Double trouble from sliver of La.

The heavily industrialized stretch of the Mississippi River extending from Baton Rouge to south of New Orleans has accounted for more than 50% of Louisiana's greenhouse gas footprint for nearly 50 years, according to research analysis conducted by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. The research, still undergoing peer review, found that, in any given year, this small section of Louisiana produces anywhere from 26% to 55% of the state’s disproportionately large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. LUMC's coastal scientist Alex Kolker, who led the research, said the region stood out like a sore thumb when he began digging into international data compiled on climate and air pollution. Since 2020, Kolker has been on the scientific committee advising a state task force formed to guide Louisiana’s response to ever-growing threats of climate change. A greenhouse gas inventory found that in 2018 the industrial sector accounted for about two-thirds of the state's emissions. As discussions about Louisiana's carbon footprint progressed, he tried to find the answer to a single question: Where are these planet-warming emissions coming from? Turns out it was concentrated in ones same notorious area of the state for toxic air pollution and long-debated health concerns. (Source: WGNO 07/06/22) This sliver of Louisiana is responsible for most of the state’s carbon emissions, new study says | WWNO