Apr 28, 2026 · 22 min · 21 segments
The U.S. invasions of Venezuela and Iran are more of the same imperialism in service of oil majors. As the climate crisis makes its presence more urgently felt, fossil fascism dictates a doubling-down…
Amy WesterveltHost
A few years ago, our old producer, Sarah Ventre, and I took a reporting trip to Guyana.
We did a whole season on the country just as it was becoming a brand-new oil superpower.
Right now even, there are parts of the east coast and even here during spring tides, you should see the waves coming over the top of the s- the wall.
So any kind of rise in sea level, we're in trouble.
That was Salvador, one of our guides in Guyana, giving us a tour of the sea wall surrounding Georgetown, the country's capital.
How much do you keep building this wall up? At some point, we're gonna have to think about moving, and the government is already talking about it, actually, moving the capital back into where the big airport is.
90% of the country will need to be moved in the next decade or so due to sea level rise exacerbated by climate change.
But the government of Guyana wasn't embracing oil because they thought climate change was a hoax.
Troy Thomas, a professor at the University of Guyana who's questioned the government's decision to allow massive amounts of drilling offshore, what he thought of this idea.
I want him to show me one example where that has happened, and then show me another example where Guyana was the first to lead on something and develop something new and show the rest of the world.
Show me those two things side by side.
In fact, show me one of them first, and then I might be interested.
Neither of those two things have happened, and so that to me, and it doesn't make sense.
You gotta release more into the atmosphere in order to have the ability to clean it up, and if we look at the rate at which, you know, there is no cap on exploration.
That's something that I, w- we are talking about low carbon development, but petroleum exploration and development is open-ended, and I've been asking the question, maybe not loudly enough, but how much is enough?
[upbeat music] If you haven't listened to that season already, go check it out.
We get onto everything it does and doesn't mean for Guyana to be a big oil state, what it means for the people who live there, all of that.
A few years ago, our old producer, Sarah Ventre, and I took a reporting trip to Guyana.
We did a whole season on the country just as it was becoming a brand-new oil superpower.
Right now even, there are parts of the east coast and even here during spring tides, you should see the waves coming over the top of the s- the wall.
So any kind of rise in sea level, we're in trouble.
That was Salvador, one of our guides in Guyana, giving us a tour of the sea wall surrounding Georgetown, the country's capital.
How much do you keep building this wall up? At some point, we're gonna have to think about moving, and the government is already talking about it, actually, moving the capital back into where the big airport is.
90% of the country will need to be moved in the next decade or so due to sea level rise exacerbated by climate change.
But the government of Guyana wasn't embracing oil because they thought climate change was a hoax.
Troy Thomas, a professor at the University of Guyana who's questioned the government's decision to allow massive amounts of drilling offshore, what he thought of this idea.
I want him to show me one example where that has happened, and then show me another example where Guyana was the first to lead on something and develop something new and show the rest of the world.
Show me those two things side by side.
In fact, show me one of them first, and then I might be interested.
Neither of those two things have happened, and so that to me, and it doesn't make sense.
You gotta release more into the atmosphere in order to have the ability to clean it up, and if we look at the rate at which, you know, there is no cap on exploration.
That's something that I, w- we are talking about low carbon development, but petroleum exploration and development is open-ended, and I've been asking the question, maybe not loudly enough, but how much is enough?
[upbeat music] If you haven't listened to that season already, go check it out.
We get onto everything it does and doesn't mean for Guyana to be a big oil state, what it means for the people who live there, all of that.
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3 of 4
How Much Is Enough?
First, a sharp challenge to orthodoxy
Exxon Waited, Then Pounced
Next, why timing favored Exxon
A Warning Over Guyana’s Waters
Then, tensions escalate offshore fast
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