Alex Lubben
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alexlubben.bsky.social
Alex Lubben
@alexlubben.bsky.social
Environment reporter with The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Before that: VICE News, other places.
Reposted by Alex Lubben
More than 3,600 wells once drilled on land or in wetlands are now in open water — a result of decades of erosion, sinking land and rising seas.   Some leak. Many endanger boats. Hundreds may fall to taxpayers to clean up.

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Louisiana drilled more coastal oil wells than any other state. Thousands have sunk in the Gulf.
A shrimp boat’s sudden sinking reveals a hidden danger: thousands of Louisiana oil wells drilled in marsh now lie underwater. They endanger boats, leak oil, and may leave taxpayers with the cleanup co...
www.nola.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Alex Lubben
Louisiana has more coastal oil wells than any other state. They're sinking: Thousands, once in marsh, are now in open water, thanks to land loss & rising seas.

Many leak, some sink boats, and cleanup costs could fall to taxpayers.

My latest for @nolanews.bsky.social: www.nola.com/news/environ...
Louisiana drilled more coastal oil wells than any other state. Thousands have sunk in the Gulf.
A shrimp boat’s sudden sinking reveals a hidden danger: thousands of Louisiana oil wells drilled in marsh now lie underwater. They endanger boats, leak oil, and may leave taxpayers with the cleanup co...
www.nola.com
September 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Louisiana has more coastal oil wells than any other state. They're sinking: Thousands, once in marsh, are now in open water, thanks to land loss & rising seas.

Many leak, some sink boats, and cleanup costs could fall to taxpayers.

My latest for @nolanews.bsky.social: www.nola.com/news/environ...
Louisiana drilled more coastal oil wells than any other state. Thousands have sunk in the Gulf.
A shrimp boat’s sudden sinking reveals a hidden danger: thousands of Louisiana oil wells drilled in marsh now lie underwater. They endanger boats, leak oil, and may leave taxpayers with the cleanup co...
www.nola.com
September 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
NEW: The Corp found funds to do crucial annual levee inspections in New Orleans. We reported last week that the inspection would not happen this year due to federal funding cuts.

My latest for @nolanews.bsky.social: www.nola.com/news/environ...
Federal cuts threatened to curtail New Orleans area levee inspections. Money has now been found.
The Army Corps has secured funding for annual inspections of New Orleans’ levee system after earlier budget cuts. But next year’s funding is still in doubt.
www.nola.com
August 19, 2025 at 8:00 PM
NEW: 20 years after Katrina, the Corps doesn't have funding to fully inspect New Orleans’ levees this year or next.

Story for @nolanews.bsky.social here:
www.nola.com/news/environ...
New Orleans' vital levee system will be inspected less often. Federal cuts are to blame.
For the first time in years, New Orleans’ levees will skip annual safety inspections. Federal budget cuts are halting the checks that protect the city from the type of flooding that occurred 20 years ...
www.nola.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:05 PM
My profile for @nolanews.bsky.social of John Carmouche, the attorney who just won a $745 million verdict against Chevron:

www.nola.com/news/environ...
June 29, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Sometime before Katrina, one of the world's biggest mining companies stocked a fishing pond on its corporate lodge in Plaquemines Parish with tilapia, a non-native fish that can gobble up everything and take over ecosystems.
June 16, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The historic $745 million verdict against Chevron in Plaquemines "is one of the largest … ever won by a local government for environmental damage — not only in the United States, but globally,” says @michaelgerrard.bsky.social. But the verdict is just the beginning of a much larger fight.
April 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Billions at stake as oil firms face off against Plaquemines Parish in coastal damages suit

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Billions at stake as oil firms face off against Plaquemines Parish in coastal damages suit
A colossal Louisiana legal showdown began this week in a Plaquemines Parish courtroom, as attorney John Carmouche, who has led a statewide fight to make the energy industry pay for
www.nola.com
March 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Just over two years ago, people who had lived their whole lives on Isle de Jean Charles moved into brand new homes in a government-built subdivision. Already some worry about being priced out.

Story at @nolanews.bsky.social:

www.nola.com/news/environ...
They left their sinking Louisiana island with state help. But will their new community unravel?
“I’m not going to lie, most people are probably struggling right now,” one resident said.
www.nola.com
February 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Shane Guidry, who says he is to Jeff Landry what Elon Musk is to Trump, is reshaping the agency tasked with protecting the New Orleans metro area from storm surge flooding.

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Gov. Jeff Landry's adviser is reshaping New Orleans levee authority. 'Look at Elon Musk'
Gov. Jeff Landry's point person in New Orleans is taking a hands-on approach to reform at the east bank's flood control authority.
www.nola.com
January 16, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Attacker drove down 3 blocks of Bourbon Street with no barriers. How did that happen?

www.nola.com/news/crime_p...
Attacker drove down 3 blocks of Bourbon Street with no barriers. How did that happen?
Most of the attack victims were killed on portions of the street that would have been protected by at least one police car. But NOPD has now acknowledged that there were no police cruisers parked as...
www.nola.com
January 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
After the BP oil spill, scientists expected some whale populations to recover within a decade. New research suggests that hasn't happened.

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Scientists put microphones at the bottom of the Gulf to hear whales. It was eerily quiet.
Scientists initially expected some whale populations to rebound a decade after the BP oil spill. New research suggests they haven't recovered.
www.nola.com
January 6, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Alex Lubben
Decided to join bluesky since my story is blowing up here- thanks everyone who's read it! Update: Amazon contacted Ms. Scott-Windham and is now giving her time off with pay.
An Alabama mom hit by the Bourbon Street attacker's truck then shot in the attack, who still has a bullet lodged in her foot, told a @nolanews.bsky.social reporter that the Amazon warehouse where she works denied her request for a leave of absence.
Alabama mom hit by truck, then shot in Bourbon Street attack: 'It's just so disturbing'
A night of revelry was coming to a close for Alexis Scott-Windham and her friends in the early hours of New Year's Eve after they came from Mobile, Alabama to
www.nola.com
January 3, 2025 at 6:40 PM
“The Amazon warehouse where she works denied her request for a leave of absence, and she worries she'll have to find a new job once she's recovered.”

www.nola.com/news/crime_p...
Alabama mom hit by truck, then shot in Bourbon Street attack: 'It's just so disturbing'
A night of revelry was coming to a close for Alexis Scott-Windham and her friends in the early hours of New Year's Eve after they came from Mobile, Alabama to
www.nola.com
January 3, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Here's Richard Campanella with a deep history of the Industrial Canal and the long debate over whether to widen it: www.nola.com/entertainmen...
Decades ago, the West Bank also faced an industrial canal bottleneck. Here's what happened.
One human lifetime. That’s how long we’ve been debating whether the lock of the Industrial Canal should be widened — “we” meaning shipping interests, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
www.nola.com
January 2, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Reposted by Alex Lubben
In the hours before a driver plowed through crowds in New Orleans' French Quarter, revelers noticed droves of law enforcement officers stationed at the festivities — precautions they said made the carnage even more stunning. @nolanews.bsky.social
www.nola.com/news/crime_p...
New Orleans tourists describe 'cops everywhere' in French Quarter before Bourbon Street attack
Before a driver plowed through crowds of revelers on Bourbon Street, people said they felt safe thanks to the large number of law enforcement officers present — precautions that made the carnage even ...
www.nola.com
January 2, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Reposted by Alex Lubben
Real estate agent, Army veteran, Texas resident.
Who was Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect accused of killing at least 10, injuring dozens on Bourbon Street in New Orleans?
www.nola.com/news/crime_p...
Who is Shamsud-Din Jabbar, suspect in alleged Bourbon Street terrorist attack in New Orleans?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar was a recently-divorced Texas resident, though it was unclear what ties he had to New Orleans.
www.nola.com
January 1, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Reposted by Alex Lubben
Our journalists are following every update on the Bourbon Street attack. We'll be covering it around the clock.

Find the latest on NOLA.com here: www.nola.com/news/crime_p...
January 1, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Wrote about the effort to revive the 70-year-old plan to replace the lock on the Industrial Canal for @nolanews.bsky.social www.nola.com/news/environ...
Plan to replace New Orleans' Industrial Canal lock being revived. Neighbors are pushing back.
The project has led neighbors to put signs in their yards that read “The Canal Will Kill.”
www.nola.com
December 23, 2024 at 5:54 PM
New from me: The head of the east bank’s flood control agency is stepping down after she opposed a Landry-backed plan to expand the role of the agency’s police force.

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Head of New Orleans levee authority resigns amid clash over agency’s police force
Kelli Chandler will officially step down from her position leading the South Louisiana Flood Protection Authority–East on Jan. 3.
www.nola.com
December 13, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Louisiana has a plan to slice open a section of the Mississippi River to keep a key section of the coastline from eroding. But doing so could harm fisheries, and shrimpers worry that the project could kill their industry.

I went to Buras to talk to them about it.

www.nola.com/news/environ...
Gov. Jeff Landry denounced a $3 billion coastal restoration plan. Shrimpers are thrilled.
Commercial fishermen in South Louisiana, already struggling to make ends meet, worry that a massive coastal restoration project could put an end their way of life.
www.nola.com
December 9, 2024 at 3:02 PM
Some personal news, as they say: I'm starting a new job at The Times-Picayune, covering the environment in Louisiana. Absolute dream job. Hit me up with story ideas / tips at [email protected]
November 18, 2024 at 6:16 PM
here’s another gator i saw recently
November 12, 2024 at 2:57 AM
Living through my first extreme-heat summer, this is absolutely true: "Your taste in entertainment changes. ... Your eyes can’t even follow faces on a screen, much less words on a page."
November 19, 2024 at 9:36 PM