Entergy is
proud to support programing on LP

and greener practices
that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental
and sustainability initiatives

really is to ensure that our kids
and future generations can be left

with a cleaner planet.

Additional support
provided by the Fred Bea

and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation

and the Ziegler Art Museum
located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging
Louisiana artists

and is an historical and cultural
center for Southwest Louisiana

and the Foundation for Excellence
in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

That stuff's
going into the storm drain,

and you may not see it,
and this is the problem.

Cleaning up Louisiana litter,
how is that affecting impact

in the environment?

New Orleans natives
making a healthier carnival season.

So we're right on that tipping
point where we have to worry

how a melting glacier
is threatening Louisiana's coast

in 24 hours.

Their life changed
and not for the better.

An insurance option
everyone should know.

Hi everyone, I'm Kara St.

Cyr and I'm Andre Moreau.

Signs of peaking
--That is the latest this week

from state health officials
about the Omicron variant of COVID.

They say it shows signs of peaking.

Governor John Bel Edwards and top
medical leaders say the numbers

of people in the hospital
and the positive tests have dropped

for a second week in a row, though
cases still remain high.

If it is the case that we are
peaking now and if the numbers do

on a statewide basis,
at least look to be trending

in the right direction
in the coming days or a week.

It's still worth remembering
that that still has

an absolute level of very,
very high.

Basically the same place
that we are now, which means it is

true now, and it will remain true
for the next couple of weeks

that there's just more COVID
out there in Louisiana

than at any point prior
in the pandemic.

The risk of being exposed,
the risk of contracting the risk

at risk of bringing COVID
home to your family is as high,

if not higher now,
than at any point prior.

I think that's important for folks
to realize

as we watch these numbers
closely in the coming days.

The total number of COVID
cases in Louisiana

over the course of this pandemic
has officially surpassed 1 million.

The Louisiana Department of Health

reported 14,000 new cases
and 37 new deaths this week.

Infections and reinfections

are still most common
among the unvaccinated,

and let's take a look
at some of the other headlines

making news across our state.

After over five months of limited

electricity from Hurricane Ida's
destruction, Louisiana's

Barrier Island Grand Isle
finally has fully restored power.

I'd made landfall
August 29th, leaving Grand

Isle nearly inaccessible for days
after the storm.

For months, the island has relied
on large Entergy generators.

This week, American Electric Power
in Ohio based utility company

announced plans for a new 100

million dollar transmission
control center in Shreveport.

The company currently provides
electricity in the Texarkana area.

The state
offered incentive packages

that include a 1 million dollar
reward for infrastructure costs.

Construction is set to begin
with operations midyear 2023.

New Orleans University
Medical Center recently identified

the first two known cases

in Louisiana of a rare
drug resistant fungus.

The fungus was found in at least
20 other states.

It's a harmful form of yeast
that can be resistant

to most of the common
antifungal drugs.

The CDC has determined the fungus
to be an emerging global threat

and says it's especially dangerous
to hospital

and nursing home patients
with serious medical problems

after two

years of jazz fest cancelations
due to the pandemic.

Festival organizers have announced
2022 is a long awaited lineup.

This year's jazz fest
will run from Friday, April 29th

through Sunday, May
eighth, with Erica Badu, the WHO.

Stevie Nicks and Foo Fighters
as headliners,

the governor announced this week.

The Army Corps of Engineers
will receive more

than two and a half billion dollars
for the state

under the Biden
bipartisan infrastructure law.

It includes

recovery money for coastal projects
and damage from Hurricane Ida.

The 17th annual cinema on the Bayou
will be held in-person

and online this year.

The film festival will present
over 200 official selections,

which will be available

to watch online, as well as daily
in-person screenings.

All in-person
screenings will be in compliance

with applicable COVID
19 requirements.

The festival's film schedule can be
found at cinema on the by EW.com.

And now to a story that we first
talk to you

about last week with Lieutenant
Governor Billy Nungesser.

It's the governor's
task force on litter abatement

and beautification for the state
of Louisiana statewide.

Mary Constantine is a photographer
and a clean environment advocate.

You've worked on this
for a long time

and you are a member of this
task force.

So how will the task force work?

Well, there's there's 26 of us.

So when you think about it,
that's pretty frightening.

But my understanding

is that
they're going to break up into

either teams or groups
and then probably

you'll be assigned maybe a couple.

