Energy News Digest for June 9, 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)

- Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Negotiates For Lower Electricity Rates with Hopes of Reopening
- Columbian Op/Ed, Don Brunell - Obama's Energy Plan Will Cost Taxpayers Dearly
- Northwest Governors Back BPA Call for Pumped Storage Study
- City Of Snohomish Settles With UW Professor Arrested For Photographing Power Lines
- Eastern Oregon Co-Op Considers New Facility
- Michigan Utility Wants New Coal Plant
- Michigan - Police Say Trio Stole $2 Million from Great Lakes Energy
- Building the Smart Grid
- Tri-City Herald Op/Ed - Dam Breaching Should Be Off the Table
- Word on Columbia River and Tributary Sport Fisheries
- Return of the Once-Rare Beaver? Not in My Yard.
- Urbanization Not All Gloom and Doom for Bird Life
- Grant County PUD’s Quincy Shoreline Meeting Attracts Hundreds
- Auditors Question Tennessee Valley Authority Shoreline Deals With Wealthy
- The Switch: Is Solar Power Only A Rich Man's Renewable Source?
- Kiss the Utility Company Goodbye - The renewable-energy buzz is on
- Seattle preparing for electric vehicles
- Arkansas Windmill Blade Plant Laying Off 80 Workers
- Wood Pellet Producer Opens Mississippi Plant to Produce Feedstock for Alternative Energy
- Puget Sound Energy Distributed 10M Fluorescent Bulbs since 2002
- Feds Sends $15 Million in Stimulus for Oregon Energy Efficiency Program
- How Will Boise Spend Its Energy Stimulus Grants?
- Climate Activists Target Rio Australia Aluminum Smelter
- Governors Warn Energy Plan Could Stifle Growth
- Emissions Caps Seen Costing Airlines $7 Billion A Year
- Intuit Helps Small Business Capture a 'Green Snapshot'
- Rural Americans Long To Be Linked To Broadband
- Levin To Help Run Government Broadband Plan
- Forecasters Say El Nino May Be Developing
- Cadaver Dogs Find Bones at Port Orchard Construction Site
- Mason County Commission Has Partial Plan to Cover Latest Budget Shortfall
- City of Lacey Hires Finance Director
- Shades of Olympia - Soldier Sanctuary Resolution Divides Bellingham
- Seattle Parking Policy Peeves Tourists and Residents Alike
- Singer-Songwriter Kenny Rankin Dead of Lung Cancer

WORD OF THE DAY

Altruism • \AL-troo-iz-um\ • noun - Unselfish interest in the welfare of others

Alfred P. Newkirk was considered the saint of the second floor cubicle cadets. He never used the speaker phone, did not eat his usual garlic and onion humus snacks at his desk, and always seemed to have a clean, orderly desk at the end of the day. What some attributed to altruism was one day revealed to be a sham. Alfred really didn’t work there; he just liked living in the cubicle. His duplicity was revealed when a fellow employee asked HR when he had been hired so that a party could be thrown in his honor.

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

Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Negotiates For Lower Electricity Rates with Hopes of Reopening (The Missoulian, MT)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009/06/08/bnews/br10.txt

Columbian Op/Ed, Don Brunell - Obama's Energy Plan Will Cost Taxpayers Dearly
http://columbian.com/article/20090609/BIZ01/706099986/-1/BIZ

Northwest Governors Back BPA Call for Pumped Storage Study (HydroWorld)
http://www.hydroworld.com/index/display/article-display/6690582890/s-articles/s-hrhrw/s-News/s-northwest-governors.html

City Of Snohomish Settles With UW Professor Arrested For Photographing Power Lines (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/406968_aclu08.html

Eastern Oregon Co-Op Considers New Facility - Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative is weighing whether to construct new building (Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, OR)
http://www.djcoregon.com/articleDetail.htm/2009/06/08/Eastern-Oregon-coop-considers-new-facility-Oregon-Trail-Electric-Cooperative-is-weighing-whether-to-

Michigan Utility Wants New Coal Plant (WWJ Radio, Detroit)
http://www.wwj.com/Michigan-Utility-Wants-New-Coal-Plant/4546314

Michigan - Police Say Trio Stole $2 Million from Great Lakes Energy (Gaylord Herald Times, MI)
http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2009/06/08/breaking_news/doc4a2d3b2e98c2f338032467.txt

Building The Smart Grid - By promoting the adoption of renewable-energy technology, a smart grid would be good for the environment—and for innovation (The Economist)
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13725843

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tri-City Herald Op/Ed - Dam Breaching Should Be Off the Table
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/597991.html

Word on Columbia River and Tributary Sport Fisheries and How Fish Returns are Shaping Up (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2009316304_word_on_columbia_river_and_tri.html

Return of the Once-Rare Beaver? Not in My Yard. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/science/earth/09beaver.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Urbanization Not All Gloom and Doom for Bird Life (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5161-urbanization-not-all-gloom-and-doom-bird-life/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Grant County PUD’s Quincy Shoreline Meeting Attracts Hundreds (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/06/09/news/doc4a2d7c17454b1277845772.txt

Auditors Question Tennessee Valley Authority Shoreline Deals With Wealthy (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/09/national/a000843D71.DTL&feed=rss.business

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

The Switch: Is Solar Power Only A Rich Man's Renewable Source? (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5150-switch-solar-power-only-rich-mans-renewable-source/

Kiss the Utility Company Goodbye - The renewable-energy buzz is on (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, MN)
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/47171822.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUncacyi8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Seattle preparing for electric vehicles (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_060809ENB_seattle-electric-vehicles-JM.5fcbf419.html?rss

Arkansas Windmill Blade Plant Laying Off 80 Workers - Windmill blade maker LM Glasfiber said it will lay off about 80 workers because it does not have enough orders (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009313824_apuslmglasfiberlayoffs.html?syndication=rss

Wood Pellet Producer Opens Mississippi Plant To Produce Feedstock For Alternative Energy (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009315512_apusmississippiwoodpelletplant.html?syndication=rss

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Puget Sound Energy Distributed 10M Fluorescent Bulbs since 2002 (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009317895_apwafluorescentbulbs.html?syndication=rss

Feds Sends $15 Million in Stimulus for Oregon Energy Efficiency Program (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/us_sends_15_million_in_stimulu.html

How Will Boise Spend Its Energy Stimulus Grants? The City Council will discuss 10 potential energy projects, including LED streetlights. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/796461.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Climate Activists Target Rio Australia Aluminum Smelter (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5576FX20090608

Governors Warn Energy Plan Could Stifle Growth (Associated Press)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/08/AR2009060802188.html

Emissions Caps Seen Costing Airlines $7 Billion A Year (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE55718G20090609

Intuit Helps Small Business Capture a 'Green Snapshot' (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmSmallBusiness/idUS277971092420090608

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Rural Americans Long To Be Linked To Broadband (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-07-rural-broadband-digital_N.htm

Levin To Help Run Government Broadband Plan - Primary architect of 1996 Telecom Reform Act returns (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Levin-To-Help-Run-Government-Broadband-Plan-102815

GENERAL NEWS

Forecasters Say El Nino May Be Developing - can lead to wetter than normal conditions in the intermountain regions of the United States (Associated Press)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/forecasters_say_el_nino_may_be.html

Cadaver Dogs Find Bones at Port Orchard Construction Site (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_060909WAB-human-foot-bones-JM.6350688c.html?rss?npc

Mason County Commission Has Partial Plan to Cover Latest Budget Shortfall (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7484/reftab/1632/t/COUNTY-COMMISSION-HAS-PARTIAL-PLAN-TO-COVER-LATEST-BUDGET-SHORTFALL/Default.aspx

City of Lacey Hires Finance Director (The Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/localnewsfeed/story/875720.html

Shades of Olympia - Soldier Sanctuary Resolution Divides Bellingham (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/47273937.html

Seattle Parking Policy Peeves Tourists and Residents Alike (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_060809WAB-seattle-parking-policy-SW.6020b2c4.html?rss

Singer-Songwriter Kenny Rankin Dead Of Lung Cancer
http://www.examiner.com/a-2058185~Singer_songwriter_Kenny_Rankin_dead_of_lung_cancer.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

DIVERSIONS

Florida Fisherman Hooks Live Missile in Gulf Waters
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12551746

Dog Plays Fetch With Live Grenade in Germany
http://www.kirotv.com/family/19691635/detail.html

Bike-Riding Rooster Ordered Out Of Miami Beach - Owner Ordered To Get Rid Of Fowl Because Of Early Morning Crowing
http://www.kirotv.com/family/19681325/detail.html

Coach Put Little League Boys Up To Burglary, Police Say
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090609/NEWS01/706099933/-1/RSS02

SONG OF THE DAY

Blackbird - Kenny Rankin (RIP)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIKl3QhdtlY