Energy News Digest for May 21, 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)

- Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim
- BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes
- Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds
- Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages
- Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date – Computer problems, dontcha know!
- United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'• Price competition in sector is a myth
- Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns
- California electricity surplus going into summer
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on
- Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users
- PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig
- Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population
- Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing
- California biologists track endangered fish
- Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River
- Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices
- Hartstene Pointe Water-Sewer District Formed
- Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities
- Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology
- EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good
- Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future
- Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm
- Wild Horse Wind Power Project
- Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks
- New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul
- Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown
- Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands
- Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use
- Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study
- Google Earth app shows effects of climate change
- FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats
- Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies
- New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber
- Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage
- Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised
- Mason County Fire District Levies Passing
- Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident
- Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line
- Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft
- Still No Drag Racing At Sanderson Field Near Shelton This Summer
- Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals
- Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Opine • \oh-PYNE\ • verb – To state as an opinion

“Oh, my dogs are barking,” opined the new recruit, just off his first ten mile march with his new drill sergeant. “Good for you,” barked the dog-faced veteran. “Because they’re going on another little stroll in half an hour!”

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

Grays Harbor County PUD appeals FEMA’s denial of storm damage claim – When do “Acts of God” make man’s rules look foolish? (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/02news.txt

News Release – BPA, Northwest Power and Conservation Council analyzing potential for regional hydro system during future weather extremes (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/203566/

Tennessee Valley Authority Power Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, GAO Finds – Regulators Want Authority to Require Security Upgrades Industry-wide (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052002354.html?nav=rss_business

Maryland – Wholesale electricity dysfunctions and outrages (The Baltimore Sun)
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2008/05/wholesale_electricity_dysfunct.html

Texas – ERCOT sees delay in market system switch date (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/05/19/daily22.html?ana=from_rss

United Kingdom – Call to investigate energy 'oligopolies'· Price competition in sector is a myth, Ministers of Parliament are told (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/may/21/householdbills.britishenergygroupbusiness

Electricity projected to be reliable throughout North America this summer, with limited concerns (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=329283&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

California electricity surplus going into summer – The state should have more than enough electricity this summer to keep the lights on and the air conditioners humming, state officials said Tuesday (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/20/BUL110PROP.DTL

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Greening the grid while keeping the lights on – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will soon decide how long the heavily polluting Potrero power plant will need to continue operating
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/21/EDHC10PNET.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

Canada – Alberta power exports may be left in cold by carbon-conscious users (The Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080521.wbccap21/BNStory/National/home

News Release – To Avoid Potential Hazards With Utility Lines, PECO Urges Contractors and Homeowners to Call Before You Dig (Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080521/20080521005805.html?.v=1

FISH & WILDLIFE

Caviar poachers seriously impact sturgeon population (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052008ENB_sturgeon_eggs_theft_KC.1342cd3d.html

Special Report on Washington D.C. Salmon Collapse Hearing (SF Bay Independent Media)
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/05/20/18500419.php

California biologists track endangered fish – Young salmon and steelhead counted as they head downriver to Pacific Ocean (The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa)
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080520/NEWS/805200307/1033/NEWS&template=kart

Body of second of three tribal fisherman found on Columbia River (MyNorthwest News)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=56813

Burning Questions: Salmon shortage sparks higher prices (Newsday)
http://www.newsday.com/features/food/ny-fdburn5693938may21,0,931317.column?track=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

HARTSTENE POINTE WATER-SEWER DISTRICT FORMED – Hartstene Pointe property owners now have their own independent water and sewer district. Over 72% (72.33%) of the voters in the Hartstene Pointe development voted Tuesday to take over the utilities from Mason County. The numbers have 115 voting for creating the water and sewer district, while 44 were against. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Rapid melt of big snowpack in Columbia River Basin presents problems, opportunities (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05212008_Rapid-melt-of-big-snowpack-presents-problems-opportunities.cfm

Grand Coulee water plan released by Washington’s Department of Ecology (Associated Press, via Ag Weekly Online)
http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2008/05/20/news/ag_news/news18.txt

EPA Audit: Northwest Air Good, Water Not So Good (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/2125-epa-audit-northwest-air-good-water-not-so-good/

Olympian Opinion – Plan for water helps future – The city of Olympia and the Nisqually tribe have entered into a memorandum of understanding calling for the creation of a Nisqually well field that could supply water by 2012.
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/454241.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Cowlitz PUD considering expansion at White Creek wind farm (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/05/21/top_story/doc4833756caca4e540147852.txt

Wild Horse Wind Power Project (Associated Construction Publications)
http://www.acppubs.com/TalkBack/Comments?talk_back_header_id=6361831&articleid=ca6361831&article_id=6361831

Piling on – New Trend in Biofuels Has New Risks – Many crops that could be used to make biofuels without driving up food prices are invasive species, scientists say (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/science/earth/21biofuels.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

New Washington State University biofuel laboratory best hope for long haul (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/190201.html

Portland businessman puts out solar-powered trash cans downtown – They're expensive, but the Oregon Zoo saves fuel and labor with similar cans (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/121125571558600.xml&coll=7

Researcher Pushes Enormous Floating Solar Islands (Wired Magazine)
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/researcher-push.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Carbon dioxide increases due to weather-related energy use (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/environment/2008-05-20-carbon_up_N.htm?csp=34

Olympia to look into sea rise with $130,000 study – Rising sea levels could inundate and impair stormwater and wastewater systems in Olympia's downtown, a city report says (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/455198.html

Google Earth app shows effects of climate change (CNET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9948315-54.html?tag=nl.e433

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

FCC cracks down on Universal Service Fund cheats (Ars Technica, via Baller/Herbst)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080520-fcc-cracks-down-on-universal-service-fund-cheats.html

Arkansas weighs use of fiber optics by other agencies (Associated Press, via Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/20/ap5030758.html

New Clearwire Won't Use Google Fiber (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Clearwire-Wont-Use-Google-Fiber-94608

Cold, dark countries whipping US in broadband usage (Ars Technica)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080521-cold-dark-countries-whipping-us-in-broadband-usage.html

Digital TV Transition Not as Easy as Advertised – Preparing for Analog Shut-Off, Some Viewers Say New Signals Aren't as Reliable (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/19/AR2008051902730.html?nav=rss_technology

GENERAL NEWS

MASON COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT LEVIES PASSING – Mason County Fire Districts Two and 12 are seeing their levies passing after ballots were counted from Tuesday special election. Over 62% (62.34%) of the voters in Fire District Two supported the fire department's proposition to restore its regular property tax levy for maintenance and operations. Officials with the Belfair-based fire department say the funds raised by this levy will decrease response times to outlying areas such as the Tahuya River Valley and Twanoh Falls. In Fire District 12, 71.5% of the voters in the Matlock area voted "yes" on that district's six-year emergency medical services property tax levy. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Sen. Sheldon's mom dies; witnesses sought to Lacey parking lot incident (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/455189.html

Boeing worker charged with vandalizing military chopper on assembly line (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004413242_apboeingshutdownchinook.html?syndication=rss

Ex-McCleary councilwoman sentenced for food bank theft (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/05/20/local_news/04news.txt

STILL NO DRAG RACING AT SANDERSON FIELD NEAR SHELTON THIS SUMMER – The Port of Shelton has again stated that there will NOT be any drag racing at Sanderson Field this summer. In a response to a proposal from the Shelton Drag Strip Association to hold one weekend of drag racing events at the airport this summer, the Port's Managing Director, Bob Robinson, apologized for any misinformation from the Port that may have led the organization to believe holding such an event was still possible this year. Robinson also confirmed in his May 16th letter to Association President Tom Casey that the Port Commission would NOT permit any drag events this year. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Vancouver, WA – Historic Kiggins House hit by thieves, stripped of metals (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05202008_Kiggins-House-hit-by-thieves-stripped-of-metals.cfm?newsletter=2

The Hot New Trend: Manure – Some farmers are finding they can make more profit using their beef cattle to produce manure than they'd make on their meat (National Public Radio – My dad, a farm management instructor, used to say that farms “smell like money!”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90590308&ft=1&f=17

DIVERSIONS

High-School Students' Hotel Room Doors Taped Shut By Chaperone
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/16340419/detail.html

Yearbook Body Switching Comes To A Head – Officials Promise New Yearbooks Before Graduation
http://www.kirotv.com/education/16338391/detail.html

Lions evicted from Sequim 'den' they built and donated to city 25 years ago (Ouch!)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080521/NEWS/805210304

YouTube video shows 164 mph ride on I-5
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/19100634.html

Biotech Company to Auction Chances to Clone a Dog
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/us/21dog.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss