Energy News Digest for March 3, 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)

- Moses Lake Senator’s Energy Bill Gains Legislative Support
- Tacoma Power Customers to Get Refunds
- Lower than Normal Snowpack Will Hit Power Customers in Pocketbook
- Maryland – Governor Wants to Force Utilities to Build Plants
- (Warning: PG-13 Content) Enron's "Grandma Millie" In High School Classrooms
- Salmon Forecasts to Be Explained on Tuesday
- Oregonian Editorial - No More Free Lunch on the Columbia
- $7M fish ladder revamp to aid passage on Klickitat
- Campaign to restrict gillnetters inflames Witt
- Overfishing Imperils Ocean Life, Study Says
- Sources: Obama putting Bush species rule on hold
- Black Rock Reservoir costly but good idea
- Japan - Grass-Roots Uprising against River Dam Challenges Tokyo
- For Some in Kitsap County, Cloudy Economic Times Are a Great Time to ‘Go Solar'
- Burglars Of Biomass - Protected Trees Turned to Firewood
- How the green building industry is thriving in a down economy
- Thousands Rally For Legislation On Climate Change
- United Kingdom - Climate Change Protest Disrupts Flights at Aberdeen Airport
- News Release - Plan By Obama Would Bring Higher Rates
- USDA Releases Report: "Rural Broadband at a Glance, 2009 Edition"
- Chief of Key Internet Oversight Body Is Leaving
- Where's The New FCC Boss?
- Would You Ever Head Back To Dial-Up?
- Includes Mason: 33 Washington Counties Declared Disaster
- Shelton Port Director Robinson to Spend More Time With Family
- Oregon & Washington Lumber Exports Up In 2008
- Oregon Timber Prices At Record Lows
- Proposal: Move Forest Service from Agriculture to Interior
- Stimulus Flows into Patchwork of State Transport Projects
- Stimulus Money Coming To Western Wash.

WORD OF THE DAY

Incarnadine • \in-KAHR-nuh-dyne\ • adjective - 1: having the pinkish color of flesh *2: red; especially: blood red

The committee given the job of naming “Crayola” colors was hamstrung by the stubborn holdout on the “pinky flesh” color. Barnardo insisted that the color be named “incarnadine,” while the rest of the group blustered that it be called “peach”. “It sounds kinda like ‘internecine,’” shouted one of the committee members, pounding his ham-like fist on the table. “Since mostly kids are gonna be using these things, we can’t make sound like an internal war,” he thundered over the quaking holdout.

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

Moses Lake Senator’s Energy Bill Gains Legislative Support - Bill Recognizes Hydropower (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/03/02/news/doc49ac073171973113422567.txt

Tacoma Power Customers to Get Refunds (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/643671.html

Lower than Normal Snowpack Will Hit Power Customers in Pocketbook Unless They Conserve (Idaho Statesman, Boise – Hey Rocky, watch me pull electricity out of a hat, if the dams are gone…)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/685019.html

Maryland – Governor Wants to Force Utilities to Build Plants (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/02/AR2009030202467.html

(Warning: PG-13 Content) Enron's "Grandma Millie" In High School Classrooms, F-Bombs and All (Houston Press, with props to SnoPUD)
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/03/enron_grandma_millie.php

FISH & WILDLIFE

Salmon Forecasts to Be Explained on Tuesday (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/02/salmon-forecasts-to-be-explained-on-tuesday/?partner=RSS

Oregonian Editorial - No More Free Lunch on the Columbia: It is sad that the states must turn to killing sea lions, but every other effort to protect endangered fish has failed
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/03/no_more_free_lunch_on_the_colu.html

$7M fish ladder revamp to aid passage on Klickitat (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/03/03/03-03-09-fish-ladder

Campaign to restrict gillnetters inflames Witt (Daily Astorian, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&ArticleID=58736

Overfishing Imperils Ocean Life, Study Says (SF Chronicle – Man I hate headlines written like this. It should read “Study Says Overfishing Imperils Ocean Life…”)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/03/BAGQ167VF6.DTL

Sources: Obama putting Bush species rule on hold (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008806437_apobamaendangeredspecies.html?syndication=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Black Rock Reservoir costly but good idea (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/643052.html

Japan - Grass-Roots Uprising against River Dam Challenges Tokyo (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/world/asia/03dam.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

For Some in Kitsap County, Cloudy Economic Times Are a Great Time to ‘Go Solar' (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/01/for-some-in-kitsap-cloudy-economic-times-are-a/?partner=RSS

Burglars Of Biomass - Protected Trees Turned to Firewood: Poachers ply illegal trade in national forests (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/401919_firewood02.html?source=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Energy Pulse Commentary - How the green building industry is thriving in a down economy
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1963

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Thousands Rally For Legislation On Climate Change (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTJ799AtURArOnuR5jn5GDlyLWLQD96M6GM00

United Kingdom - Climate Change Protest Disrupts Flights At Aberdeen Airport: Nine members of campaign group Plane Stupid cut through perimeter fence (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/03/aberdeen-airport-climate-protest

News Release - Plan By Obama Would Bring Higher Rates: Climate change-related auction of credits will be “carbon tax” passed on to consumers (Trading Markets)
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2203507/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

USDA Releases Report: "Rural Broadband at a Glance, 2009 Edition" (Agrimarketing)
http://www.agrimarketing.com/show_story.php?id=53490

Chief of Key Internet Oversight Body Is Leaving (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11820649

Where's The New FCC Boss? Everybody's waiting on Genachowski announcement (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Wheres-The-New-FCC-Boss-101167

Would You Ever Head Back To Dial-Up? The Press certainly seems to think you're planning to (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Would-You-Ever-Head-Back-To-DialUp-101150

GENERAL NEWS

Includes Mason: 33 Washington Counties Declared Disaster (Associated Press)
http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/40582012.html

Shelton Port Director Robinson To Spend More Time With Family (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/6549/reftab/1632/t/PORT-DIRECTOR-ROBINSON-TO-SPEND-MORE-TIME-WITH-FAMILY/Default.aspx

Oregon & Washington Lumber Exports Up In 2008, Report Says (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1881136~Ore___Wash__lumber_exports_up_in_2008__report_says.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Oregon Timber Prices At Record Lows (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/4407-oregon-timber-prices-record-lows/

Proposal: Move Forest Service from Agriculture to Interior (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/story/642707.html

Stimulus Flows into Patchwork of State Transport Projects (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/us/04states.html

Stimulus Money Coming To Western Wash. (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/18839089/detail.html

DIVERSIONS

'Ugly' Bald Cat Wins Fans at New Hampshire Vet Clinic
http://www.kirotv.com/family/18814224/detail.html

Nearby Asteroid Zooms By Earth
http://www.kirotv.com/technology/18830568/detail.html

Oh the Irony - Car Thief Nabbed After Calling 911 to Boast: Man Tells Dispatchers He's 'Smarter Than Police'
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/18824368/detail.html

Pierce County: Man Caught On Camera Stealing Security Cameras
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/643674.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Can't You See-Marshall Tucker Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4-a8zh0m9c