Energy News Digest for December 3, 2013

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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for December 3, 2013

http://energynewsfeed.blogspot.com/2013/12/energy-news-digest-word-cloud-for_3.html

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Klamath Tribes & Ranchers Strike Water Sharing Deal (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/klamath-tribes-and-ranchers-strike-water-sharing-deal

Frigid Air Moves In to Western Washington State for an Extended Stay (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Frigid-air-moves-in-to-Western-Wash-for-an-extended-stay-234230351.html

Klamath Tribes & Ranchers Strike Water Sharing Deal (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/klamath-tribes-and-ranchers-strike-water-sharing-deal

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Bonneville Power Administration’s Ground-Shaking Research Could Better Protect Power Transformers in Quake
• Montana: Kerr Dam - Planning for the Future
• Rocky Barker: Idaho Power Decision Is About When the End Begins
• Wes Gray Leaving Grays Harbor PUD
• WAPA Initiates New Transmission Line Proposal in Central California
• Colorado: Boulder Asks State Regulators to Reconsider Ruling on Acquisition Process for Possible Local Electric Utility
• Why the Utility Death Spiral Myth Needs to Die
• Can Electricity Grids Withstand the Next Superstorm?
• United Kingdom: A Hair Shirt in Every Pot - Use Electric Blankets to Reduce Cost of Energy Bills, Conservative Peer Says
• Klamath Tribes & Ranchers Strike Water Sharing Deal
• Op/Ed: A Healthy Klamath River Benefits California Fisheries & Farms
• Op/Ed: The Yakima Water Plan is a Taxpayer Subsidy for Irrigators
• For Minnesota Utility, Wind Backed by Hydro is ‘Holy Grail’
• Going Solar? Panels Aren’t the Biggest Cost of the Systems, NREL Says
• How Effective are U-S Renewable Energy Policies?
• Ontario Swaps Coal for Advanced Biomass
• What Thermostat Temperature Settings and Heating Degree Days Can Teach You about Your Heating Bills
• Obama Administration Expands Better Buildings Challenge to Multifamily Housing
• Google Soars Into the Cloud
• Emails, Texting Replacing Phone Calls? Don't Believe It
• Ohio: When’s the Power Coming Back On? AEP Has Your Answer Online
• Frigid Air Moves In to Western Washington State for an Extended Stay
• Special Weather Statement: Unusually Cold Weather across Western Washington for the Next Week
• McCleary Mayor Threatens Mass Layoffs of Police Force, Citywide Closures
• Seahawks Fans Set Off Seismometers, Break Noise Record

WORD OF THE DAY

Lacuna • \luck-KOON-nuh\ • Noun - 1: a blank space or a missing part: gap; also: deficiency, inadequacy 2: a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure

Despite his inflated self-opinion (and an amazing ability to churn out turgid prose at the drop of a hat) Deandre was a terrible novelist. His mystery novels had so many holes in their convoluted plots that his editors took to calling the tenth anniversary compilation of his sixteen novels as the “Lacuna Diaries.”

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

Bonneville Power Administration’s Ground-Shaking Research Could Better Protect Power Transformers in Quake (Bonneville Power Administration)

http://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/BPAs-ground-shaking-research-could-better-protect-power-transformers-in-quake.aspx

Montana: Kerr Dam - Planning for the Future (Char-Koosta News, Pablo, MT)

http://www.charkoosta.com/2013/2013_11_28/Kerr_Dam-Planning_for_the_future.html

Rocky Barker: Idaho Power Decision Is About When the End Begins (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/12/02/2903822/idaho-power-decision-is-about.html

Wes Gray Leaving Grays Harbor PUD (KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kxro.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/wes-gray-leaving-grays-harbor-pud/

WAPA Initiates New Transmission Line Proposal in Central California (Electric Light & Power)

http://www.elp.com/news/2013/12/02/wapa-initiates-new-transmission-line-proposal-in-central-california.html

Colorado: Boulder Asks State Regulators to Reconsider Ruling on Acquisition Process for Possible Local Electric Utility (American Public Power Association)

http://www.naylornetwork.com/app-ppd/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=244362&issueID=27160

Why the Utility Death Spiral Myth Needs to Die (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2013/12/02/why-the-utility-death-spiral-myth-needs-to-die/

Can Electricity Grids Withstand the Next Superstorm? (Clean Technica)

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/12/02/can-electricity-grids-withstand-next-superstorm/

United Kingdom: A Hair Shirt in Every Pot - Use Electric Blankets to Reduce Cost of Energy Bills, Conservative Peer Says (The Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/10490380/Use-electric-blankets-to-reduce-cost-of-energy-bills-Conservative-peer-says.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Klamath Tribes & Ranchers Strike Water Sharing Deal (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/klamath-tribes-and-ranchers-strike-water-sharing-deal

Op/Ed: A Healthy Klamath River Benefits California Fisheries & Farms (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/03/5964912/viewpoints-a-healthy-klamath-river.html

Op/Ed: The Yakima Water Plan is a Taxpayer Subsidy for Irrigators (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2022382029_brockevansestellaleopoldopedyakimawaterplanxxxml.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

For Minnesota Utility, Wind Backed by Hydro is ‘Holy Grail’ (Midwest Energy News)

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2013/12/03/for-minnesota-utility-wind-backed-by-hydro-is-holy-grail/

Going Solar? Panels Aren’t the Biggest Cost of the Systems, NREL Says (Denver Business Journal, CO)
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2013/12/going-solar-panels-arent-the-biggest.html

How Effective are U-S Renewable Energy Policies? (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/jemillerep/311406/how-effective-are-us-renewable-power-policies

Ontario Swaps Coal for Advanced Biomass (Fierce Energy)

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/ontario-swaps-coal-advanced-biomass/2013-11-22

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

What Thermostat Temperature Settings and Heating Degree Days Can Teach You about Your Heating Bills (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/lindsay-wilson/307476/what-thermostat-temperature-settings-and-heating-degree-days-can-teach-you-abo

Obama Administration Expands Better Buildings Challenge to Multifamily Housing - Launches New Programs to Boost U-S Energy Efficiency (Multi-Housing News Online)

http://www.multihousingnews.com/news/obama-administration-expands-better-buildings-challenge-to-multifamily-housing-launches-new-programs-to-boost-u-s-energy-efficiency/1004094380.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Google Soars Into the Cloud (Portland Business Journal, OR)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2013/12/google-soars-into-the-cloud.html

Emails, Texting Replacing Phone Calls? Don't Believe It (The Business Journals)

http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2013/12/texting-email-phones-not-going-away.html

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Ohio: When’s the Power Coming Back On? AEP Has Your Answer Online (Columbus Business First, OH)

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/11/26/whens-the-power-coming-back-on-aep.html

GENERAL NEWS

Frigid Air Moves In to Western Washington State for an Extended Stay (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Frigid-air-moves-in-to-Western-Wash-for-an-extended-stay-234230351.html

Special Weather Statement: Unusually Cold Weather across Western Washington for the Next Week (National Weather Service, Seattle)

http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WA124F2935DFC4.SpecialWeatherStatement.124F29436900WA.SEWSPSSEW.6adb09b0402b678a713c05d8a792a62a

McCleary Mayor Threatens Mass Layoffs of Police Force, Citywide Closures (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

http://thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/mccleary-mayor-threatens-mass-layoffs-police-force-citywide-closures.html

Seahawks Fans Set Off Seismometers, Break Noise Record (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Seahawks-fans-noise-seismometers-234182601.html

DIVERSIONS

Manners and Cursing, Mapped

http://gizmodo.com/manners-and-cursing-mapped-1475459054

Mistletoe Sale Gets 11-Year-Old Girl Booted from Portland Saturday Market

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/12/mistletoe_sale_gets_11-year-ol.html

'World's Ugliest Dog' Elwood Dies in New Jersey

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-usa-newjersey-uglydog-idUSBRE9AT0CP20131202

Russian Torchbearer's Jacket Catches Fire

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/28/us-olympics-sochi-torch-idUSBRE9AR0G920131128

SONG OF THE DAY

Vangelis - Chariots of Fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9wiygIrrU

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.

Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.