Energy News Digest for May 1, 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)

- Satsop Natural Gas Power Plant Close To Running, Residents Worry about Noise
- Chelan PUD may delegate more decisions to staff
- Oregon – Liquefied Natural Gas backers challenge ballot title
- Idaho Falls is helping with Utility Bills
- Idaho – The Salmon River Electric Cooperative had good year, but faces rising energy costs
- Maryland – Baltimore Gas & Electric parent's profits fall 26%
- Critics: TVA bid process for nuclear plant study was flawed
- 'Eco-Judas' battles on – Former founding member of Greenpeace now fights for nuclear power
- North Carolina panel: Duke's nuclear-plant cost estimates are trade secrets
- Yakama Tribe agrees on BPA funding for fish
- Salmon situation on Snake River bucks Western trends
- Study suggests dams could benefit salmon runs in California
- Group wants sea lion captures halted after animal dies
- New advice on eating fish from Lake Roosevelt, Spokane River
- Congressman Baird's bid to gain national heritage status for mouth of Columbia River moves forward
- Outdoors notebook: The Coastal Conservation Association offers rewards for uncovering poaching
- Restaurant swims against the current on salmon "We may never sell another piece of wild Pacific salmon again,"
- News Release – Summer 2008 Water Conservation Challenge Is Issued to Americans at Washington DC Rally
- 'Small wind' power plants are blowing strong
- Arizona – Homeowners face fight over wind turbines
- Potlatch pulls permit request to burn alternative fuels
- Creating Bioheat: A Look inside New England Wood Pellet
- Scientists advise halt to biofuels
- United Kingdom – Shell pulls out of Thames Estuary mega-wind farm
- Green Giants: The World's Biggest Clean-Energy Projects
- Nevada – Energy-saving devices translate into electricity incentives
- In a New Climate Model, Short-Term Cooling in a Warmer World
- Can Climate Campaigns Withstand a Cooling Test?
- Grant County PUD asked for comment period before ending dark fiber
- Data Centers Are Becoming Big Polluters, Study Finds
- Arizona – Rats Crash Internet Service
- Vermont Visionary: Rural Fiber Perfectly Economical
- Comcast Ads Mock Unsightly AT&T U-Verse Cabinets
- Cox Pays Qwest $2 Million for VoIP Skullduggery
- CenturyTel 1Q profit up 14 percent on Internet subscribers
- Vista struggles to bust out as business customers snub it
- Wire theft cuts off Rainier School District's phones
- North Mason School Board Member Resigns After Dust-Up With Union
- Two women allegedly stole $481,060 from Weyerhaeuser using phony invoices
- Syndicated Columnist – Seattle Times: Money laundering as energy policy (Ouch!)

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Salad days • \SAL-ud-DAYZ\ • noun – A time of youthful inexperience or indiscretion; also: an early flourishing period: heyday

“The sad thing is,” shouted the aging circus animal keeper to his companion “is that these are our salad days.” “Why don’t you leave to find a better job then?” the younger man called back, flipping another shovel of elephant dung into the nearby wheelbarrow. “What,” said the grizzled veteran, “and give up show business?” (Sorry, I know this joke is as ancient as fossilized dinosaur dung, but I couldn’t resist)

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

Satsop Natural Gas Power Plant Close To Running, Residents Worry About Noise (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/04/30/local_news/04news.txt

Chelan PUD may delegate more decisions to staff – Proposal would delegate some decision-making away from commissioners without jeopardizing transparency and accountability (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080430/NEWS04/361217041

Oregon – Liquefied Natural Gas backers challenge ballot title – NorthernStar Natural Gas argues that parklands are not ‘protected’ (The Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=50911

Idaho Falls is helping with Utility Bills (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls)
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=8252598&nav=menu554_3_9

Idaho – The Salmon River Electric Cooperative had good year, but faces rising energy costs (The Challis Messenger)
http://www.challismessenger.com/index.php?accnum=story-22-20080501

Maryland – Baltimore Gas & Electric parent's profits fall 26% – Power prices trailed cost of natural gas (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.constellation01may01,0,3203552.story

Critics: TVA bid process for nuclear plant study was flawed – Firm that led study won contract (The Tennessean)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NEWS0201/804290361/1001/NEWS

'Eco-Judas' battles on – Former founding member of Greenpeace now fights for nuclear power (The National, Canada)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=483048

North Carolina panel: Duke's nuclear-plant cost estimates are trade secrets (That is, until they’re rolled into customer rates! Charlotte Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/04/28/daily15.html?b=1209355200^1627592

FISH & WILDLIFE

Yakama Tribe agrees on funding for fish – Tribal members Wednesday night reversed a previous decision and agreed to move forward on a plan to pour about $900 million into fish restoration on the Columbia River. Yakama tribal leaders backed away from attending a Wednesday morning ceremony at Columbia Hills State Park to finalize the 10-year agreement because tribal members had voted against it 39-37 the night before. (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/3647

Salmon situation on Snake River bucks Western trends – The Snake River in Hells Canyon, and possibly tributaries including the Imnaha and Wallowa Rivers, are among the few places in the West where the salmon fishing news this year is of the good variety. (Baker City Herald)
http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=6471

Study suggests dams could benefit salmon runs in California (The Associated Press, via the San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9117917?source=rss

Group wants sea lion captures halted after animal dies (The Associated Press)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_SEA_LION_DEATH_OROL-?SITE=ORKLA&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

New advice on eating fish from Lake Roosevelt, Spokane River (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04302008news311677.cfm

Congressman Baird's bid to gain national heritage status for mouth of Columbia River moves forward (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/01/area_news/doc48192c9fd535d980787019.txt

Outdoors notebook: The Coastal Conservation Association offers rewards for uncovering poaching (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/04/05012008_Outdoors-notebook-CCA-offers-rewards-for-poaching.cfm/

Restaurant swims against the current on salmon "We may never sell another piece of wild Pacific salmon again," (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080430.LSALMON30/TPStory/TPEntertainment/BritishColumbia/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

News Release – Summer 2008 Water Conservation Challenge Is Issued to Americans at Washington DC Rally (Earth Times)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/summer-2008-water-conservation-challenge,375645.shtml

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

'Small wind' power plants are blowing strong – Climate concerns, rising utility costs, better technology, and new laws are making home units more attractive (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0430/p16s01-sten.html

Arizona – Homeowners face fight over wind turbines (a BANANA story from the Arizona Republic)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/29/20080429windmills0429.html

Potlatch pulls permit request to burn alternative fuels – The company is backing off plans to obtain a state permit to burn alternative fuels at its pulp and paper mill in Lewiston (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04302008news311676.cfm

Creating Bioheat: A Look Inside New England Wood Pellet (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52330&src=rss

Scientists advise halt to biofuels – Some top international food scientists on Tuesday recommended halting the use of food-based biofuels, such as ethanol, saying it would cut corn prices by 20 percent during a world food crisis. (Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/30/MN6I10DS13.DTL

United Kingdom – Shell pulls out of Thames Estuary mega-wind farm – Project could supply a thousandth of UK's energy (The Register)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/01/london_array_shell_pullout/

Green Giants: The World's Biggest Clean-Energy Projects (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/energy/2008/04/28/energy-electricity-power-biz-energy-cx_wp_0428greenpower.html

CONSERVATION

Nevada – Energy-saving devices translate into electricity incentives – The electric company serving Laughlin and Searchlight has almost $4 million it wants to give to businesses and institutions for using less energy (Mohave Daily News)
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2008/05/01/news/business/biz1.txt

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

In a New Climate Model, Short-Term Cooling in a Warmer World (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/science/earth/01climate.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Can Climate Campaigns Withstand a Cooling Test? (NY Times)
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/can-climate-campaigns-withstand-a-cooling-test/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Grant County PUD asked for comment period before ending dark fiber (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/30/news/news01.txt

Data Centers Are Becoming Big Polluters, Study Finds (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/data-centers-are-becoming-big-polluters-study-finds/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Arizona – Rats Crash Internet Service – 7 Cell Towers Impacted By Damage (KPHO-TV, Phoenix)
http://www.kpho.com/news/16105717/detail.html

Vermont Visionary: Rural Fiber Perfectly Economical – 'Building a hub in a cow pasture is cheaper than doing it downtown...' (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Vermont-Visionary-Rural-Fiber-Perfectly-Economical-94019

Comcast Ads Mock Unsightly AT&T U-Verse Cabinets – AT&T files false advertising suit in Chicago court (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Ads-Mock-Unsightly-ATT-UVerse-Cabinets-94032

Cox Pays Qwest $2 Million For VoIP Skullduggery – Qwest accused Cox of tapping into existing wiring owned by Qwest (without paying or informing Qwest) in order to offer phone service at roughly 5,000 apartments. (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cox-Pays-Qwest-2-Million-For-VoIP-Skullduggery-94025

CenturyTel 1Q profit up 14 percent on Internet subscribers (The Associated Press)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080501/earns_centurytel.html?.v=1

Vista struggles to bust out as business customers snub it (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/software/2008-04-29-microsoft-windows-vista_N.htm?csp=Daily%20Briefing

GENERAL NEWS

Wire theft cuts off Rainier School District's phones (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/01//area_news/doc4819257bdb8a0793539015.txt

North Mason School Board Member Resigns After Dust-Up With Union (The Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/30/nm-school-board-member-resigns-after-dust-up/

Two women allegedly stole $481,060 from Weyerhaeuser using phony invoices (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/349144.html

Syndicated Columnist – Seattle Times: Money laundering as energy policy (Ouch!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004383956_friedman01.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

What would YOU do if you found $1,600? Honesty paid off for Olympia High School junior Joel Nightingale on Wednesday.
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/435621.html

'Duct Tape Bandit' Pleads Guilty To Robbing Ky. Liquor Store – Wrapped head in tape to hide identity
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16084181/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Diversions follow-up – Pink Poodle Case May Be Dismissed – Woman Must Agree to Not Dye Dogs, Fine Will Be Dropped
http://www.kirotv.com/health/16106350/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

School Forces Students To Shave Eyebrows – Officials Say Lines In Eyebrows Sign Of Gang Membership
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16056626/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

DNA confirms IDs of czar's children, ending mystery
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004382593_aprussiaczarsfamily.html?syndication=rss