Energy News Digest for July 27, 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

British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System - Deadline looming for project near Trail (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/looks+hydro+expansion+Columbia+River+system/3326977/story.html

Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1 - Electricity rates up by 6.6 percent; natural gas rates by 1.9 percent (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jul/26/avista-rates-could-increase-idaho-oct-1/

Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=27355

Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/27/1316614/exports-booming-in-grays-harbor.html

Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2816-police-chief-asks-for-more-time-for-public-comment-on-street-light-proposal

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

·         British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System

·         Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1

·         Oregon – Ruby Natural Gas Pipeline Firm Strikes Deal With Environmental Groups

·         Editorial – Sell Off TVA, BPA - Time for US Government Yard Sale

·         A Dam Big Project: Incredible Images of Construction Work on Hoover Bridge

·         Indigenous Groups Occupy Brazil Hydro-Electric Plant

·         Coal Mostly Powers Electricity-Hungry Utah

·         Federal Court Reverses Tennessee Valley Authority Emissions Ruling

·         Georgia - Judge Strikes Down Permits for Proposed Coal Power Plant over Water Use, Monitoring

·         Wisconsin - $425 Million High-Voltage Power Line Would Link Madison, La Crosse

·         How Will the Smart Grid Handle Heat Waves?

·         Monitor Urges Utilities to Go Slow on Smart Grid Renovations

·         Experts Fuss over Cost of Nuclear Fusion Research

·         US Renewables Financing Set to Collapse without Grant Extension

·         Washington State Takes New Look at How Much Fish Is Safe to Eat

·         Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery’s Two-Year Revamp Complete

·         Oregon - Logs flown in to help restore salmon habitat in Clackamas River tributary Clear Creek

·         Oregon’s Albacore Tuna Fishery Hooks ‘Green’ Credentials

·         Oregon - Fish Removal Led to Toxic Algae, Resort Says

·         Op/Ed - Dams & Degraded Habitat, Not Overfishing, Are the Causal Connection With Collapsed Salmon Runs

·         Op/Ed - Why the Pacific Salmon Should be a British Columbia Emblem

·         Flathead Valley Mining Opposed in United Nations Report, as Priority Placed on Wildlife

·         Snohomish County - Cause of Manure-Filled Dairy Lagoon Breach Found

·         Flooding Causes Millions in Damage in Iowa - Lake Delhi Dam Breached

·         Texas Challenges EPA on Overturning Permit Program

·         Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted

·         Portland General Electric Completes Record Solar Project

·         Renewable Energy Giant Iberdrola Nets $170 Million Stimulus Windfall

·         Canada - Vandals Hit Dawson Creek Wind Farm

·         Can Congress Pass a Renewable Energy Standard?

·         Wind Industry Dismayed as Dems Scale Back Federal Energy Plans

·         Wisconsin - Biomass Fight a Matter of Trust

·         North Carolina Mulls Trees as a Renewable Resource - burning automobile tires to produce power qualifies as a biomass energy

·         Making the Most of Biomass Cogeneration Opportunities

·         U.K. Government Removes Financing Obstacle for Biomass Power Plants

·         Editorial – Minnesota Wind-Turbine ‘Buffers’ Would Set Bad Precedent

·         St. Lucia Aspires to Tap Volcanic Caribbean Island’s Geothermal Power, Diversify Energy Supply

·         Editorial - Pines, Beetles & Bears

·         Kerry’s Lonely Push on Climate Change

·         Studied Effects of Climate Change - UW Botanist Awarded $500,000 Prize

·         Climate Change Linked to Possible Mass Mexican Migration to US

·         Editorial - It’s Time to End the Excessive Subsidies for Corn Ethanol

·         Humans Survived Ice Age by Sheltering in ‘Garden of Eden’, Claim Scientists

·         Paper Mate Has Biodegradable Pens for Back-to-Schoolers

·         Cable Expands Its Lead over Phone Companies in the Race for Broadband Customers

·         Looming FCC Broadband Spectrum Sale Creates Rivalry

·         Qwest-CenturyTel Deal Running into Opposition

·         Google, Microsoft Battle over ‘Cloud Mail’

·         Ask.Com Reverts to Its Q&A Origins

·         Yahoo! Japan Picks Google for Search

·         Telcos: FCC Action Means Job Losses, Stifled Investment

·         The Internet of Things: Anywhere, Anytime, Anything

·         Union Files Complaint against Pierce County over Park Workers

·         Victims Identified in Forks Murder-Suicide

·         Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area

·         Narrows Bridge - Not Your Dad’s Paint Project

·         Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal

·         Small Charities at Risk of Losing Their Tax Exemption

·         Newspapers Hit New Low as an Information Source

·         Arlington Grave Site Scandal Growing

WORD OF THE DAY

Hobson’s choice • \HOB-suns - choys\ • noun - *1: an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative 2: the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternatives

The still flopping trout saw its short, but eventful life flashing before its bulging eyes: its comfortable gestation, zipping into the weeds to escape hulking bass, the bright and shiny object that drug it into the clunking bottom of the aluminum boat. What it faced now was a Hobson’s choice: into the frying pan, or into the fire.

