After the Spill

A decade ago, Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on Louisiana’s coastline. Then, five years later, the Deepwater Horizon disaster occurred, releasing over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, marking the most severe environmental catastrophe in North American history. Surprisingly, these events are not the most pressing issues for Louisiana’s coast today. The state is rapidly vanishing. On Earth Day in 2010, when BP’s Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, many in Louisiana foresaw a permanent transformation of the state’s coastline, affecting both its economy and its residents. How has the coast evolved over the past five years?