Energy News Digest for January 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)

- Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington
- Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute
- Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark
- At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry
- Is the Coal Line at Risk?
- Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices
- Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network
- News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation
- Closure near on Columbia fish plan
- Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed
- Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution
- Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count
- Cowlitz dredging halfway done
- California – Low snowpack to get boost
- Portland General Electric Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm
- Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years
- Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up
- Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants
- For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation
- Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source
- Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain
- Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions”
- Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts
- Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat
- Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology
- Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics
- Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions
- California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed
- Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought
- Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk
- UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost?
- East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center
- Computer Storage Projects Rise in Importance
- Feds aid viewers' move to digital
- On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Rorschach Test • \ROAR-shack - test\ • noun – a personality and intelligence test in which a subject interprets inkblot designs in terms that reveal intellectual and emotional factors —called also Rorschach, Rorschach inkblot test. Etymology: Hermann Rorschach died 1922 Swiss psychiatrist

Bartholomew had befuddled his psychiatrists. Every time they gave him Rorschach Test, the ink blots elicited mainly silence. That is, until Bart started an odd, braying laugh at unusual times during which the most elaborate ink blots were portrayed. Unbeknownst to the psychiatrists, Bartholomew had misunderstood the test instructions and through that he was taking a Horshack test.

See Arnold Horshack information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Palillo

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

Powerful Storm Blowing Into Washington – A powerful storm blows into Washington, bringing high winds and rain to the coast and parts of Western Washington and snow in the mountains. (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13042202.html

Anger and Blame After Deadly Flood in Northwest (NY Times – includes infamous clearcut photo)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/03flood.html?ei=5088&en=c56e32d5d7efc0d7&ex=1357016400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1199383410-CjA3EWONyaMk7S9IdVvaEA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Eugene Water & Electric Board, California department settle power dispute (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1136696~Oregon_utility__California_department_settle_power_dispute.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Oil at $100 a barrel – Home heating will feel sting before drivers do (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/119933431067470.xml&coll=7

Thieves leave Evergreen Parkway dark – A 2-mile stretch of Evergreen Parkway will be unlit because thieves took an estimated "several thousand feet" of copper wire from the bases of light poles, Evergreen's police chief said. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/315835.html

At Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant, Pennsylvania – Video of Sleeping Guards Shakes Nuclear Industry (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010304442.html?nav=rss_nation

Is the Coal Line at Risk? Half of the nation's electrical power comes from coal. The majority of that coal comes from Wyoming on a single rail network. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17781681&ft=1&f=17

Connecticut – Utilities Have Plan To Fight Electricity Prices – State Must Act Decisively As High Costs Are Likely To Continue, Report Says (The Day)
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=1122c9fd-cae3-4c2d-bc40-9204dd5d7b7b

Virginia distributor rejoins TVA network – A decade after splitting from the Tennessee Valley Authority to get less expensive power elsewhere, Bristol Virginia Utilities rejoined the TVA fold today. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChksphktZSfd%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv

The Invisible Ingredient in Every Kitchen – Every cook relies every day on the power of heat to transform food — but most don’t understand it. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/dining/02curi.html?_r=1&ex=1357102800&en=08a1481804430a04&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

News Release – Tougher Truck Idling Regulations Sweep Nation; Drivers Must Seek Alternative Power Sources – Reduced diesel fuel use, cleaner air, less noise are goals of new regulations (Firefly Energy, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080102/20080102005661.html?.v=1

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Closure near on Columbia fish plan – After a decade of negotiations, officials are anticipated to sign in March a 10-year plan governing the catch of salmon in the Columbia River between the four tribes with treaty fishing rights and non-Indians. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Closure-near-on-Columbia-fish-plan.cfm

Fishing Steelhead numbers are mixed – With each rainfall, more winter steelhead move up local Puget Sound rivers. But reports along the northern Olympic coast remain downright pitiful. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2004104867_fish03.html?syndication=rss

Summit seeks ways to curb Columbia River pollution (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01032008_Summit-seeks-ways-to-curb-Columbia-River-pollution.cfm/

Canada – Low salmon returns could lower Brackendale eagle count (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/03/bc-brackendaleeaglecount.html

Cowlitz dredging halfway done – The dredge Oregon has reached the halfway point under a contract to clear volcanic sediment from the mouth of the Cowlitz River (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/03//area_news/doc477c9cda1e188385405563.txt

City of Port Angeles trying to find "lost" water – The city of Port Angeles is trying to find lost water. (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3332

California – Low snowpack to get boost (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7880202?nclick_check=1

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

PGE Completes Biglow Canyon Wind Farm – The last of the 76 turbines in the first-phase of development at Portland General Electric Company's (PGE) Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon are online. (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51000&src=rss

Montana – NorthWestern expects to double wind capacity in 7 years (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/01/01/business/biz96.txt

Idaho Power wants to invest in wind power – Your rates could go up initially, the company says about a plan that would invest money from selling sulfur dioxide emission allowances. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/253651.html

Massachusetts – Wind-turbine paperwork bewilders permit applicants (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChlnijprVSge%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv

For silicon plant – Hoku to pay nearly $15 million for Idaho power substation (Pacific Business News)
http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss

Solar Energy Push Needs To Convince Consumers (The Chief Engineer)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3239.htm

Seattle Times Opinion – Sitting on a hot energy source – The United States is frequently embarrassed over its energy policy. The most recent occurrence was in the area of geothermal energy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004106208_geothermal04.html?syndication=rss

Canadian run-of-river power projects concealed by a green curtain (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=15454928-8b87-48cc-ba29-fc0e98aba37e

Imperium Renewables drops IPO plan, cites “unfavorable market conditions” (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/daily9.html?ana=from_rss

Burning biofuels may be worse than coal and oil, say experts (The Guardian, United Kingdom)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/04/sciencenews.biofuels

Researchers Create Biodiesel from Chicken Fat (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50972&src=rss

Seattle area a new hub for "clean" technology (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004103449_cleantech02.html

CONSERVATION

Alternative Energy Could Save You Money – With oil prices now approaching $100 dollars per barrel, many people are looking at the alternative energy industry as a way to save money. (KNDO/KNDU – TV, Tri Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7569764

Powering up: The greening of consumer electronics – Consumer electronics aren’t exactly easy on the environment – they consume electricity and toxins leach out of them when they end up in landfills. (Associated Press, via the News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/245497.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Washington State joins suit against EPA over emissions – Tougher limits sought to meet greenhouse goals (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345807_epa03.html

California – Climate change's effect on state air detailed. Stanford research estimates warming's role in California pollution levels. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/606193.html

Canadian warming forests sop up less greenhouse gases than thought (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7db30aea-db09-4bd6-8224-cc5fc447742f&k=24603

Carbon Offsets: Government Warns of Fraud Risk – There is something new to feel guilty about: carbon. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17814838&ft=1&f=2

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

UTOPIA: Could high-speed fiber optic end up a cyber-paradise lost? (Salt Lake Tribune, tipped via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7846408?source=rss

East Wenatchee – T-Mobile to be first tenant at Eastside data center. Cellular telephone and wireless-services company T-Mobile will be the first tenant of Sabey Corporation’s proposed data center complex near Pangborn Memorial Airport. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/NEWS04/749449869/1001/rss1001

Storage Projects Rise in Importance – private-sector archive capacity will hit an eye-popping 27,000 petabytes by 2010. Skyrocketing rates of e-mail growth account for much of this figure. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573C4006C6ACA.html?ex=1357016400&en=2a004cd7dfb55fc7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

California – Mountain View's Meraki proposes free Wi-Fi network for San Francisco (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/04/MNCDU8UKU.DTL

Intel leaves the OLPC after dispute – Well, that was short: Intel has announced it is leaving the One Laptop Per Child project. (CNET News)
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9839806-37.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703

Feds aid viewers' move to digital – Agency will start taking requests for discounts on converter boxes Tuesday. In 2009, analog will be history. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-digital31dec31,0,701354.story?coll=la-home-center

On Radio: What listeners can expect in 2008: Some insider soundings (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/345803_radiobeat03.html?source=rss

GENERAL NEWS

South Sound finishes first in security survey – The Olympia area ranks as the nation's most secure community in the mid-sized category, according to data released by an Oregon-based research firm. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/315766.html

Olympian Opinion – New shelter will be well received. Construction began last week on a sorely-needed domestic violence shelter in Mason County.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/315514.html

DIVERSIONS

Here’s a fascinating web site that features “news whiz” as well as some offbeat stories, even manufactured news stories for slow news days. BEWARE: some of our seasonal “save-energy-this-winter-season” stories may well be represented here.
http://www.fark.com/

'Hearty Eaters' Say Buffet Banned Them
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TU02B00&show_article=1

Couple banned for life from shopping centre and branded 'terrorists' - for taking photos of their grandchildren (I love the Daily Mail!)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=505649&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow

Mysterious Object Captured On Camera
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14972942/detail.html

Students Sniff Livestock Odors For Science – Purdue University Professor Conducting Odor Experiment
http://www.kirotv.com/education/14960431/detail.html

A neo Rorschach test – New Yakima street banners cause a stir – Some Yakima residents are complaining that new street banners meant to emulate rays of sunlight instead seem to depict firearms.
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13023642.html

State Patrol: Man digs a hole to avoid troopers – A Maple Valley man dug himself deeper into trouble this week after state troopers tried to stop him for speeding, the State Patrol reported Thursday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/346010_hole4.html?source=rss