In Hot Water: Earth, Wind, and Fire (and Oil)

We can’t talk about Texas—and its seafood ecosystem—without mentioning oil and gas in the region. 

In the second episode of In Hot Water: Texas, we learn about the current (and future!) oil and gas development and hotly debated alternative energy sources like wind farms, along with the far-reaching impacts of agricultural runoff. 

How do these things affect ocean mammals, fishing communities, and local people all along the coast? When does sargassum—a type of brown seaweed—start to threaten marine life? And what does a winemaker tending to her vineyard think about the connection between her soil and the water of the Gulf? 

Produced by Seaworthy and Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE), the “In Hot Water” podcast explores SEAFOOD and CLIMATE JUSTICE in distinct regions.

Episode Transcript

Episode Guide

• :00 Intro
• 01:53 Oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico—we start with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010
• 07:46 The opposite of “leave no trace:” Many Texans denounce the decommissioning of oil platforms in certain instances as they have come to enjoy some unintended benefits the platforms provide.
• 13:41 What do some Texans think of wind farms in the Gulf?
• 17:17 When it comes down to it, a lot of the discussion around decommissioning of oil rigs and wind farm siting in Gulf waters is a discussion around access to the Gulf: who has it and what is their responsibility to the Gulf and the coastal communities in the Gulf states and countries?
• 20:00 Recreational fisheries in the Gulf are an important and powerful voice.
• 23:38  Jennifer Pollack, professor and endowed chair for Coastal Conservation and Restoration at the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi and  featured throughout this episode, discusses the reliance of the Gulf’s bay systems on river water to maintain an ecological balance. Yet regional and national agricultural production are affecting that delicate balance!
• 25:57  Sargassum, what it is and how its proliferation due to warming waters is affecting the Gulf
• 27:44 What goes well with seafood? WINE! Tiffany Farrell, winemaker at Haak Winery and a trained hydrological scientist, takes us on a journey of wine making in the region  and how the effects of climate change can be catastrophic to the state’s vineyards and wine production.
• 37:09 How Tiffany balances growing a healthy and productive agricultural crop on the coast while minimizing the potential for agricultural runoff into the Gulf

Resources: 

1. 1. Recommend this series to anyone who is curious about how climate change is affecting our seafood producing regions.