Small Dollar, Big Impact

Small Dollar, Big Impact

Author: Climate One from The Commonwealth Club August 29, 2025 Duration: 1:00:53
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

The conversation about our changing planet is often reduced to headlines and political noise, but Climate One moves beyond that. Hosted by Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar, this podcast from The Commonwealth Club creates a space for the full, complex dialogue we need. Each episode features candid discussions with scientists, policymakers, activists, and thinkers who are on the front lines. The focus is on drawing connections-between personal action and economic systems, between daunting scientific reports and tangible community solutions. You’ll hear analysis that doesn’t shy away from the severity of our situation while actively exploring pathways for genuine progress, from technology and finance to culture and justice. This isn't about alarmism or easy answers; it's about equipping listeners with a deeper understanding of the intertwined challenges and opportunities. Tuning into this podcast means joining a crucial exploration of how we adapt, mitigate, and fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world. The dialogue here is built on the idea that confronting the climate emergency honestly, in all its facets, is the first necessary step toward shaping a livable future.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Climate One
Podcast Episodes
Even Old Houses Can Learn New Elec-Tricks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
If we include personal cars, along with appliances like water heaters, stoves and furnaces, more than 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from individuals at the home level. The good news: no matter where yo…
Leah Stokes: 2024 Schneider Award Winner [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:14
Every year we highlight the work of a scientist who excels in communicating their work to the world. Climate One is delighted to present the 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication t…
REWIND: Geothermal — So Hot Right Now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:55
When most people hear the phrase renewable energy, they imagine fields full of solar panels or giant spinning wind turbines. But another source may be heating up: geothermal. Twenty years ago, it was thought that geother…
REFRESH — Big Plastic: The New Big Oil [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:09
Plastics are everywhere. And while we’ve known for a long time that plastics and our environment aren’t a good mix, it's becoming apparent that they’re massive climate polluters too. The production of plastics alone prod…
This Year in Climate: 2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:20
2024 set new records for extreme heat around the world in what is already the warmest decade on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, sea-level rise and ocean heating are accelerating along with the…
Transfer of Power: Life After Coal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:13
For over a century, coal fueled much of the country and served as the economic backbone for many rural communities. But with the rise of more affordable wind and solar energy, coal is in decline, leaving these towns incr…
What Trump 2.0 Means for the Climate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:36
On the surface, climate policy couldn’t face a worse future than under a second Trump administration. As a candidate, Trump said on his first day back in office: “I want to drill, drill, drill.” So, what are environmenta…
REWND: You Gonna Finish That? Saving Good Food from Going Bad [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:50
Globally, one-third of food produced every year is wasted. That’s enough to feed about 2 billion people — twice the number of people who are undernourished. The global food system also accounts for a whopping one-third o…
Heroic Lives of Climate Defenders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:41
Climate advocacy is a dangerous business. According to Global Witness, every week, somewhere in the world, between three and four environmental activists are killed. And even when they don’t suffer bodily harm, they are…
Where Do We Go From Here? COP29 and the Path Ahead [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:16
For the third year in a row, the world’s most important climate conference is taking place in a country whose largest source of export revenue is fossil fuel. This year, over 190 countries are assembling in Baku, Azerbai…