New NWF Report: A Degraded Gulf of Mexico
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This story was originally posted by the National Wildlife Federation. Wildlife and Wetlands Two Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster By Jaclyn McDougal, National Wildlife Federation. As the two-year mark of the Deepwater Horizon blowout approaches, the National Wildlife Federation issued a new report today examining the health of the Gulf’s wildlife and wetlands. Impacts from the Gulf oil disaster will be unfolding for years, if not decades, and many species of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico will need …
Tagged ReportsLatest news: April 10, 2012
Restoring Louisiana coast a national priority, report says By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). April 10, 2012. “Louisiana and the nation can’t wait 50 years to restore economically and environmentally important coastal wetlands, a task that is likely to cost $50 billion or more, says a new report released Monday by a team of state and national environmental and social scientists and engineers. And the rest of the nation should shoulder part of the cost, the report says….” (Read …
Latest news: April 9, 2012
Voters support Louisiana’s latest master plan for coastal work By Nikki Buskey, Daily Comet (Thibodaux, La.). April 6, 2012. “Eighty-six percent of Louisiana voters say they want their legislators to approve the state’s 2012 coastal master plan, according to a poll released this week. …” (Read more) Population growth in New Orleans, St. Bernard Parish sign of ongoing recovery: An editorial By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). April 9, 2012. “For many people who lived in metro …
Latest news: April 6, 2012
Interests collide over commercial-fishing proposals By Jeremy Alford, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). April 5, 2012. “BATON ROUGE — While the oyster industry managed to overcome opposition to a proposed permitting plan Wednesday, crab fishermen scrambled to convince lawmakers to delay legislation that would cause temporary closures based on biological data…” (Read more) First shrimp summit seeks to foster marketing By Cara Bayles, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). April 5, 2012. “The state’s first-ever shrimp summit kicked off …
Latest news: April 5, 2012
Putting a priority on Louisiana’s coast: An editorial Editorial, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). April 4, 2012. “A statewide survey on the state’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan sends a strong message to lawmakers: Pass it…” (Read more) Nearly Two Years On, Did the BP Oil Spill Have to Happen to BP? By Bryan Walsh, TIME. April 5, 2012. “The Deepwater Horizon oil spill seems to divide people into two categories: those who can’t forget, and those who refuse to remember…” (Read …
Latest news: April 4, 2012
Revised Coastal Master Plan overwhelmingly supported by voters, poll finds By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). April 3, 2012. “Louisiana voters overwhelmingly want their legislators to approve the state’s 2012 revision of the Coastal Master Plan, according to a statewide poll sponsored by the National Audubon Society. The survey of 801 likely voters statewide found that 86 percent would favor their legislators voting for the plan, with 10 percent undecided and 2 percent wanting legislators to vote against the …
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 …
Latest news: April 3, 2012
Put money where the damage is Editorial, The Houma Courier (Houma, La.). April 2, 2012. “It makes sense that any money coming into the state because of damage caused by the 2010 BP oil spill be used to offset that damage…” (Read more) Restore Act stalls in U.S. House By Nikki Buskey, The Daily Comet (Lafourche Parish, La.). April 2, 2012. “U.S. lawmakers said they will continue pushing for a bill that would send billions of dollars in fines from …
Latest news: April 2, 2012
BP’s oil spill cleanup isn’t done: An editorial Editorial, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, La.). March 31, 2012. “State officials expressed their unhappiness last fall when the Coast Guard and BP decided to stop cleaning up oil from the massive 2010 spill. They believed that the plan to shift away from cleanup efforts would leave coastal beaches and wetlands vulnerable to continued oil contamination, and there is new evidence that they were right…” (Read more) Resolve to pass the Restore Act: …
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 …
Latest news: March 30, 2012
Going coastal: Pass the plan Editorial, The Daily World (Opelousas, La.). March 30, 2012. “Hurricane Katrina, the terrible effects of which may have been magnified by decades of coastal land loss, could be the catalyst for our first truly effective coastal restoration policy — if the Legislature goes along…” (Read more) Take Two: Revised coastal plan wins over some critics By John Snell, WVUE-TV (New Orleans, La.). March 29, 2012. “Houma, La. — Some of those most affected by the …
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 …
Latest news: March 29, 2012
Gulf Coast restoration money in limbo By Jordan Blum, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.). March 29, 2012. “WASHINGTON — Federal transportation legislation that contains key money for Gulf Coast states and coastal restoration is staring down a Saturday deadline for government spending…” (Read more) Louisiana Oystermen Still Struggling Two Years After Oil Spill By Tala Hadavi, Voice of America. March 28, 2012. “Almost two years ago an explosion on an offshore drilling rig killed 11 men and sent 4.9 million …
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 …
Latest news: March 28, 2012
BP fines should pay to fix spill damage Editorial, The Houston Chronicle. March 27, 2012. “After the Deepwater Horizon exploded almost two years ago, it seemed that oil would never stop gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. When the well was finally capped, we wanted desperately to believe that the disaster was over and done with. But it’s not. The Gulf still shows its effects…” (Read more) Letter: RESTORE Act benefits Chicago region, too By Mariyana Spyropoulos, commissioner of the …