Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Energy News Digest for December 17, 2014

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for December 17, 2014

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Inslee: Make Big Polluters Pay for Transportation Projects (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

British Columbia Approves $8.8-Billion Site for Peace River Hydroelectric Dam (Globe & Mail, Canada)

Chelan PUD Imposes Moratorium amid Boom in Power Requests for Data Centers (Wenatchee World, WA)

$2 Million in Taxpayer Dollars at Risk in Snake River Dredging Showdown (Northwest Public Radio)

PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel Reportedly Participating in $75 Million Round for Seattle Marijuana Investment Company (Geekwire)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  1. British Columbia Approves $8.8-Billion Site for Peace River Hydroelectric Dam
  2. British Columbia: Peace River Dam Site – How We Got Here & What You Need to Know
  3. Chelan PUD Imposes Moratorium amid Boom in Power Requests for Data Centers
  4. Shocked Portland General Electric Worker on Long Road to Recovery
  5. Probe Continues in Clallam County Public Utility District Copper Theft
  6. U-S Senate Passes Short-Term Wind Tax Break, Confirms FERC Nominee
  7. Phone Scam Targets Port Angeles Businesses
  8. Residential Customers Sought for Cowlitz PUD Rate Advisory Panel
  9. Grays Harbor PUD Renews Commitment to Relay for Life, Looks for New Projects
  10. Pacific Gas & Electric Says Smart Grid Helped Speed Storm Recovery
  11. DOE Says Smart Grid Projects Have Helped Utilities Reduce the Impact of Outages after Storms
  12. $2 Million in Taxpayer Dollars at Risk in Snake River Dredging Showdown
  13. 11 Trillion Gallons of Water Needed – Will California Rains Set Back Water Conservation?
  14. President Obama Indefinitely Bans Drilling in Alaskan Bay
  15. U-S Imposes Steep Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels
  16. Boeing’s Renton 737 Factory to Move to Clean Energy
  17. Rural Co-Ops Promise Net Metering, But Don’t Always Deliver
  18. Report Shows Which States Excel & Lag in Promoting Solar Energy
  19. Warren Buffett’s Smart-Grid Idea Takes Over Your Washing Machine
  20. PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel Reportedly Participating in $75 Million Round for Seattle Marijuana Investment Company
  21. Oregon Hires Top Marijuana Regulator
  22. Seattle Pot Grower Offering Public Tours of Gardens, Facility
  23. Medical Marijuana Suddenly a Whole Lot Less Illegal Nationwide
  24. Tommy Chong Wants to Create Cannabis Business Brand
  25. Inslee: Make Big Polluters Pay for Transportation Projects
  26. Washington State Governor Proposes Transportation Plan with Carbon Tax
  27. Which Spin? Polling Shows Some Public Support for Taxing Carbon Pollution in Washington State
  28. Stream Away: Comcast Doubles Internet Speeds Across Washington State
  29. Sweeping Searches - Google’s Detractors Take Their Fight to the States
  30. How Cord-Cutting Is Changing the Kinds of TVs We Buy
  31. Nordstrom Employee Loses Job after Incendiary Facebook Comment about Killing Cops
  32. Twitter Debates Whether to Hit Autoplay on Videos to Compete With Facebook
  33. To Avoid Embarrassing Hacks, Don’t Send Embarrassing E-Mails
  34. Another Whistleblower Claim Filed Against Nampa – Claims Utility Billing Improprieties
  35. Shelton Area Man, 80, Fatally Shoots Younger Man
  36. Increased Code Enforcement Powers Sought by City of Shelton Officials
  37. Mt. Hood Snowpack at Lowest Level Since 1981
  38. How the Grinch Stole the Pacific Northwest’s Christmas Snow
  39. Methane on Mars? Curiosity Discovery Boosts Case for Martian Life
  40. Premiere Cancelled, Theater Chain Drops ‘The Interview’ Following Threats
WORD OF THE DAY

Réchauffé • \ray-show-FAY\ • Noun - 1: something presented in a new form without change of substance: rehash 2: a warmed-over dish of food.

Frederic’s refrigerator was a smorgasbord of leftover meals; Chinese, Italian, Thai, Mexican, and other indescribable containers of dead and mutating foodstuffs. He rarely converted any of his collection into his evening repast, arguing that using them as a stewing réchauffé could lead to the extinction of new mold and bacteria species.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

British Columbia Approves $8.8-Billion Site for Peace River Hydroelectric Dam (Globe & Mail, Canada)

British Columbia: Peace River Dam Site – How We Got Here & What You Need to Know (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

Chelan PUD Imposes Moratorium amid Boom in Power Requests for Data Centers (Wenatchee World, WA)

Shocked Portland General Electric Worker on Long Road to Recovery - Nate Sweet shocked while cleaning up from last week’s storm (KOIN-TV, Portland, OR)

Probe Continues in Clallam County Public Utility District Copper Theft (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

U-S Senate Passes Short-Term Wind Tax Break, Confirms FERC Nominee (Utility Dive)

Phone Scam Targets Port Angeles Businesses (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Residential Customers Sought for Cowlitz PUD Rate Advisory Panel (Longview Daily News, WA)

Grays Harbor PUD Renews Commitment to Relay for Life, Looks for New Projects (Grays Harbor Talk)

Pacific Gas & Electric Says Smart Grid Helped Speed Storm Recovery (Utility Dive)

DOE Says Smart Grid Projects Have Helped Utilities Reduce the Impact of Outages after Storms (American Public Power Association)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

$2 Million in Taxpayer Dollars at Risk in Snake River Dredging Showdown (Northwest Public Radio)

11 Trillion Gallons of Water Needed – Will California Rains Set Back Water Conservation? (Christian Science Monitor)

President Obama Indefinitely Bans Drilling in Alaskan Bay (NY Times)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

U-S Imposes Steep Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels (NY Times)

Boeing’s Renton 737 Factory to Move to Clean Energy (Associated Press)

Rural Co-Ops Promise Net Metering, But Don’t Always Deliver (Midwest Energy News)

Report Shows Which States Excel & Lag in Promoting Solar Energy (Renewable Energy World)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Warren Buffett’s Smart-Grid Idea Takes Over Your Washing Machine (Bloomberg News)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel Reportedly Participating in $75 Million Round for Seattle Marijuana Investment Company (Geekwire)

Oregon Hires Top Marijuana Regulator (Northwest Public Radio)

Seattle Pot Grower Offering Public Tours of Gardens, Facility (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

Medical Marijuana Suddenly a Whole Lot Less Illegal Nationwide (Consumerist)

Tommy Chong Wants to Create Cannabis Business Brand (Marijuana Business Daily)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Inslee: Make Big Polluters Pay for Transportation Projects (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Washington State Governor Proposes Transportation Plan with Carbon Tax (Everett Herald, WA)

Which Spin? Polling Shows Some Public Support for Taxing Carbon Pollution in Washington State (Olympian - Paywall Advisory)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Stream Away: Comcast Doubles Internet Speeds Across Washington State (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Sweeping Searches - Google’s Detractors Take Their Fight to the States (NY Times)

How Cord-Cutting Is Changing the Kinds of TVs We Buy (Washington Post)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Nordstrom Employee Loses Job after Incendiary Facebook Comment about Killing Cops (Oregonian, Portland)

Twitter Debates Whether to Hit Autoplay on Videos to Compete With Facebook (AdWeek)

To Avoid Embarrassing Hacks, Don’t Send Embarrassing E-Mails (SF Chronicle)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Another Whistleblower Claim Filed Against Nampa – Claims Utility Billing Improprieties (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Area Man, 80, Fatally Shoots Younger Man (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Increased Code Enforcement Powers Sought by City of Shelton Officials (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Mt. Hood Snowpack at Lowest Level Since 1981 (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

How the Grinch Stole Northwest’s Christmas Snow (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

Methane on Mars? Curiosity Discovery Boosts Case for Martian Life (Christian Science Monitor)

Premiere Cancelled, Theater Chain Drops ‘The Interview’ Following Threats (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Qatar Pays Migrant Workers $1 an Hour to Be Fake Sports Fans

Have a Very Marie Curie Christmas with These Nobel Physicist Snowflake Decorations

More Proof That Mondays Are Terrible: It’s the Most Common Day for Workplace Injuries

The Mesmerizing View of Christmas Lights from Space

SONG OF THE DAY

Journey – Lights

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.