Delta Dispatches

On today's show, we talk with Bill Cooksey, the Sportsmen Outreach Coordinator with Vanishing Paradise. This is a conservation program for sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts. Bill brings his unique history as a hunter and communicator to raise awareness and support on a critical conservation issue of our time — restoring the Mississippi River Delta and Gulf Coast. You can learn more about Vanishing Paradise on their website and listen to Bill on the Vanishing Paradise podcast here https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-fpxyu-95d5e8

Earlier this month, Louisiana’s Climate Task Force approved the state’s first ever Climate Action Plan, a science-based plan consisting of 28 strategies and 84 actions to “limit the severity of climate change while positioning the state to maintain its economic competitiveness in a low-carbon future.” Lindsay Cooper, Policy Analyst with the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, joins the show to discuss the plan, how it was developed and what comes next as Louisiana seeks to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Glass Half Full is a nonprofit organization based in New Orleans working to remove glass waste from landfills by recycling it into sand and other materials. To date, they have removed 1.8 million pounds of glass from landfills. On this episode, Jacques interviews their founder and co-director Franziska Trautmann who discusses how the idea was born by Tulane students over a bottle of wine, the mechanics of turning glass bottles into sand and other materials, a new partnership with CRCL’s oyster shell recycling program, as well as their plans to launch a demonstration coastal restoration project with recycled material. Learn more and support their efforts at: glasshalffullnola.org.

On today’s episode, Jacques and Simone interview author Mary Ann Sternberg who has written a number of books, articles, essays and more about Louisiana’s unique places and people. Mary Ann discusses her writing, how Louisiana’s environment has inspired it and highlights some experiences that provided a unique vantage point of the Mighty Mississippi. Learn more about Mary Ann and her writing at https://www.maryannsternberg.com/.

In the first episode of 2022, Simone and Jacques welcome back Gregory Grandy, Deputy Executive Director Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, who discusses how 2022 will be one of the most significant years for Louisiana's coast with some of the largest, most ambitious restoration projects ever to move forward. These projects include marsh creation, or “dredging” projects as well as projects to reconnect the Mississippi River to wetlands to sustain them into the future.

For the last episode of 2021, Jacques and Simone discuss major events and milestones for Louisiana’s coast over the prior year and look forward to what’s to come in 2022. As a reminder, many families in Louisiana are still dealing with the lingering impacts of Hurricane Ida as we head into the holidays. Visit http://mississippiriverdelta.org/ida to learn how you can help those in need this holiday season and beyond. Happy Holidays to our Delta Dispatches family!

On today’s episode, Simone and Jacques are joined by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) who provides insight into the recently-signed bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and what this significant legislation means for Louisiana’s coast and communities. Senator Cassidy highlights the funding coming to Louisiana for coastal restoration and resilience as a result of the infrastructure package, discusses other funding opportunities such as the RISEE Act, and shares his favorite Louisiana Christmas tradition and dish with us!

In this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, be on the lookout for the beautiful “Celebration Gator” float! We were inspired by this reptilian replica to record a riveting episode celebrating Louisiana’s most iconic animal. We’re joined by Dr. Andy Nyman, Professor, Wetland Wildlife Ecology at LSU and talk about the alligators, coastal restoration, and their future!

Scientist Molly Keogh, who received her PhD at Tulane University and is now a Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Oregon, Department of Earth Sciences, joins the podcast to discuss her latest paper, “Organic matter accretion, shallow subsidence, and river delta sustainability”, and its relation to Louisiana’s coast. Molly, who was featured for her research in the documentary film “Last Call for the Bayou”, also discusses that experience, and her work at the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion, a “living laboratory” of Louisiana’s coast.

This week on Delta Dispatches, we talk to Elizabeth Chamberlain, Assistant Professor, Wageningen University, about her career as a coastal geologist. Liz got her start at LSU and Tulane researching the Mississippi River Delta and has gone on to study deltas around the world. She joins Jacques and Simone to discuss a new paper based on research in the Lafourche Delta, focusing on how subsidence impacts the Mississippi River Delta and its implications for restoration projects in Louisiana. Her new paper “Does Load-Induced Shallow Subsidence Inhibit Delta Growth?” was published earlier this month: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021JF006153.