Energy News Digest for December 14, 2007

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

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Windstorm prompts PSE changes
- Industry Flexes Muscle, Weaker Energy Bill Passes
- Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste
- TVA net income up
- Lice in Fish Farms Endanger Wild Salmon, Study Says
- Kitsap, Hood Canal Salmon-Project Funding Greatly Expanded
- California landslide wiped out native trout speciesState plan gives Central Washington cities water for future growth
- Western States to Share Colorado River Water
- Colorado – Wind power bills rising. It costs more to be green
- New York – Gear problems shut down windmills in Lackawanna
- Red light – Green Light – LED Technology In Richland Has Cost Effective Results
- Seattle No. 8 on 'greenest city' list
- Seattle Times Commentary – Thermal politics heat up
- Bloomberg: Carbon Tax Better Than Trades
- Server Electricity Use Soars in Asia Pacific Region
- Celebrating 60 years of transistors
- Mason County Public Health Has Free Immunizations For Clean Up Workers
- Steel Electrics gone, state will run a 'temp' car ferry out of Port Townsend
- State's paid family leave program closer to reality
- Greenspan: Recession Odds 'Clearly Rising'

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Folderol • \FAHL-duh-rahl\ • noun – 1: a useless ornament or accessory: trifle *2: nonsense

“What’s all this folderol?” thundered the red-faced schoolmaster to his unruly classroom. After nipping out of the classroom for a five minute comfort stop, the teacher returned to find that his class had created a pyramid of desks in the center of the room. “It were aliens that did it,” piped the young master Erich von Däniken.

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Windstorm prompts PSE changes – A year after the Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm knocked out electricity to more than 1 million customers statewide — some for more than 10 days — officials at the state's largest energy utility concede they need to do a better job letting people know how long they'll be in the dark. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004071348_pse14m.html?syndication=rss

Industry Flexes Muscle, Weaker Energy Bill Passes – Pared-down energy legislation cleared the Senate on Thursday by a wide margin – Renewable standard is out. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/washington/14energy.html?ex=1355288400&en=c9b83f8710a73a9b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste – By burning away all the pesky carbon and other impurities, coal power plants produce heaps of radiation (Scientific American)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste

Oregon – Group protests plans for three LNG terminals across Oregon. Protesters thronged the Portland headquarters of Northwest Natural Gas Co. Wednesday to protest three proposed liquefied natural gas terminals near the coast and related pipelines that would snake across hundreds of miles of Oregon countryside. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1197512914160640.xml&coll=7

News Release – Calpine Announces Final Results of Plan of Reorganization Voting; 91% of Ballots Cast Vote to Accept Plan (Calpine Corporation)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/12-12-2007/0004722017&EDATE=

TVA net income up (Memphis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2007/12/10/daily21.html?ana=from_rss

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Canada – Fish farms will make local wild salmon extinct in a decade: study (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/12/13/tech-salmonfarm-lice.html

Lice in Fish Farms Endanger Wild Salmon, Study Says – Parasites that breed in fish farms kill so many passing juvenile wild salmon that they threaten the survival of fish populations in some rivers and streams, Canadian researchers are reporting. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/science/earth/14salmon.html?ex=1355288400&en=da47570e7562730e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Kitsap, Hood Canal Salmon-Project Funding Greatly Expanded (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/13/salmon-funding-greatly-expanded/

California landslide wiped out native trout species, scientists say – A mudslide in fire-damaged Orange County wiped out one of the last remaining populations of native rainbow trout in Southern California. (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7721235?nclick_check=1

The Olympian Op/Ed – River flows must be restored to protect fish habitat
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/299448.html

State plan gives cities water for future growth – The cities of Cashmere and Leavenworth will have the water they need to grow for at least the next 25 years under a plan approved this week by the state. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/NEWS04/712130001/1001

Western States to Share Colorado River Water (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17210282&ft=1&f=3

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Colorado – Wind power bills rising. It costs more to be green; regular Xcel customers will pay less as natural gas prices drop (Rocky Mountain News)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/dec/13/wind-power-bills-rising/

New York – Gear problems shut down windmills in Lackawanna. Complicated repairs of turbines expected to take several months (Buffalo News)
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/227898.html?imw=Y

News Release – 3TIER introduces Firstlook Solar Assessment. Web-based tool to accelerate development of solar energy sites (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/partner/story;jsessionid=C70A78FCAB77EB2628C2D46D6F001E60?id=50828&src=rss