I'm not sure some of the work
you've done with Capital Lake

in Baton Rouge discussed that
and how that will be a model

to help the entire state work
toward this.

Will our stormwater coalition
has been involved cleaning

1200 bags of litter
out of Capital Lake.

342 tires, a couch and two toilets.

And so we recognize 41 bags

flow in every month
and we came up with this model.

You know,
we cleaned it 15 times over from,

I mean, made it pristine
and we realized

we we're just wasting our time
because we don't have a litter

capturing technologies
in the outfalls.

And in the north of the capital,
Lake is right in downtown

Baton Rouge near the state Capitol.

So we came up with a model
and it's a really easy model.

If you get a storm water management
program in place,

you have permanent
funding from utility bill.

When you get the permanent funding,
you drop in the equipment

that's been around
for 30 years in Florida.

Now they've already
they're very done this.

All we have to do
is learn from them

and then you get
you have the money,

so you have the equipment
serviced and cleaned.

Then you get the Girl Scouts
and all the volunteers.

You go in to a legacy clean.

You clean up our litter,
our grandfather's litter

one time deal, clean it up,
probably have to do a touch up

once a year, but the equipment
is going to stop the 41 bags.

And so this model is very different

than any model you've ever seen
when it comes to the watersheds.

Louisiana is a state

that has gets more rainfall,
more water than no one in raised.

OK, so that will contribute
to the problem

of litter on the street
going into streams and rivers.

And what happens is unlike dry
as a bone Arizona,

they have wind problems.

We have flooding problems.

And so what happens to us because
we're number one in rainfall?

If you

if you throw stuff
out on the street

or drops out of the garbage truck
or gets there, somehow what happens

is every two weeks
it gets washed into this

the sportsman's paradise,

the soul, part B,
it gets washed into there.

And the storm drains
are essentially freeway onramp

systems, delivering massive
payloads into what we live in play.

And you mentioned Florida,

why they are a great model
for us to follow.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious there.

The weather is very similar to ours
where we all go there to vacation

because it's so beautiful,
but they have the same topography.

You know,
we always like to look at Texas

for business
and things for Florida.

If we want to
look at the environment,

look at Florida,
they have the same topography

and they're typically no foreign

rainfall and we're number one
and they did this 30 years ago.

Our storm drains,

it might have been built
in the fifties and even earlier

were never intended
for single use items.

So what happens
is they get clogged up.

And then when we create
when we send in plastics and

sediments, flood causing sediments,
we create impermeable

surfaces and soils.

This is played out
all over the state, right?

And every year exactly
what if you have storm drains

and you're not,
you know, taking care

and you don't have good garbage

contracts
and you have a lot of people

are throwing those kinds of things
and it's ending up on the street.

That stuff's going into the storm
drain and you may not see it.

And this is the problem.

But that is going to get delivered.

That outfall is going to deliver
that payload

and it's
going to get stuck somewhere.

Some of it's
going to go to the ocean,

but some of it is going

to get stuck in your favorite place
to go hunting.

The point is to keep Louisiana
beautiful.

We are the sportsman's paradise
and this will go under the Visit

Louisiana campaign, and that's
where it's going to go from.

So that's a lot of where
this can happen.

It's so great to have you here.
Thank you very constaté.

Thank you. Thank you.

Louisiana sees a surge
in our litter problem every year

during Carnival season. Beads,
stuffed

animals into balloons
are quintessential Mardi Gras.

But these items often take a heavy
toll on the environment.

Experts say
that most of the throws we catch at

parades will end up in the streets
or in landfills.

New Orleans natives
deep in the culture are creating

something more sustainable
to ease the burden

on our country's landfills by
producing biodegradable solutions.

I spoke with the creators
of Epiphany

Throws, a business dedicated
to making sustainable beads

about the importance of an eco
friendly carnival season.

Mardi Gras produces nearly 1000
tons of trash each year.

All the bags, beads
and stuffed animals

usually end up on the streets
or in the garbage.

Penny Orochi, Melissa Montgomery
and Allison Taylor

are a group of women working toward
a healthier carnival season.

Through talking to other people
realized

that we all had a major problem
with the waste and the trash

going on at Mardi Gras,
and we heard some people saying

they didn't
even want to ride anymore

because of all the trash ,
and it was just felt so wrong

and people
just leaving things on the street.

And how is that affecting impact
on the environment?

Regular plastic beads are hazardous
for several reasons.

They can last in landfills
for up to 200 years,

and they can damage storm
drains needed to prevent flooding.

Scientists have also linked
to be paint to carcinogens.

IronKey, Taylor and Montgomery
created Epiphany throws so

they could sell Mardi Gras products
without the added risks.

Let's let's be proud
of what we throw and let's,

you know,
let's let's be the city that cares.

Their throats are comprised of
mainly two things are seeds

and dead stock cotton textile

epiphany throws offers
ethically sourced

painted beads made out of seeds

that are strung together
with cotton strings.

The headdresses and bags are made
from leftover factory cotton

and old Mardi Gras costumes.

Unlike regular

plastic throws, these can degrade
in about ten years or so,

but the goal is really to make
something people will remember.

It's really nice to make
that connection with the writer

when they get something
that's really exciting,

they're like,
Oh, this is different.

Epiphany throws aren't
the only group

trying to make Carnival better
for the environment.

Now, Hero Catto, an LSU professor,
developed a special type

of Mardi Gras
be that's eco friendly.

As a biologist,
I knew there is a product called

Bio Rabaul Plastics.

Kato's method starts with
microscopic algae called a diatoms.

If you harvest them,

you can use their oil
to create beads and a blooms.

After Mardi Gras is over,
they can degrade

in one or two years.

Louisiana is a great place
to grow the microalgae

out of all
of those to meet sun-dried.

So why just

regrow the microalgae and then

directly produce plastics

from the oil within the microalgae?

Although the process is eco
friendly, it's also very expensive.

Kato's first batch of Mardi Gras
beads would cost around

$40,000 for only 3000 beads.

On average, plastic ones
only cost about 25 to $40 per case.

Kato says he might be able
to lower the cost

if he can produce more beads
quickly.

But even then,
the price would still be higher

than the plastic ones.

If we produce a lot of amount

and then the cost price

could be down to about $0.20.

Palm are still.

You know, three times,
four times more expensive than.

They get on Mardi Gras beads,
but ultimately, Kato says real

sustainability is more sentimental
than biodegradable products.

If there's some sort of value
attached to the items being thrown,

then people will take them home

instead of throwing them in the
streets or in the garbage.

2022 is Epiphany throws
first full year of operation.

They plan to expand their business
and supply sustainable throws in

bulk for big Mardi Gras
crews in the future.

Louisiana loses a football field

worth of land every hour
and a half to sea level rise.

That's a tennis court worth of land
every few minutes

as rising temperatures quickly
melt glaciers in the Arctic states

like Louisiana
stand to lose a lot more

if they're quickly disappearing
coastlines.

Brett Gehring, a professor
at Tulane University, explains why

a glacier enhanced
Arctic air is melting so quickly

and how Louisiana
could be affected.

7289 miles away from Louisiana's

coast, a threat is brewing
in the heart of the ocean.

The Thwaites
Glacier is a massive ice

approximately
the size of Great Britain.

It's been slowly
melting for decades

and is responsible
for 4% of global sea level rise.

Scientists like Brant Gehring
say we could see

catastrophic levels of flooding
if we don't act fast.

Thwaites
Glacier is up to a kilometer deep

or more in place,
so a significantly different

different magnitude of

of flowing water
just in a frozen state.

Gehring is part
of a network of scientists

researching the Thwaites
Glacier and its impact on sea level

during his tenure
as the principal investigator

at the International Thwaites
Glacier collaboration.

He's seen the temperature
of the water

underneath the ice mass rise
with climate change,

which is creating a huge problem
for the Antarctic

ice shelves
that hold the glacier above water.

The West ice sheet in the East
Ice Sheet keep the weights planted

in the ground.

The East Ice Sheet is above
sea level and is considered

stable by most scientists,
but the West ice sheet isn't

warm.

Water is breaking off
chunks of the sheet,

which causes pieces of the glacier
to break into the Pacific Ocean.

The more the glacier breaks,
the higher sea level rises.

So we're right on that tipping
point where we have to worry.

For coastal states, the sea level
rising could cause severe problems

in Louisiana,

where the coast is already
disappearing at a devastating rate.

Experts predict the glacier could
add another two feet of water.

Gehring says that type of increase
would cause more storm surges

and mass flooding on the coast.

Gehring says that these impacts
may come a lot

sooner than scientists anticipated.

There is an immediate impact
that if water does start

to get under the glacier
on the order of a half a foot

to a foot may happen within
the next few decades to 50 years.

So time scales that you and I
are going to be living through,

and children are most
certainly going to have to be

dealing with those impacts
in the near future.

