The city known more for French Quarter trash than recycling or renewable energy is going green. In rebuilding since Hurricane Katrina, homes are being fitted with solar panels, organic farming is catching on and the city's got a new fleet of hybrid buses.
On the sides of those buses, a catch phrase – Cleaner, Smarter – could be the anthem for the movement by institutions and individuals to slowly turn the city's environmentally-unfriendly image around.
Maybe the filthy water that flooded 80 percent of the city after the catastrophe in August 2005 made residents rethink the way to rebuild. Or maybe it's the tax credits or energy price spikes. Whatever the reason, the hurricane created a testing ground for ideas and initiatives.
Before Katrina, government officials rarely talked about renewable energy or "green building." Solar technology powered little more than parking meters. Environmentalists were shut out of Louisiana politics for decades.
Now, they see a watershed era taking shape.
For example, in the Lower Ninth Ward, hit particularly hard by Katrina, some 20 energy-saving homes are using solar panels.
"I never knew nothing about solar panels until after the storm," said Mable Howard, an 80-year-old doll maker whose five-room home was flooded. The solar panels were donated and installed for free, and her electric bill has been cut at least in half during some months.
There is also renewed focus on restoring habitats that protected New Orleans from storm surge before the destruction of wetlands. Near the Lower 9th, for example, there are plans to plant hundreds of bald cypress trees in a bayou to help restore wetlands.
Urban organic farming also has gained momentum, new bicycle lanes are being planned and even the French Quarter is spiffier, thanks to an aggressive cleaning effort.
For decades, Louisiana's state budget has been dependent on oil revenue, limiting interest is fossil fuel alternatives. But some policymakers and investors say a more open attitude could have a big payoff. The state, they say, is rich in water, wind and sunshine.
Last year, the New Orleans City Council approved an energy-efficiency program to improve 2,800 properties a year by installing insulation, weather stripping and compact fluorescent light bulbs. The new 39 hybrid buses – operating on a blend of biodiesel, gasoline and electric power – were obtained with a $15 million federal grant.
In 2007, New Orleans became one of about two dozen cities nationwide to be named a "Solar America City" by the U.S. Energy Department, which gave the city a $450,000 grant to establish solar programs.
"We're a little behind the curve," said city energy manager John McGowin, whose office was set up after Katrina with a Clinton Foundation grant to promote solar and hydropower use. "But we're catching up."
