Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Energy News Digest for June 30, 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)

• BPA Lowers Proposed Fall Rate Increase to 6.4 Percent
• Energy: Small Fire Forces Richland Nuclear Plant Offline
• Clark County - Electricity Sales to Industry Down 18.3%, Utility Reports
• PUD 3 Employees & Family Join the Fight against Cancer
• Should Renewable Energy Include Nuclear?
• Wyoming Looks to Keep Coal in Energy Mix
• New Jersey Transformer Blast Causes Fire, Power Failure
• Summer Safety Tips from PECO
• Driver Mows Down Dozens of Protected Seabirds
• To Protect Public - Safety Rules Sought for Creation of Salmon Habitat
• Spokane White-Water Park Could Affect Fish
• Congress May Overhaul Fishing Industry Safety Regulations
• The Influence Game: A Catfish by Any Other Name
• BPA/Digital Angel in $745,000 Contract for Fish Monitoring
• Increasing Dust Speeds Melting Of Mountain Snow
• State and Federal Officials to Discuss Yakima Water
• Clallam County Water Reuse Site Draws Ideas from Three Groups
• Aberdeen Wastewater Plant Wins State Honor
• Study: Coastal Seagrass Increasingly Being Lost
• Oregon to End Field Burning - House OKs measure banning practice
• Interior Secretary Unveils Fast-Track Solar Plan
• Oregon Wind Bill Awaits Signing - Cuts incentives
• Fourteen New Wind Farms Planned For Southern Idaho
• PacificCorp IRP Calls For More Renewable Generation
• The Switch - Waste into Energy Projects Look Promising
• Wind Turbine Prices Move Down
• National Hydropower Association Applauds Support for Hydro
• White House Announces New Lighting Conservation Standards
• Analysis: Climate Bill May Spur Energy Revolution
• Can Farm Groups Kill the Climate Bill?
• EPA Approves California Greenhouse Gas Pollution Rule
• Portland/Vancouver - Wireless Broadband to Go Live Today
• Fiber Broadband Sells Homes
• Yahoo to Build Data Center near Buffalo
• Cautionary Stories of the State of Broadband Mapping
• Wash. State Population Grows, but Rate Slows
• Small earthquake in Kitsap County
• Process for Withdrawing From Mason Hospital District
• Thurston County - Counterfeit Money Circulating In Area
• Northwest Companies Make the Cut in Clean Tech Competition
• Oregon Had 51,402 ‘Green Jobs’ In 2008
• Startup Expects 10% of Web Readers to Pay for News
• Murray, Larsen Seeking Federal Funds for Ferries
• Seattle Man Suing To Stop Fireworks at Gas Works
• Natural 'Air Force' Guards Central Washington Blueberry Crop

WORD OF THE DAY

Shambling • \SHAM-bling\ • adjective – Characterized by slow awkward movement

After a quick start, breathtaking special effects, and sparking dialog what appeared to be the movie of the summer stumbled into a shambling shadow if itself as it ground through the last fifteen minutes to a merciful conclusion. Unknown to the movie-goers, the film’s screenwriter had been fired before the script was complete. The “key grip” was unceremoniously called upon to write the final act…with disastrous effect.

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

BPA Lowers Proposed Fall Rate Increase to 6.4 Percent (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/06/30/area_news/doc4a495fa4baea0233597683.txt

Energy: Small Fire Forces Richland Nuclear Plant Offline (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/631045.html

Clark County - Electricity Sales to Industry Down 18.3%, Utility Reports (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090630/BIZ01/706309977/-1/BIZ

PUD 3 Employees & Family Join the Fight against Cancer (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=565

Should Renewable Energy Include Nuclear? (Christian Science Monitor – How about anything that firms renewables?)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0629/p06s10-woeu.html

Wyoming Looks to Keep Coal in Energy Mix (Associated Press)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/29/ap6597345.html

New Jersey Transformer Blast Causes Fire, Power Failure (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/30/national/a092346D73.DTL&feed=rss.business

Summer Safety Tips from PECO (Yahoo! Finance)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Summer-Safety-Tips-From-bw-3273404425.html/print?x=0

FISH & WILDLIFE

Driver Runs Over Dozens of Protected Seabirds at Long Beach, WA (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/reward_offered_in_slaughter_of.html

To Protect Public - Safety Rules Sought for Creation of Salmon Habitat (Seattle Times – I guess large woody debris aren’t good for people…)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009400482_safetyrules30.html?syndication=rss

Spokane White-Water Park Could Affect Fish (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/29/white-water-park-could-affect-fish/

Congress May Overhaul Fishing Industry Safety Regulations (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/896968.html

The Influence Game: A Catfish by Any Other Name: It looks like catfish, it tastes like catfish, and it acts like catfish (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009401759_apuscatfishwars.html?syndication=rss

News Release – BPA/Digital Angel in $745,000 Contracts and Orders for Fish Monitoring Systems (Yahoo! Finance)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Digital-Angels-Destron-bw-220066637.html?x=0&.v=1

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Increasing Dust Speeds Melting Of Mountain Snow (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009398582_apusscidustinthewind.html?syndication=rss

State and Federal Officials to Discuss Yakima Water (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10616772

Clallam County Water Reuse Site Draws Ideas from Three Groups (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090630/news/306309989

Aberdeen Wastewater Plant Wins State Honor (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/06/29/local_news/doc4a4924e33ebd2709834479.txt

Study: Coastal Seagrass Increasingly Being Lost (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009398734_apussciseagrassloss.html?syndication=rss

Oregon to End Field Burning - House OKs measure banning practice (Associated Press)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/30/oregon-to-end-field-burning/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Interior Secretary Unveils Fast-Track Solar Plan (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/29/state/n113204D09.DTL&feed=rss.business

Oregon Wind Bill Awaits Signing - could significantly shrink the size of economic incentives for wind energy developers (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/06/29/daily6.html?ana=from_rss

Fourteen New Wind Farms Planned For Southern Idaho (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/896909.html

PacificCorp IRP Calls For More Renewable Generation (North American Wind Power)
http://www.nawindpower.com/naw/e107_plugins/content/content_lt.php?content.4204

The Switch - Waste into Energy Projects Look Promising (Oregon Public Radio)
http://news.opb.org/article/5317-switch-waste-energy-projects-look-promising/

Wind Turbine Prices Move Down, Shows New Price Index from NEF (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/06/wind-turbine-prices-move-down-says-new-price-index?cmpid=rss

National Hydropower Association Applauds Support for Hydro and Other Renewables in House Bill (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/national-hydropower-association/news/article/2009/06/nha-applauds-support-for-hydro-and-other-renewables-in-house-bill?cmpid=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

White House Announces New Lighting Conservation Standards (Associated Press)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/29/AR2009062901857.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Analysis: Climate Bill May Spur Energy Revolution (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2009-06-29-climate-bill_N.htm

Can Farm Groups Kill the Climate Bill? (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/30/30climatewire-can-farm-groups-kill-the-climate-bill-71264.html

EPA Approves California Greenhouse Gas Pollution Rule (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/30/national/w081619D61.DTL&feed=rss.news

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Portland/Vancouver - Wireless Broadband to Go Live Today: Comcast/Clearwire alliance pioneers its service in Portland area
http://columbian.com/article/20090630/BIZ01/706309984/-1/BIZ

Fiber Broadband Sells Homes - According to group eager to sell FTTH (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Fiber-Broadband-Sells-Homes-103189

Yahoo To Build Data Center Near Buffalo (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/30/financial/f084944D49.DTL&feed=rss.business

Cautionary Stories of the State of Broadband Mapping – Texas and Tennessee (Public Knowledge, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/2507

GENERAL NEWS

Wash. State Population Grows, but Rate Slows (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/896487.html

State OFM News Release on Population (Washington State Office of Financial Management)
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/news/release/2009/090629.asp

Here is a Link to the Population Estimates by Cities and Towns (Washington State Office of Financial Management – Yikes! Shelton actually lost population – Mason County gained some)
http://www.ofm.wa.gov/pop/april1/default.asp

Small earthquake in Kitsap County (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_063009WAB-kitsap-quake-SW.20421da2.html?rss

Process for Withdrawing From Mason General Hospital District Spelled Out (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7665/reftab/1632/t/PROCESS-FOR-WITHDRAWING-FROM-MASON-GENERAL-HOSPITAL-DISTRICT-SPELLED-OUT/Default.aspx

Thurston County - Counterfeit Money Circulating In Area (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/795294.html

Northwest Companies Make the Cut in Clean Tech Competition (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_062909TTB-clean-tech-finalistsES.1d1968b0.html?rss

Oregon Had 51,402 ‘Green Jobs’ In 2008 (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/06/29/daily4.html?ana=from_rss

Startup Expects 10% of Web Readers to Pay for News (Associated Pres
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/630420.html

Murray, Larsen Seeking Federal Funds for Ferries (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009401550_apwaferrysupport.html?syndication=rss

Seattle Man Suing To Stop Fireworks at Gas Works (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/19893865/detail.html

Natural 'Air Force' Guards Central Washington Blueberry Crop (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/49440532.html

DIVERSIONS

Grammar Groan - Really Bad Writing Finds a New Champion in Federal Way (Should read: Poor Writing Skills Find New Champion In Federal Way)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=184054

'Dog Ate My Checks' – Woman Accused Of Dipping Into Her Ex-Husband's Bank Account without Permission
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/896787.html

Dog-Eaten Passport Cancels Wisconsin Boy's Trip to Peru
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/29/national/a194032D95.DTL&feed=rss.news

Prize Locusts - Crowd Grabs Goodies and Foils Airline Publicity Stunt
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090626/od_nm/us_balloons

SONG OF THE DAY

Pep Band Flashback: Rhythm Heritage - Theme from S.W.A.T.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AH7g9sYH54