Energy News Digest for May 2, 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)

- Mason County PUD 3 Concerned About BPA Tiered Rates
- Governor Strickland signs Ohio energy bill
- Kansas Legislators fail to override Sebelius power plant veto
- Texas – Metro sued over its tracks' electricity leak in Houston
- Grant County PUD inaugurates $35 million 'fish slide' bypass
- California Chinook fishery's collapse a disaster
- California – Tuolumne salmon at high risk of extinction
- Seattle Times Guest Columnist – Connect the dots to save orcas, salmon (Oh, and remove the Snake River dams)
- Toxins imperil 17 shellfish sites – Includes two in Mason County
- Longview officials considering shift from water plant to Mint Farm wells
- Idaho – Judge sides with surface water users
- Sierra snowpack well below normal
- California – Need to deal with water needs crucial
- Washington State University’s New Golf Course Ruffles Feathers of Water Conservationists
- Low-Oxygen Zones Spreading to Deep Ocean
- Kitsap Poised to Ride the New Energy Wave, Leaders Say
- U.S. eyes shift away from corn ethanol – Worried about high food prices
- Lawmakers Revisit Ethanol Mandates as Prices Soar
- 'Tidal' power wave to hit Canada
- U.S. State Solar Debate: Will Solar Renewable Energy Certificates Create Unhealthy Market Concentration?
- Energy Pulse Commentary – The Limits to Renewable Energy
- Texas – Making ends meet: How to save on energy costs
- What are Orange County schools doing to 'go green'?
- Lawmakers being forced to give up gas-guzzling cars
- Microsoft's Yahoo bid may go hostile today
- FCC caps subsidy to rural cell phone providers
- Shelton Toddler Found In Family's Pool Has Died
- A rally, then violence in Olympia
- Weyerhaeuser reports $148 million loss
- Sawmill closings create sawdust shortage
- Chevron has best first-quarter profit ever on higher oil prices
- Up $10.9 Billion, Exxon Worries About New Tax
- Wire-theft investigation leads to more arrests
- Open 35th District Representative Position Draws A Crowd

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Diktat • \dik-TAWT\ • noun – 1: a harsh settlement unilaterally imposed (as on a defeated nation) 2: decree, order

“Hee, Hee,” chuckled Barty, as he gleefully rubbed his hands together. “I will require all new employees to wear blinking clown noses during their first week on the job.” A week after the diktat was issued by the rogue human resources director, his broken body was found in a nearby alley; crushed under several thousand blinking, red clown noses. The newly hired coroner ruled the death an accident.

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

MASON COUNTY PUD 3 CONCERNED ABOUT BPA TIERED RATES – Mason County PUD No. 3 officials are concerned about the Bonneville Power Administration's proposed tiered wholesale power rates. This week, Mat Samuelson, the PUD's power supply analyst, reported on a recent meeting of the Washington Public Agencies Group (WPAG) at which the proposal was discussed. Mason County PUD No. 3 purchases its electricity from the BPA at a wholesale rate which melds the cost of generation from a wide range of sources in the Columbia River Basin. Under the proposed rate methodology, the PUD would be allocated a certain amount of resources at one rate tier from the Federal Base System, with load growth and extra electricity needs coming from a second more expensive rate tier. Conservative estimates show that with a four percent growth rate, PUD3 could experience a nearly ten percent increase in wholesale electricity rates under the tiered rate methodology. This could result in a six percent increase for PUD 3 customers. The estimate does not include an expected four percent wholesale rate hike from nearly $1 billion in fish and wildlife agreements with regional Indian tribes, nor does it include increased costs of buying power under an initiative mandating renewable energy purchases and the enhancement of local conservation efforts. The BPA would like the PUD to sign off on the tiered rates this fall as they will be implemented in 2011. Manager Wyla Wood told commissioners that staff has been communicating concerns to BPA about the tiered rate methodology individually and through the PUD's membership in WPAG. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Governor Strickland signs Ohio energy bill (Business Courier of Cincinnati)
http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/04/28/daily50.html?ana=from_rss

Kansas Legislators fail to override Sebelius power plant veto (Kansas City Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2008/04/28/daily43.html?ana=from_rss

Texas – Metro sued over its tracks' electricity leak in Houston – Medical Center reports a stray current and wants issue monitored (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5747840.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Grant County PUD inaugurates $35 million 'fish slide' bypass –Young salmon on their first journey to the ocean no longer have to negotiate through the turbines to pass Wanapum Dam (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/NEWS04/559642884/1025/rss1025

California Chinook fishery's collapse a disaster – Federal officials on Thursday declared a failure in the West Coast ocean salmon fishery, an announcement that will allow the region to seek disaster aid for fishermen and others affected in California, Oregon and Washington (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004387400_salmon02.html

California – Tuolumne salmon at high risk of extinction because not enough water flows down the river (Modesto Bee)
http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/286624.html

Seattle Times Guest Columnist – Connect the dots to save orcas, salmon “…Removing (Snake River) dams will open up spawning habitat to endangered salmon, while saving taxpayers' and electric ratepayers' money. Energy conservation and renewable energy can replace the small amount of power provided by these four dams…”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004386630_orcas02.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Toxins imperil 17 shellfish sites – Includes McLane Cove in Pickering Passage in Mason County and North Bay near Allyn (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/436738.html

Longview officials considering shift from water plant to Mint Farm wells – Chances are increasing that Longview will abandon its water treatment plant on the Cowlitz River (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/01/top_story/doc481926fe9450f911280520.txt

Idaho – Judge sides with surface water users – an attempt to clarify complex rules about water rights in southern Idaho (The Times-News, Twin Falls)
http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2008/05/01/news/local_state/135882.txt

Sierra snowpack well below normal (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/04/28/daily49.html?ana=from_rss

California – Need to deal with water needs crucial – Two parched years - punctuated by the driest spring in at least 150 years - could force rationing of water this summer as policymakers and scientists grow increasingly concerned that the state is on the verge of a long-term drought (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/01/BA9O10F8PK.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

Washington State University’s New Golf Course Ruffles Feathers of Water Conservationists (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3825

Low-Oxygen Zones Spreading to Deep Ocean – The world's oceans have always had large zones of low-oxygen water. But new studies find that those zones appear to have been growing (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90111754&ft=1&f=2

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Kitsap Poised to Ride the New Energy Wave, Leaders Say – The world is on the cusp of a clean-energy revolution, and emerging technologies in Washington state could influence the production and delivery of future power (The Kitsap Sun – My, the comments are cynical)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/30/kitsap-poised-to-ride-the-new-energy-wave-say/

U.S. eyes shift away from corn ethanol – Worried about high food prices, Congress tries to push the biofuel industry to use nonfood crops (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0501/p03s03-usec.html

Lawmakers Revisit Ethanol Mandates as Prices Soar – Four months ago, Congress sharply raised production targets for ethanol fuel, from the current 7 billion gallons a year to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Now, some lawmakers are asking whether the ethanol mandates come at too high a price (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90127388&ft=1&f=3

'Tidal' wave to hit Canada – Proponents believe Canada's long coastlines could help propel a new, green energy industry (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=1ca76dfd-411d-4ef5-ab84-d5b861759fc0

U.S. State Solar Debate: Will Solar Renewable Energy Certificates Create Unhealthy Market Concentration? A growing divide is occurring within the solar industry over how best to incentivize state-level solar programs (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52339&src=rss

Energy Pulse Commentary – The Limits to Renewable Energy
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1727

CONSERVATION

Texas – Making ends meet: How to save on energy costs (The Herald Democrat)
http://www.heralddemocrat.com/articles/2008/05/02/local_news/doc481b1f209a432336155854.txt

What are Orange County schools doing to 'go green'? District officials strive to balance being environmentally sensitive and balancing tight budgets (Orange County Register)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-school-district-2031754-programs-county

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Lawmakers being forced to give up gas-guzzling cars – A little-noticed amendment to last year's energy bill requires House members who lease vehicles to select those that emit low levels of greenhouse gases (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-na-cars1-2008may01,1,6694016.story

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Microsoft's Yahoo bid may go hostile today (Associated Press, via San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9129381?source=rss

FCC caps subsidy to rural cell phone providers – Move benefits big telecom firms (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/venture/361497_phonetax02.html?source=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Toddler Found In Family's Pool Has Died (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16066810/detail.html

A rally, then violence in Olympia – A celebration of the rights of workers and immigrants turned ugly Thursday afternoon “…proposal scheduled to be brought before the Olympia City Council on Tuesday to designate Olympia as a "sanctuary city" for war resisters…” (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/436724.html

Weyerhaeuser reports $148 million loss (My Northwest)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=51241

Sawmill closings create sawdust shortage – Desperate users are trying alternatives; prices for diminishing supplies are rising (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=e02a300e-5585-4601-8248-439fc305765c&k=70980

Chevron has best first-quarter profit ever on higher oil prices (Associated Press, via San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9130937?source=rss

Up $10.9 Billion, Exxon Worries About New Tax – Bolstered by winter's record crude oil prices, Exxon Mobil yesterday reported a huge first-quarter profit and provoked new congressional vows to come up with legislation that would tax windfall profits (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050100908.html?nav=rss_business

Wire-theft investigation leads to more arrests – Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies have arrested three more suspects in a large-scale metal theft ring, and they expect more arrests (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/02//area_news/doc481a72f93b927399738302.txt

Open 35th District Representative Position Draws A Crowd (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/01/local_news/04news.txt

DIVERSIONS

Which States Punish Distracted Drivers Most?
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/16116498/detail.html

Man Accused Of Trying To Cash $360 Billion Check – Man Intended To Start Record Business, Police Say
http://www.kirotv.com/money/16133100/detail.html

NY bride, groom plead guilty in reception spat with band
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_fe_st/odd_wedding_arrests;_ylt=Ah.OGvkgpRCTG.DSvWyvCZPtiBIF

Venice to fine tourists who feed pigeons
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080430/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_venice_pigeons;_ylt=AnsPcX7ej6aN0JxqTFn3RnntiBIF

Woman pulls into lot with 'No Parking' sign, post on car
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080501/ap_on_fe_st/odd_sign_crash;_ylt=AsaRwmftZNgzjYt8MHUwrwLtiBIF