Business Opportunities in the $7+ TRILLION Dollar Clean Energy Economy with Ron Kamen: An EOFire Classic from 2021

0:02Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Science of Scaling. Today, we're pulling a classic episode from the archives, and we'll be breaking down business opportunities in the$7 trillion clean energy economy. To drop these value bombs, I brought Ron Kamen into EO Fire Studios. Ron is the CEO of EarthKind Energy Consulting and the host of the awesome EarthKind podcast. Ron empowers you to go clean and save green with clean energy transitions that reduce carbon footprints and save money.

0:39In today's foundation, we'll talk about creating a cleaner, healthier, more sustainable, more just, and more prosperous society with renewable energy, and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Ron and our sponsors. Marketing Made Simple, hosted by my friend, Dr. JJ Peterson, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Marketing Made Simple brings you practical tips to make your marketing easy, and more importantly, make it work. A recent episode on whether vulnerability is a superpower and business is a must listen.

1:10Listen to Marketing Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts. Ever thought about giving a TEDx talk? It's one of the most powerful ways to share your message with the world. And four-time TEDx speaker, Taylor Conroy from Thought Leader can help you get there. Visit thought-leader.com slash fire to join Taylor's free training where he teaches you how to land a TEDx talk and spread your message to millions. Ron, say what's up to Fire Nation and tell us something about yourself that most people don't know. Hey, JLD and Fire Nation, thank you so much for having me on the show, man. And let's see, a thing that's about me that most people don't know is that my wife and I are actually a blended family, but we never had a kid together, but we did have a liver together.

2:00do we want to inquire more about this absolutely man because most people don't know that the body even though and i didn't know until i was in this marriage my second marriage and i was wheeling my wife into a cornell columbia doctor because she was in the middle of liver failure and found out that the body has a renewable organ the liver and that if you cut your liver in two and you give somebody half of it both parts grow back whoa i actually did not know that either i thought like when you were giving someone like part of your liver, like you were just like saying sayonara. So, wow. I think that's cool intel to know.

2:33And it's quite a cool story and something that I think a lot of people didn't know about you for sure. And Fire Nation, as I shared in the introduction, we're talking all about business opportunities in the seven, not million, not billion, but trillion dollar clean energy economy. And I just want to start off by educating myself, having you educate myself, as well as the rest of Fire Nation, exactly what is energy? So most people think of electricity as energy, and definitely electricity is a key component of it. And clean electricity is what's going to be driving the entire world soon. But energy is also not just electricity, but it's also how we heat and that thermal energy, heat and cool our buildings.

3:15And then it's also our transportation system. So how we get around our cars and all the fuels that go into that and our trucking and our airplanes, et cetera. So energy has three components, electricity, heating, cooling, and transportation. And when you take a look at climate issues and greenhouse gases and the emissions that are out there, almost 90 % of the emissions that we're producing come from our use of fossil fuel energy. Well, that's kind of where I want to move to next, because this is a little bit of a hot topic right here and kind of a hot button topic if I'm getting even more specific.

3:48and that's the burning of fossil fuels. So let's kind of talk about what does it actually mean to burn fossil fuels and how specifically does that impact business? We all are spending money on energy. And you take a look at your electricity bill, your heating bill, your air conditioning bill, your transportation bill, and realize that every dollar that you're spending, the majority of those dollars today are going to fossil fuels and burning in one way, shape, or fashion. When we're heating a building, it's either oil, natural gas, or other forms of heating for buildings. In electricity, it's usually burning some sort of fossil fuel.

4:27It used to be mostly coal. Now it's moving into natural gas. There's still some oil out there, some nuclear. And then in transportation, most of our transportation fuels are fossil fuels, are oil, petroleum products. So everything we do has been based upon our civilization over the last couple of hundred years moving into this energy economy, fossil fuel based. And what's happening is that all that consumption of greenhouse gases in those burning of fossil fuels are now saturating our environment, saturating our air to the point where we humans are now the fifth force of nature. So you got the forces of nature, the air, water, earth and sun, these forces of nature that are just awesome and just oars us.

5:07But then humans are now a fifth form of force of nature. We are the fifth element and we are literally changing the world. And you can see it every day in extreme weather events. They're becoming more frequent and more intense. And it's all because we're burning all these fossil fuels and saturating our environment with them. I mean, I think today that we're actually talking, I mean, this is obviously before the episode is released, but this week has been insane right now. I mean, this is the week, Fire Nation, if you can remember back to when like Texas was having like all these snowstorms and these record lows.

