Rosa, will be speaking about how measurements made using microwave sensors on satellites monitor changes in Earth's climate and test the predictions of climate simulation models.
DripTECH PresentationIn the spring of 2008, three Stanford graduate students from the schools of business, engineering, and design joined forces in a course called Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability. The team traveled to Ethiopia to see where they could apply their talents to help, arriving in the middle of the worst ...
Pauline W. Chen, a liver transplant and liver cancer surgeon, is the author of Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality, a New York Times bestseller. Dr. Chen graduated from Harvard University and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, completing her surgical training at Yale University, the National Cancer Institute ...
How does location affect the taste of your food? Food and environment writer Jacobsen explores the connection between these two, extending the French wine-growing concept of terroir out to a variety of foods from the Western Hemisphere. Learn where the best-tasting honey comes from; why Alaska's Yukon River produces the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, Free Members, $7 Students
Science at the Theater: Cool Cities, Cool Planet featuring Art RosenfeldArthur Rosenfeld, Professor of Physics Emeritus at UC Berkeley, was the last graduate student of Nobelist Enrico Fermi. In 1955 he joined the Physics faculty at UC Berkeley and the research group of Luis Alvarez. In 1974, in response to the OPEC oil embargo, Rosenfeld switched to the new field ...
Where: BerkeleyCost:
Mediation, Performance, and the Public SphereIn 1968, protesters outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago chanted "The whole world is watching," and shortly thereafter their images appeared on the evening news. These days, protesters bring their own cameras and post their clips on YouTube. Has participatory media effected a structural transformation of the public sphere? ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Tuesday, 10/12/10
Arecibo Radar Observations of Near-Earth AsteroidsRadar observations are one of the only groundbased techniques to spatially resolve near-Earth asteroids. Images with up to 7.5-m resolution reveal a wide variety of shapes, surface features and helped to discover many binary objects. Our understanding of the nature and evolution of NEAs has changed radically in recent years, ...
Think of life without modern drugs. Diseases that are considered simple inconveniences today were often incurable only 50 years ago. But the process to develop a new drug and bring it to patients is long and costly. Only a few drugs – out of thousands or millions of compounds tested ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Free 3-Session Climate Action Workshop During three weekly workshop sessions, you will join with a small group of Bay Area residents to:*Calculate your carbon footprint*Consider ways to reduce your ecological footprint and make substantive changes in your community*Take action (as much or as little as you choose)*Access the wisdom, advice, and collaboration of your community ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
High Performance Computing: Union of Software and Reconfigurable LogicModern FPGA platforms have capabilities that are well suited to assume a more central role in the implementation of complex embedded processing systems. In particular, FPGAs are well placed to be at the heart of complex signal processing, packet processing and high performance computing applications because of their high computational ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free ($2 donation for refreshments)
Off Grid Energy Solutions In Developing Countries Speaker SeriesAshok's famous cook stove will be showcased at the event. This cook stove has helped increase overall cooking efficiency in developing countries, as well as it has dramatically reduced the public health issues that are related to bad indoor air quality from inefficient open-air biomass burning.· Esteemed UC Berkeley Professor ...
Where: BerkeleyCost:
In the Balance: Energy, Economy and EnvironmentWith California projected to add another 15 million people in the next few decades, how can the state meet growing energy demand while protecting its natural environment? And how can it do all that while protecting an innovative business environment that creates jobs and drives economic growth? Will a transition ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, Free students
Wednesday, 10/13/10
A New look at what Life is and how it beganLife has two unique processes. The first is precision assembly, in which the shape of a molecule is selected, and it is "glued" to another precisely selected molecule. The second is when the assembler-glue-selector device exactly copies itself. The first item produced must be a structure so as to be ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Innovation in the Health Care EnterpriseThe evaluation and management of new information technologies is an increasing challenge for health care organizations that want to establish innovation as a core strategic capability. The Innovation and Advanced Technology Group at Kaiser Permanente looks at technologies from clinical, business, and strategic viewpoints to help inform internal decisions on ...
