Louisiana Encroachment

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With so much focus on the BP oil spill and the havoc it has wrought on the Gulf Coast, it’s easy to overlook the broader, more long-term environmental dilemma that serves as the backdrop for that catastrophe: Louisiana’s coastline is shrinking at an alarming rate. This week on Sea Change Radio, we welcome Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Bob Marshall of the New Orleans-based The Lens. In conjunction with Pro Publica, The Lens recently published Marshall’s in-depth piece on Louisiana’s imperiled shores. In the first part of our two-part discussion, Marshall recounts the history of the region’s struggle to keep dry, and delves into the reasons why human efforts to harness Mother Nature so often have gone awry.