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)
- Snowfall this season could match record
- California – New storms to hit state with thousands in dark
- Hazards follow power outages
- Colorado – Daily Camera Op/Ed: Electric heat is a dirty business
- Congressional Research Reports – Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
- Major power line sought for Vancouver Island – Existing system seen as unreliable
- Montana – Global warming's political winds leave energy producers wary of coal
- State of Oregon hints of conflict in firm's 2 LNG studies
- Shifting to LNG just trades devil for witch, energy expert says
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E expects 7 percent drop in natural gas bills
- New energy in nuclear power supply battle
- Bonneville sea lions may come under fire
- Warming could fry salmon
- Tide is Changing at PNW Salmon Center in Belfair
- Montana – Panelist will seek day in killing fish
- Group opposes Columbia Basin irrigation expansion
- East Oregon – Dam goes down in Pilot Rock
- Agencies aim to clean up Puget Sound
- Geoduck: the weird clam worth a fortune
- Orange County recycles water from toilet to tap
- Environmentalists push $1 million program to save urban trees
- Richland company on track with biodiesel
- Animal waste: Future energy, or just hot air?
- Saving Earth saves you money
- Canada’s boreal forests the Fort Knox of carbon
- A melting archive of climate clues
- Study says North Atlantic waters may be warming naturally
- 'Green' product claims are about to receive some federal scrutiny
- Big Ideas: Buying your way out of carbon debt
- Fiber optics bring Othello the world Montana – 3 cities in hunt for state server site
- Noontime Web Video Revitalizes Lunch at Desk
- The Well-Wired Use Libraries More
- Your primary vote will cost you an oath
- Theler Center Aid Comes at a Cost
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Boycott • \BOY-kaht\ • verb – To engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions
Ambrose’s global warming protest was less than successful. It seems that his idea to boycott his own carbon dioxide emissions by not breathing was a fatal mistake.
From Merriam-Webster online – Did you know? In the 1870s, Irish farmers faced an agricultural crisis that threatened to result in a repeat of the terrible famine and mass evictions of the 1840s. Anticipating financial ruin, they formed a Land League to campaign against the rent increases and evictions landlords were imposing as a result of the crisis. Retired British army captain Charles Boycott had the misfortune to be acting as an agent for an absentee landlord at the time, and when he tried to evict tenant farmers for refusing to pay their rent, he was ostracized by the League and community. His laborers and servants quit, and his crops began to rot. Boycott's fate was soon well known, and his name became a byword for that particular protest strategy.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Snowfall this season could match record – If the current weather holds out, snowfall could match the historical record set in 1998-99 when the last strong La Niña rolled in from the Pacific Ocean (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004111268_snowpack07m.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
California – New storms to hit state with thousands in dark. More than 200,000 homes, businesses without power as more heavy rain, snow nears California (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7902212?nclick_check=1
Hazards follow power outages – Spoiled food, improper indoor heating and even candlelight carry big risks, experts warn. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/612812.html
From the bad timing department – Virginia: Switch back to TVA for Briston Virginia Utilities leaves some in cold. Cold temperatures and a switch in power providers combined Wednesday morning to leave thousands of city residents shivering in the dark. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Chlnnqrw%5BShf%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
Colorado – Daily Camera Op/Ed: Electric heat is a dirty business
http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/jan/06/electric-heat-is-a-dirty-business/
Congressional Research Reports – Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: A Summary of Major Provisions
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34294
Major power line sought for Vancouver Island – Existing system seen as unreliable (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=3a70583d-8351-42ad-9b4f-212b814ad8ca&k=94327
Energy Pulse Commentary – Continental Grid Vision Needed
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1638
Montana – Global warming's political winds leave energy producers wary of coal (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/01/07/news/local/znews04.txt
Oregon –The Coos County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday officially approved a land use application for a marine terminal on the North Spit of Coos Bay. (Bandon Western World)
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/01/03/news/doc477d37e05ba40488273624.txt
State of Oregon hints of conflict in firm's 2 LNG studies – Oregon is skeptical of federal assurances that the terminal and pipeline reports were independently done (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1199507118183690.xml&coll=7
Shifting to LNG just trades devil for witch, energy expert says (Arizona Star)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/business/219178.php
California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E expects 7 percent drop in natural gas bills (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/12/31/daily24.html?ana=from_rss
United Kingdom – Energy firms keep £1bn cost savings from customers. Energy companies have been accused of overcharging customers by more than £1 billion by exploiting changes in gas and electricity prices. (London Times)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3137656.ece
New energy in nuclear power supply battle – Firms jostle to be 1st in line for scarce reactor components (Chicago Tribune)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_nukejan06,0,6203019.story?coll=chi-navrailbusiness-nav
Huffington Post Commentary – Anti-Nuclear Renaissance: A Powerful but Partial and Tentative Victory Over Atomic Energy. As the presidential primary season heats up, an "anti-nuclear renaissance" against loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants will escalate, with the future of American energy policy and global warming hanging in the balance.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harvey-wasserman/antinuclear-renaissance_b_79983.html
Nessie…stay away! Loch Ness hydro tunnel makes breakthrough – A huge boring machine has completed a five mile tunnel for a £140m hydro-electric scheme it started digging 15 months ago. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7171802.stm
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Bonneville sea lions may come under fire – Sea lions making a buffet line of salmon at Bonneville Dam may arrive this spring to find armed resistance. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01062008_Bonneville-sea-lions-may-come-under-fire.cfm/
Warming could fry salmon – Salmon survived massive dams and fishing fleets, but now they're feeling the heat of global warming -- and it's likely to hammer them as hard as anything they've faced. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1199505301132330.xml&coll=7
Tide is Changing at PNW Salmon Center in Belfair – Michelle Hori named administrative manager (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/05/tide-changing-pnw-salmon-center-CNM/
Montana – Panelist will seek day in killing fish. A monkey wrench could be thrown into the state's largest native westslope cutthroat trout restoration project in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/01/06/news/state/28-fish.txt
Group opposes irrigation expansion – An environmental law and policy center based in Spokane is hoping to garner public comment against the expansion of the Columbia Basin Project. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/01/04/news/news02.txt
East Oregon – Dam goes down in Pilot Rock. “…Funding for such projects, while another obstacle, can come from a variety of sources. Money from the Bonneville Power Administration is going toward such projects in the Columbia River Basin…” (East Oregonian)
http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=71375&TM=51058.18
Agencies aim to clean up Puget Sound (Associated Press, via Contra Costa Times, may require free registration)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7896805
Geoduck: the weird clam worth a fortune – Chinese market for this West Coast seafood is thriving (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=d25ce742-9d4b-4ca9-afd3-6757c63e4fbc
Orange County recycles water from toilet to tap – As a hedge against water shortages and population growth, Orange County has begun operating the world's largest, most modern reclamation plant -- a facility that can turn 70 million gallons of treated sewage into drinking water every day. (Contra Costa Times, may require free registration)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7896813?nclick_check=1
Environmentalists push $1 million program to save urban trees – Environmentalists eager to save urban trees are promoting the Evergreen Cities campaign, naming it one of their top four priorities for the legislative session that starts next Monday. They're pushing a $1 million program to improve urban forests statewide. *Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346352_trees07.html
Seattle Timed Guest Columnist: Save Northwest forests for conifers, not condos – Brian Boyle, former State Lands Commissioner
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004110796_brianboyle07.html?syndication=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Gridlock on the Western plains – “…with the West Coast’s increasing electricity demands straining the region’s transmission grid, the race to tap into the West’s best wind sites is getting tighter—and some developers are feeling the squeeze…” (Sustainable Industries)
http://www.sustainableindustries.com/energy/13058457.html
Richland company on track with biodiesel – The Tri-City & Olympia Railroad Co. isn't going to let skyrocketing diesel costs derail its profits. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/business/v-rss/story/9557419p-9469839c.html
Animal waste: Future energy, or just hot air? (CNN.com)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/07/eco.about.manure/
CONSERVATION
Saving Earth saves you money – Seattle often pays consumers back for buying green. Local governments and utilities around here offer a variety of rebates for citizens and businesses who save energy, save water, even build eco-friendly buildings. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346177_rebates05.html
Virginia – Energy efficient lightbulb program beats expectations (The Daily Press)
http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-now-bulbs-0104,0,3676768.story?track=rss
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Boreal forests the Fort Knox of carbon – Canada's timberland a 'life-support' system for the planet, scientists say (Times-Columnist, Victoria)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=9b6e5bb9-326c-4106-98f0-da2309996df2&k=41724
OK, so which is it? (From Friday’s Energy News Digest) Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought (Vancouver Sun)http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7db30aea-db09-4bd6-8224-cc5fc447742f&k=24603
Seattle Times Editorial – "Sue and sue and sue" for emissions standards. Washington lined up with California and 14 other states to force the U.S. government out of its unfathomable foot-dragging on improving vehicle-emissions standards.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004108073_emissionsed06.html
A melting archive of climate clues (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004110015_glacier06.html
Study says North Atlantic waters may be warming naturally (CanWest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=d659aba5-2261-42be-9366-fd2003fff9a8&k=85752
'Green' product claims are about to receive some federal scrutiny – How many advertising execs does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent light bulb? So many, it seems, that Washington has decided to take a look at how Madison Avenue markets eco-friendly products. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1199498124260280.xml&coll=7
Big Ideas: Buying your way out of carbon debt – Why corporations and individuals are rushing out to go 'neutral' (The National Post, Canada)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=216074
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Fiber optics bring Othello the world – With the advent of a fiber optics system, Othello is poised for opportunity. (Othello Outlook)
http://othellooutlook.com/cgi-bin/outlook/get_story.cgi?story=Story_2&dir=01032008
Montana – 3 cities in hunt for state server site – Landing the $2 million to $3 million building to house the computerized intellectual property of the state of Montana has become a hot contest. (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/01/04/news/local/22-server.txt
Colorado – City of Glenwood Springs drafts ballot question for expanding fiber-optic network. Voters will decide in April if the city should pursue the infrastructure to provide fiber-optic connections to every home. (Glenwood Springs Post-Independent)
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080104/VALLEYNEWS/312585246
System that Made Internet Possible Turns 25 (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17872707&ft=1&f=2
A Breakthrough for TV on the Web (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/05/AR2008010500145.html?nav=rss_technology
Noontime Web Video Revitalizes Lunch at Desk – In cubicles across the country, lunchtime has become the new prime time, as workers click aside their spreadsheets to watch videos on YouTube, news highlights on CNN.com or other Web offerings. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/business/media/05video.html?_r=1&ex=1357362000&en=6229cf8d4abdac05&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
The Well-Wired Use Libraries More – Library use is far more prevalent among people who have a broadband Internet connection at home or at work, according to a new study. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/technology/07drill.html?ex=1357362000&en=979fd599f8dd347d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Your primary vote will cost you an oath – The state's Democratic and Republican parties will receive a bonus from next month's presidential primary -- the name of every voter and which party's ballot they picked. (Everett Herald – OK, so how does New Hampshire get away without these requirements?)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080106/NEWS01/486134055&news01ad=1
Theler Center Aid Comes at a Cost (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/05/theler-center-aid-comes-cost-cnm/
DIVERSIONS
Sacre Bleu! Ontario francophones under threat of assimilation – Ontario's 500,000 francophones are under constant threat of assimilation in an overwhelmingly English province, says Francophone Affairs Minister Madeleine Meilleur.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=6ca121cb-2332-4b10-a451-fad22576e6c1&k=80049
Stewart, Colbert return today
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080107/NEWS02/553447811/-1/RSS01
Punta Gorda woman bites into a rare, purple pearl
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/13114992.html
Britney Spears Rejects Visit From Dr. Phil (well wouldn’t you?)
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,320506,00.html
Bending over backwards to entertain, it's SNAKEGIRL!
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=506289&in_page_id=1811
Monday, January 7, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Energy News Digest for January 4, 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)
- Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington
- Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute
- Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark
- At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry
- Is the Coal Line at Risk?
- Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices
- Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network
- News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation
- Closure near on Columbia fish plan
- Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed
- Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution
- Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count
- Cowlitz dredging halfway done
- California – Low snowpack to get boost
- Portland General Electric Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm
- Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years
- Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up
- Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants
- For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation
- Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source
- Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain
- Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions”
- Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts
- Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat
- Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology
- Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics
- Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions
- California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed
- Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought
- Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk
- UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost?
- East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center
- Computer Storage Projects Rise in Importance
- Feds aid viewers' move to digital
- On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Rorschach Test • \ROAR-shack - test\ • noun – a personality and intelligence test in which a subject interprets inkblot designs in terms that reveal intellectual and emotional factors —called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test. Etymology: Hermann Rorschach died 1922 Swiss psychiatrist
Bartholomew had befuddled his psychiatrists. Every time they gave him Rorschach Test, the ink blots elicited mainly silence. That is, until Bart started an odd, braying laugh at unusual times during which the most elaborate ink blots were portrayed. Unbeknownst to the psychiatrists, Bartholomew had misunderstood the test instructions and through that he was taking a Horshack test.
See Arnold Horshack information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Palillo
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington – A powerful storm blows into Washington, bringing high winds and rain to the coast and parts of Western Washington and snow in the mountains. (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13042202.html
Anger and Blame After Deadly Flood in Northwest (NY Times – includes infamous clearcut photo)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/03flood.html?ei=5088&en=c56e32d5d7efc0d7&ex=1357016400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1199383410-CjA3EWONyaMk7S9IdVvaEA
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1136696~Oregon_utility__California_department_settle_power_dispute.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Oil at $100 a barrel – Home heating will feel sting before drivers do (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/119933431067470.xml&coll=7
Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark – A 2-mile stretch of Evergreen Parkway will be unlit because thieves took an estimated "several thousand feet" of copper wire from the bases of light poles, Evergreen's police chief said. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/315835.html
At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010304442.html?nav=rss_nation
Is the Coal Line at Risk? Half of the nation's electrical power comes from coal. The majority of that coal comes from Wyoming on a single rail network. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17781681&ft=1&f=17
Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices – State Must Act Decisively As High Costs Are Likely To Continue, Report Says (The Day)
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=1122c9fd-cae3-4c2d-bc40-9204dd5d7b7b
Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network – A decade after splitting from the Tennessee Valley Authority to get less expensive power elsewhere, Bristol Virginia Utilities rejoined the TVA fold today. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChksphktZSfd%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen – Every cook relies every day on the power of heat to transform food — but most don’t understand it. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/dining/02curi.html?_r=1&ex=1357102800&en=08a1481804430a04&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation; Drivers Must Seek Alternative Power Sources – Reduced diesel fuel use, cleaner air, less noise are goals of new regulations (Firefly Energy, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080102/20080102005661.html?.v=1
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Closure near on Columbia fish plan – After a decade of negotiations, officials are anticipated to sign in March a 10-year plan governing the catch of salmon in the Columbia River between the four tribes with treaty fishing rights and non-Indians. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Closure-near-on-Columbia-fish-plan.cfm
Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed – With each rainfall, more winter steelhead move up local Puget Sound rivers. But reports along the northern Olympic coast remain downright pitiful. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2004104867_fish03.html?syndication=rss
Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Summit-seeks-ways-to-curb-Columbia-River-pollution.cfm/
Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/03/bc-brackendaleeaglecount.html
Cowlitz dredging halfway done – The dredge Oregon has reached the halfway point under a contract to clear volcanic sediment from the mouth of the Cowlitz River (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/03//area_news/doc477c9cda1e188385405563.txt
City of Port Angeles trying to find "lost" water – The city of Port Angeles is trying to find lost water. (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3332
California – Low snowpack to get boost (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7880202?nclick_check=1
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
PGE Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm – The last of the 76 turbines in the first-phase of development at Portland General Electric Company's (PGE) Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon are online. (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51000&src=rss
Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/01/01/business/biz96.txt
Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up initially, the company says about a plan that would invest money from selling sulfur dioxide emission allowances. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/253651.html
Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChlnijprVSge%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation (Pacific Business News)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss
Solar Energy Push Needs To Convince Consumers (The Chief Engineer)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3239.htm
Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source – The United States is frequently embarrassed over its energy policy. The most recent occurrence was in the area of geothermal energy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004106208_geothermal04.html?syndication=rss
Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=15454928-8b87-48cc-ba29-fc0e98aba37e
Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions” (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss
Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts (The Guardian, United Kingdom)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/04/sciencenews.biofuels
Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50972&src=rss
Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004103449_cleantech02.html
CONSERVATION
Alternative Energy Could Save You Money – With oil prices now approaching $100 dollars per barrel, many people are looking at the alternative energy industry as a way to save money. (KNDO/KNDU – TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7569764
Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics – Consumer electronics aren’t exactly easy on the environment – they consume electricity and toxins leach out of them when they end up in landfills. (Associated Press, via the News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/245497.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions – Tougher limits sought to meet greenhouse goals (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345807_epa03.html
California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed. Stanford research estimates warming's role in California pollution levels. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/606193.html
Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7db30aea-db09-4bd6-8224-cc5fc447742f&k=24603
Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk – There is something new to feel guilty about: carbon. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17814838&ft=1&f=2
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost? (Salt Lake Tribune, tipped via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7846408?source=rss
East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center. Cellular telephone and wireless-services company T-Mobile will be the first tenant of Sabey Corporation’s proposed data center complex near Pangborn Memorial Airport. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS04/749449869/1001/rss1001
Storage Projects Rise in Importance – private-sector archive capacity will hit an eye-popping 27,000 petabytes by 2010. Skyrocketing rates of e-mail growth account for much of this figure. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573C4006C6ACA.html?ex=1357016400&en=2a004cd7dfb55fc7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
California – Mountain View's Meraki proposes free Wi-Fi network for San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/04/MNCDU8UKU.DTL
Intel leaves the OLPC after dispute – Well, that was short: Intel has announced it is leaving the One Laptop Per Child project. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9839806-37.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703
Feds aid viewers' move to digital – Agency will start taking requests for discounts on converter boxes Tuesday. In 2009, analog will be history. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-digital31dec31,0,701354.story?coll=la-home-center
On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008: Some insider soundings (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/345803_radiobeat03.html?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
South Sound finishes first in security survey – The Olympia area ranks as the nation's most secure community in the mid-sized category, according to data released by an Oregon-based research firm. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/315766.html
Olympian Opinion – New shelter will be well received. Construction began last week on a sorely-needed domestic violence shelter in Mason County.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/315514.html
DIVERSIONS
Here’s a fascinating web site that features “news whiz” as well as some offbeat stories, even manufactured news stories for slow news days. BEWARE: some of our seasonal “save-energy-this-winter-season” stories may well be represented here.
http://www.fark.com/
'Hearty Eaters' Say Buffet Banned Them
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TU02B00&show_article=1
Couple banned for life from shopping centre and branded 'terrorists' - for taking photos of their grandchildren (I love the Daily Mail!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=505649&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow
Mysterious Object Captured On Camera
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14972942/detail.html
Students Sniff Livestock Odors For Science – Purdue University Professor Conducting Odor Experiment
http://www.kirotv.com/education/14960431/detail.html
A neo Rorschach test – New Yakima street banners cause a stir – Some Yakima residents are complaining that new street banners meant to emulate rays of sunlight instead seem to depict firearms.
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13023642.html
State Patrol: Man digs a hole to avoid troopers – A Maple Valley man dug himself deeper into trouble this week after state troopers tried to stop him for speeding, the State Patrol reported Thursday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346010_hole4.html?source=rss
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington
- Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute
- Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark
- At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry
- Is the Coal Line at Risk?
- Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices
- Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network
- News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation
- Closure near on Columbia fish plan
- Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed
- Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution
- Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count
- Cowlitz dredging halfway done
- California – Low snowpack to get boost
- Portland General Electric Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm
- Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years
- Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up
- Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants
- For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation
- Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source
- Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain
- Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions”
- Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts
- Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat
- Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology
- Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics
- Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions
- California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed
- Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought
- Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk
- UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost?
- East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center
- Computer Storage Projects Rise in Importance
- Feds aid viewers' move to digital
- On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Rorschach Test • \ROAR-shack - test\ • noun – a personality and intelligence test in which a subject interprets inkblot designs in terms that reveal intellectual and emotional factors —called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test. Etymology: Hermann Rorschach died 1922 Swiss psychiatrist
Bartholomew had befuddled his psychiatrists. Every time they gave him Rorschach Test, the ink blots elicited mainly silence. That is, until Bart started an odd, braying laugh at unusual times during which the most elaborate ink blots were portrayed. Unbeknownst to the psychiatrists, Bartholomew had misunderstood the test instructions and through that he was taking a Horshack test.
See Arnold Horshack information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Palillo
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington – A powerful storm blows into Washington, bringing high winds and rain to the coast and parts of Western Washington and snow in the mountains. (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13042202.html
Anger and Blame After Deadly Flood in Northwest (NY Times – includes infamous clearcut photo)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/03flood.html?ei=5088&en=c56e32d5d7efc0d7&ex=1357016400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1199383410-CjA3EWONyaMk7S9IdVvaEA
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1136696~Oregon_utility__California_department_settle_power_dispute.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
Oil at $100 a barrel – Home heating will feel sting before drivers do (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/119933431067470.xml&coll=7
Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark – A 2-mile stretch of Evergreen Parkway will be unlit because thieves took an estimated "several thousand feet" of copper wire from the bases of light poles, Evergreen's police chief said. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/315835.html
At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010304442.html?nav=rss_nation
Is the Coal Line at Risk? Half of the nation's electrical power comes from coal. The majority of that coal comes from Wyoming on a single rail network. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17781681&ft=1&f=17
Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices – State Must Act Decisively As High Costs Are Likely To Continue, Report Says (The Day)
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=1122c9fd-cae3-4c2d-bc40-9204dd5d7b7b
Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network – A decade after splitting from the Tennessee Valley Authority to get less expensive power elsewhere, Bristol Virginia Utilities rejoined the TVA fold today. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChksphktZSfd%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen – Every cook relies every day on the power of heat to transform food — but most don’t understand it. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/dining/02curi.html?_r=1&ex=1357102800&en=08a1481804430a04&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation; Drivers Must Seek Alternative Power Sources – Reduced diesel fuel use, cleaner air, less noise are goals of new regulations (Firefly Energy, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080102/20080102005661.html?.v=1
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Closure near on Columbia fish plan – After a decade of negotiations, officials are anticipated to sign in March a 10-year plan governing the catch of salmon in the Columbia River between the four tribes with treaty fishing rights and non-Indians. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Closure-near-on-Columbia-fish-plan.cfm
Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed – With each rainfall, more winter steelhead move up local Puget Sound rivers. But reports along the northern Olympic coast remain downright pitiful. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2004104867_fish03.html?syndication=rss
Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Summit-seeks-ways-to-curb-Columbia-River-pollution.cfm/
Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/03/bc-brackendaleeaglecount.html
Cowlitz dredging halfway done – The dredge Oregon has reached the halfway point under a contract to clear volcanic sediment from the mouth of the Cowlitz River (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/03//area_news/doc477c9cda1e188385405563.txt
