Energy News Digest for July 7, 2008 - Supersized Edition

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)

- Puget Sound Energy lowers its rate increase request
- Grays Harbor PUD Commissioners OK Cosmopolis pulp mill cogeneration deal
- Wind surge poses a risk to salmon and reveals flaws in BPA's power-regulating system
- Larsen optimistic on Intalco – Smelter’s future hinges on power deal
- New grads find it difficult to rise to lineman challenge
- TEXAS – End of an affair – Panelists agree that change is coming to U.S. energy use and supply
- PENNSYLVANIA – An old dam is a source to provide new energy
- UNITED KINGDOM –Suicide Bid Over Energy Bill
- Eight dead as canoeists sucked into turbines at hydroelectric dam under construction
- AUSTRALIA – Energy providers feel the heat as copper wire thefts soar
- FLORIDA – Unpaid bills may trigger utility rate increases
- Fascinating – Appeals Court rules that judges shouldn't act as scientists
- Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears path for more logging
- Daily News Opinion – A little balance from 9th Circuit
- $1.13 Million – Enviros Send Feds' BiOp Bill
- Salmon on the Columbia: See you in court
- CANADA – Sockeye's success near Osoyoos is a miracle in the desert
- Salmon is keystone species for region
- Alaska's sick salmon
- OREGON – Rogue River dam in Southern Oregon to come down
- Settlement in WA spotted owl lawsuit
- Work slated on Elwha River diversion channel
- EPA fines Idaho Transportation Department over highway project that damages Lake Coeur d'Alene
- State and local governments side with builders on runoff pollution
- Bottling plant looks to Orting after snubbing by Enumclaw
- Treatment in store for Tacoma’s Wapato Lake to control algae
- OREGON – How safe is city’s water? Testing for contaminants in reservoirs inadequate
- OREGON – Clouds Form On Solar Energy's Horizon
- CALIFORNIA – Surprise opponents to renewable energy measure
- TEXAS – Debate flares over wind power
- NEW YORK – Responses to green energy programs lack energy
- NEW YORK – Wind turbine deal spins up controversy
- Solar power companies look abroad as sun sets on tax credits
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Energy: Renewable ideas
- OREGON – Portland General Electric predicts surge in hybrid vehicles
- Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius
- Biofuels behind food price hikes: leaked World Bank report
- Poplar trees hold promise for fuel
- Clark utility offers free replacement fluorescent light bulbs
- Conserve and you can save, Snohomish County PUD says
- Portland Business Journal poll: Higher energy costs of little concern
- Japan Sees a Chance to Promote Its Energy-Frugal Ways
- Tacoma City Council backs ‘green’ goals
- Is LCD manufacturing worse for environment than coal?
- Can Weeds Help Solve the Climate Crisis?
- UTAH – New iProvo owner changes mind on Veracity buyout
- UTAH – Veracity pullout won't kill iProvo sale
- Internet addressing agency loses its own addresses
- As Web Traffic Grows, Crashes Take Bigger Toll
- Five Nines on the Net is a Pipe Dream
- How Much Bandwidth Do We Really Need?
- Bandwidth Barons Want More Money for Fewer Bytes
- CALIFORNIA – Companies propose ultra-fast broadband for Palo Alto
- PENNSYLVANIA – Fiber optics may hold key to future
- Small-town USA enjoys its first course of WiMax
- Google told to release video data in YouTube trial
- Microsoft to sell $70-a-year subscriptions for Office bundle
- Energy Star for Servers May Be Ready by Year-End
- Secret deal may open prime land in Montana
- Mima Mounds: Mystery hides in vast prairie
- Weyerhaeuser is up a tree on Wall Street
- National speed limit pushed as gas saver
- Spate of Manhole Cover Thefts Poses Problem
- Couple discovers stolen dogs on sale on Craigslist

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Sentient • \SEN-shee-unt\ • adjective – *1: responsive to or conscious of sense impressions 2: aware 3: finely sensitive in perception or feeling

Bert was intrigued by his girlfriend’s obsession with cleaning out his refrigerator. “You’ve got some things that have been in here for at least ten years,” her muffled voice exclaimed from the interior of the mossy cold-storage device. “In fact, I think that this carton of cottage cheese has evolved into some sort of sentient being. It just asked me for a date!”

