Bottom of 'da Boot

Kael Alford

Kael Alford has spent the last five years documenting the erosion of wetlands on the Louisiana coast. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is only the most recent blow to this precious environment.~When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washed ashore along the US Gulf coast in April 2010, it was against a backdrop of an existing crisis in the wetlands of Louisiana that was also largely fuelled by the oil and gas industries. Kael Alford’s long-term project documents the remote coastal communities in Louisiana affected by environmental degradation, land loss and the BP oil spill. ~~The south-eastern coast of Louisiana, from the marshy outskirts of New Orleans to the vast wetlands south of Houma, has been losing land to the sea for decades. River control structures and navigation canals, built along the Mississippi River in the 1930s, prevent the natural cycle of river flooding and meandering that once nourished and replenished the soil of these delta lands, causing the shoreline to retreat.

~Deep canals dredged through fragile marshes to access oil and gas pipelines close to shore have greatly accelerated land loss by exposing wetlands to wave action and salt-water intrusion. Extraction of oil and gas deposits also speeds the sinking of coastal sediments.~Wetlands provide the first line of defence against frequent hurricanes. As the land recedes, so do the marshes that absorb storm surges. Even New Orleans would have been spared much of the devastation of hurricane Katrina if coastal wetlands were intact to absorb flooding. No levee will be strong enough to hold back the Gulf of Mexico once New Orleans is ocean front property. According to local pressure group Restore or Retreat, Louisiana loses the equivalent of one football field every 15 minutes, adding up to 25-35 square miles each year.~The 2010 oil spill added a new threat as marshes and coastal environments were infiltrated with oil and chemical dispersants. Fishermen and women are struggling to overcome the perception of contamination that has slowed the demand for seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. ~~Diverse groups including Native Americans, Cajuns, Creoles and descendants of some of the earliest European settlers are among those most frequently displaced by land-loss and storm damage along the coast. Their unique cultures and fragile environment also bear the brunt of damages from the BP oil spill.~~To date, little has been done to reverse the long-term devastation caused by the oil and gas industries to the coast of Louisiana. The official response tends to focus on short-term crisis management while political and funding obstructions on the state and federal levels interfere with long-term, science-based restoration, regulation and prevention. ~~In the face of astonishing challenges, many people on the Louisiana coast cling stubbornly to their homes and a disappearing land that they love. These photographs explore the relationships among the human and natural landscape, the impact of environmental degradation, and the identities and cultures of the people who struggle to maintain a way of life on the coast.~~With the support of a commission from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, Kael Alford has spent the last five years documenting the erosion of wetlands on the Louisiana coast. An exhibition will be held at the High Museum in July 2012. The story is embargoed in the US until then.~~Watch the video here.