Energy News Digest for Janaury 10, 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)

- Nuclear power gains steam in energy race
- Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards at Nuclear Plants
- Puget Energy Declares Dividends
- Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses
- Smarter meters, dumber utilities
- Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism
- Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery
- Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science
- San Francisco – Delta's grim year
- U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling
- Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options
- Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
- Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass
- Wave energy promoters get to work
- California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes
- United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind
- Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding
- Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program
- Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office
- Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand
- Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints
- Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning
- Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System
- Canadian government says no to carbon tax
- From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium
- As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows
- Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks
- Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double
- F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net
- 365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green'

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Lachrymose • \ LACK-rim-mose\ • adjective – 1: given to tears or weeping: tearful 2: tending to cause tears: mournful

Tad’s ad campaign for a new variety of onion was not going over so well. After having sold the DeBarto Onion Company on the popular theme “An Onion A Day Keeps Your Spouse Away” he embarked on a new campaign for “Lachrymose Free Onions, They’re All Wet”. The executives were not amused.

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

Nuclear power gains steam in energy race – Nuclear power, despite controversy over safety, pollution and cost factors, is rapidly gathering steam in a race to guarantee energy as emerging economies compete for fuel and particularly oil. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080110/sc_afp/worldenergynuclearsectorenvironment_080110161224

Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards – The security company’s chief executive resigned during continuing controversy about guards caught napping at a Pennsylvania reactor last year. ("…We would like to thank Mr. Sanders and wish him the best of luck in the future..." Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903368.html?nav=rss_business

Canada – Top nuclear watchdog stands ground, criticizes threat to fire her. The president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission vowed on Tuesday to serve out her term as Canada's top nuclear watchdog (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=58a1c041-3edb-4371-a9d0-b92246a82825&k=65082

PUGET ENERGY DECLARES DIVIDENDS – Puget Energy has declared quarterly dividends on the company's common and preferred stock. A quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share was declared on Puget Energy's common stock, payable Feb. 15 to shareholders of record as of the close of business Jan. 23. The dividend is the 258th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Puget Energy and its predecessor companies. (South Sound Business Examiner)

Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses (The Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock09jan09,0,5311887.column

Smarter meters, dumber utilities (Contra Costa Times, Via Turn.org)
http://www.turn.org/article.php?id=653

Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism. A draft government designation of more than 6,000 miles of energy transportation corridors through 11 Western states found a crescendo of criticism and no support at a hearing on a multi-agency preliminary environmental impact statement. (The Argus Observer)
http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2008/01/09/news/doc47852896508a2404873428.txt

Montana – Candy billionaire fights energy firms. A reclusive billionaire whose family owns the Mars candy empire is emerging as a formidable opponent to the energy industry's plans to expand development of some of the country's most productive coal and gas deposits. (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_bi_ge/candy_versus_coal_1

UK'S Brown says energy price rises 'regrettable' – Severe rises in the cost of British domestic energy are 'regrettable', Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament. (“Golly, that’s too bad…poor chap…” Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/01/09/afx4510613.html

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/250774.html

Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery (The Chronicle, Omak)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080107a.shtml

Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/letters/story/252549.html

San Francisco – Delta's grim year. Survey says weather, pollution in 2007 caused fish species to hit record-low levels (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931189?nclick_check=1

U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling – An Indian tribe says it will continue its efforts to force a Canadian company to pay to clean up pollution of a stretch of the Columbia River that flows past the tribe's reservation. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01082008news259020.cfm?newsletter=10

Thurston County Judge finds man illegally fished on tribal land (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/322873.html

Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/kennewick-explores-underground-water-storage-options/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/OPINION/801090379/1049

Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/front/story/259282.html

Wave energy promoters get to work (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/01/07/daily14.html?ana=from_rss

California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes – Third agency turns down state funds to build vehicle fueling station (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931193

United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind – Greens. New nuclear stations would generate electricity at twice the price of electricity from offshore wind turbines, opponents have claimed. (Kent News)
http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Students-in-Kent-achieve-best__ever-GCSE-results-newsinkent8633.aspx?news=local

Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding: producers – Germany produced almost a tenth of its energy needs for transport, electricity generation and heating from renewable sources in 2007, an industry group said on Tuesday. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/sc_afp/germanyclimatewarmingenergyalternative_080108193629

NY Times Op-Ed Columnist – Is Ethanol for Everybody?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/opinion/10cohen.html?ex=1357621200&en=1b45fba9e5dfc00d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

CONSERVATION

Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/technology/10energy.html?_r=2&ex=1357707600&en=0bf4d327a1f48fca&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office (Montana Standard)
http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2008/01/10/state/hjjbjiijjjeghf.txt

Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand; A Switch in Light Bulbs (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119984808932177097.html

Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints, and developers are paying heed (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1199481915133570.xml&coll=7

Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1647

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3472

Canadian government says no to carbon tax (The National Post)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=221515

From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium – Premier Brad Wall is "dreaming in Technicolor" if he thinks Saskatchewan and Canada will - or should - receive credit for greenhouse-gas reductions because of the province's export of uranium (CanWest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=cb0626b4-93f6-45ea-8a86-e730e33c2432&k=99370

As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows – Scientists are puzzled, but the phenomenon seems to fit the latest global-warming models. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0110/p14s01-sten.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks (The Davis County Clipper)
http://www.clippertoday.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=24815&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1005&hn=clippertoday&he=.com

Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/paidcontent/PCORG_318515.html?ex=1357621200&en=12b424d4f1a786e0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net Associated Press, via the NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/business/media/09fcc.html?ex=1357534800&en=9e4b64cb37e6d47b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green' (Information Week, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080109/tc_cmp/205600759

GENERAL NEWS

Seattle Times Columnist – Art as a symbol ... of Port waste
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004115152_danny09.html

DIVERSIONS

'Meanest Mom' Sells Teenage Son's Wheels – Mom Finds Alcohol In Son's Car
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15013132/detail.html

Calling Tom Hagen – Man Who Mailed Cow's Head To Wife's Lover Sentenced (extra points for those who got the ‘Godfather’ reference)
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013006/detail.html

Police Chief Fired, Convicted Of Stealing Beer From Firefighters' Fridge
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013024/detail.html

Cat Causes Idaho Blackout
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15003098/detail.html