The delta has been changing since long before dams and levees. Thomas Hutchins (1730-1789) writes in 1784 at page 25: Below New Orleans the land begins to be very low on both sides of the river across the country, and gradually…
Author: richards
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West Bay Diversion and Shoaling
Westbay Diversion Final Report: Sharp, J.A., Little, C.D., Brown, G.L., Pratt, T.C., Heath, R.E., Hubbard, L.C., Pinkard, F., Martin, S.K., Clifton, N.D., Perkey, D.W. and Ganesh, N.B., 2013. West Bay sediment diversion effects. One of the more well known projects…
Coastal Protection and Restoration in Jean Lafitte
Coastal Protection and Restoration in Jean Lafitte Presentation by Mayor Timothy P. Kerner, Town of Jean Lafitte, arguing for dredging to build wetlands to protect the town, which is outside the levee system.
Sea Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes (SLOSH)
http://slosh.nws.noaa.gov/sloshPub/index.php?L=7#sloshDsp Publications Definitive publication on SLOSH: Jelesnianski, C. P., J. Chen, and W. A. Shaffer, 1992: SLOSH: Sea, lake, and overland surges from hurricanes. NOAA Technical Report NWS 48, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce, 71…
Environmental Research Web – Geoengineering
http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/subject/tag=geoengineering
Focus on Climate Engineering: Intentional Intervention in the Climate System
http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/4/4/045101;jsessionid=625A3B85BB9B43FA186F913679972043.c3 INTRODUCTION Part of Focus on Climate Engineering: Intentional Intervention in the Climate System Geoengineering techniques for countering climate change have been receiving much press recently as a `Plan B’ if a global deal to tackle climate change is not agreed…
Allowing wetlands to migrate inland as sea level rises – state land use issues
Titus J, Hudgens D, Trescott D, Craghan M, Nuckols W, Hershner C, et al. State and local governments plan for development of most land vulnerable to rising sea level along the US Atlantic coast. Environmental Research Letters. 2009;4(4):044008. with supplement…
Breaking The Golden Rule: Judicial Review of Federal Water Project Planning
Oliver A. Houck, Breaking The Golden Rule: Judicial Review of Federal Water Project Planning, 65 Rutgers Law Review 1-57 (2012) From the Abstract The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is one of the oldest institutions of the federal government, and…
Witless Policy and the Barrier Islands
William J. Siffin, BUREAUCRACY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND NATURAL RESOURCES: Witless Policy and the Barrier Islands, 1 Cato Journal 291 (1981} A good, early review of the unintended consequences of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Public Relations for Diversions 101
Answering 10 Fundamental Questions about the Mississippi River Delta (original link) This is one of many reports advocating for river diversions. The basic claim is simple: Diversions will have impacts on vegetation, particularly on the distribution of some plant species. However,…
West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction Study
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/WestShoreLakePontchartrain.aspx This is levee system will protect I-10 as it enters New Orleans from the west. Appendix A has useful information from Fish and Wildlife about endangered species in Louisiana and how the proposed levee will adversely impact them. West…
An Introduction to the Environmental Literature of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain Region
An Introduction to the Environmental Literature of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain Region This report is a review of selected environmental literature of the Mississippi Deltaic Plain Region . This review introduces some of the major ecosystem components and processes, describes…
Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States
Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States – reduced size PDF (23 megs) Draft EPA Rule on the Waters of the United States – original PDF (129 megs) Supporting document on the connectivity of the waters of the United…
Managed Coastal Retreat: A Handbook of Tools, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned
ManagedCoastalRetreat_FINAL_Oct 30 Original Link EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Climate change will change the way we live. No longer will the environment be a static condition, a certainty upon which other variables depend. Rather, it will be a variable itself, and it will…
Geoengineering the climate – Science governance and uncertainty
Geoengineering the climate – Science, governance and uncertainty Shepherd, JG. Geoengineering the climate: science, governance and uncertainty. Royal Society, 2009. The continuing rise in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is driving…
Standard Flood Insurance Policy Forms
http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program/standard-flood-insurance-policy-forms Standard Flood Insurance Policy Forms Main Content Dwelling Policy Form General Property Policy Form Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) Form The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) offers three Standard Flood Insurance Policy forms. These forms provide policyholders with…
EPA – Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters
Draft Report – 12 Meg Draft Report – 6 meg This report reviews and synthesizes the peer-reviewed scientific literature on the connectivity or isolation of streams and wetlands relative to large water bodies such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, and oceans.…
An Introduction to the risks of cheap natural gas and hydraulic fracking
Presentation at the LSU Law School, 8 Oct 2013. A Short Introduction to the Risks of Cheap Natural Gas and Fracking
FLOOD INSURANCE: More Information Needed on Subsidized Properties
Report What GAO Found The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act) immediately eliminated subsidies for about 438,000 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies, but subsidies on an estimated 715,000 policies across the nation remain. Depending on factors…
FLOOD INSURANCE: Implications of Changing Coverage Limits and Expanding Coverage
Report What GAO Found The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) currently has more than 5.5 million policyholders insured for about $1.3 trillion who pay about $3.5 billion in annual premiums, but less than half purchase maximum coverage–a possible indicator of…
Sources on Climate Refugees and International Law
UN Refugee Agency Addressing the Legal Gaps in Climate Change Migration, Displacement and Resettlement: From Sinking Islands to Flooded Deltas The Normative Framework of Climate Change-Related Displacement Disasters and displacement in a changing climate Asylum & the Rights of Refugees…
Disaster Refugees – 2012
32.4 million people uprooted in both rich and poor countries A new report from NRCs Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). reveals that 32.4 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2012 by disasters such as floods, storms and earthquakes. Download:…
Overwhelming Risk – Rethinking Flood Insurance in a World of Rising Seas
Union of Concerned Scientists Our coasts face growing risks from sea level rise. Today’s flood insurance system encourages development that increases these risks — and taxpayers nationwide pay the price. Sea level is rising and increasing the risk of destructive…
EPA Proposed Rules on Power plant Carbon Dioxide
Power plant CO2 Proposed Regs EPA Fact Sheet: Reducing Carbon Pollution from Power Plants – Sept. 20, 2013 (PDF)(4 pp, 106 K) EPA Technical Fact Sheet: Reducing Carbon Pollution from Power Plants – Sept. 20, 2013 (PDF)(6 pp, 119 K)…
NOAA views on potential environmental risks of Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan
NOAA views on potential environmental risks of Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plan “NMFS supports efforts to ameliorate coastal wetland loss in Louisiana to maintain socio economic, storm protection, and ecological services these habitats provide. Most coastal restoration efforts can benefit nursery…
Analysis of Datums and Elevations in USACE Projects: FINAL REPORT
Analysis of Datums and Elevations in USACE Projects: FINAL REPORT The USACE assembled this team as a direct result of the catastrophic losses endured after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. The emphasis on vertical accuracy came about…
Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Holocene – The hockey stick debate
Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years Committee on Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years, National Research Council, ISBN: 0-309-66144-7, 160 pages, 7 x 10, (2006) Because widespread, reliable instrumental records are available only for the last…
Warming of the Oceans and Implications for the (Re)insurance Industry
• There is new, robust evidence that the global oceans have warmed significantly. Given that energy from the ocean isthe key driver of extreme events, ocean warming has effectively caused a shift towards a “new normal” for a number of…
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Releases Rebuilding Strategy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: HUD No. 13-125 Monday, August 19, 2013 CONTACT: Aaron Jacobs Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Aaron.F.Jacobs@hud.gov HURRICANE SANDY REBUILDING TASK FORCE RELEASES REBUILDING STRATEGY Strategy will ensure families, small businesses and communities are stronger, more economically competitive…
State of the Climate 2012 – NOAA
Blunden, J., and D. S. Arndt, Eds., 2013: State of the Climate in 2012. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 94 (8), S1–S238. Briefing Slides NOAA: 2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record globally The end of weak La…