City of Port Angeles trying to find "lost" water – The city of Port Angeles is trying to find lost water. (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3332
California – Low snowpack to get boost (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7880202?nclick_check=1
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
PGE Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm – The last of the 76 turbines in the first-phase of development at Portland General Electric Company's (PGE) Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon are online. (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51000&src=rss
Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/01/01/business/biz96.txt
Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up initially, the company says about a plan that would invest money from selling sulfur dioxide emission allowances. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/253651.html
Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChlnijprVSge%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation (Pacific Business News)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss
Solar Energy Push Needs To Convince Consumers (The Chief Engineer)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3239.htm
Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source – The United States is frequently embarrassed over its energy policy. The most recent occurrence was in the area of geothermal energy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004106208_geothermal04.html?syndication=rss
Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=15454928-8b87-48cc-ba29-fc0e98aba37e
Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions” (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss
Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts (The Guardian, United Kingdom)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/04/sciencenews.biofuels
Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50972&src=rss
Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004103449_cleantech02.html
CONSERVATION
Alternative Energy Could Save You Money – With oil prices now approaching $100 dollars per barrel, many people are looking at the alternative energy industry as a way to save money. (KNDO/KNDU – TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7569764
Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics – Consumer electronics aren’t exactly easy on the environment – they consume electricity and toxins leach out of them when they end up in landfills. (Associated Press, via the News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/245497.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions – Tougher limits sought to meet greenhouse goals (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345807_epa03.html
California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed. Stanford research estimates warming's role in California pollution levels. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/606193.html
Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7db30aea-db09-4bd6-8224-cc5fc447742f&k=24603
Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk – There is something new to feel guilty about: carbon. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17814838&ft=1&f=2
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost? (Salt Lake Tribune, tipped via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7846408?source=rss
East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center. Cellular telephone and wireless-services company T-Mobile will be the first tenant of Sabey Corporation’s proposed data center complex near Pangborn Memorial Airport. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS04/749449869/1001/rss1001
Storage Projects Rise in Importance – private-sector archive capacity will hit an eye-popping 27,000 petabytes by 2010. Skyrocketing rates of e-mail growth account for much of this figure. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573C4006C6ACA.html?ex=1357016400&en=2a004cd7dfb55fc7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
California – Mountain View's Meraki proposes free Wi-Fi network for San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/04/MNCDU8UKU.DTL
Intel leaves the OLPC after dispute – Well, that was short: Intel has announced it is leaving the One Laptop Per Child project. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9839806-37.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703
Feds aid viewers' move to digital – Agency will start taking requests for discounts on converter boxes Tuesday. In 2009, analog will be history. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-digital31dec31,0,701354.story?coll=la-home-center
On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008: Some insider soundings (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/345803_radiobeat03.html?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
South Sound finishes first in security survey – The Olympia area ranks as the nation's most secure community in the mid-sized category, according to data released by an Oregon-based research firm. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/315766.html
Olympian Opinion – New shelter will be well received. Construction began last week on a sorely-needed domestic violence shelter in Mason County.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/315514.html
DIVERSIONS
Here’s a fascinating web site that features “news whiz” as well as some offbeat stories, even manufactured news stories for slow news days. BEWARE: some of our seasonal “save-energy-this-winter-season” stories may well be represented here.
http://www.fark.com/
'Hearty Eaters' Say Buffet Banned Them
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TU02B00&show_article=1
Couple banned for life from shopping centre and branded 'terrorists' - for taking photos of their grandchildren (I love the Daily Mail!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=505649&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow
Mysterious Object Captured On Camera
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14972942/detail.html
Students Sniff Livestock Odors For Science – Purdue University Professor Conducting Odor Experiment
http://www.kirotv.com/education/14960431/detail.html
A neo Rorschach test – New Yakima street banners cause a stir – Some Yakima residents are complaining that new street banners meant to emulate rays of sunlight instead seem to depict firearms.
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13023642.html
State Patrol: Man digs a hole to avoid troopers – A Maple Valley man dug himself deeper into trouble this week after state troopers tried to stop him for speeding, the State Patrol reported Thursday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346010_hole4.html?source=rss
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Energy News Digest for January 2, 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)
- For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped
- Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return
- Clallam County PUD power rates going up
- Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month
- E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1
- 'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use
- State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs
- Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power
- Thurston County Public Utility District Lands A New Manager
- Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy
- Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations
- California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power
- Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control
- New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages
- Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project
- Lacey urges customers to buy green power
- Marysville air worse than Seattle's thanks to wood stoves
- Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy?
- New Energy Uses for Asphalt
- Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses
- Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change
- A greener Oregon landscape in 2008
- Montanans ready to slow global warming
- Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning
- Lawsuit against Grant County PUD over fiber network dismissed
- Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications
- Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds
- AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser
- Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise
- Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage
- Los Angeles – Out on a limb over trimming fiasco
- Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year
- L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers
- Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions
- Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis
- Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West
- Lapdogs could land hefty fine
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Akrasia • \uh-KRAY-zhuh\ • noun – Weakness of will: weakness of will, especially a failure to act according to a sense of moral obligation
Alfonse was ridden with akrasia. On one hand, he knew that the double cheeseburger with jalapenos, blue cheese, thick bacon and avocados was bad for him. On the other hand, he knew that his head would explode if he could not take just one tasty bite of this forbidden fruit. “I know just as Ulysses felt as he had his crew tie him to the mast as they passed by the sirens,” he pondered. In the end, his vegetarian friends came to the rescue, tying him to the bumper of their hybrid vehicle as they slowly glided past the burger joint on their way to the organic “Humus Hut” down on south 43rd Avenue.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped (Look! It’s PUD 3 employee Nick Earsley on a very narrow footbridge – Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/24/for-tahuya-residents-best-gifts-come-unwrapped/
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return (Idaho Business Review)
http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive.htm/2007/12/31/Part-of-Bonneville-Power-residential-exchange-program-credit-could-return
Clallam County PUD power rates going up (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3327
Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month – Cost of fuel and materials drive rates up 4 percent in Forest Grove. Other utilities also boosting rates. (The News Times)
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=119912457496505600
E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1 – The price of electricity in Eastern Idaho is about to get a little more expensive. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/313744.html
'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use (Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology)
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/12/31/story13.html?ana=from_rss
State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs, Plus Energy-Efficiency Tips
Provided by the Alliance to Save Energy (Kansas City Info-Zine)
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/26272/
Winter State Fact Sheets – Click on a state below to get energy cost estimates and savings measures for each state. Information is available for the U.S. as a whole. (Alliance to Save Energy)
http://www.ase.org/extensions/state_facts/
Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power – In the nation's Capitol, nuclear is being seriously considered, though foes remain in the Northwest (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1198913116293600.xml&coll=7
THURSTON COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT LANDS A NEW MANAGER – John Weidenfeller is the Thurston Public Utility District's new general manager. He was business and finance manager for King County International Airport/Boeing Field. He also has worked for Snohomish and Pierce counties and for Bonney Lake. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montana and a master's degree in business administration from Embry-Riddle University. The PUD provides water planning and utility services to Thurston County and also owns and operates water systems in Pierce, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Mason counties. Formed in 1938 by a vote of the people, the PUD has about 155 water systems with about 3,000 connections. (The Olympian)
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy – It’s winter, but many salmon anglers already have spring on their minds. (Yakima Herald-Republic – OK, some media say that it’s going to be a dismal year for salmon…others say it’s gonna be great. No wonder the public’s confused)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/dis/303712752767457
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations (The Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=47987&TM=37318.47
Ellensberg – Agreement brings water foes together – Conflicting desires rarely form a confluence, but an agreement blending the divergent flows of fisheries, farming and ranching interests along Manastash Creek is being hailed as a win-win situation for all. (Capital Press)
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&ArticleID=38062&TM=65804.91
Late Rains Save Atlanta From Record for Drought (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/31drought.html?ex=1356757200&en=8250dd2d9f0b9cd8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
China – Concerns Rise with Water of Three Gorges Dam (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17723829&ft=1&f=3
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power. Despite yearlong effort to curb bird deaths by turbines on the Altamont Pass, many still have perished (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/02/MNITTM9FA.DTL&feed=rss.news
Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control (Puget Sound Business Journal, partial story…the rest is for subscribers only)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/focus7.html?ana=from_rss
New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages. There is a significant risk of power shortages from the Government's aim for 90 per cent renewable power and prices will rise, according to former Electricity Commission chairman Roy Hemmingway. (Stuff, New Zealand)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4342184a13.html
Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50986&src=rss
Lacey urges customers to buy green power – The city and Puget Sound Energy are challenging residents, businesses and public agencies to buy "green power." (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/314778.html
Air worse than Seattle's – The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is paying up to $750 to Marysville residents who own pre-1995 wood stoves and fireplace inserts to replace them with newer stoves or other cleaner ways of heating their homes. (Everett Herald – Biomass takes another hit…ouch!)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071231/NEWS01/488016856/-1/RSS01
Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy? The pros and cons of plasma incineration. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2181083/fr/rss/
New Energy Uses for Asphalt – If you've ever blistered your bare feet on a hot road you know that asphalt absorbs the sun's energy. A Dutch company is now siphoning heat from roads and parking lots to heat homes and offices. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/31/financial/f111431S18.DTL&feed=rss.business
Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses (The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01022008news256020.cfm
CONSERVATION
Intelligent plugs will tackle the energy-guzzlers inside your home (London Times Online)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3118713.ece
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/30/state-team-looking-at-ways-to-address-climate/
A greener Oregon landscape in 2008 – The broadest array of new environmental laws in years sets standards for fuel, for renewable power generation and for appliance efficiency…mandates may cause spikes in renewable costs and impacts (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/11990715088480.xml&coll=7
Montanans ready to slow global warming (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/31/news/state/18-polls.txt
A green future may take green (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online – You asked for it, now comes the bill)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkprqljSSec%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
All About: Cities and energy consumption – “…the world's cities emit almost 80 percent of global carbon dioxide as well as ‘significant amounts of other greenhouse gases.’ Put simply, if you want to tackle climate change, tackle the cities.” (CNN International)
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/31/eco.cities/
Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning – A prominent Canadian eco-marketing firm is issuing a "buyer beware" warning to consumers after a recent survey found an overwhelming number of empty boasts on the labels of products claiming some sort of environmental benefit. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7abb7be5-db6a-48b6-9940-519666af86ae
How Green is Your Neighborhood? (Time Magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1696857,00.html
Don't print that e-mail! Businesses watch the green line, too (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004097406_greenemail31.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Lawsuit against Grant PUD dismissed – PUD accused of driving down Internet prices. A federal lawsuit filed in June against Grant County PUD by three Internet service providers was dismissed earlier this month. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/12/31/news/news02.txt
Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications – Local governments, schools and taxing districts throughout Kitsap County could soon be communicating across a high-speed intranet with almost unlimited capacity (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/31/fiber-optics-network-will-be-used-for-emergency/
Tennessee – Clarksville Department of Electricity new name launches new era: Department getting ready for Internet, phone services (Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle)
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/801010314
Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds – About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online (Reuters)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6224146.html
AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser – Netscape Navigator, the world's first commercial Web browser and the launch pad of the Internet boom, will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after a 13-year run. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/28/financial/f133102S87.DTL&feed=rss.business
Clearwire shows wireless promise (Associated Press, via the Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1198913114293600.xml&coll=7
Who's Ready for the Digital (television) Transition? (E-Marketer)
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005758
Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise – Wireless Transmissions Seen as Vulnerable to Hackers (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/01/AR2008010101714.html?nav=rss_business
Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002796.html?nav=rss_technology
Ridicule That's Getting On Our Nerds – Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them, book review (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123101929.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/28/tahuya-state-forest-sustains-1m-in-damage/
Out on a limb over trimming fiasco – Everybody's got a horror story about a bureaucratic nightmare, but if you can top this one, call me collect at your earliest convenience. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez28nov28,0,7375819,full.column?coll=la-home-center
Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year – Retail gasoline broke all of the usual seasonal patterns in 2007 and the past week was no exception, the Energy Department figures showed Monday, as pump prices rose nationally. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/242790.html
L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers (The Olympian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12312007news255264.cfm?newsletter=10
Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/business/01memo.html?ex=1356930000&en=4c813cb84f92c217&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis (didn’t invest in them itself)…municipalities unable to withdraw money without paying penalties. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/01pool.html?_r=1&ex=1356930000&en=5bc7bc0adefd085d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/us/30lands.html?ex=1356670800&en=0d2984ddf653f8f0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Lapdogs could land hefty fine – Question: You see them all the time – folks driving cars with pooches perched in their laps. A Gig Harbor reader wants to know if it’s legal. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/241975.html
DIVERSIONS
Man tells cops pterodactyl caused car crash
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/NEWS04/696205505/1001/rss1001
Bremerton Woman Objects To Dog In Bathroom – Fight over canine affection breaks out with boyfriend
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14944987/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Newlyweds caught in drag race – Australian newlyweds kissing on the backseat of their hired car were unaware their chauffeur was street drag racing, until a police siren broke their romantic bliss and ended the race.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0157786120080101?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
`Surge' makes the banned-words list – Resist the urge to say you will "wordsmith" your list of New Year's resolutions rather than write one. And don't utter, "It is what it is" when you fail to meet your first goal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071231/ap_on_re_us/banned_words
Under the Hood, a Cozy Rat Retreat – As if New York City car owners don’t already endure enough indignities — $500-a-month garages, alternate-side parking, the B.Q.E. — it turns out that rats, of which the city has an ample supply, love to cozy up inside car engines this time of year. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/nyregion/29rats.html?ex=1356670800&en=46ae3e3ff53da18b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped
- Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return
- Clallam County PUD power rates going up
- Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month
- E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1
- 'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use
- State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs
- Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power
- Thurston County Public Utility District Lands A New Manager
- Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy
- Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations
- California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power
- Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control
- New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages
- Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project
- Lacey urges customers to buy green power
- Marysville air worse than Seattle's thanks to wood stoves
- Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy?
