Energy News Digest for May 4, 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)

- Spring storm on its way
- Intalco Says BPA's Offer Not Good Enough To Keep Ferndale Smelter Running
- FERC Issues Opinion on Oregon LNG Pipeline
- Nuclear Power Foes Not Stilled In N.E.
- Tribes Protest Nontribal Fishing Of Spring Chinook
- Obama Administration Reviewing Salmon Plan
- Chinook En Route to Idaho - But the Run Remains Late
- Climate Change - All We Do Now To Save Salmon Could Mean Nothing
- Fans of Wild Fish Work Together On Deschutes
- Cowlitz County - Abernathy Fish Center to Get Federal Money for Repairs
- Pikeminnow Bounty Hunt Starts In Oregon, Washington
- Too Many Horses: Northwest Tribes Consider Slaughter Facility for Wild Horses
- Less Snow in Northern Wash. Means Less Water
- Mason County to Celebrate Completion of Rustlewood Sewer Upgrades
- Pierce County Water Funds Runneth Over
- Yakima Left High, Dry On Water Funds
- Thirsty Las Vegas Is A Case Study Of The Next Global Crisis
- EPA Seeks Rules for Utilities' Runoff
- Going Green Can Cost Too Much Green
- San Jose Homeowner Spends More Than $100,000 to Go 'Off the Grid'
- Wind Power: A Very Green but Very Intermittent Source of Power
- Pocatello Charter School to Tap Wind Power
- Oregon Solar - Here Comes the Sun. Right?
- Grid Quirks Stifle Green Generation in Cities
- Ray of Light in Washington State’s New Energy Law
- Updated LEED Standards Include Region-Specific Elements
- New Grid May Be Needed, but So Is Smarter Use
- New Solar Water Heating Program Reduces Energy Costs
- Australia Delays Carbon Trading Because of Economy
- Oregon’s Watered Down Cap-And-Trade Bill Moves Ahead
- Industries Push for Free Pollution Credits
- Tucson Citizen Op/Ed - Regulating Greenhouse Gases
- Ted Kulongoski - Lifestyle and the Carbon Cap
- Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus
- White as the New Green - Painting roofs white in the hot parts of the planet
- Web Providers Must Limit Internet's Carbon Footprint, Say Experts
- The Coming Broadband Smackdown
- Colorado - Silverton Fights Qwest to Bridge a Digital Divide
- North Carolina - Industry Group Part of Effort to Halt Cities' Fiber-Optic Plans
- Cable Companies Try To Cripple Municipal Broadband
- Cost of Providing Broadband Dropping
- Obama Nominates New FCC Commissioner
- WHO head indicates full flu pandemic to be declared
- Flu, Mostly Mild, Has Spread Across U.S.
- Expert Says 'Just another Flu Virus,' So Why the Fear?
- Weyerhaeuser Could Cut 145 More Jobs
- Stimulus Money ($1.1 Billion) for Pacific Northwest Forest Service
- Columbian Seeks Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
- Lobbyists Looking Like A Better Bet To Pinched Cities

WORD OF THE DAY

Gadzookery • \gad-ZOO-kuh-ree\ • noun - the use of words and phrases that are outdated or archaic

“Ods Bodkins,” exclaimed the Beau Brummel impersonator to the curious Las Vegas passersby. “Forsooth thou shalt have a pox on each of your houses for thy shunning me for my gadzookery, you swine,” he huffed as he packed his various and sundry items into his stolen “Safeway” shopping cart.

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

Spring storm on its way (KIRO-Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=163708

Intalco Says BPA's Offer Not Good Enough To Keep Ferndale Smelter Running (Bellingham Herald)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/894230.html

FERC Issues Opinion on Oregon LNG Pipeline (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1995423~FERC_issues_opinion_on_LNG_pipeline.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Nuclear Power Foes Not Stilled In N.E. - Approval nationwide higher than in region (Boston Globe, MA)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2009/05/04/nuclear_power_foes_not_stilled_in_ne/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tribes Protest Nontribal Fishing Of Spring Chinook (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/839544.html

Obama Administration Reviewing Salmon Plan - reviewing a Bush administration plan for balancing the needs of people and salmon in the Columbia River Basin (Associated Press)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050103659.html

Chinook En Route to Idaho - But the Run Remains Late (Spokesman Review, Spokane)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/03/chinook-en-route-to-idaho/

Climate Change - All We Do Now To Save Salmon Could Mean Nothing “…This means the hydroelectric dams that provide more than half of the electricity in the region - without emitting carbon dioxide - are more valuable than ever…” (Idaho Statesman, Boise)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/755882.html

Fans of Wild Fish Work Together On Deschutes (The Oregonian, Portland)
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2009/05/fans_of_wild_fish_work_togethe.html

Cowlitz County - Abernathy Fish Center to Get Federal Money for Repairs (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/05/03//area_news/doc49fd247282a51174605795.txt

Pikeminnow Bounty Hunt Starts In Oregon, Washington (The Oregonian, Portland)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/05/pikeminnow_bounty_hunt_starts.html

Too Many Horses: Northwest Tribes Consider Slaughter Facility for Wild Horses (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009164786_horse03m.html?syndication=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Less Snow in Northern Wash. Means Less Water (Associated Press)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_regulated_water.html?source=pimail

Mason County to Celebrate Completion of Rustlewood Sewer Upgrades (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7144/reftab/1632/t/COUNTY-TO-CELEBRATE-COMPLETION-OF-RUSTLEWOOD-SEWER-UPGRADES/Default.aspx

Pierce County Water Funds Runneth Over (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/729203.html

Yakima Left High, Dry On Water Funds (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009168380_yakimawater04m.html?syndication=rss

Thirsty Las Vegas Is A Case Study Of The Next Global Crisis - Las Vegas may lose 40 percent of its water by 2012 (Bloomberg News)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009164039_lasvegaswater03.html

EPA Seeks Rules for Utilities' Runoff - Pollutants Scrubbed From Smokestacks Are Being Diverted Into Waterways (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/02/AR2009050200703.html?wprss=rss_business

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Going Green Can Cost Too Much Green (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-05-03-greencities_N.htm

San Jose Homeowner Spends More Than $100,000 to Go 'Off the Grid' (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12274789

Wind Power: A Very Green but Very Intermittent Source of Power (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/4909-wind-power-very-green-very-intermittent-source-power/

Pocatello Charter School to Tap Wind Power (The Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/840136.html

Oregon Solar - Here Comes the Sun. Right? (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/business/energy-environment/03solar.html?_r=1

Grid Quirks Stifle Green Generation in Cities (Boston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2009/05/04/story12.html?ana=from_rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Ray of Light in Washington State’s New Energy Law - Thousands of jobs foreseen to upgrade buildings to strict new state standards (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/05/04/story2.html?ana=from_rss

Updated LEED Standards Include Region-Specific Elements (Phoenix Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/05/04/story13.html?ana=from_rss

New Grid May Be Needed, but So Is Smarter Use (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103713402&ft=1&f=2

New Solar Water Heating Program Reduces Energy Costs and Environmental Impact (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/enerworks-inc-5364/news/article/2009/05/new-solar-water-heating-program-reduces-energy-costs-and-environmental-impact

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Australia Delays Carbon Trading Because of Economy (Bloomberg News)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aAeNx.qkD3sw&refer=asia

Oregon’s Watered Down Cap-And-Trade Bill Moves Ahead (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/05/04/story5.html?ana=from_rss

Industries Push for Free Pollution Credits (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124138869928981331.html

Tucson Citizen Op/Ed - Regulating Greenhouse Gases: Use revenue-neutral carbon tax (Arizona)
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/opinion/115728.php

Ted Kulongoski - Lifestyle and the Carbon Cap (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/lifestyle-and-the-carbon-cap/

Seeking to Save the Planet, With a Thesaurus - The problem with global warming, some environmentalists believe, is “global warming.” (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us/politics/02enviro.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

White as the New Green - Painting roofs white in the hot parts of the planet could reflect huge amounts of solar radiation back into space and offset greenhouse gas problems (NY Times – just like “Daisy World” in the Chronicles of Gaia?)
http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/white-as-the-new-green/?partner=rss&emc=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Web Providers Must Limit Internet's Carbon Footprint, Say Experts (The Guardian, United Kingdom – or, as Gawker puts it, “The Internet Is Sucking up All the World's Energy, Killing Baby Seals”)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/03/internet-carbon-footprint

The Coming Broadband Smackdown - Cable's attempts to charge users for how much they download threaten the Web video business (Forbes Magazine)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/30/cable-broadband-internet-video-business-media-broadband.html?partner=yahootix

Colorado - Silverton Fights Qwest to Bridge a Digital Divide “…only county seat in Colorado that is not connected to the rest of the state by fiber optics…” (Denver Post, CO)
http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_12277637

North Carolina - Industry Group Part of Effort to Halt Cities' Fiber-Optic Plans (Salisbury Post, NC)
http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/050109-fiber-americans-for-prosperity-on-cable-bill

Cable Companies Try To Cripple Municipal Broadband (MediaPost)
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=105190

Cost of Providing Broadband Dropping - It's the television market where margins are tight (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Cost-Of-Providing-Broadband-Dropping-102253

Obama Nominates New FCC Commissioner - Carriers pleased, though progressives worry about close AT&T ties (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Obama-Nominates-New-FCC-Commissioner-102223

GENERAL NEWS

WHO head indicates full flu pandemic to be declared (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5431DI20090504?feedType=nl&feedName=ustopnewsearly

Flu, Mostly Mild, Has Spread Across U.S. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/health/04flu.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Expert Says 'Just another Flu Virus,' So Why the Fear? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/405801_skeptics01.html?source=rss

Weyerhaeuser Could Cut 145 More Jobs (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/05/03/local_news/doc49fbdcac59cac757426884.txt

Stimulus Money ($1.1 Billion) Aimed for Forest Service in Northwest (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009168131_foreststimulus04m.html

Columbian Seeks Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection (Associated Press)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_columbian_bankruptcy.html?source=pimail

Lobbyists Looking Like A Better Bet To Pinched Cities - Senate lobbying records show that dozens of cities and counties signed up with lobbying firms in the three months of this year (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009168136_locallobby04.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Rethinking the Rules of Blackberry Etiquette
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_050409WAB-blackberry-etiquette-LJ.1adbd499.html?rss

Dr Pepper Artifact May Reveal Soft Drink's Origin - Poking through antiques stores while traveling through the Texas Panhandle, Bill Waters stumbled across a tattered old ledger book filled with formulas.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009169178_apusdrpepperauction.html?syndication=rss

Porta-Potties May Have Saved Pilot in Plane Crash
http://www.kirotv.com/news/19346755/detail.html

Woman Accused of Taking 500 Pounds of Gold from Job
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE5404WW20090501?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

SONG OF THE DAY

"Stand by Me" - Peace through Music (Ed Note: this is pretty cool. The producer traveled around the world getting different musical groups and buskers to sing this song. He then stitched them together into an enjoyable whole. Caesar Pope in Paris plays a ukulele. Keen!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6UqdvMRb3k

'Playing For Change' and Peace through Music (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103715874&ft=1&f=3