César Córdova: Unlocking Ocean Power for Clean Energy Futures

César Córdova is the Associate Controls Engineer at CalWave Power Technology, whose work focuses on utilizing innovative wave technology to harness the power of the ocean as a renewable energy source. To address climate change, we must shift our energy dependence away from polluting fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable sources. César's work focuses on improving the efficiency and safety of wave energy machines through mathematical models that predict how these machines will perform once deployed in the ocean. “Wave energy is the largest, still unexploited source of green energy,” César says. “It's vital, actually, when you look at the challenges that the decarbonization process is facing…Waves can do things that solar and wind cannot…Wave energy is much more consistent. It is not something trying to compete with these other sources of green energy; it's more so like the final piece in the puzzle so we can have a fully renewable green grid.”

One of the most important things you can do regarding climate change is talk about it.

• César says that growing up, they spent a lot of time trying to fit in. They describe themself as a “nerd,” an identity that has become a superpower. Their fascination with numbers and data and love for solving challenging problems led to their career. In advising their younger self, César would say, "Stop trying to be like other people. Learn who you are…and then see who you can be from there." As a neurodivergent person who identifies as bisexual, César has experienced a lot of support, acceptance, and encouragement from their mom. This has inspired César’s advocacy for inclusion and belonging. César now seeks to create spaces for others to be themselves. How can a label such as “nerd” be reframed as a superpower necessary to address climate change? How would you describe your identity, and how might you see it as a way to strengthen your approach to effecting change?
• César shares, "I have a hard time socializing in general; I have always had trouble relating to people." One hobby César enjoys and has found helpful for social anxiety is interactive tabletop games incorporating role-playing, like Dungeons and Dragons. César says, "I get to have that conversation with other people, I get to connect with them… it's an excuse for adults to sit together at the table and just play make-believe for four hours. You have your own personas and characters and go on these weird adventures…It's fulfilling because it's a way of being creative and telling stories together." How can play, make-believe, and role-play help us imagine new scenarios and stories that allow us to address climate change through fresh perspectives? What activities or hobbies do you enjoy that allow you to play and have fun? 
• César grew up in Mexico City, a populous and vibrant city in a valley where smog from pollution is often trapped, resulting in poor air quality. As a child, César was frequently sick due to a respiratory lung condition exacerbated by air pollution. Often home alone due to sickness, César would watch nature documentaries about preserving our planet. "It showed me how people's everyday habits…affect us...In one way it is what ended up driving me to where I am now." César explains that being sick due partly to pollution gave them an early perspective on improving our world for our health and the Earth's well-being. "As a kid, I was just passionate about air quality legislation." Later, this would translate into a larger lens of the climate crisis and large-scale solutions to create a healthier world. What formative experiences have shaped how you see the world around you? 
• César's great-grandparents were among the nearly half a million people who fled Spain during the 1939 Spanish Civil War, seeking refuge from dictator Francisco Franco. César explains that when their family relocated to Mexico, while there were some social privileges, they had to build a new life from the ground up. César's upbringing instilled an ethic of hard work: "I was encouraged to and kind of expected to succeed." César says one should "be willing to put in the work that it takes to be good at something." However, they also point out that embracing failure is an important aspect of success and becoming better at something. Are there experiences in your life where you have improved at doing something? What was the process of getting there? What do you think about César's view of embracing failure? How might we apply a similar frame to how we innovate solutions and technologies to address climate change?

Learn about the solutions in this story.

• Sector: Electricity
• Climate Solutions Cluster: Shift Production
• For more on all of Project Drawdown’s climate solutions, visit drawdown.org/solutions
• Learn more about César’s work at Calwave Power Technology Inc.

Explore Climate Solutions 101, the world's first major educational effort focused solely on climate solutions. This video series combines Project Drawdown’s trusted resources with the expertise of inspiring, scientifically knowledgeable voices from around the world: drawdown.org/climate-solutions-101.

Check out the Drawdown Roadmap, a science-based strategy for accelerating climate solutions that ensures efforts to stop climate change by governments, businesses, investors, philanthropists, community organizations, and others are as impactful as possible.

Visit the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a resource that shares research, communications strategy, and opinion polling on climate communications.

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• The Drawdown Labs Job Function Action Guides are practical resources that highlight specific, high-impact climate actions employees in common corporate professions can take at work. 
• ChangeX connects people with proven ideas for strengthening communities with the resources needed to implement those changes. Explore countless ways to improve your community and help the world reach drawdown.
• Climate Generation's Green Careers for a Changing Climate Instructional Supplement (for Grades 6-8) contains resources to help young people learn about Green STEM Careers—paths that use STEM skills to help reduce the impacts of climate change. Throughout this instructional supplement, students use Project Drawdown resources to make important connections between climate solutions and different careers.
• Solutions Journalism Network highlights the importance of reporting stories of climate solutions in the media to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Visit their Teaching Climate Solutions resource to find curated collections and the latest examples of climate solutions journalism.
• SubjectToClimate (StC) is a nonprofit online connector for K-12 leaders of all subjects to find materials on climate change at no cost. Explore StC’s educator-generated database to connect to Project Drawdown-based climate education resources.