Police Condemned for Charging Peaceful Environmentalists With 'Terrorizing' in Louisiana
27 June
Climate
Two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019. MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
At least 40 U.S. climate and environmental advocacy groups on Friday rallied behind two Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists who are facing felony "terrorizing" charges for leaving a box of plastic pellets collected from Texas waters near a coastal Formosa Plastics facility on the doorstep of a fossil fuel lobbyist in December 2019.
<p>Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, respectively the director and a program assistant for Louisiana Bucket Brigade, "turned themselves into the Baton Rouge Police Department Thursday," <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_ebee9ed6-b586-11ea-8819-439269c90a96.html" target="_blank">according to</a> NOLA.com. "Rolfes was booked with terrorizing, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. McIntosh was booked with principal to terrorizing. Each was released Thursday afternoon after posting $5,000 bond."</p>
<p>The new wave of support for the activists and their nonviolent protest against plastic pollution came in a collection of comments <a href="https://earthworks.org/media-releases/intimidation-tactics-in-louisiana-wont-silence-opposition-to-formosa-plastics/" target="_blank">circulated</a> by the nonprofit Earthworks.</p><p>"These charges are mere retaliation in response to the critical work done by Louisiana Bucket Brigade," said Scott Eustis, community science director at HealthyGulf. "Formosa Plastics is a serial offender of the United States Clean Water Act, and discussing their criminal record with executives and government is essential work in this time of climate emergency, when Formosa Plastics seeks to derail all the good work for Coastal Restoration that Louisiana has accomplished."</p>
<p>"It is outrageous and chilling to see people criminalized simply for speaking out and advocating against toxic pollution in their neighborhoods," declared Liz Butler, vice president of organizing and strategic Alliances at Friends of the Earth (FOE). "Louisiana needs to hold Formosa accountable for poisoning St. James Parish, not punish people who are trying to protect their communities."</p><p>Rolfes and McIntosh deposited the box outside the home of lobbyist Tyler Gray on Dec. 11 with a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6956444-Letter-Included-in-Nurdles-Package-Sent.html" target="_blank">note</a> which said in part that the plastic pellets, also called nurdles, "are just some of the billions of nurdles that Formosa Plastics dumped into the coastal waters of the state of Texas, from their Point Comfort production facility."</p>
<p>The note also said the nurdles should not be removed from bags or left around children or pets, and explained that thousands of Louisiana residents are urging state officials to reject a key permit for a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/groups-challenge-louisiana-permits-formosa-plastics-giant-petrochemical-complex" target="_blank">controversial</a> $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that Formosa plans to build in a region nationally known as "<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/welcome-to-cancer-alley-where-toxic-air-is-about-to-get-worse" target="_blank">Cancer Alley.</a>"</p><p>Last year, Taiwan-based Formosa <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/15/formosa-plastics-pay-50-million-texas-clean-water-act-lawsuit/" target="_blank">agreed</a> to a $50 million settlement for dumping nurdles into Texas' Lavaca Bay. Activists in Louisiana continue to organize in opposition to Formosa's proposed complex in St. James Parish, warning that the facility will adversely impact public health and the environment in the predominantly Black community.</p><p>"Black and Indigenous communities in the Gulf South have long been treated as a sacrifice zone for the profits of the fossil fuel industry, and activists fighting for their health, safety, and future should be thanked, not penalized," Angela Anderson, climate and energy program director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said Friday.</p><p>Tamara Toles O'Laughlin, director of 350.org North America, noted specifically that "Black residents of St. James Parish have been subjected to infamous levels of pollution and outrageous neglect from the agencies that should prevent it."</p><p>"This is a clear instance of the law and law enforcement being used to protect corporations, profit, and property over people," she said of the charges against Rolfes and McIntosh. "Louisiana is criminalizing protesters for speaking out against environmental injustice that the state has done next to nothing to address."</p>
<div id="2d9b4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aba472beff2e0cc9e7fa9ded595ae9b1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276202787915870210" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Here's an incomplete tally of previous attempts to silence us:
📌Charging Pastor Manning with "inciting a riot" for… https://t.co/bz1t3dvowP</div> — LA Bucket Brigade (@LA Bucket Brigade)<a href="https://twitter.com/labucketbrigade/statuses/1276202787915870210">1593105429.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The charges against the pair "come on the heels of a series of incidents where environmental activists have been dealt hefty charges for actions challenging the petrochemical, oil, and gas industries in Louisiana," The Intercept <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/25/environmental-activists-charged-terrorizing-louisiana-formosa/" target="_blank">reported</a> Thursday.</p><blockquote>In August 2018, Louisiana legislators passed a law <a href="https://theintercept.com/2018/08/22/recent-arrests-under-new-anti-protest-law-spotlight-risks-that-off-duty-cops-pose-to-pipeline-opponents/" target="_blank">establishing a new felony charge</a> for anyone who trespasses on critical infrastructure facilities, including chemical manufacturing facilities and oil and gas pipeline construction sites. Over the following couple months, police used the new law to charge 15 people protesting the oil company Energy Transfer's Bayou Bridge pipeline. Local prosecutors have not yet acted on the charges.<br></blockquote><p>Local organizers have responded to the crackdown on Rolfes and McIntosh by forming the<a href="https://defenddemocracyalliance.org/" target="_blank"> Alliance to Defend Democracy</a>. RISE St. James founder Sharon Lavigne says in a statement on the coalition website that "we will not stand by as law enforcement and a toxic chemical company from Taiwan attempt to scare, silence, and intimidate us."</p><p>Representatives for national groups also reiterated their opposition to the proposed Louisiana complex. As Center for Biological Diversity attorney Julie Teel Simmonds put it Friday: "Black communities are being sickened by corporate polluters and these sham charges won't deter our opposition to this terrible project."</p><p>Other organizations that voiced support for the arrested Louisiana Bucket Brigade activists include Amazon Watch, Break Free From Plastic, the Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice, Greenpeace USA, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/26/outrageous-and-chilling-police-condemned-charging-peaceful-environmentalists" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>
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The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana has been converted to a 1,000-bed field hospital for coronavirus patients to alleviate stress on local hospitals. Chris Graythen / Getty Images
An area in Louisiana whose predominantly black and brown residents are hard-hit by health problems from industry overdevelopment is experiencing one of the highest death rates from coronavirus of any county in the United States.
<p>St. John the Baptist parish, which sits along the Gulf Coast region known as Cancer Alley, has seen 30 of its 43,000 residents die of Covid-19 since the outbreak began – a death rate of 68.7 per 100,000 people, compared to New York City's rate of 29. </p>
<p> "We were getting calls almost every hour," parish coroner Christy Montegut told The Guardian. "...They all died in the same way. They got to a hospital, were on a ventilator, but the body just couldn't keep going. They died in spite of full treatment. The virus is overwhelming." </p>
<h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/07/cancer-alley-coronavirus-reserve-louisiana?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pke94n/cancer-alley-has-some-of-the-highest-coronavirus-death-rates-in-the-country?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">Vice</a>, <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_ad6caecc-7905-11ea-b8ad-7ff3f62ac403.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a>, <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/a-look-inside-a-rural-louisiana-hospital-on-the-front-lines-of-a-pandemic/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">CA Healthline</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Lawsuit Appeals Permit for Formosa Plastics to Build in Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
17 February
Business
Earthjustice says Louisiana has violated the Clean Water Act and given Formosa Plastics Group the "greenlight to double toxic air pollution in St. James" (seen above). Louisiana Bucket Brigade
A coalition of local and national groups on Friday launched a legal challenge to a Louisiana state agency's decision to approve air permits for a $9.4 billion petrochemical complex that Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group plans to build in the region nationally known as "Cancer Alley."
<p>Louisiana residents and environmental justice advocates have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/23/louisiana-officials-urged-rescind-permission-petrochemical-plant-over-cancer-dangers" target="_blank">pressured</a> local, state, and federal officials to reject permits for the proposed project in St. James Parish. Critics have raised concerns that the complex would adversely affect <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health">public health</a> and the environment by emitting cancer-causing chemicals and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/08/climate-watchdog-warns-us-fracking-boom-leading-30-rise-greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_blank">producing</a> an estimated 13.6 million tons of planet-heating emissions annually.</p>
<p>Earthjustice filed the new <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/plastic-production/pdfs/Formosa-Petition_2020Feb13.pdf" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> (pdf) in the Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court on behalf of RISE St. James, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Center for Biological Diversity, Healthy Gulf, No Waste Louisiana, Earthworks, and the Sierra Club. The suit appeals the air permits issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).</p><p>"Louisiana violated the Clean Air Act when it gave Formosa the greenlight to double toxic air pollution in St. James," Earthjustice attorney Corinne Van Dalen <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/appeal-challenges-formosa-plastics-air-permits-in-louisiana-2020-02-14/" target="_blank">said</a> in a statement. "It's time for LDEQ to put Louisianans first and reject more pollution that puts their health, safety, and environment at risk."</p>
<div id="1a965" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PHFLV31581958360"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1228400407405383680" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: We’re challenging Louisiana’s decision to approve air permits for a massive proposed petrochemical comple… https://t.co/DzByCNCLGF</div> — Earthjustice (@Earthjustice)<a href="https://twitter.com/Earthjustice/statuses/1228400407405383680">1581708454.0</a></blockquote></div><p>As the lawsuit explains:</p><blockquote>LDEQ granted Formosa Plastics permits to construct 14 separate major facilities, including 10 chemical plants. The planned chemical complex would manufacture ethylene and propylene, primarily to produce plastics. The other four facilities would support these operations. Formosa Plastics would build this complex a mile from an elementary school in Welcome, and less than one mile from the community of Union in Convent. Its massive air pollution emissions would vastly add to the significant environmental and health burden that African American communities in and near St. James must suffer—including from two new recently permitted methanol petrochemical plants, and Nucor Steel's major expansion project.<br><br> Formosa Plastics' air emissions will also spread to communities across St. James Parish, contributing to the region's air pollution problems. The permits would allow Formosa Plastics to release fine particulates and nitrogen dioxide in quantities that exacerbate ongoing violations of EPA's mandatory national standards in St. James Parish. And they would allow Formosa Plastics to be one of the largest industrial sources in the state for some of the most dangerous carcinogenic air pollutants, such as benzene and formaldehyde, and one of the largest in the nation for others, such as ethylene oxide.<br></blockquote>
<p>In an email to the Associated Press on Friday, LDEQ spokesperson Gregory Langley <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/groups-challenge-louisiana-permits-for-plastics-plant/2020/02/14/f08a4046-4f63-11ea-967b-e074d302c7d4_story.html" target="_blank">said</a> that "we don't comment on ongoing litigation."</p><p>Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, called the permit approval "a new low" for LDEQ, pointing out that the department received over 15,500 comments from residents opposing the complex.</p><p>"Formosa Plastics would be one of the largest plants in the world, but our state used the same old rubber stamp to approve the project," said Rolfes. "We will act to protect the people of Louisiana since the state has clearly failed to do so."</p>
<div id="6665b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5WQJ8N1581958361"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1223373307707318283" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The proposed Formosa Plastics Plant would increase the cancer risk in the 7th District, according to @Earthjustice.… https://t.co/ikvsokUMG5</div> — LA Bucket Brigade (@LA Bucket Brigade)<a href="https://twitter.com/labucketbrigade/statuses/1223373307707318283">1580509900.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Sharon Lavigne, founder and president of the local organization RISE St. James, declared that "LDEQ doesn't care about people's lives."</p><p>"They should have consulted the citizens of St. James, not the public officials, before approving these permits. It just tells me that people in higher office can do what they want and poison an entire African American community," she said. "RISE is going to fight to save the lives of the people in our community. This approval is making our fight harder, but it's making us stronger, and we will fight until the end to stop Formosa."</p>
<div id="57949" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="YPWS531581958361"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1228374860469915648" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Great profile of Sharon Lavigne, a leader in the fight to #StopFormosa and its massive plastic-making plant in Loui… https://t.co/Ot5eUS9esc</div> — Ctr4BioDiv Ocean (@Ctr4BioDiv Ocean)<a href="https://twitter.com/EndangeredOcean/statuses/1228374860469915648">1581702363.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Representatives from national organizations signed on to the suit expressed support for the community members battling against the project but also put the fight into a broader context.</p><p>"This plant would poison the people of St. James Parish and worsen the climate crisis just so Formosa can churn out more throwaway plastic," said Lauren Packard, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Using our oversupply of fracked gas to create products that add to the plastic pollution crisis is appalling. We stand with the local community in opposing this dangerous project."</p><p>As Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/08/climate-watchdog-warns-us-fracking-boom-leading-30-rise-greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_blank">reported</a> last month, Environmental Integrity Project found that greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. oil, gas, and petrochemical industries could jump about 30% by 2025 compared with 2018 because of additional drilling and 157 new or expanded projects "fueled by the fracking boom." The Formosa complex would have the highest potential yearly emissions among all the future and petrochemical and plastics projects included in the analysis.</p><p>"The fight against Formosa's polluting and unjust petrochemical complex is part of a growing national movement to address the triple threat of climate chaos, plastics pollution, and environmental racism," Earthworks energy campaigner Ethan Buckner said Friday. "By issuing these permits to Formosa, LDEQ yet again acquiesced to the fossil fuel industry's reckless plans to rapidly expand in the face of our worsening climate crisis."</p><p><span></span>"As investors sour on oil and gas companies, plastics are Big Oil's lifeline. And LDEQ threw them the rope," Buckner added. "Yet the voices of Cancer Alley's leaders are stronger than ever, and we will defend their right to clean water, air, and a stable climate."<em></em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/groups-challenge-louisiana-permits-formosa-plastics-giant-petrochemical-complex">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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The coast of Grand Isle, Louisiana, is seen. Matthew D White / Photolibrary / Getty Images
The land in the Mississippi River Delta is sinking and eroding. Louisiana has lost about 2,000 square miles since the 1930s. And as seas rise, the loss of land will only accelerate.
<p>If nothing is done to slow this loss, Louisiana could lose an area more than twice the size of the state of Rhode Island in the next 50 years.<em></em></p>
<p>Pat Forbes, director of the Louisiana Office of Community Development, says his state's coastal land is going underwater faster than anywhere else in the U.S.</p><p>He says the state's coastline is a precious cultural and economic resource.</p><p>Louisiana is home to a huge <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fishing">fishing</a> industry. It's among the top <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas/" rel="noopener noreferrer">oil and gas</a> producing states. And 500 million tons of cargo pass through its ports and channels each year.</p>
<p>"We have a lot a people working in our coast and living in our coast," Forbes says. "We have to figure out ways to adapt to this changing reality."</p><p>The state has approved a $50 billion plan to rebuild land, build flood barriers, and implement other projects, such as elevating homes.</p><p>But Forbes says even if the plan is implemented in full, some places cannot be saved.</p><p>"Some communities are going to disappear," he says.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/02/louisiana-has-a-50-billion-dollar-plan-to-protect-its-coast/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Communities in the Deep South are still recovering after a series of devastating tornadoes tore through the region earlier this week. They were the first killer tornadoes since May of this year.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Though tornado activity in the U.S. this time of year is not abnormal, the extent of damage is. According to <a href="https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html" target="_blank">The Storm Prediction Center</a>, there were more fatalities this week than from the last three Decembers combined.</p><p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/4f6fa7472f1da6dded97b9185c13e592" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> reported that at least four people have died as a result of the storms, including a husband and wife whose 7-year-old son was fighting for his life but has started to recover, according to <a href="https://www.wvtm13.com/article/husband-wife-killed-in-severe-northern-alabama-storms-monday-evening/30250643#" target="_blank">WVTM</a>. At least two dozen suspected tornadoes were reported across the South, destroying or damaging 150 homes in their midst. Additionally, the National Weather Service <a href="https://twitter.com/gdimeweather/status/1206936072011296774" target="_blank">issued</a> 85 tornado warnings and <a href="https://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/191216_rpts.html" target="_blank">logged</a> at least 140 reports of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">severe weather</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/12/17/deadly-tornado-outbreak-strikes-deep-south/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Know someone that lives in these parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama?<br><br>They are at risk to experience strong winds or tornadoes today. Give them a call or text to make sure they know what could be headed their way. You could help save a life! <a href="https://t.co/FxKEhTJ60A">pic.twitter.com/FxKEhTJ60A</a></p>— National Weather Service (@NWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWS/status/1206618823366983685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Injuries have been reported in several states with the majority of damage being recorded in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tornadoes/tornadoes-sweep-across-southeastern-u-s-killing-at-least-three-officials-idUSKBN1YL0I6" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p><p>"Initial reports suggest [the] first tornado was reported in Louisiana around 10:35 (a.m.) CST and first tornado fatality was somewhere around 11:18 a.m. CST," National Weather Service meteorologist Jared Guyer told the publication.</p><p><a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/breaking-tornado-emergency-issued-for-alexandria-louisiana/646377" target="_blank">AccuWeather</a> reported that it started with a "violent outbreak of severe weather" that "ignited across the region" characterized by winds reaching up to 160 mph that brought with them an <a href="https://emilms.fema.gov/IS0277A/groups/1932.html" target="_blank">EF3 tornado</a>.</p><p>"The tornado activity across the Lower Mississippi Valley on Monday was not out of the ordinary for December, but the storms were particularly strong and long-lived for this time of year," <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/severe-weather/breaking-tornado-emergency-issued-for-alexandria-louisiana/646377" target="_blank">said</a> Rich Putnam, AccuWeather senior storm warning meteorologist.</p><p>"Typically, that region experiences a minimum in tornadoes during the summer months, and sees the majority of their late summer and early fall tornadoes occur during tropical events. However, as we get into the late fall, the jet stream begins to swing far enough south to supply the upper atmospheric ingredients necessary for organized severe weather."</p><p>One tornado traveled more than 60 miles across central Louisiana, leaving behind it a scar visible from space, reported the <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=LCH&issuedby=LCH&product=PNS" target="_blank">NWS Weather Forecast Office</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The public information statement is out:<a href="https://t.co/cOcMLccnUn">https://t.co/cOcMLccnUn</a> <a href="https://t.co/5Ud1cBrqio">pic.twitter.com/5Ud1cBrqio</a></p>— NWS Lake Charles (@NWSLakeCharles) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSLakeCharles/status/1207356731845574656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Formosa Plastics has plans to bulldoze over a sacred slave burial ground in St. James Parish, Louisiana, pictured above for a new manufacturing complex that will cover the size of 80 football fields. Louisiana Bucket Brigade
A major plastics manufacturing complex planned for construction in a highly-polluted region of Louisiana may disrupt a historic slave burial site, The Intercept reports.
<p>Human remains and evidence of grave shafts were discovered earlier this year on land being developed by Formosa Plastics Group in St. James Parish in Louisiana. The plant could double the amount of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer">air pollution</a> in the region and emit 13 million tons of carbon pollution each year. Many of the residents of St. James Parish, located in a stretch of the state known as "Cancer Alley," one of the most polluted stretches in America, say they are descended from slaves who worked on various plantations in the area. "That's sacred ground," activist and St. James Parish resident Sharon Lavigne told The Intercept. "They're saying they don't care about your ancestors. They're slapping us in the face." </p><h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=aef93e97a4&e=0afd421a28" target="_blank">The Intercept</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Environmental Justice Activists Arrested Amid Growing Concerns Over Louisiana’s Cancer Alley Pollution
04 November 2019
Popular
Pastor Gregory Manning, with Justice and Beyond, a New Orleans based civil rights advocacy group, pinned to the ground while being handcuffed. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
Mounting concerns over pollution, public health and the expansion of the petrochemical industry came to a head when two activists were detained in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Oct. 30, the last day of a two-week protest against environmental racism in Louisiana's Cancer Alley.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzEzODMxMn0.cBppXnCySGzy00b238jj4yoa8OkA2teKuOmtUirUp6w/img.jpg?width=980" id="2b035" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0a027e86f0a00ef3b59ae1d9fdb7c572" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Police officer telling protesters that they need to clear the hallway outside of LABI's office in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Oct. 30. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>Pastor Gregory Manning, who is legally blind, and Sakura Kone were singled out by police for refusing to leave the hallway outside of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (<span style="background-color: initial;">LABI</span>) office where about 40 activists continued with an impromptu rally after being asked to leave. The group had hoped to confront <span style="background-color: initial;">LABI</span>'s head over the association's influence in state politics and regulations.</p><p>Kone was given a citation and released outside, while Manning was taken to jail. According to a release from Manning's group Justice and Beyond, Pastor Manning, who is being charged with a felony count of inciting a riot and Kone will be arraigned on Nov. 5 in Baton Rouge City Court.</p><p>The police officers' actions infuriated members of the Coalition Against Death Alley (CADA), a group of Louisiana residents and members of various local and state organizations behind the protest. The coalition focuses on fighting against and bringing attention to the petrochemical industry's expansion that is underway in Louisiana.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0f557ce64f0a61ee345bf470371fb8b6"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PaS8p52_U2E?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><em>Robert Taylor and Pastor Manning speaking before Manning was detained.<em> Julie Dermansky / DeSmog</em></em></p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5e6ead46a69ac3526d5aec80e4c5c906"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R3CGzGAfgEI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><em>Pastor Manning and Sakura Kone being detained. <em>Julie Dermansky / DeSmog</em></em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/louisiana-cancer-alley-communities-gulf-petrochemical-pollution" target="_blank">Louisiana's Cancer Alley</a>, also known as the "Petrochemical Corridor," is an 80-mile stretch along the Mississippi River with over 100 petrochemical plants and refineries between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Louisiana government is welcoming an increasing number of industrial facilities to this corridor in primarily African-American communities.</p>
Seeking Environmental Justice for Cancer Alley
