BATON ROUGE – A multidisciplinary group of LSU researchers has developed a series of maps charting the population demographics of the region surrounding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
"The oil spill has implications for multiple demographic segments of the population," said Troy Blanchard, LSU professor of sociology. "It's important that we be able to identify at risk populations in order to determine where needs for support infrastructures may fall."
The maps detail the percentage of impoverished areas impacted by the spill; the amount of minorities in affected areas; the amount of workers employed in the oil and gas extraction industry; and the total population overall in those areas. All maps are available at http://www.lsu.edu/pa/mediacenter/nr/2010/maps/.
In addition to Blanchard, the group consists of Tim Slack, assistant professor of sociology, and Matthew Fannin and Mark Schafer, both from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the LSU AgCenter. The group's primary research, funded by the Minerals Management Service, includes population dynamics (migration, health and fertility), education, poverty and the fiscal health of local governments.
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