Everybody in the Pool

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we talk about one of the most direct climate actions available to all of us: voting. Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, explains why the climate movement doesn’t just have a persuasion problem—it has a turnout problem. Millions of people already care deeply about climate and the environment, but don’t consistently vote, even as elections shape decisions about clean energy, pollution, and the future of climate policy. The Environmental Voter Project identifies these infrequent and non-voters using polling, publicly available voter files, and predictive models, then tests ways to help them show up. Stinnett says the organization identified 11.2 million registered environmentalists who did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. Its nonpartisan approach focuses on behavior change rather than changing minds or promoting candidates: randomized trials help determine which messages and outreach—postcards, calls, canvassing, direct mail, and digital ads—actually increase turnout. Some of the most effective messages are also counterintuitive. Instead of arguing that one vote could decide an election, the project uses social cues, reminders that peers are voting, and practical information that makes voting feel easier. Stinnett shares the group’s reported turnout gains in presidential, statewide, and local elections, why local races can have major consequences for climate policy, and how a consistent electorate can signal to politicians that climate leadership matters. We also talk about barriers to voting, the value of showing up in every election, and how listeners can volunteer to help turn climate concern into political participation. Links: Environmental Voter Project: https://www.environmentalvoter.org/ Register to vote: https://vote.gov/ All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/ Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/ Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, let’s talk about the grid—the biggest machine in the world, which we are asking to do a whole lot more than it was built to do. Rooftop solar sends power back. Electric vehicles create sudden spikes in demand. Heat pumps, factories, and AI data centers need more electricity. And the poles and wires in the middle? We can’t exactly unplug them and start over. My guest is Luca Mezossy-Dona, co-founder and chief growth officer of IONATE, which is building hardware and software to give the grid a brain. Its Hybrid Intelligent Transformer takes a familiar, century-old building block and adds the ability to see what’s happening around it and adjust voltage in real time. Luca explains how combining a traditional transformer core with precise power electronics can help grid operators handle the peaks and valleys of modern electricity use—and how a network of these devices can make the whole system more flexible and resilient. We also get into the climate payoff: in IONATE’s modeled grid studies, the technology enabled an average of 33 percent more distributed energy resources to connect, 25 percent more power through existing poles and wires, and a 6 percent reduction in losses compared with traditional technology. The idea is to connect more clean energy and electrified demand, waste less power, and get more out of the infrastructure we already have instead of rebuilding everything on day one. Plus, how a neuroscientist became a grid nerd—and why none of our shiny new technologies work if you unplug them. In the second half, we talk about deployments with utilities in Europe and industrial customers like General Motors, why factories and data centers are essentially mini grids behind the meter, and the difference between seeing a problem and having the tools to respond. We also explore the business case for smarter transformers, what cascading blackouts tell us about resilience, and why the equipment we install today will shape the grid for the next generation. Grid operators don’t necessarily have to buy IONATE’s technology—but they do have to do something. Links: IONATE: https://www.ionate.energy/ About IONATE and the team: https://www.ionate.energy/about All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/ Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/ Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, would you drink a beer made from somebody else’s shower water? I did. They cleaned it! Like, a lot. But the beer is just the attention-grabbing headline for a much bigger climate solution: capturing the water our buildings use, treating it, and using it again instead of sending it down the drain. My guest is Aaron Tartakovsky, co-founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec, which puts water recycling systems into large buildings. Aaron explains how the technology works, why drinking-quality water doesn’t need to be used to flush toilets or cool office towers, and how Epic’s system at San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower recycles about eight million gallons of water a year. We also get into the company’s unlikely origin story—from a high-tech pooper scooper to the Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge—and how Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch became tasty tools for getting people past the “yuck factor.” In the second half, we talk about what it takes to make water reuse standard equipment: why new construction is easier than retrofitting existing buildings, where retrofits already make sense, and how water and sewer bills can drive adoption. Plus, the policies helping this technology spread, the resistance from some utilities, and what the history of elevators, air conditioning, and rooftop solar can teach us about turning an unfamiliar technology into something we wonder how we ever lived without. Links: Epic Cleantec: https://epiccleantec.com/ Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch: https://epiccleantec.com/recycled-water-beers Watch Molly try the shower beer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollywoodpro/ All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/ Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/ Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re heading to Governors Island in New York Harbor, where a new anchor institution for climate solutions is taking shape. The New York Climate Exchange is a nonprofit backed by a coalition of universities, community organizations, corporations, and the City of New York, all working to make the city a front door for climate action and innovation. My guest is Shaina Horowitz, Director of Program Innovation and Acceleration at the New York Climate Exchange. Shaina explains how the Exchange is building both a physical climate campus and a year-round platform for climate tech founders, researchers, students, community groups, and policymakers. We talk about why New York is such a natural home for urban resilience work, how the Exchange’s Climate Tech Fellowship helps very early-stage innovators bridge the lab-to-market gap, and why communication, community engagement, and environmental justice have to be part of a climate startup’s strategy from the very beginning. We also get into what the Exchange is showcasing during Climate Week, including its newest fellowship cohort focused on energy innovation and urban resilience; why New York’s density, financial power, public-sector experience, and very real climate risks make it different from Silicon Valley; and what kinds of technologies are coming next, from long-lived batteries for environmental sensing to modular heat engines and compact turbines. Plus, Shaina shares the vision for the Governors Island campus itself: the largest mass timber project in New York, an undulating solar canopy, and a public invitation to see what climate solutions can look like in practice. LINKS: The New York Climate Exchange: https://www.nyclimateexchange.org/ Shaina Horowitz: https://www.nyclimateexchange.org/shaina-horowitz Governors Island: https://www.govisland.com/ All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/ Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/ Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking about batteries — one of my favorite topics — but not the expensive, contractor-installed, whole-home kind that requires permits, electrical-panel upgrades, and homeownership. Pila Energy is building a plug-in, modular battery system designed to bring backup power, bill management, and grid flexibility to renters, condo owners, small businesses, and basically anyone with a wall outlet. Founder and CEO Cole Ashman, who previously worked on Tesla Powerwall and led product at Span, explains how Pila’s battery “nodes” can sit next to the appliances that matter most — a fridge, Wi-Fi router, sump pump, window AC, or media console — and provide backup power during outages, shift energy use away from expensive peak hours, and even help utilities manage grid stress through virtual power plant programs. We also get into why the product works locally even when the internet is down, how the batteries are designed for durability and safety, and why distributed batteries could become a whole new layer of climate resilience infrastructure. Links: Pila Energy: https://www.pilaenergy.com/ All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/ Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/ Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/ Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.