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The energy and fishing industries along the Gulf of Mexico must begin now to adapt to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, more intense hurricanes, loss of coastal wetlands, and the biological effects of warmer water temperatures, according to a report released at a news conference Wednesday by three Louisiana State University scientists.The report is sobering, indeed, and not just for Louisiana, but also for its message on how climate change will affect energy resources in the rest of the country. A good many politicians and citizens in the state, and in the country, for that matter, do not believe that the practices of humans affect the climate of the earth, but rather that global warming is due to nature taking her course and will soon reverse on its own. How much the cautions and warnings will be heeded in Louisiana is an open question because of the widespread suspicion of science. I don't have much hope that the powers will take action as a result of the report.
The number of oil and gas platforms in the hurricane-prone area of Gulf of Mexico is astonishing, and to ride the single, fragile connection to Port Fourchon and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port on the portions of Highway 1 that have not been elevated is to bear witness to the extreme vulnerability of the entryway for a major source of energy imports.
I recently read an article on the native Americans in your area losing their lands to rising water. That and a POV photo essay on PBS with regards to Iceland losing its ice... It's startling and frightening --and sad.
ReplyDeleteThe United Houma Nation has been trying for years, without success, to be recognized by the federal government, but the group is state-recognized. I don't know how much good that does the folks below Houma. In the end, I expect they will have to give up their homes and move further inland. It's too late now for the state to do much to protect their homes.
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