5:39I mean, literally record or record lows of all times. I think 20 cities actually around the country have recorded all time lows of this specific date. So, you know, which when we're talking right now is in mid-February. And I know this is going to be released right after actual Earth Day. But I mean, Fire Nation, this is crazy stuff. And it's really kind of interesting. Can you maybe talk to what we're actually seeing here right now with these crazy extreme weather events and what this actually does mean? So what does it mean is that as we saturate this very complicated system of nature and we saturate it with carbon and greenhouse gases, we're actually changing and tipping the balance.

6:19And a number of things are happening simultaneously. It's a tremendously complex system. So what you're going to be seeing and what scientists have predicted and what's now coming true faster than anyone anticipated are these swift changes in the environment and extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and more intense. And you mentioned Texas and what's happening there with the cold. So we're going to see more intense cold flashes that come through. We're seeing more droughts, more hurricanes, more floods, more tornadoes, more intense, more frequent, more constant. And the scariest part about this is that as we melt that ice cap, you know, most people think about the polar bears and all, and that's really, you know, definitely a shame.

7:01But the scariest part about melting the ice caps is that under that ice is permafrost that's been there for millions of years that has methane deposits. And methane is a very potent greenhouse gas. It's 200 times more powerful than carbon. And if those start releasing as we move the ice caps off and that methane starts coming out in the atmosphere, number one, it's going to accelerate this whole extreme weather situation. And two, it also releases these millions of years worth of microbes. And gosh knows, living through this pandemic, what kind of release of those microbes from millions of years ago is going to do upon us now as humans living here in this current age.

7:38So it's really scary on that part, and it's crazy enough that one of the reasons why I think everybody should be concerned is that you're seeing disruptions, right? See disruptions in our supply chain. When there's hurricanes and tornadoes knocking out your power, you can't do business anymore. The military, John, you're in the military. The military has now identified climate change as the top national security issue of our time because of disruption on every aspect of the military. Two bases had$5 billion worth of damage. 30 bases, U.S. bases, are seeing the extreme results of flooding and impacts on that.

8:16But then it's also the droughts and the changes in climate conditions mean that people are being forced to relocate. And a big part of what happened in the Middle East were people who no longer could rely on agriculture, who had to move a million and a half people in Syria. And because they no longer had an income, no longer had the ability to survive, They wound up moving into extreme situations that encouraged terrorism. So all these different impacts are there. And the scary part is that we can't not pay attention to it. People have tried to put their head in the sand. But you can. All of us now have experienced some extreme weather event in our life.

8:49And you have to take that and recognize that it's not disconnected. We're all connected in this. And we're all having an impact. So the first thing is recognize that every dollar that we're spending on energy, electricity, heating, and transportation is actually mostly fueling this issue. But the great news is this, is that in renewables, in those forces of nature, in the power of the air, water, earth, and sun, those awesome forces of nature, there's a thousand times more energy than we need. And technology is now there to capture that, to channel it into everything that we do with our electricity, our heating, our transportation systems, to channel it in.

9:23And the best part is not only do we have the technology, not only do we have the energy that's there, but we can save money doing it. And that's the amazing thing that I think is most promising is that we can create a more cleaner, more healthier, more sustainable, more just and prosperous society because we can actually save in the United States$5 trillion when we make this transition. I mean, this is some scary stuff, Fire Nation. And Ron did just say the H word down here in Puerto Rico, which is hurricanes. And we, Puerto Rico, that live down here right now, we do remember 2017 and we remember Hurricane Maria, Category 5.

10:03And thinking about those rolling through here on a more consistent basis is terrifying, to say the least. And of course, what's happening in Texas, who's not prepared for these kind of snowstorms and freezing temperatures with all the pipes bursting and no energies and all this stuff. I mean, it's insane. So let's talk about the other sources of energy that are out there. What are they, Ron? Well, the biggest one, Fire Nation, is that little ball in the sky that has more fire than any of us can ever imagine. So the biggest source of energy on this planet, in this part of the universe, is the sun.

10:35And solar energy has come. It's now the cheapest source of energy on the planet. Technology has evolved. The cost reductions have happened. So when you take a look at what's being built across the world, what you're seeing now is more solar going up. And the second form of most effective and most efficient form of renewables and most cost effective is wind power. And both onshore and offshore wind is going exponential growth. And then you take the hydropower, the forces of water, which actually was the renewable energy that we invested in last century all across the world and in particular in the United States.

11:11And what you find is that the great things about renewable, and we see it with water power, with hydropower, is you build the infrastructure, you maintain the infrastructure, and the water flows and you get free energy. And the same is true when the wind blows and you have these wind power plants, you get free energy. When the sun shines, you get free energy. And all that energy is there. And the last source of energy is the Earth under our feet. The Earth every day absorbs about half of the energy that the sun emits. It's just been sucking up this energy. And in most parts of the world, you go down four feet.

