Latest Mississippi River Delta News: July 22, 2013

07.22.2013 | In Latest News, Uncategorized

Tourism Officials Support White House Plan To Fight Climate Change
By Eileen Fleming. WWNO 89.9 (New Orleans, La.). July 22, 2013.
“New Orleans tourism officials kicked off a national bus tour scheduled to stop in regions most at risk from climate change. Those officials are linking jobs and coastal restoration.  Mark Romig heads the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. He and others spoke in front…” (Read more).

Resilient Grand Isle frets over its future as population falls, insurance costs rise
By Andrea Shaw. The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). July 20, 2013.
“For a spit of land sandwiched between Barataria Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, one that in the past eight years has endured five hurricanes and the worst oil disaster in United States history,Grand Isle bears few obvious scars. Recreational fishers crowd piers and bridges to cast theirlines…” (Read more).

Natural Barriers Protect Our Coasts Best, Say Researchers
By Tim Radford. Climate News Network. July 20, 2013.
LONDON – The best thing to protect your property from the sea is a sand dune – or a mangrove swamp, or a coral reef, kelp forest or sea grass meadow. Nature, which has been doing the job for three billion years, has had time to work out the surest and most enduring sea defenses, according to U.S. researchers…” (Read more).

Scientists study nesting patterns of threatened sea turtles in Gulf
By Nikki Buskey. Houma Courier (Houma, La.). July 20, 2013.
“Scientists studying threatened loggerhead sea turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico have found the turtles cover hundreds of miles from their nesting sites to feeding grounds offshore in a single season.  This migration takes them through waters impacted by the oil and fishing industries…” (Read more).

Gulf spill civil trial’s second phase delayed two weeks
By Harry Weber. FuelFix – The Houston Chronicle. July 19, 2013.
“A federal judge is giving the Justice Department and attorneys for BP and Anadarko an extra two weeks to prepare for the second phase of a civil trial over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans said in an order Friday that the second phase of the trial will begin Sept. 30…” (Read more).

Getting Skewered in New Orleans
Opinion by Joe Nocera. The New York Times. July 19, 2013.
“NEW ORLEANS — “All rise,” boomed the bailiff as the Honorable Carl J. Barbier strode to the bench in his courtroom here. It was 8:35 Friday morning. Barbier was frowning. The federal judge overseeing the civil litigation related to the BP oil spill, Barbier had called this hearing…” (Read more).

Continuing a legacy
By Janet MacFall. Times-News (Burlington, N.C.). July 19, 2013.
“In the most recent edition of its annual “Testing the Waters” report on beach water quality, the National Resources Defense Council cites an eye-popping piece of data: for local governments and businesses along our nation’s shores, a typical swimming day is worth about $35 in revenue for each visitor…” (Read more).

Senate bills call for ‘real-time’ fish counts in Gulf
By Ledyard King.  The Shreveport Times (Shreveport, La.). July 19, 2013.
“WASHINGTON — Senators want federal regulators to start using “real-time” fish counts in assessing the health of red snapper and other species in the Gulf of Mexico, a move they say would ease catch limits.  The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the proposal Thursday…” (Read more).

BP Oil Spill Payments Will NOT Be Suspended, Judge Rules
By Michael Kunzelman. Associated Press. July 19, 2013.
“NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge refused Friday to temporarily shut down a multibillion-dollar settlement program for compensating victims of BP’s 2010 Gulf oil spill, saying he has seen no evidence of widespread fraud among the tens of thousands of claims.  The judge also said he was offended…” (Read more).

The BP Settlement
Letter to the Editor by Stephen Herman & James Parkerson Roy. NY Times. July 17, 2013.
“Mr. Nocera unfairly characterized the settlement agreement that BP entered into last year with the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, which represents individuals and businesses affected by the 2010 gulf oil spill. For more than two years BP negotiated, helped draft, agreed to and sought court approval…” (Read more).

Tourism does depend on a healthy Gulf
By Brad Young. The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.). July 18, 2013.
“The article “Wildlife tourism depends on healthy Gulf” (July 10) supports the position of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation and countless others who recognize Mississippi’s economy and the ecology of the Gulf region are inextricably linked…” (Read more).

Kudos to Manatee County for ecosystem restorations
By Jessica Koelsch. Bradenton Herald (Fla.). July 14, 2013.
“Thank you for the story “Wildlife tourism big business for Manatee County” (July 9), which highlighted the impacts of tourism on the local economy.  A recently released report reinforces the position of the National Wildlife Federation (and many others) that the economy…” (Read more).