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDk4NTU1Nn0.uYLg_tLkYzKbfBF05wp5kj6z8C_Gx3i1WfqlLxNYqak/img.jpg?width=980" id="fcb8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ba18007e6d7a72834134711ae188868d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Sharon Lavigne, a lifelong resident of St. James Parish, marching with CADA in downtown Baton Rouge on Oct. 30. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>CADA's protest focused in large part on the struggles of the communities in St. James and St. John the Baptist Parish, both on the Mississippi River's banks and both frontline battlegrounds for environmental justice in the shadow of heavy industry.</p><p>Sharon Lavigne, <span style="background-color: initial;">CADA</span> member and founder of <span style="background-color: initial;">RISE</span> St. James, a community organization opposing the Taiwanese-owned Formosa plastic manufacturing complex proposed in St. James, was shaken after police violently took down Pastor Manning a few feet away from her. "Why are they arresting Rev. Manning, who is trying to protect us, instead of the polluters who are poisoning us?" asked Lavigne later that day on a call announcing Manning's release from jail.</p><p>CADA member Robert Taylor, director of the Concerned Citizens of St. John, is fighting for an existing polluter in his community to lower its emissions or close. His group is pushing the Denka Performance Elastomer plant to lower its emissions of the toxic chemical chloroprene to the level deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjYwMDM3OH0.QelzQIaU69GXAoWvJIzoeoEww_sVuE-kwCR1RX4YHyo/img.jpg?width=980" id="619fe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b3539a672411787c067c201a83706e7d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Robert Taylor on a street in downtown Baton Rouge marching with CADA after Pastor Manning was detained. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQyMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDEzODI1MH0.g5PIqRGMKsFMuwPvvE0vZy1LzzD35uwKoKp3c5DtLeY/img.jpg?width=980" id="4ac24" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5402e2f93dc156557201273e3653bd17" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
CADA members on the street outside of the LABI office after Pastor Gregory Manning was taken away in a police car. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>Taylor was furious at the way the police handled Pastor Manning while detaining him. "They did their classical take down of that stubborn negro, with their knees in this man's back with him down on his face, helpless, handcuffed behind him, with their knees in his back, twisting his arms, and he's screaming," Taylor said to me, while the protesters regrouped at a park a few blocks away from the <span style="background-color: initial;">LABI</span> office.</p><p>Over the last two weeks, CADA marched and held protests at numerous locations in New Orleans and the river parishes, addressing diverse social issues plaguing Louisiana, from voter suppression to environmental justice. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzY2NjYxNn0.C-wPZMdEIxBkjrSVmXr3rQiRRNpegEfgHCauUWqN3v4/img.jpg?width=980" id="29a8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a4145e1b7f6a8df906b87c83681ff893" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Daryl Malek-Wiley, New Orleans Sierra Club representative, with CADA in Baton Rouge on the last day of its two week protest in front of the building where the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA) has its office. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTIzNjgwOH0.rI09eUAIvLRactq8n6bBu8Vw-0E4V5V9cU6Brp-ElOU/img.jpg?width=980" id="c1460" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d86c30284bc4df905a565b005293a9f0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Cindy Russo, an environmental activist with CADA in Baton Rouge protesting in front of the building where the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA) has its office near the state capitol. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
A New Plastics Complex in St. James
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ0Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTU5NDQyM30.z2W9oGrqPZe7bNW0Y5aaeWMtp00nbDSPvGVMdGRM3lE/img.jpg?width=980" id="416e1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="54591efa2350ef9e2a9fab8e0f996f04" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Sharon Lavigne with members of RISE St. James at the July 9 LDEQ permit hearing. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>While Lavigne and Taylor support the coalition's broader work, each remains focused on protecting their own communities. </p><p>If <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/13/formosa-plastics-plant-st-james-parish-louisiana-environmental-racism" target="_blank">the Formosa plastics complex</a> is built in St. James, Lavigne fears the already degraded air quality at her home, near several petrochemical plants and oil storage tanks, will become a death trap. Many of her neighbors have died of cancer and respiratory illnesses associated with the types of emissions released from the existing facilities.</p><p>This summer, Lavigne's activism helped turn out a large crowd opposed to Formosa's proposed $9.4 billion industrial complex, which is called the "Sunshine Project" due to its proximity to the nearby Sunshine Bridge.</p><p>At a July 9 Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (<span style="background-color: initial;">LDEQ</span>) public hearing, dozens spoke out against granting five air quality permits to Formosa. In addition, the agency received 15,000 comments against the project.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ1MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDk3MTQ1M30.2sOqLbXgs0pVXXbwKRQIR-wDGR-rzS9SRyKYQsNSbHU/img.jpg?width=980" id="54666" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d96651d39c7b0b5a3d33a4e2c526874" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Gail Leboeuf, a St. James resident and member of both RISE St. James and CADA, protesting in front of Denka's synthetic rubber plant on Oct. 19. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>LDEQ's decision on the permits could come any day, but many do not expect a decision to be made public until after the upcoming runoff election for governor on Nov. 16. </p><p>Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who has disappointed environmentalists with his <a href="https://youtu.be/4lHFzAEzU_E" target="_blank">ongoing climate science denial stance</a> and his readiness to <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/news/sunshine-project" target="_blank">welcome even more polluting industrial projects</a> to the state, is facing off with Republican businessman Eddie Rispone. </p><p>Though <span style="background-color: initial;">CADA</span> members expressed displeasure with Edwards <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/06/05/march-pollution-coalition-death-alley-louisiana-cancer-alley-governor" target="_blank">during a five day-long protest in June</a>, the group voiced support for him for governor over Rispone, a self-proclaimed Trump loyalist, over fears the latter would roll back already weak state environmental protections.</p>Air Pollution Concerns for Students in St. John the Baptist Parish
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ1NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMDIwMjc5N30.mwXolTWFlv0oHJTRjrhRV5ZUxalbtgo4IanvHsOToBY/img.jpg?width=980" id="c911a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="533e800df916927b270463709c746bdf" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Robert Taylor's daughter Tish, a member of the Concerned Citizens of St. John and CADA, on the fourth day of the coalition's two-week protest outside of the Fifth Ward Elementary School near Denka's plant. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>For years, Taylor's group has pleaded for regulators to require the Denka neoprene manufacturing plant in St. John the Baptist Parish to lower its emissions of chloroprene, a likely human carcinogen, to 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter, the level the Environmental Protection Agency (<span style="background-color: initial;">EPA</span>) suggested as safe.</p><p>While the factory has greatly reduced chloroprene emissions, which previously registered over 700 times the EPA's suggested level, the levels remain higher than recommended.</p><p>As a result, the citizens group is now focused on protecting the community's children who attend school near the synthetic rubber plant. The group is demanding that the 400 students at the Fifth Ward Elementary School, about a quarter mile from the plant, be moved in the meantime.</p><p>This summer, the St. John the Baptist School Board discussed possibly relocating the students, but no concrete actions have materialized. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NTc0OTQ0M30.sSI1SLrkb9h7kd9NRzHOfZP0LXAe7ow0By_AUkT_yvI/img.jpg?width=980" id="49c99" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a576d983e152a2acd80c1dd6c8ddc2f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Lydia Gerard, a member of the Concerned Citizens of St. John, giving Fifth Ward Elementary School students information for their parents during CADA's protest, with an invitation join the group for dinner. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>"The School Board has started the process of putting together a redistricting plan that could include moving students from Fifth Ward Elementary," Jennifer Bouquet told me on behalf of Patrick Sanders, the school board's president.</p><p>Taylor is frustrated the school board president hasn't committed to moving the children out in a timely fashion. Talk of developing a redistricting plan is not acceptable to him. He believes that such a plan could take years to finalize and the children should have already been moved out of harm's way. </p><p>A recent reading from the EPA's ongoing air monitoring outside the school showed a level over 20 times above the EPA's suggested level, which is not legally binding. "Anything higher than 0.2 is too high," said Wilma Subra, with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, who has been working with the Concerned Citizens group since its inception in 2016.</p><p>In 2016 the community became aware of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/national-air-toxics-assessment" target="_blank">EPA's National Air Toxics Assessment</a>, which evaluates air contaminants and estimates health risks and found that residents near Denka's plant have a lifetime risk of cancer from air pollution 800 times above the national average. </p><p>Since that time the LDEQ and the state's health department have downplayed the health risks of chloroprene emissions. <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/07/18/epa-health-risks-chloroprene-denka-chemical-plant-st-john-the-baptist-parish-louisiana" target="_blank">Louisiana's state health officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry has stated</a> that the emissions do not present a health emergency and that the children at the Fifth Ward Elementary School are not in harm's way.</p><p>However, in July, the <a href="https://www.humanrightsnetwork.org/waiting-to-die" target="_blank">University Network for Human Rights </a>released a health survey with findings that suggest cancer and illness levels are unusually high for those living close to the plant.</p><p>Though Denka disputed the report's findings, the governor's administration promised to conduct a "comprehensive study" to determine if people living near the plant have elevated rates of cancer.</p>Overcoming Obstacles
