Energy News Digest for March 3, 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)

* Oops! Human Error Cited in Fla. Power Failure
* Bonneville Power Administration Power Credit Back on the Table
* Companies eager for BPA repayments
* Port of Walla Walla puts brakes on carbon project
* California – Calpine's turnaround specialist to leave with $29 million bonus
* Thirsting for Energy in India’s Boomtowns and Beyond
* Booming growth raises idea of dams
* Crash at lock blocks Columbia
* Columbia River conservation at loggerheads – Look out sea lions
* Washington Post Op/Ed – A Toxic Time Bomb in the Northwest
* Price of Lake Tapps deal revealed – it’s $39 million
* No need to sweat over water supply at Spada Lake
* Legacy of Kosmos Reappears – Submerged Logging Town Re-Emerges From Riffe Lake
* Canada – No reprieve on sewage treatment
* Incentives drive growing wind energy industry
* Canadian Wind power monopoly feared
* Chevron and Weyco team up on biofuels
* Geothermal Company Cleared to Drill in Eastern Oregon
* Texas companies quicker to switch to green energy than residents
* New York – Officials: NY Renewable Energy Program Needs Money
* Idaho State Senate revives bill for energy-saving buildings; not as tough
* Should roads have tolls to fight global warming?
* Seattle Times Editorial – Global Warming: Taxing carbons
* Oregon State Legislature –Lobbyist Mark Nelson persuades the Legislature not to count Greenhouse gases
* News Tribune Editorial – Chinese energy czars: Welcome to Gig Harbor
* Skeptics on Human Climate Impact Seize on Cold Spell
* It isn't called 'California warming,' EPA says
* San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – EPA's own study argues for California waiver
* Canada whispers to U.S. not to include oilsands in new greenhouse laws
* Iowa governor signs incentives law to lure Microsoft
* Broadband Woes for Ireland
* Europe hits one million FTTH broadband connections
* Suspicious fires burn down "Street of Dreams" homes in Snohomish County
* Rep. Norm Dicks says he’ll block changes to lift gun ban in national parks
* Mason County Gets CTED Dollars
* States and Cities Start Rebelling on Bond Ratings
* Lacey rules written permission must be given to panhandle

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Obverse • \AHB-verse\ • noun – *1: the side of a coin or currency note bearing the chief device and lettering; broadly: a front or principal surface 2: a counterpart having the opposite orientation or force; also: opposite

Garfunkel was enjoying his summer daydream; imagining himself as a lucky silver dollar in the pocket of a Wall Street Trader. The daydream had its downside, like the time the trader flipped the coin over and over with his obverse side always landing up. “One more time and I’m going to be urping up silver,” opined the daydreaming Garfunkel.

WEATHER

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

Oops! Human Error Cited in Fla. Power Failure – A power failure that plunged large parts of Florida into the dark this week was caused primarily by human error, the state's largest electric company said Friday. “… The engineer was investigating a malfunctioning switch at one of the power company's substations in west Miami when he disabled two levels of protection for the system…” (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004230086_apfloridaoutages.html

Bonneville Power Administration Power Credit Back on the Table (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2008/mar/02/power-credit-taken-away-last-year-is-back-on-the/

Companies eager for BPA repayments – Electric utilities serving Eastern Oregon are united in their agreement the Bonneville Power Administration owes them money - and ultimately owes their ratepayers. (The East Oregonian)
http://www.eastoregonian.info/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=74096&TM=61594.62

Port puts brakes on carbon project – Port of Walla Walla officials are hesitant to dig deeper into a groundbreaking energy project in western Walla Walla County until they can resolve challenges that lie beneath the surface.
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/02/29/local_news/080229lacarbonsequestration.txt

California – Calpine's turnaround specialist to leave with $29 million bonus. Bonus For Exec Who Led During Bankruptcy (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8418066?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Thirsting for Energy in India’s Boomtowns and Beyond – Almost half of India’s population has no access to the electricity grid, and many more people suffer hours without power. Nearly 700,000 Indians rely on animal waste and firewood as fuel for cooking. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/world/asia/02india.html?ex=1362286800&en=dc7afe79d7b3e0b1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Why Energy Companies are Not Investing in The Future
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=84607

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Booming growth raises idea of dams – A booming population and growing fears about climate change have governments once again studying dams, this time to create huge reservoirs to capture more winter rain and spring snowmelt for use in dry summer months. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004254401_dams02.html

Crash at lock blocks Columbia – River traffic on the Columbia River between Portland and the Tri-Cities area of Washington state came to a halt Friday after two empty grain barges rammed the gate of a navigation lock at John Day Dam, east of The Dalles. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1204347311199050.xml&coll=7

Columbia River conservation at loggerheads – Thousands of spring chinook salmon are headed for the Columbia River, and California sea lions will be waiting for them at Bonneville Dam. “…No one likes the idea of killing the sea lions, which have been protected under the federal Marine Mammal Act since 1972 …” (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/376322.html

Washington Post Op/Ed – A Toxic Time Bomb in the Northwest: By Chris Gregoire and Maria Cantwell
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/02/AR2008030201860.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Price of Lake Tapps deal revealed – it’s $39 million – A consortium of mainly east King County cities and water utilities has agreed to pay $39 million for Lake Tapps in northeast Pierce County to use as a regional water source. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/297429.html

