NEWS

Existential. It is the word of the hour and, like all trendy words, soon to be overused. But at this juncture somewhere between multiple threats to our well-being, let’s allow its use. For as long as I can recall, warning signs have been popping up, as sort of Earth’s “breaking news” — slow down and stop...

One of the most visible groups in the fight to restore and protect Louisiana’s vanishing coastal wetlands said today that it is ceasing operations. The America’s Wetland Foundation worked nearly two decades on policy issues and projects addressing the issue. “The task was to mobilize Louisiana citizens and elevate this issue to a top priority,...

ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES, La. — It’s all but assumed this island will one day disappear beneath the waves. Perhaps the water will only cover the road, leaving Isle de Jean Charles a Venetian ghost town in Cajun country. Maybe the water will rise higher, or the island will sink lower, and only rooftops will...

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration plans an expansion of coastal restoration and flood protection efforts that for the first time will target greenhouse gas emissions by Louisiana industry as a way to reduce future sea level rise. “Louisiana will do its part to address climate change,” Edwards said Thursday. “Science...

Dealing with an encroaching Gulf of Mexico requires a lot of different approaches, and a new one from a wetlands-advocacy group has some potential. America’s Wetland’s effort, outlined in a story on today’s front page, seeks to address the inevitable decline in property values that will occur after FEMA releases new flood-risk maps. It is...

A wetlands-advocacy group is working on a program that seeks to limit a decline in local property values that could result after new flood insurance maps are released. Terrebonne and Lafourche’s maps have been delayed for nearly a decade after the parishes appealed drafts that showed sinking land, rising seas and coastal erosion have increased...

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shared a stunning photo of south Louisiana from space Tuesday. The photo was taken from the International Space Station where Meir is currently working on her first spaceflight. “The #Mississippi River delta looking like somebody spilled their watercolors,” Meir wrote on Twitter, describing how the muddy waters from the Mississippi and...

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana will get $130 million in BP oil spill money to link its second-largest coastal swamp back up to the Mississippi River, and Alabama will receive funds to add up to 12,000 acres (4,800 hectares) to a wildlife management area. The RESTORE Council, made up of officials from the five Gulf states...

Juliette Brunet and her family live on an island that is shrinking as Louisiana’s sea levels rise. A black swoosh of mascara and a curve of eyeliner. Juliette Brunet (Choctaw) pouts at herself in the mirror; her amber hair is dyed black as midnight. More contouring and a few fluffs of powder, then she twirls,...

Ocean currents are the undersea conveyor belts that help regulate Earth’s climate and influence weather systems around the world. Ocean currents — undersea conveyor belts that help regulate Earth’s climate and influence weather systems around the world — have been speeding up over the past two decades as the planet warms, according to new research....

The president’s decision to roll back protections is deeply misguided. The Environmental Protection Agency made a startling admission last month when it announced that many of the nation’s streams and wetlands would no longer be protected under the Clean Water Act, perhaps the nation’s most successful antipollution law. The agency said it could not predict...

How will Florida be impacted by climate change—not in 100 years, but in 20? The questions are addressed in the Florida Climate Outlook: a comprehensive, visual report on the near-term physical and economic impacts of climate change and climate policy in Florida.

QUEEN BESS ISLAND, La. — A Louisiana island that provides a crucial nesting ground for pelicans and other seabirds is being restored to nearly its former size after decades of coastal erosion and a devastating offshore oil spill 10 years ago. About 6,500 brown pelicans and 3,000 smaller seabirds cram their nests every summer onto...

As sea levels rise, people living in coastal regions will see floods. Most of this will take place in Asia. In the Philippines, climate change is no longer an abstract concept for those living near the coast.

Far too often, critical issues become siloed into conversations about winners and losers. Dividing everything important into political divisions is a sure way to resolve nothing. Sea level rise needs to escape the clutches of anyone who will use it for any purpose other than uniting us and coming together to rise to meet the...