New Plan Looks at Industry’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Louisiana

In The News

Gov. Edwards’ Plan to Combat Sea Level Rise in Louisiana? It Starts with Greenhouse Gas Emissions. 

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced new plans that will target greenhouse gas emissions by the state’s industry as a way to reduce future sea level rise. This expansion of the administration’s coastal restoration and flood protection efforts is groundbreaking in a state closely tied to the energy and petrochemical sectors.

“Louisiana will not just accept or adapt to climate change impacts… Louisiana will do its part to address climate change,” said Edwards. “Another truth we can’t ignore is that our state economy, and the nation at large, depends on Louisiana’s strong industrial sector,” he said.

The announcement did not offer details on targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but instead a new Climate Initiative Task Force is being established to help determine next steps. The governor also appointed Charles Sutcliffe as Chief Resilience Officer, in order to integrate efforts related to the state’s Coastal Master Plan into other agencies’ work.

Read the full story here.

More Water & Climate Headlines

• How Louisiana politicians undermine efforts to fight the petrochemical industry
• Lawsuit says DEQ improperly OK’d Formosa air permit; company says plant properly reviewed
• 5 of the top 10 ‘super polluter’ chemical plants are in Louisiana
• Watch TED Talk from Louisiana’s Colette Pichon Battle: Climate Change will Displace Millions, Here’s How We Prepare
• Data shows major cities are flooding more than previously thought
• Second Year of Major Spring Floods Forecast for U.S. Heartland
• Officials ban construction near levees, say they will not open Bonnet Carre as Mississippi River rises
• New Orleans unveils $445K porous paving project, part of plans to reduce subsidence
• S&WB releases plan to inspect New Orleans drainage system: Here’s how it will work
• Climate change and soaring flood insurance premiums could trigger another mortgage crisis
• Louisiana high school students study coastal restoration amid climate change

Funding & Finance

• Feds approve $1.2 billion in flood prevention funds for Louisiana
• Apply by March 1: The One World Festival of Arts & Imagination seeks to inspire creativity, imagination and actions that catalyze the profound culture shift needed to achieve environmental justice & equity. Selected artists will have their work featured in locations around the downtown Montpelier festival site, with all expenses paid for the transportation and installation of their work, lodging and meals for up to five days to install their work, and a stipend of $1,500-$2,500.
• Apply by March 4: The Gulf Research Program’s Science Policy Fellowship program helps scientists hone their skills by putting them to practice for the benefit of Gulf Coast communities and ecosystems. Fellows gain first-hand experience as they spend one year on the staff of federal, state, local, or non-governmental environmental, natural resource, oil and gas, and public health agencies in the Gulf of Mexico region. An award of $55,000 to $60,000 will be paid directly to the fellow in monthly disbursements.
• Apply by March 15: The Puerto Rico Youth Fellowships will support activists, aged 18–27, who want to implement a project of their own design to advance human rights in Puerto Rico. The duration of the fellowship is 18 continuous months starting in August 2020 (approx. August 2020–February 2022). Recipients of the fellowship will receive $45,000, structured to cover project related costs as well as a living stipend.
• Apply by April 13: Rising: Climate in Crisis Residencies at A Studio in the Woods invite artists to examine the severity of the climate crisis and be agents of change to guide our collective understanding, response, and vision as we shape our shared future. Recipients will be provided $2500 as a stipend and $2000 towards materials. Artists will also have the opportunity to work with an external evaluator/ally.

Land, Water, and Climate Events

• LSU Center for River Studies Joins First Free Sunday Program | Beginning Sunday, March 1, and continuing on the first Sunday of each month, the LSU Center for River Studies will open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. First Free Sunday visitors are invited to explore the award-winning coastal-themed exhibit space and river model. Visitors will have the opportunity to attend a unique educational presentation using world-class projector equipment. Shows will begin every half-hour during the open house. | Starting March 1, first Sunday of each month | LSU Center for River Studies | Free admission | More info 
• Artist Salon with Jeffrey Darensbourg | A Studio in the Woods hosts a potluck and artist salon with Adaptations Resident Jeffery Darensbourg. Darensbourg is interested in exploring the knowledge of flora, fauna, and people his Atakapa-Ishak ancestors carried with them and wishes to connect this sort of Louisiana-specific knowledge to the knowledge urban Natives such as himself have in negotiating Indigeneity, within the contemporary milieu of city life in our current social and economic climate. | March 5, 2020, 6:30pm | A Studio in the Woods | More info 
• Lamentations: Art Exhibit | Over the past seven years, Tina Freeman has photographed the wetlands of Louisiana and the glacial landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctica. In Lamentations, Freeman pairs images from these disparate regions in a series of diptychs that function as stories about climate change, ecological balance, and connectedness | Now through March 15 | New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), City Park | Free admission for: Anyone 19 years of age and younger, Louisiana residents on Wednesdays, or New Orleans Library Card Holders any day through their Culture Pass Program | More Info
• Ocean & Coastal Acidification Webinar |  Registration is now open for EPA’s Watershed Academy webinar on State Legislation on Ocean & Coastal Acidification. This is the second webinar in a five part webinar series with a focus on coastal resilience. | March 19, 1:00 – 3:00PM | Free | Register 
• Filling the Gaps: Climate and Weather Information for Small to Medium sized Water Utilities | National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is teaming up with the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) at Louisiana State University (LSU) to host a 1-day regional meeting to access and understand the information needs of small- to medium-scale water utilities, improve on existing tools, and build additional resources to meet water sector needs at different scales. | March 23, 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM | 1370 Port of New Orleans Pl, New Orleans | Free | Register
• Black Compositional Thought Art Exhibit | The New Orleans Museum of Art presents Torkwase Dyson: Black Compositional Thought (15 Paintings for the Plantationocene). These compositions examine the legacy of plantation economies and their relationship to the environmental and infrastructural issues of the current age, often characterized as the plantationocene. | Now through April 19 |  New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), City Park | Free admission for: Anyone 19 years of age and younger, Louisiana residents on Wednesdays, or New Orleans Library Card Holders any day through their Culture Pass Program | More info 
• Kids in the Woods Camp | A Studio in the Woods’ summer day camp interweaves arts with weeklong intensives in environmental sciences. Campers will learn about their relationship to the natural environment. Through hands-on arts activities children use both artistic and scientific skills to observe, identify and collect natural materials and processes. | June 8 – 19, 2020 (two weeks), 8:30am – 3:30pm | A Studio in the Woods | Youth 7-11 years old, $600 per child | More info