Podcast appearances and mentions of james eskridge

VIRGINIA, USA — Tangier Island sits in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay between the Eastern Shore and the Northern Neck of Virginia, accessible only by boat or a small plane. Everyone knows everyone, cars are replaced by golf carts and bikes, a unique dialect is spoken and being on the water is a way of life. "People out here are the watermen and they're pretty self-reliant, but this issue of the erosion is something bigger than we can handle on our own," said James Eskridge, better known as Ooker. Eskridge is Tangier-born and raised, with a long family history on the island. "My father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather were all crabbers," he said. More than a crabber, he's also been the town's mayor for the past 15 years. "It would be unthinkable just to abandon this and start over somewhere," Eskridge said. But for the residents of Tangier, it's a race against Mother Nature. Coastal erosion is one part of the equation, sea level rise is another. Whether it's a nor'easter or tropical storm, four to five times a year more and more of the island gets inundated. Since 1850, Tangier Island has lost two-thirds of its landmass and surrounding neighbors. "I've seen islands disappear, some islands around Tangier," Eskridge said. "We've lost about six or seven other smaller communities that used to be around Tangier. They're just underwater now. They had no means to get protection for their community, so they just abandoned their community, and they're just underwater now. So that's what we don't want to happen here."

Meet the mayor of Tangier Island, James Eskridge, a commercial crabber with a deep love for his community.

From crab shanties to the Supreme Court and God...who are the people of Tangier Island?

Ooker speaks with President Donald Trump and debates Al Gore.

Is any cost too much to save a people, a community and a way of life?

James Eskridge, the mayor of Tangier Island, Va., describes his home in the Chesapeake Bay and how the waves are eating away at the shoreline. He says it is due to erosion, not sea level rise. Don Boesch, an environmental science professor at the University of Maryland, says it is at least partly due to sea level rise, and it could get worse. And Chelsea Harvey, Climatewire's science reporter, explains just how much worse it could get even if we stop emissions right now, or in five years. "Waters on track to rise for centuries, even if emissions stop" (Climatewire, 02/21/2018), by Chelsea Harvey: www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060074341 "Trump's advice about rising oceans is 'ridiculous'" (Climatewire, 05/21/2017), by Scott Waldman: www.eenews.net/climatewire/stories/1060056069