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 – Support pouring in
- Idaho has abundant power? Think again
- Kulongoski preaches energy tolerance
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric wants public to pay for new smart meters
- Close U.S. Senate Vote Expected on Energy
- Judge extends Columbia River salmon-proposal deadline
- 'We can do better' for fish, judge says
- Dueling Editorial Content 1 – Salmon forecasts don’t look great for Columbia River
- Dueling Editorial Content 2 – Big spring Chinook run forecast for Columbia
- Environmental coalition outlines agenda for 2008
- The Economist Magazine – Why netting fewer fish nets more fish
- Olympian Editorial – Puget Sound is in harm’s way.
- Clallam County PUD starts hearings on water rate hike
- Homespun Electricity, From the Wind
- State's new climate change law being tested
- San Francisco Ties Building Codes to Climate Change
- Green Exchange to Trade Carbon Credits
- Carbon offsets: Landowners' and farmers’ wave of the future?
- Federal Judge Upholds Law on Emissions in California
- Oregon – Verizon now in the cable TV picture.
- Study predicts data centre energy spike
- Highway 101 Along Hood Canal Expected to Reopen Friday
- Relief arriving to flood victims
- Two arrested on suspicion of burglary at flooded home
- Attorney of the Year! Alberto Gonzales
- Ho-ho-no: McDermott votes against Christmas

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Ingénue • \AN-juh-noo\ • noun – 1: a naïve girl or young woman *2: the stage role of an ingénue; also: an actress playing such a role

Whenever I see this word, I always think of the actress Theresa Wright. I think that when you look up the word ingénue in the dictionary, her picture should be right there. Not that I’m obsessed with Theresa Wright, you see. I just think she was neat. Doesn’t hurt that she was an Oscar winner too. But I digress…

WEATHER

Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Grays Harbor County – Support pouring in (The Daily World)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/12/12/local_news/02news.txt

Idaho has abundant power? Think again – Two manufacturers skip Boise after utility says it can't provide electricity. (The Idaho Statesman – removing those Snake River Dams…good luck with that. See Ya Later…..)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/237066.html

Kulongoski preaches energy tolerance – Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council Wednesday the region shouldn't be limiting its energy options on the way to reaching the widely shared goal of energy independence. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9515038p-9425849c.html

California – Pacific Gas and Electric wants public to pay for newest, smartest electrical meters (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/13/BUUMTT33H.DTL

Close U.S. Senate Vote Expected on Energy “…Senate Democrats dropped a requirement that utilities generate 15 percent of their electricity from solar, wind and other renewable sources. Opponents argued that the mandate would lead to higher electricity costs, especially in regions that do not have an abundance of wind or solar energy, such as the Southeast…” (Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imPz0z6szykAL-CAKZDEZOAiDREgD8TGELIG0

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Judge extends Columbia River salmon-proposal deadline – Government given until March 18 for new dam-mitigation plan (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343375_salmon13.html?source=rss

'We can do better' for fish, judge says – Columbia salmon - A federal judge promises "very harsh" measures if a solution is not found (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1197518173320550.xml&coll=7

Dueling Editorial Content 1 – Salmon forecasts don’t look great for Columbia River (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/228501.html

Dueling Editorial Content 2 – Big spring Chinook run forecast for Columbia (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2007/12/12122007_Big-spring-chinook-run-forecast-for-Columbia.cfm

Environmental coalition outlines agenda for 2008 – More urban trees, fewer greenhouse gas emissions and schoolchildren nourished with locally grown food (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/298447.html

The Economist Magazine – Why netting fewer fish nets more fish (Via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/343277_fishonline13.html?source=rss

Olympian Editorial – Puget Sound is in harm’s way. Data from a recent report released by the state Department of Ecology conjures up the image of a slow-moving oil spill, incessantly oozing into Puget Sound.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/298464.html

Clallam County PUD starts hearings on water rate hike (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3301

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Homespun Electricity, From the Wind (Home-based wind turbines catching on, NIMBYs turn out – NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/garden/13wind.html?ex=1355202000&en=28a43c2dfe063111&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

A Young Tinkerer Builds a Windmill, Electrifying a Nation. Mr. Kamkwamba's Creation Spurs Hope in Malawi; Entrepreneurs Pay Heed (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119742696302722641.html?mod=hpp_us_editors_picks

Less Backup for Wind Power May Be Required (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50830&src=rss

CONSERVATION

Rudolph conserving energy (Say, is that an LED in your nose! (Chronicle Journal, Thunder Bay, Ontario)
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=80106

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

State's new climate change law being tested – lf you took an interest in the rather rapid development of this year's climate change law in the Legislature then you might want to be tracking what's happening before the state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/mulick/v-rss/story/9514904p-9425702c.html

San Francisco Ties Building Codes to Climate Change (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17196602&ft=1&f=3

Green Exchange to Trade Carbon Credits (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17196599&ft=1&f=3

Carbon offsets: Landowners' and farmers’ wave of the future? (Trading Markets)
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/908154/

Federal Judge Upholds Law on Emissions in California – A federal judge in Sacramento on Wednesday upheld a California law regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, another in a string of legal defeats for the auto industry this year. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/washington/13emissions.html?ei=5088&en=60b91aa929a1df79&ex=1355202000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1197569394-bnLX/2M+lpxWHxpYjebiFA

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Oregon – Verizon now in the cable TV picture. The new service gives consumers a choice, but rates appear unlikely to fall despite competition (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1197433526322420.xml&coll=7

Study predicts data centre energy spike – An AMD study has revealed fascinating changes to global data centre energy use, suggesting that even small shifts in operational procedures could cut now electricity consumption. (Techworld)
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=10928

Broadband Reports – Comcast Fights Bad Service Reputation. Can the nation's largest cable company cure what ails it?
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Fights-Bad-Service-Reputation-90194

GENERAL NEWS

Highway 101 Along Hood Canal Expected to Reopen Friday (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/12/highway-101-along-hood-canal-expected-to-reopen/

Relief arriving to flood victims – Cash, volunteering best ways to help as needs shift to long term (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343380_giving13.html

Two arrested on suspicion of burglary at flooded home (that’s burglary NOT robbery)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/298474.html

Land of the fee for photos in national parks? Interior Department denies permits would limit news photographers (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/story/228406.html

Carbon monoxide: Last year's surprise killer still claims lives (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004068680_carbon13m.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Holy Cow! Don’t try this at home: Tesla coil art – Peter Terren's got a Tesla coil, and he's not afraid to use it... a lot.
http://www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2007/12/gallery_tesla_artist

Man Chugs Vodka at Airport, Nearly Dies
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14837605/detail.html

Boots walk off, then fly home – It’s the saga of the missing footwear: A Lakewood man buys boots on eBay, only to find out they were the pair stolen from his front porch in July.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/228418.html

Miffed bus driver “hijacked us,” passengers say
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004069099_webbusdriver13.html?syndication=rss

Attorney of the Year! Journal Grants Gonzales a Superlative
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202305.html?nav=rss_nation

Ho-ho-no: McDermott votes against Christmas – Humbug? Congressman Jim McDermott was one of only nine members of the U.S. House to vote against resolution recognizing Christmas “…supported House resolutions this fall to recognize the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and the festival of Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. But the Washington Democrat drew the line at Christmas…” (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/343335_mcdermott13.html?source=rss