16 February 2014
If you go to New Orleans, you ought to go see the Mardi Gras (and the wetlands)
On Saturday, I went to Baton Rouge for a meeting of Together Louisiana, a group of churches and civic organizations taking on all sorts of political issues including Louisiana's absurdly high rate of incarceration, the utter madness of the poorly regulated payday loan industry, health care, higher education, and... wetlands and environmental problems. SO many good conversations to be had about the state of the state of Louisiana. Two of the big ones for me-- a breakout session I attended on the environmental issues (you know, kind of the reason I attended the meeting) and an address from a retired Army general.
General Russel Honoré spoke boldly about leadership and fostering a culture of preparedness, as well as our tolerance of the nonsense going on in our government. Ultimately, he is concerned with all of the shady business of poor leadership allowing for Louisiana's natural resources not to be stolen, but to be given away, leaving the state vulnerable to a host of disasters. The point he made that rang clearest to me: Louisiana is a top oil producing state. Why isn't it a top state for education? or healthcare? Why is it among the lowest ranked states in most every social and economic indicator?
Encouraging: you should have heard the "AMEN"s and "PREACH!"es from the crowd. Discouraging: why is Louisiana so far behind in all of these ways when it's been so far ahead in domestic oil and gas extraction for the past 75+ years?
I'm still pondering this gross disconnect.
The breakout session I attended also impacted me, but additionally had a more fun effect on my weekend. My original plan was to drive to Bayou Blue and stay with my bosses so I wouldn't have to wake up so early on Sunday. However, the Wetlands and the Environment session I attended was lead by John Barry, an author, who in addition to his heavy involvement with the policies and politics of coastal restoration, was also the King of Krewe du Vieux in that evening's Mardi Gras parade in the French Quarter. I knew my housemates were all going. Meeting Mr. Barry motivated me to drive back to New Orleans and go to my first Mardi Gras parade.
His talk was really good for me to hear, because he focused on the more political side of coastal conservation that I have not spent as much time focusing on. Did you know that it is actually written into the oil companies' canal permits that they are required to fill those canals back in after their pipes are laid? There are a ton of studies from reputable sources like the US Geological Survey, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, and higher ups who have worked for the oil companies that those canals are the leading cause of coastal erosion. Yet, for all sorts of horrifyingly corrupt reasons, those companies have managed to not follow through with back filling or even plugging the ends of the canals. An area the size of the state of Delaware has been lost in the past 75 years, with more disappearing every hour of every day. Instead of the companies, who have been proven to be directly responsible for this and are even legally required to fix this, the taxpayers get to cover the millions upon millions of dollars being dumped into levee construction and other coastal protections that won't matter if the wetlands are gone.
Trees are beautiful and all, but my job can get pretty depressing.
I spoke with Mr. Barry privately about conservation issues after his talk, and also managed to sneak in a question about how one manages to get the attention of a Mardi Gras King to get him to throw stuff (beads and other trinkets are traditionally thrown from floats in these parades). He suggested I stand close to the street, because he is still recovering from a rotator cuff injury.
So I went back to New Orleans, not because I love crowds and crazy parades, but because I am excited about the carnival season and taking in as much of the tradition and culture as I can while I'm here. My housemates and I caught a bus down to the French Quarter (the street cars weren't running as often) and managed to find a fairly uncrowded section of curb on Royal Street. The Krewe du Vieux is one of the few that runs through the Vieux Carré (another name for the French Quarter, meaning "old square"), and is known for being not family friendly.
The crowd was loud but I hung in there to see the King. Krewes often choose kings or queens who are famous for something, so it was pretty cool to me to see someone recognized for their contributions to the coast. The krewe's website talks about how Mr. Barry has worked hard to raise awareness and take action against the government for allowing such a mess to happen to Louisiana's coast. It also points out how Governor Jindal excused John Barry from his seat on the Flood Protection Authority board.
Overall, I'm glad I went to the parade. It was lewd but fun, with amazing brass bands and a lot of clever political statements snuck in, like this float featuring birds covered in oil with words like "incompetence" and "justice" floating around--
I loved the music and even managed to score some beads and trinkets (fully clothed, thank you, I'm pretty sure the flashing thing is mostly myth). It was a really cool turnaround to see someone celebrated for standing up for the coast, both at a formal meeting of activists and in a rowdy setting in which the message was probably lost on most people, but not me. When the King rode by, I was too busy yelling stuff about the wetlands to take a picture or catch a trinket-- he was tossing cups. So here is a picture from the Times-Picayune instead!
