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Category
Environment

A man in a gas mask stands next to a “Cancer Alley” sign with massive industrial data centers and smokestacks billowing black smoke behind him under an orange

Data centers spark fears of a ‘Digital Cancer Alley’ in Louisiana

A new report critical of the rapid data-center ramp-up across the South describes it as ‘Big Tech, following in the footsteps of Big Oil.'
by Gus Bennett September 25, 2025 Updated September 29, 2025
This editorial-style illustration emphasizes the absence of environmental issues in the 2025 New Orleans elections. At the center, a clipboard lists the campaign focus areas—economic development, government services, public safety, and affordable housing—under the hashtag #livingwithwater. Surrounding the clipboard are silhouettes of political candidates framed by Democratic and Republican symbols. Below, the illustration highlights the city’s existential threats: flooding, saltwater intrusion, sinking levees, and overwhelmed floodwalls, reminding viewers that water and environment remain critical yet often overlooked priorities.

Casting votes for sustainability

In this city surrounded by water, we need to know each candidate’s position to address New Orleans’ environmental vulnerabilities, says the writer, an urban designer and educator who has long focused on water issues in the city.
by Aron Chang September 23, 2025 Updated September 25, 2025

New Orleans’ lead-heavy lizards could help scientists better grasp toxicity, evolution

The little brown lizards in New Orleans are thriving with blood levels of lead that Tulane scientists say should be lethal, even in far bigger creatures.
by Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illuminator September 19, 2025 Updated September 19, 2025
Nylah Toussaint, stands behind her home in St. James Parish with her daughters, Dream and London, in front of the sugarcane field where Exxon plans to lay a carbon pipeline.

In St. James Parish, Exxon plans to lay carbon pipeline alarmingly close to homes, businesses

Experts and residents decry hazards to people and lack of regulations, transparency
by Delaney Nolan, The Lens, and Emily Sanders, ExxonKnews September 18, 2025 Updated September 25, 2025

Oily gunk from Roseland explosion flows towards Lake Pontchartrain

A mix of chemicals released by the explosion are being carried by the Tangipahoa River and could enter the local food chain, experts fear.
by Delaney Nolan September 2, 2025 Updated September 8, 2025
Cubist-style illustration of Jon Batiste playing piano, surrounded by New Orleans jazz motifs and climate imagery including a blazing sun, musical notes, and factory smoke.

‘It’s a warning, set to a dance beat’: Jon Batiste on his new song urging climate action at Katrina20

The global music star, whose hometown of New Orleans was devastated in 2005 by the hurricane and subsequent levee engineering failures, says ‘people power’ can change the world.
by Mark Hertsgaard, The Guardian August 28, 2025 Updated September 5, 2025
A collapsed wooden house, known as the “Noah’s Ark House,” with its roof torn away and walls buckling, stands abandoned in overgrown grass under a clear blue sky.

FEMA failures in Katrina aftermath serve as stark warning for today’s FEMA cuts

As the Trump administration hobbles FEMA, experts warn the agency is backsliding towards the same failures seen after New Orleans’ levees failed.
by Delaney Nolan August 27, 2025 Updated September 5, 2025

Entergy gets green light for three controversial new gas plants

Public service commissioners voted 4-1 for Entergy’s proposal for three gas plants to power new energy-hungry Meta AI data center.
by Delaney Nolan August 21, 2025 Updated August 22, 2025

Trump-fueled gas boom has fenceline Gulf Coast communities on edge

Residents cite pollution, loss of fishing and diminished tax revenue as liquefied natural gas production accelerates here, feeding demand from Europe and Asia.
by Pam Radtke, Evan Simon and Jeffrey Basinger / Floodlight August 20, 2025 Updated August 20, 2025

Let’s acknowledge the Alabo Wharf’s place in history

In a lawsuit about a slaughterhouse that once stood at the Alabo site, the U.S. Supreme Court first interpreted the 14th Amendment, which later became pivotal in civil rights rulings, and led to four little 9th Ward girls desegregating the first public schools in the Deep South.
by Dr. Mary Berry and Dr. Melinda Chateauvert August 12, 2025 Updated August 18, 2025

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The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region. Staunchly defending the public's right to know and deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.
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