Energy News Digest for April 22, 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)

- Australia – Electricity workers walk off job
- Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
- Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining
- Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
- Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1
- Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats
- Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center
- Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds
- Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout
- Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
- EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine
- America's unhealthy attachment to spring water
- Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways
- Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
- Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock
- Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol
- How green are the presidential candidates?
- The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go
- California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
- Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
- Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast
- Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game
- Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it
- Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect?
- Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans
- Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA
- Cable company review is blend of good, bad
- Writers stump for net neutrality
- Group touts telecommuting's green benefits
- $3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight
- Earth Day Fair Today
- New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida
- Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL

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

WORD OF THE DAY

velleity • \vuh-LEE-uh-tee\ • noun – 1: the lowest degree of volition *2: a slight wish or tendency: inclination

Albert felt guilty for only a second. The brief, wistful velleity about his choice of lunch was overshadowed by the exceedingly delicious cheeseburger he was consuming…all the while his herbivorous friends at college glared…their jealousy and envy clearly writ on their faces.

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

Australia – Electricity workers walk off job (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23579397-36418,00.html

Seattle Times Editorial – Confirm Carrasco at Seattle City Light
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004364214_carrasco22.html

Alaska – Juneau blackout may have energy conservation silver lining (Alaska Public Radio)
http://aprn.org/2008/04/21/juneau-blackout-may-have-energy-conservation-silver-lining/

Electricity industry wrangles over California's greenhouse gas law – Customer bills could soar under a plan to require public energy suppliers that rely heavily on coal to buy the right to pollute from private suppliers with cleaner nuclear and hydroelectric power. (Los Angeles Times – My, what a pretty picture…)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-climate20apr20,0,4318459.story

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Why San Francisco should shelve 'peaker plants' idea
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/EDHP1096GP.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

Michigan – Power struggle – Coal-fired power plants have become public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of many environmentalists, who claim the nation's largest source of electricity pollute the air and contribute to global warming. (The Muskegon Chronicle)
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/power_struggle.html

Welcome to the Club Colorado – Recycling program begun in Colorado for light bulbs, thermostats (Denver Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/21/daily2.html?ana=from_rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Belfair – 52 Acres Purchased for Salmon Center Pacific Northwest Salmon Center (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/21/52-acres-purchased-for-salmon-center/

Fish restoration plan OK'd by tribes, feds – April 23 is the deadline for public comment on a $900 million, 10-year plan to restore fish runs in the Columbia River Basin, reflecting an agreement recently reached by federal agencies and four tribes.
(The Daily Record, Ellensburg)
http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2008/04/21/news/doc480cf6e41d51c961538628.txt

Ninth Circuit Court: Consider protecting cutthroat trout (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1352366~Court__Consider_protecting_cutthroat_trout.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Columbian Letter to the Editor – Dams aren’t dreadful
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/04/04212008_Our-readers-views.cfm?newsletter=5

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA fines PSE $472,000 for fuel spill at Crystal Mountain, in addition to a Washington State fine (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/425862.html

America's unhealthy attachment to spring water (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189574/?from=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Canada – Protesters say run of river hydroelectric power projects must stop (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/18/bc-private-power-project.html

Detroit Free Press Editorial – Change old energy ways – Getting to cleaner energy will not be easy, and it will not be cheap. But business as usual could cost Michigan even more
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION01/804220330

Detroit Free Press Editorial – Grow renewable energy on farms
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080422/OPINION02/804220333/1070

Gulf Ethanol Corp. to stop using food-based crops as feedstock (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/04/21/daily15.html?ana=from_rss

Shucking the 'Corn Lobby' on Ethanol – It may be time for the U.S. government to slip the grip of the corn lobby and fund biofuels using matter other than corn — and at the same time, drop tariffs on ethanol made in Brazil. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89817188

How green are the presidential candidates? Clinton, McCain, Obama all vow to fight global warming (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359991_earthday22.html

CONSERVATION

The Olympian Opinion – Built Green is the way to go – Homes built in South Sound with energy savings and the environment in mind are here to stay.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/425722.html

California – Conservers get $42 million in PG&E rebates (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUKV109B2R.DTL&feed=rss.business

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Seattle Post Intelligencer Guest Columnist – State delivers climate solutions
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/359975_climate22.html?source=rss

Everett Herald Opinion – Commitment to Earth takes more than a day
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/OPINION01/269243213

Going a different shade of green – Slow down, you're going green way too fast. That's been the message from inside many of Vancouver's boardrooms to Premier Gordon Campbell after he joined California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in fighting climate change (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=5b0a09ba-b04b-4bbd-b358-672d7ef30250

Mariners to play major leagues' first carbon-neutral game (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359994_greenball22.html?source=rss

Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it. (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2189376/?from=rss

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Will Portland's Wi-Fi disconnect? It was a rocky road to the city's partial system, and disputes with MetroFi Inc. could scuttle the project (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1208579109141040.xml&coll=7

Free Wireless Broadband To 95% of Americans – M2Z Networks finds friends in Congress to re-inflate FCC-denied plan (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Free-Wireless-Broadband-To-95-of-Americans-93740

Utah – Ad, financing plans aim to buoy UTOPIA – A UTOPIA marketing plan timed to coincide with a finance overhaul is meant to keep tax money from ever being used on fiber optics, the plan's architect said. (The Deseret News)
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,695272350,00.html

Cable company review is blend of good, bad – A local review of Comcast, Clark County’s cable operator, found several areas of concern. They include a sharp increase in customer complaints, steadily rising prices and the elimination of Seattle-based news broadcasts (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/04/04222008_Cable-company-review-is-blend-of-good-bad.cfm/

Writers stump for net neutrality (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9011164?source=rss

Group touts telecommuting's green benefits (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BUEC1087U5.DTL&feed=rss.business

GENERAL NEWS

$3.64-a-gallon gas here, no end in sight (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004364711_oilgas22.html?syndication=rss

EARTH DAY FAIR TODAY – Today is Earth Day and in recognition of this day, Mason County and the City of Shelton have organized a celebration from 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center. This event is open to the public and everyone is invited to come out and meet local elected officials, see community preservation efforts, visit hands-on exhibits, pick up informational materials, take home free conservation gifts, and enjoy free refreshments. Again that's an Earth Day Fair, 10am to 2pm today at the Shelton Civic Center in Shelton. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

New superintendent for Olympic National Park noted for work amid controversy in Florida (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080422/NEWS/804220307

Teacher suspended for refusing to give WASL (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/17985524.html

DIVERSIONS

Dogs "rescue" girl abandoned by mother
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSDEL21859920080422?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Laser pointers banned after attacks
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD18105220080421?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Stranger than fiction: Pizza Hut worker allegedly sold pot at drive-through
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080422/NEWS02/813594874/-1/RSS01

Oregon woman hooked on video poker must repay county $39,000 – Blames it on breakup with boyfriend
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004365463_webvideopoker22m.html?syndication=rss

Man charged with 'serial' deer killing
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359945_hunter22.html?source=rss