Take action: Help protect Louisiana's coast
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By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund The Myrtle Grove sediment diversion is a linchpin of Louisiana’s groundbreaking plan to restore the coast and repair damage inflicted by the BP oil disaster. However, the State and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are considering permits for the construction of a massive coal export terminal right next to this critical restoration project. Allowing these permits to proceed could stop the Myrtle Grove project in its tracks. RAM Terminal, LLC has recently applied for permission to …
Restoring the Lower 9th Ward: A resilient vision for New Orleans
This post was originally published on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Promise blog. By Amanda Moore, National Wildlife Federation’s Coastal Louisiana Organizer in New Orleans What would you do if, in one day, you lost everything? I’m not just talking about your personal possessions; I’m talking about your entire community — your church, your grocery store, your school. The folks you meet in the video below, Warrenetta Banks and John Taylor, have lived out this scenario every day since Hurricane …
RESTORE Act passes with House transportation vote, now moves to conference
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives included Rep. Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) RESTORE Act amendment in their final version of the Surface Transportation Extension Act. The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the BP gulf oil spill towards Gulf Coast restoration. Both the U.S. House and Senate have passed versions of bill. The House passed the transportation bill by a vote of 293-127, setting up a …
Two Years Later: Dolphins Struggling
Two years after the start of the BP oil spill, dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico are dying in unprecedented numbers. This month marks a record-shattering 26 consecutive months of above-average dolphin strandings. Only 5 percent of the stranded dolphins were recovered alive and their prognosis was usually poor. Share this photo on Facebook. Share this image on Twitter. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently did an in-depth study of 32 dolphins in Barataria Bay, an area …
Two Years Later: Shoreline Impacts
Two years after the start of the oil spill, a significant stretch of the Gulf Coast remains affected. A recent article in National Geographic quotes Jacqueline Michel, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coordinator for the Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Program saying, “The current oiling, where you still see anything on the shoreline, is around 450 miles as of February 25.” The affected areas stretch from Louisiana to Florida. An earlier NOAA report documented a total of 1,050 total …
Two Years Later: Day 2
From April 20th, 2010 through April 5th, 2011 some 1,149 sea turtles washed up along the gulf coast. Of the dead turtles, an overwhelming majority were Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the most endangered sea turtle species in the world, which nests only in the Gulf of Mexico. Last month alone, 40 more dead sea turtles were found on the shores of Mississippi, proving that two years later, the worst effects of the BP oil spill are far from over. Check …
Two Years Later: Day 1
Welcome to the first day of “Two Years Later.” We’re kicking off the week with a video from our partners at Environmental Defense Fund showing some of the awful destruction that took place as a result of the 2010 BP oil spill. After all that, can you believe that two years later, the gulf coast STILL has not received any money from the Clean Water Act penalties? httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPjJPVdR4g Check out our Facebook page to share this with your friends. …
Two Years Later
This week marks the two year anniversary of the BP oil spill Do you remember where you were on April 20th, 2010 – when news broke of the horrific explosion on the Deepwater Horizon BP oil rig, killing 11 workers, injuring 17 others and wreaking unimaginable havoc on the already struggling gulf coast? Do you remember the fiery inferno, the polluted water or the oil-covered dead animals that flooded the media shortly thereafter? Before we go any further, stop everything …
86% of Louisiana voters support adoption of 2012 Coastal Master Plan
Overwhelming majorities agree coast vital to future and can be saved (Baton Rouge, La.—April 3, 2012) Eighty-six percent of Louisiana voters say they want their legislators to approve the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, according to a new poll released today. The plan lays out a 50-year vision for protecting and restoring the coast, including increased hurricane risk reduction for coastal communities and reconnecting the Mississippi River with disappearing coastal wetlands. Overwhelming majorities of the voters surveyed in the poll …
What does the 90-day transportation bill extension mean for the RESTORE Act?
By Whit Remer, Environmental Defense Fund With a March 31 deadline quickly approaching, last Thursday (March 29), the U.S. House and Senate passed a 90-day extension to the surface transportation bill. This extension means we will need to continue working hard to ensure the RESTORE Act stays alive and is included in the final version of the bill. The RESTORE Act is legislation that would dedicate 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the gulf oil spill toward gulf environmental …
Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan moves on to state legislature for approval
By David Muth, National Wildlife Federation On March 21, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) unanimously adopted the revised Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast, which lays out a 50-year restoration plan for Louisiana’s coast. The Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign has worked closely with the state in the development of the plan, and many of our recommendations for improving and strengthening the draft were adopted in the final version. One such recommendation made by our campaign was …
Dredging Contractors of America sends letter to Congress in support of the RESTORE Act
By Elizabeth Skree, Environmental Defense Fund Last week, the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), the national nonprofit trade association for the dredging industry, sent a letter to House leadership in support of the RESTORE Act — legislation that would ensure that oil spill fines are used for gulf restoration. “The RESTORE Act appropriately allocates 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties, as a result of the BP oil spill, to the five Gulf Coast states, and establishes an effective management and …
Hill ads praise 76 senators for passing gulf restoration amendment
Groups pledge to work with senators to ensure final passage of legislation News Release (Washington, D.C.—March 27, 2012) Capitol newspapers will run full-page color ads this week by six Gulf restoration advocacy groups thanking the 76 Senators who approved legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf. The ad copy says: “On behalf of our members nationwide, we thank the 76 Senate leaders who voted …
Gulf ads thank gulf senators for passing gulf restoration amendment
62 Gulf businesses, business groups, restoration advocacy groups sign ads News Release (Washington, D.C.—March 23, 2012) Five Gulf state newspapers will run full-page color ads starting today thanking the nine Gulf senators who recently voted in favor of legislation to dedicate 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines from the parties responsible for the Gulf oil spill to restoring the Gulf ecosystem and economy. The ads features a “thank you” from 62 Gulf businesses, business groups and restoration advocacy …
NWF tour finds BP oil still soaking Louisiana marshes, menacing wildlife
This story was originally posted on the National Wildlife Federation‘s Wildlife Promise blog. By Miles Grant, National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) this week led a boat trip to Louisiana marshes hit hard by the Gulf oil disaster. The trip made depressingly clear that while national attention has moved on and Congress still hasn’t passed legislation to restore the Gulf, much BP oil remains, it’s easy to find and it’s never far from the Gulf’s wildlife. The trip out of Myrtle Grove …