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John M. Barry Guest

John M. Barry

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Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East

Vice President of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East and chief architect of its lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies for alleged damage they’ve done to Louisiana’s flood protection system; former visiting scholar at the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research in Louisiana; author of the award winning book Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America and The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History; head of Restore Louisiana Now

FROM John M. Barry

Louisiana’s Vanishing Coastline

Louisiana’s Vanishing Coastline Scientists are calling it the biggest economic and environmental catastrophe facing the US, yet few Americans are even aware of it. Louisiana is shrinking. In the past 80 years the state has lost 2,000 miles of coastal lands. Even more alarming, though -- scientists predict that in just the next 50 years the better part of the southeastern region of the Bayou State will be underwater, along with half of the country’s oil refineries, a third of our total gas and oil supply, a port in use by 31 states, and the homes of close to 2 million people. Louisiana has a master plan to restore its coast, but so far the state, the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists are deadlocked in a legal battle over what steps should be taken, and who will foot the bill.

35 MIN, 34 SEC Oct 09, 2014

Can We Have a 'Pandemic' without the Panic?

Can We Have a 'Pandemic' without the Panic? The World Health Organization says all of humanity is now under threat from a swine flu pandemic, but nobody knows how severe it might turn out to be. Compared to the flu epidemics that occur every year, not that many people have died, and the WHO's warning is designed to keep things from getting worse. Mexico City, near where the outbreak began, is virtually shut down. But experts are warning about the dangers of over-reaction. Today President Obama called a cabinet meeting to talk the H1N1 virus, which officials are calling by its scientific name because it's now transmitted from human to human and not just from pigs. He cautioned against “alarm,” but acknowledged the need to prepare for the long term “since we know that these kinds of threats can emerge at any moment.“ The virus cannot be stopped by shutting down borders, so what can be done? Are public health systems prepared? If it gets worse, can a vaccine be ready in time?

35 MIN, 57 SEC May 01, 2009

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