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.

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.

ABOUT SEA CHANGE:

Living on the coast means living on the front lines of a rapidly changing planet. And as climate change transforms our coasts, that will transform our world.

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 a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun. Hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Halle Parker. Our theme song is by Jon Batiste To see more of our reporting on LNG and find other episodes, 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!

For example: could we make our homes float when the water comes?

This week we talk to an architect who has devoted her professional life to that question, and we visit a Louisiana community where some people have decided that it makes more sense to temporarily float a house than to elevate it on stilts.

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Want to help shape the future of Life Raft? We’re looking for feedback on our first season. Filling out this (super short) survey will really help us understand how we can best serve you. If you include your contact info, you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a prize from WWNO or WRKF.

While we figure out what the future holds, we’d love to extend the biggest and warmest thank you to everyone who made this possible. Thanks, especially, to everyone for listening, and for submitting the questions that made this show possible.

In the meantime, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

And if you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF or WWNO to help keep the show going!

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Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

It’s not difficult to imagine a future in which climate change-fueled storms and floods depopulate our coastal communities. Generations of Louisianians have been moving northward for decades, after all.

But could the rising cost of flood insurance actually drive people away sooner? That’s the question we’re exploring this week. We talk to two experts who explain the history of flood insurance in the United States, where the program is headed, and why flood insurance affordability is a political problem.

Rebecca Elliott is an assistant professor of sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her book is called Underwater: Loss, Flood Insurance, and the Moral Economy of Climate Change in the United States.

Andy Horowitz is an assistant professor of history at Tulane University. His book is called Katrina: A History, 1915-2015.

Do you have a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

Follow us on social media for bonus pictures and occasional memes. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

This week on Life Raft, reporter Tegan Wendland breaks it down for us. We talk about where Louisiana’s emissions come from, what changes need to be made to reduce them and the hurdles standing in the way, and do a little imagining about what New Orleans might look like in 2050.

Do you have a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

How much of this can we chalk up to climate change, and how much has to do with normal weather patterns? What’s the link between hurricanes and climate change?

This week on Life Raft we revisit interviews with people who survived Hurricane Laura this summer, take a road trip across Louisiana, and learn the latest science about climate change and hurricanes.

Do you have a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

We’re busy readying the second half of the Life Raft season, but we still wanted you to feast your ears on some climate content, so here’s a story for you.

It’s all about our attachment to place in the face of climate change — our connection to the land, our ways of life, and how we emotionally process what it means for those places to be threatened by climate change.

This story was originally produced by Davis Land for Houston Public Media. Davis is currently a senior producer for Slate’s daily news podcast, What Next.

Got a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and local listeners.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

Today on the show we’re going to get a glimpse into the world of prepping through the eyes of Sharon Ross, who wanted to be prepared for anything, but later found herself the odd one out.

This story comes to us from our friends at Wyoming Public Media. It’s from a terrific podcast called HumaNature, which tells stories about human experiences in nature.

You can read more about Sharon Ross and her efforts here, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

More and more, that appears to be the situation down South. In New Orleans, several big rain storms in recent years have turned streets into rivers and flooded homes and cars.

This week on Life Raft: flooding. What can we do about it?

We speak drop by a bar that regularly floods, get the latest science on climate-induced rainfall, and visit with a New Orleanian who decided to get her hands dirty and take some action.

Here are some great resources for how to help reduce flooding in your neighborhood:

• This workbook from WaterWise Gulf South is a great how-to guide for getting started on your own green infrastructure.

• The Urban Conservancy has a program that reimburses New Orleanians for ripping up concrete in their yards.

• Healthy Community Services (run by Angela Chalk, who you heard in Episode 1) also does lots of work around green infrastructure in New Orleans.

Got a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

P.S. Here’s the legendary photo of “Darryl.”

P.P.S Climate change is scary, but Life Raft is not!

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

We talk with science writer Britt Wray, who has been researching the overlap of mental health and climate change. She defines some terms, offers some tips and tricks, and shares her personal experience with feelings of climate dread. Plus, she tells a fun story of that time she gave a presentation on climate denial and eco-stress to a bunch of energy executives.

Here are some great resources for digging deeper on climate change feelings:

• Gen Dread (Britt Wray’s newsletter)

• Good Grief Network (here’s the Facebook link)

• Climate Psychology Alliance (North America)

• Climate Psychology Alliance (UK)

• Climate Psychiatry Alliance (US)

• Psychology for a Safe Climate (Australia)

Got a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Climate change is scary, but Life Raft is not!

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

Got a question you want us to explore? Send it to us! There’s a super simple form on our website.

For bonus pictures and extra fun vibes, follow us on social media. We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Climate change is scary, but Life Raft is not!

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

We talk to a doctor about what happens to the human body when it starts to overheat, and to a New Orleans resident on a mission to cool off her neighborhood by planting hundreds of trees. We share laughs with both.

Follow Life Raft on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@liferaftpod). Give Lauren (@laurenmalara) and Travis (@travislux) a follow while you’re at it.

Do you have a question you want us to explore? Submit one to us! You can do that on our website.

The question for this episode came from New Orleans-based comedian Kamari Stevens (IG: @supermaribro).

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!

If you’re like us, climate change leaves you with a lot of questions, and they’re not about the rate of ocean warming — they’re about practical things that affect our everyday lives.

Each episode explores a different question about climate change, submitted by a real person.

“How can I reduce flooding in my neighborhood?”

“Have I had my last good oyster?”

Hosts Lauren Malara and Travis Lux talk to scientists, oyster shuckers, tree planters, and a whole host of other people who are asking big questions and working on solutions. And they do it all with a little bit of levity.

In other words: climate change is scary, but Life Raft is not.

Episodes come out every two weeks. First up: extreme heat.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter: @liferaftpod.

Got a climate question for us to tackle? We want to hear from you! Submit yours through our website.

Support for WWNO’s Coastal Desk comes from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and listeners like you.

If you like what you hear from Life Raft, consider making a donation to WRKF and WWNO to help keep the show going!