SUPREME COURT: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a major influence on environmental cases before the Supreme Court, and her passing could have an impact on how cases are decided going forward. (E&E News)

ALSO: Ginsburg’s death hits particularly hard for many women who saw her not only as a champion of their civil rights but also as a personal role model. (New York Times)

***SPONSORED LINK: The National Solar Tour is going virtual! Sep. 28-Oct. 4. Meet solar owners from around the country. Hear about their experience going solar. Explore new technologies. Learn about solar’s role in energy equity and community empowerment.***

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: While electric vehicles still remain a small share of U.S. sales, analysts say the “tipping point” of cost parity with gasoline cars may arrive sooner than expected. (New York Times)

EMISSIONS: Legislative politics, industry influence, and financial pressures from an aging bus fleet helped tip the scales toward fossil fuels in North Carolina’s first round of Volkswagen settlement spending. (Energy News Network)

CLIMATE:
• While European oil majors are indicating a shift toward clean energy, U.S. companies remain committed to fossil fuels while betting on moonshot technology breakthroughs to solve climate change. (New York Times)
• A report finds that the world’s wealthiest 1% have produced twice as much carbon emissions than the poorest half of humanity over the past 25 years. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
• Scientists warn that “compound extreme events” fueled by climate change are becoming more common. (Associated Press)
• A new poll finds climate change is now the top concern for Democratic voters. (NPR)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signs a bill giving environmental justice communities a say in the construction of new polluting sources within them. (NJ Spotlight)

SOLAR: Utility-scale solar could create tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity as coal’s downturn takes a toll on Appalachian Ohio, according to a recent Ohio University study. (Energy News Network)

CLEAN ENERGY: A national advanced energy group is highlighting the sector’s potential to help with a pandemic economic recovery, including in Illinois where clean energy legislation is being drafted. (Energy News Network)

COAL:
• Hawaiian Electric files proposals for eight renewable energy projects that will allow the utility to retire the state’s last coal plant. (Daily Energy Insider)
• Critics say a federal report promoting carbon capture technology to save Wyoming’s coal industry is misleading. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• North Carolina regulators wrap up hearings and are expected to rule in December on a Duke Energy rate hike proposal that includes passing along coal-ash cleanup costs to ratepayers. (Charlotte Business Journal) 

OIL & GAS:
• An investigation finds that oil companies have for decades profited from inland spills in California linked to a controversial fracking technique by recovering and refining the oil. (ProPublica/Desert Sun)
• Recently released documents show a concerted effort a year ago by Pennsylvania officials to push Exxon to build a petrochemical plant south of Pittsburgh that was ultimately unsuccessful. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says President Trump’s latest effort to help the coal industry will be “ineffective, wasteful and hugely damaging to the environment.” (Bloomberg)
• Texas needs a new generation of clean energy “wildcatters” to bring the state’s research innovation to market and change the world, a business columnist writes. (Houston Chronicle)

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.