Energy News Digest for June 22, 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)

- Jefferson PUD, Puget Sound Energy to Begin Formal Discussions on Electricity Transfer
- Grays Harbor PUD - Distribution of Refunds from BPA Overpayment Depended On Timing
- Ephrata Delays Grant PUD Transmission Line Opinion
- Planned Power Outage for North Shore Road to Accommodate County Road Repairs
- Linemen Compete In Fifth-Annual Rodeo
- Lab Testing Itron Meters’ Security
- Op/Ed - Efficiency, Renewable Energy Better Bets Than Gambling Anew On Nuclear Power
- Editorial - Pedernales Electric Cooperative: Many enablers led to indictments in scandal
- Michigan Customers, Utilities Feel Heat As Unpaid Bills Mount
- Op/Ed - Electricity Choices Benefit Consumers
- Editorial - Public Power Too Risky For Larkspur (Novato, CA)
- Editorial - A New TVA Energy Strategy
- Under House Energy Bill, Coal Won't Be Going Away
- Has the salmon debate changed?
- Summer Salmon Fishing Should Be Great
- Hood Canal Summer Chum Recovering, but Still Face Some Challenges
- Gulf of Alaska's Salmon Become Scarce As Ocean Currents Shift
- NOAA Issues Recovery Plan for Lake Ozette Fish
- Obama Climate Change Report Discusses Pacific Salmon
- Omak Creek - Tribes Welcome Back First Salmon
- Future Up In Air for Olympia Bat Colony
- Many Green-Friendly Bills Don't Make the Cut in Oregon
- Op/Ed - Protecting Oregon's Water (I’m lookin’ at you Nestle!)
- Hanford Workers Clean Up Chemical-Filled Pipeline near Columbia River
- County, Chelan/Grant PUDs Studying Slime in Lake Wenatchee
- Sustainable Is Now the Word in Klamath County
- Colorado’s Yampa River Runs with Possibility and Protest
- Rekindling Wood Energy in America
- Oregon’s Loggers See Potential in Waste Wood
- The Switch: Could Oregon’s Trees Make Us Energy Exporter?
- Editorial - Slow Down the Rush of Siting Wind Turbines in Our Blue Mountains
- Many Roadblocks to Getting Wind Energy Going On Great Lakes
- Wind Power Blocked By 'Glass Ceiling'
- Small Wind Turbines See Gust in Sales, Thanks In Part to Tax Credits
- Hawaii Paying Nearly Twice Market Rate For Solar Power
- Washington State Has Steady Growth in Clean Energy Jobs
- Port Orchard Sewage Plant's Gas Helps It Move Away From the Grid
- Op/Ed - Washington State Must Not Delay Biodiesel Goals
- Drawn by the Glow of Greener Streets
- GE Water Heater Cuts Energy Use in Half
- Fight over Greenhouse Gases Comes to Montana
- Critics Fault Climate-Change Legislation
- Climate Change Bill's Effect on Midwest Debated
- “Burpless” Cows Attribute Success to Omega 3 Rich Diet
- 'Synthetic Tree' Claims To Catch Carbon in the Air
- Boxlight: A Poulsbo Parable of Boom, Bust ... and Bounceback?
- Editorial - A Broadband Vision for the Federal Communications Commission
- The Metered Billing Fight Is About To Get Ugly
- Better Connections: Phone Co-Op Brings Tech to Homes
- Port Angeles - Human Remains Found At Elwha Dam Removal Site
- Tribe Settles Lawsuits over Port Angeles Burial Site
- Navy Holding Hearings on New Hood Canal Bangor Wharf
- Columnist - Don't Try To Intimidate People Who Sign Initiative Petitions
- Washington State Lawmakers' Expenses Tallied
- Mammoth Report Faults Seattle Street-Division Managers

WORD OF THE DAY

Oologist • \oh-ALL-uh-just\ • noun – 1: a person specializing in the study of birds' eggs 2: a collector of birds' eggs

On the farm, we were all amateur oologists, sneaking from nest to nest to gather the still-warm eggs from gently clucking hens.

