Climate Change has terrible impacts today, and youth coming of age face depressing prospects. However, they are stepping up to the challenge and could see the fruits of their efforts in a restored climate during their lifetime. Climate restoration requires extraordinary efforts of young people, who are already leading the charge. On one of our most inspiring episodes, Sustainability In Your Ear introduces another winner of the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which recognizes each year a dozen youth for their innovation and action. The program considers kids between 8 and 18. In 2024, one of the remarkable individuals awarded $10,000 by the program is Varin Sikka, a 16-year-old innovator from California. Varin invented AirCat, a groundbreaking Direct Air Capture (DAC) system designed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale. He’s doing more than imagining the technology. Varin has a 3D-printed home version and is working with Siemens Energy after taking AirCat to the COP28 meeting in Dubai held in 2023.
Varin was motivated to develop the AirCat by the apocalyptic wildfires that brought red skies to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2020. On today’s show, he shares how he came to be a 16-year-old inventor, the feelings his friends have about climate change, and the advice he would give youth who feel climate anxiety: Get involved. This year’s awards will be announced in the fall. Fiction writer T.A. Barron created the prize and named the program after his mother to help inspire kids to make a positive difference in the world. You can learn more about the Gloria Barron Prize, and if you are between 8 and 18 years old, consider entering to be considered for the 2025 awards at https://barronprize.org/
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Check out previous Earth911 interviews about carbon capture technologies
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Nikki Batchelor and Mike Leitch Share XPRIZE Carbon Removal Progress
- Earth911 Podcast: Talking Carbon Capture Investments with Rick Parnell
- Earth911 Podcast: Talking Eco-Anxiety and Carbon Capture With the Foundation for Climate Restoration’s Dr. Erica Dodds
- Earth911 Podcast: Global Thermostat’s Graciela Chichilnisky on Distributed Carbon Capture Economies
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Nikki Batchelor and Mike Leitch Share XPRIZE Carbon Removal Progress
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Author Peter Fiekowsky on Climate Restoration
- Talking Direct Air Capture of Atmospheric CO2 with Peter Fiekowsky
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: How To Build a Just & Equitable Carbon Removal Industry
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Dr. Marcius Extavour on the $100M XPRIZE Circular Carbon Network Competition
Editor’s Note: This episode originally aired on February 3, 2025.