As Florida gears up for a major debate over offshore oil drilling in 2010, energy interests are pouring big money into party coffers -- foreshadowing a battle poised to consume many Southern coastal states. More...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing buffer areas to protect national marine sanctuaries, vulnerable habitat, fisheries and coastal communities dependent upon the tourism industry. More...

Four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, efforts to restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands are stalled, leaving communities vulnerable to storm damage. So why is the state's senior U.S. senator pushing to allow oil and gas companies -- who are responsible for much of the coast's destruction -- to drill off Florida's Panhandle? More...

A state task force is holding a public hearing today on permitting offshore drilling for oil and gas. But what about offshore wind power? More...

The Interior Secretary yesterday announced that he was taking a more careful approach to plans for expanded offshore drilling, but apparently not when it comes to Virginia. More...

With a push on to open up new areas of the U.S. coast to oil and gas exploration, the North Carolina legislature has announced it will create a committee to study offshore drilling.State Senate leader Marc Basnight (in photo at... More...

The federal government took the first step this week toward expanding oil and gas drilling off the Virginia coast, with the Interior Department opening a 45-day public comment period on the plan's environmental impact. The targeted area lies about 50... More...