Beyond Katrina

Breaking News - Tsunami Strikes Hawaii

News Alert: Tsunami strikes Hawaii
05:00 PM EST Saturday, February 27, 2010
--------------------

Scientists say ocean gauges confirm tsunami has reached Hawaii; extent of damage uncertain.

Incoming waves topping out at six feet were possible. A tsunami warning was also in effect for Guam, American Samoa and dozens of other Pacific islands.


For more information, visit washingtonpost.com:
http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/VP6EHT/2HCTZ/87KYTG/8IU0XQ/Z2XQT/CM/t

Jobs at stake in Louisiana as NASA shifts gears

The future of Louisiana's gateway to space is uncertain after a sudden shift in the space program directed by President Obama. Continue here

Louisiana Sugar Refining facility touted as 'an important project for the state'

A groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a new sugar refinery, which supporters tout will be one of the largest in the nation, was the second time around for some officials. Continue at the Times-Picayune, here.

Dr. John Suggests New Orleans As Your Next Vacation Destination

Find out more and give it a listen at New York Magazine, here.

Budget includes coastal funding

WASHINGTON — The federal budget released by President Barack Obama on Monday includes $36 million toward coastal restoration. Continue here...

Duncan's Katrina comment blasted

The president of the state’s top school board Tuesday criticized comments by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan that Hurricane Katrina was the “best thing” that happened to the education system in New Orleans.  Continue here...

Notice of Public Meeting: Plaquemines Parish Government

Notice of Public Meeting: Plaquemines Parish Government

Meeting time and Location:
When: Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
Where: The Belle Chasse Auditorium is located at 8398 Hwy. 23, Belle
Chasse LA 70037

Plaquemines Parish Government (the Parish) will hold a Public Meeting on
the "Baptiste Collette Bayou Navigation Channel Deepening Section 203
Study" on Thursday March 4, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at the Belle Chasse
Auditorium. The Parish hopes to provide interested parties and
stakeholders with information on the project and the opportunity to
comment during the final phases of planning and alternatives development.

The Parish is investigating alternatives for improving access to the oil
fields, drilling rigs, and production platforms located in the Central and
Eastern Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico.  Expansion of the oil and
gas infrastructure into the eastern gulf and the emergence of larger
deep-draft Off Shore Vessels has created a need for improved access to the
offshore oil and gas infrastructure.

The purpose of the study is to assess alternatives to improve navigation,
particularly to the Venice Port Facilities and to ensure an alternative
transportation route to the offshore oil and gas infrastructure from the
Venice Port Facilities.  The study area is located within the Mississippi
River Deltaic Plain of the Lower Mississippi River and experiences
extremely high erosion rates. In addition to improving navigation, the
development of an innovative and comprehensive beneficial use plan is a
top priority for the study.

Report: Louisiana still heavily dependent on energy

BATON ROUGE — Despite decades of attempts at economic diversification, Louisiana is still heavily dependent on petroleum revenue and probably will see its recovery from the recession lag behind other states, according to a new study. Continue here.

Ex-NBA player faults Haitians, New Orleanians

The CityBusiness Blog picked up a blog post by former NBA player Paul Shirley...Excerpt from Paul Shirley's post as follows:

I do not know if what I’m about to write makes me a monster. I do know that it makes me a part of a miniscule minority, if Internet trends and news stories of the past weeks are any guide.

“It”, is this:

I haven’t donated a cent to the Haitian relief effort. And I probably will not.

I haven’t donated to the Haitian relief effort for the same reason that I don’t give money to homeless men on the street.

Shouldn’t much of the responsibility for the disaster lie with the victims of that disaster?

City Biz Blog Post:

Here’s the part New Orleanians will be interested in:

We did the same after Hurricane Katrina. We were quick to vilify humans who were too slow to respond to the needs of victims, forgetting that the victims had built and maintained a major city below sea level in a known target zone for hurricanes. Our response: Make the same mistake again. Rebuild a doomed city, putting aside logic as we did.

Shirley reportedly has been fired as a contributor to ESPN in the wake of his blog posting.•

Thank you ESPN! See CityBusiness blog post here and Paul Shirley's entire rant, here.

Louisiana Environmental Groups Challenge Governor Jindal's Opposition to EPA On Greenhouse Gas Regulation

Baton Rouge - A number of Louisiana environmental organizations have challenged Governor Jindal on the issue of greenhouse gas regulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The nine organizations - the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), the Louisiana Audubon Council, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club, Sierra Club, Gulf Restoration Network, Alliance for Affordable Energy, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, and Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper - wrote the Governor in response to letters that he and 3 key state agencies sent to EPA in December. The groups point out that the Jindal administration's letters focus on the concerns of only one sector - the petrochemical industry - instead of the interests of Louisiana's citizens. They cite the lack of any mention in the state's letters of Louisiana's endangered coast as the most glaring example of this. The environmental groups also point out in their letter that EPA cited coastal impacts from global warming as one of the key justifications for their finding of "endangerment" for greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. "The nation knows that Louisiana has a serious coastal problem caused in part by sea-level rise, and that the state's vulnerability to hurricanes is increasing," said Marylee Orr, Executive Director of LEAN. "It is also known that these problems are being exacerbated by global warming, and that their effects will worsen with a warming climate. By ignoring these considerations, Louisiana's Governor and agencies are damaging the state's credibility." The state's letters contend that Congressional action is the more appropriate venue for addressing the greenhouse gas issue than regulation. The environmental groups point out in their letter that the Obama administration has stated that it would prefer Congress to act, but that the EPA is acting in the absence of Congressional legislation, as well as in response to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling. Louisiana's Congressional delegation has opposed climate change legislation, so referring the action to Congress could well be a recipe for inaction. The groups' letter states that together, the positions of the Governor and the delegation amount to a "no action" position on global warming at a time when as serious national policy effort is underway. Their letter concludes, "If... Louisiana continues to act in an obstructionist manner on climate change, serving the interests of only one economic sector, then its citizens will be the ultimate losers, inheriting a lost coast and a diminished future." The groups' letter can be seen at: http://leanweb.org/news/latest/letter-to-governor-jindal-concerning-the-epa-s-endangerment-finding.html

CONTACT: Marylee Orr Executive Director Louisiana Environmental Action Network (225) 928-1315 Richard Bryan Vice Chair Louisiana Audubon Council (318) 640-0198 (504) 861-8465 John Lopez Director, Coastal Sustainability Program Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (504) 836-2215 Haywood Martin Chapter Chair Delta Chapter, Sierra Club (337) 232-7953 Cynthia Sarthou Executive Director Gulf Restoration Network (504) 525-1528 x202 Dean Wilson Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (225) 692-4114 Paul Orr Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper (225) 802-9255 Jesse George Director, Legal & Regulatory Affairs Alliance for Affordable Energy (504) 208-9761 Jordan Macha Louisiana Conservation Organizer Sierra Club (504) 861-4835