Energy News Digest for February 2, 2009

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)

- Planned Power Outage for Lakeland Village Tuesday
- Stimulus Bill Would Boost NW Grid, Wind Energy
- Anderson Island Loses Power
- Maryland - Energy Inflation and the Cold Driving Utility Bills Up
- Missouri Electric Rates Going Up Regardless Of AmerenUE Nuclear Plant Bill's Fate
- Debating Next-Generation Nuclear Waste
- Michigan - Ban All Winter Power Shutoffs, Then Sell City Utility
- Working Group for Investment in Reliable and Economic Electric Systems
- Navy Dolphins, Sea Lions Could Come To Hood Canal in Expansion of Security System
- California - Political Pull Helped Fix Scouts' Dam Problem
- Canada - Turning To the Past Can Help Salmon Stocks of the Future
- Columbia Basin Aquifer Water Levels Failing To Recharge
- California - Septic Shock in State's Outback
- Does Wind Power Really Provide More Jobs Than Coal?
- Maryhill Museum Partners With Windy Point to Build Wind Turbines
- Washington State Introduces Feed-in Tariff
- Iowa's Green Energy Policy Struggle
- Dim Days for Solar Industry
- To Solar Boosters: Shade Happens
- Alaska - Search for Low-Impact Hydro Power Finds Opposition
- Biomass Brouhaha - Darrington Cleans Up Its Air, One Wood Stove at a Time
- Corvallis Leads Nation in Green Power Use
- Utilities Turn Their Customers Green, With Envy
- News Release - Ameren Want Customers' Old, Secondary Refrigerators
- Economy Swamping Issue of Climate Change
- Energy Pulse Commentary - Emissions Trading: A Brief Negative Resume
- Local Cable TV Providers Debate Outcome of Charter’s Troubles
- Click! Network Will Credit Customers in Outage
- Human Error Blamed For Google Glitch
- Broadband Link to U.S. Jobs Exaggerated: Experts
- Broadband Stimulus A Big Verizon Pay Day
- Verizon Could Get $1.6 Billion in Senate Stimulus Plan
- Talking Points Memo - Broadband Stimulus
- Bringing the Internet to Remote African Villages
- White House Expects Digital TV Delay until June
- Obama Declares Storm Disaster for Wash. State
- King County Exec Ron Sims to Take D.C. Job with HUD
- Gregoire Wants To Cut 'Sacred Cow' Boards and Commissions
- State May Turn To Raffles to Raise a Buck

These And Links to More Stories in Today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Preternatural • \pree-ter-NATCH-uh-rul\ • adjective - 1: existing outside of nature *2: exceeding what is natural or regular: extraordinary 3: inexplicable by ordinary means; especially: psychic

Darlene was initially elated at the chance to see the new show home being built in her community by the designers at Home and Garden TV. It was only after stumbling from garishly painted room to room that she succumbed to the preternatural colors that decorated the oddly angled home. The unfortunate result was an urgent “call to Ralph on the big white phone”.

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

Planned Power Outage for Lakeland Village Tuesday (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/6250/reftab/1632/t/PLANNED-POWER-OUTAGE-FOR-LAKELAND-VILLAGE-TUESDAY/Default.aspx

Stimulus Bill Would Boost NW Grid, Wind Energy - Includes $3.25 billion in additional borrowing authority for the Bonneville Power Administration (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_stimulus_bpa.html

Anderson Island Loses Power (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_020109WAB-no-power-anderson-island-SW.d8afa1f.html

Maryland - Energy Inflation and the Cold Driving Utility Bills Up (Baltimore Sun, MD)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock31jan31,0,3411333.column

Missouri Electric Rates Going Up Regardless Of AmerenUE Nuclear Plant Bill's Fate (St Louis Post-Dispatch)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/26FA7DD5F2145209862575510001859B?OpenDocument

Debating Next-Generation Nuclear Waste (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/debating-next-generation-nuclear-waste/

Michigan - Ban All Winter Power Shutoffs, Then Sell City Utility (Bay City Times, MI)
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/02/ban_all_winter_power_shutoffs.html

Working Group for Investment in Reliable and Economic Electric Systems: Transmission portions of stimulus package good but more must be done (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=351938&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Navy Dolphins, Sea Lions Could Come To Hood Canal in Expansion of Security System at Bangor (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/Main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=23150