LoopageSoftware development is hampered by a specific set of design mistakes that were made in the first programming languages and repeated in everything that has been done since. And, somewhat miraculously, JavaScript is going to make it right, radically transforming the way we write applications. Again. In the Loop of ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Well-Being, Consumption, and Climate Change CommitmentGovernments are currently considering policies that will limit greenhouse gas concentrations, including negotiation of an international treaty to replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol. Designing effective climate change mitigation and adaptation measures requires rigorous, comprehensive, detailed analyses of the response of climate dynamics to elevated greenhouse gas concentrations, and of the ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Watering the Farm: Stanford's Water Systems Old and New, Near and FarEver since the Farm was a farm, managing water on Stanford's lands has been a challenge and adventure. Today, Stanford University operates a complex water source, distribution, and management system that typifies the challenges of managing water resources in a densely-populated, semi-arid environment. Stanford operates old dams and new fish ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
ScienceMakers feat. William A. Lester, Jr. & Robert Bragg, Jr.The HistoryMakers, a repository of nearly 2,000 African American oral histories. We are currently in year 2 of our NSF grant entitled 'ScienceMakers: An Innovative African American Media and Educational Initiative.'ScienceMakers seeks to encourage youth to enter S.T.E.M. disciplines by showing them prominent African American scientists who they may not ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
October LASER Event6:45pm-7:00pm: Socializing/networking. Anyone in the audience is welcome to describe in 30 seconds what they are working on.7:00-7:30pm: Renetta Sitoy (artist) on "The Internet as Media"Employing a range of strategies for acquiring, organizing, and re-contextualizing information found on the World Wide Web; exploring themes such as online communities (in which ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
How to Cook Like a ScientistDo you have a hard time choosing between cooking shows and Mythbusters? If so, come meet Jeff Potter, author of Cooking for Geeks - a book described by one reviewer as "...the best science-meets-the-kitchen book to come out. Ever." Written for anyone who likes to think about how things work, ...
Marine Mammal Research TourGo behind the scenes at Long Marine Lab. Learn about the work of scientists and their studies of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and whales. Tour is best suited for adults and children over 10 years of age. Space limited. Reservations required: (831) 459-3800.
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
SharktoberfestLearn all you ever wanted to about sharks – we'll have specimens from the Academy's collections, movies, experts ready to answer your questions, shark inspired art and dance pieces, a shark trivia contest, and animatronics, along with other great programming. In our take on Octoberfest, this week's NightLife will also ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
A pioneer in climate science, Hansen testified at Al Gore's seminal Congressional hearings on global warming in the late 1980s. Several years ago, when the federal government tried to muzzle climate scientists and computer models suggested tipping points were near, Hansen came out swinging. He was arrested at a demonstration ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, $15 Members, Free Students
Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical MiracleThea Cooper, B.A., Bard College, M.F.A., Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and co-author of Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the Discovery of Insulin, and the Making of a Medical Miracle by Thea Cooper and Arthur Ainsberg (St. Martin's Press, September 2010).On October 31, 1920, Frederick Banting was an orthopedic surgeon looking for work when, half-asleep ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: FREE
Changing Climates, Changing HabitatsNational Park Service ranger Will Elder will discuss how climate change may influence habitats at the Presidio, Golden Gate, and other western national parks. What role can parks play in preserving our natural heritage during a time of change?
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Reishi, Shiitake, and the Medicinal Mushroom FraudDr. Nicholas Money is a mycologist , Western Program Director and Professor of Botany at Miami University. He will speak on the culture and mythology surrounding medicinal mushrooms, and the irrational beliefs that lead to the use of fungi for everything from sexual impotence to keeping a dying patient alive. ...
An overview of the world-wide Corvid Family (Crows, Jays & their kin), with a specific focus on the four Bay Area resident species, plus a fifth that may be establishing a population here. A sidebar will give guidelines for distinguishing the local American Crow from its larger cousin, the Northern ...
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