Earthlings 2.0 Podcast

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Mike Clark, President of Global Innovation and New Business Development at Hollingsworth & Vose, about why air filtration is becoming an important part of energy efficiency and sustainable building design. As commercial buildings, hospitals, factories, and AI data centers consume growing amounts of electricity, even small improvements to HVAC s...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Cherif Kedir, President and CEO of the Renewable Energy Test Center (RETC), about what it takes to ensure solar panels can perform reliably for decades in the field. Cherif discusses RETC's PV Module Index (PVMI) and Thresher Test, how solar testing has evolved as technologies and operating environments have changed, and the role third-party valida...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Ben Kuethe Oaks, Senior Vice President, Commercial at Divert, about building a more circular approach to food waste. Divert works with grocery retailers and other food businesses to track unsold food, prevent waste, increase food donations, and process food that can no longer be eaten through anaerobic digestion. Check out our previous episodes on...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Bryce Yonker, Executive Director and CEO of Grid Forward, about one of the biggest challenges facing the electric grid today: meeting surging electricity demand while keeping power reliable and affordable. As AI data centers, electrification, manufacturing, and extreme weather place new pressure on utilities, Bryce explains why affordability has be...

On this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Jeff Earl, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Sapphire Technologies, about an overlooked source of clean energy. Every day, pressure is intentionally reduced throughout natural gas pipeline networks to safely deliver gas to homes, businesses, and industrial facilities. That pressure contains usable energy, but in most systems i...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Kameale Terry, CEO of ChargerHelp, about what it takes to keep EV charging infrastructure reliable after deployment. As the industry matures, attention is shifting toward uptime, maintenance, diagnostics, and how quickly operators can resolve failures when they occur. Kameale explains why modern EV chargers behave more like connected computers than...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Will Regan, Founder and Chief Scientist of Pacific Fusion, about how the company is developing pulser-driven inertial fusion for eventual commercial deployment. Will breaks down how the system works, the scientific breakthroughs that have changed the outlook for commercial fusion, and why Pacific Fusion believes modularity and mass manufacturing cou...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Theo Ludwick, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at NosTerra Venture Capital, about the infrastructure behind AI's rapid growth. Theo explains why electricity has become one of the biggest bottlenecks facing AI data centers, how operators are balancing power and water use, and why energy efficiency could help unlock additional data center capacity in...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with John Bonitz, Clean Transportation Project Manager at the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center and one of the organizers behind the Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo. The conversation explores how commercial fleet electrification is moving beyond pilot projects and into real-world deployment. As fleet operators face rising...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Thomas Babineau, Senior Emissions and Technology Advisor at Rypos, about one of the least discussed environmental challenges surrounding AI data centers: diesel backup generators. As data centers expand to support artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure, most continue to rely on diesel generators to provide emergency ba...

On this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Sunrise Movement Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay about the future of youth climate organizing and why action depends on building a more representative democracy. Aru explains how the climate movement is connecting emissions reduction with green jobs, healthcare, public transit, economic security, and fossil fuel accountability. The conversation a...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Hendrik Tiesinga, founder and CEO of Climate Edge. Maritime shipping is one of the world's biggest decarbonization challenges and is responsible for moving roughly 80% of global trade. The shipping industry is under increasing pressure to reduce emissions while continuing to power the global economy. Hendrik explains why scaling clean shipping requ...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Matthew Williams, Founder and CEO of Ionate Energy, about why electric grid modernization is becoming just as important as building more renewable energy. As AI data centers, electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and electrification place unprecedented demands on aging electricity infrastructure, utilities are facing a growing need for g...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Gioia Massa, Senior Project Scientist for Space Crop Production at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, about how NASA is preparing to grow food on the Moon, Mars, and future deep-space missions. As human space exploration moves beyond short-duration missions, reliable food production will become a critical component of life support systems. Gioia explains...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Behdad Bahrami, CEO of Edgecom Energy, about how artificial intelligence is changing the way industrial facilities manage electricity. As energy prices become more volatile, AI data centers drive unprecedented demand on the electric grid, and utilities introduce increasingly complex pricing structures, manufacturers and other large energy users nee...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Masami Hayashi, Global Strategy Director at Clean Planet Inc., about the company's work developing solid-state fusion technology for industrial heat. While electricity often dominates clean energy discussions, industrial heat remains one of the largest sources of global energy consumption and emissions. Hayashi explains that Clean Planet's Quantum...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Michael Kelland, CEO and Co-Founder of Planetary Technologies, about whether the ocean could play a much larger role in helping remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. For decades, the ocean has served as one of Earth's largest carbon sinks, absorbing roughly a quarter of human-generated CO2 emissions. But that service comes at a cost: ocean aci...

In this special bonus episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we feature WCS Talks Unplugged , the podcast from Women in Cleantech & Sustainability (WCS). Host Sara Fuentes sits down with our very own Lisa Ann Pinkerton to discuss the origins of one of the largest global networks supporting women in cleantech, renewable energy, sustainability, and climate technology. Lisa Ann reflects on how a simple deci...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Michael Wood III, Director of Commercial Development at DG Matrix, about one of the biggest challenges behind the AI boom: aging electrical infrastructure. As AI, data centers, manufacturing and electrification drive unprecedented demand for electricity, utilities and developers are increasingly constrained by a grid architecture built around techn...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Hayden Smith, CEO of FeX Energy, about the growing challenge of decarbonizing industrial heat and why long-duration energy storage may become essential to the future of clean manufacturing and grid reliability. While renewable electricity adoption continues to grow, many industrial sectors still rely on fossil fuel combustion to generate the high-t...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Alister Scott, Executive Director of the Global Rewilding Alliance, about the growing global rewilding movement and how ecosystem restoration could play a major role in addressing biodiversity loss, climate resilience, flooding, wildfire risk, and human well-being. The conversation explores what rewilding actually means: restoring ecosystems by red...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Dan Kelly, CEO of ADAR Technologies, about how the company is rethinking industrial waste management through acoustic dehydration technology. By removing moisture from high-volume waste streams, like agricultural byproducts, sludge, and food waste, ADAR reduces disposal costs, eliminates contaminants, and preserves nutrient value for reuse. The con...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Emily Dinino, Founder and CEO of ThermoShade, about how extreme heat is reshaping cities, infrastructure, and daily life, and what it will take to adapt. As the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., rising temperatures are exposing gaps in how we design public spaces, especially in underserved communities. Emily shares how ThermoShade is de...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0, we speak with Oliver David (OD) Krieg, president of Intelligent City, about how prefabrication, automation, and mass timber are reshaping the future of housing. He explains how a “product platform” approach, standardizing manufacturing while allowing for design flexibility, can make construction faster, more efficient, and scalable. The conversation explores the...

In this episode of Earthlings 2.0 , we speak with Alan Willett, one of the original residents of Ecovillage at Ithaca, about what it means to intentionally design for community. Drawing on nearly three decades of experience living in what is known as “intentional communities,” Alan explains how physical layout, like shared spaces, pedestrian pathways, and common infrastructure, shapes daily intera...