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Category
Environment

The United Nations Global Plastics Treaty: validating the struggles of fenceline communities in Louisiana

Though the Biden Administration backtracked its support of a cap on plastic production only a week before UN negotiations begin in South Korea, Louisiana advocates see the tide turning on plastics in a way that could turn future plastic-production facilities in Louisiana into even riskier investments.
by Delaney Dryfoos November 27, 2024 Updated November 27, 2024

As Mississippi River towns experience whiplash between drought and flood, mayors look to new insurance model  

At least two New Orleans agencies tested parametric insurance policies during Hurricane Francine – with mixed results.
by Delaney Dryfoos, The Lens, and Eric Schmid, St. Louis Public Radio November 18, 2024 Updated November 18, 2024

‘Cajun Coral’ could reshape former oil and gas platforms along the Gulf Coast

A decommissioned oil rig site off Grand Isle offers a new shallow-water template for the Louisiana Rigs-to-Reef programs. Where rigs once stood, the 3D-printed concrete could create bustling coastal reefs.
by Delaney Dryfoos November 15, 2024 Updated November 15, 2024

Louisiana could be out billions, if controversial coastal-restoration stalls

The feds threaten to withhold $2.2 billion from the massive effort to save and restore the state’s diminishing coastline if leaders don’t act soon.
by Terry L. Jones for Floodlight November 11, 2024 Updated November 10, 2024

Grain Terminal in the Lower 9: ‘It’s not going to be good for us.’

The Port of New Orleans plans to “revitalize” the Alabo Street Wharf into a terminal for organic grain. Neighbors in Holy Cross are concerned about grain dust, pests, rodents and a steady line of railcars passing right outside their doors.
by Delaney Dryfoos, The Lens, and Eva Tesfaye, WWNO November 1, 2024 Updated November 14, 2024

Lead pipes, another New Orleans legacy

As the federal government announces a rule to eliminate all lead pipes within the next decade, tests by the Water Collaborative found lead within drinking water at 88% of New Orleans homes tested.
by Delaney Dryfoos October 12, 2024 Updated November 14, 2024

Can Tulane shed its fossil fuel investments? 

To convince Tulane University to divest from fossil fuels, students say, they must fight geography, history, and the school's academic partnerships with industry.
by Jay Marcano October 10, 2024 Updated October 10, 2024

The majority-Black districts that became Cancer Alley

Lifelong residents of St. James Parish will speak in federal court on Monday about how parish officials and ordinances have, for generations, explicitly directed industrial plants into predominantly Black neighborhoods.
by Delaney Dryfoos October 6, 2024 Updated April 14, 2025

Unlikely alliance forms to boost community air monitoring in Louisiana

A bulk storage facility plans to join with activists from the Louisiana Environmental Action Network to monitor air quality in St. Rose, a ‘Cancer Alley’ community.
by Terry L. Jones for Floodlight September 20, 2024 Updated September 24, 2024

Mississippi River mayors agree to unify ports from Louisiana up to Minnesota

The cooperative agreement is the first between the inland ports in the heart of the Corn Belt and the coastal ports of Louisiana, which together export 60% of the nation’s agricultural products.
by Delaney Dryfoos, The Lens, and Elise Plunk, Louisiana Illuminator September 19, 2024 Updated September 19, 2024

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