The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for April 16, 2012

Monday, April 16, 2012

Energy News Digest for April 16, 2012

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

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Op/Ed - Now Biomass is the Environment’s Enemy? (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-04-16/now_biomass_is_the_environments_enemy

Mason County PUD 3 Settles into New Home - Johns Prairie Operations Center offers expanded space for customer-centered service (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/apr/15/pud-3-settles-new-home/

Radiation from Japan’s Damaged Reactors Posed Little Risk in Oregon Despite Portland ‘Hotspot’ (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/04/radiation_levels_in_portland_a.html

How Green Are Electric Cars? Depends on Where You Plug In (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/automobiles/how-green-are-electric-cars-depends-on-where-you-plug-in.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Lake Cushman Killing - Wife’s Last Words: ‘Why Don’t You Just Shoot Me?’ (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Wife-s-last-words-Why-don-t-you-just-shoot-me-3481828.php

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

Mason County PUD 3 Settles into New Home
Radiation from Japan’s Damaged Reactors Posed Little Risk in Oregon Despite Portland ‘Hotspot’
Montana - Beartooth Electric Co-op Seeks to Nullify SME Contract
Pennsylvania - Just Don’t Call It a ‘Smart Meter’; PECO Has Begun Installations
Washington State Not Ready for Implications of British Columbia Pipeline Expansion
Natural Gas Explosion – Pacific Gas & Electric Makes $70 Million Payment to San Bruno
Washington State Plan to Fend Off Mussels Gets Lake Mead Test
Salmon May Soon Spawn Again in Elk Flats
Nez Perce Tribe Releases Lampreys in Wallowa River
Grant County PUD Delivers Salmon Lesson - Provides Tour of Priest Rapids Hatchery
Marine Mammals Coming Back to the Salish Sea
Op/Ed - Now Biomass is the Environment’s Enemy?
Biomass, Geothermal Replacing Coal on Campuses
Green Groups Sue to Stop California Wind Project that Threatens Condor
Price of Solar Panels Continues to Drop, Damaging Companies’ Profits
Wal-Mart Solar Power Count Hits 100 in US
Take Me Out to the Renewably-Powered Ballgame
Public Utilities Commission May Decide California’s Fight over Net-Metering
United Kingdom - Ministers Preparing to Veto Wind Farms
New Navy Center Identifies Energy Savings
Saving $1 Trillion in Energy Costs
The Glaciers Are Still Shrinking – And Rapidly
Himalayan Glaciers Growing Despite Global Warming - Glaciers in parts of the greater Himalayas are growing despite the worldwide trend of ice melting due to warmer temperatures, a study has found
Warming Takes Toll on Utah Snow & It Looks to Get Worse
NOAA Temperature Record “Adjustments” Could Account for Almost All “Warming” Since 1973
How Green Are Electric Cars? Depends on Where You Plug In
Oregon - Lincoln City to Look at ‘Quick-Charge’ Option
How Green is a Parking Lot? New Efforts to Test Infrastructure
Portland Markets Its Solar-Powered Public Toilet
Hybrid Tubular Solar Panels Create Electricity & Hot Water
Telecoms’ Push Puts Expectation of Home Phone Line at Risk
Ask an Expert: Why Twitter is Great for Small Business
Washington State Ecology Employee Accused of Embezzlement
McMorris Rodgers Could Balance Republican Ticket - Some predict she would complement Romney as VP
With Lax Oversight, Mismanaged Oregon Towns Veer Toward Insolvency
Lake Cushman Killing - Wife’s Last Words: ‘Why Don’t You Just Shoot Me?’
Belfair Water District Customers Welcome New Guard
Everett’s Kimberly-Clark Paper Mill Shuts down for Good
Economy Has Habitat Doing More Rehabbing
Don’t Wait for Social Security Check in the Mail
Crap or Collectibles? Old Cars Prompt Dispute on the Chehalis

WORD OF THE DAY

Piquant • \PEEK-unt\ • Adjective - 1: agreeably stimulating to the palate; especially: spicy 2: engagingly provocative; also: having a lively arch charm

When the local dining editor said the local hash house’s five-alarm chili had a “piquant personality, just right for a cold winter’s repast,” what he really meant was that the meal had the volcanic characteristic of drinking hot magma.

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

Mason County PUD 3 Settles into New Home - Johns Prairie Operations Center offers expanded space for customer-centered service (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/apr/15/pud-3-settles-new-home/

Radiation from Japan’s Damaged Reactors Posed Little Risk in Oregon Despite Portland ‘Hotspot’ (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2012/04/radiation_levels_in_portland_a.html

Montana - Beartooth Electric Co-op Seeks to Nullify SME Contract (Great Falls Tribune, MT)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120414/NEWS01/204140312/Beartooth-co-op-seeks-nullify-SME-contract

Pennsylvania - Just Don’t Call It a ‘Smart Meter’; PECO Has Begun Installations (Philadelphia Inquirer, PA)

http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-15/business/31345435_1_wireless-meters-new-meters-meter-readers

Washington State Not Ready for Implications of British Columbia Pipeline Expansion (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://earthfix.opb.org/water/article/washington-not-ready-for-implications-of-bc-pipeli/

Natural Gas Explosion – Pacific Gas & Electric Makes $70 Million Payment to San Bruno (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20392169/pg-e-makes-70-million-payment-san-bruno

FISH & WILDLIFE

Washington State Plan to Fend Off Mussels Gets Lake Mead Test (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017981375_aporinvasivemussels1stldwritethru.html

Salmon May Soon Spawn Again in Elk Flats (Cannon Beach Gazette, OR)

http://www.cannonbeachgazette.com/news/local_news/article_7491033e-8433-11e1-9903-001a4bcf887a.html

Nez Perce Tribe Releases Lampreys in Wallowa River (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/apr/13/nez-perce-tribe-releases-lampreys-in-wallowa-river/

Grant County PUD Delivers Salmon Lesson - Provides Tour of Priest Rapids Hatchery (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/school_news/article_88e58d0c-84e0-11e1-8a6b-001a4bcf887a.html

Marine Mammals Coming Back to the Salish Sea - The shared inland waters of Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C.’s Strait of Georgia, & Washington State’s Puget Sound may once again approach its former greatness (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/oceans/Marine+mammals+coming+back+Salish/6456476/story.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Op/Ed - Now Biomass is the Environment’s Enemy? (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-04-16/now_biomass_is_the_environments_enemy

Biomass, Geothermal Replacing Coal on Campuses (Midwest Energy News)

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2012/04/13/biomass-geothermal-replacing-coal-on-campuses/

Green Groups Sue to Stop California Wind Project that Threatens Condor (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2012/04/13/green-groups-sue-to-stop-california-wind-project-that-threatens-condor/

Price of Solar Panels Continues to Drop, Damaging Companies’ Profits (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_20391710

Wal-Mart Solar Power Count Hits 100 in US (Earth Techling)

http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/04/walmart-solar-power-count-hits-100-in-us/

Take Me Out to the Renewably-Powered Ballgame (Scientific American)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=take-me-out-to-the-renewably-powere-12-04-15

Public Utilities Commission May Decide California’s Fight over Net-Metering (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/04/puc-may-decide-californias-fight-over-net-metering?cmpid=rss

United Kingdom - Ministers Preparing to Veto Wind Farms - Ministers are preparing to veto major new wind farms in the British countryside & cut back their subsidies, according to senior Whitehall sources (The Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/windpower/9205837/Ministers-preparing-to-veto-windfarms.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

New Navy Center Identifies Energy Savings (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/apr/15/new-navy-center-identifies-energy-savings/

Saving $1 Trillion in Energy Costs (Electric Co-op Today)

http://www.ect.coop/efficiency-conservation/energy-efficiency/saving-1-trillion-in-energy-costs/42582

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT (“Ball of CONFUSION” EDITION)

The Glaciers Are Still Shrinking – And Rapidly (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/15/glaciers-shrinking-rapidly

Himalayan Glaciers Growing Despite Global Warming - Glaciers in parts of the greater Himalayas are growing despite the worldwide trend of ice melting due to warmer temperatures, a study has found (The Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/9206785/Himalayan-glaciers-growing-despite-global-warming.html

Warming Takes Toll on Utah Snow & It Looks to Get Worse (Salt Lake Tribune, UT)

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53909597-78/snow-utah-climate-rain.html.csp

NOAA Temperature Record “Adjustments” Could Account for Almost All “Warming” Since 1973 (Tucson Citizen, AZ)

http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2012/04/16/noaa-temperature-record-adjustments-could-account-for-almost-all-warming-since-1973/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

How Green Are Electric Cars? Depends on Where You Plug In (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/automobiles/how-green-are-electric-cars-depends-on-where-you-plug-in.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Oregon - Lincoln City to Look at ‘Quick-Charge’ Option (Coast River Business Journal, Astoria, OR)

http://www.crbizjournal.com/news/article_f35d2e1a-7e73-11e1-a932-0019bb2963f4.html

How Green is a Parking Lot? New Efforts to Test Infrastructure (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/04/15/2076180/how-green-is-a-parking-lot-new.html