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

Jefferson PUD, Puget Sound Energy to Begin Formal Discussions on Electricity Transfer (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090621/news/306219990

Grays Harbor PUD - Distribution of Refunds from BPA Overpayment Depended On Timing (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/06/21/local_news/doc4a3dcd1ca0c3e628124286.txt

Ephrata Delays Grant PUD Transmission Line Opinion (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/06/19/news/doc4a3c0493667c8074394881.txt

Planned Power Outage for North Shore Road to Accommodate County Road Repairs (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7579/reftab/1632/t/PLANNED-POWER-OUTAGE-FOR-NORTH-SHORE-ROAD-TO-ACCOMMODATE-COUNTY-ROAD-REPAIRS/Default.aspx

Linemen Compete In Fifth-Annual Rodeo (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090622/NEWS04/706229966/-1/PRINTINDEX?Linemen-compete-in-fifth-annual-rodeo

Lab Testing Itron Meters’ Security - Goal is to protect U.S. power grid from attack (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/20/lab-testing-itron-meters-security/

Seattle Times Op/Ed - Efficiency, Renewable Energy Better Bets Than Gambling Anew On Nuclear Power
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009360789_guest20patton.html

Austin American-Statesman Editorial - Pedernales Electric Cooperative: Many enablers led to indictments in scandal (Texas)
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/06/20/0620pec_edit.html

Michigan Customers, Utilities Feel Heat As Unpaid Bills Mount (Detroit Free Press, MI)
http://www.freep.com/article/20090622/NEWS06/906220353/Customers++utilities+feel+heat+as+unpaid+bills+mount

Baltimore Sun Op/Ed - Electricity Choices Benefit Consumers
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.energy22jun22,0,5970948.story

Marin Independent Journal - Public Power Too Risky For Larkspur (Novato, CA)
http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_12662492

Chattanooga Times Free Press Editorial - A New TVA Energy Strategy
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/21/6-21-t1-a-new-tva-energy-strategy/?opiniontimes

Under House Energy Bill, Coal Won't Be Going Away (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-coal22-2009jun22,0,6722721.story

FISH & WILDLIFE

Has the salmon debate changed? Breaching dams seems no more likely under a new administration. But the fervor for keeping them has died down, too, and that opens the door for discussion (The Idaho Statesman, Boise – Um, Rocky, your headline is belied by your editorial content: “…two-thirds of voters oppose breaching the dams…”)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/809447.html

Summer Salmon Fishing Should Be Great (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2009363985_outn21.html

Hood Canal Summer Chum Recovering, but Still Face Some Challenges (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/20/hood-canal-summer-chum-recovering-but-still-face/

Gulf of Alaska's Salmon Become Scarce As Ocean Currents Shift (Anchorage Daily News, AK)
http://www.adn.com/outdoors/fishing/story/838015.html

NOAA Issues Recovery Plan for Lake Ozette Fish (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090622/news/306229987

Obama Climate Change Report Discusses Pacific Salmon (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/obama_climate_change_report_di.html

Omak Creek - Tribes Welcome Back First Salmon (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090620/NEWS04/706209954

Future Up In Air For Olympia Bat Colony - Restoration plan might jeopardize roost of thousands (The Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/888267.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Many Green-Friendly Bills Don't Make the Cut in Oregon (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/06/many_greenfriendly_bills_dont.html

Oregonian Op/Ed - Protecting Oregon's Water (I’m lookin’ at you Nestle!)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/protecting_oregons_water.html

Hanford Workers Clean Up Chemical-Filled Pipeline near Columbia River (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/786243.html

County, Chelan/Grant PUDs Studying Slime in Lake Wenatchee (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090619/NEWS04/706199950/1001/NEWS04

Sustainable Is Now the Word in Klamath County (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/klamath_falls_theres_no.html

Colorado’s Yampa River Runs with Possibility and Protest (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105334111&ft=1&f=3

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Rekindling Wood Energy in America - If not properly crafted, new renewable electricity policies will waste biomass energy (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/06/rekindling-wood-energy-in-america?cmpid=rss

Oregon’s Loggers See Potential in Waste Wood - Jobs, energy may be created from slash piles (Associated Press)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/785507.html

The Switch: Could Oregon’s Trees Make Us Energy Exporter? (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5268-switch-could-oregons-trees-make-us-energy-exporter/

