Salt water from the Gulf of Mexico has been moving inland, up the drought-stricken Mississippi River – and it’s already contaminatingthe drinking water supplies in some southeastern Louisiana communities. Officials say they expect the saltwater wedge to reach more drinking water supplies upriver – including Orleans, St. Bernard and Jefferson parishes – by the mid- to late October. This week, Gov. John Bel Edwards requested federal help to address the situation. The Coastal Desk’s Halle Parker is putting together a guide to help residents understand the threat of the saltwater wedge – and what they can do to prepare. She joins us today to answer questions that came directly from our listeners.
In August, the Biden administration opened thefirst-ever wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, companies can bid for the rights to build giant wind turbines off the coast of southwest Louisiana and east Texas. But despite the excitement leading up to the sale, it only attracted two bidders. Experts say potential bidders might have been deterred by high costs due to inflation and rising interest rates – and by the big fact that, unlike other regions, Gulf states have made no commitment to buy clean energy.
Despite an uncertain future for the wind industry, clean energy is becoming more popular in the Gulf South in other ways, thanks to new federal funding for electric vehicle charging stations.
Tyler Herrmann is a project manager with Louisiana Clean Fuels, a nonprofit that promotes affordable clean energy technologies for the transportation sector. He joins us today to talk about the state of the electric vehicle industry in Louisiana.
Earlier this month, The Historic New Orleans Collection opened “The Trail They Blazed,” a traveling exhibition that tells the history of New Orleans’ Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Eric Seiferth is a historian and curator with the Historic New Orleans Collection. He joins us to talk about the exhibit’s mission to celebrate civil rights history while creating a roadmap for future activism.
Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.
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