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by Matt Matern's Environmental Advocacy Podcast
A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a weekly show featuring influential guests from government, business, activism, academia, and culture. The show serves to inform its audience with a focus on environmental and climate issues. Join us as we commit to making "a climate change." Similar to these great podcasts: TED Climate, Reversing Climate Change, Climate One, My Climate Journey, Volts, America Adapts, & A Matter Of Degrees.
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Today, Matt speaks with Dan Stack, co-founder and CEO of Electrified Thermal Solutions, about cleaning up one of the biggest and least talked about sources of climate pollution: the heat that factories burn fossil fuels to make. Dan explains how a grad school assignment to "figure out the best way to heat up bricks" became the Joule Hive thermal battery, why storing power as heat in bricks is far cheaper than lithium-ion for heavy industry, and how factories can cut their energy bills 10 to 30% while cutting emissions one for one. Learn more about the Joule Hive at https://www.electrifiedthermal.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Dan Stack is the co-founder and CEO of Electrified Thermal Solutions, a climate tech company helping heavy industry replace fossil fuels with clean electric heat. He earned his master's and PhD in nuclear science and engineering at MIT, where his research on electrically conductive firebricks became the foundation of the company's Joule Hive thermal battery. The Joule Hive stores low-cost renewable electricity as heat and delivers it at temperatures up to 1,800°C for industries like cement, steel, glass and chemicals. Dan is an Activate Fellow and ARPA-E awardee, and represents the company on the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. EPISODE RESOURCES Electrified Thermal Solutions: https://www.electrifiedthermal.com Dan Stack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-stack-b4505631/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids YOUTUBE CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open 0:31 Intro: A Climate Change Welcomes Dan Stack 0:55 From Nuclear Reactors to Heating Up Bricks 3:44 Why Bricks Beat Lithium-Ion Batteries 6:29 Beating Natural Gas on Price 7:45 Cutting CO2 One-for-One 9:24 Methane, NOx and Millions of Premature Deaths 11:19 The Secret Sauce: Turning Ordinary Bricks Conductive 12:43 Who Else Is Building Thermal Batteries? 13:24 Sold Out Through 2028 15:58 Raising Capital and Government Grants 18:55 Masons, Metalworkers and a Gigafactory 20:36 Europe's Gas Crisis and Where It Deploys First 23:10 Soaking Up Surplus Solar and Wind 24:31 Can Thermal Batteries Make Data Centers Greener? 27:00 Outro CURATED LIST OF EPISODES If you enjoyed this episode of A Climate Change, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: Maya van Rossum - our latest episode, and the other side of the data center boom: Dan wants to put the extra power to work, while Maya is helping communities push back on new data centers Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/267-how-communities-are-using-their-constitution-to/id1557317787?i=1000798755090 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBKL90TGa0U Regan George - the same idea on the home side: Regan turns home batteries into a power plant, while Dan soaks up cheap power in bricks for factories Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/266-your-garage-could-be-part-of-a-power-plant-w-regan-george/id1557317787?i=1000797597786 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVtGnUUB-P8 Drew Shula - the buildings side of the emissions problem; Dan points out that the concrete and steel in every building takes enormous heat to make Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/263-buildings-cause-40-of-global-emissions-and/id1557317787?i=1000792621748 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imgd1idGLXw
Today, Matt speaks with Maya van Rossum, founder of Green Amendments For The Generations and the Delaware Riverkeeper, about putting the right to clean air, pure water and a healthy environment into state constitutions. Maya tells the story of how she and seven municipalities challenged Pennsylvania's pro-fracking law using a constitutional right that had been ignored for 40 years, and won at the state Supreme Court in 2013. She explains what makes a Green Amendment different from the environmental laws already on the books, why it was the key to the youth climate win in Held v. Montana, and what happened when California's version started to get watered down. Plus, how communities are using the Green Amendment to push back on data centers, her new lawsuit over projects that get "deemed approved" without a single public hearing, and why a Capitol rally in Pennsylvania brought progressives and Trump supporters together on the same side. Find out if your state has a Green Amendment effort at https://forthegenerations.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Maya K. van Rossum is the founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, a national nonprofit working to secure the right to a clean, safe and healthy environment in every state constitution and, eventually, the U.S. Constitution. For more than 30 years she has also served as the Delaware Riverkeeper, leading the Delaware Riverkeeper Network across the four states of the Delaware River watershed. She was a lead petitioner in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2013), which struck down key parts of the pro-fracking Act 13 and brought Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment back to life. She is the author of The Green Amendment, now in its second edition, and an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. EPISODE RESOURCES Green Amendments For The Generations: https://forthegenerations.org Delaware Riverkeeper Network: https://delawareriverkeeper.org The Green Amendment (2nd edition): https://www.porchlightbooks.com/products/green-amendment-maya-k-van-rossum-9781633310643 A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids YOUTUBE CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open 0:41 Intro: A Climate Change Welcomes Maya van Rossum 1:08 How a Forgotten Right Beat Pennsylvania's Fracking Law 6:01 "Is This All There Is?" Starting the Green Amendment Movement 7:28 Why Held v. Montana Won 9:46 Which States Have a Green Amendment? 11:29 Why California Doesn't Have One Yet 13:28 What's Changed in Pennsylvania Since the Win 17:14 Rights of Nature vs. Green Amendments 20:45 Fighting Data Centers and the "Deemed Approved" Lawsuit 24:15 Liberals and Trumpsters Rally Against Data Centers 26:32 The Abundance Movement and Data Centers 29:55 How to Bring a Green Amendment to Your State 31:57 Outro MORE ABOUT A CLIMATE CHANGE WITH MATT MATERN A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a podcast dedicated to addressing the pressing issue of climate change while inspiring action and fostering a sustainable future. Each episode dives deep into the environmental challenges of our time, rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and resource degradation, breaking down complex topics into digestible insights. The podcast goes beyond merely raising awareness. It serves as a trusted resource for practical, actionable solutions that empower listeners to reduce their carbon footprint and drive change in their communities. With a strong focus on environmental science and expert perspectives, host Matt Matern brings influential voices to the forefront, highlighting innovative ideas and collaborative efforts shaping global sustainability initiatives. More than just a source of information, A Climate Change is a movement. It builds a coalition of like-minded individuals committed to preserving the planet for future generations. Listeners are invited to participate actively in creating a legacy of positive environmental impact through informed decision-making and collective action. The podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, provides a platform for science-bac
Today, Matt speaks with Regan George, Founder and CEO of SOLRITE Energy, about turning home batteries into a power plant that helps homeowners and the grid at the same time. Regan explains why rooftop solar stopped paying off once net metering went away, and why big, smart batteries are the fix. He breaks down what a virtual power plant actually is, why most of them barely get used, and why he tells utilities to cycle his batteries two and a half times a day. He also shares a simple way to picture the grid's problem: widening the freeway never ends rush hour, but controlling when cars get on the road does. Plus, how SOLRITE is helping "solar orphans" get their savings back, why data centers should pay for batteries in the neighborhoods around them, and how his team is bringing power back to Eagle Point, Utah after the Cottonwood Fire. Learn more about SOLRITE Energy at https://www.solriteenergy.com/ Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Regan George is the Founder and CEO of SOLRITE Energy, which finances, builds and owns home solar and battery systems and links them into virtual power plants. He started his renewables career at Vivint Solar in 2012, then founded his own solar sales and installation company in Southern California before shifting it to virtual power plants and renaming it SOLRITE in 2023. SOLRITE installs large 60 kWh home batteries at no upfront cost and earns money by using them to support the grid. The company partners with battery maker sonnen and operates in Texas, California, Illinois and the Northeast. EPISODE RESOURCES SOLRITE Energy: https://www.solriteenergy.com/ Regan George on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/regan-george-55700a15a/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids YOUTUBE CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open 00:45 Intro: A Climate Change Welcomes Regan George 2:40 Fixing Solar's Sales Problem With Fixed Pricing 3:49 How California's NEM 3.0 Changed Rooftop Solar 8:01 What Is a Virtual Power Plant? 11:13 Level Zero vs. Level Four Virtual Power Plants 14:14 California Has the Batteries. Why Not Use Them? 15:23 The Grid Is Built for the Worst Hour of the Year 16:55 The Freeway Analogy: Ending Rush Hour on the Grid 18:35 Letting Batteries Compete With Power Plants 20:29 Cycling Batteries 2.5 Times a Day 25:11 How Long Can a 60 kWh Battery Power a Home? 26:03 Helping Solar Orphans Get Their Savings Back 27:41 Fewer Brownouts and Backup Power During Fire Season 30:44 Can Home Batteries Help Data Centers Connect? 33:00 Should Data Centers Pay for Neighborhood Batteries? 34:48 Rebuilding Eagle Point After the Cottonwood Fire 39:30 Utilities Aren't the Enemy 40:47 What's Next for SOLRITE 42:09 Outro ALSO, MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT If you enjoyed this episode, here is a list of some recent episodes curated especially for you: 265. Frédéric Samama – prior episode, and a good counterpoint. Fred argues money and markets alone won’t get us to act on climate, while Regan’s whole model is built on making the economics work for everyone Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/265-why-do-we-know-so-much-about-climate-change-and/id1557317787?i=1000796472561 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXN6tWFiW20 260. Leah Qusba – why Republicans still support solar; pairs with Regan calling deregulated Texas the gold standard and staying out of the politics of data centers Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/260-leah-qusba-on-why-republicans-still-support-solar/id1557317787?i=1000788943729 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiXUtGlMVw0 259. Cora Stryker – California just passed balcony solar; a direct companion to Regan’s take on California’s new legislation and what it takes to unlock home energy there Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast
Today, Matt speaks with Frédéric Samama, adjunct professor at Sciences Po and author of The Enigma of Climate Inaction, about a simple question: if almost everyone knows about climate change, why aren’t we acting? Fred, a pioneer of green finance, explains his idea of “societal bubbles.” Like a rat that learns its way to the cheese in a maze, humans got so good at getting resources through farming, capitalism and modern science that we became overconfident in the models that got us here. Now those same models are working against us, and climate change is the first crisis that puts a limit on the resources we’ve built everything around. He and Matt also get into what astronauts’ view of Earth can teach us, why climate disasters can make people believe less in climate change, and his work with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz that helped bring $800 billion in investor commitments to the Paris climate talks. Read The Enigma of Climate Inaction here: https://www.routledge.com/The-Enigma-of-Climate-Inaction-Why-Are-We-Doing-Nothing-or-Almost-Nothing-in-the-Face-of-Catastrophe/Samama/p/book/9781041030645 Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Frédéric Samama is an author, investor and financial innovator whose career has spanned capital markets, institutional investment and climate finance. He began his career at J.P. Morgan and Crédit Agricole CIB, then joined Amundi, where he headed Institutional Client Coverage and Responsible Investment and pioneered some of the first mainstream low-carbon equity indices. He later joined S&P Global and is an adjunct professor at Sciences Po. He co-founded a research initiative on sovereign wealth funds with Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, has testified before the US Senate, and was named 2026 Personality of the Year by Environmental Finance. His latest book is The Enigma of Climate Inaction (Routledge). EPISODE RESOURCES The Enigma of Climate Inaction (Routledge): https://www.routledge.com/The-Enigma-of-Climate-Inaction-Why-Are-We-Doing-Nothing-or-Almost-Nothing-in-the-Face-of-Catastrophe/Samama/p/book/9781041030645 Frédéric Samama on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frédéric-samama-a81b644/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt speaks with Mike Kelland, Co-founder & CEO of Planetary, about using the ocean to pull carbon dioxide out of the air. Planetary adds calcium and magnesium minerals, basically an antacid, to water flowing out of coastal facilities. That lowers local acidity and lets the ocean absorb more CO2 from the atmosphere. Mike breaks down the UN's new Limiting Overshoot report, which he says puts the carbon removal we need at about 23 gigatons a year, and explains why trees, machines and every other land-based approach top out around 15, leaving the ocean to close the gap. He and Matt also get into the safety question people are afraid to ask, how Planetary's Halifax plant reached 8,000 tons removed, why compliance carbon markets are the key to scaling, and the all-hands, middle-of-winter push that won Planetary an XPRIZE. Learn more about Planetary at https://www.planetarytech.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Mike Kelland is the co-founder and CEO of Planetary, a Nova Scotia company that restores coastal seawater chemistry to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. He founded Planetary in 2019 with Brock Battochio and ocean scientist Dr. Greg Rau. The company is a two-time XPRIZE Carbon Removal award winner and delivered the world's first independently verified ocean alkalinity enhancement carbon removal credits. Before Planetary, Mike spent about 25 years as a tech entrepreneur, founding several software companies. He holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering from Carleton University and is a Forty Under Forty recipient. EPISODE RESOURCES Planetary: https://www.planetarytech.com Mike Kelland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkelland/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt speaks with Drew Shula, trained architect and Founder and CEO of Verdical Group, about the part of the climate problem hiding in plain sight: the buildings we live and work in, which account for roughly 40% of global carbon emissions. He breaks down the two halves of a building's carbon footprint, the energy it burns and the materials it's made of, and makes the case that we already know how to build net zero today - almost nothing requires it, which is why net zero is still less than 1% of construction. He and Matt also get into the LA fires, where Drew was displaced from his own home for six days, the city's decision to waive its all-electric requirement for rebuilds, insurance pulling out of fire zones, and why he thinks AI data centers get unfairly singled out. The 13th annual Net Zero Conference is October 7-8, 2026 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. You can register and learn more at netzeroconference.