Pique Behind the Curtain Vol. 29

Creating a Carbon Transformation Company

Welcome back to our weekly newsletter, Pique Behind the Curtain. If you’ve come in search of climate content, new film features, and all-around positive vibes, then you’ve come to the right place.

Twelve: The Founders Story

Last week, we showed you a video on a company changing the way we think about carbon. (Don’t worry if you missed it. You can watch the full micro-doc here.)

Now, we’re going to tell you the story of who started it all:

What is the right alchemy for success - both feet planted firmly on the ground, or dreaming with your head in the clouds?

Maybe the winning mix is a combination of the two.

Kendra Kuhl and Nicholas Flanders both grew up immersed in the natural world, Kendra in the wilderness of Montana and Nicholas on his father’s farm in upstate New York. Their first chemistry experiments were performed on opposite sides of the country as little kids, alone, playing with the mud and earth. They established an appreciation and understanding of the way life and energy were formed. Etosha Cave, Twelve’s third Co-Founder, was raised in Texas and always dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Having grown up surrounded by oil and gas, she understood the significance of energy and waste in a completely different way.

Guess where these three brilliant people met? Right in graduate school at Stanford. It began with Kendra and Etosha in a graduate lab where they theorized that they could pull carbon dioxide out of the sky - even better than the sky, directly from powerplants - and turn it into something valuable. When Etosha met Nicholas, who at the time was working in cleantech, at the Stanford Space Club, the three teamed up to launch a company that would transform how we view CO2.

Carbon is the basic building block of life. CO2 is a major anthropogenic cause of climate change. At Twelve, Kendra Kuhl, Etosha Cave, and Nicholas Flanders have discovered a way to take carbon dioxide emissions and transform that CO2 into materials and fuels - instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

By dreaming big and staring at the sky, these innovators found a grounded way to put the CO2 genie back in the bottle and have a major impact on climate change.

Sneak Pique

Did you know that animal agriculture emits more greenhouse gasses than the entire transportation sector? That’s right - farting cows are worse than belching tailpipes.

How do we help everyone transition to an animal-free future or at least one that doesn’t rely on the use of animal products?

The EVERY Company exists to accelerate the world's transition to animal-free protein. Starting with the world's first animal-free egg. Yes, you read that right - the world’s first ANIMAL-FREE egg! Get ready for the tastiest macrons you’ve ever had. Nom, nom. By fermenting real animal protein without using a single animal, this company is expanding the number of options that people and companies have to actually work with and creating uncompromised vegan alternatives for diet staples like eggs and protein. Now we can all be eggheads!

Interest piqued? Check back in next week for the full film.

Good Climate News!

This week in good climate news 🌍:

A Small but Mighty Climate Solution

Plastic-Eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste

Scientists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin created an enzyme capable of breaking down environment-degrading plastics in a matter of hours to days. Typically, these materials take centuries to break down!

This discovery could contribute to solving the pressing problem of plastic waste buildup in landfills and polluting the natural environment.

Recycling is one of the most commonly utilized methods to cut down on plastic waste. Unfortunately, less than 10% of all plastic gets recycled globally. Other methods of disposal include landfill storage and burning which are costly and energy-intensive options. This new enzyme has the potential to supercharge recycling on a massive scale and allow industries to reduce their environmntal impact by recovering plastic at the molecular level.

What We’re Watching, Reading, and Listening to

Searching for more positive climate content? Look no further!

• Climate Change: We Are the PROBLEM and the SOLUTION - Matt Miltonberger

• How Airships Could Overcome a Century of Failure - Bloomberg Quicktakes

• How to Green the World’s Deserts and Reverse Climate Change