11:44And that Earth's constant temperature down there, that geothermal temperature, is the most efficient way of heating and cooling. So you tap down four feet. And most places you go down further. and you can grab that energy from the ground, from the earth, and use that to heat and cool your building. That's geothermal heating and cooling, and that's the other form. So you've got the air, water, earth, and sun, and all those forces of nature are there in various shapes and fashion for all our energy needs, no matter where we are. Booyah, and you're talking Fire Nation, somebody who right now is powering everything in his house, this very podcast right now, in fact, by the sun.

12:24We are completely utilizing the sun right now. In fact, I'm looking at my real-time stats. They're pretty fantastic. Yesterday, Ron, I generated 70 kilowatt hours, and right now I'm doing 5.9. My house is only using 2.3, so I'm sitting 3.6 back to the grid. So that's just an example of what happens when you can go solar. I get checks. John, we did a podcast. Hopefully, we're going to be airing it again soon. But in that interview with you, sir, the leader of Fire Nation, we've got the sun power, all your electricity needs, but it also supports your air conditioning because those are heat pumps.

13:01Air conditioners are heat pumps. They go both ways, air source heat pumps. They're both heat and cool. So your solar is powering your air conditioning, your heat pumps as well. And then you've got that little electric vehicle that you go up and down and all around with, that little golf cart kind of thing, right? Totally. That's all electric power too, right? All electric powered. So yeah, I love it for all these reasons. And Fire Nation, if you think we're even close to being done talking about all this awesomeness with clean energy, you got another thing coming. So stick around. As soon as we get back from thanking our sponsors, we got more fire.

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15:30That's thought-leader.com slash fire. So Ron, we're back, and I want to get specific right now about who. Who is moving to clean energy? And what exactly does that mean for us, Fire Nation, for the consumers? Pretty much everybody in the world is recognizing this. And you have every government in the world that has taken a stance and that is moving in this direction. But then you have every major corporation from Salesforce and Google and Facebook and everyone from the top down is also moving in this direction. Again, partially because they recognize that this needs to happen for our civilization to survive.

16:06so hey you know let's wake up and recognize that but also they're saving money at the same time they're doing it so you have governments you have for profits you have non-profits you have individuals so pretty much everyone is starting to look at this and starting to do it and we all just need to move it up and step it up but pretty much the whole world is heading in this direction because not only is it the right thing to do not only is it the very survival of our lives and all our children's lives, but also it's a way to save money and be more prosperous. So why wouldn't we want to do this? Speaking of money, Ron, we all like finding money.

16:44So how could Fire Nation potentially earn literally thousands of dollars in finders fees? Like what does that even look like? So yeah, so here's a couple of things. So first you should take a look at your own electric bill, energy bill, your heating, cooling, air conditioning bill, and your transportation bills and know that in all those bills for yourself personally and your business, there is a way for you to reduce those costs, move to clean energy, save money and have a positive environmental impact. So first, personally, just do it for yourselves because you can save money and have a positive impact.

17:13But then beyond that, so I've been doing this for three decades. I've been working with businesses, nonprofits, governments, all sorts of institutions, big names, small names, little names, private schools, small, small municipalities, large municipalities. And the thing is this, is that we all need to do this. We all can do this. And so one of the things that we're offering EarthKind Energy right here, right now to all of Fire Nation, anyone that has 20 ,000 square foot worth of building rooftop or 100 parking spots or more, we're offering the ability, if you connect us to them, for you to gain a commission of thousands of dollars, 20 % of our fees for consulting with that entity to help them make the transition.

17:51So first, easy peasy, Know somebody, business, nonprofit, an institution, government that has square footage of 20 ,000 square feet or more or 100 parking spots. Hook them up with us. We'll take a look. We'll see if we can save them money with solar energy. And we will then give you a commission for that finder's fee and have exponential growth in helping to make the market transition. That's one way. The second way is we're recruiting a select group of entrepreneurs. If you're looking at this market, so right now the world spends about$7 trillion a year on energy, but there's investments happening of over$13 trillion.

18:29Some say it's going to be over$100 trillion between now and 2050. So if this is an area where you want to get in, we've got 30 years worth of experience and we're developing a training program with folks. We'd love to have Fire Nation hook up and become part of this training program. It's a 12-week intensive, one year of working with us and we'll work with you to be able to move you into consulting on clean energy, teach you everything we know and how to do it, how to get out there. And if you sign up through awesomeearthkind.com slash fire, you'll get a 20 % discount on that training program.

19:05And how can people contact you if they're curious about that initial finder's fee with the 100 parking spots, et cetera? Just go to awesomeearthkind.com and slash fire. You'll have specifics there, but you can go to awesomeearthkind.com and there's contact forms there. Just give us a note. Beauty. Now let's end with a bang, Ron. I want to talk about how we can create a clean energy business. Get specific with us. Depending upon your interest, we're going to go through all the different facets of energy. And in particular, there's aspects for solar. And in various different parts of the country and world, there's ways of approaching solar energy that helps you get into that business either as a marketer, a salesperson, or an installer.

19:46And so we'll go through all the different aspects of how to do that particular aspect of business. Solar also is related to storage, battery storage, and there's a piece of the business that is related just specifically to storage, and there's ways that you can just do battery storage if that's what you're most interested. On the other hand, if you want to expand that, in the heating function, there's millions and millions of dollars and jobs in that opportunity to do more efficient heating and cooling and air conditioning or the HVAC industry. And that's both air source heat pumps and geothermal heat pumps and being able to move into those technologies.

20:20And then last but not least is the transportation electrification with electric vehicles. Everyone knows of Tesla. That's the big name. That's the one that really pushed the market. But now every major manufacturer from from Porsche and BMW and Mercedes on the high end through GM and all the other manufacturers down to Nissan Leafs and Chevy Bolts now has an electric vehicle. They're all investing billions of dollars in electric vehicle markets. And there's not only the electric vehicle market, but also the charging station market that's available as well. So in this program, what we do is we take you through all the different aspects of energy.

20:56We teach you everything that we know about energy and its relationship to climate. We talk about how to reach customers, how to engage them, how to identify their pain points. First, look at how much they're spending on energy, how much they're spending on electricity, on eating and cooling and air conditioning and transportation. And then how do they systematically help them to make the transition, identify resources, incentives in particular, both from the federal government with tax credits through state and local and utility incentives. package it together with financing packages that are there so that people can do this with no cash out of their pocket or can have return on investments of 12 % to 25 % or better per year on their investments.

21:36So we walk through this whole piece. We basically have a 12-week program, and then we work with you for a year to get you up and running to make sure that you can take off and start your own clean energy consulting business. Opportunities are out there. Which ones resonate with you? I mean, if this is an opportunity that resonates with you, jump in. Like, what are you waiting for? Learn more. So Ron, end with a bang, bang, bang, because you told us a lot about what is electricity, what is clean energy, where are other sources of energy that are out there, potential finders fees, business opportunities.

22:10What is the one thing you really want to make sure Fire Nation gets from everything that we talked about today, then share the best way that we can connect with you, and then we'll say goodbye. Thanks, JLD. So the first thing is this, guys, is that our entire civilization depends on energy and depends on us making this transition. And if you've ever experienced any extreme weather event, take that to heart. There's going to be more of them, and they'll become more frequent. There are solutions that are out there. They're cost-effective solutions. They're very excellent, outstanding ways of making this transition.

22:43And all of us need to do it personally. We need to do it professionally in what we do in our work lives, in every aspect. And then we need to do it in the public way, in a policy way. Whatever way is right for you, start with the piece that's yours. Take that next step. Have an impact because it's important to you. It's important to your families. It's important to your business. And it's important to all humanity, every man and woman on the planet, all Earthkind. So take that next step. And if you want to find out more, awesomeearthkind.com, A-W-E-S, awesome, O-M-E, A-W-E-S, O-M-E, awesome. earthkind, E-A-R-T-H-K-I-N-D.com.

23:23Fire Nation, you're the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with RK and JLD today. So keep up that heat and head over to eofire.com and type Ron in the search bar and the show notes page will pop up with everything that we've been talking about today. Best show notes in the biz. And Ron, just one more time, give us that URL for Fire Nation to go to. Awesomeearthkind.com. A-W-E-S-O-M-E-E-A-R-T-H-K-I-N-D.com. Ron, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side.

24:06Hey, Fire Nation. Today's value bomb content was brought to you by Ron. And if you've ever thought about creating a podcast of your very own. The Podcast Journal is for you. It is gorgeous. It's faux leather, and it will guide you step-by-step in the creation and launch of your podcast in 50 days. Visit thepodcastjournal.com. Use promo code podcast for a$15 discount, and thank you for listening to my podcast, and I'll catch you there, or I'll catch you on the flip side. Marketing Made Simple, hosted by my friend, Dr. JJ Peterson, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.