Mark Schleifstein / NOLA.com 6 August 2020 Federal climate scientists have upped their forecast for the 2020 hurricane season to “extremely active,” and predict there will be as many as 25 named storms by the end of November. It’s only the third time that forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have tagged [...]
Nina Pullano / Inverse.com 6 August 2020 Annual summer hypoxia points to global trends. GIVEN A CLIMATE'S CURRENT (AND ACCELERATING) STATE, it has become unremarkable to see environmental reports peppered with superlatives: the hottest decade in the books, a record-setting ice melt. What we don't see as frequently are temperate reports like the one National Oceanic and Atmospheric [...]
Mark Schleifstein / NOLA.com 4 August 2020 The 2020 summer low-oxygen "dead zone" along the Louisiana Gulf coastline covered only 2,117 square miles, an area just a bit larger than the state of Rhode Island and the third-smallest dead zone since mapping began in 1985, according to researchers with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium [...]
Paul Greenberg, David Brandt and Lance Nacio / Successful Farming 4 August 2020 If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, goes the saying. Pre-2020, many people who produce this nation’s food might have argued that American agriculture and seafood was anything but broke. On land, the efficient American farmer grows more calories per person [...]
NOAA News 4 August 2020 NOAA-supported scientists have determined this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone”— an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is approximately 2,116 square miles, or equivalent to 1.4 million acres of habitat potentially unavailable to fish and bottom species. The measured size of [...]
Mark Schleifstein / NOLA.com 29 July 2020 A number of major Louisiana water infrastructure projects, representing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent on studies and construction projects, were included in legislation approved by the U.S House of Representatives on Wednesday. U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, inserted the Louisiana projects – ranging from speeding [...]
Mark Schleifstein / NOLA.com 20 June 2020 A vast cloud of Saharan dust now crossing the Atlantic Ocean will arrive in south Louisiana by Wednesday, bringing with it the potential to dampen hurricane threats, create spectacular sunsets and exacerbate respiratory problems for people with health conditions, including children. The dust, which consists of tiny [...]
Mark Schleifstein / NOLA.com 7 June 2020 The summertime low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to cover at least 6,700 square miles along the Louisiana and eastern Texas coasts at the end of July, according to a federal forecast based on estimates developed by five research teams studying the effects [...]
Rocky Kistner / HUFF POST ENVIRONMENT 5 June 2020 Freshwater diversion projects that have divided environmental advocates are intended to save the coast but may imperil dolphins. Barataria Bay is a marshy jewel in the heart of the vast Louisiana bayou. Its unparalleled natural ecosystem was once a hideout for smugglers and malcontents like [...]
Rocky Kistner / HuffPost 5 June 2020 Barataria Bay is a marshy jewel in the heart of the vast Louisiana bayou. Its unparalleled natural ecosystem was once a hideout for smugglers and malcontents like Jean Lafitte, who ruled the labyrinth of marshlands and estuaries. By the early 20th century, oil and gas had taken [...]