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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fear
- Benton PUD OKs 1-year temporary rate credit
- Clallam, Whatcom PUDs join Energy NW
- Whatcom County PUD joins larger supplier – No extra power available yet
- BPA Settlement means PenLight members can relax
- Oregon – LNG proponents tout minimal impacts
- Tom Flint runs for re-election to Grant County PUD Board
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric gets OK to build power plant in valley
- About $100 Each to New York City Customers in ’06 Blackout
- Restoring an Afghan Dam in a Taliban Stronghold
- Dead Krill Reported in Hood Canal
- Oregon fishermen wait for federal salmon fishery failure declaration
- Fishermen hit hard by closure of West Coast salmon fishing
- Humane Society gets partial victory in fight to save sea lions
- Emergency motion filed to stay killing of Bonneville Dam Sea Lions
- California – Species survival – Big fish calls attention to salmon crisis
- Save Our Wild Salmon Op/Ed: Bushies not wild about wild salmon
- Beachside Homeowners Clash with “Sea Farmers” over Geoduck Harvesting
- Terra Blanca Winery & Vineyards earns salmon-safe designation
- A big, new growth management plan is already outgrown
- For Bronx Water Plant Being Built 10 Stories Down, a Towering Price Tag
- Simpson Investment Co. will build power plant at Tacoma Tideflats mill
- Going Green: Tide runs high for harnessing ocean power
- Puget Sound Energy power challenge contest aims for more green energy
- News Release – Portland General Electric’s Residential Green Power Program No. 1 for Third Year
- Earth Day vote means solar, other upgrades for Clark County buildings
- Group says wind energy an economic boon in Ohio
- Sacramento Bee Op/Ed: Greens like idea of renewable energy, balk at the reality
- Portland General Electric seeks more renewable power
- Biofuels Falling Out of Favor in Germany
- Congressional Research Reports – Food Price Inflation: Causes and Impacts
- Montana – Sacajawea kids give school C-plus in conservation
- Et tu Diogenes – Finding the world's greenest person
- Free wireless Internet coming to Moses Lake
- Utah – Councils mull UTOPIA fiber-optic financing
- Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters OK further examination of fiber-optic network expansion
- Colorado – Better use of fiber optics would cost
- Comcast tries to blunt complaints over service and system performance
- Broadband is the Best Way to Save Environment
- Dogs thwart attempted assault on Hoodsport woman
- Olympia man drowns in diving accident
- Tolls considered for Puget Sound highways
- Park's petroglyph moves on
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Inanition • \in-uh-NISH-un\ • noun – 1: the exhausted condition that results from lack of food and water *2: the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor
Alfredo always wondered why the businesses in his town shuttered themselves at 4:30 each evening…not to open again until 10:00 the following morning. He had always thought that this odd arrangement of business hours had led to the inanition of the local business climate. It turns out that the reason the businesses didn’t do that well was because each one tried to sell the same cheaply made trinkets to the jaded tourists that occasionally rolled into the dusty little town after taking the wrong exit from the interstate highway. It also didn’t help that the only motel in town was owned by the mysterious Norman Bates, further winnowing the customer base.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/europe/23coal.html?ex=1366689600&en=7350eac89a46ac57&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Benton PUD OKs 1-year temporary rate credit (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/164478.html
Clallam, Whatcom PUDs join Energy NW (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/165480.html
Whatcom County PUD joins larger supplier – No extra power available yet (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/business/story/389778.html
BPA Settlement means PenLight members can relax (Peninsula Gateway, Gig Harbor)
http://www.gateline.com/104/story/1240.html
Oregon – LNG proponents tout minimal impacts (The World, Coos Bay)
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/04/22/news/doc480e1df924f01461050527.txt
Tom Flint runs for re-election to Grant County PUD Board (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/news03.txt
California – Pacific Gas and Electric gets OK to build power plant in valley –The company won permission from California energy regulators on Wednesday to build a $673 million, gas-burning power plant in Colusa County (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/BUNC10AM9K.DTL&feed=rss.business
About $100 Each to New York City Customers in ’06 Blackout (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/nyregion/24coned.html?_r=1&ex=1366776000&en=624ad6b14e6be419&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Restoring an Afghan Dam in a Taliban Stronghold – Dam built nearly 50 years ago by United States (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89821168&ft=1&f=3
FISH & WILDLIFE
Dead Krill Reported in Hood Canal (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/23/dead-krill-reported-in-hood-canal/
Oregon fishermen wait for federal salmon fishery failure declaration (Tillamook Headlight Herald)
http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=9310
Fishermen hit hard by closure of West Coast salmon fishing – Drastic federal action to try to save Chinook salmon is latest move in ongoing battle (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0423/p13s01-sten.html
Humane Society gets partial victory in fight to save sea lions (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/360391_sealions24.html
Emergency motion filed to stay killing of Bonneville Dam Sea Lions (Links to PDF file on Ninth Circuit web site)
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/DFD97497C4E5228688257434007CC8CD/$file/0835305o.pdf?openelement
California – Species survival – Big fish calls attention to salmon crisis (Chico News & Review)
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=657964
Save Our Wild Salmon Op/Ed: Bushies not wild about wild salmon – On the Bush administration's deal for Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead (Grist Online)
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/22/16225/1323
Beachside Homeowners Clash with “Sea Farmers” over Geoduck Harvesting (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3767
Terra Blanca Winery & Vineyards earns salmon-safe designation (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/bizbeat/story/164694.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
A big, new growth management plan is already outgrown (Crosscut Seattle)
http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/13638/A+big%2C+new+growth+management+plan+is+already+outgrown/
For Bronx Water Plant Being Built 10 Stories Down, a Towering Price Tag (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/nyregion/24water.html?ex=1366776000&en=5bfdad10826e3b88&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Simpson Investment Co. will build power plant at Tacoma Tideflats mill – Tacoma’s biggest forest products company is entering a new business: green power (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/343258.html
Going Green: Tide runs high for harnessing ocean power – British Columbia firm is among three testing turbines in Bay of Fundy (which has the highest and lowest tide differences in the world, Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=872f353a-6174-424d-a6ab-048c4433f97b&k=91835
Puget Sound Energy power challenge contest aims for more green energy (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/environment/story/427461.html
News Release – Portland General Electric’s Residential Green Power Program No. 1 for Third Year – Utility Moves up in Other National Rankings (Business Wire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/moreover/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080422006711&newsLang=en
Earth Day vote means solar, other upgrades for Clark County buildings (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04232008_Earth-Day-vote-means-solar-other-upgrades-for-county-buildings.cfm
Group says wind energy an economic boon in Ohio (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5727020.html
Sacramento Bee Op/Ed: Greens like idea of renewable energy, balk at the reality “…opposition follows an odd pattern of supporting green policies in a macro sense, only to oppose specific projects that would implement their larger vision…”
http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/882652.html
Portland General Electric seeks more renewable power (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1355955~PGE_seeks_more_renewable_power.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Biofuels Falling Out of Favor in Germany (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89893155&ft=1&f=2
Congressional Research Reports – Food Price Inflation: Causes and Impacts “…(1) demand for corn for ethanol is competing with food and feed for acreage…”
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RS22859
CONSERVATION
Montana – Sacajawea kids give school C-plus in conservation (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/20energy.txt
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Et tu Diogenes – Finding the world's greenest person – A Canadian professor has launched an online contest to find the world's greenest person (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/21/bc-green-person-contest.html
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Free wireless Internet coming to Moses Lake (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/news04.txt
Utah – Councils mull UTOPIA fiber-optic financing (The Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263379/
Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters OK further examination of fiber-optic network expansion – Mayor is encouraged by ‘decisive margin’ (Glenwood Springs Post Independent)
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080423/VALLEYNEWS/785030529
Colorado – Better use of fiber optics would cost – Fort Morgan has invested a substantial amount of money in a fiber optic network that is greatly underused (Fort Morgan Times)
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/local_news/fmcc%20work%204-23.txt
Comcast tries to blunt complaints over service and system performance (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/343270.html
Broadband is the Best Way to Save Environment – It was Earth Day this past weekend, the day on which we celebrate Mother Nature and get ourselves charged up about doing more to protect her (Apprising)
http://www.app-rising.com/gdblog/2008/04/broadband_is_the_best_way_to_s.html
GENERAL NEWS
Dogs thwart attempted assault on Hoodsport woman (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/428021.html
Olympia man drowns in diving accident (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04242008news308525.cfm?newsletter=10
Tolls considered for Puget Sound highways (Seattle Times, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1357711~Tolls_considered_for_Puget_Sound_highways.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Park's petroglyph moves on – The Squaxin Island tribe reclaimed a connection to its roots Wednesday, retrieving a 10-ton granite rock with ancient tribal petroglyphs from its longtime perch at Tumwater Falls Park. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/428316.html
DIVERSIONS
Not all :) as informal writing creeps into teen assignments
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080424/ap_on_hi_te/teen_writing_2
Coming In From the Cold – A century after Ian Fleming's birth, a British museum reveals some of the secrets in the life of the creator of James Bond
http://www.newsweek.com/id/133446?from=rss
Family Stuck With House Possibly Built On Dump – Massachusetts Family Demands Answers From Town, Builder
http://www.kirotv.com/money/15971151/detail.html
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Energy News Digest for April 23, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- United Kingdom – Soaring energy prices fuelling a domestic crisis
- These days, all natural gas pipelines lead to small towns in Klamath County, such as Malin
- Oregonian Op/Ed – Pointing fingers won't save any fish
- Terry Flores’ NY Times Op/Ed Letter – The Salmon Problem
- Sacramento Bee Editorial: Ocean reserves will rebuild fish populations
- Hatchery salmon returns may offset low wild fish quotas in 2008
- Bellingham Technical College seeks funds for new hatchery facility
- Fishing – All’s slow with lake trout season looming
- Yakama tribal spokesman voices concerns about Black Rock
- New Chelan County PUD reservoir planned for north Wenatchee
- Montana – Wind farm markets expansion
- Changing the Current – State Environmental Laws Drive Power Producers to Renewable Resources
- News Release – PSE Selects Five Puget Sound-Area Schools for Solar Power Installation Grants
- Need a job? Green-collar opportunities await
- Washington PUD Association Headquarters Earns LEED Platinum Rating From U.S. Green Building Council
- Don’t Trash Compact Fluorescents
- Maryland – Montgomery Aims to Make Green Homes Mandatory
- LED light bulbs: Are you ready to make the switch?
- Slump forces locals to rethink financial commitment to greenness
- Carbon Offsets – Who's tracking the trackers?
- Montana – State orders more study of emissions
- Hold the Carbon: Cafeterias Focus on Green Fare
- AAA sells tags to boost eco-friendly energy
- Grant County PUD Fiber installation costs to increase
- Net-neutrality law not necessary now, FCC chairman says
- Yahoo Reports Jump in Profit; Suitor Microsoft Is Unimpressed
- Show Us Your 50Mbps! Minneapolis customers show off their sweet, delicious speed, cost: $150 per month
- Two Shelton Schools Locked Down While Police Arrest Robbery Suspects
- Global food crisis poses unpalatable options
- Rice shortage hits home in Seattle
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Truculent • \TRUCK-yuh-lunt\ • adjective – *1: feeling or displaying ferocity: cruel, savage 2: deadly, destructive 3: scathingly harsh: vitriolic 4: aggressively self-assertive: belligerent
At the laughing comments about his “vintage” Yugo hatchback, Franze’s face slowly froze into a mask-like, bulldog expression. “I’ll challenge your AMC Pacer to a drag race any day,” he raged, his truculent, protective manner overtaking what started as a polite conservation about jumper cables, baling wire and duct tape.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
United Kingdom – Soaring energy prices fuelling a domestic crisis (The Scotsman)
http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Soaring-energy-prices-fuelling-a.4010070.jp
These days, all natural gas pipelines lead to small towns in Klamath County, such as Malin – Hearings on two of three pipelines will be this week (Herald and News)
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2008/04/22/viewpoints/op-ed/doc480d8300aea60889759919.txt
FISH & WILDLIFE
Oregonian Op/Ed – Pointing fingers won't save any fish
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/120890851648840.xml&coll=7
Terry Flores’ NY Times Op/Ed Letter – The Salmon Problem
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/opinion/lweb22salmon.html?ref=opinion
Sacramento Bee Editorial: Ocean reserves will rebuild fish populations
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/879188.html
Hatchery salmon returns may offset low wild fish quotas in 2008 (Alaska Public Radio)
http://aprn.org/2008/04/21/hatchery-salmon-returns-may-offset-low-wild-fish-quotas-in-2008/
Bellingham Technical College seeks funds for new hatchery facility – Fisheries technology building in disrepair. A slanted second floor is only one of the structural problems plaguing the home of the college (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/386678.html
Fishing – All’s slow with lake trout season looming (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/outdoors/story/342304.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Yakama tribal spokesman voices concerns about Black Rock (Yakima Herald Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/3416
New Chelan County PUD reservoir planned for north Wenatchee – the tank will ensure adequate fire suppression and water supplies in northern Wenatchee for at least 50 years (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS04/390852912
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Montana – Wind farm markets expansion – NWE's declining of offer opens energy to other potential buyers (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/04/22/news/state/21-windexpansion.txt
Changing the Current – State Environmental Laws Drive Power Producers to Renewable Resources (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042103004.html
News Release – PSE Selects Five Puget Sound-Area Schools for Solar Power Installation Grants (Puget Sound Energy, via BusinessWire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080423005349&newsLang=en
Need a job? Green-collar opportunities await – Living green is more than a necessity. It's more than a trend. It's a job opportunity. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080423/BIZ/297111397/-1/RSS01
CONSERVATION
WASHINGTON PUD ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS EARNS LEED PLATINUM RATING FROM U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL – The Washington Public Utility Districts Association’s new solar-powered headquarters building in Olympia has received “Platinum” certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The WPUDA headquarters, which boasts the largest rooftop solar installation in the state, is the first new-construction office building in Washington to achieve Platinum certification – the highest rating possible under the LEED program. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance “green” buildings. The program recognizes sustainability is five areas of human and environmental health: site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. WPUDA is a trade association representing 27 public utility districts across the state that provide electricity, water and sewer services and wholesale telecommunications to more than 1.5 million people. Public utility districts are customer-owned utilities governed by locally elected boards of commissioners. (Washington PUD Association)
Don’t Trash Compact Fluorescents (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3784
Maryland – Montgomery Aims to Make Green Homes Mandatory (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202839.html?nav=rss_email/components
LED light bulbs: Are you ready to make the switch? (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9923048-54.html?tag=nl.e703
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Slump forces locals to rethink financial commitment to greenness – Organic this and locally-raised that can sometimes cost more than alternatives (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/outlook/index.ssf?/base/news/1207704385182110.xml&coll=7
Carbon Offsets – Who's tracking the trackers? Although standards agencies are moving to bring order to the carbon offset business, it's still an unregulated industry (The Globe and Mail, Canada)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080422.green-offsets-0422/BNStory/greensolutions/home
Montana – State orders more study of emissions (Great Falls Tribune)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS01/804220304/1002
Hold the Carbon: Cafeterias Focus on Green Fare (National Public Radio – Ed. Note: the Lichtenstein-like graphic looks like it was ripped off from Tacoma Power’s conservation calendars)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89836312&ft=1&f=17
AAA sells tags to boost eco-friendly energy (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/04/04232008_AAA-sells-tags-to-boost-eco-friendly-energy.cfm/
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Grant County PUD Fiber installation costs to increase (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/22/news/news01.txt
Net-neutrality law not necessary now, FCC chairman says (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004367125_fccnet23.html?syndication=rss
Yahoo Reports Jump in Profit; Suitor Microsoft Is Unimpressed (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202054.html?nav=rss_technology
Show Us Your 50Mbps! Minneapolis customers show off their sweet, delicious speed, cost: $150 per month (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Show-Us-Your-50Mbps-93814
GENERAL NEWS
TWO SHELTON SCHOOLS LOCKED DOWN WHILE POLICE ARREST ROBBERY SUSPECTS – Shelton High School and Oakland Bay Junior High School were locked down Tuesday afternoon while police looked for and arrested two robbery suspects. According to officials, about 2:30pm officers responded to a report of the theft of a purse in the parking lot of Fred Meyer on Wallace Kneeland Boulevard. Two suspects fled on foot, one into the parking lot at the Junior High. As a precaution, the schools were locked down while officers apprehended the suspects without incident. The lockdown was then lifted. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Global food crisis poses unpalatable options (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004367259_foodcrisis23.html
Rice shortage hits home in Seattle (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004367150_riceshortage23m.html
DIVERSIONS
Priest Carried Aloft By Balloons Missing – Search Resumes Off Brazil's Southern Atlantic Coast
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15959648/detail.html
Pizza Hut delivers pink slip to employee held at gunpoint – A Republican state lawmaker called on Iowans Friday to boycott Pizza Hut restaurants after the company fired a Des Moines delivery driver who shot an armed robber last month.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/NEWS/804190326
Man Turns Bike Into Solar-Powered Vehicle
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/15966657/detail.html
Lost Rings Dug Out Of Disney World's Trash – Mass. Couple Mistakenly Throws Rings Away
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15958912/detail.html
39 Whirlpool workers suspended over smoking lies
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/23/suspended.smokers.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- United Kingdom – Soaring energy prices fuelling a domestic crisis
- These days, all natural gas pipelines lead to small towns in Klamath County, such as Malin
- Oregonian Op/Ed – Pointing fingers won't save any fish
- Terry Flores’ NY Times Op/Ed Letter – The Salmon Problem
- Sacramento Bee Editorial: Ocean reserves will rebuild fish populations
- Hatchery salmon returns may offset low wild fish quotas in 2008
- Bellingham Technical College seeks funds for new hatchery facility
- Fishing – All’s slow with lake trout season looming
- Yakama tribal spokesman voices concerns about Black Rock
- New Chelan County PUD reservoir planned for north Wenatchee
- Montana – Wind farm markets expansion
- Changing the Current – State Environmental Laws Drive Power Producers to Renewable Resources
- News Release – PSE Selects Five Puget Sound-Area Schools for Solar Power Installation Grants
- Need a job? Green-collar opportunities await
- Washington PUD Association Headquarters Earns LEED Platinum Rating From U.S. Green Building Council
- Don’t Trash Compact Fluorescents
- Maryland – Montgomery Aims to Make Green Homes Mandatory
- LED light bulbs: Are you ready to make the switch?
- Slump forces locals to rethink financial commitment to greenness
- Carbon Offsets – Who's tracking the trackers?
- Montana – State orders more study of emissions
- Hold the Carbon: Cafeterias Focus on Green Fare
- AAA sells tags to boost eco-friendly energy
- Grant County PUD Fiber installation costs to increase
- Net-neutrality law not necessary now, FCC chairman says
- Yahoo Reports Jump in Profit; Suitor Microsoft Is Unimpressed
- Show Us Your 50Mbps! Minneapolis customers show off their sweet, delicious speed, cost: $150 per month
- Two Shelton Schools Locked Down While Police Arrest Robbery Suspects
- Global food crisis poses unpalatable options
- Rice shortage hits home in Seattle
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Truculent • \TRUCK-yuh-lunt\ • adjective – *1: feeling or displaying ferocity: cruel, savage 2: deadly, destructive 3: scathingly harsh: vitriolic 4: aggressively self-assertive: belligerent
At the laughing comments about his “vintage” Yugo hatchback, Franze’s face slowly froze into a mask-like, bulldog expression. “I’ll challenge your AMC Pacer to a drag race any day,” he raged, his truculent, protective manner overtaking what started as a polite conservation about jumper cables, baling wire and duct tape.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
United Kingdom – Soaring energy prices fuelling a domestic crisis (The Scotsman)
http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Soaring-energy-prices-fuelling-a.4010070.jp
These days, all natural gas pipelines lead to small towns in Klamath County, such as Malin – Hearings on two of three pipelines will be this week (Herald and News)
http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2008/04/22/viewpoints/op-ed/doc480d8300aea60889759919.txt
FISH & WILDLIFE
Oregonian Op/Ed – Pointing fingers won't save any fish
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/120890851648840.xml&coll=7
Terry Flores’ NY Times Op/Ed Letter – The Salmon Problem
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/opinion/lweb22salmon.html?ref=opinion
Sacramento Bee Editorial: Ocean reserves will rebuild fish populations
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/879188.html
Hatchery salmon returns may offset low wild fish quotas in 2008 (Alaska Public Radio)
http://aprn.org/2008/04/21/hatchery-salmon-returns-may-offset-low-wild-fish-quotas-in-2008/
Bellingham Technical College seeks funds for new hatchery facility – Fisheries technology building in disrepair. A slanted second floor is only one of the structural problems plaguing the home of the college (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/386678.html
Fishing – All’s slow with lake trout season looming (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/outdoors/story/342304.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Yakama tribal spokesman voices concerns about Black Rock (Yakima Herald Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/3416
New Chelan County PUD reservoir planned for north Wenatchee – the tank will ensure adequate fire suppression and water supplies in northern Wenatchee for at least 50 years (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS04/390852912
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Montana – Wind farm markets expansion – NWE's declining of offer opens energy to other potential buyers (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/04/22/news/state/21-windexpansion.txt
Changing the Current – State Environmental Laws Drive Power Producers to Renewable Resources (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/21/AR2008042103004.html
News Release – PSE Selects Five Puget Sound-Area Schools for Solar Power Installation Grants (Puget Sound Energy, via BusinessWire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080423005349&newsLang=en
Need a job? Green-collar opportunities await – Living green is more than a necessity. It's more than a trend. It's a job opportunity. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080423/BIZ/297111397/-1/RSS01
CONSERVATION
WASHINGTON PUD ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS EARNS LEED PLATINUM RATING FROM U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL – The Washington Public Utility Districts Association’s new solar-powered headquarters building in Olympia has received “Platinum” certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The WPUDA headquarters, which boasts the largest rooftop solar installation in the state, is the first new-construction office building in Washington to achieve Platinum certification – the highest rating possible under the LEED program. The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance “green” buildings. The program recognizes sustainability is five areas of human and environmental health: site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. WPUDA is a trade association representing 27 public utility districts across the state that provide electricity, water and sewer services and wholesale telecommunications to more than 1.5 million people. Public utility districts are customer-owned utilities governed by locally elected boards of commissioners. (Washington PUD Association)
Don’t Trash Compact Fluorescents (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3784
Maryland – Montgomery Aims to Make Green Homes Mandatory (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202839.html?nav=rss_email/components
LED light bulbs: Are you ready to make the switch? (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9923048-54.html?tag=nl.e703
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Slump forces locals to rethink financial commitment to greenness – Organic this and locally-raised that can sometimes cost more than alternatives (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/special/outlook/index.ssf?/base/news/1207704385182110.xml&coll=7
Carbon Offsets – Who's tracking the trackers? Although standards agencies are moving to bring order to the carbon offset business, it's still an unregulated industry (The Globe and Mail, Canada)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080422.green-offsets-0422/BNStory/greensolutions/home
Montana – State orders more study of emissions (Great Falls Tribune)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/NEWS01/804220304/1002
Hold the Carbon: Cafeterias Focus on Green Fare (National Public Radio – Ed. Note: the Lichtenstein-like graphic looks like it was ripped off from Tacoma Power’s conservation calendars)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89836312&ft=1&f=17
AAA sells tags to boost eco-friendly energy (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/04/04232008_AAA-sells-tags-to-boost-eco-friendly-energy.cfm/
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Grant County PUD Fiber installation costs to increase (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/22/news/news01.txt
Net-neutrality law not necessary now, FCC chairman says (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004367125_fccnet23.html?syndication=rss
Yahoo Reports Jump in Profit; Suitor Microsoft Is Unimpressed (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042202054.html?nav=rss_technology
Show Us Your 50Mbps! Minneapolis customers show off their sweet, delicious speed, cost: $150 per month (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Show-Us-Your-50Mbps-93814
GENERAL NEWS
TWO SHELTON SCHOOLS LOCKED DOWN WHILE POLICE ARREST ROBBERY SUSPECTS – Shelton High School and Oakland Bay Junior High School were locked down Tuesday afternoon while police looked for and arrested two robbery suspects. According to officials, about 2:30pm officers responded to a report of the theft of a purse in the parking lot of Fred Meyer on Wallace Kneeland Boulevard. Two suspects fled on foot, one into the parking lot at the Junior High. As a precaution, the schools were locked down while officers apprehended the suspects without incident. The lockdown was then lifted. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Global food crisis poses unpalatable options (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004367259_foodcrisis23.html
Rice shortage hits home in Seattle (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004367150_riceshortage23m.html
DIVERSIONS
Priest Carried Aloft By Balloons Missing – Search Resumes Off Brazil's Southern Atlantic Coast
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15959648/detail.html
Pizza Hut delivers pink slip to employee held at gunpoint – A Republican state lawmaker called on Iowans Friday to boycott Pizza Hut restaurants after the company fired a Des Moines delivery driver who shot an armed robber last month.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/NEWS/804190326
Man Turns Bike Into Solar-Powered Vehicle
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/15966657/detail.html
Lost Rings Dug Out Of Disney World's Trash – Mass. Couple Mistakenly Throws Rings Away
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15958912/detail.html
39 Whirlpool workers suspended over smoking lies
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/23/suspended.smokers.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Energy News Digest for April 22, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Australia – Electricity workers walk off job
- Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
- Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining
- Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
- Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1
- Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats
- Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center
- Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds
- Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout
- Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
- EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine
- America's unhealthy attachment to spring water
- Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
- Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock
- Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol
- How green are the presidential candidates?
- The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go
- California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
- Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
- Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast
- Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game
- Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it
- Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect?
- Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans
- Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA
- Cable company review is blend of good, bad
- Writers stump for net neutrality
- Group touts telecommuting's green benefits
- $3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight
- Earth Day Fair Today
- New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida
- Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
velleity • \vuh-LEE-uh-tee\ • noun – 1: the lowest degree of volition *2: a slight wish or tendency: inclination
Albert felt guilty for only a second. The brief, wistful velleity about his choice of lunch was overshadowed by the exceedingly delicious cheeseburger he was consuming…all the while his herbivorous friends at college glared…their jealousy and envy clearly writ on their faces.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Australia – Electricity workers walk off job (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23579397-36418,00.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004364214_carrasco22.html
Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining (Alaska Public Radio)
http://aprn.org/2008/04/21/juneau-blackout-may-have-energy-conservation-silver-lining/
Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law – Customer bills could soar under a plan to require public energy suppliers that rely heavily on coal to buy the right to pollute from private suppliers with cleaner nuclear and hydroelectric power. (Los Angeles Times – My, what a pretty picture…)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate20apr20,0,4318459.story
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/EDHP1096GP.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of many environmentalists, who claim the nation's largest source of electricity pollute the air and contribute to global warming. (The Muskegon Chronicle)
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/power_struggle.html
Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats (Denver Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/21/daily2.html?ana=from_rss
FISH & WILDLIFE
Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/21/52-acres-purchased-for-salmon-center/
Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds – April 23 is the deadline for public comment on a $900 million, 10-year plan to restore fish runs in the Columbia River Basin, reflecting an agreement recently reached by federal agencies and four tribes.
(The Daily Record, Ellensburg)
http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/doc480cf6e41d51c961538628.txt
Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1352366~Court__Consider_protecting_cutthroat_trout.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/04/04212008_Our-readers-views.cfm?newsletter=5
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/425862.html
America's unhealthy attachment to spring water (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189574/?from=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/18/bc-private-power-project.html
Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways – Getting to cleaner energy will not be easy, and it will not be cheap. But business as usual could cost Michigan even more
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION01/804220330
Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION02/804220333/1070
Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/04/21/daily15.html?ana=from_rss
Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol – It may be time for the U.S. government to slip the grip of the corn lobby and fund biofuels using matter other than corn — and at the same time, drop tariffs on ethanol made in Brazil. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89817188
How green are the presidential candidates? Clinton, McCain, Obama all vow to fight global warming (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359991_earthday22.html
CONSERVATION
The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go – Homes built in South Sound with energy savings and the environment in mind are here to stay.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/425722.html
California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUKV109B2R.DTL&feed=rss.business
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/359975_climate22.html?source=rss
Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/OPINION01/269243213
Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast. That's been the message from inside many of Vancouver's boardrooms to Premier Gordon Campbell after he joined California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in fighting climate change (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5b0a09ba-b04b-4bbd-b358-672d7ef30250
Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359994_greenball22.html?source=rss
Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189376/?from=rss
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect? It was a rocky road to the city's partial system, and disputes with MetroFi Inc. could scuttle the project (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1208579109141040.xml&coll=7
Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans – M2Z Networks finds friends in Congress to re-inflate FCC-denied plan (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Free-Wireless-Broadband-To-95-of-Americans-93740
Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA – A UTOPIA marketing plan timed to coincide with a finance overhaul is meant to keep tax money from ever being used on fiber optics, the plan's architect said. (The Deseret News)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,695272350,00.html
Cable company review is blend of good, bad – A local review of Comcast, Clark County’s cable operator, found several areas of concern. They include a sharp increase in customer complaints, steadily rising prices and the elimination of Seattle-based news broadcasts (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/04/04222008_Cable-company-review-is-blend-of-good-bad.cfm/
Writers stump for net neutrality (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9011164?source=rss
Group touts telecommuting's green benefits (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUEC1087U5.DTL&feed=rss.business
GENERAL NEWS
$3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004364711_oilgas22.html?syndication=rss
EARTH DAY FAIR TODAY – Today is Earth Day and in recognition of this day, Mason County and the City of Shelton have organized a celebration from 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center. This event is open to the public and everyone is invited to come out and meet local elected officials, see community preservation efforts, visit hands-on exhibits, pick up informational materials, take home free conservation gifts, and enjoy free refreshments. Again that's an Earth Day Fair, 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center in Shelton. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080422/NEWS/804220307
Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/17985524.html
DIVERSIONS
Dogs "rescue" girl abandoned by mother
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL21859920080422?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Laser pointers banned after attacks
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD18105220080421?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Stranger than fiction: Pizza Hut worker allegedly sold pot at drive-through
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/NEWS02/813594874/-1/RSS01
Oregon woman hooked on video poker must repay county $39,000 – Blames it on breakup with boyfriend
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004365463_webvideopoker22m.html?syndication=rss
Man charged with 'serial' deer killing
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359945_hunter22.html?source=rss
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Australia – Electricity workers walk off job
- Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
- Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining
- Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
- Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1
- Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats
- Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center
- Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds
- Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout
- Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
- EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine
- America's unhealthy attachment to spring water
- Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
- Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock
- Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol
- How green are the presidential candidates?
- The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go
- California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
- Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
- Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast
- Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game
- Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it
- Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect?
- Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans
- Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA
- Cable company review is blend of good, bad
- Writers stump for net neutrality
- Group touts telecommuting's green benefits
- $3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight
- Earth Day Fair Today
- New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida
- Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
velleity • \vuh-LEE-uh-tee\ • noun – 1: the lowest degree of volition *2: a slight wish or tendency: inclination
Albert felt guilty for only a second. The brief, wistful velleity about his choice of lunch was overshadowed by the exceedingly delicious cheeseburger he was consuming…all the while his herbivorous friends at college glared…their jealousy and envy clearly writ on their faces.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Australia – Electricity workers walk off job (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23579397-36418,00.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004364214_carrasco22.html
Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining (Alaska Public Radio)
http://aprn.org/2008/04/21/juneau-blackout-may-have-energy-conservation-silver-lining/
Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law – Customer bills could soar under a plan to require public energy suppliers that rely heavily on coal to buy the right to pollute from private suppliers with cleaner nuclear and hydroelectric power. (Los Angeles Times – My, what a pretty picture…)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate20apr20,0,4318459.story
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/EDHP1096GP.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of many environmentalists, who claim the nation's largest source of electricity pollute the air and contribute to global warming. (The Muskegon Chronicle)
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/power_struggle.html
Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats (Denver Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/21/daily2.html?ana=from_rss
FISH & WILDLIFE
Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/21/52-acres-purchased-for-salmon-center/
Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds – April 23 is the deadline for public comment on a $900 million, 10-year plan to restore fish runs in the Columbia River Basin, reflecting an agreement recently reached by federal agencies and four tribes.
(The Daily Record, Ellensburg)
http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/doc480cf6e41d51c961538628.txt
Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1352366~Court__Consider_protecting_cutthroat_trout.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/04/04212008_Our-readers-views.cfm?newsletter=5
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/425862.html
America's unhealthy attachment to spring water (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189574/?from=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/18/bc-private-power-project.html
Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways – Getting to cleaner energy will not be easy, and it will not be cheap. But business as usual could cost Michigan even more
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION01/804220330
Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION02/804220333/1070
Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/04/21/daily15.html?ana=from_rss
Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol – It may be time for the U.S. government to slip the grip of the corn lobby and fund biofuels using matter other than corn — and at the same time, drop tariffs on ethanol made in Brazil. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89817188
How green are the presidential candidates? Clinton, McCain, Obama all vow to fight global warming (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359991_earthday22.html
CONSERVATION
The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go – Homes built in South Sound with energy savings and the environment in mind are here to stay.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/425722.html
California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUKV109B2R.DTL&feed=rss.business
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/359975_climate22.html?source=rss
Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/OPINION01/269243213
Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast. That's been the message from inside many of Vancouver's boardrooms to Premier Gordon Campbell after he joined California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in fighting climate change (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5b0a09ba-b04b-4bbd-b358-672d7ef30250
Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359994_greenball22.html?source=rss
Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189376/?from=rss
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect? It was a rocky road to the city's partial system, and disputes with MetroFi Inc. could scuttle the project (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1208579109141040.xml&coll=7
Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans – M2Z Networks finds friends in Congress to re-inflate FCC-denied plan (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Free-Wireless-Broadband-To-95-of-Americans-93740
Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA – A UTOPIA marketing plan timed to coincide with a finance overhaul is meant to keep tax money from ever being used on fiber optics, the plan's architect said. (The Deseret News)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,695272350,00.html
Cable company review is blend of good, bad – A local review of Comcast, Clark County’s cable operator, found several areas of concern. They include a sharp increase in customer complaints, steadily rising prices and the elimination of Seattle-based news broadcasts (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/04/04222008_Cable-company-review-is-blend-of-good-bad.cfm/
Writers stump for net neutrality (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9011164?source=rss
Group touts telecommuting's green benefits (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUEC1087U5.DTL&feed=rss.business
GENERAL NEWS
$3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004364711_oilgas22.html?syndication=rss
EARTH DAY FAIR TODAY – Today is Earth Day and in recognition of this day, Mason County and the City of Shelton have organized a celebration from 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center. This event is open to the public and everyone is invited to come out and meet local elected officials, see community preservation efforts, visit hands-on exhibits, pick up informational materials, take home free conservation gifts, and enjoy free refreshments. Again that's an Earth Day Fair, 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center in Shelton. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080422/NEWS/804220307
Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/17985524.html
DIVERSIONS
Dogs "rescue" girl abandoned by mother
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL21859920080422?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Laser pointers banned after attacks
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD18105220080421?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Stranger than fiction: Pizza Hut worker allegedly sold pot at drive-through
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/NEWS02/813594874/-1/RSS01
Oregon woman hooked on video poker must repay county $39,000 – Blames it on breakup with boyfriend
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004365463_webvideopoker22m.html?syndication=rss
Man charged with 'serial' deer killing
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359945_hunter22.html?source=rss
Monday, April 21, 2008
Energy News Digest for April 21, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams – Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams get 44-year renewal
- Everett Herald Op/Ed – Energy challenges also create opportunities
- Police dog tracks down suspected wire thief near Vader
- NRECA Names WPUDA’s Connections ‘Best Magazine’
- Energy industry says more plant construction needed
- North Carolina – Final Environmental Impact Statement for Alcoa’s Hydroelectric Projects
- Ameren ironing out details for $10 million in incentives
- Waste heat: The next frontier for clean-tech companies
- New Chartwell report examines electric utility storm Web sites and online outage strategies
- Grant PUD Fish Passage @ Wanapum – Man-made Waterfall May Help Fish
- The mystery of Oregon's missing salmon
- Chinook sport-fishing season to end soon
- Willamette full of surprises for spring salmon anglers
- Oh No! Giant Salmon Eating our Young!
- Tribal charge dismissed against Makah whalers
- University of Idaho researchers create web site for Elwha Dam removal process
- Get down! Orcas on the attack
- Oregon State University offers new water conflict management degree
- Higher Water Rates May Be Ahead for PO Residents
- The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? YES: Solar power costs will decline
- The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? NO: Panels aren't a good investment
- Are Tax Credits the Best Way To Drive Renewable Energy Investments?
- Why tribes may be key players in eco-energy
- Tri-City builders going green
- Do monster homes use more energy?
- Bill Nye, the Science Guy – Greener Pastures – This old house
- United Kingdom – Scots fail to see the light over new bulbs
- St. Helens glacier apparently one of few in the world still growing
- Earth to us: Talking green isn't the same as living green
- Companies upset over likely Grant County PUD fiber costs
- From critic of Click! to business partner – Times do change
- Bend Internet Provider Changes Prices, Angers Heavy Users
- PocketiNet to help keep Tri-Citians online
- Utah – Should cities deploy fiber networks?
- Utah – Clash between Utopia and telecom giants rages on
- Utah – Head Hammer: Don't rush into fiber-optics debt
- Ashburn Firm to Build Portable WiFi Systems for Army
- Cynic Alert! Move to digital TV could cost some cable customers
- Jet stream found to be permanently drifting north
- Highway Three Fuel Tanks Near Shelton Take A Tumble – Fuel Tank Removal To Begin Today
- Squaxin Island Tribe to take possession of art
- Mail carrier accused of vandalizing trees on route
- 2005 Tumwater/Mason County missing person case may be solved
- Seattle Times Editorial – A gasoline conspiracy?
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Rescript • \REE-skript\ • noun – 1: a written answer of a Roman emperor or of a pope to a legal inquiry or petition 2: an official or authoritative order, decree, edict, or announcement *3: an act or instance of rewriting
“Bring me my sealing wax and signet ring,” thundered the regional potentate. “Your request for an extra helping of tofu from the cafeteria is worthy of my rescript,” the head of the community college’s kitchen staff intoned. “Power is measured in relative terms,” mused the hungry student.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams – Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams get 44-year renewal (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/NEWS04/10231706
Everett Herald Op/Ed – Energy challenges also create opportunities, Eric Teegarden
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080419/OPINION03/149952913
Police dog tracks down suspected wire thief near Vader (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04182008news306403.cfm
NRECA NAMES WPUDA’s CONNECTIONS ‘BEST MAGAZINE’ – The Washington PUD Association’s quarterly magazine, Connections, has been named “Best Magazine” among statewide organizations by the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association. The Award of Excellence will be presented next month at Connect 2008, the annual NRECA communicator’s conference, which will be held in Portland. Second place in the Service Members category went to the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives for its Carolina Country magazine. (WPUDA Friday Fax)
Energy industry says more plant construction needed – Environmentalists argue more energy efficiency could greatly reduce the need for a huge new wave of power plants and transmission lines. In two studies out Monday, the power industry gives its terse response: Don't count on it. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2008-04-20-energy-conservation-power-plants_N.htm?csp=34
North Carolina – Final Environmental Impact Statement for Alcoa’s Yadkin and Yadkin-Pee Dee River Hydroelectric Projects (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2008/04-18-08.asp
Ameren ironing out details for $10 million in incentives – The utility could hand out twice as much in 2009 (St. Louis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/04/21/focus7.html?ana=from_rss
Waste heat: The next frontier for clean-tech companies (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9921561-54.html
New Chartwell report examines electric utility storm Web sites and online outage strategies (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=326274&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss
FISH & WILDLIFE
Grant PUD Fish Passage @ Wanapum – Man-made Waterfall May Help Fish (KPLU Radio, Tacoma)
http://publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1263713§ionID=1
The mystery of Oregon's missing salmon – Ever fewer Sacramento River Chinook survive the journey from inland California to the Oregon coast (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/12084999086460.xml&coll=7
Chinook sport-fishing season to end soon (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04172008_Chinook-sport-fishing-season-to-end-soon.cfm?newsletter=2
Willamette full of surprises for spring salmon anglers (KATU-TV, Portland)
http://www.katu.com/news/outdoors/17962714.html
Oh No! Giant Salmon Eating our Young! – This one didn't get away, but real ones might (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/BAON108VMD.DTL&o=0
Tribal charge dismissed against Makah whalers (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080420/NEWS/804200305
University of Idaho researchers create web site for Elwha Dam removal process (Associated Press, Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1350819~UI_researchers_create_dam_resource_Web_site.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Get down! Orcas on the attack (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=4db2f749-44d4-47bb-9cd5-6248c1475b06&k=45548
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Oregon State University offers new water conflict management degree (Associated Press, Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1351776~Oregon_State_offers_new_water_conflict_management_degree.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Higher Water Rates May Be Ahead for PO Residents (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/20/higher-water-rates-ahead-for-po-residents/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? YES: Solar power costs will decline as PG&E power costs climb (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/ED8Q107P18.DTL
The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? NO: Panels aren't a good investment at today's electric prices (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/ED8Q107P0T.DTL
Are Tax Credits the Best Way To Drive Renewable Energy Investments? (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reinsider/story?id=52181&src=rss
Why tribes may be key players in eco-energy – Native Green Energy sees vast potential in installing wind turbines on Indian reservations. (Everett Herald)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20080421/NEWS01/308670137
CONSERVATION
Tri-City builders going green (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/155099.html
Do monster homes use more energy? (The San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/18/BA7TVQR5O.DTL
Bill Nye, the Science Guy – Greener Pastures – This old house: It wasn’t green when I bought it two years ago. It had single-paned windows, a heat-pump-style air-conditioning and heating system and all incandescent lights. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20wwln-domains-t.html?_r=1&ex=1366430400&en=aff1701c4b2576c1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
United Kingdom – Scots fail to see the light over new bulbs – Energy-saving light bulbs are being used far less in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK (The Scotsman)
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Scots--fail-to-see.4001440.jp
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
St. Helens glacier apparently one of few in the world still growing (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04212008_St-Helens-glacier-apparently-one-of-few-in-the-world-still-growing.cfm/
Earth to us: Talking green isn't the same as living green (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1208381117231310.xml&coll=7
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Companies upset over likely Grant County PUD fiber costs (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/news02.txt
From critic of Click! to business partner – Times do change. Pierce County telecom entrepreneur Brian “Skip” Haynes once hated the very idea of Tacoma Power’s Click!Network. (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/340520.html
Bend Internet Provider Changes Prices, Angers Heavy Users (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/bend-internet-provider-changes-prices-angers-heavy-users/
PocketiNet to help keep Tri-Citians online – The Internet is the lifeline of Jane Winslow's graphic design and marketing business in Richland, and a new backup channel should ensure her business doesn't go off-line. “…reliability and provide an immediate back-up in case there's fiber outage in the Seattle region…” (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/160934.html
Utah – Should cities deploy fiber networks? (Provo Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263237/18/
Utah – Clash between Utopia and telecom giants rages on (Salt Lake Tribune)
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_8984709?source=rss
Utah – Head Hammer: Don't rush into fiber-optics debt – Cities of the UTOPIA consortium -- the publicly owned fiber-optics network -- are considering this week whether to obligate taxpayers on a plan that would extend bond guarantees from 20 years to 33 years. (Provo Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263243/3/
Ashburn Firm to Build Portable WiFi Systems for Army “…network units that are sturdy enough to stand up to harsh field conditions, easy to transport and meet the military's stringent security requirements…” (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042001788.html?nav=rss_technology
Cynic Alert! Move to digital TV could cost some cable customers – 28 million who receive analog service may have reason to watch their wallets (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/359828_digitaltv21.html?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Jet stream found to be permanently drifting north (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/17918694.html
HIGHWAY THREE FUEL TANKS NEAR SHELTON TAKE A TUMBLE – FUEL TANK REMOVAL TO BEGIN TODAY – The removal of the final fuel tank at Oakland Bay Marina is scheduled to start today. Motorists who drive Highway 3 will encounter flagger controlled single lane of traffic in front of the Shelton Yacht Club today and tomorrow as crews prepare the tank for removal. Work hours are 9am to 2pm. On Wednesday, that traffic will be routed to the gravel parking lot at the marina while a crane is moved into place. Traffic will be stopped at 10:30am as the tank will be moved from its current location on the north side of the Highway to the parking lot where it will be cut up. This traffic shutdown is only supposed to last 20 minutes. Motorist should expected delays and plan accordingly. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Squaxin Island Tribe to take possession of art (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/424479.html
Mail carrier accused of vandalizing trees on route – Neighbors say their mail carrier maliciously damaged dozens of their flowering trees. The carrier said the tree branches scraped his delivery car and blocked his view. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04172008_Mail-carrier-accused-of-vandalizing-trees-on-route.cfm?newsletter=2
2005 Tumwater/Mason County missing person case may be solved – (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/423750.html
Seattle Times Editorial – A gasoline conspiracy?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004362539_gased21.html
DIVERSIONS
Lucy's Laugh Enlivens the Solar System – Lucy Goes to Jupiter: “…A few television signals bounced off the surface of our planet or shot straight up into the sky and continued onward…” (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89700174&ft=1&f=3
Adrift Pooch Is Plucked From Pacific Isle
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15933868/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible
Cops: Teen Arrested In Drug Sting Set Up By Rivals School's Principal
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15933892/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible
Jingle Hell – The diabolical geniuses behind Subway's "five-dollar foot-long" song.
http://www.slate.com/id/2189472/?from=rss
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams – Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams get 44-year renewal
- Everett Herald Op/Ed – Energy challenges also create opportunities
- Police dog tracks down suspected wire thief near Vader
- NRECA Names WPUDA’s Connections ‘Best Magazine’
- Energy industry says more plant construction needed
- North Carolina – Final Environmental Impact Statement for Alcoa’s Hydroelectric Projects
- Ameren ironing out details for $10 million in incentives
- Waste heat: The next frontier for clean-tech companies
- New Chartwell report examines electric utility storm Web sites and online outage strategies
- Grant PUD Fish Passage @ Wanapum – Man-made Waterfall May Help Fish
- The mystery of Oregon's missing salmon
- Chinook sport-fishing season to end soon
- Willamette full of surprises for spring salmon anglers
- Oh No! Giant Salmon Eating our Young!
- Tribal charge dismissed against Makah whalers
- University of Idaho researchers create web site for Elwha Dam removal process
- Get down! Orcas on the attack
- Oregon State University offers new water conflict management degree
- Higher Water Rates May Be Ahead for PO Residents
- The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? YES: Solar power costs will decline
- The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? NO: Panels aren't a good investment
- Are Tax Credits the Best Way To Drive Renewable Energy Investments?
- Why tribes may be key players in eco-energy
- Tri-City builders going green
- Do monster homes use more energy?
- Bill Nye, the Science Guy – Greener Pastures – This old house
- United Kingdom – Scots fail to see the light over new bulbs
- St. Helens glacier apparently one of few in the world still growing
- Earth to us: Talking green isn't the same as living green
- Companies upset over likely Grant County PUD fiber costs
- From critic of Click! to business partner – Times do change
- Bend Internet Provider Changes Prices, Angers Heavy Users
- PocketiNet to help keep Tri-Citians online
- Utah – Should cities deploy fiber networks?
- Utah – Clash between Utopia and telecom giants rages on
- Utah – Head Hammer: Don't rush into fiber-optics debt
- Ashburn Firm to Build Portable WiFi Systems for Army
- Cynic Alert! Move to digital TV could cost some cable customers
- Jet stream found to be permanently drifting north
- Highway Three Fuel Tanks Near Shelton Take A Tumble – Fuel Tank Removal To Begin Today
- Squaxin Island Tribe to take possession of art
- Mail carrier accused of vandalizing trees on route
- 2005 Tumwater/Mason County missing person case may be solved
- Seattle Times Editorial – A gasoline conspiracy?
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Rescript • \REE-skript\ • noun – 1: a written answer of a Roman emperor or of a pope to a legal inquiry or petition 2: an official or authoritative order, decree, edict, or announcement *3: an act or instance of rewriting
“Bring me my sealing wax and signet ring,” thundered the regional potentate. “Your request for an extra helping of tofu from the cafeteria is worthy of my rescript,” the head of the community college’s kitchen staff intoned. “Power is measured in relative terms,” mused the hungry student.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams – Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams get 44-year renewal (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/NEWS04/10231706
Everett Herald Op/Ed – Energy challenges also create opportunities, Eric Teegarden
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080419/OPINION03/149952913
Police dog tracks down suspected wire thief near Vader (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04182008news306403.cfm
NRECA NAMES WPUDA’s CONNECTIONS ‘BEST MAGAZINE’ – The Washington PUD Association’s quarterly magazine, Connections, has been named “Best Magazine” among statewide organizations by the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association. The Award of Excellence will be presented next month at Connect 2008, the annual NRECA communicator’s conference, which will be held in Portland. Second place in the Service Members category went to the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives for its Carolina Country magazine. (WPUDA Friday Fax)
Energy industry says more plant construction needed – Environmentalists argue more energy efficiency could greatly reduce the need for a huge new wave of power plants and transmission lines. In two studies out Monday, the power industry gives its terse response: Don't count on it. (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2008-04-20-energy-conservation-power-plants_N.htm?csp=34
North Carolina – Final Environmental Impact Statement for Alcoa’s Yadkin and Yadkin-Pee Dee River Hydroelectric Projects (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2008/04-18-08.asp
Ameren ironing out details for $10 million in incentives – The utility could hand out twice as much in 2009 (St. Louis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/04/21/focus7.html?ana=from_rss
Waste heat: The next frontier for clean-tech companies (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9921561-54.html
New Chartwell report examines electric utility storm Web sites and online outage strategies (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=326274&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss
FISH & WILDLIFE
Grant PUD Fish Passage @ Wanapum – Man-made Waterfall May Help Fish (KPLU Radio, Tacoma)
http://publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1263713§ionID=1
The mystery of Oregon's missing salmon – Ever fewer Sacramento River Chinook survive the journey from inland California to the Oregon coast (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/12084999086460.xml&coll=7
Chinook sport-fishing season to end soon (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04172008_Chinook-sport-fishing-season-to-end-soon.cfm?newsletter=2
Willamette full of surprises for spring salmon anglers (KATU-TV, Portland)
http://www.katu.com/news/outdoors/17962714.html
Oh No! Giant Salmon Eating our Young! – This one didn't get away, but real ones might (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/BAON108VMD.DTL&o=0
Tribal charge dismissed against Makah whalers (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080420/NEWS/804200305
University of Idaho researchers create web site for Elwha Dam removal process (Associated Press, Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1350819~UI_researchers_create_dam_resource_Web_site.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines
Get down! Orcas on the attack (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=4db2f749-44d4-47bb-9cd5-6248c1475b06&k=45548
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Oregon State University offers new water conflict management degree (Associated Press, Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1351776~Oregon_State_offers_new_water_conflict_management_degree.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Higher Water Rates May Be Ahead for PO Residents (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/20/higher-water-rates-ahead-for-po-residents/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? YES: Solar power costs will decline as PG&E power costs climb (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/21/ED8Q107P18.DTL
The Solar Debate – Will solar panels save you money? NO: Panels aren't a good investment at today's electric prices (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/ED8Q107P0T.DTL
Are Tax Credits the Best Way To Drive Renewable Energy Investments? (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reinsider/story?id=52181&src=rss
Why tribes may be key players in eco-energy – Native Green Energy sees vast potential in installing wind turbines on Indian reservations. (Everett Herald)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20080421/NEWS01/308670137
CONSERVATION
Tri-City builders going green (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/155099.html
Do monster homes use more energy? (The San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/18/BA7TVQR5O.DTL
Bill Nye, the Science Guy – Greener Pastures – This old house: It wasn’t green when I bought it two years ago. It had single-paned windows, a heat-pump-style air-conditioning and heating system and all incandescent lights. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20wwln-domains-t.html?_r=1&ex=1366430400&en=aff1701c4b2576c1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
United Kingdom – Scots fail to see the light over new bulbs – Energy-saving light bulbs are being used far less in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK (The Scotsman)
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Scots--fail-to-see.4001440.jp
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
St. Helens glacier apparently one of few in the world still growing (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04212008_St-Helens-glacier-apparently-one-of-few-in-the-world-still-growing.cfm/
Earth to us: Talking green isn't the same as living green (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1208381117231310.xml&coll=7
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Companies upset over likely Grant County PUD fiber costs (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/18/news/news02.txt
From critic of Click! to business partner – Times do change. Pierce County telecom entrepreneur Brian “Skip” Haynes once hated the very idea of Tacoma Power’s Click!Network. (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/340520.html
Bend Internet Provider Changes Prices, Angers Heavy Users (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/bend-internet-provider-changes-prices-angers-heavy-users/
PocketiNet to help keep Tri-Citians online – The Internet is the lifeline of Jane Winslow's graphic design and marketing business in Richland, and a new backup channel should ensure her business doesn't go off-line. “…reliability and provide an immediate back-up in case there's fiber outage in the Seattle region…” (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/160934.html
Utah – Should cities deploy fiber networks? (Provo Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263237/18/
Utah – Clash between Utopia and telecom giants rages on (Salt Lake Tribune)
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_8984709?source=rss
Utah – Head Hammer: Don't rush into fiber-optics debt – Cities of the UTOPIA consortium -- the publicly owned fiber-optics network -- are considering this week whether to obligate taxpayers on a plan that would extend bond guarantees from 20 years to 33 years. (Provo Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263243/3/
Ashburn Firm to Build Portable WiFi Systems for Army “…network units that are sturdy enough to stand up to harsh field conditions, easy to transport and meet the military's stringent security requirements…” (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042001788.html?nav=rss_technology
Cynic Alert! Move to digital TV could cost some cable customers – 28 million who receive analog service may have reason to watch their wallets (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/359828_digitaltv21.html?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Jet stream found to be permanently drifting north (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/17918694.html
HIGHWAY THREE FUEL TANKS NEAR SHELTON TAKE A TUMBLE – FUEL TANK REMOVAL TO BEGIN TODAY – The removal of the final fuel tank at Oakland Bay Marina is scheduled to start today. Motorists who drive Highway 3 will encounter flagger controlled single lane of traffic in front of the Shelton Yacht Club today and tomorrow as crews prepare the tank for removal. Work hours are 9am to 2pm. On Wednesday, that traffic will be routed to the gravel parking lot at the marina while a crane is moved into place. Traffic will be stopped at 10:30am as the tank will be moved from its current location on the north side of the Highway to the parking lot where it will be cut up. This traffic shutdown is only supposed to last 20 minutes. Motorist should expected delays and plan accordingly. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Squaxin Island Tribe to take possession of art (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/424479.html
Mail carrier accused of vandalizing trees on route – Neighbors say their mail carrier maliciously damaged dozens of their flowering trees. The carrier said the tree branches scraped his delivery car and blocked his view. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04172008_Mail-carrier-accused-of-vandalizing-trees-on-route.cfm?newsletter=2
2005 Tumwater/Mason County missing person case may be solved – (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/423750.html
Seattle Times Editorial – A gasoline conspiracy?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004362539_gased21.html
DIVERSIONS
Lucy's Laugh Enlivens the Solar System – Lucy Goes to Jupiter: “…A few television signals bounced off the surface of our planet or shot straight up into the sky and continued onward…” (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89700174&ft=1&f=3
Adrift Pooch Is Plucked From Pacific Isle
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15933868/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible
Cops: Teen Arrested In Drug Sting Set Up By Rivals School's Principal
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15933892/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible
Jingle Hell – The diabolical geniuses behind Subway's "five-dollar foot-long" song.
http://www.slate.com/id/2189472/?from=rss
Friday, April 18, 2008
Energy News Digest for April 18, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Federal regulator clears Puget Energy sale
- NorthWestern Energy – Power company says carbon tax muddies plans
- NHA Recognizes Five Hydropower Projects for Extraordinary Achievement – Chelan PUD & Seattle City Light among honorees
- DOE Announces Membership of New Electricity Advisory Committee – Ed. Note: Vicky Van Zandt from BPA is on the board
- New Jersey's energy future may include new nuclear plant
- Abundant clean energy in your backyard –new natural gas discoveries in the United States
- How many gallons of water do you need to power a light bulb?
- Oregon, Washington allowed to kill salmon-eating sea lions
- PacifiCorp to limit turbines to help endangered Klamath fish
- Oregon Counties Considering New Dam In Coast Range
- Group names Oregon's Rogue River to threatened rivers list
- Tribe asks to halt new Mason County wells
- Montana – Tribes' water claims wind through process
- Southern California water wholesaler sued over drought allocation plan
- A Communal Drug Test via the Sewer
- The Eugene Water & Electric Board stakes ownership claim White Creek in wind farm
- Why British Columbia is failing to exploit its full potential of generating clean electricity
- Wisconsin Public Service Corporation may buy hydroelectric power from Canada
- San Jose solar-panel maker SunPower profits up nearly 1,000 percent
- California – Marin County, Pacific Gas & Electric fight shapes up over green power
- Tri City Herald Op/Ed – Ethanol subsidies a double-whammy
- Australia – Oil man's profit bid in green energy
- PUD 3 Providing Compact Fluorescent Bulb Recycling
- Breaking the Efficiency Gridlock – The Smart Grid could fix a big obstacle to efficiency—us
- Oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide
- Green With Envy – Seven things Portland should do if we’re serious about being green
- Devastation in the Legislature – Climate Change In Our Rivers And Oceans
- FCC wrangles over 'Net neutrality' issue
- Google Revenue Beats Expectation, Shares Surge
- AT&T Still Predicts 2010 Internet Demise
- If snow shows, it will set record – Inch forecast for Friday would be Seattle's latest ever
- Attorney General says no gas price gouging in Washington State
- Washington is a ‘fuel island,’ driving pump prices higher
- Meanwhile: NW drivers cutting back big time on gas consumption
- Flu season was worst in 4 years
- USDA Nails Wolf Haven Director With 35 violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act
- Copper prices soar to record on Chile strike, then retreat
- A warning for those recycling electronics
- Venting Seattle Mayor Nickels suggests secession
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
semelparous • \seh-MEL-puh-rus\ • adjective – Reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime
“OK folks, you have only one chance at this, so make it your best effort,” warbled the hatchery manager to her tiny charges as they swam out into the river on their long trip to the sea. “It’s the return trip I’m looking forward to,” she said of her semalparous “children”.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Federal regulator clears Puget Energy sale – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Thursday the proposed takeover of Puget Energy by a group of Australian and Canadian investors (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004355924_webpugetsound17.html?syndication=rss
NorthWestern Energy – Power company says carbon tax muddies plans – told regulators Wednesday that rising fuel costs and the potential for carbon taxes are making it difficult to map the utility's energy future. (Associated Press, via Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/04/17/ap4902772.html
Chelan PUD receives award from the National Hydropower Association for security improvements (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080417/NEWS04/592549491/1025/rss1025
News Release – NHA Recognizes Five Hydropower Projects for Extraordinary Achievement – Chelan PUD & Seattle City Light among honorees (National Hydropower Association)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/story?id=52211
U.S. Department of Energy announces new “Texas-Heavy” Electricity Advisory Committee (Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/041808dnbuscommittee.72756825.html
Here’s the news release – DOE Announces Membership of New Electricity Advisory Committee – Ed. Note: Vicky Van Zandt from BPA is on the board (US Department of Energy)
http://www.energy.gov/news/6158.htm
New Jersey's energy future may include new nuclear plant (Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/NEWS0301/804180371
Abundant clean energy in your backyard – New technologies and higher prices are leading to big new natural gas discoveries in the United States (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/17/news/economy/natural_gas/index.htm?section=money_latest
How many gallons of water do you need to power a light bulb? “…geothermal and hydroelectric energy use the least amount of water, while nuclear plants use the most…” (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9921125-54.html?tag=nl.e433
FISH & WILDLIFE
Oregon, Washington allowed to kill salmon-eating sea lions “…shooting the animals would harm Columbia River kayakers and others who have relationships with individual sea lions…” (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9bdbfe1d-8b90-4a26-bbbd-478078cfab6d
PacifiCorp to limit turbines to help endangered Klamath fish (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346416~PacifiCorp_to_limit_turbines_to_help_endangered_Klamath_fish.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Oregon Counties Considering New Dam In Coast Range – Twenty years after a dam was removed from the Upper Siletz River, officials in Polk and Lincoln Counties are considering a new dam to help supply drinking water (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/counties-considering-new-dam-coast-range/
Group names Oregon's Rogue River to threatened rivers list (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346533~Group_names_Oregon_s_Rogue_River_to_threatened_rivers_list.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tribe asks to halt new Mason County wells – Squaxins say water withdrawal could hurt Johns Creek (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/421730.html
Montana – Tribes' water claims wind through process – Federal funding remains most difficult issue in negotiations (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/04/17/news/state/48-waterclaims.txt
Southern California water wholesaler sued over drought allocation plan (Los Angeles Times, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1347883~SoCal_water_wholesaler_sued_over_drought_allocation_plan.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines
A Communal Drug Test via the Sewer – In Oregon, a team of scientists is making an ambitious attempt to figure out which illegal drugs residents are using (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89723389&ft=1&f=17
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The Eugene Water & Electric Board stakes ownership claim White Creek in wind farm – EWEB moved to broaden its energy portfolio Tuesday when commissioners agreed to buy part ownership in a proposed wind farm in Washington State. (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=94113&sid=4&fid=2
Straight.com Commentary – Why British Columbia is failing to exploit its full potential of generating clean electricity
http://www.straight.com/article-140989/why-bcis-failing-exploit-its-full-potential-generating-clean-electricity
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation may buy hydroelectric power from Canada – includes 500-megawatt purchase of electric capacity, energy and renewable attributes “…carbon-neutral electric resource into our supply portfolio…” (The Business Journal of Milwaukee)
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/14/daily44.html?ana=from_rss
San Jose solar-panel maker SunPower profits up nearly 1,000 percent (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8958842?source=rss
California – Marin County, Pacific Gas & Electric fight shapes up over green power (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjnqoqqmTTlit9K%22bfen%5Fv
Tri City Herald Op/Ed – Ethanol subsidies a double-whammy “…ethanol leads only to higher food prices and greater greenhouse gas emissions…”
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/987/story/159358.html
Australia – Oil man's profit bid in green energy – Legendary Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10.7 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm -- but he expects to turn a buck. (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23562609-5005200,00.html
CONSERVATION
PUD 3 PROVIDING COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULB RECYCLING – Mason County PUD No. 3 will be offering its customers a place to recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs. The use of these energy efficient bulbs has increased and PUD 3 officials say it is logical that customers be given a way to conveniently and safely recycle burned out bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury - five milligrams - and need to be disposed of properly so the PUD has partnered with the City of Shelton and Mason County to recycle the bulbs with a certified recycling firm in Seattle. Customers can take their burned out compact fluorescent light bulbs to the PUD offices in Shelton or Belfair. Those bulbs will then be taken to the County's recycling station on Eells Hill Road. When bringing bulbs in for recycling, customers are asked to place them carefully in the correct slot as damaged or broken bulbs will not be accepted. Officials believe this recycling opportunity will be as popular and successful as the PUD's battery recycling. Compact fluorescent light bulbs can last up to 10,000 hours and use 70% less electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs that only last 1,000 hours. KMAS (Radio, Shelton)
Breaking the Efficiency Gridlock – The Smart Grid could fix a big obstacle to efficiency—us (Mother Jones Magazine)
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/05/breaking-the-efficiency-gridlock.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c3df8849-d928-43b0-ad9e-0779a37b4609
Green With Envy – Seven things Portland should do if we’re serious about being green “…Portland had one contaminated site for every 34 people, making us the country’s third “most toxic” city…” OUCH! (Willamette Weekly)
http://wweek.com/editorial/3423/10806/
Devastation in the Legislature – Climate Change In Our Rivers And Oceans (Eugene Weekly)
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/04/17/coverstory3.html
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
FCC wrangles over 'Net neutrality' issue (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004353381_apinternetregulation.html?syndication=rss
Google Revenue Beats Expectation, Shares Surge
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080418/tc_cmp/207400425
AT&T Still Predicts 2010 Internet Demise – But don't worry, they're spending a lot of money to keep you safe (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Still-Predicts-2010-Internet-Demise-93700
GENERAL NEWS
If snow shows, it will set record – Inch forecast for Friday would be Seattle's latest ever (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359569_snow18.html
Attorney General says no gas price gouging in Washington State (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/04/14/daily28.html?ana=from_rss
Washington is a ‘fuel island,’ driving pump prices higher (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/338510.html
Meanwhile: NW drivers cutting back big time on gas consumption (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_041708WAB_northwest_gas_consumption_study_TP.72a2abcc.html
Flu season was worst in 4 years (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/422828.html
USDA Nails Wolf Haven Director With 35 violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15917448/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Copper prices soar to record on Chile strike, then retreat (Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/16/financial/f112744D18.DTL&feed=rss.business
A warning for those recycling electronics – Concerns are raised about where junk taken to free events ends up (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359577_computer18.html?source=rss
Venting Seattle Mayor Nickels suggests secession Ed. Note: watch, as I roll my eyes, “…We have rural legislators making decisions on things like the viaduct and whether we can keep our city safe…” (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004357406_mayors18m.html?syndication=rss
DIVERSIONS
Oregon man who claimed dog was imposter reunited with right pooch
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346806~Man_who_claimed_dog_was_imposter_reunited_with_right_pooch.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Stanford law prof takes on 'Potter' – Think Lord Voldemort was scary? You should meet his lawyers.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8965866?source=rss
Teensy thief crawls in mail flap
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1870795220080418?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Get the right name and open doors for your child
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1747226920080417?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Federal regulator clears Puget Energy sale
- NorthWestern Energy – Power company says carbon tax muddies plans
- NHA Recognizes Five Hydropower Projects for Extraordinary Achievement – Chelan PUD & Seattle City Light among honorees
- DOE Announces Membership of New Electricity Advisory Committee – Ed. Note: Vicky Van Zandt from BPA is on the board
- New Jersey's energy future may include new nuclear plant
- Abundant clean energy in your backyard –new natural gas discoveries in the United States
- How many gallons of water do you need to power a light bulb?
- Oregon, Washington allowed to kill salmon-eating sea lions
- PacifiCorp to limit turbines to help endangered Klamath fish
- Oregon Counties Considering New Dam In Coast Range
- Group names Oregon's Rogue River to threatened rivers list
- Tribe asks to halt new Mason County wells
- Montana – Tribes' water claims wind through process
- Southern California water wholesaler sued over drought allocation plan
- A Communal Drug Test via the Sewer
- The Eugene Water & Electric Board stakes ownership claim White Creek in wind farm
- Why British Columbia is failing to exploit its full potential of generating clean electricity
- Wisconsin Public Service Corporation may buy hydroelectric power from Canada
- San Jose solar-panel maker SunPower profits up nearly 1,000 percent
- California – Marin County, Pacific Gas & Electric fight shapes up over green power
- Tri City Herald Op/Ed – Ethanol subsidies a double-whammy
- Australia – Oil man's profit bid in green energy
- PUD 3 Providing Compact Fluorescent Bulb Recycling
- Breaking the Efficiency Gridlock – The Smart Grid could fix a big obstacle to efficiency—us
- Oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide
- Green With Envy – Seven things Portland should do if we’re serious about being green
- Devastation in the Legislature – Climate Change In Our Rivers And Oceans
- FCC wrangles over 'Net neutrality' issue
- Google Revenue Beats Expectation, Shares Surge
- AT&T Still Predicts 2010 Internet Demise
- If snow shows, it will set record – Inch forecast for Friday would be Seattle's latest ever
- Attorney General says no gas price gouging in Washington State
- Washington is a ‘fuel island,’ driving pump prices higher
- Meanwhile: NW drivers cutting back big time on gas consumption
- Flu season was worst in 4 years
- USDA Nails Wolf Haven Director With 35 violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act
- Copper prices soar to record on Chile strike, then retreat
- A warning for those recycling electronics
- Venting Seattle Mayor Nickels suggests secession
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
semelparous • \seh-MEL-puh-rus\ • adjective – Reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime
“OK folks, you have only one chance at this, so make it your best effort,” warbled the hatchery manager to her tiny charges as they swam out into the river on their long trip to the sea. “It’s the return trip I’m looking forward to,” she said of her semalparous “children”.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Federal regulator clears Puget Energy sale – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Thursday the proposed takeover of Puget Energy by a group of Australian and Canadian investors (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004355924_webpugetsound17.html?syndication=rss
NorthWestern Energy – Power company says carbon tax muddies plans – told regulators Wednesday that rising fuel costs and the potential for carbon taxes are making it difficult to map the utility's energy future. (Associated Press, via Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/04/17/ap4902772.html
Chelan PUD receives award from the National Hydropower Association for security improvements (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080417/NEWS04/592549491/1025/rss1025
News Release – NHA Recognizes Five Hydropower Projects for Extraordinary Achievement – Chelan PUD & Seattle City Light among honorees (National Hydropower Association)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/story?id=52211
U.S. Department of Energy announces new “Texas-Heavy” Electricity Advisory Committee (Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/041808dnbuscommittee.72756825.html
Here’s the news release – DOE Announces Membership of New Electricity Advisory Committee – Ed. Note: Vicky Van Zandt from BPA is on the board (US Department of Energy)
http://www.energy.gov/news/6158.htm
New Jersey's energy future may include new nuclear plant (Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/NEWS0301/804180371
Abundant clean energy in your backyard – New technologies and higher prices are leading to big new natural gas discoveries in the United States (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/17/news/economy/natural_gas/index.htm?section=money_latest
How many gallons of water do you need to power a light bulb? “…geothermal and hydroelectric energy use the least amount of water, while nuclear plants use the most…” (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9921125-54.html?tag=nl.e433
FISH & WILDLIFE
Oregon, Washington allowed to kill salmon-eating sea lions “…shooting the animals would harm Columbia River kayakers and others who have relationships with individual sea lions…” (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=9bdbfe1d-8b90-4a26-bbbd-478078cfab6d
PacifiCorp to limit turbines to help endangered Klamath fish (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346416~PacifiCorp_to_limit_turbines_to_help_endangered_Klamath_fish.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Oregon Counties Considering New Dam In Coast Range – Twenty years after a dam was removed from the Upper Siletz River, officials in Polk and Lincoln Counties are considering a new dam to help supply drinking water (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/counties-considering-new-dam-coast-range/
Group names Oregon's Rogue River to threatened rivers list (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346533~Group_names_Oregon_s_Rogue_River_to_threatened_rivers_list.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Tribe asks to halt new Mason County wells – Squaxins say water withdrawal could hurt Johns Creek (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/421730.html
Montana – Tribes' water claims wind through process – Federal funding remains most difficult issue in negotiations (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/04/17/news/state/48-waterclaims.txt
Southern California water wholesaler sued over drought allocation plan (Los Angeles Times, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1347883~SoCal_water_wholesaler_sued_over_drought_allocation_plan.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines
A Communal Drug Test via the Sewer – In Oregon, a team of scientists is making an ambitious attempt to figure out which illegal drugs residents are using (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89723389&ft=1&f=17
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
The Eugene Water & Electric Board stakes ownership claim White Creek in wind farm – EWEB moved to broaden its energy portfolio Tuesday when commissioners agreed to buy part ownership in a proposed wind farm in Washington State. (Eugene Register Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=94113&sid=4&fid=2
Straight.com Commentary – Why British Columbia is failing to exploit its full potential of generating clean electricity
http://www.straight.com/article-140989/why-bcis-failing-exploit-its-full-potential-generating-clean-electricity
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation may buy hydroelectric power from Canada – includes 500-megawatt purchase of electric capacity, energy and renewable attributes “…carbon-neutral electric resource into our supply portfolio…” (The Business Journal of Milwaukee)
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/14/daily44.html?ana=from_rss
San Jose solar-panel maker SunPower profits up nearly 1,000 percent (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8958842?source=rss
California – Marin County, Pacific Gas & Electric fight shapes up over green power (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjnqoqqmTTlit9K%22bfen%5Fv
Tri City Herald Op/Ed – Ethanol subsidies a double-whammy “…ethanol leads only to higher food prices and greater greenhouse gas emissions…”
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/987/story/159358.html
Australia – Oil man's profit bid in green energy – Legendary Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10.7 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm -- but he expects to turn a buck. (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23562609-5005200,00.html
CONSERVATION
PUD 3 PROVIDING COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULB RECYCLING – Mason County PUD No. 3 will be offering its customers a place to recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs. The use of these energy efficient bulbs has increased and PUD 3 officials say it is logical that customers be given a way to conveniently and safely recycle burned out bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury - five milligrams - and need to be disposed of properly so the PUD has partnered with the City of Shelton and Mason County to recycle the bulbs with a certified recycling firm in Seattle. Customers can take their burned out compact fluorescent light bulbs to the PUD offices in Shelton or Belfair. Those bulbs will then be taken to the County's recycling station on Eells Hill Road. When bringing bulbs in for recycling, customers are asked to place them carefully in the correct slot as damaged or broken bulbs will not be accepted. Officials believe this recycling opportunity will be as popular and successful as the PUD's battery recycling. Compact fluorescent light bulbs can last up to 10,000 hours and use 70% less electricity than conventional incandescent bulbs that only last 1,000 hours. KMAS (Radio, Shelton)
Breaking the Efficiency Gridlock – The Smart Grid could fix a big obstacle to efficiency—us (Mother Jones Magazine)
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/05/breaking-the-efficiency-gridlock.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c3df8849-d928-43b0-ad9e-0779a37b4609
Green With Envy – Seven things Portland should do if we’re serious about being green “…Portland had one contaminated site for every 34 people, making us the country’s third “most toxic” city…” OUCH! (Willamette Weekly)
http://wweek.com/editorial/3423/10806/
Devastation in the Legislature – Climate Change In Our Rivers And Oceans (Eugene Weekly)
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/04/17/coverstory3.html
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
FCC wrangles over 'Net neutrality' issue (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004353381_apinternetregulation.html?syndication=rss
Google Revenue Beats Expectation, Shares Surge
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080418/tc_cmp/207400425
AT&T Still Predicts 2010 Internet Demise – But don't worry, they're spending a lot of money to keep you safe (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Still-Predicts-2010-Internet-Demise-93700
GENERAL NEWS
If snow shows, it will set record – Inch forecast for Friday would be Seattle's latest ever (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359569_snow18.html
Attorney General says no gas price gouging in Washington State (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/04/14/daily28.html?ana=from_rss
Washington is a ‘fuel island,’ driving pump prices higher (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/338510.html
Meanwhile: NW drivers cutting back big time on gas consumption (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_041708WAB_northwest_gas_consumption_study_TP.72a2abcc.html
Flu season was worst in 4 years (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/422828.html
USDA Nails Wolf Haven Director With 35 violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15917448/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Copper prices soar to record on Chile strike, then retreat (Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/04/16/financial/f112744D18.DTL&feed=rss.business
A warning for those recycling electronics – Concerns are raised about where junk taken to free events ends up (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359577_computer18.html?source=rss
Venting Seattle Mayor Nickels suggests secession Ed. Note: watch, as I roll my eyes, “…We have rural legislators making decisions on things like the viaduct and whether we can keep our city safe…” (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004357406_mayors18m.html?syndication=rss
DIVERSIONS
Oregon man who claimed dog was imposter reunited with right pooch
http://www.examiner.com/a-1346806~Man_who_claimed_dog_was_imposter_reunited_with_right_pooch.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Stanford law prof takes on 'Potter' – Think Lord Voldemort was scary? You should meet his lawyers.
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8965866?source=rss
Teensy thief crawls in mail flap
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1870795220080418?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Get the right name and open doors for your child
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1747226920080417?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
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