Sea Change

Japan was the world’s largest importer of LNG for half a century. In the final episode of “All Gassed Up,” we travel to Asia to learn how the global gas industry is expanding — how the need for LNG continues to be sold.

Right now, LNG is in its golden age – times are good, profits are high. And Japan’s big bet is that these good times will keep rolling. That more and more of the world will get hooked on LNG. And this whole global gas expansion hinges on the Gulf Coast.

Come with us to unravel this huge, risky gamble against climate action, and learn that, for many in the gas industry, natural gas is not a “bridge fuel.” It’s a destination. So what happens to the rest of us if this so-called bridge never ends?

“All Gassed Up” is a special 3-part series from Sea Change. This special series is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more information, go to pulitzercenter.org/connected-coastlines.

For more information, here’s Oil Change International’s report on Japanese investments in fossil fuel infrastructure, as well as a Friends of Earth Japan report.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis released a report about Japanese financing and strategy for offloading gas in emerging Asian countries.

You can find the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s international strategy published here.

This episode was hosted, reported, and produced by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker. It was edited by Morgan Springer, Rosemary Westwood, and Eve Abrams. Additional help was provided by Ryan Vasquez and Eva Tesfaye. The episode was fact-checked by Garrett Hazelwood. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Until the Ukraine War, Russia was Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas. After the invasion, political leaders wanted off Russian gas, and fast. So, they turned to the U.S. In part two, we follow American gas all the way to Germany — Europe’s biggest energy consumer, where the energy crisis hit hardest. US LNG provided a lifeline for Germany. But what happens when a country gets hooked?

“All Gassed Up” is a special 3-part series from Sea Change. This special series is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more information, go to pulitzercenter.org/connected-coastlines.

This episode was hosted, reported, and produced by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker. It was edited by Morgan Springer, Rosemary Westwood, and Eve Abrams. Additional help was provided by Ryan Vasquez and Eva Tesfaye. The episode was fact-checked by Garrett Hazelwood. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Special thanks to Andy Gheorghiu, Felix Heilmann, Julian Wettengel, Boris Richter, and all of the people who helped us with our reporting in Germany.

 Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. To see more of our reporting on LNG, visit WWNO.org/podcast/sea-change. And to help others find our podcast, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to rate and review!

Right now in the US, there is a GAS BOOM. A liquified natural gas boom — or LNG. The US produces the most LNG in the world. And the epicenter of this massive expansion? It’s here on the Gulf Coast.

For the last year, we’ve traversed Louisiana trying to uncover what this growing LNG industry means for the state. But, after talking with everyone – from shrimpers to energy insiders – we realized that the stakes were far bigger. If we really wanted to tell the whole story, we had to travel even farther. In this 3-part series, we follow the journey of American gas around the world to find out if LNG is the miracle fuel it’s claimed to be. If it really can prevent a climate apocalypse. Or is it a carbon bomb waiting to go off?

In part one, we start in Louisiana — ground zero. We see how the rise of these massive export terminals has transformed one community. Is this big bet on LNG worth it?

“All Gassed Up” is a special 3-part series from Sea Change. This special series is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more information, go to pulitzercenter.org/connected-coastlines.

For more information about the safety of LNG terminals, see the latest reporting from Floodlight, a nonprofit investigative climate news outlet.

To learn more about President Biden’s ongoing LNG pause, look no further. And about how LNG exports could drive up domestic energy prices.

To see more reporting on Venture Global LNG, find more here. The company is also in the middle of an ongoing fight with other oil and gas companies that are suing Venture Global.

This episode was hosted, reported, and produced by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker. It was edited by Morgan Springer, Rosemary Westwood, and Eve Abrams. Additional help was provided by Ryan Vasquez and Eva Tesfaye. The episode was fact-checked by Garrett Hazelwood. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Special thanks to everyone who made this episode possible, including For a Better Bayou, Fishermen Interested in Saving Our Heritage (FISH), and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.

 Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. To see more of our reporting on LNG, visit WWNO.org/podcast/sea-change. And to help others find our podcast, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to rate and review!

Sea Change is back with a brand new season. And this time, the stakes are even higher. We launch new investigations, travel around the world, and look at how a sea change is underway to solve some of our biggest problems.

Come with us to investigate and celebrate life on our changing coasts. Every two weeks, we bring you stories that illuminate, inspire, and sometimes enrage, as we dive deep into the environmental issues facing coastal communities on the Gulf Coast and beyond. We have a lot to save, and we have a lot of solutions. It’s time to talk about a Sea Change.

Sea Change is hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker.

Based in New Orleans, Sea Change is a production of WWNO New Orleans Public Radio, WRKF Baton Rouge Public Radio, and PRX. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Available March 19, wherever you get your podcasts.

Sea Change is taking a short break before Season 2 launches in March, and we plan to start the season off with a bang.

Last fall, we traveled all over the world to report a series about a massive expansion of fossil fuels on the Gulf Coast and what it could mean for the planet. We are very excited to share it with you soon, but in the meantime, we wanted to bring you some great podcasts that we love.

On to a New Year’s resolution we are actually keeping! Spend more time on what gives us hope in this rapidly changing climate. So in keeping with our resolution, today we are bringing you an episode from KCRW’s The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast. In this episode, they ask a big climate question: does what we do even matter? Why bother taking any individual actions to help the planet if industry and other nations pollute so much that they cancel you out? Caleigh and Candice discuss how your daily choices to affect climate change can have an impact – but maybe not the way you think.

Sometimes, it can be hard to find the bright spots amid feelings of uncertainty about the future of our planet. But they're there. Today on Sea Change, we're focusing entirely on solutions. Stories about the good.

We hear about a landscape architect in China who's pushing his city to become spongier as part of the global push for cities to rip up their concrete. And whether recognizing a river or forest's legal right to exist could help save our world.We also hear from two experts about how you can start taking small steps in your own life to help tackle climate change as soon as tomorrow. Because what we do matters.

The report “Making cities 'spongy' could help fight flooding — by steering the water underground” by John Ruwitch was originally broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition on October 3, 2023, and is used with the permission of NPR.

For more climate solutions, find KCRW’s “The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast” here: https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/the-anti-dread-climate-podcast

This episode was hosted by Halle Parker and Carlyle Calhoun. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Editing help was provided by Rosemary Westwood. Our sound designer is Maddie Zampanti. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

There are only around 51 Rice’s whales left in the world. And they’re the only whale that stays in one country’s territory: they live exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico…in US waters. A uniquely American whale. This also means the responsibility to protect these whales lies with the United States, but are we protecting them?

That’s a question NPR Investigations reporter, Chiara Eisner had. With so few Rice’s whales left on the planet, she wanted to know what–if anything–is being done to prevent their extinction. Today on Sea Change, we hear the story of this shy, baleen whale who was only discovered as a new species a couple of years ago. And is already swimming in controversy.

This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun, and edited by Meg Martin and Halle Parker. Our sound designer is Maddie Zampanti. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. 

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

Today, we are exploring a growing threat to our freshwater supplies in coastal regions all over the country. With climate change, we are experiencing sea-level rise and more frequent droughts, both of which make it easier for saltwater to creep into places we don’t want it.

First, we go to Plaquemines Parish, an area that’s been dealing with the effects of saltwater intrusion on their drinking water for months. An extreme drought across the Midwest has meant a less-than-mighty Mississippi. Which, has allowed seawater to come up the River—otherwise known as our drinking water supply down here. And then we travel to the coast of North Carolina, where we see another impact of saltwater intruding where we don’t want it. And we find out: what happens to agriculture when the saltwater comes in? Both of these places offer a glimpse into what could become a saltier future for much of our coastal communities.

Reported by Halle Parker and David Boraks. Hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Our sound designer is Maddie Zampanti. Sea Change is a production of WWNO and WRKF. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX.

This story was produced through a collaboration between WFAE public radio in Charlotte and Climate Central, a non-advocacy science and news group. Reporters John Upton and Kelly Van Baalen contributed.

As we experience worsening impacts from climate change, we’re wondering: How can we rethink engineering? Instead of trying to control nature, can we design with nature?

There are more than a thousand miles of levees and floodgates lining each side of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Thousands of dams also hold back water and sediment throughout the Mississippi basin. But the thing is, you can’t totally harness a river such as the Mississippi. And, research has shown that our efforts to tame the river have actually made our risk of flooding worse when you add climate change to the mix.

Today on Sea Change, we talk to MacArthur award-winning landscape architect, Kate Orff, and renowned environmental scientist, Don Boesch, about how they envision a future where instead of concrete, we turn to nature to protect us.

Produced by Carlyle Calhoun who co-hosts the show with Halle Parker. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Editing help from Meg Martin. Our sound designer is Maddie Zampanti. Sea Change is a production of WWNO and WRKF. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX.