June 14, 2021 – Climate360 News

Carbon storage, hurricanes and history: The importance of preserving coastal wetlands

14Jun

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Carbon storage, hurricanes and history: The importance of preserving coastal wetlands

Louisiana wetlands continue to disappear, threatening to displace coastal communities and release stored carbon into the atmosphere By Nicole Nguyen BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana native Jack Green’s family grew up in Lake Charles, and their history is rooted in the state and its natural landscape.  “People tie their culture to Louisiana and all these different cultures that are so endemic to the coastline, and I think that’s all tied to the land and appreciation of natural wildlife,” Green said. But many of the wetlands Green’s family grew up around had eroded by the time he was born. “When my parents were growing up, they would tell me stories of what it used to look like prior to now,” Green said. “There's still a little bit ...

Nine LSU professors aid governor in reducing Louisiana’s greenhouse emissions

14Jun

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Energy, Louisiana State University, Policy

Nine LSU professors aid governor in reducing Louisiana’s greenhouse emissions

By Josh Archote Louisiana is fifth among states in total carbon emissions and emissions per-capita, according to 2015-16 U.S. Department of Energy statistics. Courtesy of Joshua Archote. This piece was originally published on April 6, 2021, by The Reveille. Nine LSU researchers joined committees and advisory groups for Gov. John Bel Edwards’s Climate Initiatives Task Force, an executive order signed in August of last year to reduce Louisiana’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. By February 2022, the Task Force will submit a detailed plan to reduce Louisiana greenhouse gas emissions 26-28% by 2025, 40-50% by 2030 and net zero emissions by mid-century. “Just as we have done with coastal protection and restoration, we are building an inclusive, science...

Sinking Louisiana: Is it too late to save Louisiana’s coast? LSU professors, researchers weigh in

14Jun

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Louisiana State University, Science

Sinking Louisiana: Is it too late to save Louisiana’s coast? LSU professors, researchers weigh in

By Josh Archote This piece was originally published on November 18, 2020, by The Reveille. Coastal sciences associate professor Giulio Mariotti's research focuses on observing sediment transport and coastal landscape change in wetlands. Courtesy of Giulio Mariotti. In January 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants to help communities around the U.S. adapt to sea-level rise by building levees, dams and stronger drainage systems, according to the New York Times. One of the communities targeted by the grants was Isle de Jean Charles, a narrow strip of land in Terrebonne Parish. Officials decided that there was no realistic path for the community to protect what little land was left from coastal erosion, which has been caused by reduced sediment flo...

LSU researchers are building a one-of-a-kind quantum device to increase solar cell efficiency

14Jun

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Energy, Louisiana State University, Technology

LSU researchers are building a one-of-a-kind quantum device to increase solar cell efficiency

By Josh Archote This piece was originally published on March 15, 2021, by The Reveille. Dr. Chenglong You works with a quantum simulator on Mar. 11, 2021 in a Nicholson Hall basement lab. Courtesy of Matthew Perschall. LSU researchers are building a quantum simulator to study how light interacts with different materials in solar cells to increase their efficiency. LSU Physics professor Omar Magana-Loaiza and postdoctoral researcher Chenglong You received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a one-of-a-kind quantum device. Their research could help scientists find better materials to build solar cells and make them more efficient. The sun emits light made up of speeding photons that travel to the Earth, and solar cells convert the energy of those ph...

Re-engineering photosynthesis: How two LSU biology professors hope to feed the world’s growing population

14Jun

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Louisiana State University, Technology

Re-engineering photosynthesis: How two LSU biology professors hope to feed the world’s growing population

By Josh Archote This piece was originally published on November 27, 2020, by The Reveille. In 2016, biology professor Paul South tested his shortcut on plants that allows them to use their energy when they're taking in carbon dioxide. Courtesy of Paul South. By 2050, the world population is expected to increase to nearly 10 billion people. Consequently, overall food demand is projected to increase over 50%, according to the World Resources Institute. Meanwhile, climate change will result in an increasingly inhospitable climate for agriculture by reducing the amount of arable land and water availability, as well as the increased prevalence of extreme weather such as droughts, heatwaves and flooding. As more people populate the earth, significant amounts of ar...

United Nations panel deems new industrial development in ‘Cancer Alley’ form of environmental racism

14Jun

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Community, Louisiana State University

United Nations panel deems new industrial development in ‘Cancer Alley’ form of environmental racism

By Josh Archote This piece was originally published on March 21, 2021, by The Reveille. The Mississippi River bridge sits on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 on the Mississippi River. Courtesy of Elizabeth Sullivan. In St. James Parish, a welcome sign sitting beside a gravel road is covered in reddish-brown dust called bauxite, a potentially harmfulbyproduct of an alumina manufacturing plant nearby. Below the sign in white letters barely visible through the dust reads “Don’t Litter” and the phone number to report litterers. But littering is the least of concerns for residents in St. James and surrounding parishes, who are exposed to some of the highest concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals and toxic air in the country. [1, 2]. “You can see that the air is n...

Efforts to halt Mississippi River erosion expected to yield promising results over next four years

14Jun

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Louisiana State University, Policy

Efforts to halt Mississippi River erosion expected to yield promising results over next four years

By Sydney McGovern This piece was originally published on March 23, 2021, by BR Proud. Thousands of years ago, the Mississippi River Delta was formed from sediment deposited from the river. Layers upon layers of sand, silt and clay make up the land that millions of people live and work on today. But in the past 100 years, Louisiana has lost over 2,000 square miles of land. That’s about the size of Delaware, or the total combined landmass of St. Charles, St. John, St. James, Ascension, East Baton Rouge and East Feliciana parishes. Man-made levees protect South Louisiana from devastating flooding, but they also prevent the river from depositing sediment to maintain the marshes. Without major action, Louisiana would lose 4,200 square miles of land over the next 50 years, endangeri...

‘The real threat is not taking action’: Experts say renewable energy poses an opportunity, not a threat, to Louisiana

14Jun

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Economy, Energy, Louisiana State University, Policy

‘The real threat is not taking action’: Experts say renewable energy poses an opportunity, not a threat, to Louisiana

By Sydney McGovern This piece was originally published on April 19, 2021, by BIZ Magazine. Since last October, Entergy has been purchasing power from this solar facility in West Baton Rouge Parish. In his first week in office, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to eliminate many federal subsidies for fossil fuels starting next year and pause new oil and gas permits on federal lands. Louisiana congressional delegation expressed outrage about Biden’s decision. Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican, said the changes would be “devastating to Louisiana,” and Sen. Bill Cassidy, called Biden’s use of the term “Cancer Alley” a “slam upon our state.” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is leading a lawsuit against Biden’s moratorium on oil and gas leases. But local economic and...