
Human Relationship with the Ocean: Why Losing This Connection Could Cost Us Everything
2026-1-01 | 1 h 4 min.
Human Relationship with the Ocean begins with a simple but uncomfortable question: how did humanity become so disconnected from the very system that makes life on Earth possible, and why does that disconnection matter right now? This episode explores how the ocean is treated as a distant resource rather than a living, planetary force, and how that mindset shapes policy, economics, and everyday decisions that quietly accelerate ocean decline. Ocean Literacy is more than knowing facts about marine life, it is about understanding how deeply human survival, culture, and identity are tied to the sea. A surprising and emotional insight from this conversation is the idea that many modern ocean problems are not caused by lack of science but by the stories we tell ourselves about separation from nature. When the ocean is framed as "out there" instead of part of us, protection becomes optional rather than essential. Future of the Ocean depends on whether we can rebuild a meaningful relationship with the sea, one rooted in responsibility, humility, and shared fate. This episode challenges listeners to rethink progress, success, and stewardship, and offers a hopeful path forward by changing how we see our place within the ocean system, not above it. Help fund a new seagrass podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/seagrass Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

Gulf Coast communities and oil drilling: Who really pays the price for new offshore leases?
2025-12-31 | 50 min.
Gulf Coast communities and oil drilling are once again at the center of a national decision, and the stakes could not be higher. A new US offshore oil drilling plan proposes expanded lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, including areas close to Florida that many thought were protected. This episode asks a simple but urgent question: who benefits from these decisions, and who bears the long-term cost when something goes wrong? Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling has a long history of environmental damage, economic disruption, and broken promises. Scott Eustis from Healthy Gulf explains how drilling threatens fisheries, tourism, coastal ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them. Drawing from science and lived experience, he connects today's policy decisions to lessons learned from past disasters, including Deepwater Horizon, and explains why recovery is still not complete more than a decade later. Protect the Gulf of Mexico is not just a slogan, it is a call grounded in science, justice, and community voices. One of the most surprising insights from this conversation is how some coastal communities that rely on clean water and healthy fisheries are excluded from decision-making, even though they face the greatest risks. This episode shows why offshore drilling is not just an environmental issue, it is a human one. Help fund a new seagrass podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/seagrass Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

Should We Be Mining the Ocean Floor, The Hidden Costs No One Is Talking About
2025-12-29 | 20 min.
Should We Be Mining the Ocean Floor is a question that sounds futuristic, but the decisions are being made right now, quietly, and with consequences that could last for centuries. Governments and corporations are moving closer to extracting minerals from the deepest parts of the ocean, even though we barely understand the ecosystems that exist there or how damage might ripple through the planet. Deep-sea mining risks go far beyond technology and minerals. This episode breaks down what deep-sea mining actually is, who is pushing it forward, and why international and US processes are advancing despite major scientific uncertainty and strong community opposition. One surprising and emotional insight from this episode is that some deep-sea ecosystems take millions of years to form, yet could be destroyed in a single mining operation, with no realistic way to restore them. International seabed governance is at a turning point, and what happens next will shape how the ocean is treated for generations. You will learn who controls decisions about the ocean floor, why the United States is taking a separate and deeply concerning path, and what everyday people can do to slow this momentum and demand precaution before irreversible harm is done. Listen to the full episode. Help fund a new seagrass podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/seagrass Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

Coastal Economy and Tourism Are Being Put at Risk by Offshore Oil Drilling
2025-12-24 | 55 min.
Coastal Economy and Tourism face a serious threat as the US government moves forward with a plan to open more than one billion acres of ocean to offshore oil and gas drilling, a decision that could impact beaches, fisheries, tourism jobs, and coastal communities for decades. This episode explains why this proposal matters now and how it could reshape life along the coasts of California, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore oil drilling is often framed as an economic benefit, but this conversation reveals a very different reality. Pete Stauffer from the Surfrider Foundation breaks down how tourism, recreation, and fishing support millions more jobs than oil and gas, and why a single spill can shut down beaches, fisheries, and local businesses for months or even years. Ocean conservation becomes deeply personal in this episode when Pete shares how communities still feel the impacts of oil spills years later, including business owners who lost income, beaches closed for days, and volunteers stepping up to document pollution when official systems failed. The surprising truth is that offshore drilling is widely unpopular across political lines, and grassroots action has stopped similar plans before. Help fund a new seagrass podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/seagrass Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

Wikie and Keijo Orcas: The Breakthrough That Could Save Them, Or Come Too Late
2025-12-22 | 13 min.
Wikie and Keijo Orcas are the last two captive orcas in France, and a major government decision may finally give them a path out of concrete tanks, but the clock is ticking. France has officially backed the Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia as their future home, yet this announcement does not mean an immediate rescue. In this episode, we break down what France's move really means, what still has to happen, and why these two orcas remain in limbo despite years of public pressure. Whale Sanctuary Project Nova Scotia represents one of the most ambitious attempts to move captive whales into a more natural ocean environment, but approval, funding, construction, and international permits all stand between promise and reality. We look closely at the remaining hurdles, including Canada's regulatory role, the sanctuary's readiness timeline, and why political support does not always translate into rapid action for animals already suffering. France captive orcas have become a global symbol of the failure of marine parks to plan for animals once the shows end. One of the most emotional realities revealed in this episode is that Wikie has spent over two decades in tanks without ever experiencing the ocean, and her son Keijo has never known anything else. This decision could reshape the future of captive orcas worldwide, but only if it leads to real, urgent follow-through. Help fund a new seagrass podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/seagrass Join the Undertow: https://www.speakupforblue.com/jointheundertow Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube



How To Protect The Ocean