Energy News Digest for June 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)

- Reductions Sought in Puget Sound Energy’s Rate Hikes
- Hosted by PUDs – Ex-Greenpeace president discusses future energy
- Students learn about the Columbia River's power
- Canada – Homeowners threaten blockades to stop power lines
- Complaint: Electricity Buyers Overpaying In Maryland
- Michigan may raise residents' electric bills up to 15 percent to help businesses
- Missouri – Utilities plan to fight 40% natural gas rate-increase request
- Energy firms mix message – Investors told of riches, public of rule hardships
- California – Fishers struggle with salmon shutdown
- Program pays anglers for catching squawfish (Ahem, Pikeminnow)
- The river gives, and the river takes
- Many of LA River’s tributaries could lose protections
- Charlotte, Duke Energy will fight S.C. water suit
- United Kingdom – Microgeneration could rival nuclear power, report shows
- Geothermal Electricity Booming in Germany
- How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space!
- 25 cheap ways to keep your house cooler
- Energy adviser: Solar water heating works, even in Northwest
- Tennessee gobbles up energy – Despite heavy use, Tennessee Valley Authority returns focus to conservation
- Climate Bill Underlines Obstacles to Capping Greenhouse Gases
- Climate-change bill: how it works and key players involved
- Using climate change to expand government's grip
- Who’d be stuck with the greenhouse gas bill?
- Mid-Columbia group says going green can save cash too
- Internet running out of addresses
- Cable Companies and Modem Vendors Fight Patent Troll
- Colorado – Glenwood Springs fiber-optic partnership gets bad reception
- How to Fix Muni Wi-Fi
- Teens await arrest after Comcast attack
- Some Shun Wireless Internet – Some Claim to Have a Physical Aversion to Wireless Internet
- Can broadband do right by customers?
- Teen Dies In Crash On Harstine Island
- Mason County Sheriff – Three Hikers Injured on Mount Ellinor in Olympic National Forest
- North Mason County – Piecing Together What December's Floodwaters Tore Apart
- Oregon – Credit Card 'Surcharge' at pump adds to gas pains
- On the road? Don't talk to the hand – Starting July 1

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Hors de combat • \or-doo-kom-BAH\ • adjective or adverb – Out of combat: disabled

“How unfortunate,” mused the bank manager. Even with the constant barrage of information regarding the expected ferocity of the upcoming flu season, he had warned his tellers NOT to get their shots this year because it would mean their absence for about ten minutes each on one day. The chickens were coming home to roost, as fully two thirds of his employees spent weeks on end hors de combat with the flu…which was introduced by a particularly sick customer one fateful day.

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

Reductions Sought in Puget Sound Energy’s Rate Hikes –The public counsel's office and the state Utilities and Transportation Commission staff recommend cuts in proposed electricity and natural-gas rates for customers of Puget Sound Energy (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/365293_pse31.html

Hosted by PUDs – Ex-Greenpeace president discusses future energy (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/05/30/news/news06.txt

Students learn about the Columbia River's power – PUD program gives students a look at fish and energy production (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080530/NEWS04/779431543/1005

Canada – Homeowners threaten blockades to stop power lines (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=41850154-53c3-44a5-bc4a-eab3454cf456

Complaint: Electricity Buyers Overpaying In Maryland (WJZ-TV, Baltimore, MD)
http://wjz.com/local/overpaying.electricity.BGE.2.737416.html

Michigan may raise residents' electric bills up to 15 percent to help businesses (The Chicago Tribune)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-powerstruggle-rat,0,3899092.story

Missouri – Utilities plan to fight 40% natural gas rate-increase request (Springfield News Leader)
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/BREAKING01/80529031/-1/RSS

Energy firms mix message – Investors told of riches, public of rule hardships (Rocky Mountain News)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/02/energy-firms-mix-message/?partner=yahoo_headlines

FISH & WILDLIFE

California – Fishers struggle with salmon shutdown – Salmon fishers are reeling from canceled season (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9448434?source=rss

Program pays anglers for catching squawfish (Seattle Times – Uh Oh….someone call the politically correct police!)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2004450364_outn01.html

The river gives, and the river takes – The deaths of three Yakama fishermen highlight the risks they take on the Columbia (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/4565

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Many of LA River’s tributaries could lose protections (Lost Angeles Times, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1418520~Many_of_LA_river_s_tributaries_could_lose_protections.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Charlotte, Duke Energy will fight S.C. water suit (Hickory Daily Record)
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=HDR%2FMGArticle%2FHDR_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173355591493&path=!news!localnews

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

United Kingdom – Microgeneration could rival nuclear power, report shows – buildings equipped with solar, wind and other micro power equipment (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/02/renewableenergy.alternativeenergy?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

Geothermal Electricity Booming in Germany (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52588&src=rss

How to harvest solar power? Beam it down from space! (CNN International)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/30/space.solar/?iref=intlOnlyonCNN

CONSERVATION

25 cheap ways to keep your house cooler (MSN Money)
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/25cheapWaysToKeepYourHouseCooler.aspx

Energy adviser: Solar water heating works, even in Northwest (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/lifehome/lifeHomeNews/2008/05/06012008_Energy-adviser-Solar-water-heating-works-even-in-Northwest.cfm?newsletter=1

Tennessee gobbles up energy – Despite heavy use, Tennessee Valley Authority returns focus to conservation (The Tennessean)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080601/GREEN02/806010420/1006/NEWS01

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate Bill Underlines Obstacles to Capping Greenhouse Gases (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102471.html?nav=rss_business

Climate-change bill: how it works and key players involved (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/01/MNEF111GNL.DTL&feed=rss.news

Using climate change to expand government's grip (George Will, via the Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080601/OPINION04/538848305/-1/RSS05

Who’d be stuck with the greenhouse gas bill? – From higher electric bills to more expensive gasoline (The Associated Press, via the News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/378230.html

Mid-Columbia group says going green can save cash too (Tri-City Herald – Jim Henson royalty alert…)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/200347.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Internet running out of addresses – Current system, IPv4, has just 700 million –16% – available (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/365383_webaddresses02.html?source=rss

Cable Companies and Modem Vendors Fight Patent Troll – Patent firm seeks millions of dollars from all major cable companies (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cable-Companies-and-Modem-Vendors-Fight-Patent-Troll-94914

Colorado – Glenwood Springs fiber-optic partnership gets bad reception: Neither Comcast nor Qwest eager to join city (The Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, CO)
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080602/VALLEYNEWS/624766601

How to Fix Muni Wi-Fi (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/06/01/how-to-fix-muni-wi-fi/

Teens await arrest after Comcast attack (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9956165-7.html

Some Shun Wireless Internet – Some Claim to Have a Physical Aversion to Wireless Internet (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesNews/story?id=4939565&page=1

Can broadband do right by customers? (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9956244-7.html

GENERAL NEWS

Teen Dies In Crash On Harstine Island (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/109/reftab/1632/Default.aspx

Mason County Sheriff – Three Hikers Injured on Mount Ellinor in Olympic National Forest (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16451313/detail.html

North Mason County – Piecing Together What December's Floodwaters Tore Apart (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jun/01/piecing-together-what-flood-waters-tore-apart/

Oregon – Credit Card 'Surcharge' at pump adds to gas pains (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1212207928199860.xml&coll=7

On the road? Don't talk to the hand – Starting July 1, talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving will be illegal without a headset or hands-free device (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://us.mg1.mail.yahoo.com/dc/launch?.rand=2hd5egubp01r6

DIVERSIONS

Japanese man discovers woman living in his closet
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSCOO06330120080530?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Fox News worker sues over bedbugs in office
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN3043167820080530?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

New Zealander Fined For Using a Hedgehog in Assault
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16437382/detail.html

New York Town Lifts Clothesline Ban – Ban Instituted Six Years Ago
http://www.kirotv.com/family/16436431/detail.html

Julius Pierpoint Patches, your statue is almost ready
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080602/NEWS01/69168406/-1/RSS02