Exploitation in the Gulf of Mexico

Join Dr. Peter Carter, Paul Beckwith and Regina Valdez in a discussion on the Gulf of Mexico exploring its history, beauty, and associated environmental concerns.

This video was recorded on June 21st, 2023, and published on August 6th, 2023.

Some of the topics discussed:

• How a portion of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately the size of Italy, is being auctioned off specifically for the purpose of drilling for oil.
• Some of Regina’s memories growing up in the Galveston, Texas area.
• How it was considered normal to have tar on one’s body after swimming in the Gulf and how it was normalized by having tar cleaning stations.
• How a paper by psychologists who looked at the research papers and the media coverage said: “Well if you want to move people; if you want to have people get involved; you’re doing exactly the wrong thing.”
• How the sea surface temperatures are warming at twice the rate of average surface temperatures in similar situations.
• How coastal and estuary dead zones have increased tenfold.
• How Galveston is quite famous for a big hurricane it had in 1900 and how it basically submerged the island and caused a huge loss of life ranking as one of the biggest disasters in U.S. history.
• How methane emissions are higher than thought from Gulf of Mexico drilling.
• How the heart of the matter is missed in the communication of climate change because it’s really important to touch people on an emotional level because we’re emotional beings and most change in life is made because of our emotions; not necessarily just our thoughts. What this means is that it’s not enough to just report the science but rather to report the science with some values.
• and much more . . .

Links

• Doom-and-gloom climate news may scare but also encourage audiences

• Understanding (and Reducing) Inaction on Climate Change

• The Gulf of Mexico is Getting Warmer

• Limited Progress at Bonn Climate Talks Amid Disagreements Over Agenda

• 1900 Galveston hurricane

• Nature Conservancy - The Gulf of Mexico

• Isaac’s Storm (A National Bestselling book about the Galveston disaster in 1900)

• Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

• Methane Emissions Are Higher Than Thought From Gulf of Mexico Drilling

• US puts Italy-sized chunk of Gulf of Mexico up for auction for oil drilling

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

• Regina Valdez - Program Director, Climate Reality Project, NYC. GreenFaith Fellow and LEED Green Associate

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire – Climate Reality Leader, Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP28 Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: Free Music Archive
• License: BY-NC 4.0

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions