Energy News Digest for April 28, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Special Session Likely - may include climate change and renewable energy revisions
- Should Utilities Worry About the Swine Flu?
- Swine Flu Q and A: What the CDC Advises
- Power Bills for Chelan County PUD Customers to Go Up By Nine Percent
- Building Power Lines Creates a Web of Problems
- Oregon’s Rogue River Is the West's Bright Spot for Fall Chinook
- State of Oregon State Will Close Butte Falls Fish Hatchery
- Boaters Warned About Chief Joseph Dam Spills
- Whale Watch Boats Often Break Rules, Say Marine Mammal Monitors
- Feds: New Floodplain Rules to Go Unenforced
- Protecting Net Metering: The Civil Rights Movement for Solar Energy
- United Kingdom - Anger at Plans for Nuclear Power Station to Replace Wind Farm
- United Kingdom - Economy Blows Ill Wind for Renewable Energy
- Utility Bills a Ripe Target for Savings
- Crazy Power Companies Want to Help You Pay Them less
- FERC Chairman Sees Himself Leading U.S. March toward Energy Efficiency
- Dingell Democrats Fret about Cap and Trade
- Going Green in Centralia - Expo Pushes Community Involvement, Safety
- Green Agenda May Shift Farm Policy
- Montana - Qwest Phone Rates Going Down
- Washington Legislature –High-Speed Internet Activities
- Verizon, Other Fiber Builders Cautiously Optimistic About Broadband Recovery
- Rural Residents without High-Speed Internet Struggle to Keep Up
- So Much for Dial-Up's Recession-Driven Resurgence
- Powerline Broadband Just Won't Die
- Facebook, Firefox, Twitter Lead App, Web Usage
- Oh Look, another Insane 3G Data Bill
- Mason County Has Tips for Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu
- Wash. Gov: Lawmakers Need Firm Overtime Agreement
- Log Exports from Aberdeen to End
- Legislature Trims 18 State Commissions
- Consumer Confidence Soars in April
- Buzzword Bingo - More Companies Using ‘Alternative’ Workplaces

WORD OF THE DAY

Chirography • \kye-RAH-gruh-fee\ • noun - 1: handwriting, penmanship 2: calligraphy

Ambrose chirography was unmistakable. His smiley-faces as dots over his “i’s,” “j’s,” and periods belied his violent vocation as the supervisor of Torquemada’s brute squad.

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

A special session likely - Governor, Democrats support chance to tie up loose ends (The Olympian, Olympia, WA) “…Besides the budget bills, climate change legislation...(Sen. Lisa Brown) said she is interested in reviving…Senate Bill 5840, which proposes to change the terms of Initiative 937’s requirement that utilities buy a certain percentage of power from new renewable sources starting in 2012….”
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/834252.html

Should Utilities Worry About the Swine Flu? (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=360375&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

Swine Flu Q and A: What the CDC Advises (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12238623

Starting May first, power bills for Chelan County PUD customers will go up by nine percent (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)
http://www.kpq.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=959

Building Power Lines Creates a Web of Problems (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103537250&ft=1&f=3

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregon’s Rogue River Is the West's Bright Spot for Fall Chinook (Mail Tribune, Medford, OR)
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090428/NEWS/904280326

State of Oregon State Will Close Butte Falls Fish Hatchery (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/4865-state-will-close-butte-falls-fish-hatchery/

Boaters Warned About Chief Joseph Dam Spills (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090427/NEWS04/704279968/1025/rss1025

Whale Watch Boats Often Break Rules, Say Marine Mammal Monitors (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.timescolonist.com/Travel/Whale+watch+boats+often+break+rules+marine+mammal+monitors/1539993/story.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Feds: New Floodplain Rules to Go Unenforced (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009134725_fema28m.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Protecting Net Metering: The Civil Rights Movement for Solar Energy (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/04/protecting-net-metering-the-civil-rights-movement-for-solar-energy?src=rss

United Kingdom - Anger at Plans for Nuclear Power Station to Replace Wind Farm (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/28/haverigg-turbines-nuclear-power-plant

United Kingdom - Economy Blows Ill Wind for Renewable Energy - Despite promises of government investment, green energy faces major setbacks as Shell, BP and others halt renewable projects (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/28/economy-ill-wind-green-energy

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Utility Bills a Ripe Target for Savings - Small steps and larger projects can shave a healthy chunk off the power bill, experts say (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
http://union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/04/27/local_news/090427local04powersavings.txt

Crazy Power Companies Want to Help You Pay Them Less (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/723626.html

FERC Chairman Sees Himself Leading U.S. March Toward Energy Efficiency (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/04/27/27greenwire-ferc-chairman-sees-himself-leading-us-march-to-10686.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Dingell Democrats Fret about Cap and Trade (Politico.com)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21781.html

Going Green in Centralia - Expo Pushes Community Involvement, Safety (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.outdoorslc.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1240854365&archive=&start_from=&ucat=5&

Green Agenda May Shift Farm Policy - Instead of resisting climate change reforms, agricultural lobby groups are examining ways they can benefit from them (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/27/agriculture-green-regulation-business-oxford-analytica.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Montana - Qwest Phone Rates Going Down “…settlement calls for Qwest to bring Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service to an additional 27 Montana communities…” (Examiner.Com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1977116~Qwest_phone_rates_going_down.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

Washington Legislature – HB 1701: Authorizing the Department of Information Services To Engage In High-Speed Internet Activities (leg.wa.gov, via Baller/Herbst)
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1701&year=2009

Verizon, Other Fiber Builders Cautiously Optimistic About Broadband Recovery (Broadband Census)
http://broadbandcensus.com/2009/04/verizon-other-fiber-builders-cautiously-optimistic-about-broadband-recovery/

Rural Residents without High-Speed Internet Struggle to Keep Up (Wisconsin State Journal, Via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/448709

So Much for Dial-Up's Recession-Driven Resurgence - A ton of free advertising for Earthlink doesn't seem to help (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/So-Much-For-DialUps-RecessionDriven-Resurgance-102140

Powerline Broadband Just Won't Die - IBM and IBEC fuel BPL interest in Wisconsin (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Powerline-Broadband-Just-Wont-Die-102129

Facebook, Firefox, Twitter Lead App, Web Usage (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/04/28/facebook-firefox-twitter-lead-app-web-usage/

Oh Look, another Insane 3G Data Bill - $62,000 to download Disney's Wall-E via laptop card (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Oh-Look-Another-Insane-3G-Data-Bill-102138

GENERAL NEWS

Mason County Has Tips for Preventing the Spread of Swine Flu (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7098/reftab/1632/t/MASON-COUNTY-HEALTH-DEPARTMENT-HAS-TIPS-FOR-PREVENTING-THE-SPREAD-OF-SWINE-FLU-ALTHOUGH-NO-CASES-HAVE-BEEN-REPORTED-IN-STATE-/Default.aspx

Wash. Gov: Lawmakers Need Firm Overtime Agreement (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_xgr_session_roundup.html?source=pimail

Log Exports from Aberdeen to End (Associated Press)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090427/NEWS/904279993

Legislature Trims 18 State Commissions (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/833209.html

Consumer Confidence Soars in April (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009136927_webconsumerconfidence28.html?syndication=rss

Buzzword Bingo - More Companies Using ‘Alternative’ Workplaces (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/04/27/daily5.html?ana=from_rss

DIVERSIONS

University Of Oregon Board Says No Clothes, No Ultimate Frisbee
http://www.examiner.com/a-1985315~UO_board_says_no_clothes__no_Ultimate_Frisbee.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Idaho Governor, Coffee Roaster Embroiled In Brew-Ha-Ha
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10259074

Authorities: Stinky Oregon Bank Customer Runs Afoul Of Law
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009132729_webfoulodor27m.html?syndication=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Listen to the Music - Doobie Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOME9pS97Xk&feature=related