No need to sweat over water supply at Spada Lake – There's a heavy snowpack even at lower elevations in Sultan Basin. The city of Everett and the PUD co-manage the water facilities, including the Spada Lake Reservoir, which is behind Culmback Dam. (Everett Herald)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20080229/NEWS01/838826286/-1/news01

Legacy of Kosmos Reappears – Purposely Flooded During 1968 Dam Construction: Submerged Logging Town Re-Emerges From Riffe Lake (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1204360662&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Canada – No reprieve on sewage treatment – The B.C. government won't reconsider its decision to order sewage treatment for Greater Victoria because the provincial capital should have to follow the same rules on treating its waste as the rest of the province "…How is it the people on southern Vancouver Island think their effluent doesn't stink?…" (The Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=bd7cb138-4caa-4ded-a7c8-b29f182019de&k=37163

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Incentives drive growing wind energy industry – Giant wind turbines still account for only a tiny percentage of U.S. electricity production, but state and federal incentives have fueled rapid industry growth. (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/NEWS04/409878582

Canadian Wind power monopoly feared – Ontario's new winner-take-all system could see one firm nab most of Crown land left for turbines (Toronto Star)
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/308107

Chevron and Weyco team up on biofuels – Imagine a car powered by trees. It’s a future that might not be too far away. (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/03/01/local_news/02news.txt

Geothermal Company Cleared to Drill in Eastern Oregon (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3641

Texas companies quicker to switch to green energy than residents (Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/030208dnbuswindpower.2dbaceb.html

New York – Officials: NY Renewable Energy Program Needs Money (WKBW-TV, Buffalo)
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/16178612.html

Excessive Permit Fees Hinder Renewable Energy Development (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/reinsider/story?id=51701&src=rss

CONSERVATION

Idaho State Senate revives bill for energy-saving buildings; not as tough (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/377401.html

Old North Church goes modern with LEDs (Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080303/ap_on_hi_te/north_church_lighting_4

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Should roads have tolls to fight global warming? Two global-warming bills likely to pass the Legislature this session could open the door to tolls on major highways in the central Puget Sound region (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004250231_warming29m.html

Seattle Times Editorial – Global Warming: Taxing carbons. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and state Sen. Ed Murray recently unveiled a plan to tax cars on the basis of their fuel efficiency.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/353289_hummered.html?source=rss

Oregon State Legislature – Counting Coup: Lobbyist Mark Nelson persuades the Legislature not to count Greenhouse gases.
http://wweek.com/editorial/3416/10438/

News Tribune Editorial – Chinese energy czars: Welcome to Gig Harbor. When it comes to energy and global warming, the United States and China have a lot in common: Both use a lot of the former and bear responsibility for a lot of the latter.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/298257.html

Skeptics on Human Climate Impact Seize on Cold Spell (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/science/02cold.html?_r=1&ex=1362286800&en=17a5b4a306689ad0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

It isn't called 'California warming,' EPA says – The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday justified blocking California from cracking down on auto emissions by saying global warming isn't unique to the state. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/120434011712000.xml&coll=7

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – EPA's own study argues for California waiver
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/03/ED4HVBLRS.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

Canada whispers to U.S. not to include oilsands in new greenhouse laws (Canwest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=0a3a0133-2f6e-4ed9-a0d3-5d185e366e68&k=26097

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Iowa governor signs incentives law to lure Microsoft – Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has signed a package of business incentives designed to persuade Microsoft Corp. to locate a data center in that state. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP02292008news285822.cfm?newsletter=10

Broadband Woes for Ireland (TMC Net)
http://hosted-communications.tmcnet.com/topics/broadband-comm/articles/21955-broadband-woes-ireland.htm

Europe hits one million FTTH broadband connections (The Register)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/03/ftth_deployment_spreads/

GENERAL NEWS

Suspicious fires burn down "Street of Dreams" homes in Snohomish County – Evidence Implicating Earth Liberation Front found (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004256586_webdreamsfire03m.html?syndication=rss

Rep. Norm Dicks says he’ll block changes to lift gun ban in national parks (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/story/298990.html

MASON COUNTY GETS CTED DOLLARS - Money to help the Skokomish Indian Tribe conduct a feasibility study in Mason County for a marina with fuel services on Hood Canal is on the list Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board announced. The board announced some $750,000 will go toward creating new jobs and boosting business growth across the state. $50,000 will do feasibility work for the Skokomish project. The tribe recently purchased a waterfront resort in Potlatch as part of a tourism development plan. "We can help to build the economy of local communities by supporting key infrastructure improvements," said Gov. Chris Gregoire. "These are sound investments in the future of our state." (South Sound Business Examiner)

States and Cities Start Rebelling on Bond Ratings (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03bond.html?ex=1362200400&en=ea0ffd555df940f0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Lacey rules written permission must be given to panhandle – Panhandlers no longer can stand near the driveways of stores or shopping centers in Lacey without written permission from those properties' owners (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/374359.html

DIVERSIONS

Annoying Campaign Songs (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19304252

One-Third Of Workers Sleepy, Survey Says – Workdays Growing Longer, More Time Spent Working From Home
http://www.kirotv.com/health/15470954/detail.html

Woman Births Child Nearly Her Own Size – 18-Inch Daughter Born To 28-Inch Tall Kentucky Woman
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15442695/detail.html

Washington state detectives say man asked friend to shoot him in the arm so he could skip work – What happened to faking a cough?
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/375181.html