A mealy bug is devastating the cane that holds the land on the Louisiana coast in place. Without the cane, many square miles of land may wash away.
Fire, parasites, and insecticide have all been proposed to deal with a plague of tiny translucent bugs currently plaguing the Louisiana coast. The bugs are a previously unknown entity. According to Darryl Fears, reporting in The Washington Post, "entomologist Rodrigo Diaz said researchers only recently discovered the foreign family of insects to which the invasive species belongs, called Aclerdidae, which is native to Japan and China." The marshes that the bugs are consuming serve an important purpose. "The Louisiana cane is crucial to staving off land loss. It builds soil in an area that lost 250 square miles of coast to erosion and sinking land over about a half century," writes Fears.
All strategies for dealing with this plague of bugs carry their own risks, according to Fears. "An idea for a controlled burn is derived from China, where blazes are set in marshes to get rid of the swarm. But fire can spread, and the Louisiana coast has a network of oil and gas wells that could explode in flames."
FULL STORY: Louisiana’s coast was already sickly. Now it’s being hit by a plague
Southern Californians Survey Trees for Destructive Oak Pest
Hundreds of volunteers across five counties participated in the first Goldspotted Oak Borer Blitz, surveying oak trees for signs of the invasive beetle and contributing valuable data to help protect Southern California’s native woodlands.
Help Stop the Beetle Killing Southern California’s Oak Trees
Claifornia residents can join a volunteer “blitz” this June to help detect and map infestations of an invasive beetle that is killing thousands of oak trees across Southern California.
Fighting Forest Pests With AI: A Hemlock Success Story
Fairfax County utilized GeoAI and ArcGIS technology to efficiently map and protect its hemlock trees from the invasive woolly adelgid, ensuring targeted pest management and preservation of its evergreen canopy.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?
Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont