The combination of fog and thick smoke may return this weekend, as a peat fire in remote New Orleans East swamp burns underground. Unlike the fire in Lafitte, which is actively being battled by firefighting crews, the Orleans blaze is largely unchecked. But it's now watered by two pumps from the Sewerage & Water Board pouring the equivalent of two Olympic-size pools a day into the marsh.
As the Clean Water Act turns 51 today, environmental advocates scramble to understand a new judicial interpretation that leaves more than half of the country’s 118 million acres of wetlands unprotected, including the swamps of Acadiana and key waterfowl habitat.
Several historic sites would suffer “adverse effects” from construction of gigantic Greenfield Grain Terminal, says review of rural St. John the Baptist Parish – which was recently placed at the top spot of a nationwide list of places vulnerable to climate risks.
While tax subsidies allay financial concerns about carbon capture and storage (CCS), key questions remain about the controversial technology and whether it’s able to reduce carbon emissions.
West Bank residents fighting the gigantic Greenfield Grain Terminal are heartened by news from the National Park Service, which will spend the next year considering a largely rural, 14-mile stretch of Great River Road for a prestigious historical designation.
Orphaned wells, which weren’t properly plugged and abandoned, are more likely pathways for CO2 leaks. And state databases show seven orphaned wells within the townships slated to provide underground carbon-dioxide storage for Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG terminal.
Noxious refinery fire deals another blow to Garyville neighbors, weary of fighting harmful emissions. Across the river, the blaze strengthens neighbors' commitment to block the introduction of industry there.
Every month for past four months, a decade-long malfunction has returned, covering nearby blocks with dime-sized drops of oil.
Though serious concerns remain about fresh water altering coastal ecology, the hope is that Louisiana ultimately could create more coastal land than it loses, with this $2.9 billion diversion of lower Mississippi River.
The U.S. is now the world's top exporter of LNG. Towns in southern Louisiana are paying the price --through pollution, noise, and destruction of this area's longtime way of life.