Labels:
Baton Rouge,
Louisiana,
Mardi Gras,
New Orleans,
photos,
wetlands,
YAV
11 February 2014
Cajun Country
I had an appointment to visit First Presbyterian Church in Lafayette this weekend. Lafayette is a little over two hours from New Orleans and definitely the heart of Cajun Country. I was grateful to have company: my friend Lindsey from the Episcopal service corps in New Orleans volunteered to join me on the adventure that ended up covering about 400 miles.
View Larger Map
Here is the thing about southern/southwestern Louisiana: everything is closed on Sundays. National Parks (there are Jean Lafitte museums in Lafayette and Eunice), antebellum homes, anything touristy, music halls, even the beignet shop someone recommended in Lafayette... there was not much for us to see or do besides drive around and just look. I don't mind people closing up shop and taking a day off, because everyone deserves a break, but I was surprised that so many touristy things do not happen on Sundays, when presumably tourists might be free to come check them out.
West of Lafayette are a lot of rice paddies, which I had never seen before-- at first it just looked like soggy fields until I noticed the berms surrounding them, at which point I realized, rice production! We saw some cattle farms and some oil derricks.
We drove through Eunice, which is the "Gateway to the Great Southwest Prairie" (southwest of Louisiana, that is).
We drove through Opelousas, which is known for the Yambilee Festival (yes, like sweet potatoes, but it was not happening this weekend) and antebellum homes (which were all closed).
(not an antebellum home)
We took a state highway back down through Morgan City and Bayou Blue, a slightly longer but more scenic and less busy way to return to New Orleans. We stopped in Berwick, the town across the Atchafalaya River from Morgan City, to enjoy the lighthouse and riverfront.
It was a long journey but a good day out. We passed through 18 parishes and saw a lot of different environments. The church visit went well too, with a Sunday school lesson on the "web" of creation that involved kids holding different parts of creation (rocks, soil, water, plants, stuffed animals, etc.) and me stringing them all together with a ball of yarn to show how interconnected it all is-- when you hurt one part of creation, it affects the rest, too.
It's fun to think about all of the different ways that the bits and pieces of the world are related too, especially as I drove through so many different parts of Louisiana in one beautiful day with a good friend in the passenger seat.
Berwick, Louisiana
View Larger Map
Here is the thing about southern/southwestern Louisiana: everything is closed on Sundays. National Parks (there are Jean Lafitte museums in Lafayette and Eunice), antebellum homes, anything touristy, music halls, even the beignet shop someone recommended in Lafayette... there was not much for us to see or do besides drive around and just look. I don't mind people closing up shop and taking a day off, because everyone deserves a break, but I was surprised that so many touristy things do not happen on Sundays, when presumably tourists might be free to come check them out.
West of Lafayette are a lot of rice paddies, which I had never seen before-- at first it just looked like soggy fields until I noticed the berms surrounding them, at which point I realized, rice production! We saw some cattle farms and some oil derricks.
We drove through Eunice, which is the "Gateway to the Great Southwest Prairie" (southwest of Louisiana, that is).
We drove through Opelousas, which is known for the Yambilee Festival (yes, like sweet potatoes, but it was not happening this weekend) and antebellum homes (which were all closed).
(not an antebellum home)
We took a state highway back down through Morgan City and Bayou Blue, a slightly longer but more scenic and less busy way to return to New Orleans. We stopped in Berwick, the town across the Atchafalaya River from Morgan City, to enjoy the lighthouse and riverfront.
It was a long journey but a good day out. We passed through 18 parishes and saw a lot of different environments. The church visit went well too, with a Sunday school lesson on the "web" of creation that involved kids holding different parts of creation (rocks, soil, water, plants, stuffed animals, etc.) and me stringing them all together with a ball of yarn to show how interconnected it all is-- when you hurt one part of creation, it affects the rest, too.
It's fun to think about all of the different ways that the bits and pieces of the world are related too, especially as I drove through so many different parts of Louisiana in one beautiful day with a good friend in the passenger seat.
Berwick, Louisiana
Labels:
Lafayette,
Louisiana,
photos,
Presbyterianism,
YAV
03 February 2014
busy weekend
ON FRIDAY, I planted trees for the first time in 2014! It was a cool morning but warmed up nicely, and it was so so wonderful to get outside after a chilly week that included two very cooped up "sneaux days". (Hint: it didn't actually snow.)
The site was as the back of my favorite park that I've found in Louisiana so far, one of the Jean Lafitte National Park sites (there are six in the state), the Barataria Preserve. We took a short boat ride to the site, way at the back of the park. The land is actually owned by the school districts of two parishes, Jefferson and St. Charles. The districts lease the land to hunters to raise money for the schools. We put over 300 bald cypress trees in the ground to help fight the invasive Chinese Tallow tree. After the cypress trees have a while to take hold, a team will go back and kill the tallow trees, which are disrupting the ecosystem there.
a hunting blind on the flotat; we planted along a ridge between the flotat and the bayou
ON SATURDAY, I took a few friends on an adventure to Baton Rouge to try on wedding dresses. There was a store there that also has a branch in New Jersey, which will make it much easier logistically if I found something I liked. Three of my housemates (Anna Leigh, Alyssa and Hannah) and my friend from the Episcopal version of YAV (Lindsey) all came along for the ride, promising snarky and silly commentary and help. I tried on a few ridiculous gowns that are nothing at all like me, just for laughs, but we did eventually narrow it down to a likely contender. Then we all tried on funny dresses just because.
Many thanks to Anna Leigh, Hannah, Alyssa and Lindsey for help and laughter
ON SUNDAY, I woke up early and traveled to Bayou Blue for church, and then to Morgan City for another church service which I was leading. I preached about environmental justice. It went pretty well. The church has a Confederate fort on its grounds. I explored town a little bit afterward. It was very quiet and empty, and reminded me a lot of different rust belt towns I've visited before. There was a lot of truck traffic, which makes sense for it being a pretty busy port, but hardly anyone else walking or driving down the streets.
It was a very foggy, humid morning along the Atchafalaya River. My first time seeing it! And the little red lighthouse across the river in Berwick.
The site was as the back of my favorite park that I've found in Louisiana so far, one of the Jean Lafitte National Park sites (there are six in the state), the Barataria Preserve. We took a short boat ride to the site, way at the back of the park. The land is actually owned by the school districts of two parishes, Jefferson and St. Charles. The districts lease the land to hunters to raise money for the schools. We put over 300 bald cypress trees in the ground to help fight the invasive Chinese Tallow tree. After the cypress trees have a while to take hold, a team will go back and kill the tallow trees, which are disrupting the ecosystem there.
a hunting blind on the flotat; we planted along a ridge between the flotat and the bayou
ON SATURDAY, I took a few friends on an adventure to Baton Rouge to try on wedding dresses. There was a store there that also has a branch in New Jersey, which will make it much easier logistically if I found something I liked. Three of my housemates (Anna Leigh, Alyssa and Hannah) and my friend from the Episcopal version of YAV (Lindsey) all came along for the ride, promising snarky and silly commentary and help. I tried on a few ridiculous gowns that are nothing at all like me, just for laughs, but we did eventually narrow it down to a likely contender. Then we all tried on funny dresses just because.
Many thanks to Anna Leigh, Hannah, Alyssa and Lindsey for help and laughter
ON SUNDAY, I woke up early and traveled to Bayou Blue for church, and then to Morgan City for another church service which I was leading. I preached about environmental justice. It went pretty well. The church has a Confederate fort on its grounds. I explored town a little bit afterward. It was very quiet and empty, and reminded me a lot of different rust belt towns I've visited before. There was a lot of truck traffic, which makes sense for it being a pretty busy port, but hardly anyone else walking or driving down the streets.
It was a very foggy, humid morning along the Atchafalaya River. My first time seeing it! And the little red lighthouse across the river in Berwick.
Labels:
Baton Rouge,
bayou,
friends,
Louisiana,
Morgan City,
National Parks,
photos,
Presbyterianism,
trees,
wetlands
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