Sun Herald by Mary Margaret Halford.  To former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (John Fitzhugh-Sun Herald Photo; Lott with Mississippi Energy Institute p​resident Patrick Sullivan), when it comes to discussing everything from jobs to national security in America, energy is a topic worth mentioning.  "The great news story in America today is energy," Lott said Tuesday morning at the 53rd annual meeting of the Southern States Energy Board. "Even while our economy has been struggling along, there have been great things happening with energy."  (Also, scroll down for yesterday's report.  Alaska Governor Sean Parnell attended the event as Chairman of the OCS Governors Coalition.)  -dh)

TO OUR TEXAS READERS:  Consumer Energy Alliance’s third annual Energy Day Festival is THIS Saturday, October 19th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Hermann Square in front of City Hall in Downtown Houston, Texas.  The Alliance’s co-sponsor is the University of Houston (We ask: Is this a model that would work for CEA and other Alaskan and Canadian institutions?  -DH)

  *   Free family festival includes
  *   Over 70 interactive exhibits and demonstrations showcasing energy technology, conservation, efficiency and energy careers.
  *   Music, food, games.

Why is STEM education important to Energy Day?  Watch the video!

Today's Consumer Energy Alliance Energy News Links:

KHOU: Young energy innovators honored for their plan for Houston’s future – In the shadow of the sparkling towers that energy built, five young energy innovators are being honored for their plan for the future of Houston.

 Examiner.com: 10th Annual ASES Houston Solar Tour Sat. Oct. 19  – The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Houston Solar Tour, presented by the Houston Renewable Energy Group (HREG), will showcase eight Houston area homes, businesses and projects currently powered by solar energy onSaturday, October 19, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

Murfreesboro Post: Former congressman: Farmers impacted by climate change – A former U.S. congressman joined with area farmers Monday to call on state and federal officials to better address the issue of climate change, which they say has a significant impact on Tennessee agriculture.

Houston Press: The Keystone Pipeline, Another Victim of the Shutdown – It looks like the federal government will be back up and running soon, but the damage may already be done where the Keystone XL Pipeline is concerned. That's good news, bad news or that which doesn't much matter if you're against the pipeline, for it or politely indifferent, respectively.

Politico: Kentucky creates climate post as EPA rules loom – In Washington, Kentuckians are fighting on all fronts against President Barack Obama’s climate change agenda, but back home, the state government is taking a different tack.  Coal-centric Kentucky now has its first assistant secretary for climate policy.

Bloomberg: TransCanada Expects U.S. Decision on Keystone XL by End of March – TransCanada Corp,. Canada’s second-largest pipeline company by market value expects a U.S. ruling on the Keystone XL pipeline in the first quarter of 2014.

Associated Press: ND wants answers on ruptured pipeline inspections – North Dakota officials are trying to determine if Tesoro Corp. knew about potential problems — including one deemed "serious" in documents obtained by The Associated Press — with a pipeline that leaked more than 20,000 barrels of crude oil in a wheat field in the northwestern part of the state.

Scientific American: Do Americans Understand Energy? Not Really. – The latest wave of the UT Energy Poll just came out (full disclosure: I am the director) and results highlight the large disconnect between energy and the American public. The poll is a nonpartisan, objective, and comprehensive nationwide survey covering topics from efficiency and voting behavior to climate change and hydraulic fracturing*. This time we included a few energy literacy questions to gauge where Americans are on important energy topics related to policy and the economy.

State Impact Texas: Boiling Hot: Why Fracking’s Gusher of Geothermal Energy is Wasted – There are thousands of oil & gas wells in Texas that tap into the earth’s supply of hot water, some of it a boiling hot 250 F. There are modern, high tech steam engines that could use the water to make electricity. There was a federally-funded experimental power plant that proved the technology could work in Texas.

Denver Post: Municipal fracking bans in Colorado should be voted down – Broomfield spent a great deal of time this year updating its oil and gas regulations in light of controversy over energy extraction on the Front Range. Ultimately, the Broomfield City Council approved rules that require companies seeking timely approvals to adopt a host of "best practices" that go well beyond state or federal law.

National Journal: Harold Hamm Down on California’s Monterey Shale – Oil executive Harold Hamm, who made billions tapping the vast Bakken oil field in North Dakota before other companies saw the potential, sounded a pessimistic tone about whether the industry will develop California's Monterey Shale formation, which is estimated to have possibly five times more oil.

State Impact Pennsylvania: On oil embargo’s 40th anniversary, has shale drilling changed the game? – Speaking to a ballroom packed with members of the natural gas industry at a conference in Philadelphia last month, Lt. Governor Jim Cawley recalled with disdain the days of waiting on gas lines to fill up cars, trucks, and lawn mowers. Some members of the audience nodded along, perhaps stirred by their own memories of 1973.

Charlotte Business Journal: Carolinas demand for Marcellus gas plays into pipeline expansion – Contracts to deliver 200,000 dekatherms of natural gas daily from the Marcellus shale fields to Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. and PSNC Energy starting in 2015 play a significant role in justifying plans by Oklahoma-based Williams Partners for a $610 million expansion its Transco pipeline.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Work in Findlay to map airport for gas – Marcellus Shale mapping soon will start in four townships to prepare for natural gas drilling at Pittsburgh International Airport.  Seismic surveyor Precision Geophysical Inc. of Millersburg, Ohio, plans 2-D underground mapping for Consol Energy Inc., which has a $500 million deal with Allegheny County to drill about 50 wells around the airport.

San Antonio Business Journal: TxDOT finds $250 million to fix highways in the Eagle Ford and elsewhere – The Texas Department of Transportation could fund 70 highway maintenance and repair projects — including those in the Eagle Ford Shale counties — that the agency was unable to obtain money for during the last legislative session.

E & E News: Moving shale oil across melting tundra: huge and potentially risky business – When the sun shines directly on the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), the tracks can expand, warp and buckle. Trains have to slow down to 9 miles an hour or even stop. Journeys can be delayed for hours.