Energy News Digest for June 12, 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)

- As Wind Power Grows, a Push to Tear down Dams
- Okanogan PUD Hires Team to Remove Fire Dangers near Poles
- Tree Cutting Costs Farmers - BPA buzzes through hazelnut orchards
- Metal Theft Bill Clears Oregon House
- NorthWestern Energy Adds Hybrid Bucket Truck
- Alternate Gas Routes Studied In Eastern Oregon
- Cantwell - Senate Panel Hands FERC 'Cease and Desist' Power for Gas, Electricity Markets
- Chesapeake Energy: McClendon Mum On Lawsuits Over $75M Bonus
- Stalled Clean Coal Plant Moving Ahead In Illinois
- Wrongful Death Suit Filed In Fatal Water Heater Explosion
- Into the Breach - Unlikely voices call for a more inclusive approach to resolving the Snake River’s dam vs. salmon conundrum
- Lower Columbia River Opens Again After Delay
- Coho Salmon Season Set for Oregon Coastal Rivers
- Dead Fish in Lake Washington Prompt Concern
- State Approves Water Right for Large Eastern Washington Feedlot
- Obama Turns Out To Be Not So Much a Friend of the Environment
- Oregon - Hybrid Car Tax Break May Fade Away
- Nation's Largest Solar Plant to Be Built In New Mexico
- Atlanta Startup Turns Human Waste into Fuel
- Eating Your Own Dog Food: Congress Will Run Project on Saving Electricity
- Tacoma Building So Green It Needs To Be Mowed
- North Carolina - Duke Reaches Save-A-Watt Settlement
- Solid-State Lighting is a Bright Idea for Energy Efficiency, Study Says
- Agricultural Panel Jeopardizes Climate Bill
- Agriculture Carbon Offsets - Savior or a Boondoggle?
- Congress - GOP Charges Markey with Climate Witness Intimidation
- Clever Cap and Trade Primer - Where's My Carbon Credit, Dude?
- Stations Turn Off Analog Signals as Digital TV Deadline Arrives
- GAO On Broadband: Please Listen To Us. For Once. Please.
- Broadband Confession: I Have Pipe Envy
- Microsoft to Sell Windows minus Browser in Europe
- Yahoo Names New CFO, Fills Void Left By Shake-Up
- Twitter Helps Dell Rake in Sales
- Study Says Belfair Bypass Is Top Priority on Highway 3 Corridor
- Science Publication Says Mount St. Helens May Sit On "Supervolcano"
- Oregonian Op/Ed - What Ever Happened To Those 'Green' Jobs?
- Ride Out the Recession in Olympia
- Hanford Digs Up Radioactive Wasp Nests
- Olympia: Legendary KGY Broadcaster Got His Wish

WORD OF THE DAY

Glutinous • \GLUTE-tin-uss\ • adjective – Having the quality of glue: gummy; sticky

“The key to eating rice with chopsticks is the rice itself,” the cook breathlessly whispered to the apprentice chef. “If you cook it just right, it will result in a slightly glutinous mass, which makes it easy to pick up the bowl and start shoveling chunks of tasty rice into your pie-hole.”

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

As Wind Power Grows, a Push to Tear down Dams (NY Times, surprisingly more balanced than the headline implies)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/business/energy-environment/12bonneville.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Okanogan PUD Hires Team to Remove Fire Dangers near Poles (Omak Chronicle, WA)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n090611a.shtml

Tree Cutting Costs Farmers - BPA buzzes through hazelnut orchards to clear right-of-way (Capital Press)
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=618&ArticleID=52003&TM=64607.3

Metal Theft Bill Clears Oregon House (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2064957~Metal_theft_bill_clears_Ore__House.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

NorthWestern Energy Adds Hybrid Bucket Truck (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/11/financial/f191109D77.DTL&feed=rss.business

Alternate Gas Routes Studied In Eastern Oregon (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2063296~Alternate_gas_routes_studied_in_Eastern_Oregon.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Cantwell - Senate Panel Hands FERC 'Cease and Desist' Power for Gas, Electricity Markets (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/06/12/12greenwire-senate-panel-hands-ferc-cease-and-desist-power-74482.html

Chesapeake Energy: McClendon Mum On Lawsuits Over $75M Bonus - The chief executive is under fire for taking a $75 million bonus while the company was losing billions (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009331585_apuschesapeakemeeting.html?syndication=rss

Stalled Clean Coal Plant Moving Ahead In Illinois (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/12/financial/f071856D24.DTL&feed=rss.business

Wrongful Death Suit Filed In Fatal Water Heater Explosion (Wisconsin State Journal, Madison)
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/454621

FISH & WILDLIFE

Into the Breach - Unlikely voices call for a more inclusive approach to resolving the Snake River’s dam vs. salmon conundrum (The Inlander, Spokesman Review’s Weekly, Spokane, WA)
http://www.inlander.com/content/newscommentary_mike_crapo_and_jim_risch_snake_river_dams

Lower Columbia River Opens Again After Delay - Small run of spring Chinook salmon put opening on hold (Salem Statesman Journal, OR)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090612/OUTDOORS/906120332/1034/SPORTS/Lower-Columbia-River-opens-again-after-delay

Coho Salmon Season Set for Oregon Coastal Rivers (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2064804~Coho_salmon_season_set_for_Ore__coastal_rivers.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Dead Fish in Lake Washington Prompt Concern (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_061109WAB-stickleback-KS.6fb5e042.html?rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

State Approves Water Right for Large Eastern Washington Feedlot (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/878436.html

Examiner Columnist - Obama Turns Out To Be Not So Much a Friend of the Environment
http://www.examiner.com/x-5908-Boston-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m6d12-Obama-turns-out-to-be-not-so-much-a-friend-of-the-environment

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Oregon - Hybrid Car Tax Break May Fade Away (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1244775306167300.xml&coll=7

Nation's Largest Solar Plant to Be Built In New Mexico (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOVUnTb2J7yKCIVSfCfWRZtHOF_QD98OQFU81

Atlanta Startup Turns Human Waste into Fuel (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/smallBusinessNews/idUSTRE55B3UU20090612

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Eating Your Own Dog Food: Congress Will Run Project on Saving Electricity (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/11/AR2009061102978.html?wprss=rss_politics

Tacoma Building So Green It Needs To Be Mowed (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/776124.html

North Carolina - Duke Reaches Save-A-Watt Settlement (Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/06/08/daily51.html

Solid-State Lighting is a Bright Idea for Energy Efficiency, Study Says (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmBuildings/idUS178093055120090611

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Agricultural Panel Jeopardizes Climate Bill - Lawmakers threatened to derail controversial legislation to combat climate change unless it does more to support forestry and farming interests (San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/11/MNP0185SB3.DTL&feed=rss.news

Agriculture Carbon Offsets - Savior or a Boondoggle? (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/12/12climatewire-agriculture-offsets----a-savior-or-a-boondog-33517.html

Congress - GOP Charges Markey with Climate Witness Intimidation (The Hill)
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-charges-markey-with-climate-witness-intimidation-2009-06-11.html

Clever Cap and Trade Primer - Where's My Carbon Credit, Dude? (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105285865

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Stations Turn Off Analog Signals as Digital TV Deadline Arrives (NY Times)
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/stations-turn-off-analog-signals-as-digital-tv-deadline-arrives/?partner=rss&emc=rss

GAO On Broadband: Please Listen To Us. For Once. Please. - Government waste agency wants clear goals (duh) for broadband (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/GAO-On-Broadband-Please-Listen-To-Us-For-Once-Please-102891

Broadband Confession: I Have Pipe Envy (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/06/11/broadband-confession-i-have-pipe-envy/

Microsoft to Sell Windows minus Browser in Europe (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10519030

Yahoo Names New CFO, Fills Void Left By Shake-Up (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12570906

Twitter Helps Dell Rake in Sales (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE55B0NU20090612?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

GENERAL NEWS

Study Says Belfair Bypass Is Top Priority on Highway 3 Corridor (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/11/study-says-belfair-bypass-is-top-priority-on-3/?partner=RSS

Science Publication Says Mount St. Helens May Sit On "Supervolcano" (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/science_publication_says_mount.html

Oregonian Op/Ed - What Ever Happened To Those 'Green' Jobs?
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/what_ever_happened_to_those_gr.html

Ride Out the Recession in Olympia (KIRO Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=177803

Hanford Digs Up Radioactive Wasp Nests (Associated Press)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/47890677.html

Olympia: Legendary KGY Broadcaster Got His Wish - Dick Pust has been a part of KGY for more than half its history (The Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/879075.html

DIVERSIONS

City of New York Investigating Bar Mitzvah Held in Jail
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/nyregion/12jail.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filming the Flight of a Winged Maple Seed
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/science/16obseed.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Chimps Made Honorary Citizens of Cle Elum
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_061109ANB-cle-elum-chimps-KS.6f3cbbf8.html?rss

Obama Writes Girl a Note for Missing School
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009328636_apusobamanote.html?syndication=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Maurice Jarre - Lawrence of Arabia (Backdoor shout out to Stephen Colbert)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irPSvEkQl8Q