Delta Life 9

7 DELTARES, APRIL 2018 J ustin Ehrenwerth is a real northerner. He grew up in the forests of Pennsylvania, studied law and began his career in the White House during Obama's first term. It was only in 2013, when he was asked to lead the process of ecosystem restoration after the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, that he moved to Louisiana. He fell in love with the culture, the jazz and his Louisiana-born wife. The Water Institute of the Gulf, which he has been leading since early 2017, brings together the best water scientists to protect Louisiana from the effects of land subsidence, sea level rise and an unending succession of storms and cloudbursts. Deltares was closely involved in the establishment of the institute, which has now reached the stage at which researchers and consultants are starting to look beyond the state borders. 'I understand everyone who says leaving is not an option. Have you ever been to New Orleans? We are having to pull out all the stops to defend the unique life here: the cajun cuisine, the music, the culture and our important industry. We are adapting. We have to.' A political expert from theWhite House in a world of hard science. What is your secret? 'It doesn't matter how clever and elegant your scientific solutions are, you can't get round political realities. It's wonderful to have models that we can use to forecast floods every hour of the day, but the next challenge is to make local authorities aware of the possibilities and to give them the scientific information they need to make the decisions that will make their communities more climate-resilient. Good science gets nowhere without good implementation. So we need both: the best scientists and the best-informed politicians.' How do you explain to climate sceptics what is going on in Louisiana? 'Travel along the coast here and look around for a few days. Climate change is happening in front of our very eyes. On average, we lose a football field every 100 minutes here. Everyone who lives and works here is aware of the situation. Sea level rise,