Louisiana can't find their boot

Terra MODIS true color imagery 2/15/15

Google Earth Imagery 4/9/13

Landsat 8 true color imagery mult images stitched from throughout Feb

USGS 2011 National Land Cover Database data, showing how much wetland is left in Louisiana.

Louisiana doesn't look like the maps I memorized growing up anymore. Loss of wetlands has caused a dramatic change in the coastline. Imagery from Landsat 8, Terra, and especially the USGS dataset show the true story, but it is interesting to me that even Google Earth shades the imagery to show an image that we are used to seeing. Aerial imagery such as this can be a powerful tool to show what the situation is really like. 

There are a lot of reasons the wetlands are receding, chemicals that are dumped in the Mississippi River have caused problems in the area, as well as poor land management. Loss of wetlands allows for stronger hurricanes to hit the mainland, not to mention the loss of habitat to hundreds of animals

Here is an article that outlines the whole story - 
https://medium.com/matter/louisiana-loses-its-boot-b55b3bd52d1e