While this prediction

is generally accepted
among glacier scientists,

not everyone agrees
with the timeline.

Some argue that the meltdown
could take up to ten years

before we see effects,

while others argue that we're
already experiencing them now.

There have been thoughts
about geoengineering.

It's very unlikely
that those are going to work.

The one thing we can do right now
is start to conserve

in any way we can just to slow
the impacts of climate change.

Climate change has inertia.

It has momentum.

And so what we did as a world
20, 30 years ago,

the atmospheric system, the oceans,
they're all still evolving

and responding to that.

But the sooner we can act,
the better.

Gehring says that limiting CO2
exhausts is one thing

people can do to slow the ice,

but ultimately proactive
protections are our best bet.

I think we need to, as a state
start to be more proactive

in terms of potentially
moving businesses off of the coast,

potentially moving residences
away from the coast

outside of, say,
you know, vacation type homes.

You know, we just have to be wiser

with how we are preparing
rather than reacting.

The international Thwaites
Glacier collaboration is studying

the ice mass closely.

So far, there
hasn't been any consensus

on how to stop the ice
sheet from melting.

That hurricane

either damaged your home,
maybe any other hurricane,

did you get everything in repairs
to rebuild or recover the value?

A second opinion is recommended
from leading home lenders

and that comes in the form
of a public insurance adjuster.

They'll visit you free of charge
and they act solely on your behalf.

one of the things
that we experience the most is

we're dealing with people
who've been through a trauma,

and it's horrific.

In 24 hours, their life changed
and not for the better.

Susan Magee and her working
partner, Emile Wolfhard,

are public insurance adjusters.

They're hired by a homeowner

and work for the homeowner,
not an insurance company.

In the wake of damage
to a property, most of the people

that we get that don't know
about public adjusters are out.

Googling help
help me with my insurance.

Then we pop up.

They work with the Noble Public
Adjuster Group,

one of the nation's largest
and the creator of the reality TV

show Insurance Wars.

They say the point of the show

is to educate people what a public
adjuster does and why.

As a public adjuster,
when we walk into a house

or a building after a catastrophic
event, a hurricane,

an earthquake,
we know the telltale signs

to look for first cracks
in the sheetrock separation

with a crown molding,

cracks and tile.
We know to look at the chimney

if they've got chimneys
wind damage.

When you're looking at the outside,
you're looking for shingles lift.

I'm haeg certified.

Lift doesn't
necessarily necessitate a damage.

So there's got to be a better
inspection than simply lift.

But you're looking for stucco
very fine cracks

that you will often miss
unless you know what to look for.

It's what happened to John Caldara
and her family in Homa.

We talked with her in the days
following Hurricane Ida.

You couldn't

tell the extent of the damage
from the outside of her house.

Even though Ida's cat four winds
peeled off every layer of roofing

there was allowing water
to intrude in every way.

And then, as the days went on,
we would see

mildew growing in all the rooms,
so I knew they were

wetter than what I could see.

Called
a Reira is an actress who found out

about public adjusters

when she was cast as a homeowner
in an episode of Insurance Wars.

The role wasn't a hard one to play
because she and her family

were living through it
in real time. Chris?

Hi, Chris. Hey, Amber. Hi, Bob.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome to my once beautiful home.

Yeah.

When the wind gets into the attic,
it puts an incredible amount

of pressure inside that attic
and the house almost Belcher's goes

and as it does the

all the ceiling boards,
the windows, everything is affected

by that belch.

Then what happens is afterwards,
when the is released,

the ceiling boards
that have been pressed down

when they were pressed down
the nails that held them off

and that pushed those nails down

when the ceiling boards
got up again.

Nothing pushes the nails up,

so you start to see
this little nail

pops in the ceiling boards
and cracks around the windows. OK?

And then water or whatever.

Then then yeah. Then
then it starts.

The public adjuster

she hired discovered there was more
damage inside her home.

She says they sent out
structural engineers

twice, sent out
air quality experts.

In the end,
all the floors, all the ceilings

and most of the walls
were replaced.

You provide a service to a lot of
people don't even know exists.

Yes, and that's the amazing thing

we want to, especially
here in Louisiana, because

after the fact, you
hear people over and over saying,

Oh my gosh, I'm

sure I'm not getting nearly what
I need to get this thing fixed.

A lot of our clients, we have
insurance adjusters as our clients,

insurance employees, as our clients
because they know the value.

