Gulf Streams

Plastics are ubiquitous. From our toothbrushes to surgical equipment, plastics have reshaped life on Earth in ways both good and bad. Today we talk with Dr. Heather Davis, Assistant Professor of Cultre and Media at the New School, about her book Plastic Matter and the history – and future – of plastic. 

We spend a lot of time talking about transistions: clean energy transitions, carbon-free futures, green economies. But less often do we take time to sit down and visualize the future world we want, rather than the solution to the problem (climate change, environmental injustice) that we are confronting. Today, we're joined by Dr. Joseph Campana (Director of Rice University's Center for Environmental Justice) in a conversation with two artists, Marina Zurkow and Sarah Rothberg, to discuss a system they've created called More and More Futures. More and More Futures enables players to imagine the future they want, all through playing a game. 

Jackie Medcalf, founder and Executive Director of Texas Health and Environment Alliance, joins us to discuss superfund sites in Houston, ongoing pollution challenges, and the risks of these sites to human health. 

Today we're talking to Environmental Journalist and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Abrahm Lustgarten about his new book, On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America. Lustgarten argues that the coming decades will redefine where human beings can live on the Earth, and that this change will fundamentally reshape both population centers around the globe and the US. We'll dig into what this means for areas at risk, like Houston, but also how we might prepare for new waves of international and intra-national migration.

Young people are leading the way on environmental action and building resilience. On today's episode, we sit down with American Youthworks: an organization working across Texas and Louisiana to build a climate corps of young people, giving them valuable job training and skills for a life in conservation and environmental repair work. We speak with four of their corps members and learn about how these young folks are beating climate anxiety by getting to work building a better planet. 

We sit down with Award Winning Chef Anita Jaisinghani, chef and co-owner of Pondicheri Cafe in Houston and author of Masala: Recipes from India, the Land of Spices, to talk about the role our diets play in climate change and our environment. We discuss the importance of reducing our meat intake for our health and our planet, ways of doing so, and how restaurants can lead the way in lowering food waste. 

Repurposed empty downtown buildings have become a constant talking point post-pandemic. What can we use this valuable real estate for now that office spaces are downsizing? We talk to Cath Conlon (CEO Blackwood Educational Land Institute) about the SkyFarm on top of POST Houston and Bart Womack (CEO Eden Grow Systems) about indoor farming in the historic Esperson Building.

This week we have two stories focused on energy. Up first, we speak with Christ Tomlinson (Houston Chronicle Business Columnist) about the annual CERAweek energy conference which just concluded in Houston. Then we talk to Elizabeth Monoian and Robert Ferry (Founding Co-Directors of Land Art Generator) about their international design competition Land Art Generator (www.landartgenerator.org) combining art and energy and a new public art work with the ability to power 40 homes coming to Houston in the near future. 

As climate change shifts industries and economies, how can we ensure that labor has a seat at the table? We sit down with Dr. Claire Ravenscroft (International Christian University, Tokyo) and Dr. Casey Williams (Rice University) to discuss what labor activism can teach the environmental movement, and how we can work to ensure good clean jobs in a new economy. Later in the hour our researcher Siena talks with Dr. Dominic Boyer (Rice University) about flood resilience in Houston. 

Pork is the most produced meat globally, and is only growing in popularity. On today's episode, we sit down with Dr. Alex Blanchette (Tufts University) and Dr. Mindi Schneider (Brown University) to discuss how the global pork market is evolving and the consequences for our environment based on the way we raise our pigs.