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Drew Shula is the founder and CEO of Verdical Group, a Los Angeles sustainability consulting firm he launched in 2012 that specializes in green building certifications, engineering services, ESG, and net zero strategy. Trained as an architect at the University of Notre Dame, he has built the firm into a certified B Corporation and 1% for the Planet member with projects in about 25 states and up to ten countries, for clients including NASA, Google, Johnson & Johnson, LAX, Meta and Apple. Verdical Group was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 2025. Drew is also the founder of the Net Zero Conference and Trailblazer Awards, now in its 13th year, and was the sixth person ever honored as both a LEED Fellow and a Living Future Hero. He grew up in Belfast, Maine, and lives in Los Angeles. EPISODE RESOURCES Verdical Group: https://verdicalgroup.com Net Zero Conference (Oct 7-8, 2026, LA Convention Center): https://netzeroconference.com Drew Shula at Verdical Group: https://verdicalgroup.com/team/drew-shula/ A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt Matern speaks with Jim Murphy, Associate Vice President of Legal Advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation, about EPA's proposal to rewrite which streams and wetlands the Clean Water Act actually protects. Jim explains what the rule would do - by his estimate, removing federal protection from up to 60% of the nation's stream miles and well over 90% of historically protected wetlands - and why streams that don't flow year-round still carry pollution downstream. He and Matt trace how we got here, from the Cuyahoga River fire and the 1972 Clean Water Act through the Supreme Court's 2023 decision, and get into what happens when roughly half the states have no protections of their own to fall back on. They also cover the nitrate crisis overwhelming Iowa's water utilities, what fewer federal permits mean for the AI data center boom, and why Jim thinks clean water may be the issue that pulls conservation back across party lines. Public comment on the proposal closes October 9, 2026. Learn more at nwf.org Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Jim Murphy is Associate Vice President of Legal Advocacy at the National Wildlife Federation, where he coordinates legal work across the organization's waters and lands programs. He has spent more than 25 years in environmental law and policy, over 20 of them at the Federation, engaging with courts, agencies, and Congress on water, wildlife, energy, and climate. He previously directed the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law School and has worked in private practice, at the Conservation Law Foundation, and as a Capitol Hill staffer. He writes regularly on threats to foundational environmental laws and is based in Vermont. EPISODE RESOURCES National Wildlife Federation: https://www.nwf.org Jim Murphy at NWF: https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Leadership/Jim-Murphy Comment on the WOTUS proposal (closes Oct 9, 2026) - Docket EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322: https://www.regulations.gov A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
Today, Matt Matern speaks with Rob Mullen - artist, author, and Director of the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship - about the boreal forest, the largest land ecosystem on Earth and one most people have never heard of. Rob explains how a forest three times the size of the Amazon holds roughly 80% of the world's liquid fresh surface water, why bigger and more frequent fires have flipped it from a carbon sink into a carbon source, and how conservation funding passed it over for decades because it was too big and too empty to fit the "biodiversity hotspot" model. He also shares the solo canoe trip that changed the course of his life, the cold call to the Smithsonian that launched two decades of wilderness art expeditions, and the number that stopped Matt in his tracks: 59% of the trees cut in Canada end up as toilet paper and paper towels for the U.S. market. Get Rob's book, Boreal Wilderland: Art, Science, and Adventure in Earth's Greatest Wilderness, at www.robmullen.com Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. GUEST BIO Rob Mullen is a wildlife and wilderness artist, author, and Director of the Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship, which he founded in 2005 and now runs as a program of the Center for Circumpolar Studies. A native Vermonter with a biology degree from the University of Vermont, he spent years as an advertising artist in New York and California before returning home to paint full-time. He has led roughly 20 wilderness art expeditions from Labrador to Alaska, bringing more than 30 nationally and internationally known artists into the boreal forest. He also chairs the board of the Vermont Wildlife Coalition. His book Boreal Wilderland, with a foreword by Robert Bateman, was published in 2026. EPISODE RESOURCES Rob Mullen: https://www.robmullen.com Boreal Wilderland on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/borealwilderland Wilderness River Expedition Art Fellowship: http://www.circumpolarstudies.org/wreaf/WREAFprojects.html A Climate Change on Apple: https://bit.ly/accapplepodcast A Climate Change on Spotify: https://bit.ly/accspotifypodcast A Climate Change on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ACCvids
A Climate Change with Matt Matern is a weekly show featuring influential guests from government, business, activism, academia, and culture. The show serves to inform its audience with a focus on environmental and climate issues. Join us as we commit to making "a climate change." Similar to these great podcasts: TED Climate, Reversing Climate Change, Climate One, My Climate Journey, Volts, America Adapts, & A Matter Of Degrees.
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