Energy News Digest for April 7, 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)

- News Advisory – Tribes and federal agencies to make historic announcement for Columbia River Basin fish
- Hearing on Kalama coal gasification plant Tuesday
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Opinion – Pipeline Safety: Puget Sound Energy Fine well deserved
- U.S. energy policy is needed; coal will still play role
- Texans Beat Big Coal, and a Film Shows How
- Regulators altered high-price protections in Baltimore Gas and Electric auction
- Meanwhile, in the news release universe – Constellation Energy Named to the Business-Week top 50 performers
- Electricity is key to strengthening Maine's economy
- United Kingdom - Exposed: energy giant cheats its customers
- Would nuclear power be a viable energy source for New Zealand?
- FERC reports loss of former employee personal information
- Zapped Rat Causes Stockholm Power Outage
- Ban on Oregon and California salmon fishing looms
- Oregon Trollers readying for lack of season
- Alaska lowers Southeast Chinook quota
- Projects to make travel easier for fish on Touchet River
- Global Warming Heats Up Urgency Of Salmon Recovery Efforts
- Idaho – Man pleads guilty to violating Clean Water Act for dredging work
- Lake Chelan to fill later than normal
- Gophers damaging Oregon levees
- Grays Harbor PUD gets big boost from state
- Jobs added in Chehalis – Cardinal Glass expands to meet demand from solar industry
- Michigan - More families use wind turbines for home energy
- California - Turning dirty water into clean energy
- New England startup seeks to tap the Mississippi for power
- New York - Tires-to-energy plant planned in Erie; downwind opponents call it an incinerator
- Ireland – Motion of the ocean can help us turn tide on energy crisis
- Connecticut's Clean Energy Policy Creating Demand “
- NW States Jump on “Green Collar” Bandwagon
- Texas - Energy company promotes ‘clean’ electricity
- New Zealand needs more wind energy
- Seattle Times Editorial – Biofuels by the bushel
- Biodiesel co-op closes, spins off new alliance
- Olympian Editorial – Take advantage of PSE rebates
- EPA Drafting New Energy Conservation Standard
- Emphasis sharpens on coal in global warming crisis
- Will the credit crunch cripple cleantech?
- Microsoft gives Yahoo 3-week deadline to reach an agreement
- The Idea Factory That Spawned the Internet Turns 50
- Countywide Broadband Networks Planned in Northern California
- Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters have say on fiber optics
- Boston: Most Recent Citywide Wi-Fi Failure Victim
- Qwest Blames Housing Crisis for Profit Problem
- ISPs hog rights in fine print
- No, your ISP doesn't own the Internet
- 10 Ways the Internet (As We Know It) Will Die
- Thurston County Neighborhoods without hydrants
- Fraud rife in brewery dealings, suit alleges
- "Downwinders" can sue over Hanford issues
- 'Marketplace' Report: Stripping Thieves –Looters are stripping abandoned homes of raw materials

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

WORD OF THE DAY

luftmensch • \LOOFT-mensh\ • noun – An impractical contemplative person having no definite business or income

Erasmus was considered the corporate luftmensch. He attended every meeting, took copious notes, looked important with this clipboard and assorted digital gadgets. But even upon careful examination of the corporate organizational chart, it was still unclear what his function was.

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

Hearing on Kalama coal gasification plant Tuesday (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/04/07//area_news/doc47f9b7ea64a17123766442.txt

Seattle Post Intelligencer Opinion – Pipeline Safety: Puget Sound Energy Fine well deserved
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/357801_safetyed.html?source=rss

U.S. energy policy is needed; coal will still play role (Great Falls Tribune)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/OPINION/804070306

Texans Beat Big Coal, and a Film Shows How (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/05/us/05coal.html?_r=1&ex=1365220800&en=76e7a2850690917b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Regulators altered high-price protections in Baltimore Gas and Electric auction (Baltimore Sun)
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2008/04/the_bge_auction_investigation.html

Meanwhile, in the news release universe – Constellation Energy Named to the Business-Week 50 Ranking of Top Performing Companies for Second Consecutive Year (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=87065

Electricity is key to strengthening Maine's economy - While high compared to some other parts of the nation, Maine's electric rates are the lowest compared to our New England neighbors. (Kennebec Journal)
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/columns/4936294.html

United Kingdom - Exposed: energy giant cheats its customers - Claire Newell and Daniel Foggo - Salesmen for one of Britain’s biggest energy companies are routinely lying to householders to trick them into signing up as new customers (The Times of London)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article3690034.ece

Would nuclear power be a viable energy source for New Zealand? Nearly one in five New Zealanders say nuclear power is a viable energy source, even though politicians have put it off limits (New Zealand Herald)
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2008/4/7/would-nuclear-power-be-viable-energy-source-new-zealand/?l_id=149

FERC reports loss of former employee personal information (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2008/2008-2/04-04-08.asp

Zapped Rat Causes Stockholm Power Outage (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004329872_apoddswedenelectrocutedrat.html?syndication=rss

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

News Advisory – Tribes and federal agencies to make historic announcement for Columbia River Basin fish – News briefing at 11:00 am, April 7 – (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/197616/

Ban on salmon fishing looms - Dwindling Chinook population may force strict limits off the coast of Oregon, California (The Associated Press, via the Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8830576?source=rss

Oregon Trollers readying for lack of season - To some commercial salmon fishermen, the season is over. The crystal ball is clear (The World, Coos Bay)
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/04/06/news/doc47f720d0e5d03338048607.txt

Alaska lowers Southeast Chinook quota (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04062008news300963.cfm

Projects to make travel easier for fish on Touchet River - The project is part of ongoing mitigation for the Snake River dams (Waklla Walla Union-Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/04/05/local_news/local04.txt

Global Warming Heats Up Urgency Of Salmon Recovery Efforts (Science Daily)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402213640.htm

Idaho – Man pleads guilty to violating Clean Water Act for dredging work along the Salmon River in central Idaho. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/411233.html

Lake Chelan to fill later than normal – Snow runoff into Lake Chelan is expected to be slightly higher than forecast earlier this year, but the lake may not fill until later than usual due to colder than normal temperatures this spring (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/NEWS04/228268866/1005

Gophers damaging Oregon levees (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004331541_webgopher06.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Grays Harbor PUD gets big boost from state – The PUD’s plan to derive “green energy” by burning waste from a revived Cosmopolis Pulp Mill got a major boost on Friday. (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/04/05/local_news/02news.txt

Jobs added in Chehalis – Cardinal Glass expands to meet demand from solar industry (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/409834.html

Michigan - More families use wind turbines for home energy (Grand Rapids Press)
http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/04/more_families_use_wind_turbine.html

California - Turning dirty water into clean energy - The Big Bear Area Regional Wastewater Agency will test its sewer outfall line to determine whether electricity can be produced (The Grizzly, Big Bear Lake)
http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/articles/2008/04/06/news/waterelectricity.txt

New England startup seeks to tap the Mississippi for power (Saint Louis Post-Dispatch)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/manufacturingtechnology/story/FA03AA4C57AC13418625741E000B7EFF?OpenDocument

New York - Tires-to-energy plant planned in Erie; downwind opponents call it an incinerator (The Buffalo News)
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/316685.html

Ireland – Motion of the ocean can help us turn tide on energy crisis (The Independent)
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/motion-of-the-ocean-can-help-us-turn-tide-on-energy-crisis-1340281.html

Connecticut's Clean Energy Policy Creating Demand “…state rules call for penalties paid through consumers' electric rates if the goals aren't met. Millions of dollars already are due…” (Hartford Courant)
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-energy0407.artapr07,0,6267398.story

NW States Jump on “Green Collar” Bandwagon (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3755

Texas - Energy company promotes ‘clean’ electricity - A new green company is positive there are people in the Rio Grande Valley who will support renewable energy (Valley Morning Star, Harlingen)
http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/energy_23309___article.html/company_texas.html

New Zealand needs more wind energy (Scoop News)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0804/S00112.htm

Seattle Times Editorial – Biofuels by the bushel
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004328653_fueled07.html

Biodiesel co-op closes, spins off new alliance – The Renewable Fuels Alliance will give community-based biodiesel production another go in Portland (Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland)
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDetail.htm/2008/04/07/Biodiesel-coop-closes-spins-off-new-alliance-The-Renewable-Fuels-Alliance-will-give-communitybased-b

CONSERVATION

Olympian Editorial – Take advantage of PSE rebates – The state Utilities and Transportation Commission has granted Puget Sound Energy's request for a small rate increase for electric and natural gas customers, with the additional revenue going toward energy conservation programs
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/411541.html

EPA Drafting New Energy Conservation Standard - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently hard at work drafting a new Energy Star efficiency standard - Energy Star 5.0 (Overclockers Club)
http://www.overclockersclub.com/news/22032/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Emphasis sharpens on coal in global warming crisis - Meeting between scientist, head of power company signals intent to rein in greenhouse gases but may not lead to action (Washington Post, via the Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_8830526?source=rss

Will the credit crunch cripple cleantech? (BusinessGreen)
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/analysis/2213438/credit-crunch-cripple-cleantech

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft gives Yahoo 3-week deadline to reach an agreement in response to its $44.6 billion acquisition offer (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/357933_msftyahoo06.html?source=rss

The Idea Factory That Spawned the Internet Turns 50 (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040601821.html?nav=rss_business

Countywide Broadband Networks Planned in Northern California – California's broadband 'have nots' hope to get access this summer (Broadband Reports – Please note that the comment section may contain PG-13 language)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Countywide-Broadband-Networks-Planned-in-Northern-California-93333

Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters have say on fiber optics – First step gives city the OK, but entering into debt would require further approval (Glenwood Springs Post-Independent)
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080407/VALLEYNEWS/956952063

Boston: Most Recent Citywide Wi-Fi Failure Victim – Lacking money, the city drastically scales back its plans (Broadband Reports – Please note that the comment section may contain salty language)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Boston-Most-Recent-Citywide-WiFi-Failure-Victim-93339

Qwest Blames Housing Crisis for Profit Problem – However, the company has big plans for staying in business (Broadband Reports – Please note that the comment section may contain salty language)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Qwest-Blames-Housing-Crisis-for-Profit-Problem-93337

ISPs hog rights in fine print (Associated Press, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080404/ap_on_hi_te/isp_fine_print_2

No, your ISP doesn't own the Internet (Associated Press, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080404/ap_on_hi_te/isp_funny_print_2

10 Ways the Internet (As We Know It) Will Die (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/04/06/10-ways-the-internet-will-die/

GENERAL NEWS

Thurston County Neighborhoods without hydrants – county code allows developers to build without putting fire hydrants (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/410665.html

Fraud rife in brewery dealings, suit alleges – A bankruptcy trustee has opened a new front in the ongoing legal battle over control of the old Olympia brewery. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/409873.html

"Downwinders" can sue over Hanford issues (The Spokesman Review, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004330605_downwinders06.html?syndication=rss

'Marketplace' Report: Stripping Thieves – There's a new trend among thieves looking to make a buck off the housing crisis. Looters are stripping abandoned homes of raw materials to sell as scrap metal (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89377940&ft=1&f=17

DIVERSIONS

April Fools'! It's A Boy – Couple Thought They Were Having Daughter, Actually Had Son
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15794650/detail.html

Kids' Dress-Up Day Draws Christian Ire
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004331843_apcrossdressingkids.html?syndication=rss

Fowl Play Prompts Unusual Court Order Protecting A Duck
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15794759/detail.html

Wannabe Bandit Leaves Behind Photo ID At Bank
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15794692/detail.html

Bride and groom spend wedding night in jail after arrests
http://www.examiner.com/a-1324838~Bride_and_groom_spend_wedding_night_in_jail_after_arrests.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines