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“…So many of our young adults, they inherit the climate that is coming, right? So, these solutions that they’re putting their hearts and souls into—yes, they want to win—but it matters.“
Shannon Clancy, Chief Executive Officer of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Phoenix
“…We kind of frame the challenge of extreme heat and cooling as sort of a vicious cycle. As the planet continues to warm because we’re burning fossil fuels… people are needing cooling more than ever. So, they’re cranking up ACs…there are also refrigerants in these appliances that are highly polluting so those get released and they are feeding into this cycle.“
Axum Teferra, Senior Associate Director of the Clean Cooling Collaborative, an initiative of the ClimateWorks Foundation
Whether humid or arid, summer heat indexes from Southern California to Florida have become increasingly fatal when people lack access to air conditioning or some form of cooling. Last year in Arizona’s Maricopa County, alone, almost 25% of the more than 600 heat-related deaths were people who had been sheltered indoors, but with broken or insufficient air conditioning.
Most AC units are still highly energy inefficient and can be prohibitively expensive to use. What’s more, most also rely on chemical refrigerants that are atmospheric pollutants. The resulting energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions contribute to a feedback loop, further warming the planet and our region.
In 2022, Ten Across began partnering with Clean Cooling Collaborative, an initiative of the ClimateWorks Foundation, on a regional student competition seeking environmentally friendly cooling solutions for underserved populations along Interstate 10. Over 700 colleges and universities throughout the Ten Across region were invited to submit engineering, design, policy, health or finance innovations that could increase access to low-carbon, artificial cooling.
Five finalist teams advanced through a rigorous application and stakeholder engagement process to participate in an online fast-pitch event this past March. Their proposed solutions were each adjudicated by a panel of five heat resilience experts in front of a live online audience of supporters and peers. The student teams with their faculty and community partners all took home grants of varying sizes to support continued development of their experience in climate innovation. In this episode, Ten Across founder Duke Reiter narrates and explores the rationale, process, and outcomes of the inaugural 10X Prize, featuring perspectives from the competition sponsor, two jurors, a student competitor and their community partner.
Relevant links and resources:
Learn more about the competition and our sponsor:
10X Prize website
Learn more about heat resilience and the urban heat island effect:
“What Some of the Hottest Cities on The 10 Are Doing to Address Deadly Heat”
“10X Heat Series: Covering Climate Change as It Unfolds with Jeff Goodell”
Learn more about cooling-associated emissions:
“10X Heat Series: Solving the Cooling Paradox” (with Ankit Kalanki)
“Rethinking How We Cool Buildings with Dr. Alexandra Rempel and Christiana Moss”
Guest Speakers
Axum Teferra is Senior Associate Director of the Clean Cooling Collaborative, an initiative of the ClimateWorks Foundation. Prior to the Collaborative, Axum launched the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s first building-sector decarbonization strategy and was a Clean Energy Planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council of Greater Boston.
Shannon Clancy is the Chief Executive Officer of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Phoenix. Prior to being named the first woman CEO of The Society, Shannon was their Associate CEO and Chief Philanthropy Officer for nearly 20 years.
Steven Lewis is Principal of the Planning and Urban Design practice at ZGF Architects in Los Angeles, California. Steven is also President and Founder of Thinking Leadership, a consulting practice which designs and executes community engagement plans centering the residents and stakeholders’ needs and desires.
Brandon Mack is a recent Northern Arizona University graduate of software engineering and competitor on the Project SmartFan team in the inaugural 10X Prize.
Eric Wolverton is the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Arizona. Eric has spent the entirety of his career in public service and nonprofit underwriting and leadership roles for the Flagstaff, Arizona area.
