The climate doesn’t care where emissions cuts come from; what matters is that the world transitions to renewable energy quickly and cheaply. If it’s significantly cheaper to install solar panels in India than on a rooftop in California, then isn’t that where they should be built? Similarly, transferring money directly to local people with the greatest stake in preserving their land can have outsized impact in conservation. Where does a climate dollar go furthest?
Guests:
Kinari Webb, Founder, Health in Harmony
Premal Shah, Founder, kiva.org, renewables.org
Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder and Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
04:30 – Origins of Kinari Webb’s nonprofit Health in Harmony
09:00 – Rainforests as lungs and heart of the planet
12:00 – Radical listening to communities about what they need
15:00 – Positive outcomes from responding to community needs directly
18:00 – Webb’s near-death experience from a jellyfish sting
22:00 – Rainforest conservation as a giant climate lever
29:00 – Premal Shah describes how he came to create Kiva.org
32:00 – How Kiva.org works
35:30 – Thought experiment from moral philosopher Peter Singer
38:40 – Kiva tries to reframe stories of poverty as stories of entrepreneurship
41:00 – Applying crowdfunded microfinance model to renewable energy
46:00 – Idea of “effective altruism”
49:30 – Nathaniel Stinnett: we’ve been taught to blame ourselves for the climate crisis
53:00 – How to shift public actions to make climate more political
For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts
***
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:00:53
--------
1:00:53
Batteries Now Included
The Trump administration has taken aim at green energy, but one technology has largely been left untouched: batteries to store wind and solar electricity. California alone surpassed 13GW of battery storage last year, and Texas has become the fastest growing market for the technology. But producing batteries isn’t without its downsides, especially when it comes to mining the necessary raw materials. The upside is that those materials can be recycled and reused. If the recycling technology can reach scale and price targets, the environmental impact would drop significantly. And spent EV batteries could become a grid scale storage site even without breaking down the battery packs. How soon before renewables plus batteries can power our grid 24/7?
This episode features a reported piece by Camila Domonoske that was originally broadcast on NPR’s All Things Considered on July 10, 2024
Guests:
Julian Spector, Senior Reporter, Canary Media
David Klanecky, President, Cirba Solutions
Sheila Davis, EV Battery Waste Strategist, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
4:08 - Julian Spector on what grid scale battery instillations look like
7:43 - Julian Spector on the success of battery deployment in 2024
14:14 - Julian Spector on the impacts of Trump’s new budget law
20:06 - Julian Spector on the outlook for battery storage in the next decade
24:09 - Reported piece on Ascend by Camila Domonoske
28:43 - David Klanecky on the battery recycling process
36:21 - David Klanecky on competing with China
41:45 - Sheila Davis on the biggest concerns about battery production
44:56 - Sheila Davis on some of the risks posed by battery storage facilities
47:13 - Sheila Davis on the risk a battery recycling facility posed in New YorkFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
56:05
--------
56:05
Cause of Death: Air Pollution
In 2013, 9-year-old Ella Roberta died from a severe asthma attack. She became the first person in the United Kingdom (and possibly the world) to have “air pollution” listed as the cause of death on her death certificate. Her mother, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, founded the Ella Roberta Foundation and has become a global voice for clean air.
Globally, the World Health Organization says that air pollution is associated with 6 to 7 million premature deaths every year. Addressing the cause of these deaths would also go a long way to addressing climate disruption. And since talking about climate has become so politically fraught, should we reframe the conversation to focus on taking care of our air?
Guests:
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Founder, Ella Roberta Foundation
Sheila Watson, Deputy Director, FIA Foundation
Susan Joy Hassol, Director, Climate Communication
Highlights:
(00:00) Intro
(03:00) Rosamund shares details of Ella’s young life and her early asthma attacks
(08:00) Ella becomes first person to have “air pollution” listed as cause of death
(13:00) Rosamund’s work sharing Ella’s story and raising awareness about air pollution
(20:30) How poisonous transportation emissions are and policy tools to reduce them
(26:00) Economic development does not need to sit contrary to healthy air
(27:00) Dieselgate and the work of the True Real Urban Emissions initiative
(31:00) Extreme heat can make air pollution more deadly
(37:00) Why we shouldn’t use the term "climate change”
(43:00) Finding ways to connect with people on climate based on their priorities
(49:00) How to convey the seriousness of climate threats while also empowering people to feel that they can make a difference
(52:30) Climate One More Thing
For show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
56:08
--------
56:08
Young People Are Bringing Climate To Court. And Winning.
We’re all feeling the effects of the fossil-fueled climate crisis, but young people will not let this threat to their future go unchallenged. They’re taking it to the courts. In the last year, youth plaintiffs have had notable legal successes in Montana and Hawaiʻi, challenging that those states were violating their constitutional rights in continuing to burn fossil fuels. In Hawaiʻi, the ruling compels the state department of transportation to quickly move to a zero-emission system.
But the biggest victory may have been outside of the U.S. The small island nation of Vanuatu led the charge to ask the International Court for Justice to grant a judgement on the legal obligation of countries to fight climate change. The judgment, released in late July, stated that countries do have a responsibility to address the climate crisis. Beyond their specific claims and remedies, these numerous cases ask: What do we owe our future generations, and how will we make good on those promises?
Guests:
Vishal Prasad, Director, Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change
Julia Olson, Co-Executive Director & Chief Legal Counsel, Our Children’s Trust
Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Youth Plaintiff, Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
--------
1:02:43
--------
1:02:43
Scorching Premiums: Climate Costs Hit Insurance Market
Climate disruptions and growing risk are upending insurance markets, leading many insurers to abandon parts of the country all together. Due to fires, floods and other extreme events, more and more homeowners are facing rapidly rising premiums or being dropped from their insurance plans altogether. Increasing numbers of homeowners are taking refuge in the state insurance plans of last resort, straining the program resources. For homeowners, whose house is often their biggest financial asset, this creates a huge financial risk.
So what should people do to evaluate climate risks and insurance availability during their housing search? And how can governments help insurers weather the increasing frequency of climate-induced disasters so they can continue to underwrite our homes?
Guests:
Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
Claire O’Connor, Los Angeles real estate agent and homeowner
Dave Jones, Director, Climate Risk Initiative at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment, UC Berkeley
This episode also includes a news feature produced by Camryn Sanchez of KJZZ in Phoenix.
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today.
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Co-Hosts Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar bring you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic. Join us.
Subscribe to Climate One on Patreon for access to ad-free episodes.