Innovations in Flood Defense: Upriver Solutions to Protect New Orleans

November 6, 2023

A classic about the restoring the Mississippi River Delta.

In this classic episode, Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham dive into the evolving landscape of Louisiana's coast, confronting the challenge of shielding New Orleans from catastrophic Mississippi River floods. Dr. Devyani Kar from the Environmental Defense Fund joins the conversation to reveal groundbreaking research on how river diversions upriver can rejuvenate essential wetlands while mitigating the repercussions of the Bonnet Carré Spillway's frequent usage. Explore how Louisiana's pioneering coastal restoration efforts compare to other states and learn about Dr. Kar's work on employing nature-based defenses to lessen flood risks and chemical exposure from Galveston Bay's petrochemical facilities. Join us as we unravel these cutting-edge strategies poised to redefine coastal resilience.

Show Transcription
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Peter Ravella & Tyler Buckingham

Peter and Tyler joined forces in 2015 and from the first meeting began discussing a project that would become Coastal News Today and the American Shoreline Podcast Network. At the time, Peter and Tyler were coastal consultants for Pete’s firm, PAR Consulting, LLC. In that role, they worked with coastal communities in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, engaged in grant writing, coastal project development, shoreline erosion and land use planning, permitting, and financial planning for communities undertaking big beach restoration projects. Between and among their consulting tasks, they kept talking and kept building the idea of CNT & ASPN. In almost every arena they worked, public engagement played a central role. They spent thousands of hours talking with coastal stakeholders, like business owners, hotel operators, condo managers, watermen, property owners, enviros, surfers, and fishermen. They dived deep into the value, meaning, and responsibility for the American shoreline, segment-by-segment. Common threads emerged, themes were revealed, differences uncovered. There was a big conversation going on along the American shoreline! But, no place to have it. That's where CNT and ASPN were born.