Energy News Digest for January 24, 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)

* Chance of new snow this weekend across Washington
* Washington Columbia reactor to cut output to 40 pct
* South Africa declares electricity emergency
* Washington to set Chinook rules Feb. 2
* Federal orca recovery plan short on specific proposals
* California – Fishing ban sought on American River
* Daily Astorian Editorial – Why kill salmon for California?
* State House OKs public works package – Cowlitz PUD projects may benefit
* California Program Makes Toilet Water Drinkable
* California – Little energy behind state solar plant effort
* Oregonian Editorial – Give the guv some credit
* Indiana – Lawmakers reject renewable energy bill
* Hydro Doesn’t Have to Be Big
* Letting it all hang out; Province's move to end ban on clotheslines sign of changing attitudes
* Bill would add greenhouse gas concerns to growth management law
* Higher Storm Waves: Sign Of Climate Change?
* Centralia College Hosts Week of Climate Change Events
* Olympian Editorial – Schools on track with green efforts
* Construction to begin on East Wenatchee data center
* Grant County PUD commissioners review plans for fiber
* FCC's Airwaves Auction Draws $2.78 Billion in Bids
* News Release – CableOrganizer.com Cites the Top 5 Reasons Fiber Optic Technology
* Go Daddy Super Bowl ad finally passes muster, will tout censored commercial
* Copper thefts bedevil state road crews, endanger motorists
* Computer Crackdown – Nine D.C. Workers Fired For Looking at Porn

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Scarify • \SKAIR-uh-fye\ • verb – 1: to make scratches or small cuts in (as the skin) 2: to lacerate the feelings of *3: to cut or soften the wall of (a hard seed) to hasten germination 4: to clear ground of debris in preparation for replanting, as in logging clean up

Ambrose wandered aimlessly through the wasteland that was his backyard. A stunted tree with a crazily angled swing off a cracked limb; an abandoned fish pond filled with frogs eggs and mosquito larvae; and his barren garden plot, half an acre of rocky soil that looked as if God had scarified it as a part of a biblical curse. “hmm, maybe potatoes this year,” he pondered.

WEATHER

Chance of new snow this weekend across Washington (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01252008news267921.cfm

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

(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Washington Columbia reactor to cut output to 40 pct (Reuters)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2429150520080125

South Africa declares electricity emergency (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080125/ap_on_re_af/south_africa_electricity_2

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Washington to set Chinook rules Feb. 2 (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/25/this_day/10075243.txt

Federal orca recovery plan short on specific proposals (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/264467.html

California – Fishing ban sought on river. Two-month lull on American would help steelhead, group says. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/661086.html

Daily Astorian Editorial – Why kill salmon for California? Fish agency asks why we spend billions for fish recovery and dredge for LNG
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=48576

State House OKs public works package – Cowlitz PUD projects may benefit (Daily News, Longview)
http://tdn.com/articles/2008/01/24/area_news/10074053.txt

California Program Makes Toilet Water Drinkable (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18409513&ft=1&f=3

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

California – Little energy behind state solar plant efforts. Audit finds that any such projects would face major bureaucratic and economic hurdles. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-solar25jan25,1,2458479.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Oregonian Editorial – Give the guv some credit. The Legislature should give Ted Kulongoski better energy tax credits for the next time he goes recruiting
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1201227903211800.xml&coll=7

Indiana – Lawmakers reject renewable energy bill (Indianapolis Star)
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/LOCAL/801250485/0/BUSINESS

Hydro Doesn’t Have to Be Big (Miller-McCune)
http://www.miller-mccune.com/main/article/142

CONSERVATION

Virginia – Commissaries ‘going green’ with fluorescent lights (Belvoir Eagle)
http://www.belvoireagle.com/index.php/news-articles/commissaries_going_green_with_fluorescent_lights/

Letting it all hang out; Province's move to end ban on clotheslines sign of changing attitudes about the environment (Brantford Expositor, Ontario)
http://www.brantfordexpositor.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=873472&auth=Michelle+Ruby

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Bill would add greenhouse gas concerns to growth management law (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1179779~Bill_would_add_greenhouse_gas_concerns_to_growth_management_law.html

Higher Storm Waves: Sign Of Climate Change? (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3514

College Hosts Week of Climate Change Events – Centralia College will hold four Lyceum speaking engagement next week as a part of Focus the Nation. (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1201201557&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Olympian Editorial – Schools on track with green efforts
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/338271.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Construction to begin on East Wenatchee data center (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS04/996583521/1001

Grant County PUD commissioners review plans for fiber (The Star of Grand Coulee)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1013&dept_id=618552&newsid=19226208&PAG=461&rfi=9

FCC's Airwaves Auction Draws $2.78 Billion in Bids (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012403174.html?wpisrc=rss_technology

News Release – CableOrganizer.com Cites the Top 5 Reasons Fiber Optic Technology Tops Copper for Computer Networking Applications (Market Wire)
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=812668

Go Daddy Super Bowl ad finally passes muster, will tout censored commercial (The Business Journal of Phoenix)
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/01/21/daily46.html?ana=from_rss

GENERAL NEWS

Copper thefts bedevil state road crews, endanger motorists (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1179835~Copper_thefts_bedevil_state_road_crews__endanger_motorists.html

Computer Crackdown – Nine D.C. Workers Fired For Looking at Porn an average of 200 times per day. Investigators Seize Office Computers (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012302511.html?wpisrc=rss_technology

DIVERSIONS

It's official: mail is slow as snails
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2423750920080124?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Spanish driver sues dead crash cyclist for damage
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC55622520080125?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

“Too cold to walk" for car thieves – A group of teenage car thieves took a joy ride to a court-ordered counseling program aimed to keep them away from stealing cars
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080123/od_nm/thieves1_dc;_ylt=AtrPNVlqn3K4t31lQAFknhjtiBIF

Farmer hides castle from building inspectors – A farmer built an entire mock castle behind a screen of hay bales and lived there concealed for four years to evade planning regulations
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080125/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_castle;_ylt=AsOBBBwvUyrIDrv4.nkEUoDtiBIF