SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"RALEIGH -- North Carolina landowners would be forced to sell the natural gas under their homes and farms -- whether they want to or not -- under a fracking recommendation approved Wednesday that’s expected to be enacted by the state legislature this fall."

"Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday pledged $90 million for a new bridge along historic Tamiami Trail, a project that promises to restore natural water flow to part of the Everglades and ease -- at least eventually -- unnatural Lake Okeechobee releases now fouling two coastal rivers."

"NEW ORLEANS -- Flying over southeast Louisiana, it's easy to see human fingerprints on what's left of the wetlands below."

"Wilma Subra, a diminutive grandmother, has long challenged the corporate polluters in one of the nation's most toxic regions."

"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With inviting beaches that run for miles along South Florida’s shores, it is easy to put sand into the same category as turbo air-conditioning and a decent mojito — something ever present and easily taken for granted."

"ATLANTA -- If Georgia was starting from scratch, it would not build a nuclear power plant. That conclusion from a state financial analyst illustrates how an anticipated boom in nuclear power turned into a bust as natural gas prices fell."

"Authorities in south Georgia say at least three people have been injured in a chemical explosion that rocked an industrial complex."

"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Federal officials are declaring a fishery disaster for Florida's oyster industry in the Gulf of Mexico.

The collapse of the oyster industry last year followed a drought that reduced freshwater into Apalachicola Bay. But state officials have also blamed the lack of freshwater flow due to increased consumption in Georgia.

"No more than 15 years ago, it would have made a bird watcher's week to see the seldom-seen wood stork. Today, a daily siting is not unusual."

"Lake Okeechobee keeps rising — and so do worries about an aging dike the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ranks among the most vulnerable to failure in the country."