Energy News Digest for September 24, 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)

• Cowlitz PUD Officials Outline Rate Increase at Public Hearing
• Portland General Electric to Test Peak-Pricing for Electricity
• Lewis County - BPA Equipment Problem Sets Off Power Outage
• Southern Montana Electric Air Permit Hearing Less Contentious This Round
• Beartooth Electric Cooperative Sees Changes
• Natural Gas Stocks Grow As Expected
• U.S. Panel Shifts Focus to Reusing Nuclear Fuel
• Twenty Die in Chimney Collapse at Power Plant in India
• Deadline Set For Comments New NW Salmon Plan
• Editorial - Obama Hooked Into Salmon Plight
• Op/Ed - Obama Science Goes Schizophrenic on Salmon Restoration
• Nez Perce Tribe Opens Gill-Netting Season On Snake & Clearwater Rivers
• Local Rivers Produce Good Salmon Catch
• Hanford Reach Area of Columbia River Picks Up For Kings
• $2.1 Million Morse Creek Fish Crib Under Way to Preserve Young Elwha River Salmon
• Klamath Dam Removal Costs, Liabilities Studied
• State OKs Olympia Brewery Water Plan
• Idaho anglers, boaters, skiers, growers, power companies all affected by climate change
• U.S. Senate's Failed Water Amendment Roils California Alliances
• State Of Idaho Awards Loan to Blackfoot for Big Water Reservoir Project
• Howard Hanson Dam - 'We Are Trying To Fix a Hill & Not a Dam'
• Winslow-Area Sewer Customers Could See Big Rate Increase
• Canada – Report Today Says Victoria Area Municipalities Can Opt Out Of Sewage Plan
• Army Corps of Engineers' Regional Leader Departing
• Montana, Wyoming Wind Power Sought For $3B Transmission Lines
• Green Power Line to Los Angeles Hits Roadblock
• Challenges That Independent System Operators Face When Dealing With Wind Power
• Mukilteo Woodstove, Fireplace Maker Hopes Tax Credit Ignites Sales
• Oregon - Waste Management Garbage to Power Homes
• Houston a Hub for Renewable Energy?
• LED Bulbs - Is This the Light Bulb of the Future?
• Dayton, WA - Energy Use in Agriculture to be Discussed At Liberty Theater
• Stable Temps Could Chill Work On Climate Treaty
• Top Washington Businesses Silent on Their Climate Impacts
• Are Hybrid Cars Dangerously Quiet?
• Duke Energy, FPL to Switch to Hybrid, Electric Vehicles
• Swallowing Eco-Hype - Being a 'locavore' is supposed to be healthier for you
• Oregon’s Bend Broadband Unveils 25 Mbps, 60 Mbps Tiers
• Rural, Urban Areas of Ohio Seek Broadband Cash
• Oregon Smoke Clouds Inland NW Skies
• Seattle Rotary Bookkeeper Charged With 123 Counts of Theft
• Arrest Made in Burglaries at Lakes on Mason-Kitsap Line
• Oregon Environmentalists Target New Legislation

WORD OF THE DAY

Cogent • \COE-junt\ • adjective - 1: having power to compel or constrain 2*a: appealing forcibly to the mind or reason: convincing b: pertinent, relevant

Unfortunately, for the scientists in the room, their inherent, cogent abilities to persuade the government panel were overwhelmed by the politics of fear. Their opponents stalked smugly from the room, unaware of the future consequences of their actions that day. In the not too distant future, candle and oil lantern manufacturers were to make a killing….

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast & 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

Cowlitz PUD Officials Outline Rate Increase at Public Hearing (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/09/23/area_news/doc4ab9ce6faae9c671540437.txt

Portland General Electric to Test Peak-Pricing for Electricity (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/09/pge_to_test_peak-pricing_for_e.html

Lewis County - BPA Equipment Problem Sets Off Power Outage (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?BPA-Equipment-Problem-Sets-Off-Power-Out=1&blockID=76788&feedID=410

Southern Montana Electric Air Permit Hearing Less Contentious This Round – Coal plans changed to natural gas (Great Falls Tribune, MT)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090924/NEWS01/909240303

Beartooth Electric Cooperative Sees Changes (Billings Gazette, MT)
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_12902718-a8c7-11de-bbaf-001cc4c03286.html

Natural Gas Stocks Grow As Expected (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/24/financial/f073332D53.DTL&feed=rss.business

U.S. Panel Shifts Focus to Reusing Nuclear Fuel (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/business/energy-environment/24yucca.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Twenty Die in Chimney Collapse at Power Plant in India (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/23/international/i090552D46.DTL&feed=rss.business

FISH & WILDLIFE

Deadline Set For Comments New NW Salmon Plan (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009930416_websalmondams24.html?syndication=rss

SF Chronicle Editorial - Obama Hooked Into Salmon Plight “…this fall's salmon counts are way up, making drastic steps a hard sell…”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/24/EDO719RE9P.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

Crosscut Seattle Op/Ed - Obama Science Goes Schizophrenic on Salmon Restoration
http://crosscut.com/2009/09/23/animals-wildlife/19247/

Nez Perce Tribe Opens Gill-Netting Season On Snake & Clearwater Rivers (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009935515_apidgillnettingseason.html?syndication=rss

Local Rivers Produce Good Salmon Catch - Puyallup, Carbon & Nisqually are good places to fish (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/outdoors/story/889647.html

Hanford Reach Area of Columbia River Picks Up For Kings (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2009928965_hanford_reach_area_of_columbia.html?syndication=rss

$2.1 Million Morse Creek Fish Crib Under Way to Preserve Young Elwha River Salmon (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20090923/NEWS/309239995

Klamath Dam Removal Costs, Liabilities Studied (Mount Shasta News, CA)
http://www.mtshastanews.com/news/x1699595587/Klamath-dam-removal-costs-liabilities-studied

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

State OKs Olympia Brewery Water Plan - Slightly less than Conservancy Board determined will be transferred to municipal control (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/979589.html

Idaho anglers, boaters, skiers, growers, power companies all affected by climate change “…Extra water now runs through Idaho Power Co.'s dams in the spring - when the company already has more than it needs & when state reservoir operators can't capture it all for storage...” (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/environment/story/909277.html

U.S. Senate's Failed Water Amendment Roils California Alliances (Sacramento Bee, CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2205188.html

State Of Idaho Awards Loan to Blackfoot for Big Water Reservoir Project (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/979840.html

Howard Hanson Dam - 'We Are Trying To Fix a Hill & Not a Dam' (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/60881882.html

Winslow-Area Sewer Customers Could See Big Rate Increase (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/23/winslow-area-sewer-customers-could-see-big-rate/?partner=RSS

Canada – Report Today Says Victoria Area Municipalities Can Opt Out Of Sewage Plan (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Report+today+says+Victoria+area+municipalities+sewage+plan/2023444/story.html

Army Corps of Engineers' Regional Leader Departing (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/09/army_corps_of_engineers_region.html

RENEWABLE & ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Montana, Wyoming Wind Power Sought For $3B Transmission Lines (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2232978~Montana__Wyoming_wind_power_sought_for__3B_lines.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines

Green Power Line to Los Angeles Hits Roadblock (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE58M03M20090923

Billings Gazette Op/Ed - Senators Should Support Clean Energy for Montana’s Future
http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/guest/article_f4b404ce-a8b9-11de-bded-001cc4c03286.html

Challenges That Independent System Operators Face When Dealing With Wind Power (North American Windpower)
http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.4646

Bits o’ Biomass - Mukilteo Woodstove, Fireplace Maker Hopes Tax Credit Ignites Sales (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009930193_stoves24.html?syndication=rss

Oregon - Waste Management Garbage to Power Homes (Portland Business Journal)
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/09/21/daily41.html?ana=from_rss

Houston a Hub for Renewable Energy? (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/houston-a-hub-for-renewable-energy/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

LED Bulbs - Is This the Light Bulb of the Future? (NY Times)
http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/is-this-the-lightbulb-of-the-future/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Dayton, WA - Energy Use in Agriculture to be Discussed At Liberty Theater (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, WA)
http://union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/09/23/local_news/090923local06xenergylecture.txt

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Stable Temps Could Chill Work On Climate Treaty (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009922827_cooling23.html

Top Washington Businesses Silent on Their Climate Impacts (KUOW Radio, Seattle)
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18466

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Are Hybrid Cars Dangerously Quiet? (Bloomberg News)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009922506_quietcars23.html

Duke Energy, FPL to Switch to Hybrid, Electric Vehicles (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/24/financial/f055224D35.DTL&feed=rss.business

Swallowing Eco-Hype - Being a 'locavore' is supposed to be healthier for you & better for the planet, right? Maybe not (Newsweek Magazine)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216034?from=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Oregon’s Bend Broadband Unveils 25 Mbps, 60 Mbps Tiers (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Bend-Broadband-Unveils-25-Mbps-60-Mbps-Tiers-104604

Rural, Urban Areas of Ohio Seek Broadband Cash (SF Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/09/23/financial/f134841D51.DTL&feed=rss.business

GENERAL NEWS

Oregon Smoke Clouds Inland NW Skies (Associated Press – but is it carbon neutral?)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/sep/24/oregon-smoke-clouds-inland-nw-skies/

Seattle Rotary Bookkeeper Charged With 123 Counts of Theft (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/410454_rotary23.html?source=rss

Arrest Made in Burglaries at Lakes on Mason-Kitsap Line (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/23/arrest-made-in-burglaries-at-lakes-on-mason-line/?partner=RSS

Oregon Environmentalists Target New Legislation (Associated Press)
http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090923/NEWS02/909239996

DIVERSIONS

Potato Farmer Holy Grail: McDonald's French Fries
http://www.kirotv.com/money/21078746/detail.html

Angry College Students Hold 'Naked Rally'
http://www.kirotv.com/education/21075078/detail.html

Chocolate Tied To Health after a Heart Attack
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13403659

Huge Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Treasure Found
http://www.kirotv.com/money/21099185/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Hot Chocolate - Every 1's A Winner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-GkwIRbLw8