Podcast Episodes
#180 – From Food Waste to Renewable Energy with Divert
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.
#179 – Reinventing the Grid for the AI Age With Grid Forward
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 become a central issue for grid operators and policymakers. The conversation covers data center rate structures, transformer and equipment shortages, grid-enhancing technologies, energy storage, demand flexibility, utility business models, and the need for smarter long-term infrastructure investments.
#178 – Unlocking Natural Gas Energy Waste with Sapphire Technologies
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 it is simply dissipated as heat. Jeff explains how Sapphire Technologies’ turbo expander technology captures and converts the wasted pressure into clean electricity, improving the efficiency of existing infrastructure without requiring additional fuel. The conversation explores pressure energy recovery, natural gas pipelines, hydrogen infrastructure, industrial energy efficiency, and how waste energy recovery could become standard practice in the future.
#177 – The EV Industry Now Has Adult Problems with ChargerHelp
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 traditional fueling equipment, how field data can reveal complex software and interoperability problems, and why improving mean time to repair is becoming an important measure of charging reliability. The conversation also explores fleet charging, remote diagnostics, AI and big data, charger lifecycle performance, and what the industry could look like in the future.
#176 – Turning a Can of Fuel Into a Fusion Star with Pacific Fusion
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 could provide a path toward reliable fusion power plants. He also discusses the company’s recent prototype milestones, plans to demonstrate net energy gain by 2030, fusion’s regulatory and safety advantages, and what the next decade could hold for fusion energy on Earth and potentially in space.
#175 – Investing in the Energy Behind the AI Boom with NosTerra Venture Capital
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 the near term. The conversation also explores emerging energy and cooling technologies, the shift from AI training to inference, data centers as critical infrastructure, and where investors are finding opportunities across the next generation of AI infrastructure.
#174 – Rethinking What It Takes to Electrify Fleets with NCSU
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 fuel costs, evolving regulations, new charging technologies, and growing amounts of operational data, the conversation is shifting from whether to electrify to how to build fleets that are reliable, resilient, and cost-effective. John discusses fleet electrification, EV charging infrastructure, telematics, AI-powered fleet management, smart charging, alternative fuels, and why understanding each fleet’s unique duty cycle is essential for making sustainable transportation work in practice.
#173 – Active Diesel Particulate Filters: Unlocking Cleaner Growth for Data Centers With Rypos
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 backup power during grid outages. Thomas explains why diesel remains the most reliable option for mission-critical facilities such as data centers and hospitals, and explores how advanced diesel particulate filter technology can reduce harmful particulate emissions by up to 95%. The conversation examines diesel emissions, public health, backup power, data center sustainability, emissions regulations, and practical pathways to reducing air pollution while maintaining grid resilience.
#172 – Why Stopping Climate Change Means Fixing Democracy First With the Sunrise Movement
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 also explores the Make Polluters Pay campaign, the climate impact of AI data centers, corporate control of social media, and how young organizers can turn protest into lasting political power. At the center of the discussion is a more hopeful vision of climate action. A vision that focuses not only on stopping environmental harm but also on building a healthier, fairer, and more livable future.