Energy News Digest for October 6, 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)

- Weekend High Winds Topple Trees, Cause Outages For Thousands
- Energy aid is going unclaimed despite need, Snohomish County PUD says
- Oregon – Liquefied Natural Gas companies at odds over site
- Tree Trimming On North Shore Begins Tuesday
- Energy Pulse Commentary – Identity Theft – Red Flags
- United Kingdom – Gas and electricity markets are working well for most customers
- Steelhead season opens on the upper Columbia, Methow and Okanogan rivers
- Grant PUD gauges state group's support on raising river
- AP Investigation: Hurricane Ike’s environmental toll apparent
- Two energy initiatives in California under fire
- Oregon – Cloudy skies don’t stop solar tour
- Seattle: Solar Power in the Rain City
- The race is on to turn waves, tides and currents into electrical energy
- Algae fueling the green revolution
- The True Costs of Renewable Energy
- Renewable Energy Price Stability Report Released
- CFL and LED lamps: White light in a 'green' world
- The Next Financial Derivative? There's a Gold Mine In Environmental Guilt
- Climate Change Refugees – Look out, Oregon, for a global warming land rush
- Philadelphia's Wi-Fi Story Begins a New Chapter
- Connecticut – Metal Boxes on Utility Poles Stir Safety Concerns
- United Kingdom – Wanted: a viable model for fiber Optics
- EBay to cut 1,600 jobs, 10 percent of work force
- Ask.com unveils new version to improve searches
- 7 Stupid Online Security Mistakes You're Probably Making
- Google Chrome: One Month Later
- Seattle couple hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Red herring • \RED-HERR-ing\ • noun – 1: a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color *2: something that distracts attention from the real issue

The wordsmith is having some problems this morning due to the fact that he injured his back trying to tie up some dangling participles over the weekend. Please enjoy the origin of the word “red herring,” via Merriam-Webster.

WORD ORIGINS, FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER – Believe it or not, "red herring" has as much to do with hunting dogs as with brightly colored fish. Here's how: A herring is a soft-finned bony fish. People who like to eat herring have long preserved them by salting and slowly smoking them. That process makes a herring turn red or dark brown -- and gives them a very strong smell. Dogs love to sniff such smelly treats, a fact that makes the fish a perfect diversion for anyone trying to distract hunting dogs from the trail of their quarry. The practice of using preserved fish to confuse hunting dogs led to the use of the term "red herring" for anything that diverts attention from the issue at hand.

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Weekend High Winds Topple Trees, Cause Outages For Thousands (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17625961/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news

Energy aid is going unclaimed despite need, Snohomish County PUD says (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081006/NEWS01/710069897/-1/rss02

Oregon – Liquefied Natural Gas companies at odds over site: NorthernStar says it has ownership interests in Oregon LNG's site and wants the competitor's application put on hold (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1223004323239640.xml&coll=7

Tree Trimming On North Shore Begins Tuesday (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5212/reftab/1896/Default.aspx

Energy Pulse Commentary – Identity Theft: Utilities, Uncle Sam is Asking: Are Your Red Flags Ready to Fly by November 1?
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1841

United Kingdom – Gas and electricity markets are working well for most customers with no evidence of a cartel, according to a report from the energy watchdog (News Channel Four)
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/business_money/ofgem%20energy%20markets%20work%20well/2488682

FISH & WILDLIFE

Steelhead season opens on the upper Columbia, Methow and Okanogan rivers (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081004/OUT/710049954/1025/rss1025

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Grant PUD gauges state group's support on raising river (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/10/05/news/news03.txt

AP Investigation: Hurricane Ike’s environmental toll apparent (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008229848_aphurricaneenvironment.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Two energy initiatives in California under fire (San Diego Union Tribune)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20081006-9999-1n6energy.html

Oregon – Cloudy skies don’t stop solar tour (Eugene Register-Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/web/news/429253//story.csp

Seattle: Solar Power in the Rain City (KUOW Radio, Seattle)
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=15977

Everybody Into the Ocean – The race is on to turn waves, tides and currents into electrical energy (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122305758177602871.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Algae fueling the green revolution – Big bucks behind the search for new power (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381932_superalgae06.html?source=rss

The True Costs of Renewable Energy (Live Science)
http://www.livescience.com/environment/081006-energy-costs.html

Renewable Energy Price Stability Report Released (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53759&src=rss

CONSERVATION

CFL and LED lamps: White light in a 'green' world (EE Times)
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210604761

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

The Next Financial Derivative? There's a Gold Mine In Environmental Guilt – Carbon-Offset Sales Brisk Despite Financial Crisis (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/05/AR2008100502518.html

Climate Change Refugees – Look out, Oregon, for a global warming land rush (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/10/look_out_oregon_for_a_global_w.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Philadelphia's Wi-Fi Story Begins a New Chapter (Wi-Fi Planet)
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3775456

Connecticut – Metal Boxes on Utility Poles Stir Safety Concerns (Greenwich Citizen, CT)
http://www.greenwichcitizen.com/localnews/ci_10618550

United Kingdom – Wanted: a viable model for fiber Optics (Computing, UK)
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/analysis/2227182/wanted-viable-model-fibre-4252585

EBay to cut 1,600 jobs, 10 percent of work force (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/06/financial/f054240D58.DTL&feed=rss.news

Ask.com unveils new version to improve searches (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10631765?source=rss

7 Stupid Online Security Mistakes You're Probably Making (Consumerist – Comments may have PG-13 Content)
http://consumerist.com/5058841/7-stupid-online-security-mistakes-youre-probably-making

Google Chrome: One Month Later (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/10/04/google-chrome-one-month-later/

GENERAL NEWS

Seattle couple hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/30491269.html

DIVERSIONS

Obesity Changes Seating Choices At Buffet – Heavier People Sit Closer, Watch Food
http://www.kirotv.com/health/17632273/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Billionaire Buffett's Hidden Talent: The Ukulele (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95394222&ft=1&f=7

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – The Theme from Shaft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfK-UzQ48JE

Noodle, the tumbling kitten, finds a new home
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/30496874.html