A friend introduced me to Mark Bernstein, who worked at the Clinton White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and recently founded their own educational nonprofit, Earthshot, which consults on and promotes cleantech through mass entertainment—from comics to gaming. I took the opportunity to interview them for CHOPSO.
As you worked at the Clinton White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, what is a major insight you brought to found your latest non-profit venture Earthshot?
MB: Earthshot is all about changing the message on climate and sustainability from how bad things are to what is possible and what we can do about it. When I was working for President Clinton, I helped put together a climate technology strategy for the Kyoto Climate meetings in 1997 – almost 30 years ago. Even back then I saw that we had the technologies to meet our future needs without emitting greenhouse gases, though I will admit that they weren’t quite ready for primetime. Many of the technologies were too expensive and not quite reliable enough. But I also knew that with continued research and development these technologies would be the best choices and that new ideas and innovations would be developed. Being exposed to brilliant ideas and entrepreneurs turned me into a technology optimist and has continued to define my outlook and my work. As we were starting on the messaging, I thought we should focus on what we can do about the climate rather than just how bad things will be – but as we know, that isn’t what happened. For the past 30 years we’ve been inundated with how bad things will be. There is a time and place for messages about the climate threat, but that they cannot be the communication strategy. Yes, we need a sense of urgency, but we also need hope. If people don’t have hope for the future, why bother trying to change it?
Can you tell us what is the mandate or vision of Earthshot?
MB: At Earthshot, we are presenting a positive vision of the future that focuses on exciting new cleantech through the use of stories, immersive experiences and video games that will inspire people to act in the battle against climate change.
From the 1930’s through the 1950’s Elmer Wheeler was the country’s ‘master wordsmith.’ Some say he was the #1 salesperson. His first principle of selling is “Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle.’ It’s the sizzle that sells the steak, not the cow behind it. It’s the crunch of a cracker or the whiff of the coffee that inspires people to buy the products. For years we’ve tried selling climate change, and a lot of people just aren’t buying. If climate change is the steak, where is the sizzle?
We need to capture the imagination and tap into a sense of progress and excitement about the future. Where can this come from? It can be found in existing and emerging clean technologies. C cleantech is cool, whether we are talking electric cars accelerating faster, or electric pickup trucks pulling heavier loads, doing tank turns and crab-walks; or inexpensive solar and wind technologies. It is also plant-based meats that are tastier; regenerative agriculture technologies that grow food while storing carbon, and quiet and efficient electric airplanes. As people learn what is available, and that these technologies are cheaper and better than what we have today, they will be inclined to try something different.
We need a comprehensive new marketing approach ….
Why did you decide to pick the medium of video games and comic books to educate people about climate change?
MB: When my co-founder, Bob Wyman, and I were creating the vision for Earthshot we spent considerable time getting input from a variety of people on how we could best get our positive vision for the future out to the widest population – with a focus on young people who were feeling the most anxious about the future. Not just young people in cities or that already were concerned about the climate – but people across the country (and the world). We wanted people in Lincoln, Nebraska and Des Moines Iowa understanding what is possible – not just those of us in LA. We originally thought we would create in person immersive experiences that we could take around the country – to county fairs for example. That was February 2020 – and we all know what happened in March. So, if not in-person then what? Well, then we asked ourselves where young people spend most of their time. It’s not a secret – it’s social media, video games and graphic novels. If we were going to get the attention of young people – we need to be there.
The other key element of what we decided is that we couldn’t just ‘tell’ people about cool cleantech solutions. Traditional educational tools wouldn’t get people really excited about what the future could hold. We needed to ‘show’ people what’s possible – that means integrating these ideas into game play and into stories. Think of it like ‘product placement’. It becomes part of the game play and the story.
Tell us why you have decided to create the comic series Supercharged! and what is it about?
MB: As we were building out some game concepts – we did some brainstorming sessions with young game developers and others. As part of that – we came up with a game concept called Electro-Venture. “Chased by bad guys you need to get a battery prototype from NY to LA before being caught. You race across the country as you upgrade with cool EV tech along the way”. It would be a mashup of traditional action-adventure play with racing game concepts, allowing players to explore places, gain vehicle attributes, and overcome obstacles while experiencing the thrill of racing. While we still might pursue the game, a game like that takes many years and a multi-million-dollar investment. We thought the storyline behind the game concept itself could be interesting on it’s own.
We know that comics/graphic novels are a $2B industry in the US and it seemed to us that the story could be very exciting visually. Supercharged! is a murder mystery, cross-country adventure and romance unfolding over 8 chapters that takes Boston grad student and inventor Cara Quintana and Kentucky farmer Jack Wilson from Boston to the LA Auto Show where Cara’s high-performance, sustainable battery will compete for the $10 billion winner’s prize. Along the way they must elude Phaethon’s Circle, a clandestine international organization determined to control the world by dominating global energy and digital information systems. Appearing on the scene in Issue Five they attempt to capture Cara to secure her super-battery to power their systems.
Helped by friends, they drive in Ruby, Jack’s beloved pickup truck. Initially converted to electric drive, through the story Ruby is enhanced with awesome technologies such as dashboard AR and AI, a 3D printer and a remote-control drone from the frunk! Imagine a James Bond car on steroids.
Our renowned artists include Eisner winner Mark Schultz, Eisner-nominee Jim Keegan and his wife Ruth, and legendary artist Bill Stout (numerous movie credits, including Pan’s Labyrinth).
Are there any thoughts of extending Supercharged! to the gaming or film and TV space?
MB: Yes – we think that Supercharged! could make a great series or movie. This can be an animated or live action that shows how cool electric vehicles are, with messages about how they can help reduce climate impacts.
We have a rich set of diverse characters, a loyal dog, and – the runaway favorite at our recent Comic-Con booth – a cat that will cause serious mischief in Issue Five. We have good guys to root for and really really bad guys to root against. The story has car chases, car crashes, donuts, BBQ and more. And we can draw on the advice of one of our board members – triple Academy Award-winner Rob Legato who won for visual effects for Titanic, Hugo and the Jungle.
We do have plans for a Fortnite Supercharged! Island to bring the characters to life in a game format. We are currently looking for sponsors for the game.
I heard you went to San Diego Comic-con! to promote Supercharged! What was your experience like?
MB: We had a great time at Comic-con. We had a booth in the small publisher section and had about 1000 people stop by. We had many people add their names to our email list and had quite a bit of interesting interactions with people of different ages and backgrounds. We are expecting to go again next year and have applied for a larger sized booth and are thinking about different ways we can attract more attention.
What’s the next thing you’re most excited about at Earthshot?
MB: There are 3 major things I am excited about in 2026
1 – an expected collaboration with Slooh, a company that is bringing space aspiration to students of all ages by providing access to live telescopes and satellites, allowing them to explore space and Earth together.
2 – Earthshot Goes to School Program – a series of short interactive videos for High Schools connected with Supercharged! and bringing the characters to life to introduce EVs and electrification to students.
3 – Our next Fortnite Island. Our first island which is a parkour course where you plug abandoned oil and gas wells while running through the course and avoiding the toxic zone has done pretty well.
Having advised on many companies, what is one advice you would give you to someone founding their own company or venture?
MB: I have worked with more than a dozen startups and it is hard to provide one bit of advice – because they are all different. But one consistent theme is to communicate what you are doing, in a positive, forward looking, easily digestible message. Don’t start off with a negative (i.e. how bad things are) that just bums people out, and don’t feel you need to say every little detail. If your audience wants to know, they will ask.
Learn about Earthshot on their website!
