Energy News Digest for November 10, 2009

The energy news digest will be taking Wednesday, November 11 off to honor all veterans, especially those in the family.

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)

• Jefferson County PUD Commissioner Roberts in Coma
• New BPA Transmission Line Will Energize Neighbors’ Talk
• Energy Northwest Nuclear Plant Taken Offline
• Benton PUD Rates Going Up
• Idaho Power Delays Rate Increase until 2012
• Longview Man's Suit against Cowlitz PUD Goes to Trial
• Op/Ed - Local Renewables, Not LNG, Will Fuel a Truly Sustainable Energy Economy
• Power for US from Russia’s Old Nuclear Weapons
• Energy Agency Warns of Falling Investment
• Seattle Firm Opens Portland Energy Law Office
• Astoria - A Quarter-Million More Smolts Headed to Young's Bay
• Gov. Chris Gregoire Announces New Director of Ecology
• Big Fine for Tiny Snohomish Water System
• California - Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation for Giant Water Bond
• Cowlitz silt removal about to begin; Corps wrapping up Castle Rock dike work
• EPA Drafts Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Strategy
• Kittitas County - Wild Horse Wind Facility Adds another 22 Turbines
• Wyoming Wind Development Plans Stir Up Dust along Oregon Trail
• Quebec's Wind-Power Plans Take a Blow
• Paging Don Quixote: Spain’s New Wind-Power Record
• Mars Candy Unveils 18-Acre ‘Solar Garden’ In Hackettstown
• Using Fiber Optics, Solar Power Goes Underground
• Snohomish PUD Starting Huge “Smart Power Grid” Project
• Florida Regulator’s Quandary: Will Boosting Conservation Raise Electric Rates?
• EPA’s Energy Star Program Hits Major Milestone
• Illinois Utility Urges Use of Energy-Saving Holiday Lights
• Light ‘Em Up - Cree Buys Huge LED Plant In China
• Agricultural Group Weighs In With Concerns about Climate Change & Health Care
• Is individual cap-and-trade the wave of the future?
• Editorial - Carbon Rules Could Damage Michigan's Biofuel Industry
• Which fruits crops have the smallest environmental footprints?
• For Holiday Travelers - Google Offers Free WiFi At Dozens Of Airports
• Murdoch: We May Block Google
• Google Says Won't Give Clearwire More Financing
• Verizon Keeps Swinging At AT&T - Despite recent lawsuit over 3G ads
• Workplace Shooting - Washington Lt. Governor’s Son in Satisfactory Condition
• Belfair Bank Robber Gets Away on a Bicycle
• North Mason Fiber: Environmental Stewardship Close to Home
• Grant County Declares ‘Swine Flu’ Emergency
• DC Sniper Mastermind Set To Be Executed This Evening
• Water, Sewer, Roads - Walla Walla Infrastructure Plan Heads to Back Burner

WORD OF THE DAY

Nudnik • \NOOD-nik\ • noun - person who is a bore or nuisance

“The nudnik convention will come to order,” blustered the ruddy-faced committee chair. “But before we attend to business, I want to call on our board secretary to read the minutes from our ten-hour meeting last week…..”

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

Jefferson County PUD Commissioner Roberts in Coma (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091110/NEWS/311109992
New BPA Transmission Line Will Energize Neighbors’ Talk (Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091110/NEWS02/711109964/New+transmission+line+will+energize+neighbors%E2%80%99++talk

Energy Northwest Nuclear Plant Taken Offline (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/786282.html?mi_email=Tri-City%20Herald_PM+%26+Breaking+News

Benton PUD Rates Going Up (KEPR-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/69625497.html

Idaho Power Delays Rate Increase until 2012 (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/1031460.html

Longview Man's Suit against Cowlitz PUD Goes to Trial (Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/11/10/area_news/doc4af8d801e624e105049992.txt

Oregonian Op/Ed - Beyond Dams: Local Renewables, Not LNG, Will Fuel a Truly Sustainable Energy Economy
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/11/beyond_dams_local_renewables_n.html

Power for US from Russia’s Old Nuclear Weapons (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/business/energy-environment/10nukes.html

Energy Agency Warns of Falling Investment (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/10/business/AP-IEA-World-Energy-Outlook.html

Seattle Firm Opens Portland Energy Law Office (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/11/09/daily13.html?ana=from_rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Astoria - A Quarter-Million More Smolts Headed to Young's Bay (Salem Statesman-Journal, OR)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20091109/OUTDOORS/91109017/1034/SPORTS/A-quarter-million-more-smolts-headed-to-Young-s-Bay

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Gov. Chris Gregoire Announces New Director of Ecology (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/1030506.html

Governor’s Office News Release
http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1372&newsType=1

Big Fine for Tiny Snohomish Water System (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/412053_waterfine10.html?source=rss

California - Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation for Giant Water Bond (Sacramento Bee, CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2316172.html

