Energy News Digest for April 15, 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)

- Global warming has a new battleground: coal plants
- Duke Energy CEO: Coal not going away
- Poll: Bring on nuclear power
- Where Will Germany's Energy Come From? Nuclear power is too dangerous. Coal is too dirty. Gas involves too much dependence on Russia. And renewables are insufficient
- New Zealand electricity supply at 'high' risk
- Unsworth named president, COO, of electricity meter maker Itron
- Clinton, Obama and McCain reject dam breaching, at least for now
- Eugene Register Guard Opinion – A season without salmon: Collapse of Sacramento run left no choice
- NY Times Editorial – The Trouble with Salmon
- The Olympian Editorial – Humane Society misses the mark: Salmon or sea lions, which is it going to be?
- So much talk about so few fish – “…The salmon fisheries of the Northwest have spawned a new industry of bureaucrats, lawyers, environmentalists, sport fishers, commercial interests, scientists, and natives…”
- Washington State Officials Look At Building More Dams
- Canada – Province to cap copper mine leaking toxic chemical into Tsolum River
- SE Washington – Windmill rule ideas get public airing
- Technology Smooths the Way for Home Wind-Power Turbines
- GE confirms that wind turbine supply is getting worse
- Swept Up by Wind – Wind power is drawing some fancy suitors.
- New Ways to Store Solar Energy for Nighttime and Cloudy Days
- Solar and wind duking it out in high-powered battle
- Rock Port, Missouri, first in country to run 100% on wind power
- SolarCity offers San Jose residents solar-leasing contract for no money down
- FERC staff announces updates to staff guidance on pilot project licensing procedures for new hydropower technologies
- Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing
- Wonder plant: Montana-grown camelina could solve more than energy problems
- Talent Shortage Threatens Renewables Growth
- Fluorescent vs. incandescent
- Survey: Energy concerns rising in business, but action lacking
- Canada – Should power users pay for conservation?
- Up In Smoke – Two Carbon-Market Millionaires Take a Hit as U.N. Clamps Down
- Florida energy bill's greening power, costs debated
- Connect Kentucky Gets Disconnected
- Corpus Christi Finally Gives Up on Earthlink
- What the Presidential Election Means for Broadband
- Microsoft: Vista feature designed to 'annoy users'
- Gauging a Collider’s Odds of Creating a Black Hole
- Belfair Woman Arrested After Ramming SUV Into Shelton Department Of Corrections Office
- City Of Shelton Plan For Sustainable Future Starts With General Fund
- Hundreds Of Recent Earthquakes Off Oregon's Coast Confuse Scientists
- Recycling That Harms the Environment and People
- Schultz says he'll sue to get Sonics back

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Ascetic • \uh-SET-ik\ • adjective – 1: practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline *2: austere in appearance, manner, or attitude

Agnes decided that when announcing the increase in her occult-based financial security program that it would be best to take an ascetic approach. Instead of the bangles, bells and gold-embroidered costumes that marked her channeling of “Bogart, the Billion Dollar Spirit Advisor,” she wore a plain, black shroud that looked as if it had fallen off the back of a truck in rural Thurston County.

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

Global warming has a new battleground: coal plants – Environmental lawyers make a concentrated effort to stop new ones from being built; a coalition claims 65 victories in the last year. But industry groups are fighting back (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-coalwars14apr14,0,5565145.story

Duke Energy CEO: Coal not going away (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9917630-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1040_3-0-5

Poll: Bring on nuclear power (Jacksonville Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2008/04/14/daily5.html?ana=from_rss

Where Will Germany's Energy Come From? Nuclear power is too dangerous. Coal is too dirty. Gas involves too much dependence on Russia. And renewables are insufficient. So just where is Germany going to get its power from? (Der Spiegel)
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,547555,00.html

New Zealand electricity supply at 'high' risk – New Zealand's largest electricity consumers are on stand-by to cut power use as southern hydro lakes continue emptying and a winter crisis draws nearer (Stuff News)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4479931a13.html