WORD ORIGIN FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER: You may have guessed that "sentient" has something to do with the senses. The initial spelling "sent-" or "sens-" is often a giveaway for such a meaning. A "sentient" being is one who perceives and responds to sensations of whatever kind -- sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell. "Sentient" ultimately comes from the Latin verb "sentire," which means "to feel" and is related to the noun "sensus," meaning "feeling" or "sense." A few related English words are "sentiment" and "sentimental," which have to do with emotions, and "sensual," which relates to more physical "sensations."

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

Puget Sound Energy lowers its rate increase request (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/369562_pse04.html

Grays Harbor PUD Commissioners OK Cosmopolis pulp mill cogeneration deal (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/07/04/local_news/02news.txt

Wind surge poses a risk to salmon and reveals flaws in BPA's power-regulating system – With Columbia Gorge turbines pumping out extra electricity, the agency had to quickly adjust its hydro generation (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215226547277170.xml&coll=7

Larsen optimistic on Intalco – Smelter’s future hinges on power deal (The Bellingham Herald, WA – Implies that the tiered rate methodology will divert some energy to smelters? “…may provide BPA with more flexibility to shift some power to Intalco and other regional aluminum smelters…”)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/459422.html

New grads find it difficult to rise to lineman challenge – The International Association of Electrical Workers reports that up to 60 percent of utility workers are expected to retire in the next two years (The Cleveland Plain Dealer, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008035183_apprenticeships06.html?syndication=rss

TEXAS – End of an affair – Panelists agree that change is coming to U.S. energy use and supply, driven by consumers who demand it (Houston Chronicle, TX)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/5872282.html

PENNSYLVANIA – An old source to provide new energy – The century-old dam on the Susquehanna River doesn't look like an energy source of the future “...providing another 100,000 homes with pollution-free electricity…” (The Baltimore Sun, via the Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, CA)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9791354?source=rss

Here’s a picture of the Holtwood Dam
http://www.pbase.com/r2010/image/55407728

UNITED KINGDOM –Suicide Bid Over Energy Bill – A pensioner downed 100 pills and half a bottle of brandy in an attempt to kill himself over an exorbitant - and incorrect - electricity bill (Sky News, UK)
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Pensioner-84-Attempts-Suicide-Over-Incorrect-Unpaid-Energy-Bill-From-EON/Article/200807115025396?lpos=Business_8&lid=ARTICLE_15025396_Pensioner%252C%2B84%252C%2BAttempts%2BSuicide%2BOver%2BIncorrect%2BUnpaid%2BEnergy%2BBill%2BFrom%2BE.ON

SLOVENIA – Eight dead as canoeists sucked into turbines at hydroelectric dam under construction – The trip was ominously dubbed "The Final Descent"… (CNN Europe)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/04/slovenia.canoe.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

AUSTRALIA – Energy providers feel the heat as copper wire thefts soar (Sydney Morning Herald)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/energy-providers-feel-the-heat-as-copper-wire-thefts-soar/2008/07/06/1215282652811.html

FLORIDA – Unpaid bills may trigger utility rate increases (Orlando Business Journal)
http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/07/07/story2.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fascinating – Appeals Court rules that judges shouldn't act as scientists –Ninth Circuit says that t’s improper for federal judges to act as scientists when weighing in on disputed U.S. Forest Service timber projects (The Associated Press, via KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/23095519.html

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears path for more logging – Federal judges redefine standards for timber projects on public lands and deal a blow to environmental groups (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121514735090910.xml&coll=7

Daily News Opinion – A little balance from 9th Circuit – The federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that judges shouldn't second-guess scientists (Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/07/07/editorial/doc487102024768d745685284.txt

$1.13 Million – Enviros Send Feds' BiOp Bill – Earthjustice attorney Todd True sent his bill to the federal government for blowing the last FCRPS BiOp (NWF v. NMFS) out of the water (Courtesy of NW Fishletter, Energy NewsData)
http://www.newsdata.com/fishletter/248/3story.html

Salmon on the Columbia: See you in court – The federal agencies are back for a fifth round in federal court (Crosscut, Seattle, WA)
http://www.crosscut.com/food/15565/Salmon+on+the+Columbia:+See+you+in+court/

CANADA – Sockeye's success near Osoyoos is a miracle in the desert – Of all the places least likely to see a revival of wild salmon, the southern Okanagan must top the list (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080707.BCHUMECOLUMN07/TPStory/National

Salmon is keystone species for region (Los Angeles Times, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008033130_badsalmonside04.html

Alaska's sick salmon – More Alaskan salmon caught in Tanana end up in the dog pot these days, their orange-pink flesh fouled by disease that scientists have correlated with warmer water in the Yukon River (Los Angeles Times, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008033127_badsalmon04.html

OREGON – Rogue River dam in Southern Oregon to come down (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1472855~Rogue_River_dam_in_Southern_Oregon_to_come_down.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Settlement in WA spotted owl lawsuit – Sought to block logging on 50,000 acres of private timberland to protect the threatened northern spotted owl (The Associated Press, via the Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/497379.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Work slated on Elwha River diversion channel – Part of Elwha River Restoration Project and removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080706/NEWS/807060304

IDAHO – EPA slaps Idaho Transportation Department with new fine over highway project that sent tons of sediment into Lake Coeur d'Alene (The Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1473929~EPA_slaps_ITD_with_new_fine__bringing_payments_to__1_7_mln.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines

State and local governments side with builders on runoff pollution – Environmentalists seek 'low impact' mandates Governments side with builders (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/369820_lowimpact07.html?source=rss

Bottling plant looks to Orting after snubbing by Enumclaw – City rejected Nestle Corporation to build a 100 million-gallon water bottle plant (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/405892.html

Treatment in store for Tacoma’s Wapato Lake to control algae (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/environment/story/403856.html

OREGON – How safe is city’s water? EPA official: Testing for contaminants in reservoirs inadequate (The Portland Tribune, OR)
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=121503548781724900

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

OREGON – Clouds Form On Solar Energy's Horizon – In a few weeks, Oregon energy regulators will decide a key legal question involving public-private solar projects across the state (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2502-clouds-form-solar-energys-horizon/

CALIFORNIA – Surprise opponents to renewable energy measure – A November ballot measure to boost the amount of renewable energy generated by California utilities has attracted a wildly diverse group of opponents (The San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/04/BACJ11IQ3Q.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

TEXAS – Debate flares over wind power – There is such a thing as too much wind power “…Wind developers say wind power is so cheap that the cost to accommodate it is negligible…” ($85 + per Megawatt is CHEAP? The Dallas Morning News, TX)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/energy/stories/DN-wind_06bus.ART0.State.Edition1.4e033eb.html

NEW YORK – Responses to green energy programs lack energy – Even as more Americans look to shrink their carbon footprints, relatively few have switched to providers of electricity generated by wind, water and sun (The Associated Press, via Newsday, NY)
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--greenpower0705jul05,0,1024721.story

NEW YORK – Wind turbine deal spins up controversy (Business First of Buffalo)
http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/07/07/story1.html?ana=from_rss

Solar power companies look abroad as sun sets on tax credits – Businesses are having trouble signing contracts for 2009 projects (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/07/07/story6.html?ana=from_rss

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Energy: Renewable ideas (Seattle WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/369534_solared.html?source=rss

OREGON – Portland General Electric predicts surge in hybrid vehicles, plans more plug ins – The utility will build 12 charging stations in Portland and Salem (The Associated Press, via the Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1215143716287160.xml&coll=7

Toyota to add solar panels to some Prius hybrids (Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080707/tc_nm/toyota_dc_4

Biofuels behind food price hikes: leaked World Bank report (AFP, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080704/ts_afp/climateenvironmentbiofuelsworldbankusbritain;_ylc=X3oDMTI1NzZyc3Q3BFJfYWlkAwRSX2RtbgN5YWhvby5jb20EUl9maWQDYmRhMGMzMzU0NTFiYmY2YjY0Y2Q0MWRlYjBiYWRlNDYEUl9sdHADMQ--

Poplar trees hold promise for fuel – Washington State University researcher Jon Johnson finds himself in a scramble to extract ethanol from fast-growing poplar trees (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/07/07072008_Poplar-trees-hold-promise-for-fuel.cfm/

CONSERVATION

Clark utility offers free replacement fluorescent light bulbs (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/07/07042008_Clark-utility-offers-free-replacement-fluorescent-light-bulbs.cfm/

Conserve and you can save, Snohomish County PUD says – Energy-saving programs help save on their customers' bills, the utility says (The Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080707/NEWS01/69225176/-1/RSS02

Portland Business Journal poll: Higher energy costs of little concern (Portland, OR)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/06/30/daily36.html?ana=from_rss

Japan Sees a Chance to Promote Its Energy-Frugal Ways (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/world/asia/04japan.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Tacoma City Council backs ‘green’ goals – Tacoma supports drastic carbon emissions cuts despite steep growth (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/405918.html

Is LCD manufacturing worse for environment than coal? A chemical used to make LCD televisions and semiconductors could cause more global warming than coal-fired power plants (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9983744-54.html

Can Weeds Help Solve the Climate Crisis? (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29weeds-t.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

UTAH – New iProvo owner changes mind on Veracity buyout (Salt Lake Tribune, UT)
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_9776005?source=rss

UTAH – Veracity pullout won't kill iProvo sale (The Daily Herald, Provo, UT)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/272321/18/

Internet addressing agency loses its own addresses (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_hi_te/domain_name_attack_2

As Web Traffic Grows, Crashes Take Bigger Toll (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/technology/06outage.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Five Nines on the Net is a Pipe Dream (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/07/06/five-nines-on-the-net-is-a-pipe-dream/

How Much Bandwidth Do We Really Need? Plenty, as long as storage keeps getting cheaper and content gets better (Broadband reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/How-Much-Bandwidth-Do-We-Really-Need-95761

Bandwidth Barons Want More Money for Fewer Bytes (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/07/03/bandwidth-barons-want-more-money-for-fewer-bytes/

CALIFORNIA – Companies propose ultra-fast broadband for Palo Alto – Plan To Bring High-Speed Broadband To City Greeted With Qualified Approval (The San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9793596?source=rss

PENNSYLVANIA – Fiber optics may hold key to future – It’s not sunny every day and money doesn’t sprout from trees in Kutztown, Pa., but for cable and Internet fiends, it may be considered paradise (Carroll County Times, PA)
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/07/06/news/local_news/newsstory3.txt

Small-town USA enjoys its first course of WiMax (The Washington Post, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008036449_btwimax07.html?syndication=rss

Google told to release video data in YouTube trial – Plaintiffs will get to learn who watches what (The Associated Press, via the Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1215138338153450.xml&coll=7

Microsoft to sell $70-a-year subscriptions for Office bundle – Package including OneCare would cost $200 to buy the traditional way (The Associated Press, via the San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/07/BUV411IRRC.DTL&feed=rss.business

Energy Star for Servers May Be Ready by Year-End (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C400693880882574750016E6C6.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Secret deal may open prime land in Montana (The Washington Post, via the Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, CA)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9791601?source=rss

Mima Mounds: Mystery hides in vast prairie (The Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2008035378_onlywa06mima.html?syndication=rss

Weyerhaeuser is up a tree on Wall Street – Big investors are pressuring Weyerhaeuser to fundamentally restructure its business (The Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jontalton/2008035958_biztaltoncol06.html?syndication=rss

National speed limit pushed as gas saver (CNN Politics)
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/03/warner.speed.limit.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

Spate of Manhole Cover Thefts Poses Problem (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92204515

Couple discovers stolen dogs on sale on Craigslist (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_070708WAB_stolen_dogs_craisglist_LJ.30c9735f.html?npc

ELEPHANTS ON ACID - DIVERSIONS

Lawn-chair adventurer soars across state line
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008035396_chair06.html

Plans went south somehow, so City Hall sits too far north – Officials in Edgewood are looking for answers as to why their new City Hall is more than 13 feet north of where it should be
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/404744.html

Dude! Body Makes Pot-Like Substance To Help Skin – Our Bodies Like Marijuana Plant, Doctor Says
http://www.kirotv.com/health/16778668/detail.html

Pack Up The Winnebago, We're Going To Wal-Mart (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241280&ft=1&f=17

Judge sends rambling lawsuit back for a rewrite
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008033157_funnyjudge04m.html?syndication=rss