Energy News Digest for July 8, 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)

- Columbian Guest Columnist – Skagit would regret seizing live power lines
- Chelan County PUD-Alcoa Contract
- Tacoma tideflats power outage causes oil to spew out of refinery stack
- UTAH – Coal-fired power plant will be on Sevier County ballot
- Women at Work Find Reinforced Glass Ceilings – BPA targeted in article
- MINNESOTA – Is Otter Tail a utility or a conglomerate?
- Summer salmon run has anglers giddy
- The Daily Astorian Opinion – Salmon elites pull out of negotiations
- Wind Power Threatens . . . Salmon?!
- East Clallam County – Customers make waves over Diamond Point water system
- Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind
- Wind Power: Energy vision or Boone doggle?
- Large Solar Energy Array Set for General Motors plant in Spain
- Europeans Reconsider Biofuel Goal
- Canada's Clean Energy Classrooms
- A Cloth to Cut the Mercury Risk from Light Bulbs
- U.S. Green Building Council set to modify LEED standards
- Special Report: Energy Efficiency – Same Wires, More Power
- G-8 Leaders Pledge to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Half by 2050
- Experts Push 'Green' Solutions to Infrastructure Problems
- Grant County PUD Wholesale Fiber Rates
- OREGON – Providence Health clamps down on bandwidth
- So Far, Broadband 'Franchise Reform' Means Higher Prices
- CALIFORNIA – Palo Alto council enthusiastic about high speed broadband proposals
- Another twist in Microsoft, Yahoo saga
- Seattle improperly spent taxes, audit says
- Seattle to hold hearing on proposed Styrofoam ban and 20-cent fee for paper or plastic bags
- Theft of car anti-pollution devices increasing

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Turpitude • \TER-puh-tood\ • noun – Inherent baseness: depravity; also: a base act

Derwood was mortified by the accusations of moral turpitude that were directed at him by the executive board of the “Pick Up Stix” Association of America. The only digression he could remember came when he was twelve, and had been caught rearranging an extremely complex pile of the sticks while he thought no one was looking. His worst fears were confirmed by the cunning smirk displayed by board member Rusty the “Straw Man” Hertz.

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

Columbian Guest Columnist – Skagit would regret seizing live power lines: Washingtonians put the bitter private-public power wars behind us more than three quarters of a century ago (Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/07/07082008_Skagit-would-regret-seizing-live-power-lines.cfm/

CHELAN COUNTY PUD-ALCOA CONTRACT – Chelan County PUD commissioners are getting closer to ratifying a new power sales contract with Alcoa. PUD spokeswoman Kimberlee Craig says commissioners will consider the final agreement next Monday. Six months ago, commissioners approved the initial contract terms. Craig says the contract would provide Alcoa with electricity equal to 26 percent of the output of Rocky Reach and Rock Island dams, in exchange for the company paying 26 percent of the cost of producing and delivering the power, plus other costs. She says if approved, Alcoa will also pay about 23 million dollars of an 89 million dollar reservation charge within a month of signing, with the balance deferred as long as the plant continues to run three pot lines. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

Tacoma tideflats power outage causes oil to spew out of refinery stack (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/407334.html

UTAH – Coal-fired power plant will be on Sevier County ballot (The Salt Lake Tribune, UT)
http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_9813736

Women at Work Find Reinforced Glass Ceilings – With two decades of experience under her belt, Lindsay Hall was confident she was a strong candidate for a promotion within the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency in Oregon where she works as a wildlife biologist. (Womens’ ENews Note: why didn’t the author include mention of previous hires of Judi Johansen as administrator and Vickie Van Zandt in transmission?)
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3663/context/archive

MINNESOTA – Is Otter Tail a utility or a conglomerate? As the utility's other businesses grow, it asks for its first overall rate increase in 20 years (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, MN)
http://www.startribune.com/business/24048459.html?location_refer=Business:highlightModules:3

FISH & WILDLIFE

Summer salmon run has anglers giddy “…Projections call for a run of more than 52,000 summer Chinook to make their way up the Columbia this season. Sockeye run predictions are even more impressive…” (The Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/NEWS04/237436731