- New Energy Uses for Asphalt
- Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses
- Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change
- A greener Oregon landscape in 2008
- Montanans ready to slow global warming
- Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning
- Lawsuit against Grant County PUD over fiber network dismissed
- Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications
- Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds
- AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser
- Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise
- Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage
- Los Angeles – Out on a limb over trimming fiasco
- Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year
- L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers
- Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions
- Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis
- Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West
- Lapdogs could land hefty fine
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Akrasia • \uh-KRAY-zhuh\ • noun – Weakness of will: weakness of will, especially a failure to act according to a sense of moral obligation
Alfonse was ridden with akrasia. On one hand, he knew that the double cheeseburger with jalapenos, blue cheese, thick bacon and avocados was bad for him. On the other hand, he knew that his head would explode if he could not take just one tasty bite of this forbidden fruit. “I know just as Ulysses felt as he had his crew tie him to the mast as they passed by the sirens,” he pondered. In the end, his vegetarian friends came to the rescue, tying him to the bumper of their hybrid vehicle as they slowly glided past the burger joint on their way to the organic “Humus Hut” down on south 43rd Avenue.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped (Look! It’s PUD 3 employee Nick Earsley on a very narrow footbridge – Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/24/for-tahuya-residents-best-gifts-come-unwrapped/
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return (Idaho Business Review)
http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive.htm/2007/12/31/Part-of-Bonneville-Power-residential-exchange-program-credit-could-return
Clallam County PUD power rates going up (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3327
Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month – Cost of fuel and materials drive rates up 4 percent in Forest Grove. Other utilities also boosting rates. (The News Times)
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=119912457496505600
E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1 – The price of electricity in Eastern Idaho is about to get a little more expensive. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/313744.html
'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use (Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology)
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/12/31/story13.html?ana=from_rss
State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs, Plus Energy-Efficiency Tips
Provided by the Alliance to Save Energy (Kansas City Info-Zine)
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/26272/
Winter State Fact Sheets – Click on a state below to get energy cost estimates and savings measures for each state. Information is available for the U.S. as a whole. (Alliance to Save Energy)
http://www.ase.org/extensions/state_facts/
Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power – In the nation's Capitol, nuclear is being seriously considered, though foes remain in the Northwest (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1198913116293600.xml&coll=7
THURSTON COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT LANDS A NEW MANAGER – John Weidenfeller is the Thurston Public Utility District's new general manager. He was business and finance manager for King County International Airport/Boeing Field. He also has worked for Snohomish and Pierce counties and for Bonney Lake. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montana and a master's degree in business administration from Embry-Riddle University. The PUD provides water planning and utility services to Thurston County and also owns and operates water systems in Pierce, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Mason counties. Formed in 1938 by a vote of the people, the PUD has about 155 water systems with about 3,000 connections. (The Olympian)
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy – It’s winter, but many salmon anglers already have spring on their minds. (Yakima Herald-Republic – OK, some media say that it’s going to be a dismal year for salmon…others say it’s gonna be great. No wonder the public’s confused)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/dis/303712752767457
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations (The Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=47987&TM=37318.47
Ellensberg – Agreement brings water foes together – Conflicting desires rarely form a confluence, but an agreement blending the divergent flows of fisheries, farming and ranching interests along Manastash Creek is being hailed as a win-win situation for all. (Capital Press)
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&ArticleID=38062&TM=65804.91
Late Rains Save Atlanta From Record for Drought (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/31drought.html?ex=1356757200&en=8250dd2d9f0b9cd8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
China – Concerns Rise with Water of Three Gorges Dam (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17723829&ft=1&f=3
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power. Despite yearlong effort to curb bird deaths by turbines on the Altamont Pass, many still have perished (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/02/MNITTM9FA.DTL&feed=rss.news
Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control (Puget Sound Business Journal, partial story…the rest is for subscribers only)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/focus7.html?ana=from_rss
New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages. There is a significant risk of power shortages from the Government's aim for 90 per cent renewable power and prices will rise, according to former Electricity Commission chairman Roy Hemmingway. (Stuff, New Zealand)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4342184a13.html
Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50986&src=rss
Lacey urges customers to buy green power – The city and Puget Sound Energy are challenging residents, businesses and public agencies to buy "green power." (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/314778.html
Air worse than Seattle's – The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is paying up to $750 to Marysville residents who own pre-1995 wood stoves and fireplace inserts to replace them with newer stoves or other cleaner ways of heating their homes. (Everett Herald – Biomass takes another hit…ouch!)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071231/NEWS01/488016856/-1/RSS01
Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy? The pros and cons of plasma incineration. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2181083/fr/rss/
New Energy Uses for Asphalt – If you've ever blistered your bare feet on a hot road you know that asphalt absorbs the sun's energy. A Dutch company is now siphoning heat from roads and parking lots to heat homes and offices. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/31/financial/f111431S18.DTL&feed=rss.business
Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses (The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01022008news256020.cfm
CONSERVATION
Intelligent plugs will tackle the energy-guzzlers inside your home (London Times Online)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3118713.ece
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/30/state-team-looking-at-ways-to-address-climate/
A greener Oregon landscape in 2008 – The broadest array of new environmental laws in years sets standards for fuel, for renewable power generation and for appliance efficiency…mandates may cause spikes in renewable costs and impacts (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/11990715088480.xml&coll=7
Montanans ready to slow global warming (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/31/news/state/18-polls.txt
A green future may take green (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online – You asked for it, now comes the bill)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkprqljSSec%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
All About: Cities and energy consumption – “…the world's cities emit almost 80 percent of global carbon dioxide as well as ‘significant amounts of other greenhouse gases.’ Put simply, if you want to tackle climate change, tackle the cities.” (CNN International)
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/31/eco.cities/
Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning – A prominent Canadian eco-marketing firm is issuing a "buyer beware" warning to consumers after a recent survey found an overwhelming number of empty boasts on the labels of products claiming some sort of environmental benefit. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7abb7be5-db6a-48b6-9940-519666af86ae
How Green is Your Neighborhood? (Time Magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1696857,00.html
Don't print that e-mail! Businesses watch the green line, too (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004097406_greenemail31.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Lawsuit against Grant PUD dismissed – PUD accused of driving down Internet prices. A federal lawsuit filed in June against Grant County PUD by three Internet service providers was dismissed earlier this month. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/12/31/news/news02.txt
Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications – Local governments, schools and taxing districts throughout Kitsap County could soon be communicating across a high-speed intranet with almost unlimited capacity (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/31/fiber-optics-network-will-be-used-for-emergency/
Tennessee – Clarksville Department of Electricity new name launches new era: Department getting ready for Internet, phone services (Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle)
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/801010314
Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds – About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online (Reuters)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6224146.html
AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser – Netscape Navigator, the world's first commercial Web browser and the launch pad of the Internet boom, will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after a 13-year run. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/28/financial/f133102S87.DTL&feed=rss.business
Clearwire shows wireless promise (Associated Press, via the Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1198913114293600.xml&coll=7
Who's Ready for the Digital (television) Transition? (E-Marketer)
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005758
Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise – Wireless Transmissions Seen as Vulnerable to Hackers (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/01/AR2008010101714.html?nav=rss_business
Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002796.html?nav=rss_technology
Ridicule That's Getting On Our Nerds – Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them, book review (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123101929.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/28/tahuya-state-forest-sustains-1m-in-damage/
Out on a limb over trimming fiasco – Everybody's got a horror story about a bureaucratic nightmare, but if you can top this one, call me collect at your earliest convenience. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez28nov28,0,7375819,full.column?coll=la-home-center
Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year – Retail gasoline broke all of the usual seasonal patterns in 2007 and the past week was no exception, the Energy Department figures showed Monday, as pump prices rose nationally. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/242790.html
L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers (The Olympian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12312007news255264.cfm?newsletter=10
Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/business/01memo.html?ex=1356930000&en=4c813cb84f92c217&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis (didn’t invest in them itself)…municipalities unable to withdraw money without paying penalties. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/01pool.html?_r=1&ex=1356930000&en=5bc7bc0adefd085d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/us/30lands.html?ex=1356670800&en=0d2984ddf653f8f0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Lapdogs could land hefty fine – Question: You see them all the time – folks driving cars with pooches perched in their laps. A Gig Harbor reader wants to know if it’s legal. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/241975.html
DIVERSIONS
Man tells cops pterodactyl caused car crash
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/NEWS04/696205505/1001/rss1001
Bremerton Woman Objects To Dog In Bathroom – Fight over canine affection breaks out with boyfriend
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14944987/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Newlyweds caught in drag race – Australian newlyweds kissing on the backseat of their hired car were unaware their chauffeur was street drag racing, until a police siren broke their romantic bliss and ended the race.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0157786120080101?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
`Surge' makes the banned-words list – Resist the urge to say you will "wordsmith" your list of New Year's resolutions rather than write one. And don't utter, "It is what it is" when you fail to meet your first goal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071231/ap_on_re_us/banned_words
Under the Hood, a Cozy Rat Retreat – As if New York City car owners don’t already endure enough indignities — $500-a-month garages, alternate-side parking, the B.Q.E. — it turns out that rats, of which the city has an ample supply, love to cozy up inside car engines this time of year. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/nyregion/29rats.html?ex=1356670800&en=46ae3e3ff53da18b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Friday, December 28, 2007
Energy News Digest for December 28, 2007
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)
- Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Energy's Invasion
- Earth2Tech Maps: Coal Power Plant Deathwatch
- Texas Nuclear Plant Shenanigans
- Maryland – Reality shorts out electricity goal
- Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress
- Australia – Power price shock losers
- Bremerton woman says generator fumes killed her cat
- Seattle – Fixed city creeks are still foul
- Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008
- Outlook not pretty for Coho in 2008
- Interior Dept. sued over information about endangered species
- Lacey Issues Green Power Challenge
- Geothermal energy could meet half of British Columbia’s electricity needs
- Kansas – New fortunes in the wind
- Wisconsin – Wind farm plans worry neighbors
- Tapping into trash to find a new energy source
- Hotels: Energy Star Earns Its Keep
- The city of blinding lights is starting to see 'green'
- Tankless Water Heaters – Let the debate begin!
- E.P.A. to Comply in Waiver Inquiry
- Tracking Carbon Trail To Find Why So Much Fills the Atmosphere
- IPTV may go the Hong Kong way or head towards American tragedy
- Barack Obama's Technology Policy Position Paper
- Just How Neutral is the Net?
- Fake FEMA agent targeting flood victims
- WA Minimum Wage Increases On Jan. 1
- Air agency proposes burn bans
- Ruling allows benefit cut at 65 in retiree plans
- Seattle no longer nation's most literate city
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Opprobrium • \uh-PROH-bree-um\ • noun – 1: something that brings disgrace 2a: public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious*b: contempt, reproach
Enron’s multitudinous financial shenanigans brought well-deserved opprobrium to the company and those who actively rolled the dice on risky ventures with other people’s money.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Energy's Invasion. Columbia River estuary is the last place to launch a petrochemical empire
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/12/12272007_In-Our-View-Energys-Invasion.cfm
Earth2Tech Maps: Coal Power Plant Deathwatch (project also includes ethanol plant deathwatch)
http://earth2tech.com/2007/12/27/earth2tech-maps-coal-power-plant-deathwatch/
Texas Nuclear Plant Shenanigans – Trial is postponed in Davis-Besse case: Engineer is 3rd accused of cover-up (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkjmpnoTUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Maryland – Reality shorts out electricity goal. Utilities are submitting conservation proposals, but customers will pay (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.conserve28dec28,0,2027175.story?coll=bal-topemailed-headlines
Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress (Congressional Research Service)
http://opencrs.com/document/RL34288
Australia – Power price shock losers. There is widespread concern that everyone will be a loser when electricity prices substantially rise on Tuesday. (The Mercury, Tasmania)
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,22979633-5007221,00.html
Bremerton woman says generator fumes killed her cat (Kitsap Sun, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1125768~Bremerton_woman_says_generator_fumes_killed_her_cat.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Seattle – Fixed city creeks are still foul. Salmon are back, but the water is far from pristine, report says (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345125_streams28.html
Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008 (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/310363.html
Outlook not pretty for coho in 2008 (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2007/12/12272007_Outlook-not-pretty-for-coho-in-2008.cfm
Interior Dept. sued over information about endangered species – A conservation group sued the Interior Department on Thursday seeking documents about decisions on endangered species the group alleges were tainted by political pressure (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12272007news253941.cfm
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
LACEY ISSUES GREEN POWER CHALLENGE – City of Lacey and Puget Sound Energy are challenging businesses, community residents and public agencies to join in the effort to support development of long-term renewable energy solutions by signing up for green power in their homes and places of business. Puget Sound Energy's Green Power Program allows subscribers to select from several levels of participation. The minimum enrollment is $4 per month, which supports generation of 320 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. Additional green power increments are available at $2 each. A typical energy-efficient household using about 800 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per month would pay an additional $10 monthly to go 100 percent green. The Lacey Green Power Challenge officially begins Jan. 1. The goal of the six-month campaign is to increase green power usage to a total of 1,000 residential and business customers in the city. If the effort is successful, Puget Sound Energy, with support from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, will fund a $20,000 solar energy demonstration project on behalf of the community. The project will be installed on public property and provide an opportunity to highlight the increasingly-effective use of solar energy in Western Washington.
Geothermal energy could meet half of British Columbia’s electricity needs, researcher says – No greenhouse gases would result from tapping underground magma-heated water (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=cfbbf32d-4a3f-48d5-9b69-7ec6a82a3d5a
Kansas – New fortunes in the wind: Economics advance state's new energy resource (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChjptsllVUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Wisconsin – Wind farm plans worry neighbors (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkjnuqtZUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Tapping into trash to find a new energy source (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/12/28/tapping_into_trash_to_find_a_new_energy_source/
A Light Bulb Goes On – Willett Kempton sees cars--and the electric grid--as a solution to America's energy problem, not the source of it. (Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0107/036.html
CONSERVATION
Kansas Town's Green Dreams Could Save Its Future (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17643060
Hotels: Energy Star Earns Its Keep (Environmental News Network)
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/28245
Civil servants to dress casual for energy conservation (China Daily)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/25/content_6344708.htm
The city of blinding lights is starting to see 'green' – The first thermal plant in 16 years opened this summer in southern Nevada. And America's most expensive private development – a new hotel and casino complex on the Strip – is getting LEED certified. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1228/p01s02-wogi.html
Tankless Water Heaters – Let the debate begin! Heat only the water you need in 2008 (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071227/BLOG15/775574349
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
E.P.A. to Comply in Waiver Inquiry – The Environmental Protection Agency signaled that it was prepared to comply with a Congressional request for all documents concerning its decision to block California from imposing limits on heat-trapping gases. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/washington/28epa.html?_r=1&ei=5088&en=172b7331977bf1a2&ex=1356584400&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1198861935-rC0z2nletYMpwJFpeDyDfQ
Tracking Carbon Trail To Find Why So Much Fills the Atmosphere (Wall Street Journal – fascinating graphic)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119880485275254475.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
India – IPTV may go the Hong Kong way or head towards American tragedy (Daily News & Analysis)
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1141823
Barack Obama's Technology Policy Position Paper: Part 1 of 5 (TMC Net)
http://blog.tmcnet.com/regulations/tech-politics-2008/barack-obamas-technology-policy-position-paper-part-1-of-5.asp
Just How Neutral is the Net? Not Very (B mighty.com)
http://www.bmighty.com/network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205204270
GENERAL NEWS
Fake FEMA agent targeting flood victims (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_122707WAB_fakefema_KC.5ba01126.html
WA Minimum Wage Increases On Jan. 1 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/jobs/14938294/detail.html
Air agency proposes burn bans – Plan would prohibit land-clearing fires in rural areas of Pierce County (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/239876.html
Ruling allows benefit cut at 65 in retiree plans – Employers can reduce their health-insurance expenses for retired workers once they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has affirmed. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004095776_retire28.html?syndication=rss
Seattle no longer nation's most literate city, says study (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/24/daily12.html?ana=from_rss
DIVERSIONS
Rare 'Inverted Jenny' Stamp Purchased For $825,000
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14931995/detail.html
Infamous potatoes: Tater Tots start blaze in Idaho firehouse kitchen while crew out on a call
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7828032?nclick_check=1
Hello Kitty turns attention to young men – The cute cuddly white cat from Japan's Sanrio Co., usually seen on toys and jewelry for girls and young women, will soon don T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_on_fe_st/japan_hello_kitty_for_men;_ylt=AgP7rX_KynewpDChauBiXkrtiBIF
A far from cracking surprise - a dead mouse
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071227/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_newzealand_cracker;_ylt=Ahxt2JSCumt5WNDK4dvyR.DtiBIF
W.Va. cop says woman wiped nose on him
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_officer_nose_wipe;_ylt=ArH31zwhzIIC1x5OydlFbaLtiBIF
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Energy's Invasion
- Earth2Tech Maps: Coal Power Plant Deathwatch
- Texas Nuclear Plant Shenanigans
- Maryland – Reality shorts out electricity goal
- Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress
- Australia – Power price shock losers
- Bremerton woman says generator fumes killed her cat
- Seattle – Fixed city creeks are still foul
- Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008
- Outlook not pretty for Coho in 2008
- Interior Dept. sued over information about endangered species
- Lacey Issues Green Power Challenge
- Geothermal energy could meet half of British Columbia’s electricity needs
- Kansas – New fortunes in the wind
- Wisconsin – Wind farm plans worry neighbors
- Tapping into trash to find a new energy source
- Hotels: Energy Star Earns Its Keep
- The city of blinding lights is starting to see 'green'
- Tankless Water Heaters – Let the debate begin!
- E.P.A. to Comply in Waiver Inquiry
- Tracking Carbon Trail To Find Why So Much Fills the Atmosphere
- IPTV may go the Hong Kong way or head towards American tragedy
- Barack Obama's Technology Policy Position Paper
- Just How Neutral is the Net?
- Fake FEMA agent targeting flood victims
- WA Minimum Wage Increases On Jan. 1
- Air agency proposes burn bans
- Ruling allows benefit cut at 65 in retiree plans
- Seattle no longer nation's most literate city
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Opprobrium • \uh-PROH-bree-um\ • noun – 1: something that brings disgrace 2a: public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious*b: contempt, reproach
Enron’s multitudinous financial shenanigans brought well-deserved opprobrium to the company and those who actively rolled the dice on risky ventures with other people’s money.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Energy's Invasion. Columbia River estuary is the last place to launch a petrochemical empire
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2007/12/12272007_In-Our-View-Energys-Invasion.cfm
Earth2Tech Maps: Coal Power Plant Deathwatch (project also includes ethanol plant deathwatch)
http://earth2tech.com/2007/12/27/earth2tech-maps-coal-power-plant-deathwatch/
Texas Nuclear Plant Shenanigans – Trial is postponed in Davis-Besse case: Engineer is 3rd accused of cover-up (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkjmpnoTUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Maryland – Reality shorts out electricity goal. Utilities are submitting conservation proposals, but customers will pay (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.conserve28dec28,0,2027175.story?coll=bal-topemailed-headlines
Smart Grid Provisions in H.R. 6, 110th Congress (Congressional Research Service)
http://opencrs.com/document/RL34288
Australia – Power price shock losers. There is widespread concern that everyone will be a loser when electricity prices substantially rise on Tuesday. (The Mercury, Tasmania)
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,22979633-5007221,00.html
Bremerton woman says generator fumes killed her cat (Kitsap Sun, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1125768~Bremerton_woman_says_generator_fumes_killed_her_cat.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Seattle – Fixed city creeks are still foul. Salmon are back, but the water is far from pristine, report says (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345125_streams28.html
Big projections for Cowlitz River in 2008 (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/310363.html
Outlook not pretty for coho in 2008 (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2007/12/12272007_Outlook-not-pretty-for-coho-in-2008.cfm
Interior Dept. sued over information about endangered species – A conservation group sued the Interior Department on Thursday seeking documents about decisions on endangered species the group alleges were tainted by political pressure (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12272007news253941.cfm
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
LACEY ISSUES GREEN POWER CHALLENGE – City of Lacey and Puget Sound Energy are challenging businesses, community residents and public agencies to join in the effort to support development of long-term renewable energy solutions by signing up for green power in their homes and places of business. Puget Sound Energy's Green Power Program allows subscribers to select from several levels of participation. The minimum enrollment is $4 per month, which supports generation of 320 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy. Additional green power increments are available at $2 each. A typical energy-efficient household using about 800 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per month would pay an additional $10 monthly to go 100 percent green. The Lacey Green Power Challenge officially begins Jan. 1. The goal of the six-month campaign is to increase green power usage to a total of 1,000 residential and business customers in the city. If the effort is successful, Puget Sound Energy, with support from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, will fund a $20,000 solar energy demonstration project on behalf of the community. The project will be installed on public property and provide an opportunity to highlight the increasingly-effective use of solar energy in Western Washington.
Geothermal energy could meet half of British Columbia’s electricity needs, researcher says – No greenhouse gases would result from tapping underground magma-heated water (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=cfbbf32d-4a3f-48d5-9b69-7ec6a82a3d5a
Kansas – New fortunes in the wind: Economics advance state's new energy resource (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChjptsllVUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Wisconsin – Wind farm plans worry neighbors (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkjnuqtZUmiw11rbfem%5Ev
Tapping into trash to find a new energy source (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/12/28/tapping_into_trash_to_find_a_new_energy_source/
A Light Bulb Goes On – Willett Kempton sees cars--and the electric grid--as a solution to America's energy problem, not the source of it. (Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/0107/036.html
CONSERVATION
Kansas Town's Green Dreams Could Save Its Future (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17643060
Hotels: Energy Star Earns Its Keep (Environmental News Network)
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/28245
Civil servants to dress casual for energy conservation (China Daily)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/25/content_6344708.htm
The city of blinding lights is starting to see 'green' – The first thermal plant in 16 years opened this summer in southern Nevada. And America's most expensive private development – a new hotel and casino complex on the Strip – is getting LEED certified. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1228/p01s02-wogi.html
Tankless Water Heaters – Let the debate begin! Heat only the water you need in 2008 (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071227/BLOG15/775574349
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
E.P.A. to Comply in Waiver Inquiry – The Environmental Protection Agency signaled that it was prepared to comply with a Congressional request for all documents concerning its decision to block California from imposing limits on heat-trapping gases. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/washington/28epa.html?_r=1&ei=5088&en=172b7331977bf1a2&ex=1356584400&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1198861935-rC0z2nletYMpwJFpeDyDfQ
Tracking Carbon Trail To Find Why So Much Fills the Atmosphere (Wall Street Journal – fascinating graphic)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119880485275254475.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
India – IPTV may go the Hong Kong way or head towards American tragedy (Daily News & Analysis)
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1141823
Barack Obama's Technology Policy Position Paper: Part 1 of 5 (TMC Net)
http://blog.tmcnet.com/regulations/tech-politics-2008/barack-obamas-technology-policy-position-paper-part-1-of-5.asp
Just How Neutral is the Net? Not Very (B mighty.com)
http://www.bmighty.com/network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205204270
GENERAL NEWS
Fake FEMA agent targeting flood victims (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_122707WAB_fakefema_KC.5ba01126.html
WA Minimum Wage Increases On Jan. 1 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/jobs/14938294/detail.html
Air agency proposes burn bans – Plan would prohibit land-clearing fires in rural areas of Pierce County (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/239876.html
Ruling allows benefit cut at 65 in retiree plans – Employers can reduce their health-insurance expenses for retired workers once they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has affirmed. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004095776_retire28.html?syndication=rss
Seattle no longer nation's most literate city, says study (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/24/daily12.html?ana=from_rss
DIVERSIONS
Rare 'Inverted Jenny' Stamp Purchased For $825,000
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14931995/detail.html
Infamous potatoes: Tater Tots start blaze in Idaho firehouse kitchen while crew out on a call
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7828032?nclick_check=1
Hello Kitty turns attention to young men – The cute cuddly white cat from Japan's Sanrio Co., usually seen on toys and jewelry for girls and young women, will soon don T-shirts, bags, watches and other products targeting young men
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071228/ap_on_fe_st/japan_hello_kitty_for_men;_ylt=AgP7rX_KynewpDChauBiXkrtiBIF
A far from cracking surprise - a dead mouse
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071227/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_newzealand_cracker;_ylt=Ahxt2JSCumt5WNDK4dvyR.DtiBIF
W.Va. cop says woman wiped nose on him
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071227/ap_on_fe_st/odd_officer_nose_wipe;_ylt=ArH31zwhzIIC1x5OydlFbaLtiBIF
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