How a Warming Climate and the Bonnet Carré Spillway threaten Coastal Fishermen + Climate and COVID-19

Imagine Water Works Updates

If you’ve been following our work over the years, you’re probably used to seeing information about flooding, climate justice, green infrastructure, and natural disasters. But as COVID-19 has made painfully clear, we need to be thinking about public health disasters – and how they intersect with our environment. We are still focusing on climate change and water, especially with hurricane season around the corner, but in light of current events we wanted to highlight a couple ways we’re responding to the pandemic: 

1. Mutual Aid Response Network: Currently focused on COVID-19 in Houma and the Greater New Orleans area, this group will be a resource for future disasters as well.
2. Trans Clippers Project: Because Transgender, nonbinary, and two-spirit people deserve to live and thrive before, during, and after times of disaster – this project has rapidly expanded to several other states!

In The News

Flood of Catastrophe: How a Warming Climate and the Bonnet Carré Spillway threaten the Survival of Coastal Fishermen

Mississippi fishermen are feeling the effects of climate change, with increasingly frequent openings of the Bonnet Carré spillway threatening water quality and killing the aquatic species that form their livelihood.

Fishermen have been left to “wonder how much longer their businesses can survive. Even before the coronavirus pandemic brought the nation’s economy to a screeching halt, last year’s spillway openings followed a string of disasters — notably Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 — that only allowed for brief windows of recovery.

These disruptions have a clear connection: a changing climate that’s bringing more rain, storms and flooding. While the connections between climate change, intense weather events and fossil fuels are well-documented, the spillway openings offer a rare glimpse into the relationship between climate, federal policy decision-making and their impacts on local communities.”

Read the full story here.

More Water & Climate Headlines

• Over A Third Of Americans Could Be Hit By Coronavirus And Flooding At The Same Time
• America’s heartland is expected to flood again — but this time amid coronavirus
• Louisiana’s Cancer Alley Community At Increased Risk of COVID-19
• The Climate Rules Being Rolled Back During the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Halt destruction of nature or suffer even worse pandemics, say world’s top scientists
• A decade after BP spill, Gulf of Mexico has rebounded, but wounds still visible
• Climate justice in frontline communities: Here’s how to (really) help
• Now is the time to start planning for the next disaster
• An Equitable Water Future Cleveland
• Art Became the Oxygen: An Artistic Response Guide

Funding & Finance

• Comment by May 11: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) released to federal registry for comment: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is accepting comments on the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Policy. This policy describes a new program authorized by recent legislation that allows FEMA to set aside 6 percent of estimated disaster expenses for each major disaster to fund a mitigation grant program to assist States, territories, Tribes, and local governments. The new program would supersede the existing Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program and would promote a national culture of preparedness through encouraging investments to protect communities and infrastructure and strengthening national mitigation capabilities to foster resilience.
• Apply by May 28: Global Ideas for U.S. Solutions: Cities Taking Action to Address Health, Equity, and Climate Change | The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is seeking impactful ideas from across the globe to U.S. cities to address the intertwined issues of health, equity, and climate change. They are seeking proposals that explore changes in city planning, policies, and programs that address: buildings and energy; land use and urban planning; transportation; waste; food systems and food security; and air quality.
• Apply by June 30: EPA State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement Program has reopened and expanded its availability to include states, local governments, tribes and territories. Special consideration is being given to those applications aimed at addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban, rural low income, and minority communities. EPA anticipates making five awards in amounts of up to $200,000 per award for a two-year project period.
• City receives MRCTI award toward Environmental Impact Bond for green infrastructure: The City of New Orleans and its partner, the Finance Authority of New Orleans (FANO), today were awarded technical assistance from the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) to analyze the feasibility of Environmental Impact Bonds (EIB) that will support green infrastructure. The City and FANO expect to issue an EIB in the range of $30 million, which will allow the City to offer green mortgages to homeowners and developers to add energy efficiency, renewable energy, and stormwater management retrofits. The City also plans to create a pool of capital for other resilience projects in the city that includes community solar farms, water mitigation and management projects, transit, and other work to enhance our overall resilience.

Land, Water & Climate Events

• May Day Events
  • New Orleans Hospitality Workers Alliance will be having a car and bike rally, while practicing social distancing, to demand that Workers’ Safety be put before Capitalist Profits | May 1, 2020 at 12:00PM CT | 3400 Tulane Ave. (Goodwill parking lot) | RSVP 
  • Stand with Dignity/N.O. Workers Center for Racial Justice/Congreso de Jornaleros is hosting an online rally to fight for the rights of essential workers during COVID-19 and beyond | May 1, 2020 at 3:00PM CT | ATTEND
  • Sunrise, RISE St. James, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, the Coalition Against Death Alley and Healthy Gulf are hosting an Earth Day to May Day event. Speakers will share their stories and connect the struggles on the frontlines: that of utility and electrical workers, petrochemical workers, and the communities that are sickened by industry. They will discuss local environmental justice organizing in South Louisiana and Central Texas, and why the Gulf South must be a leader in fighting for clean air, healthy land and green jobs. | May 1, 2020 at 6:00PM CT | ATTEND
• Water Wise Virtual Green Infrastructure 101 Workshop | This workshop introduces green infrastructure as a tool to help reduce localized flooding on your property while providing many other benefits! By attending this workshop you will be on your way to becoming a Water Wise Neighborhood Champion. | May 14, 2020 at 6:00PM CT | RSVP 
• Webinar Sixty Minutes with Hazel and Frances Moore Lappé about the fallacy of food scarcity, responsible government, and food security lessons from the pandemic. | May 28, 2020 from 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM CT | REGISTER
• New Listen | Studio in the Woods’ Adaptations Resident Aurora Levins Morales has debuted a new Spanish language podcast, Semillas. The first episode is called “Músculos de la Esperanza” which translates to “Muscles of Hope”.  Aurora discusses exercising these muscles by imagining a Puerto Rico of her dreams | Listen