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Category
Environment

New Orleans still faces widespread lead risks. Here’s why this conference matters.

With nearly 90% of sampled homes showing lead in drinking water, a national conference is bringing experts, practitioners, and policymakers together to focus on real solutions, workforce development, and stronger coordination to make homes safer.
by Kate Kirkwood April 24, 2026 Updated April 22, 2026
close up shot of a computer screen

Policymakers must act to protect Louisianans from billions in data center-driven costs

by Paul Arbaje, The Equation April 21, 2026 Updated April 21, 2026

Proposal fizzles to place air monitors at Louisiana industrial facilities

A bill aimed at warning Louisiana residents about toxic air releases failed to advance, leaving questions about how communities near industrial plants will be protected.
by Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator April 20, 2026 Updated April 17, 2026

Toxic chemicals spread even as officials told Black residents of Roseland that they were safe

Newly released tests and documents in the Louisiana town contradict government reassurances and are fueling protest.
by Adam Mahoney, Capital B April 17, 2026 Updated April 17, 2026
A large industrial barge sits lodged through a broken section of the Jourdan Avenue levee in the Lower Ninth Ward, where a catastrophic breach during Hurricane Katrina sent a 20-foot wall of water into the neighborhood in 2005.

The Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans can’t get a break

The neighborhood is facing an onslaught of catastrophic projects that could be more damaging than Hurricane Katrina.
by Roberta Brandes Gratz April 15, 2026 Updated April 15, 2026

Judges overseeing Louisiana’s landmark oil cases have financial stakes in defendants

Federal judges held stock, bonds and leased mineral rights to Exxon, Chevron and others while hearing cases against the companies alleging damage to the La. coast.
by Garrett Hazelwood, Flooodlight April 13, 2026 Updated April 13, 2026

Louisiana’s HB804 could shield oil companies from climate lawsuits

As lawsuits by mostly Democrat-controlled municipalities and states move through the courts, Republican-controlled statehouses like Louisiana’s are proposing a growing number of bills like HB804, to immunize polluters from climate liability.
by Emily Sanders, ExxonKnews April 10, 2026 Updated April 10, 2026

Trump’s ‘God Squad’ blocks endangered-species protections in the Gulf of Mexico

Citing fuel shortages caused by the War of Iran, a federal committee voted to override the Endangered Species Act, clearing the way for expanded oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
by Jake Bittle, Grist April 9, 2026 Updated April 7, 2026
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Double the capacity, double the bill: Meta and Entergy announce a plan to build 7 new power plants for AI data centers in LA.

In this episode of Behind The Lens, host Carolyne Heldman Rovira interviews journalist and policy advisor Ned Randolph, to unpack a major energy and infrastructure development that could reshape Louisiana’s future.
by Carolyne Heldman April 3, 2026 Updated April 4, 2026

Meta triples order of gas-fired power plants for its AI campus in Louisiana

The seven additional new Entergy plants will power Meta’s mammoth AI site in Richland Parish, which is the size of 2.700 football fields.
by Lens staff March 30, 2026 Updated April 3, 2026

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About The Lens

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Most Popular

The decisions we make now still matter for Louisiana's coastThe decisions we make now still matter for Louisiana's coastMay 14, 2026Steve CochranEnvironment
Why The Guardian's new article about New Orleans feels like 'a modern day redlining of an entire city.'Why The Guardian's new article about New Orleans feels like 'a modern day redlining of an entire city.'May 6, 2026Christopher ArdEnvironment
This herbicide is so toxic it’s been banned in over 70 countries. But plants in the South are releasing it into the air. This herbicide is so toxic it’s been banned in over 70 countries. But plants in the South are releasing it into the air. April 29, 2026Delaney NolanEnvironment

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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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Our reporting has more urgency than ever.


For more than a decade, we have reported on issues as well as public policy meant to address the needs of residents. The Lens seeks to focus on the inherent inequality that has created a multi-tiered system. We, at The Lens seek to uncover, illuminate, inform and take part in a forward-looking community. Join us.

 
 

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