News Digest for August 31, 2007

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.

WORD OF THE DAY

virescent • \vuh-RESS-unt\ • adjective – *1: beginning to be green: greenish 2: developing or displaying the condition of becoming green due to the development of chloroplasts in plant organs (as petals) normally white or colored

Bartholomew was weathering his first sea voyage quite well. That is, until the ocean liner exited the protected bay and met the long rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. The color of his face faded to white and then took a virescent tinge that was quickly followed by a phone call to Ralph on the “big white phone.”

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269

Ore. climatologist forecasts wet, cold winter – Oregon State University climatologist George Taylor has issued his annual fall and winter forecast, and it says snow might be in Western Oregon's future. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-909452~Ore__climatologist_forecasts_wet__cold_winter.html

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

State of California dodges power problems, thanks to conservation (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA2NRSFL9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

BROKEN GAS LINE FORCES SHORT EVACUATION IN DOWNTOWN SHELTON – A broken natural gas line forced a short evacuation in downtown Shelton Thursday morning. According to Jay Ebbeson, Public Works Director for Shelton, a worker from Merlino Construction Company, working on the City's Basin Two project, hit and broke an unmarked service line to St. David's Parish Hall just before 9am. As a precaution, a four block by four block area was evacuated as Cascade Natural Gas was called in to shut off the gas and repair the break. The effected area was between Front and Fourth streets, and between Railroad Avenue and Alder Street. The gas line was shut off shortly after ten. People were allowed back in the homes and businesses by about 10:30am. No injuries were reported. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Pend Oreille PUD, Kalispels reach terms over flooded land – District to pay tribe yearly with at least $200,000 in power (Spokane Journal of Business)
http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokane_id=article&sub=3293

Snohomish County PUD reinforces Stanwood with new power line (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070831/NEWS01/108310038

Recycling Business Owner Arrested In Metal Theft Sting (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14014636/detail.html

Recycler arrested in purchase of stolen metal (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9479622.html

Ohio – Firelands Electrical Cooperative offers $500 reward for information on missing copper (The Morning Journal)
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18769554&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

Puget Energy wants gas rate cut, its first in five years (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/08/27/daily27.html?ana=from_rss

Minnesota – Unpaid bills for natural gas are up sharply – About 160,000 CenterPoint Energy customers across Minnesota are in arrears on their natural gas bills, up from a 70,000 to 100,000 at the end of summer in years past, the company said Tuesday. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffjkmsuWVgbt%3EEvbfem%5Ev

Canada – The 'N' word that makes politicians quake – Environmentalists demanding an end to global warming are calling on the world's governments to adopt clean, zero-emission energy. But mention "nuclear power" -- one of the safest energy sources available with no greenhouse gases -- and their reaction can be summed up in a word: radioactive. (The Province)
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=cde30296-27a7-48a9-94ce-154a91c7828e

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

The Columbian Newspaper on U.S. Sen. Larry Craig – Local angle: Salmon debate may be affected. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig represents constituents located well beyond Southwest Washington, but the senator has had a direct interest and effect on natural resource policies in the Columbia River basin.
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/08302007news190990.cfm

Here it comes! Sen. Craig no friend to 'greens' in NW (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Joel Connely)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/329774_joel31.html?source=mypi

Want to save Puget Sound? Do the science first (Crosscut Seattle)
http://crosscut.com/science-environment/6834/Want+to+save+Puget+Sound%3F+Do+the+science+first/

David Dicks Spells Out Tasks Ahead to Save Puget Sound (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/30/dicks-spells-out-tasks-ahead-to-save-puget-sound/

Fox News Commentary – The Endangered Species Act Out of Control. Is a salmon born in a hatchery a different species from the same salmon born in the wild?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295359,00.html

Ilwaco Salmon Fishery Reopens September 2 – The recreational fishery in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) will reopen to retention of chinook, coho and pink salmon at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 2, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today. (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen)
http://kbkw.com/wireready/news/00128_Ilwaco-Salmon_062842.php

CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Turbines shortage boosts wind-power costs – A prolonged shortage of wind turbines is pushing up prices for wind energy projects and forcing developers to scramble for deals long before construction begins. (Seattle Times, Golly…is anyone surprised by this?)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003861483_windmillshortage31.html

California IOUS want new renewable energy goals to apply to munis – California's investor-owned utilities Tuesday said they would support a 33% renewables target by 2020 in proposed legislation only if municipal utilities are required to meet the same target. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/6449531.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&

United Kingdom – Assessing the UK's 'wind rush' . Wind lobby rebuts claims: Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in Britain. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6970209.stm

Reach for the sky: Could flying wind farms help beat global warming? (CNN Technology)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/31/sky.turbines/

News Release – Consumer Reports Reveals Ten Things Consumers Can Do Now to Save Hundreds on Energy Costs. October issue also explains personal carbon footprints; The dark side of compact fluorescent light bulbs (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=73139

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Global warming – who pays and when? The economics of climate change is driving what kind of pact nations may be willing to make. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0831/p08s01-comv.html

United Kingdom –Petrol-driven cars could be banned across Britain by 2040, under radical Liberal Democrat plans to tackle climate change. (The Guardian)
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,,2157621,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=environment

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Are e-mails public records? A case against a DSHS employee raises the issue of whether the public has the right to see the e-mails and Web-viewing habits of state workers. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003861655_openrecords31m.html

Google a victim of EarthLink woes with cancellation of S.F. Wi-Fi – The collapse of Mayor Gavin Newsom's ambitious plan to bring free wireless Internet access to San Francisco dealt a blow to Google Inc., which had hoped to use the system to test an array of new products. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BUT6RSDTU.DTL&feed=rss.business

GENERAL NEWS

Ore. troopers catching more triple-digit speeders – For some drivers, breaking the speed limit is just not enough. They have to smash it. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_SUPER_SPEEDERS_OROL-?SITE=KOPB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Craig fallout: Idaho will lose millions, influence –Idaho stands to lose influence and millions of federal dollars now that the state's senior U.S. senator has lost committee leadership positions and faces increasing pressure from Republican leaders to resign. (the Associated Press via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP08312007news191299.cfm

DIVERSIONS

Meteor 'outburst' expected Saturday morning – Find a place to lie down and look up Saturday morning, because a meteor "outburst" is forecast over the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NEWS/708310305

Got Arachnophobia? Here’s Your Worst Nightmare
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31spider.html?ex=1346212800&en=2e6183a24921db2d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Japanese men girdle up for battle of the bulge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15340920070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Russian man arrested for stealing bridge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15321120070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Naked man does hula, steals beer at store
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070830/ap_on_fe_st/naked_man_theft;_ylt=AlEy_HwKRqh1LomXRqGookHtiBIF