Unsworth named president, COO, of electricity meter maker Itron (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1341485~Unsworth_named_president__COO__of_electricity_meter_maker_Itron.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Clinton, Obama and McCain reject dam breaching, at least for now (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/352240.html

Eugene Register Guard Opinion – A season without salmon: Collapse of Sacramento run left no choice
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=93127&sid=5&fid=1

NY Times Editorial – The Trouble with Salmon
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/opinion/15tues2.html?ex=1208923200&en=91f80d40dcf07ef1&ei=5070&emc=eta1

The Olympian Editorial – Humane Society misses the mark: Salmon or sea lions, which is it going to be?
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/419162.html

So much talk about so few fish – The salmon fisheries of the Northwest have spawned a new industry of bureaucrats, lawyers, environmentalists, sport fishers, commercial interests, scientists, and natives, all focused on the absence of fish. Meanwhile, four sockeye returned last summer to a lake in Idaho once teeming with tens of thousands. (Crosscut)
http://www.crosscut.com/recreation/13414/So+much+talk+about+so+few+fish/

Washington State Officials Look At Building More Dams (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/washington-state-officials-look-building-more-dams/

Canada – Province to cap copper mine leaking toxic chemical into Tsolum River – An abandoned copper mine that for four decades has leached a toxic mix into the Tsolum River on Vancouver Island, devastating salmon, trout and steelhead stocks, may finally get turned off. (The National)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080415.BCRIVER15/TPStory/National

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

SE Washington – Windmill rule ideas get public airing – The Columbia County Planning Commission hears options tonight that could change the face of local projects (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/04/14/local_news/080414l1windy.txt

Technology Smooths the Way for Home Wind-Power Turbines (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/science/earth/15wind.html?ex=1365998400&en=1063c43c6bd2cf0a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

GE confirms that wind turbine supply is getting worse “…The solar guys, of course, have been dealing with a shortage of silicon since 2004…” (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9918121-54.html?tag=nl.e433

Swept Up by Wind – Wind power is drawing some fancy suitors. (EnergyBiz Insider, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CjmrqmljRTift9K%22bfen%5Fv

New Ways to Store Solar Energy for Nighttime and Cloudy Days (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/science/earth/15sola.html?ex=1365998400&en=2a5396fbb838681c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Solar and wind duking it out in high-powered battle – In the old Aesop fable, wind and sun battle over which is the stronger. The wind blows hard, but the sun shines hot. (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjmpqorrTTift9K%22bfen%5Fv

Rock Port, Missouri, first in country to run 100% on wind power (St. Louis Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/04/14/daily11.html?ana=from_rss

SolarCity offers San Jose residents solar-leasing contract for no money down (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8929271?source=rss

News Release – FERC staff announces updates to staff guidance on pilot project licensing procedures for new hydropower technologies (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, links to PDF File)
http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/indus-act/hydrokinetics/pdf/white_paper.pdf

Fuel Choices, Food Crises and Finger-Pointing – The idea of turning farms into fuel plants seemed, for a time, like one of the answers to high global oil prices and supply worries. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/business/worldbusiness/15food.html?_r=1&ex=1365998400&en=04280a2e687f74eb&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Wonder plant: Montana-grown camelina could solve more than energy problems - A crop so diverse you can wash your face with it, spread it on bread and eat it, heat your house with it, feed cows with it, turn it into plastic, even fuel your truck with it (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/04/14/business/biz64.txt

Talent Shortage Threatens Renewables Growth (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52175&src=rss

CONSERVATION

Fluorescent vs. incandescent – At the end of 2007, three households in Vancouver’s Northwest neighborhood took part in an experiment: They swapped their energy-greedy incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs, which use a fraction of the electricity (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04142008_Fluorescent-vs-incandescent.cfm/

Survey: Energy concerns rising in business, but action lacking (The Business Journal of Milwaukee)
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2008/04/14/daily9.html?ana=from_rss

Canada – Should power users pay for conservation? Consultant thinks so but regulator will be one to decide (The Chronicle Herald, Nova Scotia)
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1049903.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Up In Smoke – Two Carbon-Market Millionaires Take a Hit as U.N. Clamps Down (Wall Street Journal Online)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813542203111705.html

Florida energy bill's greening power, costs debated (Miami Herald)
http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/496596.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Connect Kentucky Gets Disconnected – The Democratic Governor of Kentucky has vetoed two years of funding for the continuation of a statewide broadband expansion program that’s a model for pushing nationwide rural broadband. (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/04/15/connect-kentucky-gets-disconnected/

Corpus Christi Finally Gives Up on Earthlink – City wants to take back its network and be done with the deal (Broadband Reports – Beware of possibly salty language in the comment section!)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Corpus-Christi-Finally-Gives-Up-on-Earthlink-93607

What the Presidential Election Means for Broadband – Legislation likely to get put on the back burner (Broadband Reports – Beware of possibly salty language in the comment section!)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/What-the-Presidential-Election-Means-for-Broadband-93592

Microsoft: Vista feature designed to 'annoy users' (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/Microsoft-Vista-feature-designed-to-annoy-users/2100-1016_3-6237191.html?tag=nl.e433

Gauging a Collider’s Odds of Creating a Black Hole (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/science/15risk.html?ex=1365998400&en=6fe9c418c4602e72&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

BELFAIR WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER RAMMING SUV INTO SHELTON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OFFICE – The Shelton Police Department arrested a 38-year-old Belfair woman on several counts after she drove her Sport Utility Vehicle into five cars and then into the Department of Corrections Office on North Fourth Street Monday. According to a news release, Annamarie Romano was booked into Mason County Jail on several counts of Felony Malicious Mischief, DUI and Reckless Endangerment. All vehicles Romano struck were in the D-O-C parking lot and when officers arrived, Romano's vehicle was almost halfway inside the Department of Corrections building. Witnesses told police that Romano was driving at a high rate of speed and was yelling obscenities out the window. No one was injured in the incident. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

CITY OF SHELTON PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE STARTS WITH GENERAL FUND – Shelton's City Administrator Dave O'Leary unveiled his plan for “A Sustainable Future for Shelton” Monday. According to O'Leary, this plan has seven guiding principles including supporting employees, communication, being proactive, and teamwork. There are four phases of the plan: Planning, Sustainment, rebuilding and growth. O'Leary suggested the City start with its General Fund - rebuilding the fund balance that has been reduced by financial shortfalls. This includes establishing financial policies and procedures, using onetime revenues for onetime expenses not ongoing expenses, accumulate an ending fund balance totaling 15% of the General Fund Budget, continually reviewing programs to determine whether they are the most efficient way of doing business, and pursuing and encouraging development activities that generate new or increase sales taxes. All of these concepts will require direction from the Shelton City Commission. The first step would be adoption of a resolution that establishes the framework for this plan. That action is expected at the Commission's next business meeting. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Hundreds Of Recent Earthquakes Off Oregon's Coast Confuse Scientists (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/hundreds-recent-earthquakes-oregons-coast-confuse-scientists/

Recycling That Harms the Environment and People – Recycling is supposed to be good for the environment. But if it’s not carried out properly, certain kinds of recycling — notably the dismantling of electronic circuit boards, which contain lead, zinc, copper and other metals — can cause environmental harm. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/science/earth/15obrecy.html?ex=1365998400&en=800c26d028984503&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Schultz says he'll sue to get Sonics back (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/358985_stern15.html?source=rss

DIVERSIONS

Stolen rhino horns could be deadly
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHAR46004820080414?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Fed up with politics, man eats vote (Ed. Note: article contains PG-13, scatological language)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1313250820080414?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Travel writer says he made up parts of books (as long as you don’t encounter the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal)
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD21440120080414?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Smile and dress modestly, Serbian civil servants told
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1463350620080414?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Oyster-Eating Champ Slurps Down 35 Dozen In New Orleans
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15877511/detail.html