Susan Buchanan

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the May 21, 2012 edition.

Nalco Company, the maker of Corexit used to disperse oil from the BP spill, is using Louisiana state credits to build an $18.7 million polymer facility at its Garyville plant -- 35 miles upriver...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the May 14, 2012 edition.

Scientists say oil and gas seeps surrounding BP's Deepwater Horizon well appear to be mostly natural and to pre-date the 2010 spill. But some experts wonder if at least some of the seeps...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the May 7, 2012 edition.

Dolphins are washing up dead while fish disappear as oil and dispersants from BP's 2010 spill lurk in Gulf waters and marshes. Last month, Riki Ott, marine toxicologist and former Alaska fisherwoman, said "the...

Vietnamese and Cambodian fishermen in Village L'est and Versailles in New Orleans East were among the first residents to return after Katrina, only to see their livelihoods crushed a few years later by the BP spill. In early April, 41 Asian-American fishermen sued BP in U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana...

(This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the April 16, 2012 edition)

Louisiana seafood processors -- already threatened by inexpensive imports -- say their operating costs are about to rise because of new U.S. Department of Labor rules. Two months ago, the feds issued 575 pages of regulations...

Bicyclists and joggers aren't the only ones waiting for a three-mile strip running through the center of New Orleans to be developed into the Lafitte Greenway. Neighboring businesses hope to serve residents and tourists using the stretch of park from historic Basin Street and Mid-City to Lakeview. The 40-year-old, corridor...

New Orleans is emerging from the throwaway era as residents sign up for curbside recycling -- implemented last year -- and direct their Carnival beads to new uses. Cities in other states have gone a step further, banning plastic grocery bags and even paper ones because of resources used in...

Plans to move regional, mail-processing activities from Loyola Avenue in downtown New Orleans to Baton Rouge are not a done deal, according to the U.S. Postal Service and union spokesmen last week. In December, Congress imposed a moratorium on any closings of postal plants and offices across the nation until...

This article first appeared in The Louisiana Weekly March 12, 2012

Gulf residents will have another shot at getting spill-related, medical claims paid following a proposed settlement between BP and plaintiffs, announced in early March. Those that weren't compensated by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility -- set up after...

(This article was published in "The Louisiana Weekly" in the March 19, 2012 issue.)

Louisiana needs to get smart quickly about coastal restoration, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu said in her hometown of New Orleans last week. The state has funds for the coast but also needs money from the RESTORE...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Feb. 13, 2012 edition.

Congressional delegates from Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states hope the bipartisan RESTORE Act will be passed soon and before a possible BP settlement with the feds so that BP fines go to coastal states and...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Feb. 5, 2012 edition.

City Park in New Orleans has mostly recovered from Katrina's wrath in 2005, and is building attractions to generate greens fees, entry tickets, concession sales, catering and equipment rentals to cover its operating expenses....

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Jan. 30, 2012 edition.

A New Orleans open house held by Louisiana's coastal restoration authority last week on a draft of the state's 2012 Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast drew mixed, earnest and sometimes vehement comments. Those living near...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Jan. 16, 2012 edition.

Roots of mighty oaks push up through New Orleans sidewalks while trees in the metropolis often tower above nearby buildings. Nearly half of Louisiana, in fact, is covered with forests, and the southern U.S. as a...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Jan. 9, 2012 issue.

Louisiana and the rest of the South are starting to harness wind power--something that's done on a larger scale in states to the north and west of us. Wind accounts for 3% of electricity in the...

This article was published in "The Louisiana Weekly" in the December 5, 2011 edition.

After a string of natural and man-made catastrophes, New Orleans has become a spot to share expertise on flooding, wind, spilled oil and any other grief that comes down the pike. The city plans to refurbish...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Nov. 21, 2011 edition.

A multi-million-dollar study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, gauging impacts of the BP spill on cleanup workers, has so far enrolled 5,500 individuals--mostly from Gulf states. The federally funded NIEHS hopes to interview...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Nov. 14, 2011 edition.

Temple-Inland Inc., a maker of corrugated packaging and building products, recently agreed to a settlement with Louisiana's Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries after a "black-liquor" discharge by the company's Bogalusa paper mill resulted in a big...

This article was published in The Louisiana Weekly in the Oct. 24, 2011 edition.

South Louisiana residents know the coast is losing wetlands to the Gulf--at the rate of a football field an hour--as well as they know how the New Orleans Saints played last weekend. Climate change may...

Lately, Louisiana residents have worried that their lunchtime oyster and shrimp poboys, or sandwiches, are torpedoing the weekly budget. After a series of calamities in recent years, Louisiana shellfish is expensive and won't become cheaper anytime soon, industry members say.

If you want oysters on hand for Thanksgiving, shop...