Energy News Digest for January 22, 2010

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 Plans to Make Electrical Service Decision by Mid-April

•  Managing Pacific Northwest Dams for a Changing Climate

•  Idaho - Rupert Might Pursue Hike in Electricity Rates

•  Port Orchard Independent Op/Ed - Does Taxing Public Utilities Make Sense?

•  Matanuska Electric Association to Build Two New Power Plants in

•  Port Orchard Utility Customers Offered Online Bill Pay Option

•  Harstine Island - Whale Carcass Washes Ashore

•  Oregon Plagued by Steelhead - Huge run of hatchery fish needs thinning

•  Marine Toxin Closes Long Beach Razor Clam Dig Next Week

•  Why Aren’t Quagga Mussels Flourishing in Northwest Waters?

•  Review Says US Agency Must Revamp Fish Law Enforcement

•  Warm Weather Impacts Washington’s Ski Resorts, Water Supply

•  Cowlitz County – Consultant Says Mint Farm Aquifer Inexhaustible

•  Kittitas County Residents Say ‘No’ to County/State Wells Agreement

•  Brightwater Sewer Tunnel Likely Causing Homes’ Troubles

•  Representative Finn Comments on Washington Biomass Bill

•  Longview Fibre Seeks Permit for Biomass Boiler

•  West Virginia – Mingo Wood-Fired Plant Bond Issue Approved

•  Newly Installed Wind Turbines Idled by Minnesota’s Winter

•  Massachusetts – Study Says Most Won’t Pay More for Wind Power

•  California Rebates for Solar Water Heaters Approved

•  Sunflower DNA Map Could Produce Plants for Fuel

•  Washington State Bill Aims to Cut Bills from Electricity-Hogging TVs

•  Tankless Water Heaters: Pros & Cons

•  Bipartisan Group of Senators Try to Thwart EPA Efforts to Curb Emissions

•  Warming Expected to Cut Atlantic Hurricane Tally but Boost Threat

•  Bill Gates Thinks Big on Energy & Climate

•  FaceBook Matures, Will Build Its Own Data Center

•  FaceBook Touts Energy Efficiency at Its Prineville Data Center

•  Portland Set to Dismantle, Donate Abandoned Wi-Fi Antennas

•  Microsoft Fixes Browser Flaw Used in Google Breach

•  China Says U.S. Internet Accusations “Baseless”

•  Officials Seek Help Finding Missing Shelton-Area Woman

•  Shelton Resident, Olympia Store Cop Sentenced for Voyeurism Charges

•  The Tim Sheldon Disemployment Act Gets Killed

•  Builders’ Lobby Sponsors Workers’ Comp Initiative

•  Billion Dollar Headache: Looming Pension Liability Worries State Officials

•  Satsop Test Site Preparing for New Highway 520 Bridge Pontoons

•  Hanford Supporters Want B Reactor in National Park

•  Oh, the Irony - Tools, Metals Stolen from Jail Construction Site

•  Shelton-Mason Chamber Award Winners Honored

WORD OF THE DAY

Glockenspiel • \GLAWK-ken-shpeel\ • noun – A percussion instrument consisting of a series of graduated metal bars tuned to the chromatic scale and played with two hammers

“Sonny, with shoulders like that, you’re a natural to carry the marching band’s glockenspiel in the parade,” intoned the well-travelled virtuoso. “You do understand that I’ll be hammering away on the cranky thing while you walk four miles?”

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 Plans to Make Electrical Service Decision by Mid-April (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100122/news/301229989

Managing Pacific Northwest Dams for a Changing Climate (Physorg.Com)

http://www.physorg.com/news183313115.html

Idaho - Rupert Might Pursue Hike in Electricity Rates (Magic Valley News, Twin Falls, ID)

http://www.magicvalley.com/news/article_964c9236-b0f0-5e59-a042-765512a70d07.html

Port Orchard Independent Op/Ed - Does Taxing Public Utilities Make Sense?

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/poi/opinion/82287307.html

Matanuska Electric Association to Build Two New Power Plants in Alaska (EC&M)

http://ecmweb.com/design_engineering/new-alaskan-power-plants-20091201/

Port Orchard Utility Customers Offered Online Bill Pay Option (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jan/21/port-orchard-utility-customers-offered-online/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Harstine Island - Whale Carcass Washes Ashore: It was out of range & out of food (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1110679.html

Oregon Plagued by Steelhead - Huge run of hatchery fish needs thinning (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jan/22/oregon-plagued-steelhead/

Marine Toxin Closes Long Beach Razor Clam Dig Next Week - Could prompt closures at other beaches (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/reeltimenorthwest/2010858468_marine_toxin_puts_long_beach_r.html

Why Aren’t Quagga Mussels Flourishing in Northwest Waters? (Oregon Public Radio)

http://news.opb.org/article/6584-why-arent-quagga-mussels-flourishing-northwest-waters/

Review Says US Agency Must Revamp Fish Law Enforcement (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010852296_apusfisheryenforcement.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Warm Weather Impacts Washington’s Ski Resorts, Water Supply (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=11864172

Cowlitz County – Consultant Says Mint Farm Aquifer Inexhaustible (The Daily News, Longview, WA)

http://www.tdn.com/news/article_ff06866a-0726-11df-a7f6-001cc4c03286.html

Kittitas County Residents Say ‘No’ to County/State Wells Agreement (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/21/kittitas-county-residents-say-no-to-wells-agreement

Brightwater Sewer Tunnel Likely Causing Homes’ Troubles (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010858216_brightwater22m.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Representative Finn Comments on Washington Biomass Bill (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1155:finn-comments-on-biomass-bill&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Longview Fibre Seeks Permit for Biomass Boiler (The Daily News, Longview, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_8643f3e6-06e7-11df-beda-001cc4c03286.html

West Virginia – Mingo Wood-Fired Plant Bond Issue Approved: Coal-burner in Mon County also can go forward (West Virginia Gazette, Charleston, WV)

http://wvgazette.com/News/Business/201001210390

Newly Installed Wind Turbines Idled by Minnesota’s Winter - Cold weather blamed for failure of windmills to work properly (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, MN)

http://www.twincities.com/ci_14243715?nclick_check=1

Massachusetts – Study Says Most Won’t Pay More for Wind Power (Boston Herald, MA)

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20100122study_most_wont_pay_more_for_wind_power/

California Rebates for Solar Water Heaters Approved (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/22/BUOK1BLK16.DTL

Sunflower DNA Map Could Produce Plants for Fuel (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010858859_apusfarmscenesunflowerdna.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Washington State Bill Aims to Cut Bills from Electricity-Hogging TVs (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Cutting-TV-Energy-Bill-82310487.html

Tankless Water Heaters: Pros & Cons (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Bright-Green/2010/0121/Tankless-water-heaters-pros-and-cons

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Bipartisan Group of Senators Try to Thwart EPA Efforts to Curb Emissions (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012104512.html

Warming Expected to Cut Atlantic Hurricane Tally but Boost Threat (NY Times)

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/warming-seen-to-cut-atlantic-hurricane-tally-but-boost-threat/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Bill Gates Thinks Big on Energy & Climate (C/NET News)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10438720-54.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FaceBook Matures, Will Build Its Own Data Center (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/01/21/facebook-matures-will-build-its-own-data-center/

FaceBook Touts Energy Efficiency at Its Prineville Data Center (The Oregonian, Portland)

http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2010/01/facebook_touts_energy_efficien.html

Portland Set to Dismantle, Donate Abandoned Wi-Fi Antennas (The Oregonian, Portland)

http://blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2010/01/portland_set_to_dismantle_dona.html

Microsoft Fixes Browser Flaw Used in Google Breach (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14239348

China Says U.S. Internet Accusations “Baseless” (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60L1DK20100122

GENERAL NEWS

Officials Seek Help Finding Missing Shelton-Area Woman (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1110683.html

Shelton Resident, Olympia Store Cop Sentenced for Voyeurism Charges (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22309025/detail.html

The Tim Sheldon Disemployment Act Gets Killed (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2010857667_the_tim_sheldon_disemployment.html

Builders’ Lobby Sponsors Workers’ Comp Initiative (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/82386817.html

Billion Dollar Headache: Looming Pension Liability Worries State Officials (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/414516_pensions22.html

Satsop Test Site Preparing for New Highway 520 Bridge Pontoons (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010862595_apwafloatingbridgepontoons.html

Hanford Supporters Want B Reactor in National Park (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/82385752.html

Oh, the Irony - Tools, Metals Stolen from Jail Construction Site (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/1110045.html

Shelton-Mason Chamber Award Winners Honored (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1157:shelton-mason-chamber-award-winners-honored&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

DIVERSIONS

Human “Bed-Warmers” at Holiday Inn

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60K50020100121

NASA Announces Designs for Personal Flying Suit

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/nasa-announces-designs-for-personal-flying-suit/

Meteorite Strikes Doctor’s Office in Virginia

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22303493/detail.html

Charlie Daniels Can Fiddle After Stroke

http://www.kirotv.com/entertainment/22302576/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Charlie Daniels Band - Passing Lane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ykyFhHkoM