Energy News Digest for January 2, 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)

- For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped
- Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return
- Clallam County PUD power rates going up
- Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month
- E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1
- 'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use
- State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs
- Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power
- Thurston County Public Utility District Lands A New Manager
- Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy
- Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations
- California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power
- Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control
- New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages
- Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project
- Lacey urges customers to buy green power
- Marysville air worse than Seattle's thanks to wood stoves
- Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy?
- New Energy Uses for Asphalt
- Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses
- Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change
- A greener Oregon landscape in 2008
- Montanans ready to slow global warming
- Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning
- Lawsuit against Grant County PUD over fiber network dismissed
- Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications
- Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds
- AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser
- Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise
- Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage
- Los Angeles – Out on a limb over trimming fiasco
- Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year
- L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers
- Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions
- Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis
- Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West
- Lapdogs could land hefty fine

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Akrasia • \uh-KRAY-zhuh\ • noun – Weakness of will: weakness of will, especially a failure to act according to a sense of moral obligation

Alfonse was ridden with akrasia. On one hand, he knew that the double cheeseburger with jalapenos, blue cheese, thick bacon and avocados was bad for him. On the other hand, he knew that his head would explode if he could not take just one tasty bite of this forbidden fruit. “I know just as Ulysses felt as he had his crew tie him to the mast as they passed by the sirens,” he pondered. In the end, his vegetarian friends came to the rescue, tying him to the bumper of their hybrid vehicle as they slowly glided past the burger joint on their way to the organic “Humus Hut” down on south 43rd Avenue.

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

For Tahuya Residents, Best Gifts Come Unwrapped (Look! It’s PUD 3 employee Nick Earsley on a very narrow footbridge – Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/24/for-tahuya-residents-best-gifts-come-unwrapped/

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Part of Bonneville Power residential exchange program credit could return (Idaho Business Review)
http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive.htm/2007/12/31/Part-of-Bonneville-Power-residential-exchange-program-credit-could-return

Clallam County PUD power rates going up (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3327

Oregon – Local power bills to rise this month – Cost of fuel and materials drive rates up 4 percent in Forest Grove. Other utilities also boosting rates. (The News Times)
http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=119912457496505600

E. Idaho power rates to increase Jan. 1 – The price of electricity in Eastern Idaho is about to get a little more expensive. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/313744.html

'Decoupling' splits electricity rates and use (Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology)
http://www.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2007/12/31/story13.html?ana=from_rss

State-by-State Fact Sheets; Details on Winter Heating Costs, Plus Energy-Efficiency Tips
Provided by the Alliance to Save Energy (Kansas City Info-Zine)
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/26272/

Winter State Fact Sheets – Click on a state below to get energy cost estimates and savings measures for each state. Information is available for the U.S. as a whole. (Alliance to Save Energy)
http://www.ase.org/extensions/state_facts/

Climate change reheats interest in nuclear power – In the nation's Capitol, nuclear is being seriously considered, though foes remain in the Northwest (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1198913116293600.xml&coll=7

THURSTON COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT LANDS A NEW MANAGER – John Weidenfeller is the Thurston Public Utility District's new general manager. He was business and finance manager for King County International Airport/Boeing Field. He also has worked for Snohomish and Pierce counties and for Bonney Lake. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Montana and a master's degree in business administration from Embry-Riddle University. The PUD provides water planning and utility services to Thurston County and also owns and operates water systems in Pierce, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Mason counties. Formed in 1938 by a vote of the people, the PUD has about 155 water systems with about 3,000 connections. (The Olympian)

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Spring Chinook predictions for Columbia River looking rosy – It’s winter, but many salmon anglers already have spring on their minds. (Yakima Herald-Republic – OK, some media say that it’s going to be a dismal year for salmon…others say it’s gonna be great. No wonder the public’s confused)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/page/dis/303712752767457

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission invites comments on sport vs. commercial allocations (The Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=47987&TM=37318.47

Ellensberg – Agreement brings water foes together – Conflicting desires rarely form a confluence, but an agreement blending the divergent flows of fisheries, farming and ranching interests along Manastash Creek is being hailed as a win-win situation for all. (Capital Press)
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=94&SubSectionID=801&ArticleID=38062&TM=65804.91

Late Rains Save Atlanta From Record for Drought (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/31drought.html?ex=1356757200&en=8250dd2d9f0b9cd8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

China – Concerns Rise with Water of Three Gorges Dam (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17723829&ft=1&f=3

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

California – The Deadly Toll Of Wind Power. Despite yearlong effort to curb bird deaths by turbines on the Altamont Pass, many still have perished (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/02/MNITTM9FA.DTL&feed=rss.news

Wind-power politics -- locals push for land-use control (Puget Sound Business Journal, partial story…the rest is for subscribers only)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/focus7.html?ana=from_rss

New Zealand – Energy strategy risks power shortages. There is a significant risk of power shortages from the Government's aim for 90 per cent renewable power and prices will rise, according to former Electricity Commission chairman Roy Hemmingway. (Stuff, New Zealand)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4342184a13.html

Idaho – US Geothermal Completes Raft River Project (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50986&src=rss

Lacey urges customers to buy green power – The city and Puget Sound Energy are challenging residents, businesses and public agencies to buy "green power." (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/314778.html

Air worse than Seattle's – The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is paying up to $750 to Marysville residents who own pre-1995 wood stoves and fireplace inserts to replace them with newer stoves or other cleaner ways of heating their homes. (Everett Herald – Biomass takes another hit…ouch!)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071231/NEWS01/488016856/-1/RSS01

Can We Turn Garbage Into Energy? The pros and cons of plasma incineration. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2181083/fr/rss/

