Energy News Digest for June 23, 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)

- Thieves Hit BPA Potlatch Substation near Hoodsport. Reward Offered
- Snohomish PUD To Seek Rate Increases More Often
- Oregon Forces Pollution Cuts at Portland General Electric Coal Plant
- Utah - US Needs 100 More Nuclear Power Plants
- Study Says Wyoming Coal Essential to Energy Future
- Seattle Garbage Truck Brings Down Power Pole
- National Lightning Safety Awareness Week
- Rogue River - Oregon Dam Deconstruction Takes Break for Fish
- NY Times Editorial - Ocean Rescue from Overfishing
- Report Critical Of Point Reyes Seashore's Take on Farms
- Contract for Shelton’s Kneeland Park Pump Station Awarded
- Oregon - Klamath Dams Removal Bill Goes To Governor
- Could Cowlitz Surges Fix Silt Problems?
- Justices Say Waste Can Be Dumped in Alaska Lake
- Portland General Electric Begins Generation at Biglow Canyon Wind Farm
- Funds Scarce For Alternative Energy Projects
- Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed?
- Wind, (The Myth Of) Backup Power and Emissions
- Solar Project Meets Bigger Foe than Cloudy Skie
- San Jose Closer to Being First U.S. City with Biogas Plant
- Energy Conservation - Stimulus Makes Local Impact
- Columbia Credit Union Earns Green Design Honor
- California Startup's Prefab Homes Aim for Zero Energy Bills
- Eco-Consultants Help Navigate Green Minefield
- Oakland Green Job Corps Grads Get To Work
- House Climate Bill Remains in Holding Pattern
- Word Games Could Threaten Climate Bill
- U.S. Climate Fix To Cost Consumers $175 a Year
- Montana Crowd Protests Cap-And-Trade Proposal (
- United Kingdom - Deforestation Plan for Britain Splits Green Groups
- Ancient Drought and Rapid Cooling Drastically Altered Climate
- Microsoft Hires Yahoo Data Center Exec
- Yahoo to Write Down As Much As $34M for Layoffs
- MySpace to Cut Two-Thirds of Staff Outside U.S.
- A Weak Spot in Our Cyber Defenses
- Grandmas Tell AT&T: We Don't Want Metered Billing Either
- Web Browser Enters a Golden Age
- Shot Across the Bow over Cost Savings for Fire Service
- Washington Highway Funds Stretch
- Bids Lower Than Expected For Idaho Road Projects
- Four Kids Sicced Pit Bull on Women in SeaTac, Cops Say
- Washington State's Top Prisons Doctor Quit Over Execution Policy
- State Audit Rips Apart King County
- Montana City Ends Policy Seeking Internet Passwords
- Editorial - Oregon Follows Suit on Metal Theft Laws
- The Wonder of Mars in Its Seasonal Glory

WORD OF THE DAY

Gumption • \GUMP-shun\ • noun – 1: common sense, horse sense 2: enterprise, initiative

Expertly guiding his team of six horses, the wizened stagecoach driver suspiciously eyed the fresh-faced guard assigned to watch over the chest of gold nuggets stashed under the wildly swaying seat. He absently shifted his quid of chewing tobacco and spat at a hovering fly, all the time wondering of the guard, nicknamed “Buttercup,” would have the gumption to protect the treasure on board the coach, or flee at the first sign of robbers or restive natives.

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

Copper Thieves Hit Potlatch Substation, BPA Offers $25,000 Reward for Info (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_062209WAB-bonnevile-copper-thieves-TP.17040c7d.html

Thieves Hit BPA Potlatch Substation near Hoodsport. Reward Offered (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=562

Snohomish PUD To Seek Rate Increases More Often - Officials say the move would help them maintain the power grid better (Everett Herald, WA)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20090623/NEWS01/706239910

Oregon Forces Pollution Cuts at Portland General Electric's Coal-Fired Power Plant (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/oregon_forces_pollution_cuts_a.html

Utah - US Needs 100 More Nuclear Power Plants: But with Yucca Mountain plan dead, what to do with the hot waste piling up across the country? (Salt Lake Tribune, UT)
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12666571

Study Says Wyoming Coal Essential to Energy Future (Associated Press)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/22/ap6573521.html

Seattle Garbage Truck Brings Down Power Pole (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/19821251/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_4pm&tmi=sea_4pm_1_06000206222009&ts=H

National Lightning Safety Awareness Week (KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=10573262

FISH & WILDLIFE

Rogue River - Oregon Dam Deconstruction Takes Break for Fish (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2080924~Ore__dam_deconstruction_takes_break_for_fish.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

NY Times Editorial - Ocean Rescue: Most of the world’s important commercial fish species have been declining for years. The biggest cause of the deterioration in ocean health…is overfishing
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/opinion/22mon1.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Report Critical Of Point Reyes Seashore's Take on Farms – Including Aquaculture? (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12663374

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Contract for Shelton’s Kneeland Park Pump Station Awarded (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7604/reftab/1632/t/CONTRACT-FOR-KNEELAND-PARK-PUMP-STATION-AWARDED/Default.aspx

Oregon - Klamath Dams Removal Bill Goes To Governor (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2081587~Klamath_dams_removal_bill_goes_to_governor.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Could Cowlitz Surges Fix Silt Problems? Mossyrock Dam: Corps Exploring Several Options for Managing Tons of Sediment from Mount St. Helens (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/articles/2009/06/22/news//doc4a3fc0e52b8db967649388.txt

Justices Say Waste Can Be Dumped in Alaska Lake (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/us/23alaska.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Portland General Electric Begins Power Generation at Biglow Canyon Wind Farm (iStock Analyst)
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3277097

Funds Scarce For Alternative Energy Projects (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/06/22/local_news/doc4a3fd056ec579567846160.txt

Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed? (Time Magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1906507,00.html

Wind, (The Myth Of) Backup Power and Emissions (Energy Pulse)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=2078

Solar Project Meets Bigger Foe than Cloudy Skies: The Air Force - Opposition to Plant Highlights Hurdles Facing Renewable Energy (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061903404.html?wprss=rss_business

San Jose Closer to Being First U.S. City with Biogas Plant (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12650797

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Energy Conservation - Stimulus Makes Local Impact (The Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/889253.html

Columbia Credit Union Earns Green Design Honor (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090623/BIZ01/706239988/-1/BIZ

California Startup's Prefab Homes Aim for Zero Energy Bills (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/22/BURR187SSG.DTL&feed=rss.news

Eco-Consultants Help Navigate Green Minefield (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/22/BUTR18A1KA.DTL&feed=rss.business

Oakland Green Job Corps Grads Get To Work (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/22/BUJP18BMCL.DTL&feed=rss.news

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

House Climate Bill Remains in Holding Pattern (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/06/22/22climatewire-house-climate-bill-remains-in-holding-patter-56278.html

Word Games Could Threaten Climate Bill (Politico.com)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24059.html

U.S. Climate Fix To Cost Consumers $175 a Year: CBO (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE55L57O20090622

Montana Crowd Protests Cap-And-Trade Proposal (Billings Gazette, MT)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/23/news/local/26-protest.txt

United Kingdom - Deforestation Plan for Britain Which Has Split Green Groups: cutting down trees to enhance wildlife habitat? (The Telegraph, UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5300490/Deforestation-plan-for-Britain-which-has-split-green-groups.html

Ancient Drought and Rapid Cooling Drastically Altered Climate (US News & World Report)
http://www.usnews.com/articles/science/2009/06/22/ancient-drought-and-rapid-cooling-drastically-altered-climate.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Microsoft Hires Yahoo Data Center Exec (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/06/22/daily11.html?ana=from_rss

Yahoo to Write Down As Much As $34M for Layoffs (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12648681

MySpace to Cut Two-Thirds of Staff Outside U.S. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/technology/companies/24myspace.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

A Weak Spot in Our Cyber Defenses (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/22/AR2009062202485.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Grandmas Tell AT&T: We Don't Want Metered Billing Either - 'We grandmothers know a rip off when we seen one...' (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Grandmas-Tell-ATT-We-Dont-Want-Metered-Billing-Either-103080

Web Browser Enters a Golden Age (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12625109

GENERAL NEWS

Shot Across the Bow - City of Shelton Sending Letter to Dist. Five Inquiring About Cost Savings for Fire Service (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7607/reftab/1632/t/CITY-SENDING-LETTER-TO-FIRE-FIVE-INQUIRING-ABOUT-COST-SAVINGS-FOR-FIRE-SERVICE/Default.aspx

Washington Highway Funds Stretch - Lower-than-expected bids mean money left over for additional projects (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/787150.html

Bids Lower Than Expected For Idaho Road Projects (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/888802.html

Four Kids Sicced Pit Bull on Women In SeaTac, Cops Say (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009371116_pitbull23m.html

Washington State's Top Prisons Doctor Quit Over Execution Policy (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009370884_deathpenalty23m.html?syndication=rss

State Audit Rips Apart King County (KIRO Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=181400

Montana City Ends Policy Seeking Internet Passwords (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2082538~Mont__city_ends_policy_seeking_Internet_passwords.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

Columbian Editorial - Oregon Follows Suit: New law that cracks down on metal thieves brings state in line with Washington (Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20090623/OPINION02/706239994/-1/OPINION

The Wonder of Mars in Its Seasonal Glory (The Independent, UK)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-wonder-of-mars-in-its-seasonal-glory-1714144.html

DIVERSIONS

Which Way to Bay? Baby Sea Lion Rescued On Freeway
http://www.examiner.com/a-2081445~Which_way_to_Bay__Baby_sea_lion_rescued_on_freeway.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Sorry, Paul Simon, Kodak's Taking Kodachrome Away
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12663537

Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/22/us/22smartphones.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Woman Puts Man in Sleeper Hold, Stops Bank Heist
http://www.examiner.com/a-2081948~Woman_puts_man_in_sleeper_hold__stops_bank_heist.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

SONG OF THE DAY Expected AND Unexpected

Paul Simon - Kodachrome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hSXKjHDKkY

Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46bkXgxb66E