Everybody in the Pool

In this episode of Everybody in the Pool, host Molly Wood speaks with Mat Dos Santos, co-executive director of Our Children's Trust, about how his organization is using the legal system to fight climate change on behalf of youth plaintiffs — the kids who have the most to lose if we get this wrong. Learn how landmark victories in Montana and Hawaii are creating precedents that could reshape climate policy across America.Key Takeaways:Constitutional Climate Rights: Our Children's Trust secured a historic victory in Montana, establishing that the state constitution's "clean and healthful environment" provision protects young people's right to a livable climate future.Youth-Led Legal Action: Children and teens have standing to sue over climate policies because they face disproportionate, long-term impacts from climate change and have limited political voice.Government Accountability: These cases highlight how fossil fuel development requires government permission and subsidies, challenging the "market-driven" narrative.Recent Victories: The Montana Supreme Court ruling forces the state to consider climate impacts in permitting, while a Hawaii settlement requires complete transportation decarbonization by 2045.Juliana v. United States: Learn about the ongoing federal case arguing that the U.S. government has violated young people's constitutional rights by knowingly promoting a fossil fuel system despite understanding climate dangers.Links:Our Children’s TrustMat Dos SantosHeld v. Montana trial videosYouth v. Gov documentary on NetflixAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!

This week on Everybody in the Pool, host Molly Wood talks with Eliot Brooks, founder and CEO of Cocoon Carbon, about an unexpected climate tech challenge: how decarbonizing steel production is disrupting concrete's path to net zero. Brooks explains how his startup transforms problematic steel slag from modern electric arc furnaces into valuable materials that reduce concrete's carbon footprint while cutting costs.Key Takeaways:Learn how steel's shift to cleaner production methods has unintentionally limited concrete's access to low-carbon materialsDiscover how Cocoon Carbon's modular technology transforms waste into valuable cement alternativesUnderstand why addressing interconnected industrial challenges creates powerful climate tech opportunitiesFind out how this solution makes decarbonization more affordable for both industries, representing 15% of global emissionsMore resources:Cocoon CarbonAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re exploring what might be the most overlooked tool in our climate toolkit: nature itself. Yes, we like to geek out about purely technological solutions like fusion or direct-air carbon capture or electric vehicles or consumer compost devices, but there's a whole world of climate solutions that nature has already perfected over millions of years. But how does the financial world think about these solutions? Siddarth Shrikanth is an investor at Just Climate, a division of the Al Gore-founded investment firm Generation Investment Management. He’s also the author of a book called The Case for Nature. We talk about the twin crises of nature and biodiversity loss plus climate change, and how their convergence is a threat and an opportunity of equal scale.LINKS:Just ClimateThe Case for Nature bookSiddarth ShrikanthAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re going to keep talking about tech and climate innovation with a longtime technologist turned climate tech investor. Mike Schroepfer runs the investment fund Gigascale Capital, which has invested in some of the biggest names in climate tech: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Mill, Form Energy, and a couple other names that will be appearing soon on this very show. Schrep, as he’s known, is also the former CTO of Facebook, so he’s someone with a long view of how tech evolves and gets adopted. Join us for a fascinating conversation about the inflection point we’re at with climate tech, how AI can in fact lead to cleaner energy, and how a better world is still within reach.LINKS:Gigascale CapitalCommonwealth Fusion Systems on EITPMill founder Matt Rogers on EITPAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!

This week on Everybody in the Pool, it’s the last official episode of our miniseries, Feeding the Matrix, all about AI, energy use, and data center design. To cap off this series, Molly spoke with JoAnn Garbin, a longtime technologist, sustainability advocate, and innovator, about her work reimagining data center design at Microsoft. It turns out, the company realized years ago that communities might start rejecting new data center construction if they were too resource-intensive, polluting, or just plain ugly. Hear about how that exercise led to net-positive data center concepts, where that project sits now, and all about JoAnn’s new book, The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft.LINKS:Next-generation data centers at MicrosoftNews: Reducing energy use with chip-level coolingBook: The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at MicrosoftAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re continuing our series on AI and energy use, exploring how to expand data centers and computing without sacrificing sustainability goals or, you know, a livable planet. This week, we’re turning toward some innovations that could make that seemingly impossible goal a reality. Realta Fusion is a fusion energy company that spun out of the University of Wisconsin. It’s one of many startups working toward generating fusion energy—the clean, abundant energy that is the same reaction that powers the sun. But Realta is taking an interesting approach to deployment: it hopes to build fusion energy power plants right next to data centers or other facilities with intensive energy needs. Listen to Molly’s conversation with CEO Kieran Furlong.LINKS:Realta FusionAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member and get an ad-free version of the podcast: https://plus.acast.com/s/everybody-in-the-poolPlease subscribe and tell your friends about Everybody in the Pool! Send feedback or become a sponsor at in@everybodyinthepool.com!