The Daily Astorian Opinion – Salmon elites pull out of negotiations: Commercial fishers are descendants of heroic men who fed their families (Astoria, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=52649&TM=275.812

Wind Power Threatens . . . Salmon?! (National Review Online)
http://planetgore.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzgxMmRmOTIwNmFlMDEzNzAyY2U5N2E1MjJiYjQxOTU=

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

East Clallam County – Customers make waves over Diamond Point water system (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080708/NEWS/807080307

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens wants to supplant oil with wind (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-07-08-t-boone-pickens-plan-wind-energy_N.htm

Wind Power: Energy vision or Boone doggle? Pickens plan credible by comparison with Washington (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/energy-vision-boone-doggle/story.aspx?guid=%7BCE4C84D0-A81D-4BAF-BC52-0585105E516D%7D&dist=msr_1

Large Solar Energy Array Set for General Motors plant in Spain (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/business/08solar.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Europeans Reconsider Biofuel Goal – European officials proposed scaling back drastically on their goal of increasing Europe’s use of biofuels, a major about-face on a central environmental and energy issue (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/business/worldbusiness/08fuel.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Canada's Clean Energy Classrooms (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52997&src=rss

CONSERVATION

A Cloth to Cut the Mercury Risk from Light Bulbs (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/science/08obcfl.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

U.S. Green Building Council set to modify LEED standards (Portland Business Journal, OR)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/07/07/daily6.html?ana=from_rss

Special Report: Energy Efficiency – Same Wires, More Power (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/07/03/energy-efficiency-electricity-biz-energy_cx_bw_wp_0707efficiency_grid.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

G-8 Leaders Pledge to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Half by 2050 (The NY Times, clever picture)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/science/earth/09climate.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Experts Push 'Green' Solutions to Infrastructure Problems (Oregon Public Broadcasting – Note: this is a story that really says NOTHING)
http://news.opb.org/article/2528-experts-push-green-solutions-infrastructure-problems/

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

GRANT COUNTY PUD WHOLESALE FIBER RATES – Grant County PUD commissioners this week adopted new wholesale fiber rates that officials say will allow the District to move forward with its fiber build-out by moving towards making the system pay for itself. PUD spokeswoman Dorothy Harris says one the change to the wholesale rate structure is a one-time 55 dollar fee for fiber electronics installation. The new wholesale fiber rates go into effect in October. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

OREGON – Providence Health clamps down on bandwidth – The Portland-area hospital system halts employees' personal use of streaming audio and video online (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/121514551333780.xml&coll=7

So Far, 'Franchise Reform' Means Higher Prices – Shocking: lobbyist promises of competitive price utopia not materializing (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/So-Far-Franchise-Reform-Means-Higher-Prices-95903

CALIFORNIA – Palo Alto council enthusiastic about high speed broadband proposals (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9817124?source=rss

Another twist in Microsoft, Yahoo saga – Ballmer, Icahn talking about possible deal if board ousted (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/369890_msftyahoo08.html?source=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Seattle improperly spent taxes, audit says – City to reimburse property revenue spent on fire station, trail (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/369891_audit08.html?source=rss

Seattle City Council to hold hearing on proposed Styrofoam ban and 20-cent fee for paper or plastic bags (Seattle Times, WA)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008038566_grocerybag08m0.html?syndication=rss

Theft of car anti-pollution devices increasing (Associated Press, via the Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/NEWS02/54094592/1025/rss1025

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Man Posts Video Showing Himself, Father Shocking Each Other With Stolen Stun Gun
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16811026/detail.html

Common wildlife is alien to many British kids – It comes in a poor second to their ability to identify science fiction creatures such as Star Wars characters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080708/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_nature;_ylt=AvIUiBi0Jc3taN_J8iQlbgrtiBIF

Man accused of faking heart attacks to avoid bills
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080705/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fake_heart_attacks;_ylt=AvA5wzb2WVlg9VC6UxSHnL3tiBIF

It pays to go in a public toilet in India – residents are earning close to a dollar a month by using public urinals, a scheme launched by authorities to promote hygiene and research in rural areas
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080707/od_nm/toilets_dc;_ylt=AoC_5kgfnLcO92vyauRrJhDtiBIF