Energy News Digest for July 20, 2010

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

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Easing Winds Help Crews Fight Washington State Wildfire (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012398554_apuswashingtonwildfire7thld.html

Operations Center, Bond Sale on the Agenda - Mason PUD 3 Moves Meeting to Wednesday (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.net/news/2734-pud-3-moves-meeting-to-wednesday

Adding to Hydro - Google to Use Iowa Wind Energy to Power Data Centers (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66J3BL20100720

Lewis County - Key Environmental Document Released for Proposed Doty Wind Farm (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?Key-Environmental-Document-Released-for-=1&blockID=273677

Shelton Considering Shutting Off Some Street Lights to Save Money (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.net/news/2748-shelton-considering-shutting-off-some-street-lights-to-save-money

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         Operations Center, Bond Sale on the Agenda - Mason PUD 3 Moves Meeting to Wednesday

·         Lake Cushman Dam Deal Finally Settled

·         National Hydropower Association Members Call for Immediate Action on Hydropower

·         Locke: US Should Follow Colorado Plan on New Energy

·         Op/Ed - Lamar Alexander: Nuclear Energy Is Cheap & Reliable

·         Editorial - Don’t Let Politics Drive a Nuclear-Waste Decision

·         Five Great Lakes States Sue Feds over Asian Carp

·         Columbia Gorge Rules Weaken Protection, Group Says

·         Adding to Hydro - Google to Use Iowa Wind Energy to Power Data Centers

·         Oregon - Steens Wind Farms Hinge on Transmission Line

·         Lewis County - Key Environmental Document Released for Proposed Doty Wind Farm

·         Op/Ed - Wind Powers Clean Energy, New Jobs for Montana

·         Pacific Northwest Wood-Fueled Biomass Plants Closer, Not Yet Viable

·         Oregon - Solar Company Will Build Plant in Gresham

·         Cross-Border Renewable Power in the Pacific Northwest Faces Huge Hurdles

·         Shelton Considering Shutting Off Some Street Lights to Save Money

·         California - Smart Meters Bring Small Increases

·         NOAA Says June Was the Hottest on Record

·         Climate Policy Wars: Electricity Utilities in Coal Powered States

·         Study: Climate Change Grasped Better as Health Issue

·         Washington Moms Summit Mt. Rainier in Call for Green Energy

·         PETA Crows About Vegetarian-Friendly Portland

·         Solar Drone Aims for a Record

·         Should I Stay Funky? On the Greenness of Deodorants & Antiperspirants

·         FCC Says Broadband Market Not Serving All Americans

·         New Wireless Broadband Network to Launch Next Year

·         Most-Wired Hospitals - ‘Meaningful Use’ Hoists Hospital IT to Next Level

·         ‘Hamlet’s BlackBerry’: To Surf or Not to Surf?

·         A California City Outsources Everything. Sky Doesn’t Fall

·         Easing Winds Help Crews Fight Washington State Wildfire

·         Washington State Awards $2 Million to Olympia Man Following Hwy 101 Crash

·         Man Accused of Firing Gun at Wildlife Agent

·         Washington State Patrol Facing Wave of Retirements

·         Washington State Capitol Dome Dirty; Will Get Much ‘Grimier’

·         Kitsap Judge, Husband Settle Lawsuit for Cutting Down 71 Trees on Others’ Property

·         Go Cowlitz! Tribal Canoe Teams Reach Makah Reservation

·         Awkward & Unfortunate - As Facebook Users Die, Ghosts Reach Out

·         Stores Push ‘Christmas’ Sales to Beat Recession (USA Today)

WORD OF THE DAY

Ionian • \eye-OWN-ee-un\ • noun - 1: a member of any of the Greek peoples who settled on the islands of the Aegean Sea and the western shore of Asia Minor toward the end of the second millennium BC 2: a native or inhabitant of Ionia

Little Adrian was dazzled by her first experience with a kaleidoscope. The shifting colors and shapes were as numerous and varied as the Ionian islands of the Aegean Sea.

SHELTON FORECAST & 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

Operations Center, Bond Sale on the Agenda - Mason PUD 3 Moves Meeting to Wednesday (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.net/news/2734-pud-3-moves-meeting-to-wednesday

Lake Cushman Dam Deal Finally Settled - Tacoma Power granted license for Mason County based project until 2048 (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/20/1269939/dam-deal-finally-settled.html

National Hydropower Association Members Call for Immediate Action on Hydropower (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/national-hydropower-association/news/article/2010/07/nha-members-call-for-immediate-action-on-hydropower

Locke: US Should Follow Colorado Plan on New Energy (Denver Post, CO)

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_15554733

Op/Ed - Lamar Alexander: Nuclear Energy Is Cheap & Reliable (US News & World Report)

http://politics.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/07/19/Lamar-Alexander-Nuclear-Energy-Is-Cheap-and-Reliable.html

Editorial - Don’t Let Politics Drive a Nuclear-Waste Decision (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/18/AR2010071802520.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Five Great Lakes States Sue Feds over Asian Carp (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012394718_apusasiancarpgreatlakes.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Columbia Gorge Rules Weaken Protection, Group Says (Associated Press)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/07/19/1097758/environment-columbia-gorge-rules.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Adding to Hydro - Google to Use Iowa Wind Energy to Power Data Centers (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66J3BL20100720

Oregon - Steens Wind Farms Hinge on Transmission Line (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/19/1309309/steens-wind-farms-hinge-on-transmission.html

Lewis County - Key Environmental Document Released for Proposed Doty Wind Farm (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?Key-Environmental-Document-Released-for-=1&blockID=273677

Op/Ed - Wind Powers Clean Energy, New Jobs for Montana (Billings Gazette, MT)

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/guest/article_d49915e0-93ae-11df-9aeb-001cc4c03286.html

Pacific Northwest Wood-Fueled Biomass Plants Closer, Not Yet Viable (Northwest Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=7549

Oregon - Solar Company Will Build Plant in Gresham (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/solar_company_will_build_plant.html

Cross-Border Renewable Power in the Pacific Northwest Faces Huge Hurdles (Calgary Herald, Alberta)

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Cross+border+renewable+power+faces+huge+hurdles/3297682/story.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Shelton Considering Shutting Off Some Street Lights to Save Money (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masoncountydailynews.net/news/2748-shelton-considering-shutting-off-some-street-lights-to-save-money

California - Smart Meters Bring Small Increases (The Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, CA)

http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-0718-meters-20100716,0,6422333.story

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

NOAA Says June Was the Hottest on Record (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/Cool-Astronomy/2010/0719/June-was-the-hottest-on-record-says-NOAA

Climate Policy Wars: Electricity Utilities in Coal Powered States (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Green-Economics/2010/0720/Climate-policy-wars-Electricity-utilities-in-coal-powered-states

Study: Climate Change Grasped Better as Health Issue (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/07/climate-change-health-problems/1

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Washington Moms Summit Mt. Rainier in Call for Green Energy (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/archives/215088.asp

PETA Crows About Vegetarian-Friendly Portland (The Portland Tribune, OR)

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=127957732027792200

Solar Drone Aims for a Record (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/solar-drone-aims-for-a-record/

Should I Stay Funky? On the Greenness of Deodorants & Antiperspirants (Slate Magazine)

http://www.slate.com/id/2260432/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Says Broadband Market Not Serving All Americans (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/07/19/financial/f141241D82.DTL

New Wireless Broadband Network to Launch Next Year (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012401783_apustecwirelessbroadband.html

Most-Wired Hospitals - ‘Meaningful Use’ Hoists Hospital IT to Next Level (Mason General on the list! Hospitals & Health Networks Magazine)

http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/Article/data/07JUL2010/1007HHN_Coverstory&domain=HHNMAG

‘Hamlet’s BlackBerry’: To Surf or Not to Surf? (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128364111&ft=1&f=3

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

A California City Outsources Everything. Sky Doesn’t Fall (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/business/20maywood.html

GENERAL NEWS

Easing Winds Help Crews Fight Washington State Wildfire (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012398554_apuswashingtonwildfire7thld.html

Washington State Awards $2 Million to Olympia Man Following Hwy 101 Crash Near Taylor Towne (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/19/1309184/state-awards-2m-to-olympia-man.html

Man Accused of Firing Gun at Wildlife Agent (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012401775_apwawildlifeagentshootout1stldwritethru.html

Washington State Patrol Facing Wave of Retirements (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/WSP-facing-wave-of-Retirements-98817674.html

Washington State Capitol Dome Dirty; Will Get Much ‘Grimier’ (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Capitol-dome-dirty-will-get-much-grimier-98781899.html

Kitsap Judge, Husband Settle Lawsuit for Cutting Down 71 Trees on Others’ Property (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jul/19/kitsap-judge-husband-settle-lawsuit-for-cutting/

Go Cowlitz! Tribal Canoe Teams Reach Makah Reservation (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/98803619.html

Awkward & Unfortunate - As Facebook Users Die, Ghosts Reach Out (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/technology/18death.html

Stores Push ‘Christmas’ Sales to Beat Recession (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2010-07-19-summertime-in-july_N.htm

DIVERSIONS

Two Men Burned in Racing Fuel ‘Barrel Riding’ Incident

http://www.kirotv.com/news/24314991/detail.html

Civet Coffee Beans Picked from Dung Possibly ‘Unclean,’ Say Muslim Clerics

http://www.csmonitor.com/From-the-news-wires/2010/0719/Civet-coffee-beans-picked-from-dung-possibly-unclean-say-Muslim-clerics

Colorado City Would Bar Disrobing at Council Meetings

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012399374_apuscitycouncildecorum.html

If You’re Going to Smuggle 18 Monkeys Onto a Plane, Don’t Try Hiding Them Under Your Clothes

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/20/mexico.monkey.smuggling/index.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Manhattan Transfer - Java Jive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSklwGsekj0