- New Orleans is considered the most vulnerable city in North America to the impacts of global warming!
- A potential relative sea-level rise of almost 4 feet by 2100!
- The number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes have almost doubled worldwide over the last 30 years due to warming oceans! More warming means more intense hurricanes!
- More flooding from storms because higher sea-levels bring higher storm surges!
- Potential salt water contamination of drinking water!
- Temperature increases of as much as 10.4 degrees F by 2100!
- Warmer temperatures mean more heat strokes, asthma, allergies and mosquito-born diseases like Malaria and West Nile Virus!
- Increased risk of water-born diseases such as cholera and seafood and shellfish contamination!
- Higher sea-levels threaten our efforts to restore our eroding coastline!
- All of the above threaten our health, culture, safety and economy!
For your own "Save New Orleans, Stop Global Warming!" t-shirt (design above), please send a $20 donation - check or money order - to the Alliance for Affordable Energy, 4718 Dryades St., New Orleans, LA 70115. Back reads "Solutions Exist" with Alliance and Sierra Club logos. Please note size (S, M, L) and if you want men's or women's cut. Note: women's cuts run small. Thanks for your support!
Global warming could have drastic consequences for coastal Louisiana. Potential implications include:
- Sea-level rise up to 4 feet (including subsidence) by 2100
- Exacerbation of coastal wetland loss crisis leaving communities, infrastructure, and wildlife habitats increasingly vulnerable and prone to flooding
- More intense hurricanes - more category 4s and 5s fueling off warmer oceans
- Saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers
- Negative health impacts including more heat strokes, asthma, and mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile Virus
- Unexpected changes in weather and climate: precipitation, wind patterns, and storm frequency and intensity
- Severe economic impacts
Solutions exist to slow and reverse this warming trend by reducing the heat-trapping gases released when we burn fossil fuels like gasoline, oil, coal, and natural gas.
We can use energy efficiency (like compact fluorescent light bulbs and Energy Star appliances) and renewable energy (such as solar panels, wind energy and bioenergy) technologies, and we can require cars to go further on a tank of gas (using hybrid electric technology for example) and use alternative fuels. Please click on 'Energy Efficiency' and 'Renewable Energy' to learn more.
What can you do? Think globally and act locally! 10 tips:
- Write Congress and Governor Blanco, urging them to be leaders in the fight to stop global warming! (Use facts on other side, if you wish. Addresses below.)
- Walk, bike, take public transportation, or drive the most fuel-efficient car you can buy!
- Make sure your car engine is tuned, tires are fully inflated, and avoid quick starts and high speeds!
- Weatherize and insulate your home!
- Purchase Energy Star appliances!
- Wrap you hot water heater with a heater blanket or purchase an on-demand water heater!
- Install water-saving devices on your sinks and showers! (Providing water requires a lot of energy.)
- Recyle, reduce and reuse!
- Support local agriculture and local businesses!
- Plant trees – they take up CO2 and keep Earth (and your home) cool!
Senator Mary L. Landrieu
724 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5824
Senator David Vitter
516 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4623
Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Office of the Governor
Attn: Constituent Services
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004
(225) 342-0991
To find out more about effects of climate change on coastal Louisiana, read the Global Warming Press Release
 Educators! Check out this great Climate Change Curriculum published by the Union of Concerned Scientists! It shows the effects on Louisiana and what you can do about it!
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Our Story
The Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to creating fair, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy policies. Founded in 1985 in New Orleans, the Alliance conducts community education campaigns on energy issues, helps citizens and businesses become more energy efficient, and promotes sustainable energy policy solutions. As the only Louisiana consumer advocacy/environmental organization, the Alliance plays a pivotal role in providing citizen input on energy-related issues. Since its inception, the organization's mission has evolved to cover energy issues affecting citizens from reducing energy bills to being the state's lead organizer in the fight to stop global warming. In the wake of the devastating 2005 hurricanes, the Alliance is using its regulatory, policy development, networking and outreach skills to ensure that New Orleans and the region utilize available sustainable technologies and smart planning choices as reconstruction occurs.
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Why should you care about global warming in Louisiana? 10 facts: