Energy News Digest for November 19, 2008

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Expert: Idaho nuclear plant unlikely this decade
- Benton PUD: Meetings to detail senior low-income discount program
- New York energy regulators still investigating trades
- Houston mayor shifts energy to electric reliability
- Florida - Goodbye meter man?
- A buffer between fish and pesticides
- Two of nine fishing-free reserves on Oregon Coast win endorsement
- With dog's help, clues to orcas' decline found in whale scat
- Salmon carcass program returns nutrients to streams
- Local fish vendor charged with two felonies
- In the West, Pine Beetles Create Business Opportunities
- Save money with energy efficiency during tough economy
- Energy forum touts simple way to conserve and save
- Tips for Saving Money Through The Winter
- OSU studies how to predict wind energy
- Interest surging in California's cow power
- Juggling the Grid for Plug-in Car
- Trapping carbon dioxide could fight climate change
- Top 10 ways to get more from your data center in 2009
- HP’s Angry E-mails Enter Microsoft Vista Lawsuit
- New forecast: State budget shortfall $4.6B
- Heavy Rain Damages Roads; Mason County Declares Emergency
- Costco shopper finds black widow spider in grapes
- Man treated for burns after fire at suspected pot operation

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Deportment • \dih-PORT-munt\ • noun - The manner in which one conducts oneself: behavior

Alfredo tottered into the board meeting, the stench of his stained sweat shirt and bedraggled jeans preceding his physical arrival by at least two minutes. Although his slovenly deportment was detested by all the nattily-clad salesmen on the tenth floor, none could deny that he was the best high-pressure phone salesman in the company. To a person, however, they all secretly coveted his climate controlled corner office…regardless of the four-day fumigation that would be required to make it habitable for normal humans.

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Expert: Idaho nuclear plant unlikely this decade (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/667351.html

Benton PUD: Meetings to detail senior low-income discount program (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/388328.html?mi_email=Tri-City%20Herald_PM+%26+Breaking+News

New York energy regulators still investigating trades (Syracuse Post Standard, NY)
http://www.syracuse.com/business/index.ssf?/base/business-14/122708889070210.xml&coll=1

Houston mayor shifts energy to electric reliability - Panel will seek ways to bolster power supply for natural disasters and reduce overall use (Houston Chronicle, TX)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6120085.html

Florida - Goodbye meter man? OEU is installing automated devices read by radio signals, fiber optics (The Star-Banner, Ocala, FL)
http://www.ocala.com/article/20081119/articles/811191005&tc=yahoo

FISH & WILDLIFE

A buffer between fish and pesticides - NOAA Fisheries says more area needed; agriculture industry challenges ruling (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/2008/11/18/a-buffer-betweenfish-and-pesticides

Just two of nine fishing-free reserves on Oregon Coast win endorsement (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/just_two_of_nine_fishingfree_r.html

With dog's help, clues to orcas' decline found in whale scat (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008408354_orca19m0.html?syndication=rss

Oregon - Salmon carcass program returns nutrients to streams (The Sandy Post)
http://www.sandypost.com/news/story.php?story_id=122706224757163300

Local fish vendor charged with two felonies - False labeling and sale of fish (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388467_Fish19.html?source=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

In the West, Pine Beetles Create Business Opportunities - dead trees can be turned into wood products — and indeed an industry has emerged over the last few years to make productive use of all that felled timber (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/beetles/?partner=rss&emc=rss

RENEWABLE ENERGY & CONSERVATION

News Release - Save money with energy efficiency during tough economy (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/241572/

Massachusetts - Energy forum touts simple way to conserve and save (Cape Cod Times, MA)
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081117/NEWS/811170307

Tips for Saving Money Through The Winter (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97138575&ft=1&f=17

OSU studies how to predict wind energy (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/11/17/daily19.html?ana=from_rss

Interest surging in California's cow power (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/19/BUBE147B02.DTL&feed=rss.business

Juggling the Grid for Plug-in Car (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4585

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Trapping carbon dioxide could fight climate change - Scientists plan to test technique in Columbia Basin (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388399_carbonbury19.html?source=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Top 10 ways to get more from your data center in 2009 (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=345783&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

HP’s Angry E-mails Enter Microsoft Vista Lawsuit (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/business/2008/November/HP-s-Angry-E-mails-Enter-Microsoft-Vista-Lawsuit.html

GENERAL NEWS

New forecast: State budget shortfall $4.6B (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008410721_webstatebudget19m.html

Heavy Rain Damages Roads; Mason County Declares Emergency (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5609/reftab/1632/Default.aspx?title=HEAVY_RAIN_DAMAGES_ROADS;_COUNTY_DECLARES_EMERGENCY

Costco shopper finds black widow spider in grapes (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_111808WAB_costco_grapes_KC.1c81afeab.html?npc

Man treated for burns after fire at suspected pot operation (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/542570.html

DIVERSIONS

City Threatens Blind Woman Over Unpaid 1-Cent Bill
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18007907/detail.html

Down at last: Seattle Cat's weekend on power pole over - It takes two utility crews to bring Kitty to safety
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388320_cat19.html?source=rss

Driver loses control after sneeze, hits river
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_driving_while_sneezing;_ylt=AvXVNXuQeHyOfrqkMz9aWTXtiBIF

German lawmaker apologizes for blocking Wikipedia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081119/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_lawmaker_wikipedia;_ylt=AkAidJG7TCBFVJ6allVptaftiBIF