Environment

Last Call — River Diversions

BOB MARSHALL — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:36:07 +0000

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — River Diversions

It’s almost impossible to find anyone in coastal Louisiana opposed to the idea of “coastal restoration.” Storms like Katrina, Gustav and Isaac have shown everyone the value of the marshes and swamps that once stood between them and t

Last Call — How We Got This Way: Rising Seas, Sinking Land

BOB MARSHALL — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:42:22 +0000

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: Climate Change

The clang of tide gauges throughout parts of southeast Louisiana aren’t from a science fiction movie, though they may make residents feel like they’re caught in one.

Last Call — How We Got This Way: Canal Dredging

BOB MARSHALL — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:29:11 +0000

The Louisiana Coast: Last Call — How We Got This Way: Canal Dredging

These days when fishing guide Ryan Lambert motors away from the boat launch in Buras, he’s fishing in the what locals call “the land of used-to-bes.”

As in, that used to be Yellow Cotton Bay, or Drake Bay, or English Bay… and dozens more.

After Sandy, Questions Linger Over Cellphone Reliability

editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:29:00 +0000

Roughly one in four cellphone towers in the path of Hurricane Sandy went out of service. It was a frustrating and potentially dangerous experience for customers without a landline to fall back on. Now, local officials and communications experts are pushing providers to improve their performance during natural disasters.

Lori McCaskill lives in Brooklyn, and when Sandy hit last October, her Verizon cell service went out. She couldn't work. She couldn't check in with family and friends.

Lionfish Attack The Gulf Of Mexico Like A Living Oil Spill

Elizabeth Shogren — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:56:00 +0000

A gluttonous predator is power-eating its way through reefs from New York to Venezuela. It's the lionfish.

And although researchers are coming up with new ways to protect some reefs from the flamboyant maroon-striped fish, they have no hope of stopping its unparalleled invasion.

Lad Akins has scuba dived in the vibrant reefs of the Bahamas for many years.

Sinkhole Still Degrading, Residents Wait for Buyouts

Debbie Elliott — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:58:00 +0000

Louisiana officials are grappling with a giant sinkhole that's threatening a neighborhood. A salt mine collapsed last year, creating a series of problems regulators say they've never seen before, including tremors and oil and gas leaks and a sinkhole that now covers 9 acres.

Residents have been evacuated for more than seven months now and are losing patience.

Ernie Boudreaux lives in a trailer on Jambalaya Street in Bayou Corne, La. Strange things have been happening to his home, he says.

"It cracks. You can hear it.

From Oiled Shores to the Courtroom: NPR's Debbie Elliott on the BP Oil Spill

Ashley Westerman — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:42:30 +0000

Debbie Elliott is NPR’s national correspondent based in Alabama. She has covered the 2010 BP oil spill, and its aftermath, since the beginning.

Reporting in Terrebone Parish in 2010, Elliott met the Chauvin family that had been shrimpers for five generations before the disaster. Now covering the trial over BP’s liability for the spill, Elliott tells WRKF’s Ashley Westerman that family story is one that has stuck with her.

BP Trial Heads Into Second Week

Eileen Fleming — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:02:31 +0000

First week of BP trial wraps up.

BP executives are gearing up for testifying at the second week of a federal trial in New Orleans over its 2010 oil spill. Officials from the oil giant have so far blamed other companies for the disaster.

Judge Approves Transocean Civil Settlement

Associated Press — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:58:15 +0000

A federal judge has approved Transocean Ltd.'s agreement with the Justice Department to pay $1 billion in civil penalties for its role in the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said in his ruling Tuesday that he found "no just reason for delay" in approving the civil settlement.

Last week, a different judge approved Transocean's criminal settlement with the federal government. The company pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and will pay an additional $400 million in criminal penalties.

BP Ready for Trial in Civil Case

Associated Press — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:23:32 +0000

BP says it has failed to reach a settlement in advance of next week's civil trial on the Deepwater Horizon accident and is ready to defend itself vigorously against allegations of gross negligence in the U.S.'s biggest environmental disaster.

Rupert Bondy, the group's general counsel, said in a statement Tuesday that settlement demands were "not based on reality or the merits of the case."

Billions are at stake in the Feb. 25 trial in New Orleans to determine BP's civil liability. BP already agreed to a $4.5 billion settlement of federal criminal charges.