Bayou Farewell

When I first moved to Louisiana seven years ago, my friend Adrienne Moore recommended a great book to me called Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell.

I love this book for a number of reasons. For one, Tidwell introduced me to the problem of coastal wetlands loss in Louisiana. This is a problem for the entire U.S. Why? Let me defer to the experts: 

Louisiana wetlands are unique and vital ecological assets worth saving. Wetlands act as a storm buffer against hurricanes and storms. They act as flood control devices: holding excess floodwaters during high rainfall (much like a sponge). Wetlands replenish aquifers, and they purify water by filtering out pollutants and absorbing nutrients. Approximately 40 percent of the coastal wetlands of the lower forty-eight states are located in Louisiana. Unfortunately, this fragile environment is disappearing at an alarming rate. Louisiana has lost up to 40 square miles of marsh per year for several decades – that’s 80 percent of the nation’s annual coastal wetland loss. To date, Louisiana has already lost coastal land area equal to the size of the state of Delaware. This loss is at an average rate of an acre every 38 minutes. If the current rate of loss is not slowed by the year 2040, an additional 800,000 acres of wetlands will disappear, and the Louisiana shoreline will advance inland as much as 33 miles in some areas (Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, 1990).

I also love this book because of Tidwell's colorful description of the people who live along the coast of Louisiana. Their livelihoods have long been in shrimp and fish, but many of them can no longer support their families. The oil spill has not helped matters. After reading Tidwell's book, I knew I wanted to visit this part of Louisiana if given the opportunity.

Last fall, I was fortunate to be part of a team granted a grant from the National Science Foundation to study how journalists can best equip themselves to cover the ongoing story of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Part of this research project involves traveling to Chauvin, Louisiana this week to take part in a workshop for journalists, scientists and informal science educators. On Thursday, we will board the Acadiana and cruise out into upper Terrebonne Bay to gain a hands-on understanding of the tools and techniques used to collect oceanographic data in the wake of the Gulf Oil Spill.

I must admit, I am a little nervous because I really don't understand all of this science. But that is the point of this workshop. To help journalists translate science for their readers so they can be more informed on the issues.

I hope to have some stories and pictures to share when I return!