California - Political Pull Helped Fix Scouts' Dam Problem - It had allegedly killed federally protected steelhead trout downstream (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/01/MNMT15EMFF.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

Canada - Turning To the Past Can Help Salmon Stocks of the Future (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090202.BCHUME02/TPStory//BritishColumbia/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Columbia Basin Aquifer Water Levels Failing To Recharge (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/01/30/news/doc498346a8527d6462471377.txt

California - Septic Shock in State's Outback: An uprising in rural counties has obliged the state to postpone a crackdown on that backcountry essential, the septic tank (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/02/EDIP15KCME.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Does Wind Power Really Provide More Jobs Than Coal? (Christian Science Monitor)
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/01/31/does-wind-power-really-provide-more-jobs-than-coal/

Maryhill Museum Partners With Windy Point to Build Wind Turbines to Make Money (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9764575

Washington State Introduces Feed-in Tariff (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=54645&src=rss

Iowa's Green Energy Policy Struggle (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7861686.stm

Dim Days for Solar Industry (Denver Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/02/02/story5.html?ana=from_rss

To Solar Boosters: Shade Happens (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reinsider/story?id=54551&src=rss

Alaksa - Search for Low-Impact Hydro Power Finds Opposition: Fishing advocates fear disruption of area's spawning salmon (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/3221/story/675881.html

Biomass Brouhaha - Darrington Cleans Up Its Air, One Wood Stove at a Time (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090202/NEWS01/702029898/-1/RSS02

Corvallis Leads Nation in Green Power Use (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1827504~Corvallis_leads_nation_in_green_power_use.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Utilities Turn Their Customers Green, With Envy (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/science/earth/31compete.html?ref=earth

News Release - Ameren Illinois Utilities Want Customers' Old, Secondary Refrigerators (Yahoo! Finance)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ameren-Illinois-Utilities-prnews-14222126.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Economy Swamping Issue of Climate Change (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/398229_davos31.html

Energy Pulse Commentary - Emissions Trading: A Brief Negative Resume - The clock of stupidity is attached to a bell, and it tolls for your descendants - Donald E. Carr (1976)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1935

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Local Cable TV Providers Debate Outcome of Charter’s Troubles - Will financially troubled Charter Communications pull out of the North Central Washington cable TV market?
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090201/NEWS04/702029988/1001/rss1001

Click! Network Will Credit Customers in Outage (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/612206.html

Human Error Blamed For Google Glitch - Computer users doing Google searches during a nearly one-hour period Saturday morning were greeted with disturbing but erroneous messages (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008694327_google01.html

Broadband Link to U.S. Jobs Exaggerated: Experts (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE50T6IP20090130?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

Broadband Stimulus A Big Verizon Pay Day - Could reap billions for doing nothing differently (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Broadband-Stimulus-A-Big-Verizon-Pay-Day-100579

Verizon Could Get $1.6 Billion in Senate Stimulus Plan (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/senate-looks-to-stimulate-verizon/

Talking Points Memo - Broadband Stimulus
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/30/broadband_stimulus/

Bringing the Internet to Remote African Villages (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/technology/internet/02kenya.html?_r=1

White House Expects Digital TV Delay until June (Reuters)
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090202/tc_nm/us_usa_obama_digitaltv_1

GENERAL NEWS

Obama Declares Storm Disaster for Wash. State - Includes King, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Wahkiakum (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1825225~Obama_declares_storm_disaster_for_Wash__state.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

King County Exec Ron Sims to Take D.C. Job with HUD (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18621443/detail.html?treets=sea&tml=sea_break&ts=T&tmi=sea_break_1_11190102022009

Gregoire Wants To Cut 'Sacred Cow' Boards and Commissions (The Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9771114

State May Turn To Raffles To Raise A Buck - Small towns, cities and counties soon may have a more creative way to raise a buck (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008696825_raffles02m.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Winter to Continue
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6242032.html

Google Earth Reveals Hidden Marijuana Fields to Swiss Authorities
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/technology/2009/jan/Google-Earth-Reveals-Hidden-Marijuana-Fields-to-Swiss-Authorities.html

Gatorade Name Change Upsets Inventor's Family (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100118062&ft=1&f=10

Fiat Nets $27K Parking Ticket in Austria - Car Abandoned In Parking Spot for 2 Years
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/18602894/detail.html

Response to "Thank You" Changing
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008696955_thanks02.html?syndication=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Jethro Tull - Bourée (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RNe2jwHE0