Energy News Digest for November 17, 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)

- BPA subsidies for aluminum industry under siege
- Opinions split on BPA-smelter contracts
- Benton PUD to pass along rate savings
- Grays Harbor County PUD December bills may be cheap
- Electricity industry in a power struggle
- Input sought on NW Natural gas rate hike proposal
- Lewis County Geology Makes It Perfect for storing Lots of Natural Gas
- Canada - Passerby rescuer climbs into wrecked truck amid live power lines
- Helicopter pilots perform mid-air acrobatics while stringing cable
- News Whiz - Group Finds Texas Competitive Power Markets Successful
- Wenatchee World Editorial - Obama is not a dam breacher
- Too-efficient fish wheels making their comeback on the Columbia
- How orcas find Chinook hidden in a school of sockeye
- Group to discuss Columbia River's controversial Chinook dispersal
- Glimmer of hope? Fish biologists seek accurate salmon projection
- Cut in Bering Sea Pollock harvest urged
- A Seafood Snob Ponders the Future of Fish
- Measuring The Mountain Snowpack From Space
- Tax hike sought to clean up Puget Sound
- State Demands Answers to Unreported Seattle City Light Mercury Spill
- Mason PUD 1 Holding Hearing on Twanoh Heights Water System
- Concerns emerge about environmental effects of wave-energy technology
- Australia - Renewable energy fund fizzles
- Oregon Company Fined For Dumping Fluorescent Bulbs
- Weighing the costs of oil heat against electric and gas heat
- Climate change already felt in South Sound
- Climate action starts here - Solar energy. Recycling. Green power
- Boardman - Big secret at Amazon.com
- Telecommuting Project Help during Hood Canal Bridge Closure
- AT&T Still Using WiMax As Rural DSL Replacement
- DSL's Not Dead Yet - Customers favor reliability over blistering speed
- City of Shelton Holding Hearings on Budget & Sewer Rate Increases
- Alderbrook's Operation Christmas Tree

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Effigy • \EFF-uh-jee\ • noun - An image or representation especially of a person; especially: a crude figure representing a hated person.

As a newly-minted citizen of the United Kingdom, Beauregard was a little unclear about the tradition of Guy Fawkes Night in England. He was especially embarrassed when instead of trotting out an effigy of Guy Fawkes; he presented his horrified neighbors an effigy of Guy Lombardo, complete with a cast-off clarinet. He was apparently unclear about what his new friends meant by, “Let’s burn the old guy tonight.”

Guy Fawkes Night
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
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

BPA subsidies for aluminum industry under siege (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/11/bpa_subsidies_for_aluminum_ind.html

Opinions split on BPA-smelter contracts (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/388157_alcoa18.html?source=rss

Benton PUD to pass along rate savings (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)
http://www.yakimaherald.com/stories/2008/11/14/benton-pud-customers-to-see-lower-rates

Grays Harbor County PUD December bills may be cheap (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/11/14/local_news/03news.txt

Electricity industry in a power struggle - Already pinched by building costs and climate issues, the industry also takes a hit on Wall Street (The Associated Press)
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11000601

Input sought on gas rate hike proposal - NW Natural wants to collect $2.7 million more a year locally (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20081113/BIZ01/711139983/-1/BIZ

Deep Storage - Lewis County’s Rare Geology Makes It a Perfect Spot for Lots of Natural Gas (The Chronicle, Centralia WA)
http://www.chronline.com/rss/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1226754414&archive=

Canada - Passerby rescuer climbs into wrecked truck amid live power lines
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=93e93ced-85d0-409a-9d40-3a797bdf31a5

Threading the needle: Helicopter pilots perform mid-air acrobatics while stringing cable (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/384819.html

News Whiz - Analysis Group Finds Texas Transition to Competitive Power Markets Successful (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Analysis-Group-Finds-Texas-Transition/story.aspx?guid=%7B1D186E04-5156-47B9-8080-4B38436ACCF1%7D

FISH & WILDLIFE

Wenatchee World Editorial - Obama is not a dam breacher
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081114/OP02/711149873/-1/OP

Too-efficient fish wheels making their comeback on the Columbia River (Statesman Herald, Salem, OR)
http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2008/11/16/news/local/1loc12_finn.txt

Canada - How orcas find Chinook hidden in a school of sockeye - Whales identify their favorite meal, Chinook salmon, through sonar echoes (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=260658c3-c6c3-4400-8b49-52ae4a48bbb9

Group to discuss Columbia River's controversial Chinook dispersal (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/1358/story/384861.html

Glimmer of hope? Fish biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will spread across small streams and rivers over the next few months to get what amounts to the most accurate salmon return projection (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://blog.oregonlive.com/billmonroe/2008/11/glimmer_of_hope.html

Cut in Bering Sea Pollock harvest urged (Associated Press)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081117/BIZ/711179958/-1/RSS03

A Seafood Snob Ponders the Future of Fish (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/weekinreview/16bittman.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Measuring The Mountain Snowpack From Space (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/3558-measuring-mountain-snowpack-space/

Tax hike sought to clean up Puget Sound (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081117/NEWS01/711179871/-1/RSS02

State Demands Answers To Unreported Seattle City Light Mercury Spill (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17975482/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_12pm&tmi=sea_12pm_-1_02000211142008&ts=H

Mason County PUD No. 1 Holding Hearing on Twanoh Heights Water System Tonight (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5589/reftab/1896/Default.aspx?title=P.U.D.1_HOLDING_HEARING_ON_TWANOH_HEIGHTS_WATER_SYSTEM_TONIGHT

RENEWABLE ENERGY & CONSERVATION

Concerns emerge about environmental effects of wave-energy technology (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008399727_oceanenergy17m.html?syndication=rss

Australia - Renewable energy fund fizzles: Investment in Australia's renewable energy sector has failed to take off (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24660568-36418,00.html

Oregon Company Fined For Dumping Fluorescent Bulbs (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/3556-company-fined-dumping-fluorescent-bulbs/

Massachusetts - Weighing the costs of oil heat against electric and gas heat (Boston Globe, MA)
http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2008/11/16/weighing_the_costs_of_oil_heat_against_electric_and_gas_heat/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate change already felt in South Sound (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/663564.html

Climate action starts here - Solar energy. Recycling. Green power. Each is a small step, but all can help to reverse damage (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/663565.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Boardman - Big secret at Amazon.com - Port of Morrow signs a nondisclosure agreement with Amazon.com to build a huge data center port development area (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/383503.html

Telecommuting Project at Port Hadlock to Help Out During Hood Canal Floating Bridge Closure (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20081117/news/311179991

AT&T Still Using WiMax As Rural DSL Replacement - May not expand its use outside of Alaska (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ATT-Still-Using-WiMax-As-Rural-DSL-Replacement-99118

DSL's Not Dead Yet - Many customers favor reliability over blistering speed (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/DSLs-Not-Dead-Yet-99116

GENERAL NEWS

City of Shelton Holding Hearings on Budget & Sewer Rate Increases Monday (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5590/reftab/1896/title/CITY_HOLDING_HEARINGS_ON_BUDGET_/_SEWER_RATE_INCREASES_MONDAY/Default.aspx

Alderbrook's Operation Christmas Tree (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/nov/15/photo-alderbrooks-operation-christmas-tree/?partner=RSS

DIVERSIONS

Man's house gutted as thousands of rounds of ammunition explode
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388122_ammofire17.html?source=rss

Police Discover $178,000 In Abandoned Safe - Detectives Investigating Mysterious Discovery
http://www.kirotv.com/money/17997242/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Mayor to town folk: You're too stupid to work with
http://www.examiner.com/a-1690899~Mayor_to_town_folk__You_re_too_stupid_to_work_with.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines

Ancient Greeks pre-empted Dead Parrot sketch
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4AD72J20081114?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest