The Lower Ninth Ward Health Clinic relies on post-Katrina federal grants to operate. Those grants are due to expire this fall putting the clinic in jeopardy Without a continuation of post-Katrina grants for education, health care and improving the criminal justice system, New Orleans risks losing gains made since the storm, says a report released […]
Category: Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Incoming Spill Claims Czar Will Drop BP’s Contractor
Kenneth Feinberg, the independent paymaster chosen by President Barack Obama to administer damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, will drop the contractor that BP has been using to manage the claims process and hire two new companies to replace it. Feinberg is expected to take over the claims system from BP In mid-August. He […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The nation’s sacrifice zone, part I
Gulf Coast wetlands loss received a burst of exposure in national media stories last week.Hip Hip, Hooray! While each story had a different angle, each discussed the tragic disappearance of Louisiana’s coast. Then, predictably, they all compared the issue to the BP/Macondo oil disaster. Coastal loss was declared to be a decades-long problem of wide […]
Posted inEnvironment
Have you filed a claim with BP? If the answer is yes, please help us illuminate the process.
The Lens wants to hear from people who have filed a claim for damages related to BP’s oil spill in Gulf of Mexico.
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Simple answers to simple questions
On May 16, during the biggest oil “spill” in American history, Fox News anchor Britt Hume was troubled by a nagging thought: “Where is the oil?” The nation spent the next eight weeks watching the Macondo oil gusher spew into the Gulf. But now that it’s been capped, many have returned to Hume’s query, echoing […]
Posted inEnvironment, Investigations
As offshore oil war continues, quieter pollution battles being fought on land
As the offshore spill cleanup progresses, Louisiana regulators and residents are engaged in another fight against oil pollution on land.
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Gulf Coast states lag behind other states in getting contracts for oil disaster work
An overwhelming number of federal contracts related to the BP oil disaster have gone to companies outside of the area most affected by the environmental and economic catastrophe, according to data from government agencies. About $6.5 million in federal contracting money has gone to Louisiana since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the state’s […]
Posted inEnvironment
Legislators seek transparency from BP but feel snubbed
Two state lawmakers who persuaded the Legislature to call for BP to provide full access to its oil-spill information now say they’re frustrated with the oil giant’s continued lack of compliance. Leger Richmond The state House and Senate in June unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 208, sponsored by New Orleans Democratic Reps. Walter Leger III […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Landrieu ditches Nagin plan
Call it the off-target plan. Mayor Mitch Landrieu is moving away from predecessor Ray Nagin’s recovery strategy of pushing projects in 17 “target zones” across the city. “Frankly, it was a previous administration’s plan,” mayoral spokesman Ryan Berni said. Berni acknowledged today that Landrieu has yet to finish his own recovery plan. His administration is […]
Posted inEnvironment
Landrieu fills position for environmental affairs after all
Though Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration initially was vague on whether it would continue to have an Office of Environmental Affairs during the nation’s largest oil disaster, the position has now been filled. Charles Allen, formerly at Tulane University in the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, started running the office two weeks ago. Allen is a […]