Monday, October 13, 2014

Energy News Digest for October 13, 2014


Wind Advisory for the Washington State Coast (National Weather Service, Seattle)

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News Digest Word Cloud

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for October 13, 2014

Hot Shots – Today’s Top Five Stories

FEMA Awards $2.35 Million in Disaster Funds for Okanogan County PUD (Federal Emergency Management Agency, DC)

Green Power Advocates Urge Shift Away from Coal - Protest Petitions Delivered to Puget Sound Energy (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Pacific Northwest Energy Efficiency Gains Hit $3.5 Billion (Electric Co-op Today)

Environmentalists Eye Idaho Sage Grouse Ruling as Leverage for Similar Lawsuits Elsewhere (Associated Press)

Editorial: Snohomish PUD’s Tidal Project Well Worth the Investment (Everett Herald, WA)

News Highlights (Details Below)
  1. FEMA Awards $2.35 Million in Disaster Funds for Okanogan County PUD
  2. Green Power Advocates Urge Shift Away from Coal - Protest Petitions Delivered to Puget Sound Energy
  3. Peace River Dam: As Decision Time Looms, Price Tag for Site C Remains in Doubt
  4. Smart Grid Provides Power Bridge to Fox Island
  5. Idaho Co-op’s Outage Reporting Goes High-tech
  6. ‘Power Line’ Examines History Of, & Sacrifices for Electricity
  7. Environmentalists Eye Idaho Sage Grouse Ruling as Leverage for Similar Lawsuits Elsewhere
  8. NW Power & Conservation Council Approves New Columbia River Basin Fish & Wildlife Program
  9. Stream Flows Increased in Klamath River by 75 Percent to Fight Parasite Threatening Coho, Chinook
  10. Grant’s Getaways: Salmon Watch
  11. Hood Canal Bridge May be Death Trap for Steelhead
  12. Idaho: Kootenai Tribe Celebrates Twin River’s Hatchery’s Launch
  13. Idaho Power Stocks 72K Trout in C.J. Strike & Snake River
  14. Dam Removal Study Suggests Rivers Return to Natural Conditions Surprisingly Fast
  15. Editorial: Snohomish PUD’s Tidal Project Well Worth the Investment
  16. Bats Are Hit by a Hard One-Two Punch: Deadly Windmills & White-Nose Disease
  17. New Wind Farm Coming to Eastern New Mexico
  18. Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican to Invest $280 Million in Iowa Wind
  19. China Finally Acknowledges Unfair Pricing, to Sharply Lower Renewable Tariffs by 2020
  20. Pacific Northwest Energy Efficiency Gains Hit $3.5 Billion
  21. Is Energy Efficiency Investment Hurting Renewables?
  22. LED Lights Are a ‘Transformative Technology’ in the Developing World
  23. NOAA: Record Antarctic Sea Ice Growth Linked to Its Staggering Loss of Land Ice
  24. Climate Change Forcing Fish Stocks North: Study
  25. Cap-And-Trade Opponents Hit California Incumbents
  26. Southwest Power Pool Says Rule on Carbon Dioxide Would Hurt Reliability
  27. Hackers Slam Their Way into Oregon Employment Department Site
  28. Social Media Karma & the Golden Rule
  29. Watch Your Mailbox for Ballots, Voters’ Guides
  30. Mason County Candidates’ Forum Tuesday
  31. Oregon Governor Responds to FiancĂ©’s Sham Marriage
  32. Forecast for Heavy Rain Follows Weekend of Unusual Weather
  33. The National Weather Service Kicks off Windstorm Season – 52 Years after 1962 Columbus Day Disaster
  34. Columbus Day Storm in 1962 Still a Record-Holder
  35. Small Earthquake Rattles South Sound
  36. Police Catch Copper Thief beneath Old Seattle Times Building
Word of the Day

Megillah • \muh-GILL-luh\ • noun - slang a long involved story or account.

“Ask him what time it is, and he’ll tell you how to make a watch,” murmured the junior executive to his neighbor during the longest board meeting in company history. The CEO was asked the secret to his success, and promptly began a droning recitation of his life’s history. The boss’s megillah began to wear thin at the two-hour point, at which he recounted his memorable personal experiences with teething and potty training.

Energy & Utility Issues

FEMA Awards $2.35 Million in Disaster Funds for Okanogan County PUD (Federal Emergency Management Agency, DC)

Green Power Advocates Urge Shift Away from Coal - Protest Petitions Delivered to Puget Sound Energy (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Peace River Dam: As Decision Time Looms, Price Tag for Site C Remains in Doubt (Globe & Mail, Canada)

Smart Grid Provides Power Bridge to Fox Island (Bonneville Power Administration)

Idaho Co-op’s Outage Reporting Goes High-tech (Electric Co-op Today)

‘Power Line’ Examines History Of, & Sacrifices for Electricity (Billings Gazette, MT)

Fish & Wildlife

Environmentalists Eye Idaho Sage Grouse Ruling as Leverage for Similar Lawsuits Elsewhere (Associated Press)

NW Power & Conservation Council Approves New Columbia River Basin Fish & Wildlife Program (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

Stream Flows Increased in Klamath River by 75 Percent to Fight Parasite Threatening Coho, Chinook (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

Grant’s Getaways: Salmon Watch (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

Hood Canal Bridge May be Death Trap for Steelhead (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Idaho: Kootenai Tribe Celebrates Twin River’s Hatchery’s Launch (Bonner County Daily Bee, Sandpoint, ID)

Idaho Power Stocks 72K Trout in C.J. Strike & Snake River (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

Water & Environment

Dam Removal Study Suggests Rivers Return to Natural Conditions Surprisingly Fast (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

Renewable/Alternative Energy

Editorial: Snohomish PUD’s Tidal Project Well Worth the Investment (Everett Herald, WA)

Bats Are Hit by a Hard One-Two Punch: Deadly Windmills & White-Nose Disease (Washington Post)

New Wind Farm Coming to Eastern New Mexico (Associated Press)

Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican to Invest $280 Million in Iowa Wind (Bloomberg News)

China Finally Acknowledges Unfair Pricing, to Sharply Lower Renewable Tariffs by 2020 (Renewable Energy World)

Conservation & Efficiency

Pacific Northwest Energy Efficiency Gains Hit $3.5 Billion (Electric Co-op Today)

Is Energy Efficiency Investment Hurting Renewables? (Renewable Energy World)

LED Lights Are a ‘Transformative Technology’ in the Developing World (National Public Radio)

Climate Change Sequestration Vault

NOAA: Record Antarctic Sea Ice Growth Linked to Its Staggering Loss of Land Ice (The Energy Collective)

Climate Change Forcing Fish Stocks North: Study (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

Cap-And-Trade Opponents Hit California Incumbents (Sacramento Bee, CA)

Southwest Power Pool Says Rule on Carbon Dioxide Would Hurt Reliability - Asks EPA to Extend Deadlines by at Least Five Years (American Public Power Association)

Technology & Telecommunications

Hackers Slam Their Way into Oregon Employment Department Site (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Social Media & Marketing

Social Media Karma & the Golden Rule (Social Mediopolis)

Politics & Governance

Watch Your Mailbox for Ballots, Voters’ Guides (Northwest Public Radio)

Mason County Candidates’ Forum Tuesday (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Oregon Governor Responds to Fiancee’s Sham Marriage (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, WA)

General News

Forecast for Heavy Rain Follows Weekend of Unusual Weather (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

The National Weather Service Kicks off Windstorm Season – 52 Years after 1962 Columbus Day Disaster (Mason County PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

Columbus Day Storm in 1962 Still a Record-Holder (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

Small Earthquake Rattles South Sound (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

Police Catch Copper Thief beneath Old Seattle Times Building (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

Diversions

Pest Control Company Takes Drastic Measures to Rid House of 5,000 Brown Recluse Spiders

California Police Field Reports of Creepy Clowns

Employee Upset over Working Conditions Allegedly Steals, Then Crashes Train

‘As You Wish’: Take a Peek At the Making of ‘The Princess Bride’

Song of the Day

Mark Knopfler - Once Upon a Time, Storybook Love (Princess Bride Soundtrack)

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.