Energy News Digest for October 3, 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)

- Okanogan County PUD may go to court for line easements
- Turnout low at Chelan County PUD rate meetings
- WISCONSIN – Sierra Club blasts ex-official over coal plant ad
- Fixing the U.S. "Third World" Transmission Grid with the Public's Support
- Oregon Final drawdown set at Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River
- Puget Sound a crowded stop for birds on the Pacific Flyway
- Tuna Imperiled by Its Bicoastal Habits
- Idaho Statesman Editorial – A dried-up Boise River doesn't fit into anyone's agenda
- Water compact negotiations continue with eyes looking towards Hungry Horse Reservoir
- CALIFORNIA – Two dead in Nacimiento water pipeline accident
- Chinese solar company Suntech Power to triple U.S. sales
- CALIFORNIA – A charged debate over Prop. 7 renewable energy plan
- News Release – PSE Customers Reach Solar-Power Milestones
- ILLINOIS – Everyday is sun day with solar power
- Horizon wind farm goes online at Arlington, Oregon
- Shoshone Nation Announces Groundbreaking of New Geothermal Plant
- Student pushes Walla Walla University toward greener future
- State of Kentucky seeks light-bulb changers
- Saving energy: Changing laundry habits, unplugging electronics can add up
- Residents Can Look to Library for Energy-saving Assistance
- Olympian Editorial – Praise Western coalition to reduce carbon
- OREGON – Ashland Mayor: Go green on growth
- DOJ monitoring of Google-Yahoo urged
- Electrical Expert: FiOS Installations Safe
- $700 Billion Would Buy A Lot Of Fiber
- Credit Crunch Could Stall Clearwire Network
- Kitsap County Tree Trimmer Airlifted After Falling 40 Feet
- WaMu execs will be leaving positions
- Wells Fargo to Buy Troubled Wachovia for $15.1 Billion
- Post-Enron regulations were supposed to hold markets accountable
- Seattle credit union to hand out $10 bills
- 'Top two' lawsuit back to US District Court
- Are Wal-Mart’s Changes Enough to Quiet Critics?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

theriac • \THEER-ee-ak\ • noun – 1: a mixture of many drugs and honey formerly held to be an antidote to poison *2: cure-all

“Dude, this is a mixture of all-natural herbs and mushrooms that will cure just about anything,” slurred the backwoods homeopath. “And, even if it isn’t the theree….thuree…um, theriac it’s designed to be, you probably won’t care. You’ll be on a whole ‘nother astral plain after taking it, man.”

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

Okanogan County PUD may go to court for line easements (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/NEWS04/710029879

Turnout low at Chelan County PUD rate meetings (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081002/NEWS04/710029885

WISCONSIN – Sierra Club blasts ex-official over coal plant ad: Sierra Club blasts former official for ad supporting proposed coal plant in Wisconsin (Associated Press)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081002/wi_power_plant.html?.v=1

Fixing the U.S. "Third World" Transmission Grid with the Public's Support (Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CmjjklmnXSfd%23%3A%40%24bfen%5Fv

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregon Final drawdown set at Savage Rapids Dam on the Rogue River (Associated Press)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381514_savagerapids03.html?source=rss

Puget Sound a crowded stop for birds on the Pacific Flyway – The great fall migration of birds along the Pacific Flyway from northern breeding grounds to southern overwintering areas is under way (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008224246_portsusan03m.html?syndication=rss

Tuna Imperiled by Its Bicoastal Habits (NY Times)
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/tuna-imperiled-by-bicoastal-habits/?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Idaho Statesman Editorial – A dried-up Boise River doesn't fit into anyone's agenda (Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/opinion/story/522207.html

MONTANA – Water compact negotiations continue with eyes looking towards Hungry Horse Reservoir (Char-Koosta News, Pablo, MT)
http://www.charkoosta.com/2008/2008_10_02/Water_negotiation_100208.html

CALIFORNIA – Two dead in Nacimiento water pipeline accident (Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1619796~2_dead_in_Nacimiento_water_pipeline_accident.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Chinese solar company Suntech Power to triple U.S. sales (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008224309_solarpush03.html?syndication=rss

CALIFORNIA – A charged debate over Prop. 7 renewable energy plan (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-energy3-2008oct03,0,2376736.story?track=rss

News Release – PSE Customers Reach Solar-Power Milestones: Customers Generate More Than 1 MW of Power; Receive More Than $86,000 in Incentives (MarketWatch)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pse-customers-reach-solar-power-milestones/story.aspx?guid=%7B3AFDCE01-2959-4977-9D44-57A652C0AA97%7D&dist=hppr

ILLINOIS – Everyday is sun day with solar power (Chicago Sun-Times)
http://searchchicago.suntimes.com/homes/1198455,HOF-News-cover03.article

Horizon wind farm goes online at Arlington, Oregon (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/09/29/daily41.html?ana=from_rss

News Release – Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation Announces Groundbreaking of New Geothermal Plant (PR Newswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-01-2008/0004896367&EDATE=

CONSERVATION

Student pushes Walla Walla University toward greener future (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/10/02/local_news/081002local08chelseapatten.txt

State of Kentucky seeks light-bulb changers (Business First of Louisville)
http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/09/29/daily54.html?ana=from_rss

Easy steps to saving energy: Changing laundry habits, unplugging electronics can add up (The Wall Street Journal)
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=108313

CONNECTICUT – Residents Can Look to Library for Energy-saving Assistance (Darien News Review, CT)
http://www.dariennews-review.com/ci_10609630

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Olympian Editorial – Praise Western coalition to reduce carbon (Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/606103.html

OREGON – Ashland Mayor: Go green on growth (Ashland Daily Tidings, OR)
http://www.dailytidings.com/2008/1002/stories/1002_gross.php

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

DOJ monitoring of Google-Yahoo urged – Senator worried about antitrust issue (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/381591_yahoogoogle03.html?source=rss

Electrical Expert: FiOS Installations Safe – 'The only person I've ever seen harmed by photons was on Star Trek' (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Electrical-Expert-FiOS-Installations-Safe-98172

$700 Billion Would Buy A Lot Of Fiber – Actually it would wire every single home and a whole lot more (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/700-Billion-Would-Buy-A-Lot-Of-Fiber-98165

Credit Crunch Could Stall Clearwire Network (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/10/02/credit-crunch-could-stall-clearwire-network/

GENERAL NEWS

Kitsap County Tree Trimmer Airlifted After Falling 40 Feet (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/oct/02/tree-trimmer-airlifted-after-falling-40-feet/?partner=RSS

WaMu execs will be leaving positions – WaMu employees to know their fate December 1st (Associated Press)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100308BUB_wamu_execs_LJ.d7af20ff.html?npc

Wells Fargo to Buy Troubled Wachovia for $15.1 Billion – FDIC Says It Intends to Uphold Deal With Citigroup (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100301042.html?nav=rss_nation

Have We Learned Nothing? Post-Enron regulations were supposed to hold companies and markets accountable (Newsweek)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/162044?from=rss

Seattle credit union to hand out $10 bills (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/381606_money03.html?source=rss

'Top two' lawsuit back to US District Court (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/30217454.html

Are Wal-Mart’s Changes Enough to Quiet Critics? (Finding Dulcinea)
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/business/October-08/Are-Wal-Mart-s-Changes-Enough-to-Quiet-Critics--.html

DIVERSIONS

Inability to sanitize live carp ends fishy foot treatments
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/381596_FishFeet03.html?source=rss

Australian boy wreaks zoo havoc while feeding croc
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081003/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_australia_zoo;_ylt=AmhLo2qEyiAy9ikO5Gt54hbtiBIF

Wild boars wreak havoc in Germany
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081002/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_boar;_ylt=AgT8_42puLwzwWKZWIbjKUHtiBIF

Man gets burned while using lighter to siphon gas
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_fe_st/odd_siphoning_fire;_ylt=AkTzt4lbqlvOF73TC_wgv6PtiBIF

Good grief! Gigantic gourd goes missing in Mich.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_fe_st/odd_great_pumpkin_heist;_ylt=AiXIgkhWa3nbl2hhTeVjPqvtiBIF