Energy News Digest for March 16, 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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- PUD 3 Wraps up Power Restoration Efforts - Windy Weather Cause of Outages
- Cowlitz County - Wind Cuts Power to 3,100 PUD Customers
- Sunday’s Winds Create Trouble, Leave Many without Electricity
- New York – US Senator Schumer “Investigate NY electric rates”
- Canada - BC Hydro Rates To Rise 11 Per Cent by 2010
- Wireless Electricity, Not So Far Off
- PUD 3 Awards Students for Electricity-Related Projects at Science Fair
- Second Sea Lion Killed After State Finds Virus
- San Francisco Chronicle Editorial - Where Are the Salmon Solutions?
- Manila Clams Coming To Twanoh On Hood Canal
- Snowpack's Still Looking Light, but Incoming Weather Could Change That
- Lower Yakima Valley Well Water Concerns Addressed
- Dam Problem Increases Flood Risk in S. King County
- Chilean Town Withers in Free Market for Water
- Where is the Salish Sea?
- Everett Herald Op/Ed - Green Investments Will Sprout Huge Payoffs
- The Daily News Editorial - Time to Reshape Green-Energy Requirements
- Montana Renewable Energy Standards Facing Revision
- U.S. Senators Want $400 Million Spent On Wind Energy
- Lobbyists Say Wind Cuts Exposure to Fuel, Carbon Swings
- Battle Brewing Over Clean-Energy Delivery Grids
- Navy to Explore Turning Ocean Currents into Electrical Currents
- Stanwood Man Hopes Solar Power Pays Off
- Seattle Council Poised to Approve Rooftop Wind-Energy Generators
- Would You Want To Live Near A Wind Farm?
- Harnessing the Sun, With Help from Cities
- California Utility Prepares for Surge in Plug-In Electric Cars
- Manure Provides Green Power in Monroe
- Efficiency: Not Glam but Good at Saving Energy
- Stimulus-Funded ‘Green’ Jobs Triple Company’s Size in Puget Sound Region
- Pacific Gas and Electric energy-efficiency rebate program gets cash advance
- Governor's Emissions Tax Proposal Met with Opposition
- Lawmakers Thwart Gregoire's Cap-And-Trade Plan on Climate
- Seattle Times Editorial - Explain the Pause on a Key Climate-Change Bill
- Everett Herald Editorial - Curbing Greenhouse Gases: Show a Green Commitment
- An Army of Lobbyists Readies for Battle on the Climate Bill
- Latest Reports Reveal Carbon Market on Shaky Ground
- World Wide Web is 20 This Month
- Images: Berners-Lee and the Dawn of the Web
- Comcast Will Launch Wireless Internet Services Via Clearwire
- Alaska Internet Companies Hope Stimulus Is a Boon for the Bush
- Break out the Faraday Cages: Tacoma Cell Tower Dials up Resistance
- Last edition of print P-I set for Tuesday, Hearst says
- Seattle Times In Dire Trouble, Says Union Economist
- State Legislature: What's Hot, What's Not

WORD OF THE DAY

Feckless • \FECK-lus\ • adjective - 1: weak, ineffective 2: worthless, irresponsible

The windmills were still, their blades outstretched as if beseeching Aeolus, the Greek god of wind to stir them from their torpor. But the feckless winds would not come…not today. In the distance a dog barked. A nearby chorus of cricket song was almost a dirge for those whose computers were dark and silent…unable to allow access to their owners’ facebook accounts.

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

PUD 3 Wrapping up Power Restoration Efforts - Windy Weather Cause of Outages (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=523

Cowlitz County - Wind Cuts Power to 3,100 PUD Customers (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/03/16/area_news/doc49bddcd4b9cc8096826969.txt

Sunday’s Winds Create Trouble, Leave Many without Electricity (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/668011.html

New York – US Senator Schumer “Investigate NY electric rates” (Associated Press)
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--electricbills-ny0315mar15,0,201365.story

Canada - BC Hydro Rates To Rise 11 Per Cent by 2010 (Victoria Times-Colonist, BC)
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Hydro+rates+rise+cent+2010/1387410/story.html

Wireless Electricity, Not So Far Off (NY Times)
http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/wireless-electricity-not-so-far-off/?partner=rss&emc=rss

PUD 3 Awards Students for Electricity-Related Projects at Skookum Rotary's March 14 Science Fair (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=519

FISH & WILDLIFE

Second Sea Lion Killed After State Finds Virus (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090314/NEWS02/703149989/

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial - Where Are the Salmon Solutions?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/16/ED8316F0P9.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

Manila Clams Coming To Twanoh On Hood Canal - Settlement project could see 125,000 adults in 2-3 years (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/787104.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Hope in the Hills - Snowpack's Still Looking Light, but Incoming Weather Could Change That (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090313/NEWS04/703139969/0/BIZ01

Lower Yakima Valley Well Water Concerns Addressed (KNDU-TV, Yakima)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10007859

Dam Problem Increases Flood Risk in S. King County (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1907176~Dam_problem_increases_flood_risk_in_S__King_County.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Chilean Town Withers in Free Market for Water (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/world/americas/15chile.html?_r=1

Where is the Salish Sea? (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008860075_apwasalishsea1stldwritethru.html

RENEWABLE & ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Everett Herald Op/Ed - Green Investments Will Sprout Huge Payoffs
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090314/OPINION03/703149996/-1/RSS05

The Daily News Editorial - Time to Reshape Green-Energy Requirements
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/03/16/editorial/doc49bc589e85575070445668.txt

Montana Renewable Energy Standards Facing Revision (Associated Press)
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/renewable_energy_standards_facing_revision/8897/

U.S. Senators Want $400 Million Spent On Wind Energy (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE52C57B20090313

Lobbyists Say Wind Cuts Exposure to Fuel, Carbon Swings (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE52F1KE20090316

Battle Brewing Over Clean-Energy Delivery Grids (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/15/MNFV16FBEG.DTL&feed=rss.news

Navy to Explore Turning Ocean Currents into Electrical Currents (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/16/navy-to-explore-turning-ocean-currents-into/?partner=RSS

Stanwood Man Hopes Solar Power Pays Off (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090316/BIZ/703169968/-1/RSS03

Seattle Council Poised to Approve Rooftop Wind-Energy Generators (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008857934_windmills14m.html

As Interest in Small Wind Grows, So Does Resistance (Farmington Independent, MN)
http://www.farmingtonindependent.com/articles/index.cfm?id=11055&section=Minnesota%20News

Would You Want To Live Near A Wind Farm? “The mother of all NIMBYs” (High Country News, CO)
http://www.hcn.org/wotr/would-you-want-to-live-near-a-wind-far

Harnessing the Sun, With Help from Cities (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/science/earth/15solar.html

California Utility Prepares for Surge in Plug-In Electric Cars (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-03-15-plug-in-electric-cars_N.htm

Manure Provides Green Power in Monroe (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008857469_sundaybuzz15.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Efficiency: Not Glam but Good at Saving Energy (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/13/BUTK16DMFF.DTL&type=business

Stimulus-Funded ‘Green’ Jobs Triple Company’s Size in Puget Sound Region (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/03/16/story4.html?b=1237176000%5E1794203

California - Pacific Gas and Electric energy-efficiency rebate program gets cash advance (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/14/BU0H16F0R6.DTL&feed=rss.business

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Governor's Emissions Tax Proposal Met with Opposition (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10007794

Lawmakers Thwart Gregoire's Cap-And-Trade Plan on Climate (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008865324_capandtrade16m.html?syndication=rss

Seattle Times Editorial - Explain the Pause on a Key Climate-Change Bill
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2008855715_editb15green.html

Everett Herald Editorial - Curbing Greenhouse Gases: Show a Green Commitment
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090315/OPINION01/703159974/-1/RSS05

An Army of Lobbyists Readies for Battle on the Climate Bill (Yale Environment 360)
http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2131

Latest Reports Reveal Carbon Market on Shaky Ground - Patchwork of initiatives across continent lack common ground (Daily Astorian, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/Main.asp?SectionID=184&ArticleID=59213

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

World Wide Web is 20 This Month (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008865218_btweb16.html?syndication=rss

Images: Berners-Lee and the Dawn of the Web (C/NET News)
http://news.cnet.com/2300-1023_3-10000532.html?tag=nl.e433

Comcast Will Launch Wireless Internet Services Via Clearwire - Portland will be the first city where Comcast will offer WiMAX service (The Oregonian, Portland)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/123699570531920.xml&coll=7

Alaska Internet Companies Hope Stimulus Is a Boon for the Bush (Fairbanks News Miner, AK)
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/mar/16/internet-companies-hope-stimulus-boon-bush/

Break out the Faraday Cages: Tacoma Cell Tower Dials Up Resistance (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/668005.html

GENERAL NEWS

Last edition of print P-I set for Tuesday, Hearst says (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008867983_webpishutdown16.html

Seattle Times In Dire Trouble, Says Union Economist (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/03/16/daily4.html?ana=from_rss

State Legislature: What's Hot, What's Not (KIRO-Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=145452

DIVERSIONS

Estimating wind without an anemometer (wind gauge) Introducing the Beaufort Wind Scale
http://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2009/03/estimating-wind-without-anemometer-wind.html

Augusta Man Accused of Using Forklift To Move Car "In His Spot"
http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/41186647.html

Stolen Bulldozer Buried At Texas Golf Course
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18925325/detail.html

Man Wants (to Use) Old Montana Street Bulbs to Grow Pot
http://www.examiner.com/a-1905712~Man_wants_old_Montana_street_bulbs_to_grow_pot.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

Bikaraoke Steps Up to the Fitness Mike - an unholy mix of stationary biking and karaoke
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/16/DDES15VCDR.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

SONG OF THE DAY

Eric Clapton - Layla
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEx9O9x8Jnw&feature=related

Eric Clapton – Layla (Acoustic)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoJbeewnq50&feature=related