Climate Positive

In this episode, we speak with Suzanne Singer, Founder and Executive Director of Native Renewables, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization that empowers Indigenous families to achieve energy independence by expanding renewable energy capacity and affordable access to off-grid power.

It may be surprising to learn that by some estimates, up to one third of U.S. households suffer from some form of energy poverty, meaning that they find it difficult to afford the energy they need to heat and cool their homes and provide basic lighting, cooking, device charging, and entertainment. Energy poverty is a particular challenge for Indigenous communities, many of which are rural in nature and continue to rely on expensive and carbon-intensive diesel, kerosene, and other fossil resources for the limited electricity access they do enjoy. So, in this episode, we take a deep dive into this issue with Suzanne Singer, the Founder and Executive Director of Native Renewables.

Growing up, Suzanne’s grandparents, members of the Navajo Nation, lacked access to electricity and running water. This, in part, inspired her to establish her organization, which is specifically focused on installing off-grid solar PV systems and batteries for community members of the Navajo and Hopi Nations. In addition to the origins, mission, and operations of her nonprofit, we also discuss Suzanne’s career transition from the prestigious National Research Laboratories to mission-driven entrepreneurship and the particular challenges faced by Indigenous women leaders.

We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did.

Note: The Hannon Armstrong Foundation provided a grant to support the efforts of Native Renewables.

Links:

Native Renewables

Suzanne Singer Bio

Tó Nizhóní Ání

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at [email protected].

People want performance. As sustainability focused as a new product can be, if it is truly attempting to dominate the market, the new product has to be as good as or better than the less sustainable incumbent it is looking to replace. This is especially true with sustainable food. To this end, many of us have searched – often in vain – for plant-based dairy products, such as ice cream and cheese, that are both delicious and environmentally sustainable.

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Tim Wildin, CEO of Vertage. Using a chef-driven, science-backed, and consumer-focused approach, Vertage develops and sells delicious plant-based cheeses to restaurants across the spectrum in select U.S. cities. Tim talks about his career journey through the sustainable food space, how he teamed up with Chef Margaux Riccio to found Vertage, the secret sauce behind Vertage’s plant-based cheeses, and much more.

Links

• Vertage
• Flexitarian Diet
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Episode recorded March 22, 2022

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at [email protected].

Sheldon Kimber has built from scratch multiple successful enterprises over his two decades in the energy industry. Now the CEO and Co-Founder of Intersect Power, a developer and owner of some of the world’s largest clean energy resources, Sheldon is working to bring innovative and scalable low-carbon solutions to customers across North America.

Earlier this year, Sheldon published an article entitled, “The Nexus of Deep Decarbonization,” in which he discusses the five inevitable industries that have the potential for exponential growth as we work to decarbonize the global economy by leveraging increasingly affordable and available clean energy. These five industries include; Green Hydrogen and E-Fuels, Direct Air Capture, Electrification of Industrial Thermal Loads, Mass Electric Vehicle Charging, and Desalination and Water Transportation.

In this episode, Chad Reed and Jeff Eckel dive deep into Sheldon’s unique background and discuss the five inevitable industries, and the related decarbonization policy challenges and opportunities given the current macroenvironment. To get the most out of this episode, we encourage you to read Sheldon’s aforementioned article, available in the show notes.

Links:

Sheldon Kimber Twitter

Article: The Nexus of Deep Decarbonization (Sheldon Kimber, February 11, 2022)
Article: Proposed US tax credit 'would instantly make green and blue hydrogen competitive with grey' (ReCharge News, February 9, 2022)

Episode recorded: May 11, 2022

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at [email protected].

Deia Bayoumi is the Vice President of Global Product Management at Bloom Energy, a San Jose-based company whose mission is to make clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone globally. In this episode, Deia, a global innovation executive with more than three decades of experience, discusses Bloom’s unique fuel cell and clean hydrogen solutions and the role these technologies play in addressing climate change. Bloom is changing the future of energy with its leading solid oxide platform for distributed generation of electricity and hydrogen. Its customers include many Fortune 100 companies and leaders in manufacturing, data centers, healthcare, retail, higher education, utilities, and other industries.

Links:

• Deia Bayoumi Twitter
• Deia Bayoumi LinkedIn
• Bloom Energy Website
• Bloom Energy Hydrogen Fuel Cells Overview
• Bloom Energy Electrolyzer Overview
• Bloom Energy Twitter
• Bloom Energy LinkedIn
• Press Release: Bloom Energy Unveils Electrolyzer to Supercharge the Path to Low-Cost, Net-Zero Hydrogen (July 14, 2021)
• Article: Bloom Energy officially launches clean energy Fremont factory (San Jose Mercury News, July 20, 2022)
• Video: The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough? (CBS 60 Minutes, February 2010)

Episode recorded August 23, 2022

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at [email protected].

Corals are the gems of the oceans, creating beautiful colors and shapes that form our reefs while serving many vital functions for life on this planet. With 25-40% already lost, the worldwide coral population faces incredible danger from climate change and other threats. But there is hope.

On this week’s episode, Hilary and I talk with Dr. David E. Vaughan, an esteemed marine biologist and author of the new book The Secret Life of Corals: Sex, War, and Rocks that Don’t Roll.

Dr. Vaughan has held aquaculture research and development positions for over 45 years. He is best known for developing the innovative restoration technique of “micro-fragmentation, which can speed up coral growth by 25 times by breaking them into tiny little pieces. He is focused on making this innovative process a scalable tool for reef restoration as the Founder of Plant a Million Corals. As you’ll hear in this conversation, David brings great clarity and joy when talking about corals and why they are so important.

Links:

Book: The Secret Life of Corals: Sex, War and Rocks That Don't Roll

Website: Plant A Million Corals

Dr. David E. Vaughn TedX Talk

NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Overview

Episode recorded: December 7, 2022

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at [email protected].