Energy News Digest for January 18, 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)

* Columbia River runoff looks sufficient for power supply in 2008
* Montana official: PPL applied 'unethical' pressure to energy co.
* Maryland – Utility rethinks bulbs surcharge
* Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial – Keep lights on electricity deals
* Public comment on rate hike to be taken at Ferry County PUD meeting
* Alaska – Oil revenue reawakens old dream of hydroelectric dam
* Coal is no longer on front burner
* Coal Industry Plugs Into the Campaign
* United Kingdom – Power giants under fire
* Sea lions' death warrant?
* Treaty Tribes praise federal sea lion recommendation
* State seeks public input on a salmon-fishing plan for Willapa Bay
* DeBolt Pushes Amendment to Ease River Debris Removal
* Montana – Dam demo: Work to dismantle Milltown hydropower site gets under way
* Columbia River water proposal can be reviewed
* Jefferson County septic hearing turns hostile
* Energy bill may slow down plans for wind farms
* Golly, biomass on the hot seat! Fixing Tacoma’s air pollution from older wood stoves
* Safeway trucks to use biodiesel fuel
* Lawsuit Over Energy Standards
* Seeking an Energy-Efficient TV?
* UW forecasts 6-inch rise in sea-level by 2050
* Canada – Alberta premier says oilsands cleaning up its carbon record
* California task force urges broadband bonds
* YouTube’s Traffic Continues to Snowball
* Online video reaches new record
* Video Killed the Broadband Buffet
* Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage
* Google feeling lucky in D.C.
* AT&T fined more than $300,000 for overcharging on prison calls
* Former Yakama Tribal curator, daughter indicted in artifact thefts
* Thurston County says turnover no trend
* A race to stop nuclear dump
* Oops! White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Crepuscular • \kruh-PUS-kyoo-ler\ • adjective – 1: of, relating to, or resembling twilight: dim 2: occurring or active during twilight

“In the dim, crepuscular light, your features soften, almost to a beautiful form,” Ambrose whispered to his date. His efforts to beautify her hideous visage failed miserably, as with one stroke of her magic wand, he was turned into a toad. “That will teach you to use such language,” she shouted, her long, green nose quivering with anger.

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

Columbia River runoff looks sufficient for power supply in 2008 (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1164872~Columbia_River_runoff_looks_sufficient_for_power_supply_in_2008.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Montana official: PPL applied 'unethical' pressure to energy co. (Great Falls Tribune, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1163921~Montana_official__PPL_applied__unethical__pressure_to_energy_co_.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

Maryland – Utility rethinks bulbs surcharge: Outrage prompts Allegheny Power to pledge refunds (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Ciffmust%5BTli%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv

Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial – Keep lights on electricity deals. The controversy over whether Duke Energy made improper deals with some of its largest customers to win their support for a rate hike might have been avoided if the company was as open about how much electricity costs those customers as it is about how much the rest of us pay to keep the lights on.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080118/EDIT01/801180351

Public comment on rate hike to be taken at Ferry County PUD meeting Jan. 21 (Omak Chronicle)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080117b.shtml

Alaska – Oil revenue reawakens old dream of hydroelectric dam on Susitna (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/news/environment/story/286401.html

Coal is no longer on front burner – The rush to build power plants slows as worries grow over global warming, building costs and transportation. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/la-na-coal18jan18,1,2092714.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Coal Industry Plugs Into the Campaign – A group backed by the coal industry and its utility allies is waging a $35 million campaign in primary and caucus states to rally public support for coal-fired electricity and to fuel opposition to legislation that Congress is crafting to slow climate change. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011702837.html?wpisrc=rss_politics

United Kingdom – Power giants under fire: Energy firms face a consumer revolt and a £9bn tax bill. For Britain's energy suppliers, this could yet prove to be their winter of discontent. (The Independent)
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/article3348009.ece

Minnesota – Electrical service dispute goes to trial – A trial date in the dispute between the city of Two Harbors and Cooperative Light & Power has been set for Jan. 30, according to city administrator Lee Klein. (Lake County News Chronicle)
http://www.twoharborsmn.com/articles/index.cfm?id=16371&freebie_check&CFID=84077924&CFTOKEN=97860686&jsessionid=8830d290c3cc1155560f

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Sea lions' death warrant? The feds want to shoot about 30 of the salmon gobblers each year near Bonneville Dam (Ther Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1200632102166420.xml&coll=7

Treaty Tribes praise federal sea lion recommendation (KTVZ-TV, Bend)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7741081

State seeks public input on a salmon-fishing plan for Willapa Bay (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/01/17/local_news/07news.txt

DeBolt Pushes Amendment to Ease River Debris Removal – A bill amendment set to be introduced would make it easier for landowners to clear debris from streams. (Daily Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1200596966&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Montana – Dam demo: Work to dismantle Milltown hydropower site gets under way (The Missoulian)
http://missoulian.com/articles/2008/01/18/news/top/news01.txt

