Kenneth Feinberg, the Boston attorney in charge of reviewing claims for the BP oil spill, says he expects to start paying interim and final claims later this month. But as Louisiana’s Vietnamese-American fishing community has learned, some losses are harder to quantify than others. Produced by Barry Yeoman and Richard Ziglar for KRVS, Lafayette, Louisiana, […]
Saving Louisiana: What Can We Do?
There are solutions for the disappearing Louisiana coastline, but they all come with costs and controversies. Can we act before it’s too late? Part 10 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. DURING MY TIME IN LOUISIANA reporting this series, I witnessed every variety of frustration and despair. I spent time with scientists, shrimpers, […]
Restoring the Marsh, One Hated Tree at a Time
A universally supported restoration project in coastal Louisiana involves undoing serious manmade damage. Part 9 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. KERRY STAFFORD CAN’T RESIST THE OPPORTUNITY to catch a baby alligator with his bare hands. He maneuvers his airboat this way and that, reaching over the side, explaining that a picture of […]
Louisiana’s Great Wet Hope
While the Mississippi was walled off, the Atchafalaya River remained mostly natural. Now its cypress swamps show that commerce and wetlands protection can co-exist. Part 8 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. DEAN WILSON CUTS THE ENGINE. Stillness surrounds us in the Atchafalaya Basin, two hours west of New Orleans. Cypress trees draped with […]
These Men Don’t Cry: Hard Times for Gulf Coast Vietnamese
Gulf Coast residents are suffering the deep emotional distress that comes with a protracted crisis that has no clear end, and some communities have no safety net. Part 6 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. IN THE SEVEN MONTHS SINCE the Deepwater Horizon blowout upended life on the Gulf Coast, the environmental and […]
Gulf Shrimpers Wonder: “Are We Next on the Extinction List?”
During a long night on the bayou, one couple worries about the future. Part 5 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. DARLA AND TODD ROOKS IDLE their shrimp boat, the Cajun Queen, at the edge of a marsh in Louisiana’s Grand Bayou, near the town of Port Sulphur. It’s 12:40 a.m., and a […]
‘The Land is Washing Back to the Sea’
Louisiana wetlands are disappearing at a rate of up to 25 square miles per year — and taking centuries-old communities with them. Part 7 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. ON MY MAP, LAKE CHIEN is tiny, jutting cove-like into the bottom of Louisiana. It looks like the top of a four-tiered snowman, connected […]
Where the Oil Went
Gulf scientists find a layer of “slime snot” on the sea floor Part 4 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. VERNON ASPER CLICKS A BUTTON in a darkened room. Up comes a slide showing three transparent cylinders, each containing soil from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. We are sitting around a […]
The Louisiana Paradox: Loving Wildlife and Oil Drilling
A family forced onto food stamps by the deepwater moratorium wants drilling to resume — but also laments the American dependence on oil. Part 3 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. FOREST FOYTLIN WAS WORKING on a deepwater drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico when the radio crackled news of the blowout […]
Louisiana Oystermen: Out of Work, Out of Options
A tight-knit group of oystermen on the bayou are struggling to survive after the oil spill shut down the oyster beds. Will a way of life die out? Part 2 of Losing Louisiana, a series originally published in onEarth. ELTON “HAMBONE” ENCALADE IS ONE OF THE FIRST oystermen to greet me as I pull into Beshel’s […]
