Latest news: July 26, 2012
← Older posts Newer posts →Latest news: July 26, 2012
How to Rebuild the Mississippi Delta By Kelly Slivka, The New York Times. July 25, 2012. “You may remember that during last year’s epic Mississippi River flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers opened spillways upriver of New Orleans and Baton Rouge to divert some water away from the cities. One of those spillways was the Bonnet Carré, built in the early 1930’s to protect New Orleans from high water…” (Read more)
Latest news: July 25, 2012
Nation has large stake in protecting Louisiana from storms, Mayor Mitch Landrieu says By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). July 24, 2012. “New Orleans should be viewed as the “canary in the coal mine” for failures of the nation’s infrastructure, including the more than 50 failures of floodwalls and levees during Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Tuesday told an audience of business, government and environmental leaders discussing how best to mitigate the damages of weather-caused disasters…” (Read more) …
Latest news: July 24, 2012
RESTORE Act is a big win for Mississippi By U.S. Sen. Roger F. Wicker for The Hattiesburg (Miss.) American. July 23, 2012. “Last month, Congress passed an important piece of legislation for recovery that should bring hundreds of millions of dollars to Mississippi’s coastal communities. I was proud to work with my colleagues across the Gulf Coast to ensure the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies Act became law…” (Read more) Coastal director says BP must pay …
Coastal NOLA: City of New Orleans and NWF Forum
By Amanda Moore, Greater New Orleans Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation Despite torrential rains and flooded streets, well over 100 residents in the Greater New Orleans area ventured out on the evening of July 18th to engage in a discussion about coastal restoration. National Wildlife Federation was proud to partner with the City of New Orleans as forum hosts and welcomed speakers Wes Kungel of Senator Mary Landrieu’s office, Garret Graves of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and …
Latest news: July 23, 2012
Revitalize our coast, ensure our survival: A guest column by U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). July 21, 2012. “It’s a well-known fact that Louisiana loses a football field of land every hour and more than 16 miles of coastline a year. In all, Louisiana has lost enough land through coastal erosion to equal the entire state of Delaware…” (Read more) BP and Coast Guard should address Louisiana’s concerns about oil cleanup: An editorial The Times-Picayune. July 20, …
Latest news: July 20, 2012
BP must compensate Gulf states for oil spill By Kaley LaQuea, The Central Florida Tribune. July 18, 2012. “Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed into law the RESTORE Act, which dictates that 80 percent of penalties paid by BP under the Clean Water Act be divvied among the five Gulf states impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill…” (Read more) Groups ready for fight over BP restoration money By Peter Schorsch, Saint Petersblog. July 19, 2012. “The payoff …
Latest news: July 19, 2012
RESTORE Act a big win for the Gulf Coast Editorial, The Shreveport (La.) Times. July 18, 2012. “The damage inflicted by the massive BP oil spill in April 2010 took a terrible toll on ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, including the diverse and valuable bird populations that call the Gulf Coast states home…” (Read more) Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup draws fresh criticism By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). July 18, 2012. With oil from the 2010 …
The Next 50 Years: Climate change and the Coastal Master Plan: “Hope for the best but plan for the worst”
By Dr. Doug Meffert, Executive Director, Audubon Louisiana Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan takes a realistic and critical examination of the effects of climate change impacts on the future of coastal Louisiana, both in terms of prioritization of restoration projects as well as risk reduction. In its “less optimistic scenario,” the master plan estimates 0.45 meters of sea level rise over the next fifty years. This is in addition to between zero and 25 millimeters per year of land subsidence, …
Video: Two sides of the river
This was originally posted by Vanishing Paradise. By Chris Macaluso, Louisiana Wildlife Federation When you invite staff from two of the most prominent outdoors publications in the country to experience south Louisiana’s tremendous fishing, you cross your fingers that the weather will allow you to show off everything the Mississippi River Delta has to offer. Unfortunately, when the staff from Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines came to Buras, La., they were greeted by a stiff 20-25 knot wind …
Latest news: July 17, 2012
BP oil spill fines could favor Louisiana By Nikki Buskey, The Houma (La.) Courier. July 16, 2012. “Now the analysis begins. After more than a year, a bill that would dedicate billions in BP oil spill fines to the Gulf Coast has been signed into law by President Barack Obama…” (Read more) $41 million dredge is ‘investment in our coast’ By Nikki Buskey, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). July 16, 2012. “An enormous $41 million dredge built in Houma …
The Next 50 Years: Funding features for the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan
By Cynthia Duet, Director of Governmental Relations, National Audubon Society Louisiana’s recently passed 2012 Coastal Master Plan contains an ambitious mix of risk-reduction and restoration projects spread across the entire Louisiana coastal area. Such ambition does, however, come with a price — costing an estimated $50 billion over 50 years, and so the plan is also frank in its account of the uncertainties and complexities of funding and creating a sustainable coastal Louisiana ecosystem. To reverse generations of massive and …
Latest news: July 16, 2012
Restore Act should look long term By John V. Valentine and George F. Crozier for the Birmingham (Ala.) News. July 15, 2012. “With the passage of the Restore Act, the state of Alabama is presented with an extraordinary opportunity and challenge: the opportunity to make a difference in our society and the challenge to carry through on it…” (Read more) The Wild Side The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). July 15, 2012. “Michael Iaconelli was in Orlando last week, and the …
Latest news: July 13, 2012
Making the most of the Restore Act: Editorial The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). July 12, 2012. “Louisiana will get a significant amount of money for its coast through the Restore Act, despite congressional compromises that affect our share of Clean Water Act fines assessed for the BP oil spill. The focus for state officials going forward should be on maximizing the amount Louisiana will get to spend on critical coastal restoration work. And there’s reason for optimism on that count. The …
RESTORE Act: A momentous victory for conservation
By Brian Moore, Legislative Director, National Audubon Society Last Friday (July 6), President Obama signed into law the Surface Transportation Extension Act that included the RESTORE Act. This landmark legislation will direct 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by BP and others responsible for the 2010 gulf oil spill to the Gulf Coast states to use for restoration. The House and Senate passed the bill on June 29. This legislation is truly historic – the RESTORE Act …
The Next 50 Years: Louisiana Coastal Area projects in the master plan
This is the fourth post in our “The Next 50 Years” Coastal Master Plan series. Check back as we continue diving into the master plan and what it means for the people and environment of the Mississippi River Delta. By Alisha A. Renfro, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, National Wildlife Federation To formulate Louisiana’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, coastal authorities evaluated nearly 250 restoration projects that had been proposed in previous parish- and state-level restoration plans. This number was then narrowed down by setting …