Back in New Orleans -- 5 Years Later

As soon as I got off the plane I felt that humid Gulf Coast air, and I recognized that evocative hint of mold -- not the overpowering pungent smell from after Katrina, but the hint that always hangs in the air in New Orleans. It's strange, but good, to be back.

I spent a lot of time in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the Army Corps of Engineers flooded the city. In October and November of 2005, I led three teams of NRDC scientists and staff to New Orleans to sample air quality for mold, endotoxin, and particulate matter. Our results helped inform returning residents and spurred campaigns to provide appropriate protective equipment for workers and residents. Over the ensuing two years, I returned repeatedly to sample drinking water, sediment, and soil. I got to know all the neighborhoods in the city - not by conventional landmarks such as restaurants - but by sampling locations. I also came to love the place, and I understood why the people of New Orleans passionately and determinedly rebuilt their flood-prone city. I also came to know and love many people who live here, and many of the powerful community-based organizations.

But over the past couple of years I have not been back to New Orleans. My travel schedule has centered on Washington DC instead of the Gulf Coast. Sometimes I missed it.

I wanted to come back to NOLA (as the locals call it), but I didn't want to come back for this.

The Gulf Coast has been hit too hard, and too often. The economy of the region has suffered terribly, as has the physical and mental health of the people. Now the spreading oil offshore isn't visible and can't be smelled from here, but everyone knows it's out there.

Tomorrow I will meet with local leaders and find out what we can do to help. The next day I will go down to view the oil spill with my own eyes. I'll bring as much protective equipment as I can. There's no place to buy respirators and impermeable gloves down in Venice near the spill, and from the reports I'm hearing, people need it.

At dinner tonight I ordered the Gulf shrimp on my salad. After all, it might be my last chance to have Gulf shrimp for a long while....

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