Energy News Digest for May 23, 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)

- Juneau Power Crisis Brings Stark Savings Measures
- Liquefied Natural Gas Opponents Fighting On Two Fronts
- Oregon Land Owners Sue Over Trespass By Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline Surveyors
- Dodson to retire as NW Natural boss
- Italy to reverse policy and build nuclear power stations
- Crane collapses at Kansas City-area power plant – Construction site the scene of another fatal accident
- News Release – NorthWestern Corporation Announces Authorization of Share Buyback Program
- Calpine shares rise on news of takeover bid
- Texas – Electricity users would have to pay for smart meters under plan
- Australia – Electricity workers warn of more strikes
- Yippee for deregulation! European businesses braced for bumper energy bills
- New US-Canada salmon agreement proposed
- Proposed US/Canadian salmon-treaty changes would allow more Chinook to return to Washington rivers
- Sali: Proposals to breach dams politicizes science – Action will not increase salmon runs, study says
- Michigan – Something's fishy at the zoo: giant salmon on tour
- Un-Damming Elk Creek – Controversial Rogue River dam to make way for salmon
- Washington scientists in search of orca poop
- Record pikeminnow trumps cash reward
- Acidified ocean water rising up nearly 100 years earlier than scientists predicted
- Montesano Wastewater an award winner
- Montana – Hi-Line wind farm eyes fall finish
- Oregon wave power proposal moves forward in Douglas County
- No Green R.E.I. for Seattle – Solar panels not in the cards
- South Dakota – Ardor welcome on wind energy – But state official calls Obama's estimates 'overly generous'
- First offshore wind turbine to be buoyed off Norway
- Massachusetts – Rebate heats up interest – Solar panels gain with state's boost
- Grease slipping into wrong hands
- Vail Resorts implements mandatory cut in energy usage
- Getting The Light Switches of the World to Chat Amongst Themselves
- Ontario – Round up those old fridges; Energy-conservation initiative in its second year in Orillia
- British Columbia – Air quality laws could threaten greenhouses – Bad Biomass
- Factoring Your Carbon Footprint Into Summer Travel Plans
- Report: Chesapeake Bay threatened by sea-level rise
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Energy matters
- Broadweave Replacing All iProvo Gateways
- Next-generation Net may be hard to get – Access requires fiber-optic line extension
- Yahoo buy not a strategy in itself: Microsoft CEO
- Yahoo Nominates Existing Board
- Fairfax Tech Firms Settle Software Suit
- Sign of the times: Beyond $4 for fuel
- Are we there yet? With Gas Prices Rising and the Planet Warming, Is It Time To Drive 55 Again?
- Nesting bald eagles delay Whidbey Island road work
- New state buildings on hold as cost climbs
- High Court Allows State Tax Breaks For Bonds
- Thieves cut down old maples for rare wood
- Department Of Transportation Says Airlines Can't Charge Extra Baggage Fees After Ticket Purchase

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Propensity • \pruh-PENN-suh-tee\ • noun – An often intense natural inclination or preference

“Will you PLEASE knock that off!!” screamed Felicity at her seatmate on the red-eye flight from Seattle to London. At the start of the flight, the person in the middle seat immediately showed a propensity to make small, sharp, barking noises whenever the snack and drink cart lumbered by. That and the passenger’s amazing ability to scratch behind her ears with her foot did little to endear Felicity to the un-named traveler.

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

Juneau Power Crisis Brings Stark Savings Measures (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90755754

Liquefied Natural Gas Opponents Fighting On Two Fronts – Opponents of liquefied natural gas took their case to court Thursday. They also appealed to the shareholders of Northwest Natural (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2163-lng-opponents-fighting-two-fronts/

Oregon Land Owners Sue Over Trespass By Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline Surveyors (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2151-land-owners-sue-over-trespass-pipeline-surveyors/

Dodson to retire as NW Natural boss (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/05/19/daily36.html?ana=from_rss

Italy to reverse policy and build nuclear power stations (AFP)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hZGswYutZT7VbpOco_kwdO_Kj71w

Crane collapses at Kansas City-area power plant – Construction site the scene of another fatal accident in 2007 (The Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/05/23/national/a073920D34.DTL&feed=rss.news

News Release – NorthWestern Corporation Announces Authorization of Share Buyback Program (PR Newswire, via Yahoo!)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080523/aqf021.html?.v=49

Calpine shares rise on news of takeover bid (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9346668?source=rss

Texas – Electricity users would have to pay for smart meters under plan – residential customers would have to pay around $2.35 per month for the next 11 years for their new meters (Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/052308dnbusoncormeters.1addf0d8.html

Australia – Electricity workers warn of more strikes – Queensland electricity workers are set to hold another 24-hour strike after a break down in wage negotiations between unions and Energex (Fairfax Media Service)
http://margaretriver.yourguide.com.au/news/national/national/general/electricity-workers-warn-of-more-strikes/775397.aspx

Yippee for deregulation! European businesses braced for bumper energy bills – British businesses are facing mammoth energy bills this year as record oil prices drive up gas and electricity costs across Europe (Reuters)
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2008-05-22T143637Z_01_L22794456_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-ENERGY.xml

FISH & WILDLIFE

New US-Canada salmon agreement proposed – The U.S. and Canada have reached a new 10-year agreement to prevent over fishing of salmon off the western coast of Canada and southeast Alaska (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004432326_apwstsalmontreaty3rdldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Proposed US/Canadian salmon-treaty changes would allow more Chinook to return to Washington rivers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004431717_websalmontreaty.html?syndication=rss

Sali: Proposals to breach dams politicizes science – Action will not increase salmon runs, study says (Capital Press)
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=617&ArticleID=41845&TM=35707.66

Michigan – Something's fishy at the zoo: giant salmon on tour (The Saginaw News – watch, as children move through the alimentary canal…come out whole on the other side!)
http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/05/somethings_fishy_at_the_zoo.html

Un-Damming Elk Creek – Controversial Rogue River dam to make way for salmon (Eugene Weekly)
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2008/05/15/news1.html

Washington scientists in search of orca poop (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052208ENV_orcas_return_KS.1c399d37.html

Record pikeminnow trumps cash reward (The Spokesman Review, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/457124.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Acidified ocean water rising up nearly 100 years earlier than scientists predicted (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004431933_webacidocean22m.html?syndication=rss

Montesano Wastewater an award winner – After treatment, the city’s sewer water is cleaner than the Wynooche River it is discharged into (The Daily World)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/22/local_news/10news.txt

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Montana – Hi-Line wind farm eyes fall finish (Great Falls Tribune)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080522/NEWS01/805220302/1002

Oregon wave power proposal moves forward in Douglas County (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1405452~Wave_proposal_moves_forward_in_Douglas_County.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

No Green R.E.I. for Seattle – Last week, the Kent-based outdoor gear retailer REI announced plans to install solar technology at 10 percent of its stores nationwide—but Seattle didn't make the cut (Seattle Weekly)
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2008-05-21/news/no-green-r-e-i-for-seattle.php

South Dakota – Ardor welcome on wind energy – But state official calls Obama's estimates 'overly generous' (The Argus Leader)
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/NEWS/805230317

First offshore wind turbine to be buoyed off Norway (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9950231-54.html

Massachusetts – Rebate heats up interest – Solar panels gain with state's boost (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/05/22/rebate_heats_up_interest/

Grease slipping into wrong hands – A few years ago, drums of used french fry grease were of interest only to a small network of underground biofuel brewers, who would use the slimy oil to power their souped-up antique Mercedes’ (Associated Press, via the San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9356423?source=rss

CONSERVATION

Vail Resorts implements mandatory cut in energy usage (The Associated Press, via the Denver Post)
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9350504?source=rss

Getting The Light Switches of the World to Chat Amongst Themselves (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/arm-getting-the-light-switches-of-the-world-to-chat-amongst-themselves/index.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Ontario – Round up those old fridges; Energy-conservation initiative in its second year in Orillia (The Orillia Packet)
http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1039664

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

British Columbia – Air quality laws could threaten greenhouses – Bad Biomass: “…target emissions from wood boilers and make bigger polluters pay more…” (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=d92c1282-89be-4de4-8aba-f0ae4f6e8380

Factoring Your Carbon Footprint Into Summer Travel Plans (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2149-factoring-your-carbon-footprint-summer-travel-plans/

Report: Chesapeake Bay threatened by sea-level rise (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2008-05-22-rising_chesapeake_bay_N.htm?csp=34

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Energy matters: The eighth-grade class at the Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland worked on a service-learning project this year where each group of girls researched a topic surrounding global warming. Here they share their findings with readers
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/23/EDNR10QGT4.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Broadweave Replacing All iProvo Gateways – After company discovers flawed units cause phone problems (Broadband Reports – iProvo keeping mum on make of gateways)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Broadweave-Replacing-All-iProvo-Gateways-94666

Next-generation Net may be hard to get – Access requires fiber-optic line extension (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/364243_internet23.html?source=rss

Yahoo buy not a strategy in itself: Microsoft CEO (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL2344815620080523?feedType=nl&feedName=usbusinessearly

Yahoo Nominates Existing Board – The company nominated 9 of its 10 existing directors for re-election to its board, setting the stage for a showdown with dissident shareholders at its annual meeting, which has been postponed until late July (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/technology/23yahoo.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Fairfax Tech Firms Settle Software Suit – A Fairfax County technology company has agreed to pay a rival $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of stealing computer software (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001713.html?nav=rss_technology

GENERAL NEWS

Sign of the times: Beyond $4 for fuel – For the first time, regular unleaded gasoline sold for more than $4 per gallon at some South Sound stations Thursday (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/457441.html

Are we there yet? With Gas Prices Rising and the Planet Warming, Is It Time To Drive 55 Again? (Wired Magazine)
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/with-gas-prices.html

Nesting bald eagles delay Whidbey Island road work (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1405866~Nesting_bald_eagles_delay_Whidbey_Island_road_work.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

New state buildings on hold as cost climbs – A new complex of state buildings on the Capitol Campus will cost at least $110 million more than expected – and possibly a lot more than that (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/457436.html

High Court Allows State Tax Breaks For Bonds (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051900945.html?nav=rss_nation

Thieves cut down old maples for rare wood (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/19183164.html

Department Of Transportation Says Airlines Can't Charge Extra Baggage Fees After Ticket Purchase (The Consumerist)
http://consumerist.com/tag/airlines/?i=5010464&t=department-of-transportation-says-airlines-cant-charge-extra-baggage-fees-after-ticket-purchase

DIVERSIONS

Lost Parrot Able To Give Vet Name, Address – Missing Parrot Returned To Owners
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16349573/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Theft just days after being released from prison gets Ocean Shores man sent back for stealing a generator from an Aberdeen
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/22/local_news/07news.txt

Baby owls get new home after accidental trip from Ellensburg to Shelton
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/457429.html

Indiana Jones makes communists see red
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN2320354420080523?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Locksmith in Longview cracks safe that baffled feds, MIT
http://www.examiner.com/a-1405977~Lacksmith_in_Longview_cracks_safe_that_baffled_feds__MIT.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines