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)
- Jefferson PUD electrical power authority study nears
- Chehalis Natural Gas Facility to be Expanded
- Alcoa looks to reopen Northwest Alloys magnesium plant in Stevens County, WA
- Anchorage Daily News Opinion – Juneau's woe – Capital city's electricity crisis merits state help
- Voters lose Hanford waste ruling
- Chelan PUD’s Gutzwiler Plans To Run Again
- 435 members attend Orcas Power and Light Cooperative’s 71st annual meeting
- Swedish police hold two men over nuclear scare
- More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings because of computer errors
- Calpine receives $11B bid from NRG Energy
- 'Recycling' Energy Seen Saving Companies Money
- News Release – DTE Energy Warns Customers to Look Out for Con Artists Posing as Utility Workers
- Rising electricity rates, global warming top concerns for consumers and regulators
- Why a Fish Didn’t Show at a Festival in Its Honor
- Killer whale rides wave onto beach north of Eureka, munches on harbor seal
- Ban on cruise ship sewage discharges near shellfish beds
- Warm days melt Oregon's snowpack – Rivers, reservoirs swell with water, create dangers for boaters
- Flood warning continues in Spokane
- Cedar and Green rivers closed to recreation because they are running high and fast from melting mountain snow
- Victoria, BC still trudging along on sewage treatment plans
- Wind farm proposed near Larch Mountain in east Clark County
- U.S. House Passes Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension Bill
- Montana – City of Billings may sell methane from landfill
- Oregon's ethanol requirement lowers vehicles' miles per gallon
- Firm promotes power of wind for residences
- Australia urged to dump renewable energy targets
- A sweet deal on energy – Conservation is the easiest, quickest and best way to ease the rising cost of energy
- Alaska will sue to block listing of polar bears as threatened
- San Francisco – Greenhouse gases target of new fee
- National Grid Invites You to Meet ''Floe'' A Virtual Polar Bear Who Can Analyze Your Impact on the Environment
- Concord, California to lose free Wi-Fi service in Bay Area cities
- Reaction mixed to Microsoft Live Search 'cashback' plan
- Belfair Couple Pleads Guilty to Pretexting Scheme
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Puckish • \PUCK-ish\ • adjective – Impish, whimsical
It was an ironic twist; the former hockey player had retired from the game to become a commentator for the Montreal Canadiens. It was there that he became well known for his “puckish” sense of humour.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Jefferson PUD electrical power authority study nears – D. Hittle and Associates of Lynnwood and EES Consulting of Kirkland made proposals to get the contract. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080522/NEWS/805220306
Chehalis Natural Gas Facility to be Expanded – The Williams Northwest Pipeline Chehalis compressor station will be expanded, with up to 77,700 horsepower added (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1211391430&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
Alcoa looks to reopen Northwest Alloys magnesium plant in Stevens County, WA (Purchasing.com)
http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6562990.html?industryid=48389
Anchorage Daily News Opinion – Juneau's woe – Capital city's electricity crisis merits state help
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/412470.html
Voters lose Hanford waste ruling – Initiative 297 ban on dumping is overturned (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363984_hanford22.html
CHELAN PUD’S GUTZWILER PLANS TO RUN AGAIN – The senior member of the Chelan County PUD board of commissioners has informally announced he will seek another term. Commissioner Norm Gutzwiler was elected to his first six year term in 2002. Gutzwiler plans a formal announcement at a later date. So far no other candidates have surfaced to challenge Gutzwiler. Commissioner Werner Janssen is also up for re-election and will be challenged by Peshastin grower Carnan Bergren. The official filing period for candidates is June 2nd through 6th. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)
435 members attend Orcas Power and Light Cooperative’s 71st annual meeting (San Juan Islander)
http://www.sanjuanislander.com/businesses/opalco/2008-annual-meeting-1.shtml
Swedish police hold two men over nuclear scare – one of them was discovered entering it with small amounts of a highly explosive material (International Herald-Tribune)
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/05/21/europe/OUKWD-UK-SWEDEN-NUCLEAR-THREAT.php
More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings – The Moody’s Corporation is investigating whether it assigned top-flight credit ratings to certain securities because of computer errors (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/22moody.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1211475960-TSbPfaTath/rc5EOiyEIrg
Calpine receives $11B bid from NRG Energy (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/05/19/daily39.html?ana=from_rss
'Recycling' Energy Seen Saving Companies Money (National Public Radio – can you say ”Combined Cycle” and “Cogeneration”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90714692&ft=1&f=1003
News Release – DTE Energy Warns Customers to Look Out for Con Artists Posing as Utility Workers (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90284
Rising electricity rates, global warming top concerns for consumers and regulators: Deloitte study (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=329284&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss
FISH & WILDLIFE
Why a Fish Didn’t Show at a Festival in Its Honor – The environmental group Riverkeeper had its 19th annual Shad Festival on Sunday, sort of a green-era version of the gatherings that go back to the native Americans. But this year it was missing one thing — shad. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/nyregion/22towns.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Killer whale rides wave onto beach north of Eureka, munches on harbor seal (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9340097?source=rss
Ban on cruise ship sewage discharges near shellfish beds – Industry group agrees to comply with state policy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363993_cruise22.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Warm days melt Oregon's snowpack – Rivers, reservoirs swell with water, create dangers for boaters (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211426712176430.xml&coll=7
Flood warning continues in Spokane (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1403921~Flood_warning_continues_in_Spokane.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Cedar and Green rivers closed to recreation because they are running high and fast from melting mountain snow (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052208WAB_cedar_green_rivers_LJ.1aa6425f.html
Victoria, BC still trudging along on sewage treatment plans – 32 sewage plants beat 4 large ones, report says – CRD could sell heat, electricity, water from house-sized treatment facilities (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=faaa4538-ed6f-4156-aa8e-272253ed457d
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Wind farm proposed near Larch Mountain in east Clark County – 39 skyscraper-high wind turbines (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05222008_Wind-farm-proposed-near-Larch-Mountain.cfm/
U.S. House Passes Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension Bill (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52546&src=rss
Montana – City of Billings may sell methane from landfill (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/21/news/local/29-landfill.txt
Oregon's ethanol requirement lowers vehicles' miles per gallon – Because the biofuel has less energy, the state's 10 percent requirement means drivers are buying more gas (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211433909137150.xml&coll=7
Firm promotes power of wind for residences (Scranton Times Tribune – But what will the neighbors think?)
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19707030&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6
Australia urged to dump renewable energy targets (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23741349-11949,00.html
CONSERVATION
A sweet deal on energy – Conservation is the easiest, quickest and best way to ease the rising cost of energy (Salina Journal)
http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/city-energy-edit2008-05-21T15-27-55
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Alaska will sue to block listing of polar bears as threatened (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004430957_polarbears22m.html?syndication=rss
San Francisco – Greenhouse gases target of new fee – Pollution - Many Bay Area businesses oppose paying for the carbon dioxide they emit (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1211424910128160.xml&coll=7
News Release – National Grid Invites You to Meet ''Floe'' A Virtual Polar Bear Who Can Analyze Your Impact on the Environment (Electric Energy Online – Oh, the irony!)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90218
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Concord, California to lose free Wi-Fi service in Bay Area cities (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9337025?source=rss
Reaction mixed to Microsoft Live Search 'cashback' plan – Program promises refunds to online consumers (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/364046_msftsearch22.html?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Belfair Couple Pleads Guilty to Pretexting Scheme (Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/may/21/belfair-couple-pleads-guilty-to-pretexting/
DIVERSIONS
Every pupil's dream: the exam with answers on back
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSPAT25021620080522?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Bureaucrats get taste of jail
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSPAT25025820080522?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
ID-protection ads come back to bite Lifelock pitchman
http://www.examiner.com/a-1404036~ID_protection_ads_come_back_to_bite_Lifelock_pitchman.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines
Soldier's donated horse heads for slaughter
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052108WAB_soldier_horse_slaughter_KC.1866d2a6.html
Ewww! Fly-infested gloves prompt Health Canada probe
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=ebb6346f-21f6-449c-9d92-0a85c009e22a
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Energy News Digest for May 21, 2008
All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim
- BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes
- Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds
- Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages
- Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date – Computer problems, dontcha know!
- United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'• Price competition in sector is a myth
- Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns
- California electricity surplus going into summer
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on
- Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users
- PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig
- Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population
- Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing
- California biologists track endangered fish
- Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River
- Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices
- Hartstene Pointe Water-Sewer District Formed
- Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities
- Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology
- EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good
- Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future
- Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm
- Wild Horse Wind Power Project
- Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks
- New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul
- Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown
- Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands
- Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use
- Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study
- Google Earth app shows effects of climate change
- FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats
- Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies
- New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber
- Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage
- Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised
- Mason County Fire District Levies Passing
- Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident
- Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line
- Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft
- Still No Drag Racing At Sanderson Field Near Shelton This Summer
- Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals
- Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Opine • \oh-PYNE\ • verb – To state as an opinion
“Oh, my dogs are barking,” opined the new recruit, just off his first ten mile march with his new drill sergeant. “Good for you,” barked the dog-faced veteran. “Because they’re going on another little stroll in half an hour!”
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim – When do “Acts of God” make man’s rules look foolish? (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/02news.txt
News Release – BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/203566/
Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds – Regulators Want Authority to Require Security Upgrades Industry-wide (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052002354.html?nav=rss_business
Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages (The Baltimore Sun)
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2008/05/wholesale_electricity_dysfunct.html
Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/05/19/daily22.html?ana=from_rss
United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'· Price competition in sector is a myth, Ministers of Parliament are told (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/may/21/householdbills.britishenergygroupbusiness
Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=329283&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss
California electricity surplus going into summer – The state should have more than enough electricity this summer to keep the lights on and the air conditioners humming, state officials said Tuesday (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/20/BUL110PROP.DTL
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will soon decide how long the heavily polluting Potrero power plant will need to continue operating
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/21/EDHC10PNET.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080521.wbccap21/BNStory/National/home
News Release – To Avoid Potential Hazards With Utility Lines, PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig (Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080521/20080521005805.html?.v=1
FISH & WILDLIFE
Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052008ENB_sturgeon_eggs_theft_KC.1342cd3d.html
Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing (SF Bay Independent Media)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/20/18500419.php
California biologists track endangered fish – Young salmon and steelhead counted as they head downriver to Pacific Ocean (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa)
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080520/NEWS/805200307/1033/NEWS&template=kart
Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River (MyNorthwest News)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=56813
Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices (Newsday)
http://www.newsday.com/features/food/ny-fdburn5693938may21,0,931317.column?track=rss
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
HARTSTENE POINTE WATER-SEWER DISTRICT FORMED – Hartstene Pointe property owners now have their own independent water and sewer district. Over 72% (72.33%) of the voters in the Hartstene Pointe development voted Tuesday to take over the utilities from Mason County. The numbers have 115 voting for creating the water and sewer district, while 44 were against. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05212008_Rapid-melt-of-big-snowpack-presents-problems-opportunities.cfm
Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology (Associated Press, via Ag Weekly Online)
http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2008/05/20/news/ag_news/news18.txt
EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2125-epa-audit-northwest-air-good-water-not-so-good/
Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future – The city of Olympia and the Nisqually tribe have entered into a memorandum of understanding calling for the creation of a Nisqually well field that could supply water by 2012.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/454241.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/21/top_story/doc4833756caca4e540147852.txt
Wild Horse Wind Power Project (Associated Construction Publications)
http://www.acppubs.com/TalkBack/Comments?talk_back_header_id=6361831&articleid=ca6361831&article_id=6361831
Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks – Many crops that could be used to make biofuels without driving up food prices are invasive species, scientists say (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/190201.html
Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown – They're expensive, but the Oregon Zoo saves fuel and labor with similar cans (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121125571558600.xml&coll=7
Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands (Wired Magazine)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/researcher-push.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-05-20-carbon_up_N.htm?csp=34
Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study – Rising sea levels could inundate and impair stormwater and wastewater systems in Olympia's downtown, a city report says (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/455198.html
Google Earth app shows effects of climate change (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9948315-54.html?tag=nl.e433
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats (Ars Technica, via Baller/Herbst)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080520-fcc-cracks-down-on-universal-service-fund-cheats.html
Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies (Associated Press, via Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/20/ap5030758.html
New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Clearwire-Wont-Use-Google-Fiber-94608
Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage (Ars Technica)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080521-cold-dark-countries-whipping-us-in-broadband-usage.html
Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised – Preparing for Analog Shut-Off, Some Viewers Say New Signals Aren't as Reliable (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051902730.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
MASON COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT LEVIES PASSING – Mason County Fire Districts Two and 12 are seeing their levies passing after ballots were counted from Tuesday special election. Over 62% (62.34%) of the voters in Fire District Two supported the fire department's proposition to restore its regular property tax levy for maintenance and operations. Officials with the Belfair-based fire department say the funds raised by this levy will decrease response times to outlying areas such as the Tahuya River Valley and Twanoh Falls. In Fire District 12, 71.5% of the voters in the Matlock area voted "yes" on that district's six-year emergency medical services property tax levy. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/455189.html
Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004413242_apboeingshutdownchinook.html?syndication=rss
Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/04news.txt
STILL NO DRAG RACING AT SANDERSON FIELD NEAR SHELTON THIS SUMMER – The Port of Shelton has again stated that there will NOT be any drag racing at Sanderson Field this summer. In a response to a proposal from the Shelton Drag Strip Association to hold one weekend of drag racing events at the airport this summer, the Port's Managing Director, Bob Robinson, apologized for any misinformation from the Port that may have led the organization to believe holding such an event was still possible this year. Robinson also confirmed in his May 16th letter to Association President Tom Casey that the Port Commission would NOT permit any drag events this year. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05202008_Kiggins-House-hit-by-thieves-stripped-of-metals.cfm?newsletter=2
The Hot New Trend: Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure than they'd make on their meat (National Public Radio – My dad, a farm management instructor, used to say that farms “smell like money!”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90590308&ft=1&f=17
DIVERSIONS
High-School Students' Hotel Room Doors Taped Shut By Chaperone
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16340419/detail.html
Yearbook Body Switching Comes To A Head – Officials Promise New Yearbooks Before Graduation
http://www.kirotv.com/education/16338391/detail.html
Lions evicted from Sequim 'den' they built and donated to city 25 years ago (Ouch!)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080521/NEWS/805210304
YouTube video shows 164 mph ride on I-5
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/19100634.html
Biotech Company to Auction Chances to Clone a Dog
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/us/21dog.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim
- BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes
- Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds
- Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages
- Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date – Computer problems, dontcha know!
- United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'• Price competition in sector is a myth
- Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns
- California electricity surplus going into summer
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on
- Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users
- PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig
- Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population
- Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing
- California biologists track endangered fish
- Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River
- Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices
- Hartstene Pointe Water-Sewer District Formed
- Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities
- Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology
- EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good
- Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future
- Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm
- Wild Horse Wind Power Project
- Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks
- New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul
- Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown
- Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands
- Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use
- Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study
- Google Earth app shows effects of climate change
- FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats
- Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies
- New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber
- Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage
- Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised
- Mason County Fire District Levies Passing
- Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident
- Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line
- Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft
- Still No Drag Racing At Sanderson Field Near Shelton This Summer
- Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals
- Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Opine • \oh-PYNE\ • verb – To state as an opinion
“Oh, my dogs are barking,” opined the new recruit, just off his first ten mile march with his new drill sergeant. “Good for you,” barked the dog-faced veteran. “Because they’re going on another little stroll in half an hour!”
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim – When do “Acts of God” make man’s rules look foolish? (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/02news.txt
News Release – BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/203566/
Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds – Regulators Want Authority to Require Security Upgrades Industry-wide (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052002354.html?nav=rss_business
Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages (The Baltimore Sun)
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2008/05/wholesale_electricity_dysfunct.html
Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/05/19/daily22.html?ana=from_rss
United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'· Price competition in sector is a myth, Ministers of Parliament are told (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/may/21/householdbills.britishenergygroupbusiness
Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=329283&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss
California electricity surplus going into summer – The state should have more than enough electricity this summer to keep the lights on and the air conditioners humming, state officials said Tuesday (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/20/BUL110PROP.DTL
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will soon decide how long the heavily polluting Potrero power plant will need to continue operating
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/21/EDHC10PNET.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080521.wbccap21/BNStory/National/home
News Release – To Avoid Potential Hazards With Utility Lines, PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig (Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080521/20080521005805.html?.v=1
FISH & WILDLIFE
Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052008ENB_sturgeon_eggs_theft_KC.1342cd3d.html
Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing (SF Bay Independent Media)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/20/18500419.php
California biologists track endangered fish – Young salmon and steelhead counted as they head downriver to Pacific Ocean (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa)
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080520/NEWS/805200307/1033/NEWS&template=kart
Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River (MyNorthwest News)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=56813
Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices (Newsday)
http://www.newsday.com/features/food/ny-fdburn5693938may21,0,931317.column?track=rss
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
HARTSTENE POINTE WATER-SEWER DISTRICT FORMED – Hartstene Pointe property owners now have their own independent water and sewer district. Over 72% (72.33%) of the voters in the Hartstene Pointe development voted Tuesday to take over the utilities from Mason County. The numbers have 115 voting for creating the water and sewer district, while 44 were against. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05212008_Rapid-melt-of-big-snowpack-presents-problems-opportunities.cfm
Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology (Associated Press, via Ag Weekly Online)
http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2008/05/20/news/ag_news/news18.txt
EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2125-epa-audit-northwest-air-good-water-not-so-good/
Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future – The city of Olympia and the Nisqually tribe have entered into a memorandum of understanding calling for the creation of a Nisqually well field that could supply water by 2012.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/454241.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/21/top_story/doc4833756caca4e540147852.txt
Wild Horse Wind Power Project (Associated Construction Publications)
http://www.acppubs.com/TalkBack/Comments?talk_back_header_id=6361831&articleid=ca6361831&article_id=6361831
Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks – Many crops that could be used to make biofuels without driving up food prices are invasive species, scientists say (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/190201.html
Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown – They're expensive, but the Oregon Zoo saves fuel and labor with similar cans (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121125571558600.xml&coll=7
Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands (Wired Magazine)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/researcher-push.html
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-05-20-carbon_up_N.htm?csp=34
Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study – Rising sea levels could inundate and impair stormwater and wastewater systems in Olympia's downtown, a city report says (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/455198.html
Google Earth app shows effects of climate change (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9948315-54.html?tag=nl.e433
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats (Ars Technica, via Baller/Herbst)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080520-fcc-cracks-down-on-universal-service-fund-cheats.html
Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies (Associated Press, via Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/20/ap5030758.html
New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Clearwire-Wont-Use-Google-Fiber-94608
Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage (Ars Technica)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080521-cold-dark-countries-whipping-us-in-broadband-usage.html
Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised – Preparing for Analog Shut-Off, Some Viewers Say New Signals Aren't as Reliable (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051902730.html?nav=rss_technology
GENERAL NEWS
MASON COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT LEVIES PASSING – Mason County Fire Districts Two and 12 are seeing their levies passing after ballots were counted from Tuesday special election. Over 62% (62.34%) of the voters in Fire District Two supported the fire department's proposition to restore its regular property tax levy for maintenance and operations. Officials with the Belfair-based fire department say the funds raised by this levy will decrease response times to outlying areas such as the Tahuya River Valley and Twanoh Falls. In Fire District 12, 71.5% of the voters in the Matlock area voted "yes" on that district's six-year emergency medical services property tax levy. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/455189.html
Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004413242_apboeingshutdownchinook.html?syndication=rss
Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/04news.txt
STILL NO DRAG RACING AT SANDERSON FIELD NEAR SHELTON THIS SUMMER – The Port of Shelton has again stated that there will NOT be any drag racing at Sanderson Field this summer. In a response to a proposal from the Shelton Drag Strip Association to hold one weekend of drag racing events at the airport this summer, the Port's Managing Director, Bob Robinson, apologized for any misinformation from the Port that may have led the organization to believe holding such an event was still possible this year. Robinson also confirmed in his May 16th letter to Association President Tom Casey that the Port Commission would NOT permit any drag events this year. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05202008_Kiggins-House-hit-by-thieves-stripped-of-metals.cfm?newsletter=2
The Hot New Trend: Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure than they'd make on their meat (National Public Radio – My dad, a farm management instructor, used to say that farms “smell like money!”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90590308&ft=1&f=17
DIVERSIONS
High-School Students' Hotel Room Doors Taped Shut By Chaperone
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16340419/detail.html
Yearbook Body Switching Comes To A Head – Officials Promise New Yearbooks Before Graduation
http://www.kirotv.com/education/16338391/detail.html
Lions evicted from Sequim 'den' they built and donated to city 25 years ago (Ouch!)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080521/NEWS/805210304
YouTube video shows 164 mph ride on I-5
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/19100634.html
Biotech Company to Auction Chances to Clone a Dog
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/us/21dog.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Energy News Digest for May 20, 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)
- Puget Sound Energy errors may mean surprise bill for you
- Seattle Times Editorial – Uneasy lies the head of Puget Sound Energy
- Grays Harbor County PUD thief caught stealing sentenced
- Guest Columnist, Tri-City Herald – Nuclear power talk should be civil
- CA utility asks US to weigh disputed power line
- Three Strikes Against Kansas Coal Plants: Sebelius Vetoes Again
- Duke Energy Carolinas prevails in fight to keep costs confidential
- A retail electricity provider misses payments to state, loses thousands of customers as a result
- MBA candidates redesign South Africa's electrical industry
- United Kingdom – Utility Watchdog Demands Competition Probe Into Energy Market
- Puget Sound Energy’s Baker River fish passage system is complete; $10M over estimates
- Big ball of Columbia River sturgeon baffles experts
- Bad Fishing Weather Likely To Raise Copper River Salmon Prices
- Sammy Awards winners keep fighting for salmon
- Released Water from Howard Hansen Dam Destroy Man's Auburn Farmland
- Caution: High rivers ... and they're going to stay that way for a while
- Columbian Op/Ed – Other opinions: Proposal favors federal power, not farms
- Trial date is set for Olympia brewery water ruling
- Seattle Times Op/Ed –Energy from wind power can also help state's students
- Canada – New rules jeopardize wind and solar projects
- Bulbs pose trash problem – Recycling program needed for mercury-laced fluorescent lights
- Seattle Times Editorial – Those funny light bulbs – The cheapest kilowatt of new energy supply is the kilowatt you don't use
- News Release – PECO Encourages its Customers to Save More by Using Less with CFLs
- Carbon dioxide increases in 2007
- The U.S. Carbon Market
- Congressional Research Service – Climate Change: Costs and Benefits of S. 2191
- Old Trees Used to Build Up Carbon Credits
- Who loves high energy prices? The environment
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op/Ed – Consider transit's carbon effect
- Microsoft woos Yahoo again
- Portland, Oregon – The end is nigh for free Wi-Fi
- Comcast to invest in Seattle-based file-sharing company
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: U.S. Largest, If Not The Fastest, Broadband Market
- Thanks to Cable, VoIP in the U.S. Is Booming
- New Hampshire – Towns plan joint wireless network
- Shelton Bear Sighting Closes Callanan Park
- US court: Paper money discriminates against blind
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Hierophant • \HYE-uh-ruh-fant\ • noun – 1: a priest in ancient Greece; specifically: the chief priest of the Eleusinian mysteries 2*a: a person who explains: commentator b: a person who defends or maintains a cause or proposal: advocate
“Well, my prediction was correct….if you discount the fact that the candidate who I said would win, actually lost,” blathered the clueless cable television hierophant. “If you discount all the votes for his opponent, my candidate won!” And the world swooned…
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Puget Sound Energy errors may mean surprise bill for you (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004420795_meter17m.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Uneasy lies the head of Puget Sound Energy
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004419914_pseed18.html
Grays Harbor County PUD thief caught stealing sentenced (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_051908WAB_pud_thief_sentenced_SW.cd01b9d.html?npc
Guest Columnist, Tri-City Herald – Nuclear power talk should be civil
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/188450.html
CA utility asks US to weigh disputed power line (Associated Press, via AOL Finance)
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/ca-utility-asks-us-to-weigh-disputed/n20080516193809990002?cid=1230
Three Strikes Against Kansas Coal Plants: Sebelius Vetoes Again (Environmental News Service)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2008/2008-05-16-093.asp
Duke Energy Carolinas prevails in fight to keep costs confidential (Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/05/19/story14.html?b=1211169600^1636021
A retail electricity provider misses payments to state, loses thousands of customers as a result (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5790994.html
MBA candidates redesign South Africa's electrical industry – A team of Omaha business students is helping expand the electrical industry of a nation in another hemisphere (Omaha World-Herald)
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1208&u_sid=10338109&u_rss=1&
United Kingdom – Utility Watchdog Demands Competition Probe Into Energy Market (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djhighlights/200805200757DOWJONESDJONLINE000260.htm
FISH & WILDLIFE
Puget Sound Energy’s Baker River fish passage system is complete; $10M over estimates (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/19/daily6.html?ana=from_rss
Big ball of Columbia River sturgeon baffles experts – Tens of thousands of sturgeon are found bunched up below Bonneville Dam (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121091010848010.xml&coll=7
Bad Fishing Weather Likely To Raise Copper River Salmon Prices (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/food/16293553/detail.html
Sammy Awards winners keep fighting for salmon (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05182008_Sammy-Awards-winners-keep-fighting-for-salmon.cfm/
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Released Water from Howard Hansen Dam Destroy Man's Auburn Farmland (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16293010/detail.html
Caution: High rivers ... and they're going to stay that way for a while (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4219
Columbian Op/Ed – Other opinions: Proposal favors federal power, not farms
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/05/05162008_Other-opinions-Proposal-favors-federal-power-not-farms.cfm?newsletter=5
Trial date is set for Olympia brewery water ruling – Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater will compensate owner (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/451636.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Seattle Times Op/Ed –Energy from wind power can also help state's students
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004425403_windop20.html?syndication=rss
Canada – New rules jeopardize wind and solar projects (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/427244
CONSERVATION
Bulbs pose trash problem – Recycling program needed for mercury-laced fluorescent lights (Associated Press, via the Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080520/BIZ/157005623/-1/RSS03
Mason County PUD No. 3’s news release on CFL recycling is here: PUD 3 to Provide for Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=425
Seattle Times Editorial – Those funny light bulbs – The cheapest kilowatt of new energy supply is the kilowatt you don't use.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004417411_savingsed16.html
News Release – PECO Encourages its Customers to Save More by Using Less with CFLs (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90119
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Carbon dioxide increases in 2007 (NY Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004426368_apcongressclimate.html?syndication=rss
The U.S. Carbon Market (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/ate/story?id=52451&src=rss
Congressional Research Service – Climate Change: Costs and Benefits of S. 2191
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34489
Old Trees Used to Build Up Carbon Credits – For many people, buying carbon offsets has become a way to go personally "carbon neutral." But these voluntary efforts are entirely unregulated and in California, that's beginning to change (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90570215&ft=1&f=10
