Louisiana has got to shift from oil and gas to renewables and it is possible – but not with our current legislature. A Times Picayune Power Poll has two-thirds of respondents putting the state’s chances of making the switch at even to very poor.
“We have a partisan Legislature that is less concerned about providing for future growth than … about appeasing a national right wing narrative,” said Jeff Thomas, publisher of Think504. “We have opportunities to lead in the transformation from fossil fuels dependency to cleaner, greener infrastructure. This would result in net jobs gains for the state. “Yet the partisanship prevents open thinking. So I think we are destined for economic devastation instead.”
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Allison Plyer chief demographer at The Data Center commented:
“The Louisiana Legislature has to identify investments and policies that will grow jobs in the clean energy economy,” Plyer said. “Workers displaced from oil and gas jobs (a number that has been declining for decades) need opportunities to learn skills that will help them transition to these new jobs. Fighting for the past will only cause Louisiana to lose out on the opportunities at our doorstep.”
One-third of the respondents said the state had a good chance of survival.
“Most of us just can’t imagine how the coastal Louisiana economy will look 50 years from now, but I’ll bet on successful adaptations,” said Bob Thomas, environmental communications professor at Loyola University New Orleans.
Even with global warming and sea rise, over half said we still will be her at least for the next 75 years.
“If you mean a culturally valuable population center located adjacent to a globally significant port complex, then yes. You can wall the city up,” said Justin Nystrom, a history professor at Loyola. “If I were looking for the sky to fall on a city, it would be Miami, which you cannot wall off or ever hope to pump enough away because of the porous substrata and huge footprint.”
While not a scientific poll, it still shows the thoughts of the population.
