For decades oil and gas companies dug exploration canals in the marshlands, which allowed for saltwater intrusion and blocked the hydrological flow of the wetlands. These factors caused the land to erode, subside and disappear at some of the highest rates in the world. Add sea level rise to this, and "we are sinking like a rock," Hahn said.For the most part we've been ignoring the problem since then. Has it gotten better? You would think it must have. Otherwise the Trump administration wouldn't be rolling back emissions limits now, right? In fact we're pretty sure everything is just fine out there now.
"You hear all the time, 'Louisiana is losing a football field every 45 minutes.' And when you are with these old timers, they're like: 'This used to be marsh, this used to be land.' You don't get your mind wrapped around it till you get out there."
Talking about Cat Island, Hahn said, "I saw it, not only in my lifetime ... it was only a couple of years ... you could actually see this piece of land shrinking until it was finally gone and became open water."
The oil from the 2010 disaster dramatically worsened the threat to coastal Louisiana. Researchers from LSU found that the BP oil spill accelerated land loss by almost 300% in the first six months after the spill.
So, yay, we made it! Ten whole years. To celebrate, we're giving away as much crude oil as you can take.
WTI Crude now
under $2 per barrel pic.twitter.com/Z2ruuFL1Cb
—
Michael McDonough (@M_McDonough) April
20, 2020
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