New Energy Uses for Asphalt – If you've ever blistered your bare feet on a hot road you know that asphalt absorbs the sun's energy. A Dutch company is now siphoning heat from roads and parking lots to heat homes and offices. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/31/financial/f111431S18.DTL&feed=rss.business

Cold causes some biodiesel problems for Clark County buses (The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01022008news256020.cfm

CONSERVATION

Intelligent plugs will tackle the energy-guzzlers inside your home (London Times Online)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3118713.ece

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Washington State Team Looking at Ways to Address Climate Change (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/30/state-team-looking-at-ways-to-address-climate/

A greener Oregon landscape in 2008 – The broadest array of new environmental laws in years sets standards for fuel, for renewable power generation and for appliance efficiency…mandates may cause spikes in renewable costs and impacts (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/11990715088480.xml&coll=7

Montanans ready to slow global warming (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/31/news/state/18-polls.txt

A green future may take green (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketers Online – You asked for it, now comes the bill)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChkprqljSSec%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv

All About: Cities and energy consumption – “…the world's cities emit almost 80 percent of global carbon dioxide as well as ‘significant amounts of other greenhouse gases.’ Put simply, if you want to tackle climate change, tackle the cities.” (CNN International)
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/31/eco.cities/

Marketing firm issues `green' buyer beware warning – A prominent Canadian eco-marketing firm is issuing a "buyer beware" warning to consumers after a recent survey found an overwhelming number of empty boasts on the labels of products claiming some sort of environmental benefit. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7abb7be5-db6a-48b6-9940-519666af86ae

How Green is Your Neighborhood? (Time Magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1696857,00.html

Don't print that e-mail! Businesses watch the green line, too (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004097406_greenemail31.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Lawsuit against Grant PUD dismissed – PUD accused of driving down Internet prices. A federal lawsuit filed in June against Grant County PUD by three Internet service providers was dismissed earlier this month. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/12/31/news/news02.txt

Thanks to Kitsap County PUD – Fiber Optics Network Will Be Used for Emergency Communications – Local governments, schools and taxing districts throughout Kitsap County could soon be communicating across a high-speed intranet with almost unlimited capacity (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/31/fiber-optics-network-will-be-used-for-emergency/

Tennessee – Clarksville Department of Electricity new name launches new era: Department getting ready for Internet, phone services (Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle)
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080101/NEWS01/801010314

Americans are more wired, new-media survey finds – About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online (Reuters)
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6224146.html

AOL Pulls Plug on Netscape Web Browser – Netscape Navigator, the world's first commercial Web browser and the launch pad of the Internet boom, will be pulled off life support Feb. 1 after a 13-year run. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/28/financial/f133102S87.DTL&feed=rss.business

Clearwire shows wireless promise (Associated Press, via the Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1198913114293600.xml&coll=7

Who's Ready for the Digital (television) Transition? (E-Marketer)
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005758

Data Breaches, Thefts on the Rise – Wireless Transmissions Seen as Vulnerable to Hackers (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/01/AR2008010101714.html?nav=rss_business

Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002796.html?nav=rss_technology

Ridicule That's Getting On Our Nerds – Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them, book review (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/31/AR2007123101929.html?nav=rss_technology

GENERAL NEWS

Tahuya State Forest Sustains $1M in Damage (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/28/tahuya-state-forest-sustains-1m-in-damage/

Out on a limb over trimming fiasco – Everybody's got a horror story about a bureaucratic nightmare, but if you can top this one, call me collect at your earliest convenience. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez28nov28,0,7375819,full.column?coll=la-home-center

Don’t expect gasoline prices to drop this year – Retail gasoline broke all of the usual seasonal patterns in 2007 and the past week was no exception, the Energy Department figures showed Monday, as pump prices rose nationally. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/242790.html

L&I rules no violation in death of one of its workers (The Olympian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12312007news255264.cfm?newsletter=10

Batteries Included in New Travel Restrictions (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/business/01memo.html?ex=1356930000&en=4c813cb84f92c217&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Fund Frozen, Florida Towns Feel the Pinch – Florida’s state-run investment pool hammered by sub-prime loan crisis (didn’t invest in them itself)…municipalities unable to withdraw money without paying penalties. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/us/01pool.html?_r=1&ex=1356930000&en=5bc7bc0adefd085d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in the West (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/us/30lands.html?ex=1356670800&en=0d2984ddf653f8f0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Lapdogs could land hefty fine – Question: You see them all the time – folks driving cars with pooches perched in their laps. A Gig Harbor reader wants to know if it’s legal. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/241975.html

DIVERSIONS

Man tells cops pterodactyl caused car crash
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/NEWS04/696205505/1001/rss1001

Bremerton Woman Objects To Dog In Bathroom – Fight over canine affection breaks out with boyfriend
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14944987/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Newlyweds caught in drag race – Australian newlyweds kissing on the backseat of their hired car were unaware their chauffeur was street drag racing, until a police siren broke their romantic bliss and ended the race.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0157786120080101?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

`Surge' makes the banned-words list – Resist the urge to say you will "wordsmith" your list of New Year's resolutions rather than write one. And don't utter, "It is what it is" when you fail to meet your first goal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071231/ap_on_re_us/banned_words

Under the Hood, a Cozy Rat Retreat – As if New York City car owners don’t already endure enough indignities — $500-a-month garages, alternate-side parking, the B.Q.E. — it turns out that rats, of which the city has an ample supply, love to cozy up inside car engines this time of year. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/nyregion/29rats.html?ex=1356670800&en=46ae3e3ff53da18b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss