Inevitable

This episode was previously for members only. In an effort to make important content more widely accessible, the audio for this episode is now available for everyone. Camus Energy Co-Founder & CEO, Astrid Atkinson, chats with me about her background and her motivation for starting Camus Energy. I enjoyed our conversation, which covered grid management and the future of energy providers. Enjoy the...

Today's guest is Mark Frayman, Head of BHP Ventures at BHP. BHP is an Anglo-Australian mining company that is based in Melbourne. One of the biggest mining companies in the world, they extract oil & gas and process minerals, such as coal, copper, and iron. Mark is part of the new Venture Investments group which is the trading arm of BHP. As the world hurtles towards the Paris Accord goals, mining...

This Startup Series episode was previously for MCJ members only. In an effort to make important content more widely available, the audio is now available for everyone. Co-Founder & CEO, Brennan Spellacy, walks me through the gap he saw in the carbon market and why he started Patch. We talk about how Patch works and where he sees the future of the company, of carbon markets, and the best ways to ad...

Today's guests are Jeremy Freeman, Founder & Executive Director, and Danny Cullenward, Policy Director, at CarbonPlan.   We have a great discussion in this episode about carbon markets, why they matter, what is broken about them, the best ways to fix it, and how CarbonPlan is setting out to help. They have a unique perch in the market, and this is a must listen for anyone with carbon markets on yo...

In this episode, Co-Founder and CEO, Nick Myers, explains how Phoenix Tailings got started, why mining tailings are such a problem, how they have been dealt with to date, and the benefits of the Phoenix Tailings approach. We also talk about the company’s traction to-date, key priorities, and what is coming next. Given the electrification that is to come and the increasing demand for precious metal...

Today's guest is Dave Riess, Co-Founder & CEO of Wunder Capital.  In this episode, Dave walks me through his career path and how he got hooked on energy. We talk about Wunder Capital, its initial hypothesis, and how the company has evolved. We also dive into how the solar revolution has developed, Dave's thoughts on the future of solar, and how to accelerate the clean energy transition. I enjoyed...

Emrgy’s Founder and CEO, Emily Morris, and I have a lively discussion as she takes me through her path to entrepreneurship, Emrgy's beginnings, and the lessons she has learned looking back on her career. We talk about Emrgy's technology and its process for identifying sites. Emily also explains why hydropower is essential to a successful energy transition and the distinction between clean and sust...

Today's guest is Josh Felser, Angel investor and Co-Founder of Freestyle VC. I was excited for this episode, as Josh is among a growing group of very successful people coming from other industries who are looking to get serious about addressing climate change.  Josh is a several time entrepreneur, (founded Spinner, acquired by AOL Time Warner and Grouper, acquired by Sony), and went on to co-found...

unspun co-founder and CTO Kevin Martin walks me through what motivated him and his co-founders to tackle this massive challenge within the fashion industry. We also discuss the future of apparel in a COVID world, how unspun's core robotics technology fits with their consumer-facing brand, and Kevin's vision for the future of automated and localized manufacturing. Kevin was a great guest, and I lea...

Today's guest is Nili Gilbert, Investment Committee Chair of the David Rockefeller Fund and Synergos. Nili and I have a really enjoyable discussion in this episode about her personal journey to find meaning in her work, and the dual tracks that took along the way, with a high profile finance career where she injected her values at every step, and through her philanthropic efforts. We also have a b...

Founder and CEO, Julia Kumari Drapkin, walks me through her background as a climate journalist, why she started ISeeChange, what the company has accomplished so far and where it is heading. To learn more about ISeeChange, visit their website: https://www.iseechange.org/ This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. The pitch presentation and slides are exclusively available to My Clima...

Today's guest is Rob Niven, Founder and CEO of CarbonCure Technologies.  Rob and I have a fascinating discussion about concrete versus cement, how he got started working in concrete, and what drew him to help solve this problem. We also talk about his experience in public policy in regards to clean cement legislation. I learned a lot from Rob about the concrete market and the future of CarbonCure...

Founder and CEO Grant Canary walks me through how DroneSeed (Now Mast Reforestation) works and how he got involved in wildfire restoration. We also discuss the problem we are facing with wildfires across the western U.S., the main problems with forest restoration as it stands now, the market, and where carbon credits are heading in the future in respect to reforestation. To learn more about DroneS...

Back by popular demand, today's guest is Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder and Executive Director of the Environmental Voter Project, a non-profit that aims to significantly increase voter demand for environmental leadership by identifying inactive environmentalists and then turning them into consistent activists and voters. Nathaniel explains the Environmental Voter Project's work, how they identify en...

Founder, Matanya Horowitz, and I discuss his background and how AMP Robotics started. We dive into the controversies of recycling, the inefficiencies that AMP is solving and where the future of recycling is going. I really enjoyed talking with Matanya and learning about the problem AMP Robotics is trying to solve, their momentum and progress, and future plans. To learn more about AMP Robotics, vis...

Today's guest is Amy Francetic, Managing Director of Buoyant Ventures. Buoyant Ventures is an early stage fund investing in digital solutions to climate risk based in Chicago, IL.    Amy and I have a lively discussion where she tells me about her origin story and how she first got involved in the climate fight. We talk about how climate has evolved since she started working in this space and the f...

Today's guest is Dr. Melissa Lott, Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Melissa and I have a great discussion, in which we dive into her background and origin story, what brought her to working in energy, how she sees the energy transition playing out, how we can successfully decarbonize power, and how energy and environmental justice can’t be decou...

Today's guests are Jon Goldberg, Founder & CEO of Carbon Direct and Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct. I learned a lot in the episode. Jon and Julio are the first pair to come onto the podcast and it led to a fascinating discussion. We dive into Carbon Direct, their place in the market, and how Carbon Direct is changing the game. We also discuss the areas Jon and Julio are most exc...

Today's guest is David Hardy, CEO of Offshore NA at Ørsted, a Danish energy company. We talked about a lot in this episode. David walked me through his path to Ørsted and where he sees the company going. We chatted about how the renewables landscape has changed since he first started working in this area, and the path forwards. Then, we had a great discussion about offshore wind, its penetration t...

Today's guest is Rodrigo Prudencio, who works in Worldwide Corporate Development at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. We discuss a lot in this episode, including what got Rodrigo initially passionate about climate change, the lessons he learned from the last cleantech wave, what led him back into cleantech and his role at Amazon, and a deep dive into the Climate Pledge Fund, its areas of focus, and ho...

Today's guest is Adam Browning, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Vote Solar.  We cover a lot in this episode from Adam’s beginnings to the future of solar in the U.S. We also dive into how solar works and the potential drawbacks of it. Finally, Adam talks in depth about policy advocacy on the local level and how Prop B came to fruition.  In today’s episode, we cover: What is Vote Solar and its...

In today’s episode, we cover: What is Aspiration? Cherny's background & experiences that led him to the idea of Aspiration Cherny's time working for Al Gore How banks operate? Aspiration's model of success  Challenges Aspiration is faced with Cherny's perspective on fossil fuels & how it applies to banking Discussion on "do no harm" Collectivism versus individualism Divestment versus advocating wi...

Today's guest is Daniel Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California, Berkeley. We have a long form discussion in this episode about Dan's background, how his perspective on the problem of climate change has evolved over the years and how he thinks about the problem today. Dan's perspective is particularly unique given the diverse background that he brings, which I find super intere...

In today’s episode, we cover: Skelly’s background and journey as a renewable energy entrepreneur. His formative experience in canopy tourism. The reasons and motives that drove Skelly to get into wind energy. His reflection on the Industrial Revolution. What has changed in renewable energy since he first began working in it. Texas’ experience with renewable energy. Skelly’s thoughts on existing nu...

Today's guest is Nicolas Pinkowski, Co-Founder of Nitricity. We cover a lot in this episode, including how Nitricity came to be, the impetus for its founding, progress made to date, and some of the twists and turns along the way. We also discuss the company’s longterm vision and what's coming next. We also touch upon the experience of starting a company within an academic environment and the pros...