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

British Columbia Looks at Hydro Expansion on Columbia River System - Deadline looming for project near Trail (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/looks+hydro+expansion+Columbia+River+system/3326977/story.html

Avista’s Idaho Rates Could Increase by October 1 - Electricity rates up by 6.6 percent; natural gas rates by 1.9 percent (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jul/26/avista-rates-could-increase-idaho-oct-1/

Oregon – Ruby Natural Gas Pipeline Firm Strikes Deal With Environmental Groups (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/9749-ruby-pipeline-firm-strikes-deal-environmental-groups/

Editorial – Sell Off TVA, BPA - Time for US Government Yard Sale “…No longer stricken by malaria, no longer impoverished, the people in the TVA region can afford to pay the full cost of their power just as much as Con Edison ratepayers…” (CNN)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/26/frum.sell.assets/

A Dam Big Project: Incredible Images of Construction Work on Hoover Bridge (The Daily Mail, UK)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1297473/Incredible-images-construction-work-1-900ft-long-Hoover-Bridge.html

Indigenous Groups Occupy Brazil Hydro-Electric Plant (The BBC)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10759465

Coal mostly powers electricity-hungry Utah (Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT – Twitter’s building a data center here…when will Greenpeace pounce?)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700051087/Coal-mostly-powers-electricity-hungry-Utah.html

Federal Court Reverses Tennessee Valley Authority Emissions Ruling (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012454697_apustvaemissionslawsuit.html

Georgia - Judge Strikes Down Permits for Proposed Coal Power Plant over Water Use, Monitoring (Associated Press)

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9H7DN7G0

Wisconsin - $425 Million High-Voltage Power Line Would Link Madison, La Crosse (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WI)

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/99240194.html

How Will the Smart Grid Handle Heat Waves? (Scientific American)

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=smart-grid-heat-wave

Monitor Urges Utilities to Go Slow on Smart Grid Renovations (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/07/27/27climatewire-monitor-urges-utilities-to-go-slow-on-smart-85097.html

Experts Fuss over Cost of Nuclear Fusion Research (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128778289&ft=1&f=3

US Renewables Financing Set to Collapse without Grant Extension (Oil Price)

http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/US-Renewables-Financing-Set-to-Collapse-Without-Grant-Extension.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Washington State Takes New Look at How Much Fish Is Safe to Eat (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012448836_tribalfish26m.html

Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery’s Two-Year Revamp Complete (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_9e4c8db8-98f5-11df-b667-001cc4c002e0.html

Oregon - Logs flown in to help restore salmon habitat in Clackamas River tributary Clear Creek (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/07/logs_from_the_heavens_restore.html

Oregon’s Albacore Tuna Fishery Hooks ‘Green’ Credentials (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/9758-oregons-albacore-tuna-fishery-hooks-green-credentials/

Oregon - Fish Removal Led to Toxic Algae, Resort Says (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/07/27/29151.htm

Op/Ed - Dams & Degraded Habitat, Not Overfishing, Are the Causal Connection With Collapsed Salmon Runs (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/07/dams_and_degraded_habitat_not.html

Op/Ed - Why the Pacific Salmon Should be a British Columbia Emblem (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Pacific+salmon+should+emblem/3326951/story.html

Flathead Valley Mining Opposed in United Nations Report, as Priority Placed on Wildlife (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/environment/Flathead+Valley+mining+opposed+United+Nations+report+priority+placed/3324811/story.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Snohomish County - Cause of Manure-Filled Dairy Lagoon Breach Found (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Cause-of-manure-filled-dairy-lagoon-breach-found-99284439.html

Flooding Causes Millions in Damage in Iowa - Lake Delhi Dam Breached (Washington Times)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/25/flooding-causes-millions-damage-iowa/

Texas Challenges EPA on Overturning Permit Program (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012452745_apusepavstexas.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Port Townsend Paper ‘Green’ Energy Proposal Has Public Hearing; Comments Accepted (Port Townsend Leader, WA)

http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=27355

Portland General Electric Completes Record Solar Project (Portland Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/07/26/daily5.html

Renewable Energy Giant Iberdrola Nets $170 Million Stimulus Windfall – Closing in on a billion (Portland Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/07/26/daily6.html

Canada - Vandals hit Dawson Creek wind farm (Energy City)

http://www.energeticcity.ca/fortstjohn/news/07/26/10/vandals-hit-dawson-creek-wind-farm

Can Congress Pass a Renewable Energy Standard? (Time Magazine)

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2010/07/26/can-congress-pass-a-renewable-energy-standard/

Wind Industry Dismayed as Dems Scale Back Federal Energy Plans (Des Moines Register, IA)

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/07/22/wind-industry-dismayed-as-dems-scale-back-energy-plans/

Wisconsin - Biomass Fight a Matter of Trust (Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, WI)

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20100725/CWS0101/307250047/-font-color-002a89-b-CWBusiness-b-font-Biomass-fight-a-matter-of-trust

North Carolina Mulls Trees as a Renewable Resource - burning automobile tires to produce power qualifies as a biomass energy (Charlotte Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/07/26/story15.html

Making the Most of Biomass Cogeneration Opportunities (Biomass Magazine)

http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3971

U.K. Government Removes Financing Obstacle for Biomass Power Plants (Bloomberg News)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-27/u-k-government-removes-financing-obstacle-for-biomass-power-plants.html

Editorial – Minnesota Wind-Turbine ‘Buffers’ Would Set Bad Precedent (Rochester Post-Bulletin, MN)

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=12&a=462631

St. Lucia Aspires to Tap Volcanic Caribbean Island’s Geothermal Power, Diversify Energy Supply (Associated Press)

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9H729F83

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Editorial - Pines, Beetles & Bears (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/opinion/27tue4.html

Kerry’s Lonely Push on Climate Change (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/26/AR2010072605538.html

Studied Effects of Climate Change - UW Botanist Awarded $500,000 Prize (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012452842_apwauwbotanisthonored.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Climate Change Linked to Possible Mass Mexican Migration to US

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-immig-climate-20100727,0,2449941.story

Editorial - It’s Time to End the Excessive Subsidies for Corn Ethanol (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072304345.html

Humans Survived Ice Age by Sheltering in ‘Garden of Eden’, Claim Scientists (The Daily Mail, UK)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1297765/Last-humans-Earth-survived-Ice-Age-sheltering-Garden-Eden-claim-scientists.html?ITO=1490

Paper Mate Has Biodegradable Pens for Back-to-Schoolers (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2010-07-26-green26_ST_N.htm

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Cable Expands Its Lead over Phone Companies in the Race for Broadband Customers (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/07/cable-expands-its-lead-over-phone-companies-in-the-race-for-broadband-customers/1

Looming FCC Broadband Spectrum Sale Creates Rivalry - companies are salivating at the chance to buy new wireless spectrum that could be auctioned off soon by the Federal Communications Commission (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/27/1278653/broadband-sale-creates-rivalry.html

Qwest-CenturyTel Deal Running into Opposition (Denver Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/07/26/story5.html

Google, Microsoft Battle over ‘Cloud Mail’ (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128778522&ft=1&f=2

Ask.Com Reverts to Its Q&A Origins (NY Times)

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/ask-com-reverts-back-to-its-q-a-origins/

Yahoo! Japan Picks Google for Search (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2010/07/26/daily27.html

Telcos: FCC Action Means Job Losses, Stifled Investment - Please ignore the fact we’re already firing thousands & slowing investment (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Telcos-FCC-Action-Means-Job-Losses-Stifled-Investment-109595

The Internet of Things: Anywhere, Anytime, Anything (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/07/26/the-internet-of-things-anywhere-anytime-anything/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Union Files Complaint against Pierce County over Park Workers (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/07/27/1278612/union-files-complaint-against.html

GENERAL NEWS

Victims Identified in Forks Murder-Suicide (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.konp.com/local/5991

Exports Booming in Grays Harbor Area (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/27/1316614/exports-booming-in-grays-harbor.html

Narrows Bridge - Not Your Dad’s Paint Project: Bubbles pop up, so crew climbs skyward to make fixes (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/07/27/1316620/not-your-dads-paint-project.html

Shelton Police Chief Asks for More Time for Public Comment on Street Light Proposal (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2816-police-chief-asks-for-more-time-for-public-comment-on-street-light-proposal

Small Charities at Risk of Losing Their Tax Exemption (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12874195

Newspapers Hit New Low as an Information Source (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/07/27/newspapers-hit-new-low-as-an-information-source/

Arlington Grave Site Scandal Growing (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jul/27/arlington-grave-site-scandal-growing/

DIVERSIONS

Cops Say Robber Cut Ahead of Them in Line at Starbucks

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100726/bc_starbucks_robbery_100726/20100726/

Firefighters Dismantle Police Car to Rescue Kitten

http://www.kirotv.com/news/24405201/detail.html

‘Corpse Flower’ Bloom Could Stink Up Texas Wedding

http://www.kirotv.com/family/24365082/detail.html

Man in Darth Vader Mask Robs Bank

http://www.kirotv.com/news/24364767/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Jud Strunk - Daisy a Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5AzmEX-txw