Friday, April 29, 2011

Energy News Digest for April 29, 2011

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

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

TransAlta Plans New Natural Gas Plant in Washington State (Associated Press)

Study Questions Federal Spending on Broadband (USA Today)

Pilot Program to Haze Sea Lions at Willamette Falls Finds Mixed Results (Oregonian, Portland)

Columbia River Pikeminnow Season Opens - Catch a Tagged Northern Pikeminnow & win $500 (Bonneville Power Administration)

Drivers Filling Up on Anger, Worry (Seattle Times)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         TransAlta Plans New Natural Gas Plant in Washington State
·         Comment Period on Boardman Coal-Fired Power Plant Reopened
·         Seattle City Light: Penalty for Stealing Copper Could be Death
·         State of Oregon Clears Way for NW Natural Venture in Wyoming Wells
·         Snohomish Business Journal - Executive of the Year Steve Klein Sparks PUD’s Conservation Efforts
·         Contractor Needed for Snohomish PUD Growth Spurt
·         Tacoma Utility Volunteers Bring Safety, Efficiency to Two Local Homes
·         More Natural Gas & Nuclear - Exelon-Constellation Deal Could Create ‘Clean Energy’ Giant
·         Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chief Questions Blackout Plans for US Plants
·         California - Pacific Gas & Electric Worked On Some Documents with Erasable Ink
·         Editorial - Power Line Upgrade Costs Would Hit Michigan Unfairly
·         Chevron’s Profits Rise 36 Percent to $6.2 Billion in First Quarter
·         Pilot Program to Haze Sea Lions at Willamette Falls Finds Mixed Results
·         Columbia River Pikeminnow Season Opens
·         Yakama Nation Releases Sturgeon into the Columbia River
·         Chelan-Douglas Researchers Go on a Poop-Finding Mission
·         States Start Banning Felt-Sole Waders
·         Idaho - High Water Raises Concerns about Hayden Dam
·         Longview Approves Contract for Biosolids Plan
·         Sun Energy Power, Inc. - Sun Sets on Solar Energy Group
·         Wisconsin State Regulators Balk at Price Tag for Rothschild Biomass Plant
·         Is Wind Energy the New Wedge Issue for Conservatives?
·         Spring Cleaning Your Energy Bill
·         North Carolina - Electricity Hogs to Get Letters
·         Court Asked to Dismiss Lawsuit over Climate Change Prank
·         Should Eco-Friendly Liquefaction Replace Cremation?
·         College Students Push to Restrict Bottled Water
·         Study Questions Federal Spending on Broadband
·         Yahoo Mail Outage
·         Amazon Apologizes for Server Outage, Offers Credit
·         Amazon Parts with South Carolina - No Tax Break Equals ‘No Go’
·         Wireless Carriers Say They Get Consent to Use Location Data
·         Poll: Washington Voters Pessimistic About Future
·         Drivers Filling Up on Anger, Worry
·         Seattle Teacher Passwords Stolen, Grades Changed
·         Weyerhaeuser Turns First Quarter Profit on Timberlands Sale
·         Earth Day on Oakland Bay
·         Microsoft Changes Disability Policy Following KING 5 Report
·         Sugar Farmers Sue over ‘Corn Sugar’ Campaign

WORD OF THE DAY

Trichotillomania • \trick-kuh-tillah-MANE-ee-uh\ • Noun - An abnormal desire to pull out one’s hair

A bald man with trichotillomania; think about it.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

TransAlta Plans New Natural Gas Plant in Washington State (Associated Press)

Comment Period on Boardman Coal-Fired Power Plant Reopened (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Seattle City Light: Penalty for Stealing Copper Could be Death (Seattle Times)

State of Oregon Clears Way for NW Natural Venture in Wyoming Wells (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Snohomish Business Journal - Executive of the Year Steve Klein Sparks PUD’s Conservation Efforts (Snohomish County Business Journal, WA)

