Shootings of Florida's state animal are likely to increase as both the human and panther populations expand, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission veterinarian predicted.

"Gerard Braud has no plans to leave his handsome Creole-style house with its 15-foot-high front porch on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a short drive from New Orleans. “Peacefulness and tranquility” is how he explains the appeal of living here."

"A proposal pushed by Louisiana’s oil and gas industry to let refineries and other industrial plants keep some environmental violations secret fell a handful of votes short of House passage Thursday, amid fierce opposition that it could hide the impacts of the state’s petrochemical industry."

"From her front porch in Reserve, Louisiana, Mary Hampton looks in every direction and sees ghosts."

"Louisiana legislators are considering whether chemical plants and other industrial facilities should be allowed to conduct voluntary pollution audits that would remain secret and to grant legal immunity for certain violations discovered by the audits."

"BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In autumn of 2013, a senior executive from a powerful coal company and a lawyer from one of the state’s most influential firms hashed out a strategy for avoiding a serious — and expensive — problem."

"The controversial – but now complete – Bayou Bridge Pipeline has drawn another legal challenge from the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper environmental group, which questions why the pipeline was allowed to begin operating on April 1 without having an approved emergency response plan."

"A bipartisan group of Florida legislators introduced a bill Monday that would ban offshore drilling along Florida’s coast."