Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Energy News Digest for July 27, 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

British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System - Deadline looming for project near Trail (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1 - Electricity rates up by 6.6 percent; natural gas rates by 1.9 percent (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area (Olympian, WA)

Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System
·         Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1
·         Oregon – Ruby Natural Gas Pipeline Firm Strikes Deal With Environmental Groups
·         Editorial – Sell Off TVA, BPA - Time for US Government Yard Sale
·         A Dam Big Project: Incredible Images of Construction Work on Hoover Bridge
·         Indigenous Groups Occupy Brazil Hydro-Electric Plant
·         Coal Mostly Powers Electricity-Hungry Utah
·         Federal Court Reverses Tennessee Valley Authority Emissions Ruling
·         Georgia - Judge Strikes Down Permits for Proposed Coal Power Plant over Water Use, Monitoring
·         Wisconsin - $425 Million High-Voltage Power Line Would Link Madison, La Crosse
·         How Will the Smart Grid Handle Heat Waves?
·         Monitor Urges Utilities to Go Slow on Smart Grid Renovations
·         Experts Fuss over Cost of Nuclear Fusion Research
·         US Renewables Financing Set to Collapse without Grant Extension
·         Washington State Takes New Look at How Much Fish Is Safe to Eat
·         Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery’s Two-Year Revamp Complete
·         Oregon - Logs flown in to help restore salmon habitat in Clackamas River tributary Clear Creek
·         Oregon’s Albacore Tuna Fishery Hooks ‘Green’ Credentials
·         Oregon - Fish Removal Led to Toxic Algae, Resort Says
·         Op/Ed - Dams & Degraded Habitat, Not Overfishing, Are the Causal Connection With Collapsed Salmon Runs
·         Op/Ed - Why the Pacific Salmon Should be a British Columbia Emblem
·         Flathead Valley Mining Opposed in United Nations Report, as Priority Placed on Wildlife
·         Snohomish County - Cause of Manure-Filled Dairy Lagoon Breach Found
·         Flooding Causes Millions in Damage in Iowa - Lake Delhi Dam Breached
·         Texas Challenges EPA on Overturning Permit Program
·         Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted
·         Portland General Electric Completes Record Solar Project
·         Renewable Energy Giant Iberdrola Nets $170 Million Stimulus Windfall
·         Canada - Vandals Hit Dawson Creek Wind Farm
·         Can Congress Pass a Renewable Energy Standard?
·         Wind Industry Dismayed as Dems Scale Back Federal Energy Plans
·         Wisconsin - Biomass Fight a Matter of Trust
·         North Carolina Mulls Trees as a Renewable Resource - burning automobile tires to produce power qualifies as a biomass energy
·         Making the Most of Biomass Cogeneration Opportunities
·         U.K. Government Removes Financing Obstacle for Biomass Power Plants
·         Editorial – Minnesota Wind-Turbine ‘Buffers’ Would Set Bad Precedent
·         St. Lucia Aspires to Tap Volcanic Caribbean Island’s Geothermal Power, Diversify Energy Supply
·         Editorial - Pines, Beetles & Bears
·         Kerry’s Lonely Push on Climate Change
·         Studied Effects of Climate Change - UW Botanist Awarded $500,000 Prize
·         Climate Change Linked to Possible Mass Mexican Migration to US
·         Editorial - It’s Time to End the Excessive Subsidies for Corn Ethanol
·         Humans Survived Ice Age by Sheltering in ‘Garden of Eden’, Claim Scientists
·         Paper Mate Has Biodegradable Pens for Back-to-Schoolers
·         Cable Expands Its Lead over Phone Companies in the Race for Broadband Customers
·         Looming FCC Broadband Spectrum Sale Creates Rivalry
·         Qwest-CenturyTel Deal Running into Opposition
·         Google, Microsoft Battle over ‘Cloud Mail’
·         Ask.Com Reverts to Its Q&A Origins
·         Yahoo! Japan Picks Google for Search
·         Telcos: FCC Action Means Job Losses, Stifled Investment
·         The Internet of Things: Anywhere, Anytime, Anything
·         Union Files Complaint against Pierce County over Park Workers
·         Victims Identified in Forks Murder-Suicide
·         Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area
·         Narrows Bridge - Not Your Dad’s Paint Project
·         Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal
·         Small Charities at Risk of Losing Their Tax Exemption
·         Newspapers Hit New Low as an Information Source
·         Arlington Grave Site Scandal Growing

WORD OF THE DAY

Hobson’s choice • \HOB-suns - choys\ • noun - *1: an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative 2: the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternatives

The still flopping trout saw its short, but eventful life flashing before its bulging eyes: its comfortable gestation, zipping into the weeds to escape hulking bass, the bright and shiny object that drug it into the clunking bottom of the aluminum boat. What it faced now was a Hobson’s choice: into the frying pan, or into the fire.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System - Deadline looming for project near Trail (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1 - Electricity rates up by 6.6 percent; natural gas rates by 1.9 percent (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

Oregon – Ruby Natural Gas Pipeline Firm Strikes Deal With Environmental Groups (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Editorial – Sell Off TVA, BPA - Time for US Government Yard Sale “…No longer stricken by malaria, no longer impoverished, the people in the TVA region can afford to pay the full cost of their power just as much as Con Edison ratepayers…” (CNN)

A Dam Big Project: Incredible Images of Construction Work on Hoover Bridge (The Daily Mail, UK)

Indigenous Groups Occupy Brazil Hydro-Electric Plant (The BBC)

Coal mostly powers electricity-hungry Utah (Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT – Twitter’s building a data center here…when will Greenpeace pounce?)

Federal Court Reverses Tennessee Valley Authority Emissions Ruling (Associated Press)

Georgia - Judge Strikes Down Permits for Proposed Coal Power Plant over Water Use, Monitoring (Associated Press)

Wisconsin - $425 Million High-Voltage Power Line Would Link Madison, La Crosse (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WI)

How Will the Smart Grid Handle Heat Waves? (Scientific American)

Monitor Urges Utilities to Go Slow on Smart Grid Renovations (NY Times)

Experts Fuss over Cost of Nuclear Fusion Research (Nat’l Public Radio)

US Renewables Financing Set to Collapse without Grant Extension (Oil Price)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Washington State Takes New Look at How Much Fish Is Safe to Eat (Seattle Times)

Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery’s Two-Year Revamp Complete (Longview Daily News, WA)

Oregon - Logs flown in to help restore salmon habitat in Clackamas River tributary Clear Creek (Oregonian, Portland)

Oregon’s Albacore Tuna Fishery Hooks ‘Green’ Credentials (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Oregon - Fish Removal Led to Toxic Algae, Resort Says (Courthouse News Service)

Op/Ed - Dams & Degraded Habitat, Not Overfishing, Are the Causal Connection With Collapsed Salmon Runs (Oregonian, Portland)

Op/Ed - Why the Pacific Salmon Should be a British Columbia Emblem (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Flathead Valley Mining Opposed in United Nations Report, as Priority Placed on Wildlife (Vancouver Sun, BC)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Snohomish County - Cause of Manure-Filled Dairy Lagoon Breach Found (KING-TV, Seattle)

Flooding Causes Millions in Damage in Iowa - Lake Delhi Dam Breached (Washington Times)

Texas Challenges EPA on Overturning Permit Program (Associated Press)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

Portland General Electric Completes Record Solar Project (Portland Business Journal)

Renewable Energy Giant Iberdrola Nets $170 Million Stimulus Windfall – Closing in on a billion (Portland Business Journal)

Canada - Vandals hit Dawson Creek wind farm (Energy City)

Can Congress Pass a Renewable Energy Standard? (Time Magazine)

Wind Industry Dismayed as Dems Scale Back Federal Energy Plans (Des Moines Register, IA)

Wisconsin - Biomass Fight a Matter of Trust (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, WI)

North Carolina Mulls Trees as a Renewable Resource - burning automobile tires to produce power qualifies as a biomass energy (Charlotte Business Journal)

Making the Most of Biomass Cogeneration Opportunities (Biomass Magazine)

U.K. Government Removes Financing Obstacle for Biomass Power Plants (Bloomberg News)

Editorial – Minnesota Wind-Turbine ‘Buffers’ Would Set Bad Precedent (Rochester Post-Bulletin, MN)

St. Lucia Aspires to Tap Volcanic Caribbean Island’s Geothermal Power, Diversify Energy Supply (Associated Press)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Editorial - Pines, Beetles & Bears (NY Times)

Kerry’s Lonely Push on Climate Change (Washington Post)

Studied Effects of Climate Change - UW Botanist Awarded $500,000 Prize (Associated Press)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Climate Change Linked to Possible Mass Mexican Migration to US

Editorial - It’s Time to End the Excessive Subsidies for Corn Ethanol (Washington Post)

Humans Survived Ice Age by Sheltering in ‘Garden of Eden’, Claim Scientists (The Daily Mail, UK)

Paper Mate Has Biodegradable Pens for Back-to-Schoolers (USA Today)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Cable Expands Its Lead over Phone Companies in the Race for Broadband Customers (USA Today)

Looming FCC Broadband Spectrum Sale Creates Rivalry - companies are salivating at the chance to buy new wireless spectrum that could be auctioned off soon by the Federal Communications Commission (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

Qwest-CenturyTel Deal Running into Opposition (Denver Business Journal)

Google, Microsoft Battle over ‘Cloud Mail’ (Nat’l Public Radio)

Ask.Com Reverts to Its Q&A Origins (NY Times)

Yahoo! Japan Picks Google for Search (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal)

Telcos: FCC Action Means Job Losses, Stifled Investment - Please ignore the fact we’re already firing thousands & slowing investment (Broadband Reports)

The Internet of Things: Anywhere, Anytime, Anything (GigaOM)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Union Files Complaint against Pierce County over Park Workers (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

GENERAL NEWS

Victims Identified in Forks Murder-Suicide (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area (Olympian, WA)

Narrows Bridge - Not Your Dad’s Paint Project: Bubbles pop up, so crew climbs skyward to make fixes (Olympian, WA)

Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Small Charities at Risk of Losing Their Tax Exemption (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

Newspapers Hit New Low as an Information Source (GigaOM)

Arlington Grave Site Scandal Growing (Associated Press)

DIVERSIONS

Cops Say Robber Cut Ahead of Them in Line at Starbucks

Firefighters Dismantle Police Car to Rescue Kitten

‘Corpse Flower’ Bloom Could Stink Up Texas Wedding

Man in Darth Vader Mask Robs Bank

SONG OF THE DAY

Jud Strunk - Daisy a Day