Environment

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — Part One

Jason Saul — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:21:46 +0000

We've collected the first five episodes of our ongoing environmental series The Louisiana Coast: Last Call into one podcast.

You can play the stories on this page, right click on the player and select "Save As" to download it, or find all of our last call podcasts here:

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Louisiana Wetlands Experts Exchanging Ideas At Vietnam Conference

Eileen Fleming — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Members of the America’s Wetland Foundation are in Vietnam this week to collaborate on river management. Dutch experts are also participating.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — River Diversions

BOB MARSHALL — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:45:00 +0000

It’s almost impossible to find anyone in coastal Louisiana opposed to the idea of “coastal restoration.” Storms like Katrina, Gustav and Isaac have shown everyone the value of the marshes and swamps that once stood between them and the Gulf.

But when “restore” means turning things back to the way they once were, problems can arise.

The best-known example of that is the conflict over using river diversions.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — The Master Plan

BOB MARSHALL — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:45:00 +0000

If you’ve been listening and reading along this week, by now you know the consensus among coastal experts is that New Orleans and southeast Louisiana are headed for an early grave before the end of the century.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: Rising Seas, Sinking Land

BOB MARSHALL — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:00 +0000

The clang of tide gauges throughout parts of southeast Louisiana aren’t from a science fiction movie, though they may make residents feel like they’re caught in one.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: Canal Dredging

BOB MARSHALL — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:45:00 +0000

These days when fishing guide Ryan Lambert motors away from the boat launch in Buras, he’s fishing in the what locals call “the land of used-to-bes.”

As in, that used to be Yellow Cotton Bay, or Drake Bay, or English Bay… and dozens more. It’s all one big open body of water now because the marshes, cypress swamps and ridges that separated these water bodies for most of his life are gone.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: The Mississippi River

Bob Marshall — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:45:00 +0000

Anyone flying into New Orleans on a clear day now looks down on a panorama of delicate marsh floating like green lace on the brown waters of the Mississippi delta. Those wetlands seem endless — stretching to the horizons.

But scientists tell us we’re really looking at the skeletal remains of a vast wetland ecosystem that presented huge challenges to European explorers back in the 16th century.

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — The Shape We're In Now

Bob Marshall — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:08:59 +0000

If you enter New Orleans in a Google search you’ll get words and images that echo the city’s unofficial motto: laissez les bon temps rouler, let the good times roll.

Americans love to visit this place because, as noted TV producer David Simon has said, New Orleanians will always find a way to celebrate, even when they get bad news.

But there’s some bad news coming to bayou country that no one will be dancing to.

Where Does The Mississippi River Set Down Its Mud?

Eve Troeh and Bob Marshall — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:09:06 +0000

In a new story out in The Lens today, environmental reporter Bob Marshall delves into an ongoing study about Mississippi River sediment, and its ability to rebuild the coast. Government agencies and scientists have some new ideas about how much mud and sand the Mississippi River deposits along the Louisiana coast before it flows out to the Intercontinental Shelf.

Deet-Free Ways To Ward Off Bugs

Christal White — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:25:36 +0000

The thunderstorms are rolling through, the humidity’s rising, and we all know what’s next… bugs. Ones that bite, ones that sting, ones that just gross you out. Nonetheless, they all have one thing in common: they will do whatever they can to get up in your home and all over you and your precious skin. But, as The Green Project reminded us this week, the simple solution isn't always the best solution.