Energy News Digest for May 27, 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)

- What sale of Puget Sound Energy will mean to you
- Most consumers oppose Puget Sound Energy sale
- Montana – Columbia Falls Aluminum Company may cut back production
- Seattle Times Editorial – Daydreaming through the nuclear-power night
- Tri-City Herald Editorial – More than sound bite on nuclear policy, please
- Beetle paratroopers deployed to fight invasive Scotch broom
- South Dakota – Possible struggle shaping up on electricity for oilseed plant
- Canadian View: Salmon deal sells out fishermen, B.C. trollers say
- Tacoma News Tribune Opinion – Putting the fate of salmon first
- Yakima Herald-Republic Op/Ed – Historic salmon deal really more of the same
- Yakima Herald-Republic Opinion – Tribes right to focus on rivers, not litigation
- Aid on its way to salmon industry
- Changes in store for Wenatchee steelhead
- Lousy Salmon Causes an Upset
- 8 million gallons of raw sewage pour into Seattle creek
- State to mull Lake Roosevelt summer water distribution
- Montana Dam Is Breached, Slowly, to Restore a Superfund Site
- Gregoire, Rossi battle for eco-credentials
- State biodiesel plant struggles – Grays Harbor facility delays
- The Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Questions in the wind
- Electricity coming out of the air
- Geothermal sites the new hot spots for Oregon power
- Desert sun's reflection a growing energy source
- Greening Parking Lots With Solar Trees
- San Jose Mercury News Editorial: Clean-energy tax incentives must be renewed
- Siemens slush fund for bribes detailed – may extend across many company divisions
- Iowa – Electric co-ops strive for energy efficiency
- How Green Is the College? Time the Showers
- Canada – Carbon tax gaining support across Canada
- Seattle Times Columnist – Science at the bend of climate change
- San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – A first in pollution fees
- Tacoma’s Click! Network might raise its rates
- Louisiana – Faster service set for ’09
- Google this: Search engine giant opens N.C. facility
- Infrastructure matters
- Seattle Times Guest Columnist – We need a national broadband policy
- The Tennessean Op/Ed – Free up localities to build broadband infrastructure
- Comcast, Qwest Annoyed With Twin Cities Wi-Fi Plans
- Comcast 'Pruning' Rural Markets
- Secret Las Vegas Supercompany Serves All Major Carriers
- Global Dreams for a Wireless Web
- Internet companies have their heads in the 'clouds'
- Weyerhaeuser gets tax break – A $182 million tax break for Weyerhaeuser Co
- North Mason School Board Selected New Board Member
- Pennies, Nickels worth Their Metal under New House Bill
- The fortunes of Idaho's Silver Valley pick up with metal prices, ski resort
- Corn price is factor in rising movie ticket prices

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Eschatology • \ess-kuh-TALL-oh-gee\ • noun – 1: a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind 2 a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind; specifically: any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment

“Golly Frank” exclaimed Dilton. “I’m considered somewhat of an expert in my tiddlywinks circle in the study of eschatology.” “But I’ve never heard the theory that the earth is to be swallowed by a gigantic space platypus when, or if, Don Knotts receives an honorary Oscar.”

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

What sale of Puget Sound Energy will mean to you – By year's end, Puget Sound Energy customers could be paying their electricity and natural-gas bills to a utility owned by an Australian investment bank and Canadian pension funds (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/459031.html

Most consumers oppose Puget Sound Energy sale (The Olympian, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1410230~Most_consumers_oppose_Puget_Sound_Energy_sale.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Montana – Columbia Falls Aluminum Company may cut back production “…The price of power has brought this situation about…” (The Daily Inter Lake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/05/24/news/news03.txt

Seattle Times Editorial – Daydreaming through the nuclear-power night
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004434976_vesely25.html?syndication=rss

Tri-City Herald Editorial – More than sound bite on nuclear policy, please – We'd like to know a great deal more than we do about the specifics of the presidential candidates' views on nuclear power.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/193806.html

Beetle paratroopers deployed to fight invasive Scotch broom – Officials dropped 3,500 beetles west and east of Salem to fight the prolific weed along public lands and Bonneville Power Administration rights-of-way (Salem Statesman Journal)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080524/NEWS/805240332/1001

South Dakota – Possible struggle shaping up on electricity for oilseed plant (Black Hills Pioneer)
http://bhpioneer.com/articles/2008/05/24/news//doc4836e6817e7fe456092239.txt

FISH & WILDLIFE

Canadian View: Salmon deal sells out fishermen, B.C. trollers say – U.S. to pay Canada $30-million in compensation for lost fishing rights in what some are calling 'sweetheart deal' (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080524.BCTREATY24/TPStory/National

Tacoma News Tribune Opinion – Putting the fate of salmon first – Last week’s international pact to sharply cut the catch of Chinook salmon migrating from Washington is one of those good news, bad news situations
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/372079.html

Yakima Herald-Republic Op/Ed – Historic salmon deal really more of the same
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/4381

Yakima Herald-Republic Opinion – Tribes right to focus on rivers, not litigation
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/4380

Aid on its way to salmon industry – Fishermen aren't the only ones who can benefit from $170 million fund (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/364655_salmon27.html

Changes in store for Wenatchee steelhead – Changes are coming in the way endangered steelhead trout are raised in the upper Columbia River region. (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004438635_wenatcheesteelhead26m.html

Lousy Salmon Causes an Upset – Sea lice from Norwegian-run salmon farms are killing off vital wild salmon stocks in Canada and Chile, according to a delegation that visited Oslo last week. It accuses Norway's government of complicity (Inter Press Service)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42510

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

8 million gallons of raw sewage pour into Seattle creek (KING-TV. Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052508WAB_sewage_spill_SW.2b772711.html

State to mull Lake Roosevelt summer water distribution – The state is diving into the details of how, when and to whom it will distribute new summer water supplies from Lake Roosevelt (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/194584.html

Montana Dam Is Breached, Slowly, to Restore a Superfund Site (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/27dam.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Gregoire, Rossi battle for eco-credentials (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/364687_greengov27.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

State biodiesel plant struggles – Grays Harbor facility delays (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/372091.html

The Columbian Editorial – In Our View: Questions in the wind “…the rush toward renewable energy sources could be expanding into Clark County. We welcome it. But, plenty of questions surround this week’s stunning development…”
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/05/05232008_In-Our-View-Questions-in-the-wind.cfm?newsletter=5

Electricity coming out of the air – Power costs have people looking into individual wind energy systems “…but Carroll County tweaked its zoning ordinance earlier this month to allow residents to install the systems. And the state has begun offering grants to help people pay for them...” (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/carroll/bal-te.ca.wind25may25,0,6598695.story

Geothermal sites the new hot spots for Oregon power (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9390409?source=rss

Desert sun's reflection a growing energy source (Bloomberg News, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004435638_solarmirrors24.html

Greening Parking Lots With Solar Trees (EcoGeek)
http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1665/

San Jose Mercury News Editorial: Clean-energy tax incentives must be renewed
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9390434?source=rss

Siemens slush fund for bribes detailed (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004439845_siemens27.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION

Iowa – Electric co-ops strive for energy efficiency (Des Moines Register)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080527/OPINION04/805270304/1038/Opinion

How Green Is the College? Time the Showers (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/education/26green.html?th&emc=th

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Canada – Carbon tax gaining support across Canada (Canwest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=c28d5cd4-5404-4ade-a748-0352268d392c

Seattle Times Columnist – Science at the bend of climate change
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004435287_riley27.html

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – A first in pollution fees
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/26/ED2T10S5HC.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Tacoma’s Click! Network might raise its rates – The increase is needed primarily to pay for rising programming costs (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/372812.html

Louisiana – Faster service set for ’09 – Lafayette Utilities readies fiber optic lines (WBRZ-TV)
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/19200579.html

Google this: Search engine giant opens N.C. facility (WRAL)
http://www.wrallocaltechwire.com/business/local_tech_wire/news/story/2924623

Infrastructure matters – As the municipal fiber project in Provo, Utah, transforms into a more vertically integrated model, it illustrates some of the flaws in a particular brand of muni broadband commonly referred to as “wholesale-only.” (Telephony Online)
http://telephonyonline.com/access/commentary/infrastructure-broadweave-veracity-0521/

Seattle Times Guest Columnist – We need a national broadband policy (Ron Simms)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004435284_simsop27.html?syndication=rss

The Tennessean Op/Ed – Free up localities to build broadband infrastructure
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/OPINION01/805230381/1007/OPINION

Comcast, Qwest Annoyed With Twin Cities Wi-Fi Plans – Government wants speeds that are faster than the upgrades these businesses offer (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Qwest-Annoyed-With-Twin-Cities-WiFi-Plans-94723

Comcast 'Pruning' Rural Markets – 46 markets across eight states (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Pruning-Rural-Markets-94753

Secret Las Vegas Supercompany Serves All Major Carriers – Massive low cost broadband data center making plans to rule the world (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Secret-Las-Vegas-Supercompany-Serves-All-Major-Carriers-94716

Global Dreams for a Wireless Web – An entrepreneur is trying to cover the Earth with Web access, one hot spot at a time. But his big idea is encountering equally big obstacles (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/technology/25web.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Internet companies have their heads in the 'clouds' – Tech businesses find computing resources outside their own walls (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/364657_cloud27.html

GENERAL NEWS

Weyerhaeuser gets tax break – A $182 million tax break for Weyerhaeuser Co., tucked inside the farm bill (McClatchy Newspapers, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/460728.html

NORTH MASON SCHOOL BOARD SELECTED NEW BOARD MEMBER – The North Mason School Board of Directors selected a new school board member Thursday evening. Mike Gaudio of Victor will represent district five. He will be sworn in at the next school board meeting June 12 and will serve the remainder of the term of former school board member Nena Andrews. Andrews resigned in April citing personal reasons. Mike Gaudio is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Through the Air Force he earned a bachelor's degree in business and went on to earn an MBA, both from the University of Washington. Gaudio said he decided to seek the school board position as a way to give back to the community. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Pennies, Nickels worth Their Metal under New House Bill – Bill calls for pennies and nickels to be mostly steel (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/May-June-08/Pennies--Nickels-Aren-t-Worth-the-Metal-They-re-Minted-With.html

The fortunes of Idaho's Silver Valley pick up with metal prices, ski resort (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004440062_kellogg27.html?syndication=rss

Corn price is factor in rising movie ticket prices (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004435762_cornfilm24.html

DIVERSIONS

It's a dog's life for abandoned kittens – Mother Chihuahua adopts litter
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=d2fa92e8-d7bf-48a0-9e9d-1f8f894d4b6f

Minor Leaguer Traded For 10 Baseball Bats In Texas
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16389824/detail.html

Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail (12 Minutes, National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90801438&ft=1&f=7

Skydiver's balloon takes off without him
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_re_ca/canada_high_skydiver_3