CLIMATE: The U.S. is not on track to meet its climate goals for 2020, House Republicans rebuff calls for hearings on climate change impacts, and a USDA report warns warming temperatures will have a drastic impact on agriculture. (Washington Post, The Hill, USA Today)

ALSO: State legislators seek to delay renewable energy benchmarks in Kansas; and a bill in Minnesota would repeal that state’s mandate completely, but is unlikely to pass. (Lawrence Journal-World, Bluestem Prairie)

***SPONSORED LINK: Register Now for the 2013 Sustainability Summit & Exposition, March 6-8 in Milwaukee. Keynote speakers include Will Allen, Ed Begley, Jr., Dr. James Hansen and Michael Mann. ***

FRACKING: New EPA data finds significant emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas drilling. (ClimateWire)

COAL ASH: Illinois’ attorney general files a complaint against Ameren, saying the utility illegally dumped 180,000 tons of coal ash at a Peoria power plant; and student activists call on Michigan State University to close its coal plant and dispose of tons of ash stored on campus. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Lansing State Journal)

TRANSPORTATION: Rail shipments of coal decline, with oil largely making up the difference. (ClimateWire)

INDIANA: A bill that would require developers of a proposed Indiana coal-to-gas plant to pay back the state for its losses could kill the project, and is rapidly gaining support from lawmakers and outside groups. (Indianapolis Star)

ETHANOL: The ethanol industry launches a campaign to defend the renewable fuel mandate. (Des Moines Register)

WIND: Nebraska’s public utility seeks to expand its use of renewable energy. (Scottsbluff Star Herald)

HYDRO: We Energies plans to spend $64 million to replace an aging hydropower facility in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

COMMENTARY: The supposedly “dying” electric vehicle industry continues to grow. (Forbes)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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