It all begins with an idea

Dustin Huibregtse 9/26/25 Dustin Huibregtse 9/26/25

Building trust across America's divides

In this powerful talk, Meg Whitty shares lessons from childhood campaign trails in rural Iowa that shaped her career building coalitions for sustainable aviation fuel. Drawing from experience across agriculture, energy, and aviation sectors, she reveals how authentic trust unlocks solutions to seemingly impossible challenges. Whitty demonstrates how the same communities devastated by hospital closures and economic decline can lead the clean energy transition, creating jobs while solving aviation's 3% contribution to global emissions. The presentation examines specific techniques for bringing together competing interests around shared goals, challenging false choices between economy and environment. Her message resonates particularly with leaders seeking to bridge political and geographic divides.

Dustin Huibregtse 9/27/24 Dustin Huibregtse 9/27/24

A silent threat & powerful opportunity under cities

Alessandro F. Rotta Loria’s talk delivers an intense emotional and intellectual experience about the urban underground, unveiling a silent threat that simultaneously represents a massive opportunity for the clean energy transition of cities, before we run out of time.

Dustin Huibregtse 9/27/24 Dustin Huibregtse 9/27/24

How cities can save the world

From McDonald's solar-powered flagship to the flood-resilient Riverwalk, Carol Ross Barney showcases how thoughtful design creates healthier, more resilient, and livable cities.

Dustin Huibregtse 5/10/24 Dustin Huibregtse 5/10/24

Climate action is 90% mindset and starts with a conversation

Doug Farr is fascinated with humanity’s struggle to talk about the Climate Emergency—our unsettled emotions, how we think the world works, and the negotiation we all go through before committing to take climate action. In this funny and provocative talk Doug shares how his own personal climate action journey led him to redo his house, stay home more, and co-found the Climate Action Museum.

Dustin Huibregtse 10/6/23 Dustin Huibregtse 10/6/23

How can we make better batteries?

Dr. Shirley Meng makes the case for hope by demonstrating some of the exciting technologies and new batteries her lab is developing that could close the energy storage gap we need to create a democratization of energy that also enables a fully renewable energy grid.

Dustin Huibregtse 9/10/22 Dustin Huibregtse 9/10/22

Make anything, anywhere with just-add-water biotechnology

Michael Jewett is a bioengineer who wonders if we can create equitable and distributed biotechnologies for the good. In this thought-provoking and insightful talk, he lays out a vision to re-think how biotechnologies are created and shared, made possible by biology without cells. Can just-add-water biotechnology turn us all into biomakers? Listen and learn how engineered biological systems are opening access to medicines, diagnostics, and more.

Dustin Huibregtse 9/10/22 Dustin Huibregtse 9/10/22

Ending Global Hunger: Yes We Can.

Ertharin Cousin shares an idea about how we must invest resources, finances, and ourselves differently so that we can truly build resilient agricultural systems all over the world, especially in the face of climate change.

Dustin Huibregtse 8/18/17 Dustin Huibregtse 8/18/17

This Unlikely 1960s Space Tech Can Help Save the Bees

One of humanity’s best and hardest-working friends has existed with us for millions of years, so why is our friend suddenly facing the risk of death and what space-race technology can help prevent it? Highlighted by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Geographic, and Al Jazeera, Rob Davis reveals an unexpected and once-in-a-generation size opportunity to help our hardworking friends. Could a system that nourishes and enriches life on Earth also increase economic prosperity? This talk focuses on bees, pollinators, energy, sustainability, habitat, monarchs, solar, birds, solar farm, agriculture