This morning I was remembering a moment about 5-6 years ago, not that long after we opened Carmo; a diner who was in the lunch line making what I thought was a surprising comment. I recall that I’d written on the menu about the fact that we were using local seafood, that there were local veggies on the salad, along with a note about the biodegradable food containers. What I found surprising was as the man approached the register, he pointed to the comments on the menu and said, “you know, I don’t care, most people really don’t care about this, you should save your money.” I was so taken aback at the time, that I have to say that I don’t really remember exactly how I responded, but I think I bumbled out a version of “I care.” The man happened to be one of our regulars who I...
Blogging for a Healthy Gulf
The Pearl River’s flow of fresh water moderates salinities in tidal waters that nourish the Hancock County Marshes in Mississippi and the Biloxi Marshes of Louisiana. The Biloxi Marsh is that big chunk of St. Bernard Parish that sticks up to the north, lying due south of Waveland, Mississippi. Bayou Biloxi runs through part of this critically important marsh. It is this finger of Southeast Louisiana that is the main buffer for storm surges from the east and southeast. It is a line of defense that benefits both states.
The Mississippi River created the St. Bernard Delta, its easternmost lobe, between 2000 and 4000 years ago. Manmade River levees block Mississippi River sediment from this part of St. Bernard Parish. It was the yearly flooding of the big river that built this area and much of southeast Louisiana. The Corps of Engineers built diversion projects at Violet and Caernarvon to...
Perhaps no environmental phenomenon is as critical to the future of the Louisiana Gulf coast as sea level rise and the disappearance of our coastal marshes. A warming climate, a sinking coast and decades of unchecked assaults are driving the loss of coastal wetlands at unimaginable rates (almost 30 sq miles per year), a staggering reality for those who make their living here. The magnitude of forces driving wetland loss seems so far beyond human ability to control that we can be paralyzed into inaction. So it was with considerable enthusiasm that two weeks ago I joined GRN staff and donors for a drive down to Plaquemines Parish to explore a 10 year-old marsh reclamation project.
We headed downriver to Buras to see the results of a project established by the US Fish and Wildlife Service under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). In Buras, we...
New Report Reveals Most States Failing to Manage Nitrogen & Phosphorus Pollution
The Mississippi River Collaborative (MRC) today released a report that implores the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take specific actions to regulate excess nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in state waters along the Mississippi River because those 10 states haven’t achieved any significant pollution reductions on their own.
MRC, a partnership of 13 environmental and legal groups, authored the report–entitled “Decades of Delay”–to assess state-level progress to reduce the pollution that threatens drinking water supplies for millions of Americans and causes so-called dead zones that cannot support aquatic life.
“The results of the EPA’s hands-off approach with the Mississippi River basin states are massive algae blooms and nitrate contamination that make our drinking water unsafe and render lakes and rivers unfit for recreation,” said Kris Sigford, Water Quality Director at the Minnesota Center for...
Here in the Gulf our seas are rising, our lands are sinking and our communities face bigger and bigger flood risks. In 2017 our communities most at risk are being declared “Resettlement Zones” by the Louisiana Office of Community Development.
The state is currently rewriting the Coastal Master Plan - the 50 year plan to restore our coast and protect our communities - and Governor John Bel Edwards has the power to make sure that it prioritizes assisting those most at risk.
This spring we need the Governor and his agencies to stand up for our coastal communities by funding home elevation, flood proofing and voluntary buyouts. Take action now to demand that Governor Edwards protects our coast!
How Louisiana serves those most at risk from flooding will be a blueprint for the rest of the country. From New...
We had a blast this Halloween weekend hanging out in New Orleans’ City Park for the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience! This was GRN’s 10th year as a non-profit partner of the festival, and we were focused on talking to the hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers and many musicians playing the fest about how they can help defend the music and defend the coast.
The Gulf is facing sea level rise, coastal wetland loss and ongoing environmental disasters fueled by the oil and gas industry. Oil and gas must pay for its damages and now is the time for our region to transition away from destructive industry and to a clean energy economy.
The good news is that the people at Voodoo, including many artist playing the fest, were ready to join...
The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is the omnibus Congressional bill that funds the Army Corps of Engineers in their work on the nation’s waterways. A 2016 version of WRDA is moving through Congress now and has passed the U.S. Senate.
Two sections of the Act pertain to projects on the Pearl River in Louisiana and Mississippi. One is good; the other is not so good.
Section 5002 of WRDA describes a good restoration project in Louisiana that would de-authorize and eventually remove old, unused navigational locks meant for barge traffic. The project would cede the control of the structures and property to the State of Louisiana. The negotiation of this solution has taken many years. This project would allow Louisiana to remove structures that no longer work, making the river less fragmented to improve fish migration and make things easier for recreational boaters. The Pearl River’s threatened...
We are living in a time when rising seas are pushing our communities out of their homes and away from the places they know and love.
The Gulf is facing sea level rise, coastal wetland loss and ongoing environmental disasters fueled by the oil and gas industry. But we will no longer let the Gulf be treated as sacrifice zone.
Together, let’s build a movement of people to defend our coast – our homes, our culture, our food and our music! Take action to tell state and federal leaders to defend the coast.
Whether it’s cutting canals through our wetlands or spilling oil across our coast, the oil and gas industry is responsible for damaging our communities and coast. We are calling for the oil and gas industry to pay for the injuries they have caused....
Over 25,000 people have spoken out against the Sabal Trail Pipeline - a fracked gas pipeline that snakes from Alabama, through Georgia and into Florida, putting communities and ecosystems at risk. The Environmental Protection Agency listed over three dozen pages of problems, three Florida county commissions have voiced concerns, and we’ve even sued the agencies that approved building this dangerous pipeline.
Our communities have fought hard to draw attention the the serious problems with this project. We’ve used almost every tool in our toolbelt, and now it’s time to protest.
Our partners at the Sierra Club, along with numerous local organizations, are organizing four separate protests across Florida. Check the list below and RSVP to an event in your area!
1. Juno Beach, FPL Headquarters. Friday, October 14th, 2016. 3 pm - 6 pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/1746606795603653/
2. St. Petersburg, DUKE...
For years, Tampa Bay communities have lived with a polluted Bay. Because of aging infrastructure, poor decisions, climate change and extreme weather events, sewage frequently flows directly into our water and onto our beaches.Take action now to stop the sewage crisis!
Most recently, Hurricane Hermine overwhelmed the sewage systems of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater, resulting in the dumping of roughly 240 million gallons of sewage into the Bay and other waters. Take action now to protect the Bay from sewage!
Tampa Bay Cities are now negotiating with the state to plan how future sewage disasters will be avoided. While some draft plans have been released, it does not seem that the public is going to be involved in these discussions.
The...