TRANSPORTATION: Documents reveal that scientists at Ford and General Motors knew as early as the 1960s that vehicle emissions contributed to climate change, producing groundbreaking research before the companies launched a decades-long push against emissions regulation. (E&E News)

ALSO:
• As the U.S. and Europe improve vehicle efficiency, older cars are being shipped to poorer countries, posing a pollution and safety hazard, a UN report warns. (New York Times)
• The coronavirus pandemic accelerates a trend in Boston to turn roadways into public spaces for pedestrians, bicycles and businesses for cleaner urban environments. (Energy News Network)

SUPREME COURT:
• Amy Coney Barrett is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court tonight, creating a 6-3 conservative majority. (NPR)
• More than 70 science and climate journalists cosign an op-ed saying Barrett “has displayed a profound inability to understand the ecological crisis of our times.” (Rolling Stone)

CLIMATE:
• Democrats will face challenges enacting major climate legislation even if they win the White House and Senate. (New York Times)
• Scientists are concerned about NOAA’s work on climate change after the Trump administration appoints two prominent science deniers to key posts. (InsideClimate News)
• Coloradans are worried that significant adverse impacts from climate change are happening much sooner that expected, creating “a multi-level emergency” for the state. (Denver Post)

CALIFORNIA: An estimated 1.1 million PG&E ratepayers are without power from the utility’s latest round of planned blackouts due to wildfire risk from extreme winds. (Los Angeles Times)

COAL:
• Robert Murray, founder and former president of America’s largest privately held coal company, dies just days after his retirement and weeks after filing for federal black-lung benefits. (Associated Press, West Virginia Public Broadcasting)
• High school students from Wyoming and Appalachia discuss the future of coal in their communities. (Ohio Valley Resource)

NUCLEAR: A fourth Utah city votes to back out of a proposed small nuclear reactor project to be based in Idaho. (Salt Lake Tribune)

WIND:
• “Every part of the supply chain has been hit by this”: Wind industry leaders discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted their work. (New York Times)
• An economic impact study suggests that offshore wind development in Virginia could create 5,200 jobs for each gigawatt of electricity that’s installed. (Virginian-Pilot)
• After a decade of planning and delays, the first Great Lakes offshore wind project near Cleveland is moving closer to reality. (InsideClimate News)

SOLAR: School boards in Southwest Virginia are pressuring public officials for changes to a regional utility contract that currently caps net metering and third-party power purchase agreements. (Energy News Network)

STORAGE: California regulators are shifting $100 million from an under-subscribed large-scale storage budget to help low-income communities install roughly 100 MW of behind-the-meter battery projects. (Greentech Media)

OVERSIGHT: A federal lawmaker warns the Interior Department against taking a “’business as usual” approach to a federal judge’s ruling striking down William Perry Pendley’s tenure leading the Bureau of Land Management. (E&E News, subscription)

POLITICS:
• Joe Biden’s debate comment about transitioning from oil has become a focal point for Republicans in oil-producing states, especially battleground Texas. (Associated Press, Houston Chronicle)
• A former Pennsylvania environmental official says the political importance of fracking in the state “is greatly exaggerated.” (E&E News, subscription) 

COMMENTARY:
• CEOs at some of the largest U.S. utilities have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money to help Republicans maintain control of the U.S. Senate, an analysis finds. (Energy and Policy Institute)
• An evangelical environmentalist says fixing methane leaks from natural gas extraction is not just a public health issue but a moral imperative. (TribLIVE)

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Ken Paulman

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.