Gulf Streams

Environmental and Climate News out of Houston Texas. Gulf Streams is your source for environmental and climate news. Covering a range of topics around Houston, the Gulf Coast, and the world, Gulf Streams brings you the best in conversations with community leaders and advocates, academic experts, and national thought leaders. Join us as we sit down every Monday at noon (central) to dive into the most pressing environmental challenges, solutions, and ideas. A co-production of Rice University’s Center for Environmental Studies and KPFT Houston, with support from Rice’s EcoStudio and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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Episodes

5 days ago

Is nuclear energy the future? Or is it doomed to be a decreasingly important energy source in a rapidly changing landscape. On today's show we sit down with two different thinkers on opposite ends of the debate around the future of nuclear: Dr. MV Ramana (University of British Columbia), and Paris Ortiz-Wines (Mothers for Nuclear). This episode is guest hosted by our researcher Nomin Rentsendorj. 

Ep. 71 CERA Week 2025

Monday Mar 17, 2025

Monday Mar 17, 2025

On today's show we're joined by Dr. Casey Williams (Environmental Studies Lecturer at Rice University) as co-host, Dr. Randal Hall (Environmental Historian at Rice University), and Dr. Gökçe Gunel (Anthropologist at Rice University) discussing this year's major energy conference in Houston, CERA Week. Later in the episode two Rice Anthropologists, Dr. Dominic Boyer and Dr. Cymene Howe, discuss their work on glaciers.

Thursday Mar 13, 2025

On today's episode we sit down with Dan Gearino of Inside Climate News to talk about the growing solar industry in Texas. Later in the hour we're joined by the Electric Vehicle Association of Houston to talk about how EV's have never been more popular in the area.

Monday Mar 03, 2025

Botanical gardens are a feature of great cities around the world, and since 2020, Houston has a botanical garden of its own, the Houston Botanic Garden. On today's show we sit down with three of the garden's staff to talk all about the role of botanical gardens in cities, and what makes the Houston Botanic Garden so special. 

Monday Feb 24, 2025

On today's show we're talking about the very materials we use to build our homes and buildings. We sit down with Jesus Vasallo (Rice University) to talk all about the future of building materials and the coming prevalence of plant-based construction approaches.

Monday Feb 17, 2025

Today we sit down with Jonathan Levy (University of Chicago) to talk all about the past of Houston to understand what might be coming in its future. In particular, where Houston can serve as a leading example in the coming world of climate adaptation. Later in the hour our researcher Jadyn has a story on animal welfare during disasters. 

Monday Feb 10, 2025

Dr. Cyrus Reed is the Conservation Director of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter. The Lone Star Chapter is the oldest environmental organization in Texas, and today they're sharing with us some of the most important issues in front of the Texas Legislature this session regarding energy security, environmental protection, and water quality. 

Ep. 65 Houston Bayous Pt. 2

Monday Feb 03, 2025

Monday Feb 03, 2025

Today we sit down with Geoff Winningham, an award winning photographer, to talk all about his experiences charting Buffalo Bayou and learning about Houston's ecology for his book, Along Forgotten River. Our researcher Sophia and regular host Weston Twardowski learn about adventuring along the bayou, and discuss how it continues to change as we reshape it today.

Monday Jan 27, 2025

The first of two episodes focused on exploring the Bayous of "Bayou City," our researcher Sophia Soltes talk with ecologist Suzanne Simpson (Galveston Bay Foundation) and advocate Yudith Nieto (Bayou City Waterkeeper) about the history, health, and importance of the city's bayous. Later in the episode our researcher Jadyn Bray-Boyce shares the psychological benefits of spending time in nature.

Monday Jan 20, 2025

On today's show we have an update on Project 11, the expansion of the Port of Houston, and the history of polluted soil in local neighborhoods as a result of port dredging. We're joined by Leticia Gutierrez (Air Alliance Houston), Cleo Sharp (Achieving Community Tasks Successfully), and Naomi Yoder (the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice) to learn more. 

Rice's Center for Environmental Studies

The Center for Environmental Studies at Rice is a place where humanists, artists, architects and social scientists come together to conduct research and teaching about the most pressing questions of an era lived in the shadow of massive climate instability and environmental turmoil. We do so in conversation with our colleagues in the natural sciences and engineering but with approaches that consider the profoundly social and cultural nature of our embeddedness in the Earth’s many and complex living systems.

We understand the critical role that representation plays in how we think and feel about our rapidly changing planet, which is why the creative arts and media hold an important place in our work. We study to understand but also to create, converse and harness the powers of the imagination to live differently than we do now and help envision and create viable futures.

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