Energy News Digest for March 5, 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)

- Fitch Upgrades Energy Northwest Revenue Bonds to 'AA'; Outlook Positive
- Portland General Electric Plans Stock Sale
- "Smart Grid" Draft Standards Seen Available By Summer
- Canada - Fears Grow for Natural Gas in Obama Tax Squeeze
- New York Lawmaker Blasts NYISO Over Rates
- Texas - Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU Corp., loses $9.8 billion in 2008
- Daily News Op/Ed: A Letter to President Obama about Our Dam
- Raid on Energy Company in Ukraine
- Columbia River Salmon Runs Forecast To Increase
- Fishery Managers Are Pumped About Columbia River Coho Returning
- Chinook Biting in Puget Sound
- Third Baby Orca Spotted Near San Juan Islands
- Taylor Shellfish makes it a Federal Case
- California Managers Declare Longfin Smelt Threatened
- Greenwashing the Columbia - Sam's Big Bridge Moves Forward
- Clash over Unpaid Water Bill Leads to North Dakota Standoff
- Let's Wipe Out Toilet Paper
- Many Green Efforts Beginning To Wither - Several bills have been watered down
- Ephrata Wind Tower Manufacturer Cuts 21 Jobs - Economy Blamed
- Portland General Electric Raising Cash for Wind Farm
- Activists Fight Small Power Plants: Chicken Waste as Fuel Draws Fire
- Vocational School Adding Wind Energy Program
- The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In The Wind--Or Is It?
- Energy-Gobbling City Home to Biggest Solar Roof
- Viewpoint: Conservation Not Enough To Spark Economic Development
- Why "green jobs" may not save the economy or the environment
- The Broadband Hot Potato
- Vermont Fiber Efforts Run Into Sour Economy
- Washington House Gets Highway Stimulus Flowing
- Dow Ends Wednesday Up 149 Points; Alcoa Up 12 Percent

WORD OF THE DAY

Purfle • \PUR-ful\ • verb - To ornament the border or edges of

The tiny ukulele shone like some religious icon. The abalone purfling around the edges of the diminutive instrument, and the inlays around the sound hole and the fingerboard made the Martin 5K what it is today…the holy grail of ukes. (Fanboy enthusiasm intended)

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

Fitch Upgrades Energy Northwest Revenue Bonds to 'AA'; Outlook Positive (Marketwatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fitch-upgrades-energy-northwest-revs/story.aspx?guid={212BCE3A-1926-4151-87C5-E9E130221F77}&dist=msr_5

Portland General Electric Plans Stock Sale (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/03/02/daily47.html?ana=from_rss

"Smart Grid" Draft Standards Seen Available By Summer (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5225YE20090303?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

Canada - Fears Grow for Natural Gas in Obama Tax Squeeze - Independents fear loss of drilling cost deduction (Edmonton Journal)
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business/Fears+grow+natural+Obama+squeeze/1351694/story.html

New York Lawmaker Blasts NYISO Over Rates: New study critical of its method of setting electric prices (Albany Times Union, NY)
http://dev.scoop.com/remote/article/include/77288240/53616c7465645f5fa68dad3932b9960ae067d962a3f1fd8b51b161f4624966cf

Texas - Energy Future Holdings, formerly TXU Corp., loses $9.8 billion in 2008 (Fort Worth Star Telegraph)
http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/1236989.html

Daily News Op/Ed: A Letter to President Obama about Our Dam (Red Bluff, CA)
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/ci_11833998

Raid on Energy Company in Ukraine (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/world/europe/05ukraine.html?_r=1

FISH & WILDLIFE

Columbia River Salmon Runs Forecast To Increase (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/402236_salmon05.html

Fishery Managers Are Pumped About Columbia River Coho Returning (The Astorian, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=58816&TM=76535.87

Chinook Biting in Puget Sound (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2008815325_fish05.html?syndication=rss

Third Baby Orca Spotted Near San Juan Islands (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1886735~Third_baby_orca_spotted_near_San_Juan_Islands.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Taylor Shellfish makes it a Federal Case (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/mar/04/taylor-shellfish-makes-it-a-federal-case/?partner=RSS

California Managers Declare Longfin Smelt Threatened (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1884770~Calif__managers_declare_longfin_smelt_threatened.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Greenwashing the Columbia - Sam's Big Bridge Moves Forward... So Where Are the Environmental Activists? (Portland Mercury)
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/greenwashing-the-columbia/Content?oid=1275487

Clash over Unpaid Water Bill Leads to North Dakota Standoff (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/04/national/a152020S96.DTL&feed=rss.business

Let's Wipe Out Toilet Paper (The Guardian, United Kingdom)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/04/stop-using-toilet-paper

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Many Green Efforts Beginning To Wither - Several bills have been watered down (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090305/NEWS02/703059939/

Ephrata Wind Tower Manufacturer Cuts 21 Jobs - Economy Blamed (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/03/04/news/doc49aeb2634098f742312591.txt

Portland General Electric Raising Cash for Wind Farm (The Oregonian, Portland)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/03/pge_raising_cash_for_wind_farm.html

Activists Fight Small Power Plants: Chicken Waste As Fuel Draws Fire (The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC)
http://dev.scoop.com/remote/article/include/77276745/53616c7465645f5f526be52f2718cd82aa432d449218a67b33fd41bb4f2e3b44

Vocational School Adding Wind Energy Program - First students could enroll in July at Northwest Renewable Energy Institute (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090304/NEWS02/703059982/

The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In The Wind--Or Is It? Our Blue Earth - Global Warming (Appalachian Independent – and another quarter for Robert Zimmerman)
http://appindie.org/index.php/our-blue-earth/global-warming/464-the-answer-my-friend-is-blowing-in-the-wind-or-is-it

Energy-Gobbling City Home to Biggest Solar Roof (CNN)
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/05/solar.roof.atlantic.city/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Viewpoint: Conservation Not Enough To Spark Economic Development (Charleston Regional Business Journal, SC)
http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/26727-viewpoint-conservation-not-enough-to-spark-economic-development?rss=0

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Barking Up the Wrong Tree - Why "green jobs" may not save the economy or the environment (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2212903/?from=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The Broadband Hot Potato (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123612370867623587.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Vermont Fiber Efforts Run Into Sour Economy (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Vermont-Fiber-Efforts-Run-Into-Sour-Economy-101212

GENERAL NEWS

Washington House Gets Highway Stimulus Flowing (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008812964_apwaxgrstimulushighways1stldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Dow Ends Wednesday Up 149 Points; Alcoa Up 12 Percent (Pittsburgh Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/03/02/daily41.html?ana=from_rss

DIVERSIONS

Oregon School Removes Book over Its Portrayal of Logging (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1884197~School_removes_book_over_its_portrayal_of_logging.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Cat Flown, Arrives To New Owner Frozen
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/mobile/local_wpri_call12_frozen_cat_flown_to_oregon_20090303

Underwater Critters Fart Greenhouse Gas: Study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090303/od_afp/germanydenmarkclimatewarminganimalscienceoffbeat_20090303155915;_ylt=AkELeGDgcKOhgrgEeoTgPD2gOrgF

Top 50 Shortlisted For 'Best Job in World'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090303/lf_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090303170827;_ylt=AnIxZtxwLyTEaLFWBqGbEqKgOrgF

SONG OF THE DAY

Molly Hatchet - Flirtin’ With Disaster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhhtRxqSrys