Latest Mississippi River Delta news: Dec. 12, 2014

National Wildlife Federation recommends 5 Alabama projects for oil spill restoration funding
By Dennis Pillion, al.com. Dec. 11, 2014.
“In a report released this week the National Wildlife Federation recommended oyster reef creation, land acquisition and watershed restoration among Alabama-based projects that should be given priority as federal and state officials begin dividing up fine money collected from BP and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill…” (read more).

Plaquemines Parish Council postpones vote on coal export terminal’s building permit
By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Dec. 11, 2014.
“The Plaquemines Parish Council on Thursday postponed a vote on the building permit for the controversial RAM Terminals LLC coal export facility on the west bank of the Mississippi River…” (read more).

Scientific American’s report on Louisiana coastal restoration is somber and depressing
By Alejandro De Los Rios, Gambit (New Orleans). Dec. 11, 2014.
“If you’ve been having a really good week and would like a downer to bring you back to earth, head over to Scientific American for the second story in a two-part series on Louisiana’s vanishing coastline. The piece is written in collaboration with The Lens, ProPublica and Knight-Mozilla OpenNews and follows up on the the even more depressing first story written in August…” (read more).

The Last Southern Democratic Senator Gave Her Farewell Speech
By Denver Nicks. TIME. Dec. 11, 2014.
“Departing Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu promised to spend her retirement from politics working to repair the environmentally degraded Gulf Coast Thursday in an emotional farewell speech delivered from the Senate floor. “It is something worth fighting for,” she said. “We would not be a country without the Mississippi Delta.”…” (read more).

‘The Great Invisible’ movie review: Deepwater Horizon doc focus on the human toll of the BP oil spill
By Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Dec. 11, 2014.
“We’ve all seen the images — the fireball in the Gulf, the rivers of oil atop the waves, the listless birds coated in pitch-black crude, the fouled coastline. If you were anywhere near New Orleans at the time, you may have smelled it, too — the acrid scent of petroleum wafting in from some 40 miles off the Louisiana coast…” (read more).

National Hurricane Center unveils new storm surge watch, warning maps
By Mark Schleifstein, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Dec. 11, 2014.
“The National Hurricane Center took the next step towards creating separate hurricane storm surge warning messages on Thursday, releasing an example of new color storm surge watch and warning maps to be used on an experimental basis in the 2015 hurricane season…” (read more).

Mary Landrieu speaks personally in farewell address, telling colleagues she knows she ‘aggravated’ them advocating for her state
By Bruce Alpert, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Dec. 11, 2014.
“In a remarkably personal farewell speech, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., reflected on her 18-year Senate career, recalling how she “aggravated to death” colleagues in fights for Katrina assistance and how her Christian faith helped her deal with losing her seat in last Saturday’s election.”…” (read more).