PARTNER POD: Speed & Scale: Electrifying the grid with Amol Fadke
Today, we have a special episode to share with you from TED’s brand new podcast, Speed & Scale. Speed & Scale was created to help combat the doom and gloom that comes when thinking and learning about climate change. The hosts Anjali Grover and Ryan Panchadsaram interview experts from around the world on the measurable changes they’re making to combat the climate crisis and create a better future for the planet – and for those of us living on it.
In this episode, Ryan and Anjali reflect on what to do about fossil gas, and they are joined by some incredible people coming up with bold solutions. The kind of solutions that save billions of dollars for energy companies – and consumers. Check out more episodes of the TED podcast Speed & Scale wherever you get your podcasts.
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29:31
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29:31
De-Hyping Hydrogen
For decades, hydrogen has held promise as a revolutionary tool in the clean energy transition. It can be a fuel and energy carrier, and when made with renewable energy and burned in a fuel cell, its only byproduct is water. President Biden’s administration invested billions into proposed clean hydrogen hubs. But as we’ve seen dramatic technological innovations and drastic price drops for solar and wind, lithium-ion batteries, and heat pumps — hydrogen may have gone from tomorrow’s technology to yesterday’s solution.
Experts say the best uses of green hydrogen come down to decarbonizing certain industries, like steel manufacturing and fertilizer. So where does hydrogen fit in the modern energy mix?
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
Episode Guests:
Eleanor Smith, Community Organizer, Tó Nizhóní Ání
Joe Romm, Senior Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media; Author, “The Hype About Hydrogen”
Hilary Lewis, Steel Director, Industrious Labs
Highlights:
00:00 - Intro
04:04 - Eleanor Smith on learning about the Tallgrass Energy project
12:21 - Eleanor Smith on how the new projects fits in historically
16:45 - Eleanor Smith on opposition to the project
22:06 - Joe Romm on the uses of hydrogen
28:50 - Joe Romm on why there is still investments made in hydrogen technology
35:15 - Joe Romm on using renewables directly vs for hydrogen production
41:00 - Joe Romm on what people need to understand about hydrogen
46:32 - Hilary Lewis on how steel is made
47:42 - Hilary Lewis on the health impacts of the steel industry
51:59 - Hilary Lewis on current green steel projects in the US
56:40 - Hilary Lewis on projects that received federal funding
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1:05:29
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1:05:29
Remembering Dr. Jane Goodall
Legendary primatologist Jane Goodall died on October 1. In a 2024 conversation on the Climate One stage with Co-Host Greg Dalton, the indefatigable Goodall was focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental inequity. Her message from that night still resonates: Vote like your children’s lives depend on it — because they do.
Guests:
Jane Goodall, Ethologist, conservationist
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
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23:07
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23:07
Taylor Brorby and Suzie Hicks Tell The Stories We Don’t Always Hear
Finding one's voice in climate action can come in many forms. Author and activist Taylor Brorby grew up in Center, North Dakota as a fourth-generation member of a fossil-fuel family. He struggled to find his place as a young gay kid who loved art, music, nature and poetry. Over time, he turned that tension into writing that challenges the fossil fuel industry, makes space for others stuck in a broken system, and inspires a more just future.
Suzie Hicks felt the weight of climate concerns but after college, didn’t know what to do with those feelings. After doing an internship at the New England Aquarium, they realized they could merge their love of performing with a career focused on climate. With the help of a sunflower puppet named Sprout, Suzie created a children’s show that teaches kids about climate change through a frame of possibility and hope, not doom and gloom.
Guests:
Taylor Brorby, Activist, Author, “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land”
Suzie Hicks, Climate Media Maker and Educator
– Intro
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
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Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
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57:46
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57:46
Scientists Who Won’t Be Silenced
Within the federal government, science — especially climate science — has taken a beating. The Trump administration has moved from climate denial to climate erasure, firing thousands of career scientists across departments, rolling back established landmark protections, and undermining its own authority to regulate pollutants like carbon emissions. Even at the UN General Assembly, Trump referred to green energy as a “scam” and said climate science came from “stupid people.”
But climate scientists aren’t all taking it lying down. From former EPA researchers to independent academics, many are heroically maintaining open-access databases and continuing fundamental research like the National Climate Assessment without the administration’s blessing.
Guests:
Brandon Jones, President, American Geophysical Union
Wes Ingwersen, Lead, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative
Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 - Introduction
3:23 - Brandon Jones on how the Trump administration has treated science
6:35 - Brandon Jones on what’s next for scientists who were laid off
10:58 - Brandon Jones on continuing to collect climate data
13:18 - Wes Ingwersen on the creation of USEEIO
22:24 - Wes Ingwersen on how EPA changed when Lee Zeldin took over
31:24 - Wes Ingwersen on when EPA employees decided to speak out
37:31 - Wes Ingwersen on taking his work to Stanford
42:28 - Rachel Cleetus on DOE climate report
51:27 - Rachel Cleetus on agency staff cuts
60:40 - Rachel Cleetus on how the scientific community is responding
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Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
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We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Co-Hosts Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar bring you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic. Join us.
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