Sea Change

The chemical industry is big business in Louisiana. Companies here manufacture plastics, fuels, pesticides, and cleaning products. But one part of the chemical industry that’s often overlooked is the fertilizer business. 

Today, you’re going to hear the story of modern fertilizer, and how this powerful concoction of chemicals has radically reshaped how we farm and what we eat. In this episode, we follow the journey of ferti...

Last week, we hosted a Sea Change live event at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. We wanted to talk about the science behind the massive land loss crisis we are experiencing, what it means to live in a vanishing landscape, and importantly, what we can do about it. But this is New Orleans, so we also wanted to celebrate! Celebrate the culture and joy of living in this special place. 

And while we can’t share food through the airw...

We are all affected by ocean conditions, and we're talking about huge things like global food security and human health, to fisheries we depend on, to the transport of a whopping 90% of the world's goods. So it's vitally important to understand ocean conditions. 

What can the fascinating field of ocean forecasting tell us about the future for us on land and for life under the sea?

Want to learn even more? Click here to read ...

Like much of coastal Louisiana, Isle de Jean Charles is rapidly disappearing into the Gulf because of coastal erosion and sea level rise. Scientists predict the island will be completely underwater by 2050.

Almost a decade ago, the federal government awarded the state of Louisiana $48 million dollar to resettle members of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation from Isle de Jean Charles. This was the first project of its kind and i...

Last time, we learned about the nearly century-old bond between the oil and gas industry and one university — LSU. In the second and final episode of our series, "Fueling Knowledge," we look at how much money is flowing into universities and what the industry may hope to get in return. This relationship comes with big benefits: student mentors, scholarships, research funding, and new buildings, among others. But is all tha...

Universities have grown increasingly close with the fossil fuel industry. Oil and gas money is flowing into universities around the world, shaping everything from students’ careers to climate research that can influence global energy policy.  

Some professors and students are sounding the alarm. They worry this influx of fossil fuel money could compromise the credibility of research institutions, tainting the information pr...

There’s this conversation from one of our early Sea Change episodes, and it's about our relationship with the ocean--with water. How being in or near water changes us for the better. The marine biologist Wallace J Nichols has said: “It is true that oceans give us life, but our planet’s wild places also make life worth living and help heal us when we are broken.” He said it's not going to be fear and guilt that motivates us...

In February 2021, power went out for 4.5 million households across Texas. The blackout killed hundreds. And people wondered: “How could this happen in the energy capital of the U.S.?” 

Today, we bring you part of that fascinating backstory, and it starts with an East Texas con artist who inadvertently kicked off the biggest oil boom in US history. Reporters Mose Buchele and Audrey McGlinchy of KUT's podcast The Disconnect: ...

More and more Americans face the threat of flooding. And as a country, we are woefully unprepared. Cities like Charleston and Miami already see routine coastal flooding. Hurricane Helene recently hammered many inland communities with flooding. And the risk is only rising. 

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) sells about 90% of the nation's flood insurance policies, but only a small percentage of Americans are cov...

Flooding is the most common natural disaster — by far. As more and more towns are devastated by floods, people are facing the tough question of how to rebuild — or even if they can. In this episode, we travel to two towns to discover how one obscure federal policy designed to stop the cycle of flood damage is leading to opposite destinies. 

Thanks for listening to Sea Change. This episode was reported and hosted by me, Carl...

As 2024 comes to a close, we are taking this time to focus on hope. While this year has been rough for the climate and the environment in many ways, there is also so much good happening out there. There are wins to celebrate and reasons for optimism. 

Today, Sea Change sits down with an expert on hope, and learn why evidence-based hope is essential in our fight against climate change. 

To learn more about evidence-based hope...

We kicked off this season of Sea Change with a globetrotting journey. A quest to understand a booming new industry on the Gulf Coast: liquified natural gas, or LNG.

In a historic move, the Biden Administration froze any decisions on new gas export projects…until it could study how shipping so much American gas overseas could affect the economy, health, and the climate.

Well, that long-awaited study was just released. The fin...

There’s a lot going on in the world of liquified natural gas, or LNG. And we are here to tell you about it! The Department of Energy just released its big report on whether exporting more LNG is in the public interest…spoiler alert: it’s not. One of the largest LNG facilities in the world, located just south of New Orleans, recently began production. And there are a slew of other export terminals waiting in the wings for a...

The Lemon Tree Mound is a sacred place for the Atakapa/Ishak-Chawasha tribe. And it's disappearing under the rising waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In this episode, we travel out into the bayous of South Louisiana to understand what this one small sacred place means for the Land Back Movement and climate justice, and why efforts to save our coast matter, even if they really mean only buying time. 

Click here to read more abou...

They are called PFAS or “forever chemicals.” They originated in New Jersey decades ago with a promise of a future made easier by science. They’ve spread into countless products and polluted countless places throughout the world. Now, they are even in our blood.

Today we are bringing you the first episode of Hazard NJ's new season that dives into the history of forever chemicals and efforts to solve the PFAS pollution crisis...

This is a time of celebrating food and giving thanks to the people who grow it, catch it, and prepare it. That’s why today we are bringing you an episode we first aired back in May of 2023. 

Food connects us to our past, to our memories, to each other, and to the world around us. It’s powerful. But food systems–from how we grow or catch things to how we transport them –are also incredibly complex. As climate change increasi...

Sea level rise is this big, scary reality. We’re always hearing predictions from scientists that the oceans will swallow islands, flood major cities, and wipe out huge stretches of coastline. The longer we burn fossil fuels, the bigger the surge. It sounds apocalyptic on this huge, global scale. 

But also totally abstract – it’s hard to picture. What will it mean for the sea to rise two feet… 4 feet…even 7 feet by the end o...

Hollywood has been cold on climate change, mostly relegating the issue to documentaries. We talk to two people who are trying to change that.

We first talk to David Sirota, who co-wrote the Blockbuster hit, "Don't Look Up" with Adam McKay, and then we talk to Anna Jane Joyner, the founder of Good Energy, a nonprofit that supports TV and film creators in telling authentic stories that reflect our reality: a world in a climat...

Want to know even more about sustainable seafood on the Gulf Coast? Listen to this bonus episode for an extended conversation with Chef Jim Smith of The Hummingbird Way Oyster Bar in Mobile, Alabama. We talk with Chef Smith about threats facing both fishers and fisheries on the Gulf Coast and how we, as consumers, can make a difference...and of course, we talk about some of the delicious seafood dishes he's cooking up!