Energy News Digest for June 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)

- Grant County PUD – Group questions potential participation in Montana coal project
- Tri Cities, WA – Storm, fire knock out power, more heat expected
- Idaho Power seeks another rate hike, nearly ten percent
- Island County OKs PSE franchise renewal
- Whidbey PUD Campaign Web Site
- News Release – NorthWestern Energy Submits Colstrip Unit 4 Filing
- Kaiser Aluminum to add energy surcharges to fabricated aluminum orders
- Detroit News Op/Ed – Don't let State of Michigan dictate energy choices
- NEW YORK – Con Edison Contract Talks Suspended
- San Francisco Chronicle Columnists – Extra spark in Ma's push for electric meters?
- Idaho could see a very strong sockeye year
- IDAHO – Surprising sockeye salmon run hits river
- Canada urged to cancel native commercial fisheries after court decision
- Cowlitz Fish Hatchery 2.0
- OREGON – A Winchester Bay cannery copes with the cutoff in the salmon fishery
- Columbia River sturgeon anglers to get eight more days
- Tacoma federal court sentencing for Makah whalers
- Buying bottled water: Should you feel guilty — or trendy?
- Seattle Times Opinion – Bottoms up at the tap
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Puget Sound: Paying attention
- Great Lakes compact focus shifting to Congress
- La Center to hike sewer rates as home-building revenue falls
- Algae Threatens Olympic Sailing
- Goldwater Institute sues Arizona Corporation Commission over renewable energy fee
- Rhode Island governor vetoes renewable energy bill
- In an Age of Fossil Fuel, Returning to the Water for Electricity
- Solar companies left in the dark
- Geothermal hits home
- Gust of energy needed to procure wind power jobs
- Congressional Research Service – Wind Power in the United States
- Biodiesel Keeps Pumping, But Growth Slows
- Washington State prisons take fresh look at conservation
- Energy's easiest fix: Use less
- COLORADO – Energy Audit On Home Could Save Big Money
- Times Beacon Record Op/Ed – Long Island Power Authority: When is enough enough?
- CANADA – Dion wading into dark Western clouds over carbon tax proposal
- CANADA – Northern premiers reject carbon tax plan
- CANADA – Jonathan Kay: A carbon tax might work in principle, but it won't work in Canada
- Wired glacier project puts scientists up close with Arctic ice sheets
- Data Centers Explore Novel Ways to Cut Energy Use
- Lack of Funds Shuts Down Wireless Oakland
- Selling your web browsing history: Another ISP Suspends NebuAD Trials
- Industry Laughs Off Bell Canada Congestion Claims
- New hands free cell phone law in effect Tuesday
- Gregoire’s inaction on nuclear enrichment plant cost jobs, say Tri-Cities leaders
- Cutoff of timber money pinches rural Oregon
- Thurston County purchase of $9,000 grill raises budget questions
- Keep eyes open for copper wire thieves
- Washington ranks high in number of artists

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Euphuism • \YOOF-you-wiz-um\ • noun – 1: an elegant Elizabethan literary style marked by excessive use of balance, antithesis, and alliteration and by frequent use of similes drawn from mythology and nature *2: artificial elegance of language

Here’s an example of euphuism from William Blake, and its mellow speak interpretation, courtesy of Doonesbury – circa May 16, 1979:

Rick Redfern: “The moon, like a flower – In heaven's high bower – With silent delight – Sits and smiles on the night” The mellow speak interpretation: “Oh wow, look at the moon!”