Who loves high energy prices? The environment – The skyrocketing costs pinch consumers but are expected to reduce use and emissions (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211160307236140.xml&coll=7
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op/Ed – Consider transit's carbon effect
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/363708_transit20.html?source=rss
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft woos Yahoo again (San Francisco Chronicle, via the Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/188160.html
Portland, Oregon – The end is nigh for free Wi-Fi – Without a buyer, the system may shut off by the end of June (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1210992908135060.xml&coll=7
Comcast to invest in Seattle-based file-sharing company (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/365170.html
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: U.S. Largest, If Not The Fastest, Broadband Market (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/20/oecd-us-largest-if-not-the-fastest-broadband-market/
Thanks to Cable, VoIP in the U.S. Is Booming (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/19/thanks-to-cable-voip-in-the-us-is-booming/
New Hampshire – Towns plan joint wireless network (The Dartmouth)
http://thedartmouth.com/2008/05/20/news/wcnh/
GENERAL NEWS
SHELTON BEAR SIGHTING CLOSES CALLANAN PARK – A bear sighting has closed Callanan Park until further notice. According to Shelton City Commissioner Dawn Pannell, the bear was spotted in the Park late Saturday night rummaging through a garbage can. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife has placed a trap in the Park and officials hope to have the bear out of the area as soon as possible. But until officials can capture the bear or confirm that the bear has left the area, Callanan Park will remain closed. This means all events, including little league games; will not be held in the park until further notice. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
US court: Paper money discriminates against blind (Actually it is the DESIGN of the money, not the money itself that discriminates – Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/454475.html
DIVERSIONS
UPS Avoids Making Left Turns To Save Gas
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16293880/detail.html
Man Has Own Oil Well In Back Yard
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16329053/detail.html
Ohio Northern University Awards Dog A Degree – 1-Year-Old Golden Retriever Gets Degree In Canine Companionship
http://www.kirotv.com/education/16320881/detail.html
Little Leaguer Benched For Mom's No-Show – Woman Was Supposed To Work Concession Stand
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16292533/detail.html
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Puget Sound Energy errors may mean surprise bill for you
- Seattle Times Editorial – Uneasy lies the head of Puget Sound Energy
- Grays Harbor County PUD thief caught stealing sentenced
- Guest Columnist, Tri-City Herald – Nuclear power talk should be civil
- CA utility asks US to weigh disputed power line
- Three Strikes Against Kansas Coal Plants: Sebelius Vetoes Again
- Duke Energy Carolinas prevails in fight to keep costs confidential
- A retail electricity provider misses payments to state, loses thousands of customers as a result
- MBA candidates redesign South Africa's electrical industry
- United Kingdom – Utility Watchdog Demands Competition Probe Into Energy Market
- Puget Sound Energy’s Baker River fish passage system is complete; $10M over estimates
- Big ball of Columbia River sturgeon baffles experts
- Bad Fishing Weather Likely To Raise Copper River Salmon Prices
- Sammy Awards winners keep fighting for salmon
- Released Water from Howard Hansen Dam Destroy Man's Auburn Farmland
- Caution: High rivers ... and they're going to stay that way for a while
- Columbian Op/Ed – Other opinions: Proposal favors federal power, not farms
- Trial date is set for Olympia brewery water ruling
- Seattle Times Op/Ed –Energy from wind power can also help state's students
- Canada – New rules jeopardize wind and solar projects
- Bulbs pose trash problem – Recycling program needed for mercury-laced fluorescent lights
- Seattle Times Editorial – Those funny light bulbs – The cheapest kilowatt of new energy supply is the kilowatt you don't use
- News Release – PECO Encourages its Customers to Save More by Using Less with CFLs
- Carbon dioxide increases in 2007
- The U.S. Carbon Market
- Congressional Research Service – Climate Change: Costs and Benefits of S. 2191
- Old Trees Used to Build Up Carbon Credits
- Who loves high energy prices? The environment
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op/Ed – Consider transit's carbon effect
- Microsoft woos Yahoo again
- Portland, Oregon – The end is nigh for free Wi-Fi
- Comcast to invest in Seattle-based file-sharing company
- Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: U.S. Largest, If Not The Fastest, Broadband Market
- Thanks to Cable, VoIP in the U.S. Is Booming
- New Hampshire – Towns plan joint wireless network
- Shelton Bear Sighting Closes Callanan Park
- US court: Paper money discriminates against blind
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Hierophant • \HYE-uh-ruh-fant\ • noun – 1: a priest in ancient Greece; specifically: the chief priest of the Eleusinian mysteries 2*a: a person who explains: commentator b: a person who defends or maintains a cause or proposal: advocate
“Well, my prediction was correct….if you discount the fact that the candidate who I said would win, actually lost,” blathered the clueless cable television hierophant. “If you discount all the votes for his opponent, my candidate won!” And the world swooned…
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Puget Sound Energy errors may mean surprise bill for you (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004420795_meter17m.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Uneasy lies the head of Puget Sound Energy
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004419914_pseed18.html
Grays Harbor County PUD thief caught stealing sentenced (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_051908WAB_pud_thief_sentenced_SW.cd01b9d.html?npc
Guest Columnist, Tri-City Herald – Nuclear power talk should be civil
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/188450.html
CA utility asks US to weigh disputed power line (Associated Press, via AOL Finance)
http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/ca-utility-asks-us-to-weigh-disputed/n20080516193809990002?cid=1230
Three Strikes Against Kansas Coal Plants: Sebelius Vetoes Again (Environmental News Service)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2008/2008-05-16-093.asp
Duke Energy Carolinas prevails in fight to keep costs confidential (Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/05/19/story14.html?b=1211169600^1636021
A retail electricity provider misses payments to state, loses thousands of customers as a result (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/5790994.html
MBA candidates redesign South Africa's electrical industry – A team of Omaha business students is helping expand the electrical industry of a nation in another hemisphere (Omaha World-Herald)
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1208&u_sid=10338109&u_rss=1&
United Kingdom – Utility Watchdog Demands Competition Probe Into Energy Market (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djhighlights/200805200757DOWJONESDJONLINE000260.htm
FISH & WILDLIFE
Puget Sound Energy’s Baker River fish passage system is complete; $10M over estimates (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/05/19/daily6.html?ana=from_rss
Big ball of Columbia River sturgeon baffles experts – Tens of thousands of sturgeon are found bunched up below Bonneville Dam (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121091010848010.xml&coll=7
Bad Fishing Weather Likely To Raise Copper River Salmon Prices (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/food/16293553/detail.html
Sammy Awards winners keep fighting for salmon (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05182008_Sammy-Awards-winners-keep-fighting-for-salmon.cfm/
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Released Water from Howard Hansen Dam Destroy Man's Auburn Farmland (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16293010/detail.html
Caution: High rivers ... and they're going to stay that way for a while (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4219
Columbian Op/Ed – Other opinions: Proposal favors federal power, not farms
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/05/05162008_Other-opinions-Proposal-favors-federal-power-not-farms.cfm?newsletter=5
Trial date is set for Olympia brewery water ruling – Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater will compensate owner (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/451636.html
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Seattle Times Op/Ed –Energy from wind power can also help state's students
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004425403_windop20.html?syndication=rss
Canada – New rules jeopardize wind and solar projects (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/427244
CONSERVATION
Bulbs pose trash problem – Recycling program needed for mercury-laced fluorescent lights (Associated Press, via the Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080520/BIZ/157005623/-1/RSS03
Mason County PUD No. 3’s news release on CFL recycling is here: PUD 3 to Provide for Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Recycling
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=425
Seattle Times Editorial – Those funny light bulbs – The cheapest kilowatt of new energy supply is the kilowatt you don't use.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004417411_savingsed16.html
News Release – PECO Encourages its Customers to Save More by Using Less with CFLs (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90119
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Carbon dioxide increases in 2007 (NY Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004426368_apcongressclimate.html?syndication=rss
The U.S. Carbon Market (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/ate/story?id=52451&src=rss
Congressional Research Service – Climate Change: Costs and Benefits of S. 2191
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34489
Old Trees Used to Build Up Carbon Credits – For many people, buying carbon offsets has become a way to go personally "carbon neutral." But these voluntary efforts are entirely unregulated and in California, that's beginning to change (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90570215&ft=1&f=10
Who loves high energy prices? The environment – The skyrocketing costs pinch consumers but are expected to reduce use and emissions (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211160307236140.xml&coll=7
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op/Ed – Consider transit's carbon effect
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/363708_transit20.html?source=rss
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft woos Yahoo again (San Francisco Chronicle, via the Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/188160.html
Portland, Oregon – The end is nigh for free Wi-Fi – Without a buyer, the system may shut off by the end of June (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1210992908135060.xml&coll=7
Comcast to invest in Seattle-based file-sharing company (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/365170.html
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: U.S. Largest, If Not The Fastest, Broadband Market (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/20/oecd-us-largest-if-not-the-fastest-broadband-market/
Thanks to Cable, VoIP in the U.S. Is Booming (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/19/thanks-to-cable-voip-in-the-us-is-booming/
New Hampshire – Towns plan joint wireless network (The Dartmouth)
http://thedartmouth.com/2008/05/20/news/wcnh/
GENERAL NEWS
SHELTON BEAR SIGHTING CLOSES CALLANAN PARK – A bear sighting has closed Callanan Park until further notice. According to Shelton City Commissioner Dawn Pannell, the bear was spotted in the Park late Saturday night rummaging through a garbage can. The State Department of Fish and Wildlife has placed a trap in the Park and officials hope to have the bear out of the area as soon as possible. But until officials can capture the bear or confirm that the bear has left the area, Callanan Park will remain closed. This means all events, including little league games; will not be held in the park until further notice. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
US court: Paper money discriminates against blind (Actually it is the DESIGN of the money, not the money itself that discriminates – Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/454475.html
DIVERSIONS
UPS Avoids Making Left Turns To Save Gas
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16293880/detail.html
Man Has Own Oil Well In Back Yard
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16329053/detail.html
Ohio Northern University Awards Dog A Degree – 1-Year-Old Golden Retriever Gets Degree In Canine Companionship
http://www.kirotv.com/education/16320881/detail.html
Little Leaguer Benched For Mom's No-Show – Woman Was Supposed To Work Concession Stand
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16292533/detail.html
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Energy News Digest for May 15, 2008
The Energy News Digest will be on vacation May 16 and May 19 as it travels down the Oregon Coast to invest in the tourist trade. It will return rested and relaxed on May 20.
