Exploring Louisiana's Clean Energy Transition

Louisiana stands at a crucial juncture in its history, grappling with the dual challenges of a significant petrochemical industry and the growing threats posed by climate change. The state's vulnerability to climate-related damage, paired with its economic reliance on fossil fuels, prompted us to conduct an on-site field study to foster further discussion on this important schism.

This project sought to investigate the socioeconomic and policy factors influencing Louisiana's path toward cleaner energy alternatives, with a focus on understanding the implications of this transition on local communities, industries, and the environment. Our project aimed to address the following key questions:

1. How do different communities in Louisiana perceive the economic and environmental impacts of the state's transition to clean energy?

2. What are the prevailing beliefs among Louisianans regarding the energy policies advocated by different political parties?

3. To what extent do policy actions, economic factors, and public discourse contribute to Louisiana's progress in adopting clean energy solutions?

4. What role does public opinion play in influencing the state's approach to mitigating climate change and diversifying its energy portfolio?

In search of answers to these questions, we embarked on a nine-day journey across the state of Louisiana, visiting the metropolitan areas of New Orleans, Shreveport, and Baton Rogue, while also incorporating the perspectives of the various rural communities scattered across the state.

While visiting the Tulane University campus in the heart of New Orleans, our interactions with students there were very reminiscent of our own college campus. The students expressed regret at the continued prevalence of the state's petrochemical industry, stating how it was disheartening that policymakers had seemingly forgotten about the damages inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They mentioned how several buildings on campus, such as the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, had still not been fully restored in the aftermath of the damage caused by the disaster. In their opinion, the clean energy transition in Louisiana was not nearly as fast as needed, for which they held the state's policymakers and the overpowered petrochemical lobby responsible.

At the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, we had the opportunity to interact with an older demographic of the city's residents. While they also lamented the extensive damage incurred by the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and more recent climate-related disasters as well, they were more vary of a "forced" clean energy transition. "You can't just put forth bills that kill thousands of jobs and not provide any other means of employment for people," said one 66-year-old patron who had been employed in the oil & gas sector prior to his retirement.

As our travels took us to Baton Rogue, Louisiana's capital, it seemed that we were beginning to exit the affluent and intellectual bubble that was far more apparent in New Orleans. At an LSU-Texas A&M football game, we chatted with many attendees, many of whom were currently employed in the state's petrochemical industry. One such attendee, Jorge, who had worked on multiple oil rigs in his early career days, said that "dirty and dangerous oil jobs" were often the only avenue for employment for Louisianians like him without a college degree or the means to get one. Today, he works full-time as an Uber driver, citing the long-term health risks of working at oil rigs.

In Shreveport, a city known regionally as the "Las Vegas of the South," we stayed at Bally's Shreveport Casino & Hotel, a spot regularly frequented by the state's more wealthy residents. Here, we interacted with an individual who worked as a Project Manager at a large Texas petrochemical company and spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. "I genuinely believe that the corporate leaders in the oil & gas industry are aware of the impending clean energy transition and are looking to get ahead of the game by investing in renewables," he explained, going on to add that the transition should be led by the private sector, not the government.

While making a pit stop at a rural gas station north of Alexandria, we talked to a cashier, Justine, who had spent her entire life in Louisiana. Coming from a family of ranchers and ranchers, she was skeptical of the implications of the "climate-change agenda" on the state's agriculture sector. She said that, while she has herself experienced the cataclysmic effects of various climate-related disasters, she would not support policies that threaten her economic survival.

In the end, our interactions and experiences over the course of this project left us in a somewhat conflicted state. How can we reconcile these different beliefs, goals, and perspectives to put forth policy changes that appropriately address climate change and its disastrous effects? Is that goal itself too idealistic? Thankfully, some of our interactions with attendees at the New Orleans Thanksgiving Parade, featuring marching bands from the city's various high schools, served as a source of hope. "I look at these kids and, for them, the fight against climate change is about life and death. For me, that ultimatum is far more important than anything else," remarked Juan, a father of two who realized the existential threat posed by climate change. We can only hope that Louisiana's clean energy transition, which can only follow an intellectual transition, leaves no perspective or community behind.