Contractor Needed for Snohomish PUD Growth Spurt (Everett Herald, WA)

Tacoma Utility Volunteers Bring Safety, Efficiency to Two Local Homes (Tacoma Daily Index, WA)

More Natural Gas & Nuclear - Exelon-Constellation Deal Could Create ‘Clean Energy’ Giant (NY Times)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chief Questions Blackout Plans for US Plants (Associated Press)

California - Pacific Gas & Electric Worked On Some Documents with Erasable Ink (SF Chronicle, CA)

Editorial - Power Line Upgrade Costs Would Hit Michigan Unfairly (Detroit Free Press, MI)

Chevron’s Profits Rise 36 Percent to $6.2 Billion in First Quarter (Associated Press)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Pilot Program to Haze Sea Lions at Willamette Falls Finds Mixed Results (Oregonian, Portland)

Columbia River Pikeminnow Season Opens - Catch a Tagged Northern Pikeminnow & win $500 (Bonneville Power Administration)

Yakama Nation Releases Sturgeon into the Columbia River (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

Chelan-Douglas Researchers Go on a Poop-Finding Mission (Associated Press)

States Start Banning Felt-Sole Waders (USA Today)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Idaho - High Water Raises Concerns about Hayden Dam (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Longview Approves Contract for Biosolids Plan (Longview Daily News, WA)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Sun Energy Power, Inc. - Sun Sets on Solar Energy Group (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Wisconsin State Regulators Balk at Price Tag for Rothschild Biomass Plant (Wausau Daily Herald, WI)

Is Wind Energy the New Wedge Issue for Conservatives? (North American Wind Power)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Spring Cleaning Your Energy Bill (PR Newswire)

North Carolina - Electricity Hogs to Get Letters (Raleigh News & Observer, NC)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Court Asked to Dismiss Lawsuit over Climate Change Prank (Salt Lake Tribune, UT)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Should Eco-Friendly Liquefaction Replace Cremation? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

College Students Push to Restrict Bottled Water (Washington Post)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Study Questions Federal Spending on Broadband (USA Today)

Yahoo Mail Outage (Associated Press)

Amazon Apologizes for Server Outage, Offers Credit (KING-TV, Seattle)

Amazon Parts with South Carolina - No Tax Break Equals ‘No Go’ (Associated Press)

Wireless Carriers Say They Get Consent to Use Location Data (Associated Press)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Poll: Washington Voters Pessimistic About Future (Seattle Times)

GENERAL NEWS

Drivers Filling Up on Anger, Worry (Seattle Times)

Seattle Teacher Passwords Stolen, Grades Changed (Associated Press)

Weyerhaeuser Turns First Quarter Profit on Timberlands Sale (Associated Press)

Earth Day on Oakland Bay (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Microsoft Changes Disability Policy Following KING 5 Report (KING-TV, Seattle)

Sugar Farmers Sue over ‘Corn Sugar’ Campaign (Associated Press)

DIVERSIONS

How Long Can You Survive on Beer Alone? Long Enough to Develop Scurvy

The Best Place to Discover New Life Forms? Truck Stops

Man in Cow Suit Steals 26 Gallons of Milk From Wal-Mart

Calling Animals ‘Pets’ is Insulting, Academics Claim

SONG OF THE DAY

The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Energy News Digest for April 28, 2011

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

The news digest is also available at the following web site:

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Exelon to Buy Constellation Energy for $7.9 Billion (Reuters)

US Metro Areas with Dirtiest Air Get Cleaner (USA Today)

Mason County PUD No. 1 Honored by State for Water System Efforts (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Clark County Taking Green ‘To the Masses’ - Planet Clark trailer will travel to tout benefits of energy efficiency (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’ “…part of a $515 million investment in solar projects…a state renewable energy mandate…” (NY Times)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         Exelon to Buy Constellation Energy for $7.9 Billion
·         Shattuck: Constellation/Exelon Merger Will Result in ‘Net Jobs’ Gain for Baltimore
·         Price of Power is Going Up - Umatilla Electric Will Introduce New Rates to Customers Oct. 1
·         Bellingham’s first debate on coal-for-China project reflects growing tensions
·         Chelan & Douglas PUDs to Offer Paperless Billing
·         Tacoma Power Plans Mossyrock Dam Open House
·         Fitch Affirms Chelan PUD’s $200.3 Million Revenue Bonds at ‘AA+’
·         Storms Knock Out Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Units, Power Lines
·         Fill ‘Er Up - Exxon Earns Nearly $11 Billion in First Quarter
·         Shell Oil Makes $8.78 Billion Profit in First Quarter
·         At $7.1 Billion, BP First Quarter Profit Climbs 17% Despite Expenses From Gulf Oil Spill
·         Yakama Nation Prepares to Release Sturgeon
·         Canada - Metro Vancouver Development Not Responsible for Sockeye Decline: Study
·         Stillaguamish Tribe Deploys Hydrolab in Port Susan
·         Op/Ed - California-Sized Problem on the Willamette
·         Mason County PUD No. 1 Honored by State for Water System Efforts
·         Water Rates - Clallam County PUD to Hold Rate Increase Hearings
·         Belfair Water Lines Broken
·         New Stormwater Bill Raises Concerns
·         BC Hydro Monitors Snow Melt
·         Soap is Crusting Up Sewers, But It’s Not the Clean Kind
·         Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’
·         Environmental Fight: Tortoises vs Solar Energy
·         Interior Alaska Villages Making Plans to Increase Biomass Use
·         Winds of Change: Challenges in an Ongoing Wind Boom in Texas
·         Wind Farm Growth Also a Windfall for Truckers
·         Google Says Investment in Renewable Energy is Long-Term Effort
·         France Set to Miss Green Energy Goal
·         California Plant Gets Biogas from Sewage
·         Green Mountain Solar Leases Give Homeowners Bragging Rights
·         Clark County Taking Green ‘To the Masses’
·         Biodegradable Envelope, Please - How Did Readers Do on Slate’s Energy Consumption Quiz?
·         When Refrigerators Warm the Planet
·         Mabton Students Protest Ban on Water Bottles
·         Electric, Hybrid, Diesel Cars Won’t Sell Big Despite Hype
·         Going Green & Getting Rich Doing It
·         South Africa’s New Internet Cable Link Could Bring Economic Boom
·         San Francisco Delays Vote on AT&T Utility Boxes
·         US Metro Areas with Dirtiest Air Get Cleaner
·         Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia No. 18 on Pollution Scale
·         Tacoma to Blame for Puget Sound’s High Pollution Rank?
·         Southern Storms: ‘I Don’t Know How Anyone Survived’
·         Interior Secretary Salazar Visits Washington State
·         3,000 Hopefuls Apply for 20 Firefighter Jobs in Tacoma
·         Voice Mail? That’s So Last Century
·         Scotch Broom, That Pesky Noxious Weed, Carries an Economic Cost

WORD OF THE DAY

Accretion • \uh-KREE-shun\ • Noun – 1: the process of growth or enlargement by a gradual buildup: as a: increase by external addition or accumulation b: the increase of land by the action of natural forces 2: a product of accretion; especially: an extraneous addition

See this story below: “Soap is Crusting Up Sewers, But It’s Not the Clean Kind” for a graphic and gooey example of accretion…if you dare!

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Exelon to Buy Constellation Energy for $7.9 Billion (Reuters)

Shattuck: Constellation/Exelon Merger Will Result in ‘Net Jobs’ Gain for Baltimore (Baltimore Business Journal, MD)

Price of Power is Going Up - Umatilla Electric Will Introduce New Rates to Customers Oct. 1 (East Oregonian, Pendleton, OR)

Bellingham’s first debate on coal-for-China project reflects growing tensions (Crosscut Seattle)

Chelan & Douglas PUDs to Offer Paperless Billing - Utilities could save thousands of dollars every month (Wenatchee World, WA)

Tacoma Power Plans Mossyrock Dam Open House (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

Fitch Affirms Chelan PUD’s $200.3 Million Revenue Bonds at ‘AA+’ (BusinessWire)

Storms Knock Out Tennessee Valley Authority Nuclear Units, Power Lines (Reuters)

Fill ‘Er Up - Exxon Earns Nearly $11 Billion in First Quarter (Associated Press)

Shell Oil Makes $8.78 Billion Profit in First Quarter (Associated Press)

At $7.1 Billion, BP First Quarter Profit Climbs 17% Despite Expenses From Gulf Oil Spill (Seattle Times)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Yakama Nation Prepares to Release Sturgeon (Associated Press)

Canada - Metro Vancouver Development Not Responsible for Sockeye Decline: Study (Vancouver Sun, BC)

Stillaguamish Tribe Deploys Hydrolab in Port Susan (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission)

Op/Ed - California-Sized Problem on the Willamette: California sea lions are a serious threat to Willamette River fish & sport fishing. (West Linn Tidings, OR)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Mason County PUD No. 1 Honored by State for Water System Efforts (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Water Rates - Clallam County PUD to Hold Rate Increase Hearings (Sequim Gazette, WA)

Belfair Water Lines Broken (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

New Stormwater Bill Raises Concerns (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

BC Hydro Monitors Snow Melt (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

Soap is Crusting Up Sewers, But It’s Not the Clean Kind (USA Today)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’ “…part of a $515 million investment in solar projects…a state renewable energy mandate…” (NY Times)

Environmental Fight: Tortoises vs Solar Energy (Associated Press)

Interior Alaska Villages Making Plans to Increase Biomass Use (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK)

Winds of Change: Challenges in an Ongoing Wind Boom in Texas (Renewable Energy World)

Wind Farm Growth Also a Windfall for Truckers (Des Moines Register, IA)

Google Says Investment in Renewable Energy is Long-Term Effort (Reuters)

France Set to Miss Green Energy Goal (Reuters)

California Plant Gets Biogas from Sewage (Earth Techling)

Green Mountain Solar Leases Give Homeowners Bragging Rights (Dallas Morning News)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Clark County Taking Green ‘To the Masses’ - Planet Clark trailer will travel to tout benefits of energy efficiency (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Biodegradable Envelope, Please - How Did Readers Do on Slate’s Energy Consumption Quiz? (Slate Magazine)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

When Refrigerators Warm the Planet (NY Times)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Mabton Students Protest Ban on Water Bottles (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

Electric, Hybrid, Diesel Cars Won’t Sell Big Despite Hype (USA Today)

Going Green & Getting Rich Doing It (TIME Magazine)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

South Africa’s New Internet Cable Link Could Bring Economic Boom (Christian Science Monitor)

San Francisco Delays Vote on AT&T Utility Boxes (SF Chronicle)

GENERAL NEWS

US Metro Areas with Dirtiest Air Get Cleaner (USA Today)

Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia No. 18 on Pollution Scale (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

Tacoma to Blame for Puget Sound’s High Pollution Rank? (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

American Lung Association State of the Air Report

Southern Storms: ‘I Don’t Know How Anyone Survived’ (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

Interior Secretary Salazar Visits Washington State (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

3,000 Hopefuls Apply for 20 Firefighter Jobs in Tacoma (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

Voice Mail? That’s So Last Century (Seattle Times)

Scotch Broom, That Pesky Noxious Weed, Carries an Economic Cost (Olympian, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Follow-Up File - Goldfish Racing Returns to Tacoma Bar

Special Place in Hell Edition - Ann Arbor Man, 19, Uses Hummer to Run Over Ducklings

Austrian Authorities Reveal Find of Buried Treasure

Does Your Name Spell Power? LinkedIn Reveals Top CEO Names

SONG OF THE DAY

Linda Ronstadt - Silver Threads & Golden Needles