Energy News Digest for May 30, 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)

- Energy Northwest Columbia reactor slips to 85 pct
- Jury Rejects TransAlta Claim in Crane Trial
- Airway marker on high voltage lines shot out
- Fitch Rates Eugene Water and Electric Board, Oregon Electric Utility 'A+'; Outlook Stable
- Mason County PUD No. 3 Tree Trimming On The South Shore To Begin Tuesday
- Calpine Corp. rejects NRG Energy bid
- The Energy Challenge – Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal
- Climate Enters Debate over Nuclear Power
- Texans can expect high summer electric bills
- Marylanders for Reliable Power mobilizes to push for energy grid upgrades
- Large businesses decry power rate hike in Maryland
- Another Story About IDT Energy's Door-To-Door Scams
- Spring Chinook season extended through June
- Upper Willamette closes for Chinook
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife puts Chinook in Powder River
- Canadian smelter spills acid into Columbia River
- Klamath Falls, Ore., officials concerned about levee leaks
- Seattle Times Op/Ed – Rainwater harvesting: Washington ahead of California
- Trader sues biodiesel maker Imperium, seeking millions
- British Columbia firm hopes to harness California wind
- Turbine makers generate profits
- Wind power outlook weak in Europe, report says
- Interest in Southwest Washington wind farms blows in
- The big chill on carbon offsets –lawmakers should consult the UN's abysmal record in this slippery type of trading
- Washington Post Columnist – Carbon Chastity
- Washington Post Columnist – Letting Cap-and-Trade Work
- Under Pressure, White House Issues Climate Change Report
- Home energy use contributes more to Washington, D.C. area's carbon footprint than traffic
- You emit what you eat (Snicker, chortle, giggle, hee hee!)
- F.C.C. Considering Free High-Speed Internet Network Plan
- Hackers raid Comcast Web portal
- Kevin Martin Defends Shoddy Broadband Record
- Time Warner Cable Pretends Cable Is Fiber
- Media Defender's PR Problem Gets Worse
- State Senator Linda Parlette Announces Decision To Run Again
- State Senator Mike Hewitt announces run for third term
- Arrests made in Ephrata for scrap metal thefts

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Garrulous • \GAIR-uh-lus\ • adjective – 1: pointlessly or annoyingly talkative *2: wordy

Edward was spellbound. The amateur saxophonist had heard about diaphragmatic breathing, and how it could be used to extend a held note almost indefinitely. Until now he had not seen it in practice. The long-winded, garrulous diatribe by the Flat Earth Society’s main spokesman went on for at least fifteen minutes…with no apparent pause for a breath.

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

Energy Northwest Columbia reactor slips to 85 pct (Reuters)
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN2945224920080529

Jury Rejects TransAlta Claim in Crane Trial (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1212083341&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Airway marker on high voltage lines shot out – Federal government offers reward for information on Cathlamet vandalism (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/30/area_news/doc483f8d87c2f09921176473.txt

Fitch Rates Eugene Water and Electric Board, Oregon Electric Utility 'A+'; Outlook Stable (BusinessWire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080529006206&newsLang=en

Mason County PUD No. 3 Tree Trimming On The South Shore To Begin Tuesday (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/93/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

Calpine Corp. rejects NRG Energy bid (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/05/26/daily31.html?ana=from_rss

The Energy Challenge – Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30coal.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Climate Enters Debate over Nuclear Power (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/business/30nuke.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Texans can expect high summer electric bills (The Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/053008dnbuswholesalepower.3eb22724.html

Marylanders for Reliable Power mobilizes to push for energy grid upgrades (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/05/26/daily28.html?ana=from_rss

Large businesses decry power rate hike in Maryland (Washington Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/05/26/daily25.html?ana=from_rss

Another Story About IDT Energy's Door-To-Door Scams (The Consumerist – Note: comment section may include PG-13 language)
http://consumerist.com/tag/scams/?i=5011647&t=another-story-about-idt-energys-door+to+door-scams

FISH & WILDLIFE

Spring Chinook season extended through June (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4530

Upper Willamette closes for Chinook (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/fishing/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1212114332258500.xml&coll=7

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife puts Chinook in Powder River “…the trap below Hells Canyon Dam caught more fish than Oregon and Idaho hatcheries needed for this year's Chinook crop…” (Baker City Herald, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1415245~ODFW_puts_chinook_in_Powder_River.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Canadian smelter spills acid into Columbia River (The Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1415853~Canadian_smelter_spills_acid_into_Columbia_River.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Klamath Falls, Ore., officials concerned about levee leaks (KFLS Radio, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1415934~Klamath_Falls__Ore___officials_concerned_about_levee_leaks.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Seattle Times Op/Ed – Rainwater harvesting: Washington ahead of California
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/365081_wateronline30.html?source=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Trader sues biodiesel maker Imperium, seeking millions (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004447055_imperium30.html?syndication=rss

British Columbia firm hopes to harness California wind (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080530.RWESTERN30/TPStory/Business

Turbine makers generate profits (The Financial Post, Canada – They like those renewable energy mandates!)
http://www.financialpost.com/money/story.html?id=550916

Wind power outlook weak in Europe, report says (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9954873-54.html

Interest in wind farms blows in – Southwest Washington is likely to see wind turbines on the horizon thanks to burgeoning demand for renewable energy in the region (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05292008_Interest-in-wind-farms-blows-in.cfm?newsletter=1

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

The big chill on carbon offsets – Before Congress attacks global warming with a cap on greenhouse gases – and then allows firms to pollute if they buy "carbon offsets" elsewhere – lawmakers should consult the UN's abysmal record in this slippery type of trading (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0529/p08s01-comv.html

Washington Post Columnist – Carbon Chastity – The First Commandment of the Church of the Environment
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903266.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Washington Post Columnist – Letting Cap-and-Trade Work – How Free Credits Increase the Cost of Cutting Carbon Emissions
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903263.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Under Pressure, White House Issues Climate Change Report (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/washington/30climate.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Home energy use contributes more to Washington, D.C. area's carbon footprint than traffic (Washington Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/05/26/daily38.html?ana=from_rss

You emit what you eat (Nature Reports – What an unfortunate, but biologically correct, headline!)
http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0806/full/climate.2008.49.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

F.C.C. Considering Free High-Speed Internet Network Plan (The Associated Press, via the NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Internet-Service-FCC.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Hackers raid Comcast Web portal (The Denver Post)
http://www.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_9415709

Kevin Martin Defends Shoddy Broadband Record – You apparently have to put his failure in full context (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Kevin-Martin-Defends-Shoddy-Broadband-Record-94857

Time Warner Cable Pretends Cable Is Fiber – Guess it's cheaper than upgrading “…who needs to upgrade…when you can just confuse customers into thinking that hybrid fiber/coax connections are the same thing as fiber to the home?...” (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Time-Warner-Cable-Pretends-Cable-Is-Fiber-94845

Media Defender's PR Problem Gets Worse – After they knock a legitimate video website offline (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Media-Defenders-PR-Problem-Gets-Worse-94851

GENERAL NEWS

STATE SENATOR LINDA PARLETTE ANNOUNCES DECISION TO RUN AGAIN – 12th District State Senator Linda Evans Parlette announced on today's KPQ morning update that she plans to seek a third term. Parlette says there are a number of challenges facing the area that if re-elected she will continue to work on. One of the biggest facing our area is the rise in assessments of property values. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)

State Senator Mike Hewitt announces run for third term (The Union Bulletin, Walla Walla)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/05/30/local_news/080529local06hewittannounce.txt

Arrests made in Ephrata for scrap metal thefts (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/05/29/news/news02.txt

DIVERSIONS

Condoleezza Rice enlists in Kiss Army fan club
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_en_ot/people_rice_kiss

Researchers Say Stonehenge Was a Family Burial Ground – Conclusion Runs Counter to Long-Held Theories
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052901973.html?nav=rss_nation

Flight hopping boy won't face new charges
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_053008WAB_semaj_no_new_charges_JM.43ac69df.html

Man's Quirky Marriage Proposal Triggers UFO Alert
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16425828/detail.html

Town's Mayor, A Dog, Dies At Age 12
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16425878/detail.html