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Research and Scholarly Interests

Underneath the lush, exotic beauty of cypress trees and egrets, Louisiana’s coast is sinking into the sea at an alarming rate. By 2050, it is expected that the state will lose more than 1 million acres of coastal wetlands, an area the size of Rhode Island. Mike Tidwell, in his book Bayou Farewell, captures the problem eloquently when he noted that Louisiana “is literally washing out to sea, surrendering to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an unfolding calamity of fantastic magnitude, taking with it entire Cajun towns and an age-old way of life.” When Hurricane Katrina hit the Louisiana coast on August 29, 2005, policy makers were witnesses to the worst case scenario that had been discussed for decades. With a battered and broken levee system, inoperable pumping stations, and limited protection from the damaged wetlands, New Orleans became a modern American Atlantis. But how did we get to this point?

My research focuses on the politics and policies that have contributed to the environmental problems along Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. It’s a rather interdisciplinary research project. My project is rooted in the history of the Mississippi River: a cultural icon popularized by Mark Twain’s writings; a muddy navigation corridor that was a key element to the nation’s westward expansion; and one of the major projects for the Army Corps of Engineers, an agency charged with keeping the basin’s residents free from floods. Against this backdrop, I am looking at the problems of path dependency and negative externalities, the policy community that created these problems, and the various political strategies used from 1940 through today. As a coda to this research, I posit the question “Can this coast be saved?”

Geographically, my research extends beyond New Orleans. Hurricane Rita had a devastating impact on western Louisiana and on the energy infrastructure of this nation. Looking at the effects of Rita opens up an entirely new area of policy research – one that looks at the give and take between our country’s need for a secure energy supply and the political and economic costs of rebuilding Louisiana’s wetlands.

Finally, my research has an international flavor as well. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, politicians at the state and national levels have started to examine the flood protection/coastal defense infrastructure used in The Netherlands. This summer, I am actually going to visit the Deltawerken (Delta Works) while I am in Europe. I am also starting to investigate the political pros and cons of this type of flood control structure in the United States.

If there is a single motto that serves as a guide for your career and life, what is it?

To steal from Nike: Just do it … and have fun doing it!

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