We have some insurance adjusters
that I mean, we really want what

they recommend.

The clients get a public adjuster,
you know.

So we wish more folks
understood the value we do.

And the heartbreak is
when you get somebody who

has insurance,
they're 80 years old,

they've lost their home and
they have no way to get it back.

On average, most of our clients are

60 to 90 days out from the event,
and they haven't gotten

what they need
or they've gotten a small check in.

The insurance carrier has said, OK,
we've paid.

We're done. That's it.

And so they bring us in
because they can't

get the work done at that point.

Do you increase
the length of the claim?

And our answer is no.

The insurance company
was going to give you X.

We've not increased
the length of that.

They're still going to give you X.

What we're doing is our time
takes for the stuff

they weren't going to give you.

So we've not increased the time
to get what the insurance

company was going to give you,
where it takes us time to get what

they should give you now, have they
some insurance companies that

or some claims
that pay well, that part, right?

So I want to be careful
not to generalize,

but where there's a lack of payment
alignment isn't made whole.

Again, we extend the time not
for what they were going to get.

That time is set.

That's what they weren't
going to get to say.

X Company has told

this family, this
is what you're going to get for it.

They're not satisfied
they call you.

Yes, you come exactly

examine the situation and say,
Well, look at this, this and this.

We've not

only got to tell them what we want,

we've got to be able to articulate
why we're asking for that

unless we can answer the
why the insurance company

is under no obligation
to give us the what.

So we base that why on six things.

I don't know

if there's any value

in understanding them,
but the things like

we're not asking for pixies
and goblins,

we're asking for things
based on state

statutes, building
code, manufacturer requirements,

case law history expert opinion,
what the policy says.

So probably.

But with the policy said yes,
the homeowner should get out.

So those six things onto the Y.

Susan, we've done what, 1214?

I don't know how many thousand
claims we've done as a company,

how many of those have gone
to court up to this week,

including this week zero ,
not a single claim,

the insurance company understands
with what we present.

If it comes before
any legal opinion, it's obvious

that's got to be paid.

So our job is to provide the why
and the better we answer the why,

the more effectively
the carrier is going to settle.

In Louisiana, the average

cost for a public adjuster
is $5,000.

The sales and marketing executives
of Greater Baton Rouge awarded LPB

President and CEO Beth Courtney
with the now Mitchell Doty Lifetime

Achievement Award on Thursday

at a luncheon in Baton Rouge,
Beth's daughter,

Julie George Moore,
accepted the award on her behalf.

In a video was shown
with a recorded message of

thanks for the acknowledgment
of her work.

Let's take a look.

Thank you all very much.

It is a real honor
for me to receive the Neil Mitchell

Dhoti Lifetime Achievement Award.

I had the pleasure
of working with Nil,

which makes receiving this award
all the more special.

Helping to establish the statewide
network that is Louisiana

public broadcasting is something
I am very proud of.

And your knowledge GMA today,
I truly appreciate.

As you well know,

the media landscape
has certainly changed a great deal

since I began my career in public
media almost five decades ago.

But one thing that was true then

and that is true now,
is that a story told with integrity

and with purpose is always relevant
and meaningful.

As LPB continues
to break new ground in digital

first productions
alongside its documentaries,

news, stories and its library
of educational resources,

being true to our mission continues

to be the key
to success and longevity.

Thank you.

Sales and marketing executives
of Greater Baton Rouge

for this award and for the good
work you are doing every day.

You know there.

There's no doubt
Beth has been a pioneer in public

broadcasting and also a pioneer
in public broadcasting for women.

Yeah, that's absolutely true.

Well, everyone,
that is our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything
LPB anytime, wherever you are

with our LPB PBS app, you can catch
LPB news and public affairs

shows , as
well as other Louisiana programs

you've come to enjoy
over the years.

And please like us on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and now.

Tick tock and tick tock.
That's right.

Well, if everyone here at Louisiana
Public Broadcasting.

I'm Andre Moreau and I'm Kara St.

Cyr, until next time.

That's the state we're in.

Entergy is proud to support
programing on LP

and greener practices
that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental
and sustainability initiatives

really is to ensure that our kids
and future generations can be

left with a cleaner planet.

Additional
support provided by the Fred Bea

and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation
and the Ziegler Art Museum

located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging
Louisiana artists

and is an historical and cultural
center for Southwest Louisiana

and the Foundation for Excellence
in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.