CLIMATE: Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett says in a confirmation hearing that she does not have “firm views” on climate change. (HuffPost)

ALSO:
• A conservation group says Trump administration delays to a key national climate assessment are “outrageous and dangerous.” (The Hill)
• President Trump signs an executive order committing the U.S. to a global tree-planting initiative, while an order to open a protected national forest to logging is still pending. (The Hill)
• A Hawaii county files a lawsuit against 20 oil companies seeking compensation for the rising costs of climate change, including the threat of sea level rise. (InsideClimate News)
• New Jersey is rewriting regulations that would require developers to include a “climate impact analysis” to include future risk potential caused by rising seas and storms. (NJ Spotlight)

***SPONSORED LINK: The University of Minnesota Law, Policy, and Business Conference on Equity and Electrification of Transportation, Friday, October 23, from 10 am – 2:30 pm, will discuss broader reforms to our transportation systems through the lens of law, policy, and business. Register here. ***

GRID:
• The Trump administration has yet to follow through on two executive orders aimed at improving grid security. (E&E News)
• The U.S. Energy Department awards $7 million to a Michigan cybersecurity company and others to deploy infrastructure that protects the electric grid from cyber attacks while electric vehicles are charging. (Detroit News)
• U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announces $65 million in federal grants for testing of “grid-interactive” buildings. (Charlotte Observer)

SOLAR: A dispute over Ameren’s net metering program has left downstate Illinois solar installers and their customers with uncertainty over the financing of projects. (Energy News Network) 

OIL & GAS: A new study by Harvard scientists finds a significant increase in airborne radioactive particles downwind of fracking sites, with impacts varying depending on soil conditions. (The Guardian)

TRANSPORTATION: A trade group for filling stations has dropped the word “petroleum” from its name, signaling a shift in focus that includes biofuels. (E&E News, subscription)

EFFICIENCY: Municipal leaders pushing for tougher building codes continue to face opposition from the building industry. (The Guardian)

POLITICS: The Trump campaign has failed to make hydraulic fracturing a dominant issue in swing states as Joe Biden repeatedly says he would not work to ban the practice. (New York Times)

COMMENTARY:
• An editorial board says Ohio voters and ratepayers deserve better from state lawmakers who continue to stall on repealing the state’s power plant bailout law despite strong public opposition to HB 6. (Cleveland.com)
• A transition to electric transportation will spur economic development in the Southeast, according to a clean energy group’s policy brief. (CleanEnergy.org)
• A historian writes that the physical and financial sacrifices of coal miners should not be forgotten. (Time)

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.