Energy News Digest for June 13, 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)

- Experts debate role of hydropower in the Northwest
- News Release – Congressional Hearings on Hydropower
- Oregon PUC memo gives Liquefied Natural Gas supporters a boost
- CALIFORNIA – Company abandons liquid natural gas project in Long Beach
- Tacoma Public Utilities dedicates a $19 million building addition
- SOUTH CAROLINA – Duke Energy reports electricity thefts in Greer
- NEW YORK – Web Tool to Track Con Ed Power Failures
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Opinion – Time for bold action on energy
- Seattle Times Op/Ed – Protect wild-salmon strongholds
- Bush Tries to Raid Salmon Disaster Funds
- Seattle City Light contributes to Skagit conservation project
- Extension of Chinook season on Yakima paying dividends
- New state law regulates whale watchers' distance
- Talking It Over: Mighty Columbia's long flow through the ages
- Longview switching to well water
- Where Does Water Come From: Part 3
- Tapping the oceans – Desalination turns salty water into fresh water
- Break in canal floods Prosser Cemetery
- In Eastern Iowa, the City That ‘Would Never Flood’ Goes 12 Feet Under
- Los Angeles Reservoir Covered With Balls To Protect Water
- Arizona Republic Opinion – Green energy will be costly for Arizonans
- Eco-friendly wind power's growth to deliver less-popular side effect: transmission lines
- Lessons Learned by Offshore Oil Industry Boost Offshore Wind Energy
- Taking Your Home Off The Grid – Is It A Good Idea For You?
- CALIFORNIA – Report turns up heat on AC installations
- Alaska village threatened by warming gets funding
- Yahoo makes Google ad deal; Microsoft talks fail
- Qwest exec sees growth in broadband
- Clearwire aims for 38 million users, $17.5B in revenue
- 200kbps Officially No Longer Qualifies As 'Broadband'
- Santa Fe Shoots Down 'Wireless Allergy' Group – Will move forward with Wi-Fi deployment
- AT&T weighs extra fee for Web's bandwidth hogs
- Secretive D.C. firm says corn growers' anti-Google letter is legit
- Relays For Life This Weekend
- Washington Department of Corrections faces federal suit over millions of dollars in unpaid overtime
- Which way out of rising gasoline costs?
- Exxon sells US gas stations to distributors
- A New Way to Guzzle Gas – Thieves are finding ingenious ways to steal gas
- A weather-beaten economy
- Belgian bid for Anheuser-Busch a bitter brew for U.S. politicians
- Vinyl shower curtains pose risk

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Triskaidekaphobia • \triss-kie-deck-uh-FOE-bee-uh\ • noun – Fear of the number 13

“Friday the Thirteenth, pshaw,” exclaimed Fergus. Triskaidekaphobia had never been a part of his foibles, until the day he unwittingly walked under a ladder while a black cat crossed his path…all while stepping on a crack in the sidewalk. His mother never forgave him for the pain it brought her. However, inexplicably, Fergus received a Christmas card from his mother’s chiropractor from that year on.

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

Experts debate role of hydropower in the Northwest (The Associated Press, via the Columbian, Vancouver, WA – See Corwin and Culbertson testimony in yesterday’s energy news digest…)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP06122008news328663.cfm

News Release – Congressional Hearings on Hydropower: America's leading renewable energy resource has bright future (National Hydropower Association)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/story?cid=3340&id=52776

Oregon PUC memo gives Liquefied Natural Gas supporters a boost – Regulators say liquefied natural gas terminals would help meet the region's demand, but those conclusions contradict an earlier department of energy position (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1213327510226630.xml&coll=7

CALIFORNIA – Company abandons liquid natural gas project in Long Beach (The Associated Press, via the San Luis Obispo Tribune)
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/348/story/380990.html

Tacoma Public Utilities dedicates a $19 million addition Wednesday to their administration building – Will house the Click! Network and transmission and distribution workers (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/387949.html

SOUTH CAROLINA – Duke Energy reports electricity thefts in Greer (The Greenville News, SC)
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080612/NEWS01/80612026

NEW YORK – Web Tool to Track Con Ed Power Failures (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/nyregion/13coned.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Opinion – Time for bold action on energy
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/2008/06/13/isaksoned.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Seattle Times Op/Ed – Protect wild-salmon strongholds – This spring, the collapse of California's Sacramento Chinook salmon stocks has effectively shut down coastal salmon fisheries in Oregon
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004474315_salmoped13.html?syndication=rss

Bush Tries to Raid Salmon Disaster Funds-- West Coast Members of Congress Send Stinging Letter (California Progress Report)
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/06/bush_tries_to_r.html

Seattle City Light contributes to Skagit conservation project (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/366837_habitat13.html?source=rss

Extension of Chinook season on Yakima paying dividends (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4903

New state law regulates whale watchers' distance (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/19875649.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Talking It Over: Mighty Columbia's long flow through the ages (The Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080612/NEWS04/729979897/1025/rss1025

Longview switching to well water – water supply will come from a giant aquifer deep below the Mint Farm Industrial Park rather than the Cowlitz River (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/06/13//area_news/doc48521556b6fd8963562752.txt

Where Does Water Come From: Part 3 (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3973

Tapping the oceans – Desalination turns salty water into fresh water. As concern over water’s scarcity grows, can it offer a quick technological fix? (The Economist Magazine)
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11484059

Break in canal floods Prosser Cemetery (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/211409.html

In Eastern Iowa, the City That ‘Would Never Flood’ Goes 12 Feet Under (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/us/13flood.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Los Angeles Reservoir Covered With Balls To Protect Water (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16586853/detail.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Arizona Republic Opinion – Green energy will be costly for Arizonans “…The reality check is this: Going green, particularly in a growing state such as Arizona, is likely to be very expensive…”
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0612robb13.html

Eco-friendly wind power's growth to deliver less-popular side effect – You mean, these things need transmission lines? (MinnPost, Minneapolis, MN)
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/06/13/2215/eco-friendly_wind_powers_growth_to_deliver_less-popular_side_effect

Lessons Learned by Offshore Oil Industry Boost Offshore Wind Energy (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52760&src=rss

Taking Your Home Off The Grid – Is It A Good Idea For You? (The Article Dashboard)
http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Taking-Your-Home-Off-The-Grid---Is-It-A-Good-Idea-For-You-/409365

CONSERVATION

CALIFORNIA – Report turns up heat on AC installations (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/06/09/daily66.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Alaska village threatened by warming gets funding – One of Alaska's most eroded villages is getting more than $3 million in state aid to help it relocate to higher ground (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004474717_apvillageerosion.html?syndication=rss

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo makes Google ad deal; Microsoft talks fail (Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080613/tc_nm/yahoo_microsoft_dc_15

Qwest exec sees growth in broadband (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/06/06132008_Qwest-exec-sees-growth-in-broadband.cfm/

Clearwire aims for 38 million users, $17.5B in revenue (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/06/09/daily27.html?ana=from_rss

200kbps Officially No Longer Qualifies As 'Broadband' – New FCC data collection methodology becomes official (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/200kbps-Officially-No-Longer-Qualifies-As-Broadband-95253

Santa Fe Shoots Down 'Wireless Allergy' Group – Will move forward with Wi-Fi deployment (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Santa-Fe-Shoots-Down-Wireless-Allergy-Group-95251

AT&T weighs extra fee for Web's bandwidth hogs (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9573392?source=rss

Secretive D.C. firm says corn growers' anti-Google letter is legit (CNET News…say hello to the nice people, urged the ventriloquist to his puppet partner…)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-9966971-38.html

GENERAL NEWS

Relays For Life This Weekend (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/212/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

Washington Department of Corrections faces federal suit over millions of dollars in unpaid overtime (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/477166.html

Which way out of rising gasoline costs? (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-06-12-gasolineprices_N.htm?csp=34

Exxon sells US gas stations to distributors (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004473323_apexxonmobilgasstations.html?syndication=rss

A New Way to Guzzle Gas – Thieves are finding ingenious ways to steal gas from stations, pumps—and your car (Newsweek Magazine)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/141199?from=rss

A weather-beaten economy – The severe weather that has battered the interior US this year is taking an economic as well as a human toll (Christian Science Monitor)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080613/ts_csm/aweather

Belgian bid for Anheuser-Busch a bitter brew for U.S. politicians (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004474352_beer13.html?syndication=rss

Vinyl shower curtains pose risk (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9573354?source=rss

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Friday 13th not more unlucky, study shows
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER25778420080612?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Men fillet Charlie the Tuna statue in Oregon
http://www.examiner.com/a-1438891~Men_fillet_Charlie_the_Tuna_statue_in_Oregon.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Boys Throw Rocks At Attempted Dog Snatchers
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16592737/detail.html

Anticlimax Alert – Contents of Oregon Cannery Safe Revealed
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3978

Soggy weather threatens B.C. pot crop, activist says – There's little hope for this dope.
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=6870c076-13ee-4c54-894a-7d2696e26910