Eco-Logic Podcasts – 2026

Amber Sparks and Emily Hazelwood - Oil Rigs to Reefs

Blue Latitude co-founders, Amber Sparks and Emily Hazelwood, describe their 10+ year endeavor repurposing retired offshore oil rigs into reefs, maintaining highly enriched ecosystems for fisheries and marine life. Instead of removing offshore oil rigs when their oil is exhausted, this episode focuses on how they are being repurposed for multiple benefits.

Rei Vardi - Eon EV Car Rentals

Rei Vardi is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eon, a car rental company that is "building a mobility platform." The company only rents privately-owned electric vehicles. Owners put their cars on the platform and specify the terms they want. After eight years developing and scaling the model, Rei and his colleagues have over 3,000 cars in their network, with business activity in 50 cities. Eon boasts that its network now is the easiest way to rent a car.

Sam Teicher - Coral Reef Restoration

Sam Teicher is the Co-Founder and Chief Reef Official for Coral Vita which he formed to scale coral reef restoration efforts. Sam makes clear that fully half of all coral reefs have been killed, and 90% are expected to perish by 2050 without concerted global interventions.

Hugh Broadhurst - Rare Earth Elements Enabling Sustainability

Hugh Broadhurst is the Chief Operating Officer for Aclara Resources, a company focused on sustainable mining of rare earth minerals for electric vehicles, wind turbines, submarines, drones, robotics, and more. Hugh begins with an explanation of how rare earth minerals are used in EV motors to maintain their magnets' strength at temperatures above 100 degree Celsius.

Matt Harper - Flow Battery Progress

Matt Harper is the President of Invinity Energy Systems, the maker of vanadium-flow batteries. Matt was on the podcast in 2022 and now provides an update. A strong alternative to lithium-ion batteries, the benefits of flow batteries produced by Invinity are numerous: 30-year lifetimes with 20,000+ cycles; they can discharge 8-10 hours every day; and they have zero fire risk. Invinity's flow batteries have the lowest lifecycle MWh delivered cost for energy storage.

Chéri Smith - Tribal Clean Energy Update

Chéri Smith heads up the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy. She is of My'kyma descent, a tribe from Northern Maine and the Canadian Maritimes. She makes clear how profound the political changes have been to the tribes. The cancellation of many projects, and the loss of tax credits and other support programs, has eroded trust that had been building - necessary to develop large-scale projects that can boost economic development on tribal lands.

Ben Lochtenberg - Xero Solar's Business and Contribution

Ben Lochtenberg sees solar as an elegant energy solution, one that will keep on giving for years. His mission as the Founder and Managing Director of Xero Solar is to tap solar as a "perpetual" energy source and to promote a transition to a more resilient world.

David Kilzer - The Future with AI-Powered Humanoid Robotics

According to David Kilzer, the fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics is the biggest leap for mankind since fire! His bold predictions: AI-power robotics will be prevalent in industry this decade, and will likely be ubiquitous in homes in the 2030s.

Ebenezar Wikina - Sustainability Policy Shapers in Rivers State, Nigeria

Ebenezar Wikina lives in Rivers State, one of six states in Nigeria. His passion is taking national, long-term goals and bringing them to success in local governments where, he believes, change takes root. He formed Policy Shapers to empower young people with knowledge, skills, and tools to engage in public policy.

Ben Airth - Solar and Storage Policies for Homeowners

Ben Airth is the Policy Director for Freedom Forever, the largest residential solar company in the country. Freedom Forever installs solar systems in 30 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For Freedom Forever's management, Ben tracks state regulations, state legislation, and federal policies to guide program development and sales.

Dr. Bonnie Nixon - Decarbonizing the Long Beach Container Terminal

Dr. Bonnie Nixon is the Sustainability Director for the Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT), one of the world's busiest and greenest ports. The terminal handles 3.5 million, 20-foot containers annually. Its 4,200 foot long wharf can unload three of the largest container ships in the world at once. In 2030 Bonnie completed a net zero strategy for LBCT with a $250 million price tag.

Nigel Mason - The Rescue and Care of Sumatran Elephants

After growing up in England and Egypt, and a 25-year stint in Australia, Nigel Mason moved to Bali, Indonesia where he and his wife created an elephant park for rescued Sumatran elephants that would have lived 3 - 7 years in captivity in Sumatra but now may live for 50 - 60 years. Over a seven-year period the park has rescued 27 elephants at a time when there are less than 1,000 Sumatran elephants left in the wild.

Richard Savoie - Super-Efficient Delivery Logistics

Richard Savoie is the CoFounder and CEO of Adiona Tech, a high-tech logistics company that uses machine learning, and artificial intelligence to help businesses optimize the efficiency of their delivery fleets. Since 2021, his firm has enabled delivery fleet operators to save millions of miles of travel, hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel, and avoid 7.2 million kilograms of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

Farhad Abasov - Potash Mining to Feed the World

Farhad Abasov is the Chairman, Director and Co-Founder of Millennial Potash which is developing mines to supply potash to the global market. Potash is a form of potassium - potassium chloride - considered the king of fertilizers. Millennial Potash has a big mission... to feed the world's growing population.

Sammy Roth - Climate-Colored Goggles

Sammy Roth is a diligent investigator and journalist who has established himself as one of California's leading climate columnists. From an early age he recognized the big voice that one could have as a journalist reaching the masses. He began to focus on the environment and sustainability when he was a student at Columbia University. His guiding principle has been to dig in and find the story, reveal what's accurate, and to report on what's going to make the world work better. It's all about advancing solutions and fixing problems,

Bill McKibben - Here Comes the Sun

Bill McKibben co-founded 350.org nearly 20 years ago to raise awareness about climate. He has written 20 books and earned over 20 honorary doctorates from colleagues and universities. He also is a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, considered the alternative Nobel Peace Prize, and the Gandhi Peace Prize. This conversation begins with a discussion of his most recent book, Here Comes the Sun. He emphasizes that the time has come for solar to power our global society.

Alix Lebec - Scaling Innovative Finance for Sustainability

Alix Lebec is the Founder and CEO of Lebec Consulting whose mission is to democratize access to capital, opportunity and knowledge. Alix explains that its three pillars are its strategic advisory services, managing its own boutique investment fund, and making funders, non-profits and others aware of innovative finance. Its women-led team has grown into a platform to mainstream and scale innovative finance.

The 250-Episode Milestone

250. A big number. A lot of podcast episodes! Flanigan's Eco-Logic hit this major milestone in December. Sierra Flanigan and Skye Flanigan, Ted's daughters host this milestone edition. They draw out the good, the breadth of topics and featured guests... and even some of the biggest blunders!