"A floating mat of muck on the surface of Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, home to rare carnivorous pitcher plants, blooming lilies and countless alligators and insects, looks like any other patch of mud from a distance."

"Brian Kelly, a panther biologist for the state of Florida, opens a creaking gate near Fisheating Creek, a narrow ribbon of preserved land just west of Lake Okeechobee."

"A federal judge ordered an immediate halt on Thursday to plans to dredge a shipping channel on the Georgia coast, citing a threat to sea turtles nesting on nearby beaches."

"After years of urging state and federal authorities to reduce harmful chemical emissions from the Denka Performance Elastomer manufacturing plant in Reserve [La.], a St. John the Baptist Parish group is seeking help from an international human rights commission."

"The scene at Pahokee marina on Lake Okeechobee last week was a warning sign: A thick mat of algae in various shades of green, brown, gray and fluorescent blue covered the area around boat slips. In some spots, the gunk was so dense it stuck out 2 inches above the water."

"In lower Plaquemines Parish, some fear they are river diversion's 'collateral damage'".

"As experts predict an active storm season, critics say the hog industry has done little to change after recent hurricanes overwhelmed waste lagoons."

"The St. Croix oil refinery, senior EPA official said, is ‘not how a normal refinery operates’"

"A troubled refinery in St. Croix announced Wednesday evening it would temporarily halt operations after raining oil on local residents for the second time in just over three months."

"Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday spelled out significant concerns with the city's water system, including necessary fixes to maintain safe drinking water, following the worst water crisis Jackson has seen in recent history."