Local officials are working to inform the public while still recovering from 2020’s record-breaking season—all on tight budgets.
Category: Climate
Posted inClimate, COVID-19, Culture, Public Health, Wildlife
What cicadas taught me about loss, mortality
Billions of Brood X cicadas are above ground for the first time in 17 years. After the pandemic, it feels especially symbolic.
Posted inClimate, COVID-19, Disaster Recovery, Economies, Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Public Health
The population of Lake Charles, La. shrank more than any U.S. city in 2020
New USPS data tells a story about climate change and displacement.
Posted inClimate, COVID-19, Disaster Recovery, Gulf Coast, Justice, Public Health, Water
Field Notes: How we reported our series on Hurricane Laura recovery
For seven months, Southerly has stayed on a story that received far too little media attention. Here’s how we did it.
Posted inClimate, Culture, Food & Agriculture, Land
The role of kudzu in architecture, cuisine, and culture
Before it took over Southern landscapes, the invasive vine was once called the “savior of the South.” Artists, designers, and chefs are trying to render it useful. Slithering and snaking skyward, wrapped around the trunks of ancient oak trees, up telephone poles, and over hillsides, kudzu’s bristly, yellow-green vines and heart-shaped leaves look innocuous enough. […]
Posted inClimate
Tell Southerly your best firefly and cicada stories
We want to know what fireflies and cicadas mean to you. Submit memories, reflections, photos, and more to be featured in our project.
Posted inClimate, Disaster Recovery, Energy, Gulf Coast, Justice, Louisiana, Texas, Utilities
Nobody warned Texans about the public health risks of the winter storm
Without advance warning about the true scale of power outages and the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, local officials say they were caught off guard, leaving residents to fend for themselves.