CLIMATE: Scientists explain how climate change helped power Hurricane Sandy; and insurers project billions in economic damage from the storm, putting pressure on Congress to address climate change and the impact of extreme weather. (Associated Press, Reuters)
ALSO: Bill Clinton, at a stop in Minneapolis, uses the occasion to criticize Mitt Romney’s comments earlier this year mocking efforts to slow climate change. (The Hill)
EFFICIENCY: A new wave of devices will help consumers control lightbulbs from their smart phones or laptops, and give them more information about their electricity use, but will they really save energy? (Midwest Energy News)
KEYSTONE XL: A review by Nebraska officials finds TransCanada has satisfied most of the concerns raised by the state legislature over the proposed Keystone XL route. (Omaha World-Herald)
COAL: An Indiana appeals court ruling may give lawmakers another chance to reconsider a controversial coal-to-gas plant, but is unlikely to kill the project. (Indianapolis Star)
25 BY ’25: What will be the jobs impact of Michigan’s proposal to expand its renewable energy mandate? (Great Lakes Echo)
FRACKING: It remains unclear whether Ohio’s legislature will act on a proposal to increase drilling taxes, and hundreds turn out for an anti-fracking protest in Carbondale, Illinois. (Columbus Dispatch, Carbondale Southern)
ETHANOL: How proximity to ethanol plants is a boon for Nebraska’s cattle industry. (Lincoln Journal Star)
COMMENTARY: How Hurricane Sandy makes the case for a smarter, distributed energy grid; and Ohio lawmakers should stand by the state’s clean-energy law. (GigaOM, Toledo Blade)