East Oregonian Editorial - Slow Down the Rush of Siting Wind Turbines in Our Blue Mountains
http://eastoregonian.com/main.asp?SectionID=14&SubSectionID=50&ArticleID=94268

Many Roadblocks to Getting Wind Energy Going On Great Lakes (The Muskegon Chronicle, MI)
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/06/many_roadblocks_to_getting_win.html

Wind Power Blocked By 'Glass Ceiling' - Aging transmission system mutes vast potential in S.D. (Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD)
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090622/NEWS/906220329/1001

Small Wind Turbines See Gust in Sales, Thanks In Part to Tax Credits (Finance & Commerce)
http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2009/06/20/Small-wind-turbines-see-gust-in-sales-thanks-in-part-to-tax-credits

Hawaii Paying Nearly Twice Market Rate For Solar Power - Officials locked in price that's twice as much as current consumer rate (Honolulu Advertiser, HI)
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090621/NEWS01/906210372/Hawaii+paying+nearly+twice+market+rate+for+solar+power+

Washington State Has Steady Growth in Clean Energy Jobs (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10565902

Port Orchard Sewage Plant's Gas Helps It Move Away From the Grid (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/19/sewage-plants-gas-helps-it-move-away-from-the/?partner=RSS

Seattle Times Op/Ed - Washington State Must Not Delay Biodiesel Goals
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009367152_guest22plaza.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Drawn by the Glow of Greener Streets - Despite Costs, Md. Town Seeks LED Street Lamps (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/21/AR2009062101945.html

GE Water Heater Cuts Energy Use in Half (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/mnGreenGadgets/idUS343668364920090622

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Fight over Greenhouse Gases Comes to Montana (Billings Gazette, MT – A hot air balloon, how ironic)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/20/news/local/18-greenhouse.txt

Critics Fault Climate-Change Legislation (Hearst Newspapers)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/21/MNCE18AEOP.DTL&feed=rss.news

Climate Change Bill's Effect on Midwest Debated - Some see states suffering; others see economic benefit (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WI)
http://www.jsonline.com/business/48736377.html

“Burpless” Cows Attribute Success to Omega 3 Rich Diet (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/x-11634-Hartford-Vegetarian-Examiner~y2009m6d22-Burpless-cows-attribute-success-to-Omega-3-rich-diet

'Synthetic Tree' Claims To Catch Carbon in the Air “…Half of your emissions come from small, distributed sources where collection at the site is either impossible or impractical…” (CNN Technology)
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/06/22/synthetic.tree.climate.change.ccs/index.html#cnnSTCText

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Boxlight: A Poulsbo Parable of Boom, Bust ... and Bounceback? (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/20/new-boxlight-comes-from-the-unwinding-of-the-old/?partner=RSS

Seattle Times Editorial - A Broadband Vision for the Federal Communications Commission
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2009367150_edit22feds.html?syndication=rss

The Metered Billing Fight Is About To Get Ugly - Think tanks, astroturfers and policy flaks fire up unreality engines (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-Metered-Billing-Fight-Is-About-To-Get-Ugly-103043

Better Connections: Phone Co-Op Brings Tech to Homes (San Antonio Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/stories/2009/06/22/focus3.html?ana=from_rss

GENERAL NEWS

Port Angeles - Human Remains Found At Elwha Dam Removal Site (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.konp.com/local/4860

Tribe Settles Lawsuits over Port Angeles Burial Site (Indian Country Today)
http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1665&Itemid=72

Navy Holding Hearings on New Hood Canal Bangor Wharf (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10571964

Seattle Times Columnist - Don't Try To Intimidate People Who Sign Initiative Petitions
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2009360799_ryan21.html

Washington State Lawmakers' Expenses Tallied (The Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/887643.html

Mammoth Report Faults Seattle Street-Division Managers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009362606_cityreport20m.html

DIVERSIONS

Ah, a Relaxing Cruise: Women Assault Cops in Melee On Cruise Ship
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/48732602.html

Indiana Lawyer Found Asleep In Neighbor’s Trash Can
http://www.kirotv.com/news/19801669/detail.html

Dutch Muggers Caught On Google Street View Camera
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE55I38C20090619?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

SONG OF THE DAY

Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrBDivsSe3k