Environment

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — Measuring The River

Credit Jason Saul / WWNO

The Bonnet Carré Spillway when it was opened in 2008. Scientists now say much of the sediment and water the Mississippi River carries into Louisiana never makes it to the Gulf of Mexico.

By Bob Marshall

If there is one underlying justification for Louisiana’s $50 billion Master Plan for coastal restoration, it’s this: We actually have a chance to prevent Southeast Louisiana from drowning in the Gulf, because the Mississippi River carries the sediment necessary to keep pace with sea level rise.

3:33 pm

Thu May 30, 2013

Baton Rouge's Corroded, Overpolluting Neighbor: Exxon Mobil

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Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An evening view of the Exxon Mobil oil refinery complex in Baton Rouge, La.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Tonga Nolan is an attorney who lives in the Standard Heights neighborhood and is active with the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which monitors air quality around the Baton Rouge Exxon Mobil facility.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Larry Alexander lives a few hundred yards from Exxon Mobil. Many of the lots around his house are vacant because Exxon bought out his neighbors over the years.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Anna Hrybyk (left) talks with Standard Heights neighborhood residents Terrica Hardnett (middle) and Terrell Sylvas about the current state of the EPA's investigation into the Exxon Mobil plant.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Tonga Nolan shows a folder of pictures from the EPA investigation into the plant, which found rusted pipes and leaks in many areas.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Exxon Mobil is one of several companies with operations clustered together in the same part of Baton Rouge. These plants hold their products in hundreds of large tanks like this one. Scientists have found that these tanks can be a big source of toxic pollution; when the tanks get old, they can leak fumes, especially through tops that no longer fit well.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An evening view of the Exxon Mobil oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Baton Rouge, La.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

This composite image from the top of the Louisiana state capitol building shows the Exxon Mobil complex in Baton Rouge.

By Elizabeth Shogren

Originally published on Fri May 31, 2013 11:17 am

Listen

If you stand in front of Almena and Sidney Poray's house in Baton Rouge, La., and look straight down the street, past the other houses and the shade trees, you see more than a dozen plumes of exhaust in various hues of gray and white.

"That's something you see every day, the same thing if not more," says Almena Poray. "Sometimes it's a darker gray; sometimes it's a black smoke coming out."

7:45 am

Mon May 27, 2013

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — Budgeting The River

Credit USGS

The Mississippi River basin with major tributaries and state boundaries. The width of a river indicates its mean water discharge.

By Bob Marshall

Let’s imagine it is the Spring of 2025, and Louisiana is preparing to open three diversions on the lower Mississippi so fresh water and sediment can reach wetlands struggling to stay ahead of sea level rise.

6:21 pm

Wed May 22, 2013

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — Part One

By Jason Saul

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:

iTunes
Other Players

7:00 am

Tue May 21, 2013

Louisiana Wetlands Experts Exchanging Ideas At Vietnam Conference

By Eileen Fleming

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

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The Louisiana Coast: Last Call

12:26 pm

Mon June 3, 2013