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| Press Release: Louisiana Spending Plan Wins Praise from Environmental Leaders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maura Wood, National Wildlife Federation, 225-205-2804, woodm@nwf.org
Paul Kemp, National Audubon Society, 225-768-0820, pkemp@audubon.org
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The plan was announced today by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA). The conservation leaders say the plan has a healthy balance of funding, with more than $100 million of the available money set aside for efforts to restore
“We have always said that, in order to keep Louisiana safe, we need both to strengthen the levees we have now and restore the wetlands and coastal areas that serve as our natural hurricane barriers,” said Paul Harrison, Coastal Louisiana Project Manager for Environmental Defense Fund. “This new plan fulfills both of those priorities. We congratulate Governor Jindal, and everyone who worked with him to develop the plan, for a job well done.”
The CPRA plan directs the use of $300 million in surplus state funds, including $110 million for wetlands and coastal restoration projects. The plan also includes $100 million for the state’s matching funding to build modern, 100-year levees for
“The state has done a great job with this proposal, but now the federal government needs to step up to the plate and provide its share of the funding that is already authorized for restoration projects,” added Harrison. “We will continue to work with the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to get large-scale restoration projects ready for funding and construction in upcoming federal and state budgets.”
Environmental leaders were especially pleased to see money designated for several projects that they identified as priorities.
“This plan shows a substantial commitment to projects that will allow us to restore wetlands by using sediment that would otherwise have gone to waste,” said Maura Wood, Senior Program Manager of the Coastal Louisiana Restoration for the National Wildlife Federation. “These projects will restore the
Environmentalists praised the plan’s substantial commitment to building new and improved ways to get fresh water and sediment to the wetlands, so the areas can survive and grow. Those proposals include $7 million for designing and engineering a new sediment diversion at Myrtle Grove, $30 million for enhancing operation of the existing Canaervon and Davis Pond diversions, $20 million for constructing a diversion to send freshwater down Bayou Lafourche, and $35 million for using sediment pipelines and barges to build wetlands. Environmentalists also praised plans to restore barrier islands.
“The barrier islands act as a ‘speed bump’ for storm surge and wave energy,” said Paul Kemp, Vice President of the Gulf Coast Initiative for the National Audubon Society. “
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| Press Release: As Katrina Anniversary Looms, South Louisianans Say Coastal Erosion is More Serious Concern than Crime, Economy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Sharyn Stein, Environmental Defense Fund, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Maura Wood, National Wildlife Federation, 225-205-2804, woodm@nwf.org
Bruce Reid, National Audubon Society, 601-661-6189, breid@audubon.org
(Baton Rouge, LA – August 21, 2008) – A new poll released a week before the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) shows that voters in south Louisiana are more concerned about coastal erosion than they are about crime or the economy. The poll also shows South Louisianans are almost as concerned about coastal erosion as they are about their highest-ranking worry — gas prices.
The poll of 500 registered voters in 16 Louisiana parishes was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies/Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates for three leading national conservation groups: Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation and National Audubon Society.
“Katrina showed us that we can’t rely on levees alone for protection,” said Maura Wood, Senior Program Manager of Coastal Louisiana Restoration for the National Wildlife Federation. “This poll shows Louisianans overwhelmingly believe that we need to preserve our wetlands and coastal areas in order to protect our people, communities and jobs. The good news is that the vast majority of those polled believe we can rebuild the wetlands and coastal areas we’ve lost.”
Southeastern Louisiana was traditionally sheltered from the full power of hurricanes by 80 miles of wetlands that lay between the Gulf of Mexico and the city of New Orleans, but those wetlands have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Every day, Louisiana loses an area of coastal wetlands the size of 32 football fields.
The new poll shows Louisianans see wetlands as the first line of defense against storms and hurricanes. Those polled also believe that the continued loss of coastal areas and wetlands will result in worse damage from hurricanes, loss of communities, and threats to the economy of south Louisiana. Three-quarters of those polled said that restoring the wetlands is an issue that requires urgent attention.
“Voters overwhelmingly said that the wetlands are Louisiana’s first line of defense against hurricanes,” said Paul Harrison, Louisiana Project Manager for Environmental Defense Fund. “They also said they are deeply worried that the disappearance of the wetlands will continue to compromise the safety of their families and communities. This poll shows that government efforts to fund and fast-track coastal restoration efforts will get broad popular support.”
According to the poll, 84 percent of southern Louisiana voters said coastal erosion and the loss of barrier islands was an extremely serious or very serious problem, and 81 percent said the loss of wetlands and marshes was an extremely serious or very serious problem. The only issue that ranked higher was gas prices, at 87 percent. These issues ranked well ahead of concerns about the economy (68 percent), crime (65 percent), and rebuilding from Katrina taking too long (70 percent).
Almost 80 percent of those polled said that Louisiana’s wetlands and coastal areas can be protected, and even more – 87 percent – believe that eroded areas can be rebuilt.
An overwhelming 90 percent of those polled supported rebuilding barrier islands and wetlands using sediment dredged from rivers. Another 87 percent supported diverting water and sediment from the Mississippi River into undeveloped wetland areas in order to rebuild damaged wetlands and protect existing ones.
“This poll bodes well for vital efforts to restore Louisiana’s wetlands,” said Paul Kemp, Vice President of the Gulf Coast Initiative for the National Audubon Society. “These projects won’t be easy, but Louisianans clearly recognize the importance of restoring and protecting our state’s first line of defense against hurricanes. The poll confirms that Louisianans support immediate action to protect and rebuild these natural hurricane barriers.”
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| Creating solutions to a water crisis The International Herald Tribune, August 11, 2008 Monday - The first thing you see is shelf after shelf of plain glass bottles all containing different colored liquids. Some of the liquids are clear, and others whitish, yellowish, brownish, greenish, or almost black. The colors change daily, as does the consistency, and whatever is growing inside. |
| Cogeneration Can Slash Carbon and Costs Cogeneration of electricity and heat is one of the most promising means of using existing technologies for sustainable ends, but it is also one of the most neglected and least understood. Cogeneration can dramatically increase energy efficiency, slash carbon emissions, and save money. |