The Christmas Tree Solution: A Glimpse of Hope for Louisiana's Disappearing Coastline After the holiday season, thousands of natural Christmas trees are collected from New Orleans and dropped by helicopters into coastal marshes to help slow erosion.
This innovative approach has been part of a broader effort to protect the state's disappearing coastline for nearly 30 years.
The situation is dire: since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost an astonishing 2,000 square miles – more than 5,000 square kilometers – due to natural erosion, powerful storms, rising sea levels, and subsidence.