Loomis and CCA will help preservation (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/331187.html

Columbia River water proposal can be reviewed – A proposed agreement that would allow farmers to voluntarily conserve water in exchange for new rights to Columbia River water is available for public review. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-rss/story/9578775p-9490532c.html

Jefferson County septic hearing turns hostile, then it's postponed after crowd fills room (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080118/NEWS/801180304

University of Washington weighs in – Researchers Challenge Water-Flow Model (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/science/18rivers.html?ex=1358398800&en=57212b8c96fd02c5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Energy bill may slow down plans for wind farms – Congress' failure to include a renewable energy tax credit in the much-touted energy bill passed late last year could chill wind-farm development in the Columbia River Gorge and elsewhere (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1200542122227610.xml&coll=7

Golly, biomass on the hot seat! Fixing Tacoma’s air pollution from older wood stoves – $1.5 million needed to replace older wood stoves, says cleanup agency (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/258256.html

Safeway trucks to use biodiesel fuel – Decision is part of the company's plans to recycle and use sustainable sources of fuel and energy (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8007943?source=rss

CONSERVATION

Lawsuit Over Energy Standards (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/nyregion/18mbrfs-energy.html?ex=1358398800&en=dc88a7ac5fffd4a2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Seeking an Energy-Efficient TV? Yes, It's Confusing (U.S. News & World Report)
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/beyond-the-barrel/2008/1/17/seeking-an-energy-efficient-tv-yes-its-confusing.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

UW forecasts 6-inch rise in sea-level by 2050 (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/330596.html

Climate Change Tests L.A.'s Conservation Success (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18195314

Canada – Alberta premier says oilsands cleaning up its carbon record (Canwest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=3796d4c0-9334-4ec7-8b94-3b7117f6a498&k=76176

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

California task force urges broadband bonds (Reuters, via CNET News)
http://www.news.com/California-task-force-urges-broadband-bonds/2100-1034_3-6226709.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

YouTube’s Traffic Continues to Snowball (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/youtubes-traffic-continues-to-snowball/index.html?ex=1358398800&en=697bbdba7ec4b25d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Online video reaches new record – More than 75 percent of U.S. Internet users watch at least some online videos, with the average user watching 195 minutes worth of it in November. (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/01/14/daily32.html?ana=from_rss

Video Killed the Broadband Buffet (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/01/17/video-killed-the-broadband-buffet/

Time Warner to test Internet billing based on usage (Reuters, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080117/media_nm/timewarner_internet_dc

Google feeling lucky in D.C. – After a slow start, the company is beginning to exert some lobbying influence in the nation's capital. (KCPQ-TV, Seattle)
http://q13.trb.com/news/la-fi-google17jan17,0,1803633.story?coll=kcpq-news-3

Tennessee Cable Group Maintains Opposition to Utility Plan (Broadcast Newsroom, via Baller/Herbst)
http://dtv.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=279378

Tenn. Governor Weighs in on Cable Fight – Tenn. Gov. Bredesen May Weigh in on Fight Over Cable Permitting (Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080118/tn_xgr_competitive_cable.html?.v=1

Indiana Pumps Up Broadband Economy With $16 Million From FCC (Midwest Business News)
http://www.midwestbusiness.com/news/viewnews.asp?newsletterID=18682

GENERAL NEWS

AT&T fined more than $300,000 for overcharging on prison calls (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13870477.html

Former Yakama Tribal curator, daughter indicted in artifact thefts (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1164954~Former_Yakama_curator__daughter_indicted_in_artifact_thefts.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Thurston County says turnover no trend – Four top Thurston County managers left for new jobs in the past six months, but county leaders say it's a high turnover cycle that happens every so often and not an indication of any crisis or trend. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/331247.html

A race to stop nuclear dump (Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/347858_joel18.html?source=rss

Oops! White House Study Found 473 Days of E-Mail Gone (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011703575.html?wpisrc=rss_technology

Chess Champion Fischer Dies At 64 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15082016/detail.html

DIVERSIONS

Court Overturns Employee's Spanking Award – Woman Had Been Awarded $1.5 Million
http://www.kirotv.com/money/15074518/detail.html

Burglar finds corpse and calls police
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1763378820080117?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Au contraire! Clowns say kids do NOT find them scary
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080118/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_clowns;_ylt=AtJXwiU4xj0CiUexoMnEXn7tiBIF

You're a Packers fan, son ... got it? Upset that his 7-year-old son wouldn't wear a Green Bay Packers jersey during the team's playoff victory Saturday, a man restrained the boy for an hour with tape and taped the jersey onto him.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_fe_st/odd_disorderly_fan;_ylt=Ai2roCRZvamEp7_OTWcFDZftiBIF