This past I was fortunate enough to attend Gulf South Rising’s “media-only event” at the historic Golden Feather in New Orleans. Entitled ” Coffee and Conversation on Climate Change,’ the early-morning gathering featured a panel discussion moderated by Colette Pichon Battle, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy.As a regional movement …
With new wetland-destroying schemes offered by the fossil-fuel industry every week here in coastal Louisiana, it’s easy to develop a sort of ” enviro-fatigue.’ Most recently, Maurepas Pipeline LLC has exemplified the nonsensical with its plans to lay more than 100 miles of pipe through the Maurepas Wildlife Management Area (WMA).All told, this particular potential …
Guest Blog writers Brenda Rody and Karen Taporco live in Ravenwood Subdivision in Picayune, Mississippi. They, along with their neighbors have been engaged since 2011 in a fight over an industrial development, a sand processing plant that serves the fracking industry, built over the last 4 years. Its construction has adversely affected drainage, water quality, …
Frac-Sand Processor Ignores FEMA Floodplain Restrictions Read More »
Since the recent BP announcement, coastal parishes in Louisiana have begun to settle their claims and plan to restore their shorelines. Although the scale of restoration needed in Louisiana’s wetlands is very large, Parishes can and do make all the difference, especially when it comes to providing access and education to some of the the …
Balloon flight shows what land Parishes can make Read More »
On July 13th, GRN flew another flightcoordinated by Southwingsover the Helis Wildcat well next to Lakeshore High School;and what we saw was disturbing. While we haven’t confirmed it, it looks likeHelis is mixing drilling fluids before completing the berm that would protect Cane Bayou from spills of toxicdrilling mud.Time is money in the oilfield, and …
The Louisiana Black Bear, a species currently under protection, is at risk of removal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species list.The bear has been listed as a protected species since 1992. In that time, populations have been studied, and in some cases, have even grown. However, the species still faces threats of …
How can Louisiana fund the integrity of its Oyster reefs? Public monies from polluters may provide a big boost, but it seems that the powers that be leave money from enforcement of coastal permits on the table. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor released a report on subsidies to oil and gas, and this time, it’s the …
Last week (4 May 2015), the Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management office received notice that Shell Pipeline will not proceed with the Westward Ho Pipeline from St James Parish to Nederland, Texas, through the Atchafalaya Basin. The project would have affected 200 miles and destroyed over 700 acres of land, including at least 200 …
Victory! After our Challenge, Shell backs off Westward Ho project Read More »
City Park Fisherman by James ShawRecently, a miles-long chain-link fence was erected around the wild northern portion of City Park, earmarked for development as golf course by a closed decision making process. There are many reasons why this golf course is a bad choice for the region: ecology, hydrology, financial sustainability, countervailing recreational trends – …
There’s Something About Fences: Guest blog by Justin Kray, City Park for Everyone Read More »
This January, I traveled to the ditches of Plaquemines and St Bernard to hear the glorious choruses of winter frogs with the Louisiana Master Naturalists, as part of the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program. Among elders, specialists, and interested naturalists with ears, we silently stood in the shoulder of highway 46 and listened for the …