Turning The Tide

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It is the largest coastal ecosystem in the Continental U.S. Yet, this fragile delta is experiencing the fastest rate of land loss on earth.

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Home to vital habitat for America’s birds, fish and shellfish, critical resources and industries, and millions of people, this endangered region faces challenges that will soon decide its fate.

Explore proposed solutions and proven strategies, along with bold engineering from around the world that can “Turn the Tide” on this national crisis unfolding at the mouth of the Mississippi River Delta on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.

This project was funded by a grant from the McKnight Foundation and by the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

About the Artist

Joe Castillo is an internationally renowned artist whose work has inspired and touched thousands. A 2012 semifinalist on the hit TV show “America’s Got Talent,” he has mesmerized audiences the world over, performing for Kings, presidents and dignitaries in more than 18 countries. Using the unique medium of sand, a light table and music, he illustrates scenes transforming one into the next, captivating audiences with his “sand stories” as they watch them unfold before their eyes.

In 2011, LPB partnered with Joe to create an original sand story for Turning the Tide, a documentary about Louisiana’s disappearing coast. Through his awe-inspiring artistry and the symbolic sands upon which it was built, the Mississippi River Delta evolves and the story of Louisiana’s coastal crisis unfurls.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting presents Turning the Tide, a 90-minute, high-definition documentary for regional and national broadcast that presents an in-depth examination of proposed solutions, proven strategies and bold engineering that can “turn the tide” on the national crisis unfolding at the mouth of America’s largest and most productive river delta. LPB tracks down the world’s foremost authorities to demystify the complex challenges facing Louisiana’s coast, revealing new discoveries that challenge conventional thinking and may change the course of the coast’s future.

Turning the Tide gives the first truly comprehensive and objective look at the strategies being considered, allowing for true scientific debate with an examination of what is already working, what has not worked and what the best science suggests could work. The program also provides a sobering reality check on what the state of Louisiana could look like if scientific and public consensus isn’t soon reached. If we don’t do anything, 10,000 to 13,000 square kilometers of land will be lost by the year 2100.

What is happening at the mouth of the Mississippi River Delta and Louisiana’s coastal marshes and wetlands constitutes a national emergency and requires immediate national resolve to “turn the tide” on the problem. Louisiana’s wetlands cover 9,000 square miles, stretching 300 miles from east to west, and averaging 30 miles inland. Each year 20-25 square miles of coastline is lost to open water, placing critical resources in jeopardy. In recent years, major hurricanes, the costliest in American history, have demonstrated just how vulnerable this region has become due in large part to this degraded landscape. Turning the Tide will show audiences what is at stake in terms of crucial wetland ecosystems, Gulf seafood populations, North American migratory bird and waterfowl populations, the nation’s energy infrastructure and national security, interior navigation and water transport for American produce and goods, and a totally unique American culture.

Turning the Tide examines multiple viable strategies for addressing coastal erosion including river diversions and sediment piping on large and small scales and land management techniques demonstrating that even private land owners can make a difference. Learn about the plans, the controversies and new discoveries that are turning much of the way we understand the problem on its head. Explore the more systemic issues like comprehensive river and sediment management and water quality throughout the entire Mississippi River watershed, and how they impact you. Discover bold and innovative strategies being employed in other parts of the world that could be adapted to significantly benefit this region.

Can we begin Turning the Tide? Watch this powerful documentary and walk away with invaluable insight from the people who know the lay of the land, those who live off it, and those working tirelessly to save it. It is a race against time.

Click here to download the press page!

Learn More! It is the largest coastal ecosystem in the Continental U.S. Yet, this fragile delta is experiencing the fastest rate of land loss on earth.

Learn More!
It is the largest coastal ecosystem in the Continental U.S. Yet, this fragile delta is experiencing the fastest rate of land loss on earth.