Aerial Photos Of Hurricane Ida’s Aftermath Show What ‘Code Red’ for the Planet Looks Like in South Louisiana

Oil sheen off Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge, also known as the Gateway to the Gulf Expressway, crossing Bayou Lafourche and marsh on Sept. 4, 2021.

Photos I shot on a flight on September 4, 2021 illustrate what United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres meant last month when he described the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report as a “code red” for human-driven global heating. On a flight provided by Southwings, a non-profit that connects volunteer pilots with media, educational institutions, and conservation groups, I […]

Cancer Alley Pastor Finds Hope Amidst the Rubble When Facing Ida’s Aftermath

Arial view of the Tchoupitoulas Chapel in Reserve, badly damaged by Hurricane Ida. (Flight overhead provided by Louisiana Environmental Action Network).

When Pastor Lionel Murphy Jr. returned to his church in Reserve, Louisiana, on September 2 after evacuating before Hurricane Ida struck, he was devastated to find the building all but destroyed by the storm’s relentless winds and rain. His church, the Tchoupitoulas Chapel, sits a couple miles north of the DuPont-Denka chemical plant, which makes neoprene (the […]

Noble Reports Major Equipment Fell to Seafloor as Drill Ship Faced Ida’s Fury

The Noble Globetrotter II remained out in the Gulf of Mexico during Category 4 hurricane. Image credit: Screenshot from ABC13 footage.

The Noble Globetrotter II’s lower marine riser package and “several” riser joints detached as the ship was out in the Gulf of Mexico during Hurricane Ida, Noble Corp. confirmed in a press release on Thursday, September 2. “Initial findings from the ship’s ongoing condition assessment confirm that several riser joints and the lower marine riser […]