Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Energy News Digest for January 28, 2014

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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for January 28, 2014

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

BPA: Elliot Mainzer Officially Named Administrator; Looks to Firm Up Leadership Team (Oregonian, Portland)

Blast Leaves Only 35 Feet of Glines Canyon Dam Standing on the Elwha River (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Congressional Negotiators Reach Deal on U-S Farm Bill (Reuters)

Montana Ranks near the Bottom for Broadband Access (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

Leveraging the Seahawks Super Bowl Run for a Business Win (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • BPA: Elliot Mainzer Officially Named Administrator; Looks to Firm Up Leadership Team
  • Department of Energy Names Elliot Mainzer Permanent BPA Administrator
  • Elliot Mainzer New BPA Administrator - Reaxn from Public Power Council/U-S Senator Murray
  • Kentucky-Fried Politics – Report Makes Claim About Purchase of Nuclear Fuel in Pacific Northwest
  • Western Utilities Try to Balance a Proposed Energy Imbalance Market with Pros, Cons
  • Shahala Middle School Team a BPA Science Bowl Finalist
  • Chelan PUD Donations to Helping Hand Fund
  • Widespread Reliability Violations Contributed to 2011 Blackout, FERC Staff Allege
  • Could Wind Emerge As a Major Provider of Frequency Regulation?
  • Blast Leaves Only 35 Feet of Glines Canyon Dam Standing on the Elwha River
  • Fall River, Land Trust Team Up to Protect Birds from Electricity
  • Snohomish River-Delta Stink: Humans, Sensors Smell It Differently
  • NYC’s Charming Water Towers Are Actually Bacteria-Filled Horrorshows
  • The Tortoise & the Flare: California Solar Power Projects Confront Habitat Impact
  • U-S Solar Jobs Jump 20% in Biggest Climb for Past Four Years
  • How Do You Recycle a Solar Panel?
  • Renewable Energy Provides 37% of All New US Electrical Generating Capacity in 2013
  • Molten Magma Could Power Electric Plants of the Future
  • Don’t Get Blown Away by the Naysayers: Three Reasons to Be Bullish on Wind
  • California: Despite Cold Classrooms, 140 HVAC Units Sat Idle at Twin Rivers
  • Quiet Sun Could Cause ‘Mini Ice Age’
  • Whoops: Anti-Fracking Activists Glued Themselves to the Wrong Gas Station
  • This Student-Designed Portable Home May be the Most Beautiful Tiny House We’ve Seen
  • Montana Ranks near the Bottom for Broadband Access
  • AT&T Blames U-Verse Internet Outage on ‘Web Hosting Service Issue’
  • Why Do Washington, DC Residents Pay the Highest Internet Costs in the Country?
  • Microsoft Changes ‘SkyDrive’ name to ‘OneDrive’
  • Former FCC Commissioner: FCC Needs to Reclassify Broadband ISPs, Save Net Neutrality
  • Report: Spies Can Track You through Google Maps, Angry Birds
  • ESPN Is Wary of Cord-Cutters, Says Protecting Pay-TV is First Priority
  • Leveraging the Seahawks Super Bowl Run for a Business Win
  • THC-Hawks? Pot Puns Pack This Super Bowl
  • Congressional Negotiators Reach Deal on U-S Farm Bill
  • Congressmen Kilmer & Heck Pass ‘Chick Pic’ (It’s Not What You Might Think)
  • Work Begins on Downtown Shelton’s New Transit-Community Center
  • Report: Red Light Camera Operator Bribed Officials in Multiple States
  • Top 12 Moments in Seahawks Pop Culture History
  • Winlock: Egg-cited about Seahawks!
  • Seahawks Uniform History – The “Seattle Kings?”

WORD OF THE DAY

Acephalous • \ay-SEFF-uh-luss\ • Adjective – 1: Lacking a head or having the head reduced 2: lacking a governing head or chief

Acephalous era
Ends at Bonneville Power
Good luck Elliot

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

BPA: Elliot Mainzer Officially Named Administrator; Looks to Firm Up Leadership Team (Oregonian, Portland)

Department of Energy Names Elliot Mainzer Permanent BPA Administrator (GTH Energy & Natural Resources Law Blog)

Elliot Mainzer New BPA Administrator - Reaxn from Public Power Council/U-S Senator Murray (Energy News Feed)

Kentucky-Fried Politics – Report Makes Claim About Purchase of Nuclear Fuel in Pacific Northwest (Newsweek Magazine)

Western Utilities Try to Balance a Proposed Energy Imbalance Market with Pros, Cons (American Public Power Association)

Shahala Middle School Team a BPA Science Bowl Finalist (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Chelan PUD Donations to Helping Hand Fund (Chelan PUD, Wenatchee, WA)

Widespread Reliability Violations Contributed to 2011 Blackout, FERC Staff Allege (American Public Power Association)

Could Wind Emerge As a Major Provider of Frequency Regulation? (Green Tech Media)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Blast Leaves Only 35 Feet of Glines Canyon Dam Standing on the Elwha River (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Fall River, Land Trust Team Up to Protect Birds from Electricity (Teton Valley News, Driggs, ID)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Snohomish River-Delta Stink: Humans, Sensors Smell It Differently (Everett Herald, WA)

NYC’s Charming Water Towers Are Actually Bacteria-Filled Horrorshows (Gizmodo)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

The Tortoise & the Flare: California Solar Power Projects Confront Habitat Impact (PBS)

U-S Solar Jobs Jump 20% in Biggest Climb for Past Four Years (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

How Do You Recycle a Solar Panel? (Huffington Post – Shades of other electric component disposal dilemmas: don’t forget those nasty other materials that are in a solar panel)

Renewable Energy Provides 37% of All New US Electrical Generating Capacity in 2013 (Renewable Energy World)

Molten Magma Could Power Electric Plants of the Future (Gizmodo)

Don’t Get Blown Away by the Naysayers: Three Reasons to Be Bullish on Wind (Motley Fool)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

California: Despite Cold Classrooms, 140 HVAC Units Sat Idle at Twin Rivers (Sacramento Bee, CA)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Quiet Sun Could Cause ‘Mini Ice Age’ (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Whoops: Anti-Fracking Activists Glued Themselves to the Wrong Gas Station (Grist Online)

This Student-Designed Portable Home May be the Most Beautiful Tiny House We’ve Seen (Grist Online)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Montana Ranks near the Bottom for Broadband Access (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

AT&T Blames U-Verse Internet Outage on ‘Web Hosting Service Issue’ (Fierce Cable)

Why Do Washington, DC Residents Pay the Highest Internet Costs in the Country? (DCist)

Microsoft Changes ‘SkyDrive’ name to ‘OneDrive’ (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

Former FCC Commissioner: FCC Needs to Reclassify Broadband ISPs, Save Net Neutrality (Consumerist)

Report: Spies Can Track You through Google Maps, Angry Birds (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

ESPN Is Wary of Cord-Cutters, Says Protecting Pay-TV is First Priority (GigaOM)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Leveraging the Seahawks Super Bowl Run for a Business Win (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

THC-Hawks? Pot Puns Pack This Super Bowl “…’I’m staying home & will be watching the Super Bowl while I light up my own Super Bowl,’ well-known stoner Tommy Chong…” (Associated Press)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Congressional Negotiators Reach Deal on U-S Farm Bill (Reuters)

Congressmen Kilmer & Heck Pass ‘Chick Pic’ (It’s Not What You Might Think) (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA - Paywall Advisory)

GENERAL NEWS

Work Begins on Downtown Shelton’s New Transit-Community Center (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Report: Red Light Camera Operator Bribed Officials in Multiple States (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)

Top 12 Moments in Seahawks Pop Culture History (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Winlock: Egg-cited about Seahawks! (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA – I remember when certain schools – ahem – would paint the egg their colors before or after a game with the Cardinals.)

Seahawks Uniform History – The “Seattle Kings?” (MickyLantz)

DIVERSIONS

All the Crazy Stuff People Tried to Bring on Airplanes Last Year

South Korea: Plastic Surgery Clinic Fined for Tower of Bones

Flatulent Cows Start Fire at German Dairy Farm – Police

Eric Lawson, Who Portrayed Marlboro Man, Dies at 72

SONG OF THE DAY

Elmer Bernstein - The Magnificent Seven Theme

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.