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)
- Puget Sound Energy may raise rates
- Utilities' executive pay will get closer look from Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission
- PenLight CEO sets eyes on the future
- Utilities seek public’s help to thwart thefts of metal
- Montana – Ex-energy executive: Phase out coal, oil
- FERC Sees Higher US Wholesale Electricity Prices
- New York – State, federal energy policies topic of power producers annual meeting
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Winning Over Customers – Challenges of Growing Online Bill Payment
- Heatstroke killed six trapped sea lions at Bonneville Dam
- New column Part 1: Shoot the messenger, not the sea lions
- New column Part 2: Salmon are a uniter, not a divider
- Anglers blast wildlife officials in Cathlamet over Columbia Chinook fishing
- Port of Grays Harbor touts what fishing there is
- Spring salmon season off to good start on Klamath
- Survey shows trout vital to Montana
- Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalers
- City of Olympia, tribe agreement aims to ease water worries
- Bellingham Herald Op/Ed – Squaxin Island Tribe finds basis in state law to limit wells, conserve water
- Seattle Times Editorial – Failing our Sound
- EPA asks Grant County to help start well sampling program
- North Carolina – Bad gauge measured water level too high
- Pacific Gas & Electric to Congress: take action on renewable-energy tax credits
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Congress must side with renewable energy tax credits
- Ohio mill's power going green – Plant will simultaneously generate electricity and heat
- Solar-plant builder BrightSource raises $115 million
- IBM magnifying power of solar cells
- In-River Turbines – New idea would turn Niagara River into power plant
- California – Lafayette schools to install solar panels
- Seattle Times Guest columnist – Biofuels and food: a grain of truth
- Pacific Northwest energy conservation hits high in 2007
- San Francisco Mayor touts green standards at D.C. hearing
- Salt Lake Tribune Editorial – Getting green: Energy conservation begins with individuals
- Washington State University Offers Energy Saving Schedule Change
- SE Washington Carbon Sequestration Experiment Meets Opposition
- Oregon Governor asks CFOs for backing on green initiatives, transportation
- Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species
- A $3 trillion climate change battle
- Rural Telcos Bring Fiber-to-the-Boondocks
- Digital divide in U.S. closing slowly but still 'significant'
- Tennessee: Cable group seeks EPB suit rehearing
- Reversing trend, cable modems win over DSL
- After Embarrassing failure, FCC starts over with emergency network push
- Billionaire investor will lead revolt against Yahoo, report says
- Ask.com plans to announce that it has agreed to acquire privately-held Lexico
- CBS buying CNet for $1.8 billion
- Forecasters say Washington weather turning hot
- Hot Weather, Quick Snow Melt to Cause Dangerous Conditions
- State Rep. Mary Skinner bows out of politics
- Mars Lander May Find First Signs of Life on the Red Planet
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Titivate • \TIH-tuh-vayt\ • verb – To make or become smart or spruce
With a June wedding approaching, Gaylord worked long hours to titivate his backwoods cabin. The crowning glory, however, were the two life-sized black velvet paintings of Elvis that were slated for the master suite. The young Elvis was to be placed near the closet. Ironically, the old, jump-suited Elvis was inadvertently placed in the bathroom. (Ouch…sorry Elvis fans)
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Puget Sound Energy may raise rates (MyNorthwest.com)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=55248
Utilities' executive pay will get closer look from Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/virgin/363086_virgin15.html?source=rss
PenLight CEO sets eyes on the future (The Peninsula Gateway, Gig Harbor)
http://www.gateline.com/106/story/1376.html
Utilities seek public’s help to thwart thefts of metal (The Eugene Register-Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=100728&sid=4&fid=1
Montana – Ex-energy executive: Phase out coal, oil (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/mtregional/news07.txt
FERC Sees Higher US Wholesale Electricity Prices (Dow Jones NewsWire)
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080515%5cACQDJON200805151121DOWJONESDJONLINE000762.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=UPDATE:%20FERC%20Sees%20Higher%20US%20Wholesale%20Electricity%20Prices
New York – State, federal energy policies topic of power producers annual meeting – Anti coal efforts fail to gain traction (The Business Review)
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/05/12/daily32.html?ana=from_rss
Energy Pulse Commentary – Winning Over Customers – Challenges of Growing Online Bill Payment
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1735
FISH & WILDLIFE
Heatstroke killed six trapped sea lions at Bonneville Dam – Necropsies – With the cage doors shut; the animals couldn't reach the water to cool off (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121082191574480.xml&coll=7
Government: Overheating may have killed sea lions (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004415552_sealions15m.html
New column Part 1: Shoot the messenger, not the sea lions (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15//area_news/doc482a167d5aaa1735795551.txt
New column Part 2: Salmon are a uniter, not a divider “…So, when sea lions congregate at the dam it isn’t so much the fish they’re eating that bothers us, it’s all the money we’ve spent trying to keep those fish around for us to kill…” (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15//area_news/doc482b946185e3c107811604.txt
Anglers blast wildlife officials in Cathlamet over Columbia Chinook fishing –"…You guys did not go to bat for us…" (Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15/area_news/10245736.txt
Port of Grays Harbor touts what fishing there is – The Port of Grays Harbor and much of the fishing community are battening down the hatches and bracing for a devastating recreational fishing season at Westport (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/14/local_news/05news.txt
Spring salmon season off to good start on Klamath (The Daily Triplicate, Crescent City)
http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=8726
Survey shows trout vital to area – Wild trout, Montana icons hard hit by development, pollution and other threats, remain an important part of the Missoula area's economy and culture, a new survey found (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/local/znews05.txt
Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004415609_makah16m.html?syndication=rss
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
City of Olympia, tribe agreement aims to ease water worries (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/449548.html
Bellingham Herald Op/Ed – Squaxin Island Tribe finds basis in state law to limit wells, conserve water
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/291/story/408944.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Failing our Sound
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004415131_pugeted15.html
EPA asks Grant County to help start well sampling program (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/news02.txt
North Carolina – Bad gauge measured water level too high: Duke Energy Web site incorrectly reported lake above target for about 3 weeks (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CkhgnljlSTif%216C%29bfen%5Fv
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Pacific Gas & Electric to Congress: take action on renewable-energy tax credits (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/05/12/daily50.html?ana=from_rss
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Congress must side with renewable energy tax credits
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/14/ED4F10LJ07.DTL
Mill's power going green – Plant will simultaneously generate electricity and heat, which the company says will make it the first carbon-neutral paper plant in North America, burning only industrial wood and fiber waste. (Cincinnati Enquirer – So, emitting carbon that would normally remain sequestered is carbon neutral…what?)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/BIZ01/805130320/1076/BIZ
Solar-plant builder BrightSource raises $115 million – Oakland Company Aims To Grow Globally (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9266366?source=rss
IBM magnifying power of solar cells – Says Technology Provides 5-Fold Increase (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9266393?source=rss
In-River Turbines – New idea would turn Niagara River into power plant (Business First of Buffalo)
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/05/12/daily29.html?ana=from_rss
California – Lafayette schools to install solar panels – The district will have solar panels installed on the roofs of four of its five schools, all without paying a dime (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9260100?source=rss
Seattle Times Guest columnist – Biofuels and food: a grain of truth
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004415125_biofuelsop15.html?syndication=rss
CONSERVATION
Pacific Northwest energy conservation hits high in 2007 (The Associated Press, via KMTR-TV, Springfield, OR)
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=62e9e38b-9eff-4923-aa3e-eadffd4b28c0&rss=191
San Francisco Mayor touts green standards at D.C. hearing – Gavin Newsom testified before Congress on Wednesday about the city's tough new green building standards and urged lawmakers to pass similar rules nationwide (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/BAH310MDP5.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Salt Lake Tribune Editorial – Getting green: Energy conservation begins with individuals
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9260272
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY OFFERS ENERGY SAVING SCHEDULE CHANGE – An energy-saving option of a four-day work week is being offered to faculty and staff at the Washington State University Vancouver campus as part of a new summer initiative. Effective from May through August, all WSU campuses statewide will offer employees the option of working four 10-hour days. The Vancouver campus employs about 275 full-time employees. WSU employs approximately 6,000 statewide. (The Columbian)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
SE Washington Carbon Sequestration Experiment Meets Opposition (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3869
Oregon Governor asks CFOs for backing on green initiatives, transportation (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/05/12/daily32.html?ana=from_rss
Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/us/15polar.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1210871190-92XCNHg2o0lBPvhm5RMRWw
A $3 trillion climate change battle – Regulating greenhouse gases will generate a lot of money. Who should get it? (Fortune Magazine, via CNN)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/news/economy/climate_change_bill.fortune/?postversion=2008051507
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Rural Telcos Bring Fiber-to-the-Boondocks (Light Reading, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=153767
Digital divide in U.S. closing slowly but still 'significant' (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/05/12/daily26.html?ana=from_rss
Tennessee: Cable group seeks EPB suit rehearing – Officer had dismissed the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association’s lawsuit that sought to block EPB from offering fiber to the home (Chattanooga Times-Free Press, via Baller/Herbst)
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/14/cable-group-seeks-epb-suit-rehearing/
Reversing trend, cable modems win over DSL (Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/15/financial/f075102D60.DTL&feed=rss.business
FCC starts over with emergency network push – A high-profile government auction earlier this year failed to attract enough private investment dollars for airwaves dedicated to a nationwide broadband network for emergency responders (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9944129-7.html?tag=nl.e703
Billionaire investor will lead revolt against Yahoo, report says (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/361017.html
Ask.com Tries Again – The company plans to announce that it has agreed to acquire privately-held Lexico, which owns Dictionary.com, as well as Thesaurus.com and Reference.com (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/askcom-tries-again-and-not-just-with-women/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CBS buying CNet for $1.8 billion (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9267469?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Forecasters say Washington weather turning hot (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP05152008news317768.cfm
Hot Weather, Quick Snow Melt To Cause Dangerous Conditions (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16267205/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Skinner bows out of politics – State Rep. Mary Skinner stunned the local political establishment Wednesday, announcing her retirement one month after assuring supporters she would seek an eighth term (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4054
Mars Lander May Find First Signs of Life on the Red Planet (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/May-June-08/Mars-Lander-May-Find-First-Signs-of-Life-on-the-Red-Planet.html
DIVERSIONS
Ants Invade Houston, Eat Computers
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0Ck8ZlMj4LewikS7scW7Ca-z6PgD90LJMFO2
Gas Giveaway Drawing New Parishioners – Georgia Church Giving Two $500 Gas Cards
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/16261885/detail.html
Rare Bottle Of Oregon Beer Sells For $707 – Six-Pack Of Hair Of The Dog Beer Would Cost $4,242
http://www.kirotv.com/money/16262747/detail.html
Vatican scientist says belief in God and aliens is OK
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080514/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_pope_extraterrestrials;_ylt=AqKx9G7O12tZ8GL5aDPaqHjtiBIF
Von Trapp's "Sound of Music" villa to become hotel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080514/od_nm/soundofmusic_dc;_ylt=AlkOn5TQqlG9LpMu5yn8yXPtiBIF
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)
- Puget Sound Energy may raise rates
- Utilities' executive pay will get closer look from Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission
- PenLight CEO sets eyes on the future
- Utilities seek public’s help to thwart thefts of metal
- Montana – Ex-energy executive: Phase out coal, oil
- FERC Sees Higher US Wholesale Electricity Prices
- New York – State, federal energy policies topic of power producers annual meeting
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Winning Over Customers – Challenges of Growing Online Bill Payment
- Heatstroke killed six trapped sea lions at Bonneville Dam
- New column Part 1: Shoot the messenger, not the sea lions
- New column Part 2: Salmon are a uniter, not a divider
- Anglers blast wildlife officials in Cathlamet over Columbia Chinook fishing
- Port of Grays Harbor touts what fishing there is
- Spring salmon season off to good start on Klamath
- Survey shows trout vital to Montana
- Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalers
- City of Olympia, tribe agreement aims to ease water worries
- Bellingham Herald Op/Ed – Squaxin Island Tribe finds basis in state law to limit wells, conserve water
- Seattle Times Editorial – Failing our Sound
- EPA asks Grant County to help start well sampling program
- North Carolina – Bad gauge measured water level too high
- Pacific Gas & Electric to Congress: take action on renewable-energy tax credits
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Congress must side with renewable energy tax credits
- Ohio mill's power going green – Plant will simultaneously generate electricity and heat
- Solar-plant builder BrightSource raises $115 million
- IBM magnifying power of solar cells
- In-River Turbines – New idea would turn Niagara River into power plant
- California – Lafayette schools to install solar panels
- Seattle Times Guest columnist – Biofuels and food: a grain of truth
- Pacific Northwest energy conservation hits high in 2007
- San Francisco Mayor touts green standards at D.C. hearing
- Salt Lake Tribune Editorial – Getting green: Energy conservation begins with individuals
- Washington State University Offers Energy Saving Schedule Change
- SE Washington Carbon Sequestration Experiment Meets Opposition
- Oregon Governor asks CFOs for backing on green initiatives, transportation
- Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species
- A $3 trillion climate change battle
- Rural Telcos Bring Fiber-to-the-Boondocks
- Digital divide in U.S. closing slowly but still 'significant'
- Tennessee: Cable group seeks EPB suit rehearing
- Reversing trend, cable modems win over DSL
- After Embarrassing failure, FCC starts over with emergency network push
- Billionaire investor will lead revolt against Yahoo, report says
- Ask.com plans to announce that it has agreed to acquire privately-held Lexico
- CBS buying CNet for $1.8 billion
- Forecasters say Washington weather turning hot
- Hot Weather, Quick Snow Melt to Cause Dangerous Conditions
- State Rep. Mary Skinner bows out of politics
- Mars Lander May Find First Signs of Life on the Red Planet
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Titivate • \TIH-tuh-vayt\ • verb – To make or become smart or spruce
With a June wedding approaching, Gaylord worked long hours to titivate his backwoods cabin. The crowning glory, however, were the two life-sized black velvet paintings of Elvis that were slated for the master suite. The young Elvis was to be placed near the closet. Ironically, the old, jump-suited Elvis was inadvertently placed in the bathroom. (Ouch…sorry Elvis fans)
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Puget Sound Energy may raise rates (MyNorthwest.com)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=55248
Utilities' executive pay will get closer look from Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/virgin/363086_virgin15.html?source=rss
PenLight CEO sets eyes on the future (The Peninsula Gateway, Gig Harbor)
http://www.gateline.com/106/story/1376.html
Utilities seek public’s help to thwart thefts of metal (The Eugene Register-Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=100728&sid=4&fid=1
Montana – Ex-energy executive: Phase out coal, oil (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/mtregional/news07.txt
FERC Sees Higher US Wholesale Electricity Prices (Dow Jones NewsWire)
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080515%5cACQDJON200805151121DOWJONESDJONLINE000762.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=UPDATE:%20FERC%20Sees%20Higher%20US%20Wholesale%20Electricity%20Prices
New York – State, federal energy policies topic of power producers annual meeting – Anti coal efforts fail to gain traction (The Business Review)
http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/05/12/daily32.html?ana=from_rss
Energy Pulse Commentary – Winning Over Customers – Challenges of Growing Online Bill Payment
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1735
FISH & WILDLIFE
Heatstroke killed six trapped sea lions at Bonneville Dam – Necropsies – With the cage doors shut; the animals couldn't reach the water to cool off (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121082191574480.xml&coll=7
Government: Overheating may have killed sea lions (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004415552_sealions15m.html
New column Part 1: Shoot the messenger, not the sea lions (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15//area_news/doc482a167d5aaa1735795551.txt
New column Part 2: Salmon are a uniter, not a divider “…So, when sea lions congregate at the dam it isn’t so much the fish they’re eating that bothers us, it’s all the money we’ve spent trying to keep those fish around for us to kill…” (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15//area_news/doc482b946185e3c107811604.txt
Anglers blast wildlife officials in Cathlamet over Columbia Chinook fishing –"…You guys did not go to bat for us…" (Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/15/area_news/10245736.txt
Port of Grays Harbor touts what fishing there is – The Port of Grays Harbor and much of the fishing community are battening down the hatches and bracing for a devastating recreational fishing season at Westport (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/14/local_news/05news.txt
Spring salmon season off to good start on Klamath (The Daily Triplicate, Crescent City)
http://www.triplicate.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=8726
Survey shows trout vital to area – Wild trout, Montana icons hard hit by development, pollution and other threats, remain an important part of the Missoula area's economy and culture, a new survey found (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/local/znews05.txt
Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004415609_makah16m.html?syndication=rss
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
City of Olympia, tribe agreement aims to ease water worries (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/449548.html
Bellingham Herald Op/Ed – Squaxin Island Tribe finds basis in state law to limit wells, conserve water
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/291/story/408944.html
Seattle Times Editorial – Failing our Sound
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004415131_pugeted15.html
EPA asks Grant County to help start well sampling program (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/05/14/news/news02.txt
North Carolina – Bad gauge measured water level too high: Duke Energy Web site incorrectly reported lake above target for about 3 weeks (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CkhgnljlSTif%216C%29bfen%5Fv
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Pacific Gas & Electric to Congress: take action on renewable-energy tax credits (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/05/12/daily50.html?ana=from_rss
San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Congress must side with renewable energy tax credits
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/14/ED4F10LJ07.DTL
Mill's power going green – Plant will simultaneously generate electricity and heat, which the company says will make it the first carbon-neutral paper plant in North America, burning only industrial wood and fiber waste. (Cincinnati Enquirer – So, emitting carbon that would normally remain sequestered is carbon neutral…what?)
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/BIZ01/805130320/1076/BIZ
Solar-plant builder BrightSource raises $115 million – Oakland Company Aims To Grow Globally (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9266366?source=rss
IBM magnifying power of solar cells – Says Technology Provides 5-Fold Increase (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9266393?source=rss
In-River Turbines – New idea would turn Niagara River into power plant (Business First of Buffalo)
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/05/12/daily29.html?ana=from_rss
California – Lafayette schools to install solar panels – The district will have solar panels installed on the roofs of four of its five schools, all without paying a dime (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9260100?source=rss
Seattle Times Guest columnist – Biofuels and food: a grain of truth
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004415125_biofuelsop15.html?syndication=rss
CONSERVATION
Pacific Northwest energy conservation hits high in 2007 (The Associated Press, via KMTR-TV, Springfield, OR)
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=62e9e38b-9eff-4923-aa3e-eadffd4b28c0&rss=191
San Francisco Mayor touts green standards at D.C. hearing – Gavin Newsom testified before Congress on Wednesday about the city's tough new green building standards and urged lawmakers to pass similar rules nationwide (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/15/BAH310MDP5.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Salt Lake Tribune Editorial – Getting green: Energy conservation begins with individuals
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9260272
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY OFFERS ENERGY SAVING SCHEDULE CHANGE – An energy-saving option of a four-day work week is being offered to faculty and staff at the Washington State University Vancouver campus as part of a new summer initiative. Effective from May through August, all WSU campuses statewide will offer employees the option of working four 10-hour days. The Vancouver campus employs about 275 full-time employees. WSU employs approximately 6,000 statewide. (The Columbian)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
SE Washington Carbon Sequestration Experiment Meets Opposition (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3869
Oregon Governor asks CFOs for backing on green initiatives, transportation (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/05/12/daily32.html?ana=from_rss
Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/us/15polar.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1210871190-92XCNHg2o0lBPvhm5RMRWw
A $3 trillion climate change battle – Regulating greenhouse gases will generate a lot of money. Who should get it? (Fortune Magazine, via CNN)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/news/economy/climate_change_bill.fortune/?postversion=2008051507
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Rural Telcos Bring Fiber-to-the-Boondocks (Light Reading, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=153767
Digital divide in U.S. closing slowly but still 'significant' (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/05/12/daily26.html?ana=from_rss
Tennessee: Cable group seeks EPB suit rehearing – Officer had dismissed the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association’s lawsuit that sought to block EPB from offering fiber to the home (Chattanooga Times-Free Press, via Baller/Herbst)
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2008/may/14/cable-group-seeks-epb-suit-rehearing/
Reversing trend, cable modems win over DSL (Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/15/financial/f075102D60.DTL&feed=rss.business
FCC starts over with emergency network push – A high-profile government auction earlier this year failed to attract enough private investment dollars for airwaves dedicated to a nationwide broadband network for emergency responders (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9944129-7.html?tag=nl.e703
Billionaire investor will lead revolt against Yahoo, report says (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/361017.html
Ask.com Tries Again – The company plans to announce that it has agreed to acquire privately-held Lexico, which owns Dictionary.com, as well as Thesaurus.com and Reference.com (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/askcom-tries-again-and-not-just-with-women/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CBS buying CNet for $1.8 billion (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9267469?source=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Forecasters say Washington weather turning hot (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP05152008news317768.cfm
Hot Weather, Quick Snow Melt To Cause Dangerous Conditions (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16267205/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Skinner bows out of politics – State Rep. Mary Skinner stunned the local political establishment Wednesday, announcing her retirement one month after assuring supporters she would seek an eighth term (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4054
Mars Lander May Find First Signs of Life on the Red Planet (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/May-June-08/Mars-Lander-May-Find-First-Signs-of-Life-on-the-Red-Planet.html
DIVERSIONS
Ants Invade Houston, Eat Computers
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0Ck8ZlMj4LewikS7scW7Ca-z6PgD90LJMFO2
Gas Giveaway Drawing New Parishioners – Georgia Church Giving Two $500 Gas Cards
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/16261885/detail.html
Rare Bottle Of Oregon Beer Sells For $707 – Six-Pack Of Hair Of The Dog Beer Would Cost $4,242
http://www.kirotv.com/money/16262747/detail.html
Vatican scientist says belief in God and aliens is OK
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080514/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_pope_extraterrestrials;_ylt=AqKx9G7O12tZ8GL5aDPaqHjtiBIF
Von Trapp's "Sound of Music" villa to become hotel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080514/od_nm/soundofmusic_dc;_ylt=AlkOn5TQqlG9LpMu5yn8yXPtiBIF
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Energy News Digest for May 14, 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)
- China says troops rush to plug dangerous cracks in dam
- The Water-Industrial Complex
- Alcoa spent $410,000 in first quarter on lobbying, including BPA issues
- Chelan County PUD considers rate hikes
- McCain tries to ease nuclear-power worries
- Documents shed light on Grays Harbor PUD mill plan
- Wire Thieves Costing You Money
- News Release – Shawn Anstey, PUD 3 Customer Service Manager Retires After 23 years at the Utility
- TVA revenues up, net income sinks 42%
- Australia – Electricity workers march on parliament
- Power Lines and Your Health
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Competition vs. Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity?
- Farm bill includes salmon aid
- Idaho anglers report damage to fish habitat
- Springer numbers lead to Willamette, Columbia salmon changes
- A pitch to fix Duwamish: Private firm hopes to profit from riverbank restoration
- North Mason County Fourth-Graders Get the Straight Poop on Belfair Watersheds
- How not to save salmon – Criticism for predator control programs, oh…and the Snake River dams
- Washington oyster a winner in competition – Comes from Shelton Area
- Paying landowners to protect Puget Sound
- Seattle Times Columnist – Being green is in the bag when it's shoved down our throats
- Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging
- Juneau, Alaska – A City Cooler and Dimmer, and, Oh, Proving a Point
- New York – Officials Decry Long Island Power Authority Conservation Surcharge
- McCain polishes "green" credentials in WA visit
- Firms Seek Patents on 'Climate Ready' Altered Crops
- Montana panel cold toward climate proposals
- Huge study documents changes from climate warming
- Counterfeit Cisco Products – FBI Fears Hardware Backdoors “BPA may have been bilked”
- Douglas PUD to supply TV programming over fiber
- EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia
- When It Comes to Broadband, There’s Never Enough
- Metal Thieves Targeting South Sound Railroads
- Oklahoma – Copper thefts cut into telephone services
- Worker accused of faking cancer to steal from state
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Effloresce • \eff-flor-ESS\ • verb – 1: to burst forth: bloom 2a: to change to a powder from loss of water of crystallization b: to form or become covered with a powdery crust
Donna was getting impatient. The time had come for her garden to effloresce into a rich tapestry of red, blue and yellow. But by June she had become increasingly worried that the silk flower seeds she purchased from the door to door salesmen had been a complete waste of money.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
China says troops rush to plug dangerous cracks in dam (Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake
The Water-Industrial Complex – In 2001, a water shortage in America's Pacific Northwest wiped out nearly a third of the U.S. aluminum industry (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/05/13/water-electricity-industry-biz-energy-cx_bp_0514water.html
Alcoa spent $410,000 in first quarter on lobbying – “…and access to electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Ore…” (The Associated Press, via the Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5773608.html
Chelan County PUD considers rate hikes – Predicted 'net assets' of $18.5 million are 27 percent lower than budgeted (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS04/605006022
McCain tries to ease nuclear-power worries (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004412459_mccain14m.html?syndication=rss
Documents shed light on Grays Harbor PUD mill plan – Newly released documents show how the Grays Harbor PUD plans to structure its financing of the Cosmopolis Pulp Mill’s powerhouse purchase to make money on the deal and meet new state “green power” requirements (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/13/local_news/02news.txt
WIRE THIEVES COSTING YOU MONEY – The Lewis County PUD continues to be hit by wire thieves. The latest theft in the Toledo area includes 2,700 feet of line stolen from the Cedar Creek Road. The value of the stolen line is estimated at $650. But the manpower required to replace it is considerably higher (KELA Radio, Centralia)
News Release – Shawn Anstey, PUD 3 Customer Service Manager Retires After 23 years at the Utility (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=434
TVA revenues up, net income sinks 42% (Memphis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/05/12/daily16.html?ana=from_rss
Australia – Electricity workers march on parliament – workers from across Queensland have stopped work to march on state parliament to protest against stalled pay talks (The Herald Sun)
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23696880-5005961,00.html
Power Lines and Your Health (MSN Health & Fitness)
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100202335>1=31025
Energy Pulse Commentary – Competition vs. Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity? (This one is NOT a quick read folks)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1744
FISH & WILDLIFE
Farm bill includes salmon aid (Times Standard, Eureka)
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_9253567
Idaho anglers report damage to fish habitat – Two Sandpoint outfitters say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fouled a tributary of the Clark Fork River and destroyed protected bull trout habitat during a $250,000 flood-control project (Spokesman Review, Spokane)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=14919
Springer numbers lead to Willamette, Columbia salmon changes(Salem Statesman Journal)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/OUTDOORS/805140442/1034/SPORTS
A pitch to fix Duwamish: Private firm hopes to profit from riverbank restoration – Let's restore the banks of the Duwamish River to make them more natural, help shelter young salmon -- and make money in the process. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363006_duwamish14.html?source=rss
North Mason County Fourth-Graders Get the Straight Poop on Belfair Watersheds (Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/may/13/fourth-graders-get-the-straight-poop-on/
How not to save salmon – Criticism for predator control programs, oh…and the Snake River dams (High Country News)
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.WOTRArticle?article_id=17706
Washington oyster a winner in competition – The winner? A surprise Washington invader: the Totten Virginica, which matures on a secluded beach at the end of a dead-end road between Olympia and Shelton (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/359973.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Paying landowners to protect Puget Sound (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004412432_growth_tdr15m.html?syndication=rss
Seattle Times Columnist – Being green is in the bag when it's shoved down our throats
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004411952_rams14.html?syndication=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9939613-54.html?tag=nl.e703
CONSERVATION
Juneau, Alaska – A City Cooler and Dimmer, and, Oh, Proving a Point – Here in Alaska, where melting arctic ice and eroding coastlines have made global warming an urgent threat, this little city has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in a matter of weeks (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14juneau.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
New York – Officials Decry Long Island Power Authority Conservation Surcharge – Is the latest planned surcharge - as much as $3 a month beginning in January 2009 - a way to encourage conservation or a back-door approach to raising rates? (Suffolk Life Newspapers)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19688440&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6365&rfi=6
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
McCain polishes "green" credentials in WA visit (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP05132008news317071.cfm
Firms Seek Patents on 'Climate Ready' Altered Crops (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202919.html?nav=rss_technology
Montana panel cold toward climate proposals (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/13/news/state/47-climateproposals.txt
Huge study documents changes from climate warming (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2008-05-14-climate-study_N.htm?csp=34
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Counterfeit Cisco Products – FBI Fears Hardware Backdoors In US “…Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, US Navy, and Bonneville Power Administration…were allegedly sold counterfeit products…” (Ziff-Davis)
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39417171,00.htm
Douglas PUD to supply TV programming over fiber (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS04/881951556/1001
EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9244577?source=rss
When It Comes to Broadband, There’s Never Enough (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/13/when-it-comes-to-broadband-theres-never-enough/
GENERAL NEWS
Metal Thieves Targeting South Sound Railroads – Thieves looking to cash in metal for money took railroad crossing arms from a location south of Olympia, and railroad tracks were stolen in Grays Harbor County (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16258704/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Oklahoma – Copper thefts cut into telephone services (The Muskogee Phoenix)
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_134232421.html
Worker accused of faking cancer to steal from state – The woman received $21,000 in paid leave after forging letters from doctors, prosecutors allege (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080514/NEWS01/956613429/-1/RSS02
DIVERSIONS
Kittens Credited With Saving Lives In Fire – Two-Alarm Blaze Damages Three Houses
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16251627/detail.html
Man Refuses To Turn Off Cell On Flight – Southwest Traveler Cited For Cell Phone Call
http://www.kirotv.com/travelgetaways/16252931/detail.html
Ohio man finds someone already buried in his grave
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004413071_apmistakenburial.html?syndication=rss
Solitaire-y Confinement – Why we can't stop playing a computerized card game “…solitaire is the most-used program in the Windows universe…”
http://www.slate.com/id/2191295/?from=rss
Pull plug on automated toilets, panel says – Seattle's City Council say it's time to get rid of the city's five automated, single-stall toilets
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/362987_toilets14.html
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- China says troops rush to plug dangerous cracks in dam
- The Water-Industrial Complex
- Alcoa spent $410,000 in first quarter on lobbying, including BPA issues
- Chelan County PUD considers rate hikes
- McCain tries to ease nuclear-power worries
- Documents shed light on Grays Harbor PUD mill plan
- Wire Thieves Costing You Money
- News Release – Shawn Anstey, PUD 3 Customer Service Manager Retires After 23 years at the Utility
- TVA revenues up, net income sinks 42%
- Australia – Electricity workers march on parliament
- Power Lines and Your Health
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Competition vs. Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity?
- Farm bill includes salmon aid
- Idaho anglers report damage to fish habitat
- Springer numbers lead to Willamette, Columbia salmon changes
- A pitch to fix Duwamish: Private firm hopes to profit from riverbank restoration
- North Mason County Fourth-Graders Get the Straight Poop on Belfair Watersheds
- How not to save salmon – Criticism for predator control programs, oh…and the Snake River dams
- Washington oyster a winner in competition – Comes from Shelton Area
- Paying landowners to protect Puget Sound
- Seattle Times Columnist – Being green is in the bag when it's shoved down our throats
- Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging
- Juneau, Alaska – A City Cooler and Dimmer, and, Oh, Proving a Point
- New York – Officials Decry Long Island Power Authority Conservation Surcharge
- McCain polishes "green" credentials in WA visit
- Firms Seek Patents on 'Climate Ready' Altered Crops
- Montana panel cold toward climate proposals
- Huge study documents changes from climate warming
- Counterfeit Cisco Products – FBI Fears Hardware Backdoors “BPA may have been bilked”
- Douglas PUD to supply TV programming over fiber
- EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia
- When It Comes to Broadband, There’s Never Enough
- Metal Thieves Targeting South Sound Railroads
- Oklahoma – Copper thefts cut into telephone services
- Worker accused of faking cancer to steal from state
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Effloresce • \eff-flor-ESS\ • verb – 1: to burst forth: bloom 2a: to change to a powder from loss of water of crystallization b: to form or become covered with a powdery crust
Donna was getting impatient. The time had come for her garden to effloresce into a rich tapestry of red, blue and yellow. But by June she had become increasingly worried that the silk flower seeds she purchased from the door to door salesmen had been a complete waste of money.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
China says troops rush to plug dangerous cracks in dam (Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_as/china_earthquake
The Water-Industrial Complex – In 2001, a water shortage in America's Pacific Northwest wiped out nearly a third of the U.S. aluminum industry (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/05/13/water-electricity-industry-biz-energy-cx_bp_0514water.html
Alcoa spent $410,000 in first quarter on lobbying – “…and access to electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Ore…” (The Associated Press, via the Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5773608.html
Chelan County PUD considers rate hikes – Predicted 'net assets' of $18.5 million are 27 percent lower than budgeted (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS04/605006022
McCain tries to ease nuclear-power worries (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004412459_mccain14m.html?syndication=rss
Documents shed light on Grays Harbor PUD mill plan – Newly released documents show how the Grays Harbor PUD plans to structure its financing of the Cosmopolis Pulp Mill’s powerhouse purchase to make money on the deal and meet new state “green power” requirements (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/13/local_news/02news.txt
WIRE THIEVES COSTING YOU MONEY – The Lewis County PUD continues to be hit by wire thieves. The latest theft in the Toledo area includes 2,700 feet of line stolen from the Cedar Creek Road. The value of the stolen line is estimated at $650. But the manpower required to replace it is considerably higher (KELA Radio, Centralia)
News Release – Shawn Anstey, PUD 3 Customer Service Manager Retires After 23 years at the Utility (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=434
TVA revenues up, net income sinks 42% (Memphis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/05/12/daily16.html?ana=from_rss
Australia – Electricity workers march on parliament – workers from across Queensland have stopped work to march on state parliament to protest against stalled pay talks (The Herald Sun)
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23696880-5005961,00.html
Power Lines and Your Health (MSN Health & Fitness)
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100202335>1=31025
Energy Pulse Commentary – Competition vs. Regulation: Have We Achieved Conversational Clarity? (This one is NOT a quick read folks)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1744
FISH & WILDLIFE
Farm bill includes salmon aid (Times Standard, Eureka)
http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_9253567
Idaho anglers report damage to fish habitat – Two Sandpoint outfitters say the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fouled a tributary of the Clark Fork River and destroyed protected bull trout habitat during a $250,000 flood-control project (Spokesman Review, Spokane)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=14919
Springer numbers lead to Willamette, Columbia salmon changes(Salem Statesman Journal)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080514/OUTDOORS/805140442/1034/SPORTS
A pitch to fix Duwamish: Private firm hopes to profit from riverbank restoration – Let's restore the banks of the Duwamish River to make them more natural, help shelter young salmon -- and make money in the process. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363006_duwamish14.html?source=rss
North Mason County Fourth-Graders Get the Straight Poop on Belfair Watersheds (Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/may/13/fourth-graders-get-the-straight-poop-on/
How not to save salmon – Criticism for predator control programs, oh…and the Snake River dams (High Country News)
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.WOTRArticle?article_id=17706
Washington oyster a winner in competition – The winner? A surprise Washington invader: the Totten Virginica, which matures on a secluded beach at the end of a dead-end road between Olympia and Shelton (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/359973.html
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
Paying landowners to protect Puget Sound (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004412432_growth_tdr15m.html?syndication=rss
Seattle Times Columnist – Being green is in the bag when it's shoved down our throats
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004411952_rams14.html?syndication=rss
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9939613-54.html?tag=nl.e703
CONSERVATION
Juneau, Alaska – A City Cooler and Dimmer, and, Oh, Proving a Point – Here in Alaska, where melting arctic ice and eroding coastlines have made global warming an urgent threat, this little city has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in a matter of weeks (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14juneau.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
New York – Officials Decry Long Island Power Authority Conservation Surcharge – Is the latest planned surcharge - as much as $3 a month beginning in January 2009 - a way to encourage conservation or a back-door approach to raising rates? (Suffolk Life Newspapers)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19688440&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6365&rfi=6
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
McCain polishes "green" credentials in WA visit (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP05132008news317071.cfm
Firms Seek Patents on 'Climate Ready' Altered Crops (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202919.html?nav=rss_technology
Montana panel cold toward climate proposals (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/13/news/state/47-climateproposals.txt
Huge study documents changes from climate warming (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2008-05-14-climate-study_N.htm?csp=34
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Counterfeit Cisco Products – FBI Fears Hardware Backdoors In US “…Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, US Navy, and Bonneville Power Administration…were allegedly sold counterfeit products…” (Ziff-Davis)
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39417171,00.htm
Douglas PUD to supply TV programming over fiber (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS04/881951556/1001
EarthLink to pull the plug on Wi-Fi in Philadelphia (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9244577?source=rss
When It Comes to Broadband, There’s Never Enough (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/05/13/when-it-comes-to-broadband-theres-never-enough/
GENERAL NEWS
Metal Thieves Targeting South Sound Railroads – Thieves looking to cash in metal for money took railroad crossing arms from a location south of Olympia, and railroad tracks were stolen in Grays Harbor County (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16258704/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Oklahoma – Copper thefts cut into telephone services (The Muskogee Phoenix)
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_134232421.html
Worker accused of faking cancer to steal from state – The woman received $21,000 in paid leave after forging letters from doctors, prosecutors allege (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080514/NEWS01/956613429/-1/RSS02
DIVERSIONS
Kittens Credited With Saving Lives In Fire – Two-Alarm Blaze Damages Three Houses
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16251627/detail.html
Man Refuses To Turn Off Cell On Flight – Southwest Traveler Cited For Cell Phone Call
http://www.kirotv.com/travelgetaways/16252931/detail.html
Ohio man finds someone already buried in his grave
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004413071_apmistakenburial.html?syndication=rss
Solitaire-y Confinement – Why we can't stop playing a computerized card game “…solitaire is the most-used program in the Windows universe…”
http://www.slate.com/id/2191295/?from=rss
Pull plug on automated toilets, panel says – Seattle's City Council say it's time to get rid of the city's five automated, single-stall toilets
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/362987_toilets14.html
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