Energy News Digest for April 24, 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)

- Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fear
- Benton PUD OKs 1-year temporary rate credit
- Clallam, Whatcom PUDs join Energy NW
- Whatcom County PUD joins larger supplier – No extra power available yet
- BPA Settlement means PenLight members can relax
- Oregon – LNG proponents tout minimal impacts
- Tom Flint runs for re-election to Grant County PUD Board
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric gets OK to build power plant in valley
- About $100 Each to New York City Customers in ’06 Blackout
- Restoring an Afghan Dam in a Taliban Stronghold
- Dead Krill Reported in Hood Canal
- Oregon fishermen wait for federal salmon fishery failure declaration
- Fishermen hit hard by closure of West Coast salmon fishing
- Humane Society gets partial victory in fight to save sea lions
- Emergency motion filed to stay killing of Bonneville Dam Sea Lions
- California – Species survival – Big fish calls attention to salmon crisis
- Save Our Wild Salmon Op/Ed: Bushies not wild about wild salmon
- Beachside Homeowners Clash with “Sea Farmers” over Geoduck Harvesting
- Terra Blanca Winery & Vineyards earns salmon-safe designation
- A big, new growth management plan is already outgrown
- For Bronx Water Plant Being Built 10 Stories Down, a Towering Price Tag
- Simpson Investment Co. will build power plant at Tacoma Tideflats mill
- Going Green: Tide runs high for harnessing ocean power
- Puget Sound Energy power challenge contest aims for more green energy
- News Release – Portland General Electric’s Residential Green Power Program No. 1 for Third Year
- Earth Day vote means solar, other upgrades for Clark County buildings
- Group says wind energy an economic boon in Ohio
- Sacramento Bee Op/Ed: Greens like idea of renewable energy, balk at the reality
- Portland General Electric seeks more renewable power
- Biofuels Falling Out of Favor in Germany
- Congressional Research Reports – Food Price Inflation: Causes and Impacts
- Montana – Sacajawea kids give school C-plus in conservation
- Et tu Diogenes – Finding the world's greenest person
- Free wireless Internet coming to Moses Lake
- Utah – Councils mull UTOPIA fiber-optic financing
- Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters OK further examination of fiber-optic network expansion
- Colorado – Better use of fiber optics would cost
- Comcast tries to blunt complaints over service and system performance
- Broadband is the Best Way to Save Environment
- Dogs thwart attempted assault on Hoodsport woman
- Olympia man drowns in diving accident
- Tolls considered for Puget Sound highways
- Park's petroglyph moves on

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Inanition • \in-uh-NISH-un\ • noun – 1: the exhausted condition that results from lack of food and water *2: the absence or loss of social, moral, or intellectual vitality or vigor

Alfredo always wondered why the businesses in his town shuttered themselves at 4:30 each evening…not to open again until 10:00 the following morning. He had always thought that this odd arrangement of business hours had led to the inanition of the local business climate. It turns out that the reason the businesses didn’t do that well was because each one tried to sell the same cheaply made trinkets to the jaded tourists that occasionally rolled into the dusty little town after taking the wrong exit from the interstate highway. It also didn’t help that the only motel in town was owned by the mysterious Norman Bates, further winnowing the customer base.

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

Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/europe/23coal.html?ex=1366689600&en=7350eac89a46ac57&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Benton PUD OKs 1-year temporary rate credit (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/164478.html

Clallam, Whatcom PUDs join Energy NW (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/165480.html

Whatcom County PUD joins larger supplier – No extra power available yet (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/business/story/389778.html

BPA Settlement means PenLight members can relax (Peninsula Gateway, Gig Harbor)
http://www.gateline.com/104/story/1240.html

Oregon – LNG proponents tout minimal impacts (The World, Coos Bay)
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/04/22/news/doc480e1df924f01461050527.txt

Tom Flint runs for re-election to Grant County PUD Board (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/news03.txt

California – Pacific Gas and Electric gets OK to build power plant in valley –The company won permission from California energy regulators on Wednesday to build a $673 million, gas-burning power plant in Colusa County (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/BUNC10AM9K.DTL&feed=rss.business

About $100 Each to New York City Customers in ’06 Blackout (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/nyregion/24coned.html?_r=1&ex=1366776000&en=624ad6b14e6be419&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Restoring an Afghan Dam in a Taliban Stronghold – Dam built nearly 50 years ago by United States (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89821168&ft=1&f=3

FISH & WILDLIFE

Dead Krill Reported in Hood Canal (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/apr/23/dead-krill-reported-in-hood-canal/

Oregon fishermen wait for federal salmon fishery failure declaration (Tillamook Headlight Herald)
http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=9310

Fishermen hit hard by closure of West Coast salmon fishing – Drastic federal action to try to save Chinook salmon is latest move in ongoing battle (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0423/p13s01-sten.html

Humane Society gets partial victory in fight to save sea lions (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/360391_sealions24.html

Emergency motion filed to stay killing of Bonneville Dam Sea Lions (Links to PDF file on Ninth Circuit web site)
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/DFD97497C4E5228688257434007CC8CD/$file/0835305o.pdf?openelement

California – Species survival – Big fish calls attention to salmon crisis (Chico News & Review)
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=657964

Save Our Wild Salmon Op/Ed: Bushies not wild about wild salmon – On the Bush administration's deal for Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead (Grist Online)
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/22/16225/1323

Beachside Homeowners Clash with “Sea Farmers” over Geoduck Harvesting (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3767

Terra Blanca Winery & Vineyards earns salmon-safe designation (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/bizbeat/story/164694.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

A big, new growth management plan is already outgrown (Crosscut Seattle)
http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/13638/A+big%2C+new+growth+management+plan+is+already+outgrown/

For Bronx Water Plant Being Built 10 Stories Down, a Towering Price Tag (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/nyregion/24water.html?ex=1366776000&en=5bfdad10826e3b88&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Simpson Investment Co. will build power plant at Tacoma Tideflats mill – Tacoma’s biggest forest products company is entering a new business: green power (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/343258.html

Going Green: Tide runs high for harnessing ocean power – British Columbia firm is among three testing turbines in Bay of Fundy (which has the highest and lowest tide differences in the world, Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=872f353a-6174-424d-a6ab-048c4433f97b&k=91835

Puget Sound Energy power challenge contest aims for more green energy (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/environment/story/427461.html

News Release – Portland General Electric’s Residential Green Power Program No. 1 for Third Year – Utility Moves up in Other National Rankings (Business Wire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/moreover/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080422006711&newsLang=en

Earth Day vote means solar, other upgrades for Clark County buildings (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/04/04232008_Earth-Day-vote-means-solar-other-upgrades-for-county-buildings.cfm

Group says wind energy an economic boon in Ohio (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5727020.html

Sacramento Bee Op/Ed: Greens like idea of renewable energy, balk at the reality “…opposition follows an odd pattern of supporting green policies in a macro sense, only to oppose specific projects that would implement their larger vision…”
http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/882652.html

Portland General Electric seeks more renewable power (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1355955~PGE_seeks_more_renewable_power.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Biofuels Falling Out of Favor in Germany (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89893155&ft=1&f=2

Congressional Research Reports – Food Price Inflation: Causes and Impacts “…(1) demand for corn for ethanol is competing with food and feed for acreage…”
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RS22859

CONSERVATION

Montana – Sacajawea kids give school C-plus in conservation (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/04/24/news/20energy.txt

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Et tu Diogenes – Finding the world's greenest person – A Canadian professor has launched an online contest to find the world's greenest person (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/21/bc-green-person-contest.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Free wireless Internet coming to Moses Lake (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/news04.txt

Utah – Councils mull UTOPIA fiber-optic financing (The Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/263379/

Colorado – Glenwood Springs voters OK further examination of fiber-optic network expansion – Mayor is encouraged by ‘decisive margin’ (Glenwood Springs Post Independent)
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080423/VALLEYNEWS/785030529

Colorado – Better use of fiber optics would cost – Fort Morgan has invested a substantial amount of money in a fiber optic network that is greatly underused (Fort Morgan Times)
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/articles/2008/04/23/news/local_news/fmcc%20work%204-23.txt

Comcast tries to blunt complaints over service and system performance (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/343270.html

Broadband is the Best Way to Save Environment – It was Earth Day this past weekend, the day on which we celebrate Mother Nature and get ourselves charged up about doing more to protect her (Apprising)
http://www.app-rising.com/gdblog/2008/04/broadband_is_the_best_way_to_s.html

GENERAL NEWS

Dogs thwart attempted assault on Hoodsport woman (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/428021.html

Olympia man drowns in diving accident (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04242008news308525.cfm?newsletter=10

Tolls considered for Puget Sound highways (Seattle Times, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1357711~Tolls_considered_for_Puget_Sound_highways.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Park's petroglyph moves on – The Squaxin Island tribe reclaimed a connection to its roots Wednesday, retrieving a 10-ton granite rock with ancient tribal petroglyphs from its longtime perch at Tumwater Falls Park. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/428316.html

DIVERSIONS

Not all :) as informal writing creeps into teen assignments
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080424/ap_on_hi_te/teen_writing_2

Coming In From the Cold – A century after Ian Fleming's birth, a British museum reveals some of the secrets in the life of the creator of James Bond
http://www.newsweek.com/id/133446?from=rss

Family Stuck With House Possibly Built On Dump – Massachusetts Family Demands Answers From Town, Builder
http://www.kirotv.com/money/15971151/detail.html