In 1996 Shintech proposed to build a PVC plant in Convent, LA, but after a barrage of criticism from environmental groups and the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, Shintech withdrew its application for the plant. U-Michigan Article on Convent The Convent/Shintech…
Please post comments about the experience of using the blog as a seminar device. Be specific and detailed, and add as many comments as you want. This is for me, and for other profs interested in using blogs for seminars.…
Dark tourism is tourism involving travel to sites associated with death and suffering. Thanatourism, derived from the Ancient Greek word thanatos for the personification of death, is associated with dark tourism but refers more specifically to violent death. Dark tourism and the dark…
This came out yesterday, Shell is giving 1.5m to restore Independence Island in the Barataria Bay. At the end, there’s a note saying the money will be matched by the state to do the work. It’s supposed to replace habitat…
Interesting website of people and groups monitoring projects by USACE: http://www.corpsreform.org/ The Corps Reform Network, a coalition of hundreds of organizations from around the country, supports member groups advocating to ensure that Army Corps of Engineers projects are economically and…
While doing some research on disaster declarations and the federalization/politicization of disasters I read a report from the Congressional Research Service that I found quite disturbing. The report is available here: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R41101_20100309.pdf Page 14 of this report includes the following…
This is Bob Marshall’s column from today’s TP. Sounds like he understands the problems we face and puts a lot of the blame on the oil industry- and the politicians who let it do whatever it wants and forgives them…
The Corps just awarded 27 million dollars for more levee protection and restoration on two levees that failed during hurricane Katrina. What a waste.
State officials expect to hire a contractor this week to help coastal parishes refine restoration project plans so they’ll be ready for money that could come from Clean Water Act fines levied against BP because of the massive oil leak.
How timely! Just last week there was an article in Newsweek about our fair city, which I’ve had to reproduce manually since it’s not available online: A Historic Wreck in Louisiana? Byline: Jeff Benedict; Benedict is the author of Little…
Last year, 400,000 animals were killed, discarded and left to rot in Louisiana and Oregon. But Ms McCree, an environmentalist and fashion designer based in New Orleans, founded her company Righteous Fur to use the carcases. “If they’re being killed anyway,” she said, “then why not make something beautiful out of them?”
Well, if anyone fears that the U.S. is not doing anything about global warming, be scared no longer. Recent reports (here, too) released by Wikileaks seem to show that the U.S. used some hard-handed (if still typical) methods to raise…
We have discussed in our class several times this semester that eventually the residents of New Orleans are going to have to start footing the bill more via higher taxes. Perhaps this is just the beginning. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/12/new_orleans_city_council_scale.html
I think we can all safely say that we never expect any of the supposed “deadlines” for coast protection to be accurately portrayed but it never ceases to somewhat amaze me that the media claims that this is surprising set…
My main focus for this course has been to focus implications steadily disappearing coastline will have on Louisiana’s economy on a national and global scale to determine if it is appropriate to put more money into areas. One of Louisiana’s…
Since 1991, the state has collected more than 1.5 million Christmas trees from street curbs and drop-off sites and built fences meant to trap sediment, stop erosion and even build land. But the program has done little to stop erosion, and the state, facing huge budget deficits, felt it could be cut
from Der Spiegel
According to the City of Detroit’s website, Mayor Bing is committed to demolishing 3,000 abandoned and blighted properties in the city in the name of crime prevention and another 7, 000 by the end of 2013. A recent Economist article…
My brother sent me an email today containing information about 7 towns in the US where they’re giving away land to attract more residents. The article’s own reference to homesteading reminded me of discussion I’ve heard of Urban Homesteading as…
I know we are all busy preparing for finals, however, I took a break and read this article: http://politics.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2010/11/29/the-danger-of-a-global-double-dip-recession-is-real.html?PageNr=3 Zuckerman describes how our Global Influence will dwindle as well as our quality of life if we continue to refuse to…
Citizens had its fourth round of policy shedding, called depopulation. They had 13,000 policies taken on by private insurers. This is part of the copanyiey’s statutory mandate and serves the purpose of Citizens: to serve as a last resort for…
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20101129/D9JQ1NS80.html Spared for a 5th Straight year!
Higher Ground: A Report on Voluntary Buyouts in the Nation’s Floodplains For much of this century, the Nation has pursued a mostly singular course of attempting to control floods with structures — dams, levees, river channelizations, drainage works and manipulation…