Reports saying that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved an environmental permit needed to create sand barrier islands are false, Corps Public Affairs Chief for New Orleans Ken Holder. “It is correct to say it is still under review,” Holder said in an email to The Lens. Holder said there is nothing else […]
Category: Environment
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Five years after Katrina, the return of disaster capitalism?
One month after news of a giant Gulf Coast oil spill began making headlines across the country, aid organizations worry that the region may see an influx of workers seeking cleanup jobs that simply don’t exist. “People are being told they can drive here and apply for jobs and BP will pay for travel and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Boats moored by the BP oil spill, a long-threatened community of black fishers fears for its future
Headed down La. 39 on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, a few miles down after the Belle Chasse Ferry, drivers pass a tall, white picket fence on the left with a sign that reads “Welcome White Ditch” in a circle around an outline of the state with a pelican inside. A few yards ahead, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Gulf oil spill: Too big to stop- or even watch on a live feed
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the world are logging on to see live video of oil gushing from a broken pipe that is responsible for the gargantuan petrochemical spill in the Gulf of Mexico and increasingly, the coastal wetlands that protect New Orleans. The live video feed, transmitted from 5,000 feet below the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Nungesser says Corps has rejected state’s plea for dredged oil barriers
Nungesser The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not allow land barriers to be built to protect the state’s coastline, Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser told The Lens today. “They turned it down,” Nungesser said. “They denied the plan to do the barrier islands, so I don’t know, so we’ll have to come up with something […]
Posted inEnvironment, Land Use
Methodist deadline extended
The owner of the site of the former Methodist Hospital complex in eastern New Orleans has granted Mayor Mitch Landrieu a two-month extension on a $40 million deal to purchase the property, Methodist Health System Foundation CEO Fred Young Jr., said Monday. “The mayor asked for 60 days so he could look over the deal,” […]
Posted inEnvironment
Worth thousands of words
It’s hard to describe photos of a disaster as “beautiful,” so let’s just say that the photo editors at boston.com have captured and compiled an impressive set of 40 photographs that document the oil disaster in the Gulf.
Posted inEnvironment
Effectiveness of BP training may be lost in translation
Creative Commons License photo credit: yummyporky A special oil-spill class set up by BP Tuesday to train Vietnamese fishers in their native language went poorly, with translators giving up just minutes into the four-hour session, and bilingual audience members struggling to fill the gap, one observer said. Those attending got the necessary certification and are […]
Posted inEnvironment
Uneasy living in Lafitte
Chaz Bizani and Tess Bourdreux share their concerns during a tour of the waters around Lafitte. Last week, The Lens traveled to Lafitte in Jefferson Parish to talk with fishers whose livelihoods may be severely hampered, if not suspended by the BP oil spill. On that day, May 4, the oil hadn’t invaded lakes and […]
Posted inEnvironment
With new app, oil spill can cast its shadow over any city
If it’s a bit difficult getting your brain around how large the BP oil spill is, try this application out for size. Using Google Earth and maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Paul Rademacher, an engineering manager for Google, has devised a website where you can have the shape of the spill projected […]