CONSERVATION

Pennsylvania – Energy analysis will help Adams County – With the state set to deregulate electricity in fewer than three years, Adams County wants to prepare. (The Evening Sun, Hanover)
http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_7721911

Red light – Green Light – LED Technology In Richland Has Cost Effective Results (KNDO-TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7495341

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Seattle No. 8 on 'greenest city' list (Puget Sound Business Journal – with about 95% of its electricity coming from hydro, I would hope to shout)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/10/daily21.html?ana=from_rss

Seattle Times Commentary – Thermal politics heat up – Ask Washington Rep. Jay Inslee about the blazing velocity of events surrounding global warming and clean energy. He has two fast answers: really bad news and really good news.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004069767_lance14.html?syndication=rss

Bloomberg: Carbon Tax Better Than Trades (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5376441.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Server Electricity Use Soars in Asia Pacific Region – Server electricity use is growing faster in the Asia Pacific region (minus Japan) than anywhere on the planet, and total worldwide server electricity use doubled the first half of this decade (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573B0000152E7.html?ex=1355202000&en=4aab816096d1b0e6&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Maine – Verizon decision postponed. A wrench was thrown into the Maine Public Utility Commission’s plans to deliberate and perhaps come to a decision on the proposed Verizon-FairPoint land line acquisition Thursday. (Bangor Daily News)
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=157752&zoneid=12

United Kingdom – £1m Ocean's Eleven-style heist. Robbers disguised as police stole up to £1million worth of computer equipment from a data centre with "state-of the art" security in a daring Ocean's Eleven-style robbery. (Evening Standard)
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23426764-details/%C2%A31m+Ocean%27s+Eleven-style+heist/article.do

FCC Chief Rejects Call to Delay Vote – Senators Accuse Martin of Forcing Cross-Ownership Rule (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301876.html?nav=rss_business

Celebrating 60 years of transistors (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Celebrating-60-years-of-transistors/2100-1006-6222770.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703

GENERAL NEWS

MASON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH HAS FREE IMMUNIZATIONS FOR CLEAN UP WORKERS – Mason County Public Health will be providing free Hepatitis A (first dose) and Tetanus immunizations for Mason County residents that have been working in floodwaters, mud, and debris, and may have contaminated drinking water. Public Health will be at the Theler Community Center in Belfair on Saturday from 11am to 1pm. There is a limited supply of state provided immunizations so the shots will be provided on a first come first serve basis. (KMAS Radio, Shelton – Love in the time of Cholera)

Local Governments Face Complex Situation – Economic Fallout: Early Estimates Say $111 Million in Damage Befell Lewis County “…City of Chehalis officials said building permits they issue within the floodplain will be considered more closely, but growth and a “business friendly” atmosphere will take priority. ‘we’re not going to take the position of not having development in the city’” (The Chronicle)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1197573722&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Storm blowdown of trees immense – Some tore out by the roots while others snapped like matchsticks. (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/12/13/local_news/01news.txt

Steel Electrics gone, state will run a 'temp' car ferry out of Port Townsend (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20071214/NEWS/712140305

State's paid family leave program closer to reality (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343513_leave14.html?source=rss

Greenspan: Recession Odds 'Clearly Rising' (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17210282&ft=1&f=3

DIVERSIONS

Mysterious gold coin dropped in Salvation Army kettle
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071214/NEWS01/712140076&news01ad=1

See Mars Now: Red Planet Shines Bright
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20071214/sc_space/seemarsnowredplanetshinesbright

Queen win karaoke crown – Rock classic Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen has been named the number one karaoke song of all time, after a new poll.
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/music/queen-win-karaoke-crown-$1179087.htm

Lonely Canadian Shocked to Get $85,000 Phone Bill
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-phonebill.html?ex=1355288400&en=bc8e3abc735f48e4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Oh, so it was for spite – Merry Christmas – McDermott: Christmas vote was jab at bill's GOP sponsor. Iowa's Steve King blocked children's insurance increase
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343463_mcdermott14.html?source=rss

Eel-lectric lights for Japanese Christmas tree – Not even a blackout could put a damper on festivities at one Japanese aquarium where an electric eel is being used to light up its Christmas tree.
http://www.news.com/Eel-lectric-lights-for-Japanese-Christmas-tree/2100-11395_3-6222643.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

Under The Needle: Candy Cane Lane's conscientious objector abstains from decorating home
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343519_needle14.html