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Guyana gets Drilled: Acclaimed podcaster Amy Westervelt on the latest oil boom
About this Episode
The South American nation of Guyana, whose economy has traditionally relied on tourism, agriculture, and fishing, has begun doing business with oil giant ExxonMobil to build a massive offshore oil drilling project along its coast.
The president has argued that the profits could pay for the nation's clean energy transition, while others argue that the nation's traditional economic models, biodiversity, and coastal population are at risk of severe environmental impacts from the project.
Award-winning journalist and podcast producer Amy Westervelt joins the Mongabay Newscast to share details of the situation, which is the focus of the 8th season of her acclaimed podcast series Drilled, and she opines about the power of podcasting and the current state of the global effort to tackle climate change:
- “What a total failure of international climate negotiations that Global South countries [are] in this position of having to use oil money to pay for climate adaptation. That’s ridiculous,” Westervelt says.
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Related Reading:
- Oil production or carbon neutrality? Why not both, Guyana says
- Guyana’s future and challenges in oil: Q&A with filmmaker Shane Thomas McMillan
- Guyana seeks offshore oil wealth in a green economy
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find and follow Mongabay on all the social media platforms.
Please share your thoughts and feedback! submissions@mongabay.com.
Image: Series artwork for "Drilled" Season 8 by Matt Fleming.
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Timecodes:
(00:00) - Introduction
(02:48) - The Birth of Heated: A Climate Journalism Venture
(05:19) - The Challenges of Mainstream Media
(14:17) - The Role of Objectivity in Journalism
(32:34) - The Role of a Journalist and Power Dynamics
(35:49) - The Relationship Between Press and Government
(38:48) - The Role of Independent Journalism
(47:33) - Journalism Ethics
(50:41) - The Roots of Objectivity
(01:00:35) - Conclusion
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- (00:47:57) A degrowth future
- (00:56:44) Rachel & Mike post-chat
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- (01:16:42) Credits
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- (01:06:19) - Mike & Rachel post-chat
- (01:26:19) - Credits
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Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find and follow Mongabay on all the social media platforms.
Image Caption: Project participants planting native species seedlings in the Itapu Restoration Trail, as part of Brazil’s effort to help meet the world’s ambitious restoration commitments made under the Bonn Challenge. The ongoing management of such projects requires long-term financing. Image by Raquel Maia Arvelos/CIFOR via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
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Please invite your friends to subscribe to the Mongabay Newscast wherever they get podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, or download our free app in the Apple App Store or in the Google Store to get access to our latest episodes at your fingertips.
If you enjoy the Newscast, please visit www.patreon.com/mongabay to pledge a dollar or more to keep the show growing, Mongabay is a nonprofit media outlet and all support helps!
See all our latest news from nature's frontline at Mongabay's homepage: news.mongabay.com or find and follow Mongabay on all the social media platforms.
Image Caption: Image of Paul Rosolie. Courtesy of Paul Rosolie.