Tom Chi is an innovator, investor, visionary and Chairman of the Board of the Buckminster Fuller Institute. His work with innovative technologies like Google glass and tree planting drones has shaped a new generation of revolutionary thinking aimed at tackling the climate crisis. In this episode, Tom describes a phenomena of our generation that he calls “charging the trauma battery”, offers advice on what it takes to be a flexible (thus successful) innovator and offers pragmatic tools for instigating local change. 

Show Notes

[3:03]using overwhelm as a catalyst for ideas

[15:00] “Climax Foods” (technologies for making plant-based foods)

[22:00] - growing outdoors, are you repairing soil?

[30:40] - rapid pro-typing in atoms, bits & neurons

[44:22] - commitment versus attachment to a project

[54:07] - “charging your trauma battery”

References

- Dendra Systems (drone tree planting)

- Cimax Foods - a data science company who has been testing and producing plant-based foods that mimic animal-based foods

- At One Ventures - Finds, funds and grows teams to catalyze a world where humanity is net positive to nature (Tom Chi is a Founding Partner)

-a book called “A Finer Future” by Hunter Lovins

-a documentary called “Kiss the Ground” on soil health