OIL: Michigan’s elected officials are reluctant to take a position on Enbridge’s pipeline expansion in the state. (InsideClimate News)
WATER: A new report from the Government Accountability Office warns that increased U.S. energy production will further strain water supplies. (The Hill)
COAL: As urban coal plants shut down in the U.S., entities aiming to redevelop the sites could draw inspiration from Europe, where former energy sites have been turned into museums, a conference center, and even an amusement park. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: How U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing coal exports to Asia. (Reuters)
WIND: Nebraska landowners welcome a new wind farm, which a statewide utility calls a “major step forward” toward its 10 percent renewable power goal; and officials in Goodhue County, Minnesota, decide not to act on a resolution that would have pulled support for a contested wind farm. (Omaha World-Herald, Rochester Post-Bulletin)
ELECTRIC CARS: A $5 billion federal investment in electric cars is slow to generate results, and GM is spending $35 million to upgrade a Michigan plant to produce a Volt-based electric Cadillac. (Bloomberg, MLive.com)
CLIMATE: A German insurance giant blames climate change for an increasing number of weather-related disaster claims worldwide. (The Hill)
FRAC SAND: A Wisconsin county extends its sand-mining moratorium, and the state DNR seeks more staff to monitor air quality at frac sand sites. (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chippewa Herald)
NATURAL GAS: Republic Services will spend $25 million upgrading its fleet of St. Louis garbage trucks to run on natural gas. (St. Louis Business Journal)
EFFICIENCY: Downtown Milwaukee businesses sign on to a national pledge to reduce energy use; and Xcel Energy says electricity demand in Minnesota actually declined in 2012, despite a scorching summer. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, St. Paul Pioneer Press)
COMMENTARY: Why natural gas won’t solve our energy problems, and why biodiesel credit fraud isn’t that big of a deal. (Christian Science Monitor, MinnPost)