Energy News Digest for September 4, 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)

- Whidbey Island – Road crews remove illegal anti-PUD signs
- Chelan County PUD to reorganize after two top executives resign
- OREGON – Sisters To Go Dark For Six Hours To Convert to 115,000 Volt Transmission
- UTAH – Rocky Mountain Power warns of service cuts if rates aren't boosted
- Jury says San Diego Gas & Electric negligent in helicopter crash
- US Department of Energy says natural gas supplies rose last week
- NEW YORK – Spain’s Iberdrola will be allowed to acquire Energy East
- No heating funds available yet
- It takes a big rake to keep Rock Island Dam clean
- The faster side of Grays Harbor PUD Commissioner Tom Casey
- Plans to shoot sea lions get judge's approval
- CANADA – Fraser River in decline – We're killing too many salmon, and it's time to take the blame
- The end of Snoqualmie steelhead?
- Fishing -- Stocking feat – Keeping fish in high lakes requires plenty of leg work
- Facing Deadly Fish Virus, Chile Introduces Salmon Farm Reforms
- Area rivers show solid numbers of Coho, Chinook catches
- MONTANA – Bulkhead to plug 2 broken head gates at Hebgen Dam
- NEW HAMPSHIRE – Merrimack Village Dam’s removal opens up waters
- WISCONSIN – Lake Delton Disaster Victims Target Village For Possible Legal Action
- Assessing the Value of Small Wind Turbines
- CONNECTICUT – Added State Aid Reinstates 600 Energy-Efficiency Projects
- San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – Legislature needs to ease CFL disposal
- 19-Square-Mile Ice Sheet Breaks Loose in Canada
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Columnist – Hot air over global warming
- CANADA – Power producers out to show they are part of the solution to greenhouse gas emissions
- Play-Based Education Used to Teach Conservation
- Are mechanical pencils better for the environment than the regular wooden kind?
- Verizon will finally start offering its fiber-optic "FiOS" TV service next week in the Puget Sound
- MONTANA – Fiber optics project covers 20-mile stretch between Libby, Troy
- More Carriers Upgrading Long-Haul Networks
- Will Qwest Come Clean About Usage Cap Like Comcast?
- FCC To Stop Collecting Phone Reliability Data
- Contract rejected, but no strike at Boeing for now
- Investigation Continues Into Human Remains Found Near Collins Lake

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Consonant • \ CONN-suh-nunt\ • adjective – 1: being in agreement or harmony: free from elements making for discord 2: marked by musical consonances 3: having similar sounds 4: relating to or exhibiting consonance: resonant.

Bertrand was known as the reluctant lemming. As his fellow, furry rodents rushed along towards a long drop off a nearby cliff into the sea, Bert decided he would not act in consonant with his brethren. Instead he lazed in the sun, snacking on bulbs and sedges as the high-pitched cries of the other lemmings faded in the distance.

WICKIPEDIA: On occasion, and particularly in the case of the Norway lemmings in Scandinavia, large migrating groups will reach a cliff overlooking the ocean. They will stop until the urge to press on causes them to jump off the cliff and start swimming, sometimes to exhaustion and death. Lemmings are also often pushed into the sea as more and more lemmings arrive at the shore.

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

Whidbey Island – Road crews remove illegal anti-PUD signs (The Whidbey Examiner, Coupeville)
http://www.stpns.net/view_article.html?articleId=109510843665075710467

Chelan County PUD to reorganize after two top executives resign (The Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080903/NEWS04/709039866

OREGON – Sisters To Go Dark For Six Hours To Convert to 115,000 Volt Transmission - Switch Requires Outage (KOHD-TV, Bend)
http://kohd.com/news/local/41570

UTAH – Rocky Mountain Power warns of service cuts if rates aren't boosted – The ultimatum: Give us the money we want or we won't give you the electricity you need (The Salt Lake Tribune, UT)
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_10366780?source=rss

Jury says San Diego Gas & Electric negligent in helicopter crash (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1568835~Jury_says_SDG_E_negligent_in_helicopter_crash.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

US Department of Energy says natural gas supplies rose last week (The Associated Press)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080904/natural_gas_storage.html?.v=2

NEW YORK – Spain’s Iberdrola will be allowed to acquire Energy East – Deal to Double Wind Power in the State (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/nyregion/04power.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

No heating funds available yet (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/7300

It takes a big rake to keep Rock Island Dam clean (The Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080903/NEWS04/709039896

The faster side of Grays Harbor PUD Commissioner Tom Casey (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/08/23/profile/profile.txt

FISH & WILDLIFE

Plans to shoot sea lions get judge's approval (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/27854199.html

CANADA – Fraser River in decline – We're killing too many salmon, and it's time to take the blame (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080903.BCHUME03/TPStory/Sports

The end of Snoqualmie steelhead? (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080904/SPORTS/709049948/1008/SPORTS02

Fishing -- Stocking feat – Keeping fish in high lakes requires plenty of leg work (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/7305

Facing Deadly Fish Virus, Chile Introduces Salmon Farm Reforms (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/world/americas/04chile.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Area rivers show solid numbers of Coho, Chinook catches (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/572445.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

MONTANA – Bulkhead to plug 2 broken head gates at Hebgen Dam (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/538849ba3d8369caadaf11ad04876a4e.htm

NEW HAMPSHIRE – Merrimack Village Dam’s removal opens up waters (Merrimack Journal, NH)
http://www.cabinet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/MERRIMACK01/809049995/-1/merrimack01

WISCONSIN – Lake Delton Disaster Victims Target Village For Possible Legal Action – Property Owners Had Homes, Land Damage When Lake Emptied (WISC-TV, Madison, WI)
http://www.channel3000.com/news/17391253/detail.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Assessing the Value of Small Wind Turbines (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/business/04wind.html?adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1220547965-gyIeMrDyEBlLMfeMV4dlFQ

CONSERVATION

CONNECTICUT – Added State Aid Reinstates 600 Energy-Efficiency Projects (The Hartford Courant, CT)
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-energyfund0904.artsep04,0,3152849.story?track=rss

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – Legislature needs to ease CFL disposal
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/04/EDAR12MQGP.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

19-Square-Mile Ice Sheet Breaks Loose in Canada (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Arctic-Ice-Shelf.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Seattle Post Intelligencer Columnist – Hot air over global warming
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/377622_hotair04.html?source=rss

CANADA – Power producers out to show they are part of the solution to greenhouse gas emissions (The Vancouver Sun, BC)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=8eb98a17-e5fb-43f5-9199-d7df599407d2&k=89884

Play-Based Education Used to Teach Conservation (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/international/Sept-08/Play-Based-Education-Used-to-Teach-Conservation.html

Are mechanical pencils better for the environment than the regular wooden kind? (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2199138/?from=rss

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Verizon will finally start offering its fiber-optic "FiOS" TV service next week in the Puget Sound region (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008157366_brier04.html

MONTANA – Fiber optics project covers 20-mile stretch between Libby, Troy (The Western News, Libby MT)
http://www.thewesternnews.com/articles/2008/09/03/news/news03.txt

More Carriers Upgrading Long-Haul Networks “…and Alaska Communications Systems is beefing up the potential bandwidth between Alaska and Oregon…” (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/09/04/more-carriers-upgrading-long-haul-networks/

Will Qwest Come Clean About Usage Cap Like Comcast?
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Will-Qwest-Come-Clean-About-Usage-Cap-Like-Comcast-97450

FCC To Stop Collecting Phone Reliability Data (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-To-Stop-Collecting-Phone-Reliability-Data-97466

GENERAL NEWS

Contract rejected, but no strike at Boeing for now – Machinists union agrees to continue talks for 48 hours (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/377581_boeinglabor04.html

Investigation Continues Into Human Remains Found Near Collins Lake (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/4947/reftab/1896/Default.aspx

DIVERSIONS-ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER

Woman eyes skydive record over Everest
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080902/od_nm/everest_dc;_ylt=AtZ5nClWtroOclaw9SELc7jtiBIF

"Cremated" father reunited with family
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080904/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_cremation;_ylt=AqKE8iyJ0eiVrb3Iq0JQWbztiBIF

Americans pick pet over partner for desert island
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080904/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_usa_pets;_ylt=At2lEvgYlqRmCaV_28jYQTHtiBIF

Angry Argentine commuters torch train in rush hour
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080904/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_argentina_train;_ylt=AkYqMfVxVCDdaP6aRT2hO1btiBIF

Elephant beats heroin habit with detox
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080904/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_china_elephant;_ylt=AnDKjcvD8LZ9.iqzj667ChLtiBIF