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODEzNTA4NH0.65nBw-OoGZ48Easy6W1Gr-ONgq3kgpMqLhRvvEl6ZdY/img.jpg?width=980" id="1c916" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="35aeab2c04d9a933c16af4d7cd1fedef" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Members of the Concerned Citizens of St. John march with CADA from the Fifth Ward Elementary School to the Denka Performance Elastomer plant on Oct. 19. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>Lavigne and Taylor have expressed gratitude to CADA members who have joined their communities' fight as well as disappointment that more river parish residents have not joined them. They told me that many community members won't speak out in public because they or someone in their family works in the petrochemical industry.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ2Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzAzNDczMn0.QNxFNtuDfXAss9WDjOaeIeCHFQbNkvAj8OaP2Xhnu6A/img.jpg?width=980" id="90e4d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="26bd74f61a03406f30a6bb92f68cf404" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Members of the Concerned Citizens of St. John join CADA for a rally in front of Denka's plant on Oct. 19. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p>Taylor's ongoing activism caught up to him on the sixth day of the sustained CADA protest. During a rally in front of the Denka Plant, he was overcome by the heat and taken by ambulance to a hospital for heat exhaustion. While recovering, Taylor, who recently turned 79, told me that he plans to fight as long as it takes until his community's children are safe. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDYwOTY2N30.ypVh7R5SAOeOT6RHmWGHZc1pTZ3OTKhGzoabr-XrOv4/img.jpg?width=980" id="0c391" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2ee0864efcbbb5f52e96a40bab51f436" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Robert Taylor, who suffered from heat exhaustion during a protest on Oct. 26, is helped off CADA's bus after receiving medical attention. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA1ODQ2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTAyNDczOX0.QN4XhE3KB8U3lANjpCfnVXCOZIWp9FMEVyJ7-xtY41E/img.jpg?width=980" id="ae5fa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2756be7502ac999dd707a0f0af588eb2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Robert Taylor, who suffered from heat exhaustion during a protest on Oct. 26, is helped off CADA's bus after receiving medical attention. Julie Dermansky / DeSmog
<p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>It is bad enough that we have breathed in this poison for decades without knowing it was a carcinogen," he told me from the hospital where he spent a night recovering, "but knowing how bad the air is and letting the children go to school so close to the plant is unacceptable."</p><p>"I will fight to move the children out of harm's way no matter the cost to me, because they are worth it," he said. </p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77ee577742db984e4a7b35bb9723ce38"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ujpqQXTI-bo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p><em>Robert Taylor speaking at a CADA rally in front of Denka's plant. <em>Julie Dermansky / DeSmog</em></em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/11/01/environmental-justice-arrests-louisiana-cancer-alley-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Hurricane Expected to Hit Louisiana This Weekend, and New Orleans Is Already Flooding
11 July 2019
Climate
Heavy rain from a tropical storm system flooded South Telemachus Street in New Orleans Wednesday morning. SETH HERALD / AFP / Getty Images
The first Atlantic hurricane of the season is expected to hit Louisiana Saturday, and New Orleans is already flooding.
<p>The developing storm system dumped eight inches of rain on the city in around two hours Wednesday morning, National Weather Service New Orleans Meteorologist Phil Grigsby told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/10/weather/gulf-tropical-storm-outlook-wednesday-wxc-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>, inundating roads and homes.</p><p>Valerie R. Burton described waking up to the deluge.</p><p>"There was about three to four feet of water in the street, pouring onto the sidewalks and at my door," Burton told <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/10/new-orleans-already-flooded-hurricane-on-way/1699836001/" target="_blank">USA Today</a>. "So, I went to my neighbors to alert them and tell them to move their cars."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dude Literally On Canal Street Swimming 🏊🏾♂️ . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewOrleans?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewOrleans</a> <a href="https://t.co/SEvIUqyCTH">pic.twitter.com/SEvIUqyCTH</a></p>— 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗿𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 (@HollygroveShawn) <a href="https://twitter.com/HollygroveShawn/status/1148967538606432257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>But the fear is that things could get much worse over the weekend. The storm is expected to move slowly at 8 miles per hour, giving it more time to dump rain in some places. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said around 10 to 15 inches of rain could fall between Friday and Saturday, as CNN reported.<br></p><p>While New Orleans itself is not in the projected path of the hurricane, meteorologists are still concerned the city could be flooded if the Mississippi crests at 20 feet, as is now predicted. New Orleans is only protected up to 20 feet.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UPDATE: The NHC and Corps of Engineers now expect <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Barry?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Barry</a>'s rains and storm surge to flood the Mississippi River at New Orleans to a crest of 20 ft.<br><br>That's exactly the height of the river levees. It would be the river's highest level in New Orleans since the flood of 1927. <a href="https://t.co/iKn0CWKfmy">pic.twitter.com/iKn0CWKfmy</a></p>— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/1148972952395878402?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Dr. Jeff Masters of <a href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/New-Orleans-Achilles-Heel-Hurricane-Storm-Surge-During-Mississippi-River-Flood?cm_ven=cat6-widget" target="_blank">Weather Underground</a> explained how that might happen:</p><blockquote>Developing Potential Tropical Cyclone 2 (PTC 2) in the Gulf of Mexico is predicted to bring a storm surge of 3 - 6 feet to Southeast Louisiana, which New Orleans' improved levee system would ordinarily be able to handle with ease. However, these are not ordinary times. The Mississippi River is near flood stage, with the waters of the river lapping just four feet below the lowest point in the levee system protecting the city. If PTC 2 intensifies into Hurricane Barry as forecast, the storm surge from Barry has the potential to move up the Mississippi River and come close to overtopping the lowest points in New Orleans' levee system. If Barry grows stronger than forecast and takes a track closer to New Orleans than currently forecast, the potential for serious storm surge flooding of New Orleans exists.</blockquote><p>New Orleans resident Angela Catalano told CNN she already had two feet of water in her basement.</p><p>"I'm very concerned about the impending storm, with the Mississippi River near flood stage. I'm very worried about more flooding," she said.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/hurricane/article_f31f5436-a347-11e9-beaa-67f2b43123a7.html" target="_blank">Nola.com article</a> pinpointed levees along New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, as well as along St. Bernard Parish and Algiers, that were only between 18 and 19.99 feet, according to Army Corps of Engineers levee data. These levees would be overtopped by a 20 foot flood.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"A 20-foot river height could cause overtopping at those locations, something that has never happened in New Orleans' modern history." Those locations in this case are largely poor neighborhoods <a href="https://t.co/OFsUvVMq3L">https://t.co/OFsUvVMq3L</a> <a href="https://t.co/yVmw5LoALz">pic.twitter.com/yVmw5LoALz</a></p>— Brian L Kahn (@blkahn) <a href="https://twitter.com/blkahn/status/1149071275282915328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>However, corps spokesperson Ricky Boyett told Nola.com that the levees for the Lower 9th Ward were really between 20 and 21 feet.<br></p><p>"Our modeling does not show overtopping of the levees in the 9th," he said.</p><p>He said there was one levee segment in St. Bernard that might be at risk, and that officials would fight flooding there as needed.</p><p>Whether or not the river does overtop the levees, the risk was made more likely by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, meteorologist Eric Holthaus explained in <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/154449/new-orleans-barry-storm-one-two-weather-punch" target="_blank">The New Republic</a>.</p><p>Louisiana has only seen a July hurricane three times, and all of them were in the last 40 years, Holthaus said. Research suggests climate change might make this more likely as the Gulf of Mexico warms earlier; the Gulf waters are currently closer to August temperatures.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Gulf of Mexico has been running a temperature all season. Thermodynamically it looks more like early August than it does early July. Important not just for potential intensity but also moisture tap for heavy rainfall. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/92L?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#92L</a> <a href="https://t.co/AG71cbpBNK">pic.twitter.com/AG71cbpBNK</a></p>— Michael Lowry (@MichaelRLowry) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelRLowry/status/1148626956562378767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><br>Meanwhile, the Mississippi has been at flood stage in southern Louisiana since Jan. 6, the longest period on record. In general, spring floods are happening earlier as the atmosphere heats up.<br></p><p>"Even if Barry steers away from Louisiana, this won't be the last time the region has to deal with the dual threat of extreme late-season flooding and extreme early-season hurricanes," Holthaus wrote. "As the climate continues to warm, the atmosphere will continue to be able to hold more moisture, increasing the likelihood of intense rainfall in already-wet areas."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Louisiana?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Louisiana</a> Faces Faster Levels of Sea-Level Rise Than Any Other Land on Earth <a href="https://t.co/zCuAWpcH7U">https://t.co/zCuAWpcH7U</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NRDC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RobertKennedyJr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Waterkeeper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Waterkeeper</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/816731185917345792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Fossil Fuels and Climate Denial Still Reign in Louisiana Despite Scientists’ Dire Warnings
24 December 2018
Climate
A flare from the Shell Refinery in Norco, Louisiana shines along with Christmas lights on residents homes on Dec. 19, 2013. Julie Dermansky / Corbis via Getty Images
By Julie Dermansky
Louisiana is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change. Even though the state is already feeling the costly impacts to life and property due to extreme weather and an eroding coastline linked to a warming planet, its government continues to ignore the primary cause—human use of fossil fuels.
The impacts to the region, such as worsening floods, heat waves and sea level rise, will only be intensified as the globe continues warming, warn federal scientists in the latest National Climate Assessment report.
<p>But instead of heeding scientists' warnings, Louisiana's government continues to welcome the prospects of new billion-dollar <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_2d9ec46c-f401-11e8-a5ec-cb526d534750.html" target="_blank">petrochemical plants</a>, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/20/louisiana-calcasieu-driftwood-lng-export-tellurian-tax-break" target="_blank">liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities</a> and <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/business/article_35de301e-ab94-11e8-a639-0f1280be888b.html" target="_blank">an oil export hub</a>, all without a mention of their climate change impacts. </p><p>Leading the pack, Gov. John Bel Edwards continues to gush over turning Louisiana into a world leader in <a href="http://gov.louisiana.gov/news/gov-edwards-and-venture-global-executives-announce-85-billion-lng-complex" target="_blank">natural gas</a> and <a href="https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/led-news/news-releases/news/2018/08/29/plaquemines-port-pursues-crude-oil-export-terminal" target="_blank">oil</a> exports. </p><p>Louisiana politicians continue to <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/02/24/louisiana-senator-bill-cassidy-pushes-natural-gas-climate-solution-contentious-town-hall-meetings" target="_blank">claim natural gas is a "clean" source of energy</a>, and usher in not only LNG facilities, but also <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_2d9ec46c-f401-11e8-a5ec-cb526d534750.html" target="_blank">petrochemical plants fueled by natural gas production</a>. </p><p>In Plaquemines Parish, a peninsula south of New Orleans that, like all of southern Louisiana, is plagued by coastal erosion, the governor has hailed a <a href="https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/led-news/news-releases/news/2018/08/29/plaquemines-port-pursues-crude-oil-export-terminal" target="_blank">new crude oil export terminal</a> and a massive <a href="http://venturegloballng.com/plaquemines-project/#.XBssEy2ZMc0" target="_blank">LNG facility</a> that don't yet have permits. </p><h3>Embracing Fossil Fuels But Ignoring Climate Warnings</h3><p>I asked the governor's press secretary what he thought about the <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/" target="_blank">Fourth National Climate Assessment,</a> an exhaustive review of environmental data by a team of hundreds of scientists that puts Louisiana square in <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/" target="_blank">the eye of physical and financial hardship</a> due to climate change—and got no reply.<br></p><p>I also checked to see if the governor wanted to update his stance on climate change since his remarks during a <a href="http://www.louisianaradionetwork.com/?pid=9131679" target="_blank">2016 radio show</a> when he stated that he believes the climate is changing, but is less certain how much humans play a role in it. "The degree to which human conduct is impacting that change, I think, is somewhat debatable," he said in an <a href="http://www.louisianaradionetwork.com/?pid=9131679" target="_blank">episode of Louisiana Radio Network's Ask The Governor show.</a></p><p>"That's like saying, 'yes there is gravity, but I'm not sure what Earth's role is,'" climate scientist Michael Mann told me, commenting on those people who dismiss climate science with reasoning like Gov. Edwards'. </p><p>"The reality is that natural factors (volcanoes and fluctuations in solar output) were most likely a cooling influence over the past half century. So not only can natural factors not explain the warming—they were actually working in the opposite direction," Mann told me via email, adding: "Only the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from fossil fuel burning can explain the warming we have seen." </p><h3>Climate Denial on Both Sides of the Aisle in the Louisiana</h3><p>Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, isn't alone in ignoring the latest National Climate Assessment and its warnings for the Pelican State. There is nothing about the landmark climate report on the websites of Louisiana Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, Republican Representatives Garret Graves, Steve Scalise and Clay Higgins, or Democrat Rep. Cedric Richmond.</p><p>For any Louisiana politician to ignore the National Climate Assessment is a "crying damn shame," former General Russell Honoré, founder of the <a href="https://gogreenarmy.com/" target="_blank">GreenARMY</a>, a coalition of Louisiana environmental groups and concerned citizens fighting against pollution, said over the phone.</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>The promise that welcoming these plants will save the economy is a false promise," Honoré said. "The money doesn't trickle down to poor folks who live near polluting facilities—they stay poor and services for them don't improve."</p><p>"I'm not against jobs and growing the economy," Honoré added, but he said he is against embracing polluting facilities in the state while ignoring the harm they do to the people and environment. "If the oil and gas industry is so good for the state, why are the schools and infrastructure failing?" he asked. And he expressed frustration that as more polluting plants are permitted, there isn't an increase in regulators being hired to monitor the new facilities.<br></p><p>Furthermore, Honoré believes that politicians aren't doing their job if they are fawning over major new projects that bring in pollution before the permitting process has assessed them. By doing so, "they ignore the state's constitution, which compels them to protect the people and the environment," Honoré said.</p><p>He pointed me to <a href="http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Constitution/Article9.htm" target="_blank">Article IX in the Louisiana State Constitution</a>, which states:</p><blockquote>"The natural resources of the state, including air and water, and the healthful, scenic, historic, and esthetic quality of the environment shall be protected, conserved, and replenished insofar as possible and consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of the people. The legislature shall enact laws to implement this policy." </blockquote><p>Honoré is concerned about the slew of newly proposed foreign-owned petrochemical plants being built between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River, a petrochemical corridor known to locals as <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/louisiana-cancer-alley-communities-gulf-petrochemical-pollution" target="_blank">Cancer Alley</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/fracking-plastics" target="_blank">The petrochemical</a> industry is tied to natural gas production, which can lead to air and water <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">pollution</a>. "Saying natural gas is clean is stupid," Honoré said, pointing out that the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/methane">methane</a> which leaks from the natural gas supply chain is a huge driver of global warming.<br><br>In just St. James Parish, in the middle of Cancer Alley, new and proposed projects include <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/13/formosa-plastics-plant-st-james-parish-louisiana-environmental-racism" target="_blank">Formosa's $9.4 billion plastics complex</a>, the $1.3 billion <a href="https://www.southlouisianamethanol.com/" target="_blank">South Louisiana Methanol</a> plant, <a href="http://yci-us.com/2017/04/work-begins-on-1-85b-methanol-plant-in-st-james-parish/" target="_blank">Yuhuang Chemical's $1.85 billion methanol facility</a>; and a $1.25 billion chemical complex proposed by the <a href="https://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2017/04/chinas_wanhua_chemical_to_buil.html" target="_blank">Chinese firm Wanhua</a>. </p><h3>Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks</h3><p>The exceptional risks from rising temperatures in Louisiana are outlined in the Fourth National Climate Assessment's <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/" target="_blank">chapter on southeastern states</a>. </p><p>From the report:</p><blockquote>"Many southeastern cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change compared to cities in other regions, with expected impacts to infrastructure and human health. The vibrancy and viability of these metropolitan areas, including the people and critical regional resources located in them, are increasingly at risk due to heat, flooding, and vector-borne disease brought about by a changing climate. Many of these urban areas are rapidly growing and offer opportunities to adopt effective adaptation efforts to prevent future negative impacts of climate change."</blockquote><p>The 2016 flooding in South Louisiana was cited as an example of the destructive potential—and already present reality—of climate change. Scientists have connected extreme rain events to the planet's rising temperatures, and severe flooding is expected to happen more frequently as the globe continues to warm. The report lists the cost of the thousand-year flood that devastated the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/09/17/environmental-concerns-and-anger-grow-month-after-thousand-year-flood-strikes-louisiana" target="_blank">Baton Rouge area</a> in August 2016 <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/article_62d3d3aa-f4c1-11e8-b922-1b3817b06f0d.html" target="_blank">at a staggering $10.1 billion</a>.</p><p><span style="background-color: initial;">"</span>We have got to have a solution to pollution," Honoré said. "And we have to do it now." GreenARMY plans to continue addressing pollution and its many injustices in Louisiana, and is working on a slew of bills to introduce next year. Honoré thinks that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-denier">doubting climate science</a> is irresponsible, and hopes to get others in the state to face climate change head on while there is still a chance to lessen its worst impacts.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/21/fossil-fuels-climate-denial-reign-louisiana-scientists-dire-warnings" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><br></p>
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A dusky gopher frog. USFWS
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a unanimous setback Tuesday to efforts to protect an extremely endangered species of frog in Louisiana, The New York Times reported.
In Weyerhaeuser v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), landowners had sued to stop the federal government from designating private land in Louisiana as "critical habitat" for the dusky gopher frog, which currently only lives in the De Soto National Forest in Mississippi. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans had upheld the FWS decision to protect the land, but the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday to send the case back to the appeals court, asking the lower court to reconsider some key issues.
<p>"While we're disappointed, the ruling doesn't weaken the mandate to protect habitat for endangered <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_blank">wildlife</a>," <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) attorney Collette Adkins, who argued for the frogs before the Supreme Court, said in a <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/dusky-gopher-frog-11-27-2018.php" target="_blank">press release</a>. "The dusky gopher frog's habitat protections remain in place for now, and we're hopeful the 5th Circuit will recognize the importance of protecting and restoring habitats for endangered wildlife."<br></p><p>Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the opinion, asked the appeals court to address two points.</p><ol class="ee-ol"><li><strong>The Meaning of Habitat:</strong> The FWS designated the 1,544 acres in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana as "critical habitat" because they housed "ephemeral" ponds that dry up during part of the year, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-deals-a-setback-to-the-endangered-dusky-gopher-frog/2018/11/27/5c1d5880-f25d-11e8-aeea-b85fd44449f5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c1b1dd273f33" target="_blank">The Washington Post explained</a>. These ponds are essential for the frogs' survival because their disappearance means the fish who would eat the frogs' eggs in regular ponds can't settle in them. However, the land lacked another important frog support: an open forest canopy. Roberts therefore asked the appeals court to reconsider whether the land really counted as "habitat."</li><li><span></span><strong>Disproportionate Burden</strong>: Roberts also said the lower court could consider whether designating the land as "critical habitat" placed a "disproportionate burden" on the landowners, according to The New York Times. The land is mostly owned by the Poitevent family, but the timber company Weyerhaeuser also owns a parcel and has a lease to harvest pine trees on the rest. Estimates for how much protecting the land could cost its owners range from nothing to $33 million, The Washington Post reported.</li></ol><p>"While we're frustrated that this case has been sent back to the court of appeals, we're still hopeful and we'll keep fighting for the frog," <a href="https://healthygulf.org/" target="_blank">Gulf Restoration Network</a> Executive Director Cynthia Sarthou, whose organization was also involved with the frogs' legal defense, said in the CBD press release. "I hope the owners of the St. Tammany lands will come to realize the value of recovering these little animals and their wetland home, and work with the Service to get the frogs back to the small part of those lands that's needed to support them."</p><p>The dusky gopher frog hasn't been seen in Louisiana since the 1960s. It was believed extinct until a colony of 100 were discovered in Mississippi, leading it to be listed as endangered in 2001.</p><p>The ruling opened with Roberts' description of the frog:</p><blockquote>"The amphibian Rana sevosa is popularly known as the "dusky gopher frog"—"dusky" because of its dark coloring and "gopher" because it lives underground. The dusky gopher frog is about three inches long, with a large head, plump body, and short legs. Warts dot its back, and dark spots cover its entire body. It is noted for covering its eyes with its front legs when it feels threatened, peeking out periodically until danger passes. Less endearingly, it also secretes a bitter, milky substance to deter would-be diners."</blockquote>The decision to send the case back to the appeals court was likely the reason all eight deciding justices were behind it, <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/27/endangered-frog-finds-no-friends-supreme-court/2124206002/" target="_blank">USA Today reported</a>. During arguments in October, the four liberal justices had appeared to support protections for the frog. Those waiting to see how newly-appointed Justice <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/kavanaugh-supreme-court-environment-epa-2585783500.html" target="_self">Brett Kavanaugh</a> will rule on environmental cases will have to wait a little longer. He did not weigh in on the ruling since he was not yet confirmed when arguments were heard.<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="23872" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="Y8MIEH1576663070"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="946039274872467456" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Analysis: Congress Attacked Endangered Species Every 6 Days in 2017 https://t.co/HhxUw8Jf9M #wildlife @NWF @WWF… https://t.co/fgVTXH6QPK</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/946039274872467456">1514388314.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Gulf Coast oysters on the half shell at Wintzell's in Mobile, AL. donireewalker / CC BY 2.0
By Daniel R. Petrolia and William C. Walton
For Cainnon Gregg, 2018 started out as a great year. After leaving his job as an installation artist to become a full-time oyster farmer in Wakulla County, Florida in 2017, Gregg began raising small oysters in baskets or bags suspended in the shallow, productive coastal waters of Apalachicola Bay.
Raising oysters "off-bottom" this way takes a lot of time and money, but has a big potential payoff. They are destined for the high-end raw bar market, where offerings are denoted by specific appellations, like "Salty Birds" (Cainnon's oysters), "Navy Coves" (from Alabama) and "Murder Points" (also from Alabama), and can retail for twice the price of oysters harvested from traditional on-bottom reefs.
<p>
When Hurricane Michael made landfall at Mexico Beach, Florida, on Oct. 10, it dealt a devastating blow to this nascent industry. Preliminary reports indicate significant damage and heavy crop losses. Raising oysters by any method is not an easy job, but if off-bottom farming can become established along the Gulf Coast, it could give the industry a much-needed boost, give consumers more choices, and provide a new stream of environmental benefits.
</p><div id="88191" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0KFXXZ1576662078"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BdXjq1PDEvP/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">PelicanOysterCo on Instagram: “This time last year I only dreamt of what my own farm would be like and now I’m a few weeks away from my first harvest. This has been a…”</a></p>
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The U.S. produces multiple species of oysters, but historically the eastern oyster (<em>Crassostrea virginica</em>) has accounted for over 70 percent of total harvests. The Gulf Coast generally accounts for 80 percent of those, with production generating <a href="https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/16121" target="_blank">$1 billion in annual revenues</a>.
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Louisiana is the national leader in oyster production, with a handful of other states vying for second place, including Washington, South Carolina and Texas. However, when states are ranked by value per unit—that is, total value over total landings—states like Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia dominate.
</p><p>
This is partly due to regional differences in how oysters are grown and marketed. Traditional harvesting of oyster reefs on the sea bottom still dominates in the Gulf region. These oysters are generally sold as a commodity, appearing on menus as simply "oysters" or "Gulf Coast oysters."
</p><p>
Elsewhere, most oysters come from off-bottom farming and tend to be marketed under the names of specific reefs, growers or appellations. Off-bottom oyster farming has been a <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/aquaculture/us-aquaculture" target="_blank">major driver in the growth of marine aquaculture production nationally</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODgwMzIxNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTIzMjk4OX0.lNw_0CwYdfLhYlGBnOZFkq4Row8LE3WIHX9eCbjhAIU/img.jpg?width=980" id="cb0eb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f00d4b755880d37aead522c40664e461" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Oysters are grown in cages at Island Creek Oyster Farm in Duxbury, MA.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://flic.kr/p/bDGAqU" target="_blank">MA Office of Travel and Tourism / Hanks</a>, CC BY-ND</small>
</p><p>
The Gulf's first commercial off-bottom farms started up in Alabama and Louisiana in 2010. Today more than 50 farms are operating in Florida, Alabama and Louisiana, with permits pending for others in Mississippi. Harvest data are limited, but in Alabama alone, eleven farms collectively reported <a href="http://masgc.org/assets/uploads/publications/1312/alabama_shellfish_aquaculture_situation_and_outlook_report_2016.pdf" target="_blank">nearly $2 million in sales in 2016</a>. In recent years Alabama has ranked among the top five states in per-unit value.<br>
</p><p><strong>Reasons to Diversify</strong></p><p>
Raising off-bottom oysters is good for more than oystermen's bottom lines. Oysters improve water clarity by filtering out phytoplankton, thereby removing nitrogen from the water column. They also provide forage grounds and habitat for fish and act as breakwaters, protecting nearby shorelines.
</p><p>
Off-bottom farms deliver the same types of benefits as traditional on-bottom reefs, although in slightly different ways and at different times, depending on local conditions and farming methods. In our view, raising oysters in multiple ways is beneficial because it avoids putting all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak, and makes the industry more resilient.
</p><p>
We come at this topic from different perspectives. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yPXqOj8AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Daniel Petrolia</a> focuses on the economics of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/le.92.2.292" target="_blank">coastal resources</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/le.91.2.272" target="_blank">natural hazards</a>. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DzRuv-cAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">William Walton</a> directs Auburn University's <a href="https://mifralabgroup.wixsite.com/home" target="_blank">Marine Invertebrate Fisheries, Restoration and Aquaculture Lab</a>. We have worked together since 2011 to better understand <a href="https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/projects/oyster-planning-tool" target="_blank">oyster habitats</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/aae.2016.30" target="_blank">evaluate market opportunities</a> and identify and tackle challenges for the new industry. Disaster preparation and recovery clearly are top priorities.
</p><p>
We see off-bottom oyster farming as especially interesting economically, given its novelty on the Gulf Coast, the new market opportunities it affords growers and the diversity it brings to the Gulf Coast's oyster habitat "portfolio." It also offers new choices for people who like to eat Gulf Coast oysters.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a202f81c7e0e0f9ec6f37ab71d69cf76"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9iPXluPr7V0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Panacea Oyster Co-op overview</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/9iPXluPr7V0" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>
<strong>Natural and Man-Made Disasters<br>
</strong>
</p><p>
<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hurricanes">Hurricanes</a> and storms pose serious threats to the Gulf oyster industry. They can harm reefs by burying them in sediments or drastically altering water salinity.
</p><p>
Storm impacts tend to be highly localized. Prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippi was the fourth-largest oyster-producing state in the nation. Katrina <a href="https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/commercial-fisheries/commercial-landings/annual-landings/index" target="_blank">slashed the state's output by 80 percent that year</a>, and fishermen were unable to harvest oysters at all in 2006. Production recovered somewhat over the next several years, but Mississippi harvests have remained around one-tenth of pre-Katrina levels.
</p><p>
Louisiana, whose oyster reefs lie just west of where Katrina made landfall, saw just a 6 percent drop in production following Katrina. The impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster were shorter-lived, but Louisiana's 2010 harvest was cut in half due to precautionary closures during and after the spill. Oysters were also killed by releases of fresh water from the Mississippi River, which were conducted in an effort to keep oil out of coastal estuaries.
</p><p>
Storms are not the only threat. Florida and Georgia have been fighting for decades over <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/Supreme-Court-finally-rules-on-Florida-s-30-year-water-war-with-Georgia-And-it-s-not-over-_169506140" target="_blank">allocating water from the Apalachicola River</a>; when Georgia draws a high level of water, it reduces freshwater flow to Apalachicola Bay, which can lead to increases in oyster mortality from predation and disease. And harmful algal blooms, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-causing-floridas-algae-crisis-5-questions-answered-101305" target="_blank">Florida's massive 2018 red tide outbreak</a>, can close waters to harvesting.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="09607" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ATC94D1576662078"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1012001134343573505" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@SCOTUS ruled on the #Georgia #Florida #WaterWars. Who won? Well, no one really. The case was remanded to the inves… https://t.co/RWwTRZSyuZ</div> — Grant Blankenship (@Grant Blankenship)<a href="https://twitter.com/Grant_Blank_/statuses/1012001134343573505">1530114847.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Beyond direct impacts on oyster farms, Hurricane Michael damaged state laboratories that conduct water quality testing required to re-open waters to harvesting. Testing delays could lead to prolonged closures and even affect areas not hit by the storm. Michael also disrupted red tide sampling in several Panhandle counties. In Gulf and Escambia counties, red tide concentrations actually <a href="http://myfwc.com/RedTideStatus" target="_blank">increased in late October</a>.<br>
</p><p>
Farmers will be looking for more oyster seed—the small oysters that they need to restock their bags and baskets. This could drive up demand and strain the industry's capacity. Unlike crop farmers on land, oyster farmers cannot buy subsidized insurance to help them with losses of oysters and gear, so those who suffered heavy damage will be challenged to rebuild their operations.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODgwMzIyMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTU3Mzc2M30.lsTb0EufXwm7xJ3gI53vM5vOWzlsnhiRC9CmXFteqsc/img.jpg?width=980" id="27a6a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="545343f7b7874d7afcc33a71ef298455" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Hurricane Michael failed to break up the red tide outbreak along Florida's west coast. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="http://myfwc.com/RedTideStatus" target="_blank">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a></small>
</p><p>
<strong>Not an Easy Business<br>
</strong></p><p>
As we write, oyster farmers in the Panhandle are still inspecting their farms for damage and seeing how their oysters fared. Some estimate that they may have lost <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hurricane-michael-may-have-dealt-deadly-blow-florida-s-nascent-n922356" target="_blank">60 to 90 percent of their crops</a>.
</p><p>
Oystermen have strategies for dealing with hurricanes, such as sinking baskets loaded with oysters to the bottom before the storm arrives. But they can only reduce risk, not eliminate it. The threat of <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/techrpt86_PaP_of_HTFlooding.pdf" target="_blank">rising sea levels</a> and <a href="https://opensky.ucar.edu/islandora/object/technotes:552" target="_blank">more intense storms</a> will force them to continue adapting and improving their strategies.
</p><p>
Earlier this year, Cainnon Gregg started selling "Salty Birds" to some of the finest oyster bars in the South. Two days after Hurricane Michael passed through, he was back on the water checking lines and making repairs. "There's nothing easy about any of this, and all you can do is get back out here and get back to work," he said. He could have been speaking for all Gulf oystermen.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2661b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="MNTTRJ1576662079"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="816731185917345792" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Louisiana Faces Faster Levels of Sea-Level Rise Than Any Other Land on Earth https://t.co/zCuAWpcH7U @NRDC @RobertKennedyJr @Waterkeeper</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/816731185917345792">1483558863.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://theconversation.com/hurricanes-and-water-wars-threaten-the-gulf-coasts-new-high-end-oyster-industry-105479" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em><br></p><script async="async" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105479/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
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