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

Grant County PUD – Group questions potential participation in Montana coal project (The Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/06/27/news/news03.txt

Tri Cities, WA – Storm, fire knock out power, more heat expected (The Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/226573.html

Idaho Power seeks another rate hike, nearly ten percent (The Associated Press, via the Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/491323.html

Island County OKs PSE franchise renewal – Local power-outage prevention won't be addressed in an agreement that allows Puget Sound Energy to use the public right of way (The Whidbey Examiner, Coupeville, WA)
http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=1511&TM=42268.57

Whidbey PUD Campaign Web Site
http://www.whidbeypud.org/

News Release – NorthWestern Energy Submits Colstrip Unit 4 Filing With Montana Public Service Commission (PR NewsWire)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080630/aqm045.html?.v=51

Kaiser Aluminum to add energy surcharges to fabricated aluminum orders beginning July 1 (The Associated Press)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080630/kaiser_aluminum_energy_surcharge.html?.v=1

Detroit News Op/Ed – Don't let State of Michigan dictate energy choices (Love letter from the “Michigan Alliance for Competitive Energy”)
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/OPINION01/806300339

NEW YORK – Con Edison Contract Talks Suspended (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/nyregion/30coned.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

San Francisco Chronicle Columnists – Extra spark in Ma's push for electric meters? At issue: legislation custom-tailored to give an outfit called Current Grid LLC a leg up in the emerging $5 billion energy-saving industry in California
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/29/BAFE11FSIJ.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

FISH & WILDLIFE

Idaho could see a very strong sockeye year – Columbia River sockeye run could mean the highest total in Idaho in more than 30 years (The Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/427402.html

IDAHO – Surprising sockeye salmon run hits river (McClatchy Newspapers, via Arizona Central)
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/06/30/20080630SALMON0630.html

Canada urged to cancel native commercial fisheries after court decision (The Vancouver Sun, BC)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=9028f5dd-b54e-4776-8e8c-32c5b9efe52f

Cowlitz Fish Hatchery 2.0 – After 40 Years and Millions of Salmon, Tacoma Power’s Salkum Hatchery Is Undergoing a $23 Million Tune-Up (The Daily Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/rss/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1214589916&archive=

OREGON – A Winchester Bay cannery copes with the cutoff in the salmon fishery (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/O/relationships/index.ssf?/base/living/121435531367930.xml&coll=7

Columbia River sturgeon anglers to get eight more days (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/06/06282008_Columbia-River-sturgeon-anglers-to-get-eight-more-days.cfm?newsletter=1

Tacoma federal court sentencing for Makah whalers (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1465611~Tacoma_federal_court_sentencing_for_Makah_whalers.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Buying bottled water: Should you feel guilty — or trendy? (Washington Post, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008024882_water30.html?syndication=rss

Seattle Times Opinion – Bottoms up at the tap – Turn on the tap. The nation's mayors voted to join Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and a few other urban CEOs leading the charge against bottled water
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2008021713_bottled28.html

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Puget Sound: Paying attention – Puget Sound needs more of the nation's attention. The Environmental Protection Agency is a good place to begin ramping up
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/368730_epaed.html?source=rss

Great Lakes compact focus shifting to Congress – A year ago, it seemed a proposed interstate compact designed to prevent thirstier regions from raiding the Great Lakes might be sunk by squabbles among the eight states with jurisdiction over the vast reservoir (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008024133_apgreatlakescompact.html?syndication=rss

La Center to hike sewer rates as home-building revenue falls (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/06/06272008_La-Center-to-hike-sewer-rates-as-homebuilding-revenue-falls.cfm/

Algae Threatens Olympic Sailing (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/asia/01algae.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Goldwater Institute sues Arizona Corporation Commission over renewable energy fee (Phoenix Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/06/23/daily65.html?ana=from_rss

Rhode Island governor vetoes renewable energy bill (The Associated Press, via the Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2008/06/27/ri_gov_vetoes_bill_to_stimulate_renewable_energy/

In an Age of Fossil Fuel, Returning to the Water for Electricity – The United States Department of Energy estimates that low-head hydropower could eventually meet a third of the nation’s electricity needs, while reducing carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-burning power plants by 35 percent (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/29hydronj.html?ref=nyregionspecial2

Solar companies left in the dark – Builders of solar power plants fear that a government decision to halt applications to use federal lands as it weighs environmental consequences could harm an industry still in its infancy (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=1511&TM=42268.57

Geothermal hits home – Geothermal heating and cooling systems are increasingly taking root under the green, green grass of homes (Finance and Commerce Magazine)
http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2008/06/26/Geothermal-hits-home-Number-of-local-residential-installations-is-exploding

Gust of energy needed to procure wind power jobs (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CkjhgoppZUmi%7DGL%7Dbfen%5Fv

Congressional Research Service – Wind Power in the United States: Technology, Economic, and Policy Issues
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34546

Biodiesel Keeps Pumping, But Growth Slows (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4037

CONSERVATION

Washington State prisons take fresh look at conservation – State emphasizes sustainability at institutions (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/492920.html

Energy's easiest fix: Use less “…if the entire car fleet switched to electric, that could put a major dent in oil use…gasoline use would plummet by 70% in the United States if all passenger vehicles were electric, while electricity consumption would rise by just one-sixth (17%)….”(CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/30/news/economy/energy_demand/?postversion=2008063009

COLORADO – Energy Audit On Home Could Save Big Money (KCNC-TV, Denver, CO)
http://cbs4denver.com/local/energy.audit.home.2.759926.html

Times Beacon Record Op/Ed – Long Island Power Authority: When is enough enough? “…To finance…program, LIPA hopes to levy a new $3 per month "assessment" on homeowner bills and a $10 to $25 "assessment" on commercial utility bills…” (Long Island, NY)
http://www.beaconrecord.com/Articles-i-2008-06-26-72916.113114_LIPA_When_is_enough_enough.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

CANADA – Dion wading into dark Western clouds over carbon tax proposal (Canwest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=1d5ce31f-3807-41f9-84d9-5a6fc1329b83

CANADA – Northern premiers reject carbon tax plan (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/28/north-carbon.html?ref=rss

CANADA – Jonathan Kay: A carbon tax might work in principle, but it won't work in Canada (The National)
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/06/29/jonathan-kay-a-carbon-tax-might-work-in-principle-but-it-won-t-work-in-canada.aspx

Wired glacier project puts scientists up close with Arctic ice sheets (The Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=4a585b1c-78db-42e7-8769-f781223798eb

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Data Centers Explore Novel Ways to Cut Energy Use (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C4006938808825746A0066A153.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Lack of Funds Shuts Down Wireless Oakland – Another citywide wi-fi effort bites the dust (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Lack-of-Funds-Shuts-Down-Wireless-Oakland-95658

Selling your web browsing history: Another ISP Suspends NebuAD Trials – Centurytel suspends trials in face of Congressional inquiry (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Another-ISP-Suspends-NebuAD-Trials-95674

Industry Laughs Off Bell Canada Congestion Claims – Any congestion could be 'easily and inexpensively solved' (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Industry-Laughs-Off-Bell-Canada-Congestion-Claims-95679

GENERAL NEWS

New hands free cell phone law in effect Tuesday (The Associated Press, via KING-TV, Seattle, WA)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_062908WAB_hands_free_law_SW.8691b5d.html

Gregoire’s inaction on nuclear enrichment plant cost jobs, say Tri-Cities leaders (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/story/400386.html

Cutoff of timber money pinches rural Oregon – With the cost of living rising, tax hikes aren't likely to shore up county budgets (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1214636121202010.xml&coll=7

Thurston County purchase of $9,000 grill raises budget questions (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/492921.html

Keep eyes open for copper wire thieves (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/492268.html

Washington ranks high in number of artists (Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008021097_apwaartisticwashington.html?syndication=rss

Get Locked in Medieval Stockades at the Renaissance Faire in Richland (KNDO-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=8574218

ELEPHANTS ON ACID - DIVERSIONS

Husband of YouTube Star "mortified" by publicity
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080627/wr_nm/smith_dc_2

Forensic tests prove pizza is not just junk food – Sidney lab finds it ranks highest under school food and drink guidelines
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=0464d50c-30e1-475d-9789-4ec315d682eb

British student gets credit for expletive on exam
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080630/ap_on_fe_st/britain_exam_expletives;_ylt=Ahkrm27e3BdRzrlOhDLAGSvtiBIF

Out-of-state crews post SC signs in wrong places
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080630/ap_on_fe_st/odd_misdirected_signs;_ylt=AlUQk_V_iLDfDJnPBilRwsftiBIF