Coastal Desk

Native American tribes in Louisiana and Alaska are asking the United Nations for help. Tribal leaders say climate change is destroying their communities and forcing them to relocate.

Rising seas and bigger storms are threatening tribal communities all across the country. In Louisiana, several tribes live in areas along the coast that are washing away fast, due to coastal erosion, sea level rise and the erosion of canals carved by oil and gas companies.

New research finds that oil and gas development in the gulf south will greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Researchers from the University of Texas looked at existing – and planned – oil, gas and petrochemical infrastructure in Louisiana and Texas.

As the country turns away from heavily-polluting coal fired power plants and towards natural gas, the region has seen huge investments in LNG production.

But the researchers found that all of the new plants and refineries will produce as much pollution as 131 coal-fired power plants.

Roughly 150 students from New Orleans gathered in front of City Hall Friday to participate in a nationwide demonstration to raise awareness for climate change. 

“We should be in the classroom learning and preparing for our semester exams right now, but we skipped school to teach our representatives about the importance and urgency of our climate crisis,” says Layla Harmon, a 16-year-old junior at Benjamin Franklin High School. 

A bill that could increase the amount of royalty money Louisiana gets from offshore oil and gas drilling advanced in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

The bill, called the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life Act, or COASTAL Act, is sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La). It would reduce how much oil and gas money goes to the federal government, and increase the amount that goes to states along the Gulf of Mexico -- Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

A network of advocacy organizations across the Gulf South has published regional Green New Deal policy platform that aims to build on the national policy of the same name.

The Green New Deal is a resolution in Congress that outlines several ways the country can address climate change. It emphasizes clean energy jobs, environmental justice, and transitioning away from fossil fuels. It’s a non-binding resolution -- so it would not change any laws, if passed.

For the last six months, advocacy organizations from Texas to Florida have been working on a regional version, called Gulf South for a Green New Deal.

Have you ever read a story about climate change, and by the end of the article thought, ”Great, now what?” Or maybe, “What do I do with that information? I have questions!”

The Coastal Desk of WWNO and WRKF wants to answer your questions about living with climate change for an upcoming project.