Energy News Digest for June 16, 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

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Jefferson PUD/ Puget Sound Energy Agreement Signed, But PUD Now Watching Dollars (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=27114

Energy Northwest Closes in on Naming CEO – Could Name New Boss Executive Board Meets Thursday (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/06/16/1056312/energy-northwest-closes-in-on.html

Bonneville Power Administration to Spend $2B to Update Transmission Lines (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_bpa_money.html

Power Plant Debate - Mason County Commission Not in Favor of ADAGE Advisory Ballot “Commissioner Sheldon… there has already been a kind of public vote on renewable energy when Initiative 937 passed…” (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2438-mason-county-commission-not-in-favor-of-adage-advisory-ballot

Dirtier than Coal? Under Fire, Institute Clarifies Its Claim about Biomass “…group issues a clarification: Generating electricity from “waste wood” creates little, if any, carbon pollution…” (Solve Climate)

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100616/dirtier-coal-under-fire-institute-clarifies-its-claim-about-biomass

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         Jefferson PUD/ Puget Sound Energy Agreement Signed, But PUD Now Watching Dollars

·         Energy Northwest Closes in on Naming CEO

·         Bonneville Power Administration to Spend $2B to Update Transmission Lines

·         Editorial – Okanogan Transmission Slugfest: Who Plays Power Politics?

·         Snohomish PUD Expands With New $4.8 Million Lake Stevens Facility

·         Oregon - Northern Wasco County PUD Awards Economic Grants

·         Mason PUD 3 Commission Cancels June 22 Meeting

·         New Jersey - Public Service Electric & Gas Co. Would Buy Wetlands for New Nuke Plant

·         US Senator Alexander: “Nuclear Power is the Most Reliable & Useful Source of Green Electricity Today”

·         Maine - Utility Chairman Confirms $1.4 Billion Upgrade for State’s Grid

·         Canada - Meet the Super Sockeye

·         Columbia River Summer Chinook Seasons Open This Week

·         Corps of Engineers Wants Trees Removed Near Levees, Clashing With Salmon Advocates

·         Oregon’s Deschutes River - Above Sherar’s Falls, a Perch for Salmon

·         Editorial - Salmon Must be Our Top Priority; Refurbishing the dams must include improvements in fish passage

·         Totten Inlet Mussel Farm Impact Small, Report Says

·         Giant 337-Pound Fish Leads Seward Halibut Tournament

·         Oregon - Wallowa Lake Yielding Monster Fish with New Unofficial World-Record Kokanee

·         Appeals Court Denies Palouse Earthworm Protection

·         Clallam PUD Watchful - Carlsborg Zoning Restrictions Kept as Development, Sewer Rules Juggled

·         Canada - Warmer Weather Bodes Well for Reservoirs

·         Olympia Parking Lot, Artesian Well Sale at Hand

·         Power Plant Debate - Mason County Commission Not in Favor of ADAGE Advisory Ballot

·         Port of Shelton Commission Continues Discussing ADAGE Power Plant Advisory Ballot

·         University of Missouri to Replace Coal Boiler with Biomass Unit

·         Dirtier than Coal? Under Fire, Institute Clarifies Its Claim about Biomass

·         Clearcut Disaster: Carbon Loophole Threatens US Forests

·         Australia - Timber Industry & Environmentalists at Loggerheads over Biomass Power

·         Meeting Planned June 16 on Naselle Wind Farm

·         South Dakota - Permit Granted for 37K-Acre Wind Farm

·         Could be a Cape Wind-Fall; Turbine Developers Sell Texas Project after Getting OKs

·         Orcas Power & Light Members Wanted to Build New Green Power Program

·         California – Gubernatorial Candidate Brown Sets Far-Reaching Renewable-Energy Goals

·         Homeowners Extremely Satisfied With Northwest Ductless Heat Pump Pilot Program

·         Ikea to Start Phasing Out Incandescent Light Bulbs

·         Obama: The Time to Embrace Clean Energy Is Now

·         EPA: Climate Bill Costs Less than Postage Stamp

·         Holy Burning BioDiesel - Flames Flow through Tacoma Neighborhood after Biodiesel Explosion

·         Oregon Lands $500,000 for Green Jobs

·         Plows Ready? City Wants Urban Farms, More Chickens

·         Using H20 as Wiper Fluid Might Turn Car into Pneumonia Breeding Ground

·         Like Our Data, Storage Startups Are Multiplying

·         Mason County Hires H-R Director

·         Clallam County Woman Accused of Bilking $617,467 of Public Funds Won’t Stand Trial Until 2011

·         EPA Analysis: Senate Energy Bill Would Lower Electric Bills

·         Mason Unchanged at 10.4 % - State’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.1% in May

·         Controversy Grows over Officer Seen Punching Woman in Face

·         Archeological Conflicts - Ancient Fish Traps Cause Concern at Hoquiam Waterfront Site

WORD OF THE DAY

Bric-A-Brac • \BRICK-uh-BRACK\ • noun - 1: a miscellaneous collection of small articles commonly of ornamental or sentimental value: curios 2: something suggesting bric-a-brac especially in extraneous decorative quality

“This is the prize of my collection,” crowed the enthusiastic host to his increasingly distracted guest. “Most people shrink with disgust when I tell them that I collect cockroaches,” he whispered, the gloom of his dark, cramped apartment closing in. “The Elvis mosaic in the living room made out of discarded insect skeletons is just so much thrown together bric-a-brac until you step back and see it in its full glory!”

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 PUD/ Puget Sound Energy Agreement Signed, But PUD Now Watching Dollars (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=27114

Energy Northwest Closes in on Naming CEO – Could Name New Boss Executive Board Meets Thursday (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/06/16/1056312/energy-northwest-closes-in-on.html

Bonneville Power Administration to Spend $2B to Update Transmission Lines (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_bpa_money.html

Editorial – Okanogan Transmission Slugfest: Who Plays Power Politics? (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jun/15/who-plays-power-politics/

Snohomish PUD Expands With New $4.8 Million Lake Stevens Facility (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100616/NEWS01/706169812

Oregon - Northern Wasco County PUD Awards Economic Grants (The Dalles Chronicle, OR)

http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2010/06/news06-15-10-02.shtml

Mason PUD 3 Commission Cancels June 22 Meeting (Mason County PUD No. 3

http://www.masonpud3.org/Newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=732

New Jersey - Public Service Electric & Gas Co. Would Buy Wetlands for New Nuke Plant (Associated Press)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/other_state_news/061510_pseg.html

US Senator Alexander: “Nuclear Power is the Most Reliable & Useful Source of Green Electricity Today” (The Chattanoogan, TN)

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_177817.asp

Maine - Utility Chairman Confirms $1.4 Billion Upgrade for State’s Grid (Associated Press)

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/146046.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Canada - Meet the Super Sockeye: The Harrison River breed is thriving while others crash & scientists want to know why (The Tyee)

http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/06/15/SuperSockeye/

Columbia River Summer Chinook Seasons Open This Week - Sport & commercial fishers clash over opening dates & fishery management (The Astorian, OR)

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=71256

Corps of Engineers Wants Trees Removed Near Levees, Clashing With Salmon Advocates (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012102238_levees13m.html

Oregon’s Deschutes River - Above Sherar’s Falls, a Perch for Salmon (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012125937_deschutes16m.html

Editorial - Salmon Must be Our Top Priority; Refurbishing the dams must include improvements in fish passage (The Astorian, OR)

http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=71250

Totten Inlet Mussel Farm Impact Small, Report Says – Activist says more review needed (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/06/16/1273731/mussel-farm-impact-small-report.html

Giant 337-Pound Fish Leads Seward Halibut Tournament (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/23910324/detail.html

Oregon - Wallowa Lake Yielding Monster Fish with New Unofficial World-Record Kokanee (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/wallowa_lake_yielding_monster.html

Appeals Court Denies Palouse Earthworm Protection (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_giant_palouse_earthworm.html?source=pimail

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Clallam PUD Watchful - Carlsborg Zoning Restrictions Kept as Development, Sewer Rules Juggled (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100616/NEWS/306169986/carlsborg-zoning-restrictions-kept-as-development-sewer-rules-juggled

Canada - Warmer Weather Bodes Well for Reservoirs (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Warmer+weather+bodes+well+reservoirs/3159318/story.html

Olympia Parking Lot, Artesian Well Sale at Hand - $780,000 to come from budget for new City Hall (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/06/15/1272382/parking-lot-sale-at-hand.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Power Plant Debate - Mason County Commission Not in Favor of ADAGE Advisory Ballot “Commissioner Sheldon… there has already been a kind of public vote on renewable energy when Initiative 937 passed…” (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2438-mason-county-commission-not-in-favor-of-adage-advisory-ballot

Port of Shelton Commission Continues Discussing ADAGE Power Plant Advisory Ballot (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2437-port-of-shelton-commission-continues-discussing-adage-advisory-ballot

University of Missouri to Replace Coal Boiler with Biomass Unit (Brighter Energy)

http://www.brighterenergy.org/12484/news/bioenergy/bw-to-replace-university-of-missouri%E2%80%99s-coal-fired-boiler-with-biomass-fueled-unit/

Dirtier than Coal? Under Fire, Institute Clarifies Its Claim about Biomass “…group issues a clarification: Generating electricity from “waste wood” creates little, if any, carbon pollution…” (Solve Climate)

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100616/dirtier-coal-under-fire-institute-clarifies-its-claim-about-biomass

Clearcut Disaster: Carbon Loophole Threatens US Forests (Environmental Working Group)

http://www.ewg.org/clearcut-disaster

Australia - Timber Industry & Environmentalists at Loggerheads: Showdown is looming over the timber industry’s plans to burn timber waste in native forests for electricity (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s2928932.htm

Meeting Planned June 16 on Naselle Wind Farm (Chinook Observer, Long Beach, WA)

http://www.chinookobserver.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=31&ArticleID=34494

South Dakota - Permit Granted for 37K-Acre Wind Farm (ABC News)

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10922563

Could be a Cape Wind-Fall; Turbine Developers Sell Texas Project after Getting OKs (Penn Energy)

http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/newsdisplay/1204421329.html

Orcas Power & Light Members Wanted to Build New Green Power Program (San Juan Islander, Friday Harbor, WA)

http://www.sanjuanislander.com/businesses/opalco/green-power.shtml

California – Gubernatorial Candidate Brown Sets Far-Reaching Renewable-Energy Goals (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/15/BAP51DVPH8.DTL

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Homeowners Extremely Satisfied With Northwest Ductless Heat Pump Pilot Program (PR Newswire)

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/independent-evaluation-finds-homeowners-extremely-satisfied-with-neeas-northwest-ductless-heat-pump-pilot-program-96476454.html

Ikea to Start Phasing Out Incandescent Light Bulbs (Associated Press)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gwbYcgtHXbH63b1wdmnCTtRi-NcwD9GBU6RO0

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Obama: The Time to Embrace Clean Energy Is Now (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127874185

EPA: Climate Bill Costs Less than Postage Stamp (Associated Press)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jgtia8XJDhtzR-ed3ZzuVOLC4DvQD9GC24S80

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Holy Burning BioDiesel - Flames Flow through Tacoma Neighborhood after Biodiesel Explosion (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/23917427/detail.html

Oregon Lands $500,000 for Green Jobs (Portland Business Journal) http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/06/14/daily14.html

Plows Ready? City Wants Urban Farms, More Chickens (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/421809_urbanag15.html?source=pimail

Using H20 as Wiper Fluid Might Turn Car into Pneumonia Breeding Ground (The Consumerist)

http://consumerist.com/2010/06/using-h20-as-wiper-fluid-might-turn-car-into-legionnaires-disease-breeding-ground.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Like Our Data, Storage Startups Are Multiplying (GigaOm)

http://gigaom.com/2010/06/15/like-our-data-storage-startups-are-multiplying/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Mason County Hires H-R Director (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2436-mason-county-hires-h-r-director

Clallam County Woman Accused of Bilking $617,467 of Public Funds Won’t Stand Trial Until 2011 (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100615/news/306159992/woman-accused-of-bilking-617467-of-public-funds-wont-stand-trial

EPA Analysis: Senate Energy Bill Would Lower Electric Bills (Miami Herald, FL)

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/15/1682329/epa-analysis-senate-energy-bill.html

GENERAL NEWS

Mason Unchanged at 10.4 % - State’s Unemployment Rate Drops to 9.1% in May (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/06/15/1273022/wa-unemployment-rate-drops-to.html

Controversy Grows over Officer Seen Punching Woman in Face (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/23909611/detail.html

Archeological Conflicts - Ancient Fish Traps Cause Concern at Hoquiam Waterfront Site (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2010/06/15/local_news/doc4c17bf708aa2b655392213.txt

DIVERSIONS

Forget the Goose - Pet Waste Removal Worker Finds $58 in Dog Poop

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_dog_doo_money

German Student Attacks Hell’s Angels with Puppy – Escapes on Stolen Bulldozer

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65E39Q20100615

Turkeys Overrun Spokane Neighborhood

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012130667_apwaspokaneturkeyproblem.html?syndication=rss

Squirrel’s Peanuts Threaten Allergic Spokane Boy

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012130659_apwaoddspokanesquirrelthreat.html?syndication=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild

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