All Gassed Up, Part 1: The Carbon Coast

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!