Cowlitz silt removal about to begin; Corps wrapping up Castle Rock dike work (Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/11/10//area_news/doc4af8d93ec63cd165996835.txt

EPA Drafts Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Strategy (Nat’l Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120244725&ft=1&f=2

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Kittitas County - Wild Horse Wind Facility Adds another 22 Turbines (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=11473669

Wyoming Wind Development Plans Stir Up Dust along Oregon Trail (Public News Service)
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/11303-1

Quebec's Wind-Power Plans Take a Blow - Must contend with Ontario law that guarantees premiums to producers (Montreal Gazette, Quebec)
http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Quebec+wind+power+plans+take+blow/2204535/story.html

Paging Don Quixote: Spain’s New Wind-Power Record (Wall $treet Journal)
http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/11/10/paging-don-quixote-spains-new-wind-power-record/

Mars Candy Unveils 18-Acre ‘Solar Garden’ In Hackettstown (Newark Star Ledger, NJ)
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/mars_unveils_18-acre_solar_gar.html

Solar Power Goes Underground - Scientists use fiber optics instead of solar panels to capture sun's energy (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33793775/ns/technology_and_science-future_of_energy/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Snohomish PUD Starting Huge “Smart Power Grid” Project - $16 Million Plan Could Save You Big Money (KCPQ-TV, Seattle)
http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-111009-smartmeters,0,5456622.story?track=rss

Florida Regulator’s Quandary: Will Boosting Conservation Raise Electric Rates? (St. Petersburg Times, FL)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/psc-quandary-will-boosting-conservation-raise-electric-rates/1050609

EPA’s Energy Star Program Hits Major Milestone: 1 Million Energy Star Homes Built in the United States (Environmental Protection Agency)
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/873399d03de0b48485257669007479f9?OpenDocument

Illinois Utility Urges Use of Energy-Saving Holiday Lights (Chicago Tribune, IL)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-holidaylights-ene,0,7203445.story

Light ‘Em Up - Cree Buys Huge LED Plant In China (Triangle Business Journal)
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/11/09/daily5.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Montana Farm Bureau: Agricultural Group Weighs In With Concerns about Climate Change & Health Care Legislation (The Missoulian, MT)
http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_330c08f4-cdc5-11de-b94b-001cc4c002e0.html

Is individual cap-and-trade the wave of the future? (SF Chronicle – just a little edit: “everything you think, do, or say….is in the bill, you got today – ‘In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus),’ Zager & Evans)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=51292&tsp=1

Detroit News Editorial - Carbon Rules Could Damage Michigan's Biofuel Industry
http://www.detnews.com/article/20091110/OPINION01/911100318/1008/opinion01/Carbon-rules-could-damage-Michigan-s-biofuel-industry

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Sustainable Salads - Which fruits, vegetables, & other crops have the smallest environmental footprints? (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2234783/?from=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

For Holiday Travelers - Google Offers Free WiFi At Dozens Of Airports (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/11/09/daily17.html?ana=from_rss

Murdoch: We May Block Google (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/11/09/murdoch-we-may-block-google/

Google Says Won't Give Clearwire More Financing (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE5A83QX20091109?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

Verizon Keeps Swinging At AT&T - Despite recent lawsuit over 3G ads (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Keeps-Swinging-At-ATT-105405

GENERAL NEWS

Workplace Shooting - Washington Lt. Governor’s Son in Satisfactory Condition (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010242596_apwaltgovernorsonshot.html?syndication=rss

Belfair Bank Robber Gets Away on a Bicycle (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/nov/09/belfair-bank-robber-gets-away-on-a-bicycle/?partner=RSS

North Mason Fiber: Environmental Stewardship Close to Home (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/nov/09/north-mason-fiber-environmental-stewardship-close-/?partner=RSS

Grant County Declares ‘Swine Flu’ Emergency (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/11/09/news/doc4af8920333156807911743.txt

DC Sniper Mastermind Set To Be Executed This Evening (Associated Press)
http://www.king5.com/news/local/DC-sniper-mastermind-set-to-be-executed-this-evening-69651277.html

Water, Sewer, Roads - Walla Walla Infrastructure Plan Heads to Back Burner (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, WA)
http://union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/11/10/local_news/091108local12shawa_isp.txt

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

In Brazil? Student Expelled After Row over Short Dress
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A830V20091109

Spokane: Woman Would Like To Buy Back Stolen 1965 Volkswagen Van
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/948756.html

Woman with Child on Lap Drives into Aquarium, Kills Most of Fish
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21574588/detail.html

Man Allegedly Assaults Worker with Backhoe
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21566776/detail.html

SONGS OF THE DAY

Happy Birthday Sesame Street - “Sesame Street Theme”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXqMzmFSX_4

Sesame Street: Ernie & his Rubber Duckie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh85R-S-dh8

Sesame Street: Kermit Sings Being Green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51BQfPeSK8k