The Energy News Digest: 05/09/11

Monday, May 9, 2011

Energy News Digest for May 9, 2011

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

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Salmon Wars Return to Portland Courtroom: Can At-Risk Fish & Hydroelectric Dams Coexist? (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/05/salmon_wars_return_to_portland.html

Green talk vs. green action – Radar Ridge in the Crosshairs: NIMBY’S, BANANA’S, NOPE’S & CAVE people, oh my (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_93e2ce12-783f-11e0-bdbf-001cc4c03286.html

Senators Urge Reopening of Aluminum Plant, Question Tax Reduction Request (Flathead Beacon, Kalispell, MT – Give us cheap power…but what’s the deal with this tax break?)

http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/senators_urge_reopening_of_aluminum_plant_question_tax_reduction_request/22915/

Klamath River - California Commission Approves Removal of Four Southern Oregon Dams (Oregon Public Radio)

http://news.opb.org/article/california-commission-approves-removal-four-southern-oregon-dams/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· Klamath River - California Commission Approves Removal of Four Southern Oregon Dams

· US Senators Question Columbia Falls Aluminum Company’s Tax Relief

· Senators Urge Reopening of Aluminum Plant, Question Tax Reduction Request

· Cowlitz PUD Studying Taking over Power Lines along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway

· Op/Ed - In Government, Less is More: Suppose Local Governments Ran Like Snohomish PUD

· California – Pacific Gas & Electric Gets State OK to Charge Customers More

· US Bill Favors Manitoba Hydro's Power - Electricity from Wuskwatim generating station would be a 'renewable resource'

· Power Plant Cooling Rules Aim to Reduce Fish Kills

· Canada - The Debate: Wind vs. Nuclear

· Illinois - Local Students Using Utility Company Website to Learn About Energy

· Salmon Wars Return to Portland Courtroom: Can At-Risk Fish & Hydroelectric Dams Coexist?

· Timeline, Major Players in the Northwest Salmon Lawsuit in the Columbia River Basin

· Habitat Restoration Soars on Columbia River, But Fish Benefits Are Murky

· Op/Ed - Give Salmon Plan a Chance to Work

· Washington State Anglers Reaping Benefits from Fin-Clipped Trout, Salmon

· Portland's Unique Spring Salmon Run Blooms With the Dogwoods

· Sea Lion Yanks Willamette River Fisherman Overboard on Tug-Of-War over Salmon

· News Whiz - A Pivotal Hearing for the Columbia & Snake Rivers

· Agents Go Undercover to Bust Washington Shellfish Poachers

· Canada - Banner Sockeye Run Expected: Mid-May Start to Angling Season Widely Anticipated

· Vancouver Island - Three Weeks after Crash, Goldstream River Remains Blighted by Fuel Spill

· Elwha Dam's Days Numbered; Powerhouse First to be Shut Down

· Editorial - Caldwell: Water Disputes Need Local Solutions

· Green talk vs. green action – Radar Ridge in the Crosshairs

· Visitors Drawn to Wild Horse to See Farm-Fresh Wind Power

· California - Permit Process Clouds Solar Energy Projects

· Massachusetts Firm Proposes Hydro Plants at Locks & Dams along the Upper Mississippi River

· Wisconsin - Walker, GOP Reversing Green Initiatives

· Solar Panels Can Melt Away Utility Bills

· United Kingdom - Offshore Wind Farm Plans 'Are a Costly Mistake'

· Renewables to Raise UK Energy Bills – Report

· Denmark Tops List of Clean Technology Producers; China is No. 2; US at 17 is Rapidly Expanding

· Five Things You Need to Know Before Buying a Refrigerator

· Green Jobs Have Been Slow to Grow

· PNW Developers Vie to Construct “World’s Greenest” Buildings

· Editorial - South Sound Faces a Reckoning over Wood-Burning

· Julia Roberts Joins Campaign for Cleaner Stoves

· Tesla Posts a $48.9-Million Loss despite Jump in Revenue

· Could “Cloud” Become a Dirty Word for Consumers?

· Is Email Going the Way of the Floppy Disk?

· Washington State Workers Lose Furlough Battle

· Body Found in Lake Limerick Identified

· Mason County Supports New Corrections Facility

· Thurston County Residents Voice Concerns about Proposed Corrections Facility

· La Nina Phenomenon to End Soon

· Navy's Floating Acoustics Lab Doing Work in Hood Canal

WORD OF THE DAY

Ken • \KENN\ • Noun - 1a: the range of vision b: sight, view 2: the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge

Oh Rolf, you quisling: “…Totally unprepared are you; To face a world of men; Timid and shy and scared are you; Of things beyond your ken…”

(Sound of Music, Sixteen going on Seventeen)

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

Klamath River - California Commission Approves Removal of Four Southern Oregon Dams (Oregon Public Radio)

http://news.opb.org/article/california-commission-approves-removal-four-southern-oregon-dams/

US Senators Question Columbia Falls Aluminum Company’s Tax Relief - Request that Flathead County waive 95 percent of the 2010 property tax bill (The Daily Interlake, Kalispell, MT – Sure, give us subsidized electricity, but local tax breaks…no way!)

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_1c2afee0-7906-11e0-8425-001cc4c002e0.html

Senators Urge Reopening of Aluminum Plant, Question Tax Reduction Request (Flathead Beacon, Kalispell, MT – Give us cheap power…but what’s the deal with this tax break?)

http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/senators_urge_reopening_of_aluminum_plant_question_tax_reduction_request/22915/

Cowlitz PUD Studying Taking over Power Lines along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/f8d8785c-7381-11e0-b134-001cc4c03286.html

Op/Ed - In Government, Less is More: Suppose Local Governments Ran Like Snohomish PUD (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110508/OPINION03/705089952

California – Pacific Gas & Electric Gets State OK to Charge Customers More (SF Chronicle, CA)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/06/BUSV1JCGH6.DTL

US Bill Favors Manitoba Hydro's Power - Electricity from Wuskwatim generating station would be a 'renewable resource' under a Wisconsin bill, making it eligible to export power to the state (Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba)

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/us-bill-favours-hydros-power-121432899.html

Power Plant Cooling Rules Aim to Reduce Fish Kills (Midwest Energy News)

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2011/05/03/power-plant-cooling-rules-aim-to-reduce-fish-kills/

Canada - The Debate: Wind vs. Nuclear: Replacing the province’s nuclear generators with wind turbines would drive up power bills and eat up vast swaths of countryside (Toronto Star, Ontario)

http://www.thestar.com/business/companies/article/986390--the-debate-wind-vs-nuclear

Illinois - Local Students Using Utility Company Website to Learn About Energy (Quincy Herald-Whig, IL)

http://www.whig.com/story/news/Ameren-Class-050111

FISH & WILDLIFE

Salmon Wars Return to Portland Courtroom: Can At-Risk Fish & Hydroelectric Dams Coexist? (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/05/salmon_wars_return_to_portland.html

Timeline, Major Players in the Northwest Salmon Lawsuit in the Columbia River Basin (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/05/timeline_major_players_in_the.html

Habitat Restoration Soars on Columbia River, But Fish Benefits Are Murky (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/05/will_habitat_improvementsbe_en.html

Op/Ed - Give Salmon Plan a Chance to Work (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/05/01/1472684/give-salmon-plan-a-chance-to-work.html

Washington State Anglers Reaping Benefits from Fin-Clipped Trout, Salmon (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/08/feeling-distinguished/

Portland's Unique Spring Salmon Run Blooms With the Dogwoods “…Spring Chinook have begun moving upriver, too, with Willamette Falls counts jumping into the hundreds. About 1,500 have headed south so far. At Bonneville Dam, daily counts also jumped, into the thousands…” (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2011/04/portlands_unique_spring_salmon.html

Sea Lion Yanks Willamette River Fisherman Overboard on Tug-Of-War over Salmon (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/05/sea_lion_yanks_a_willamette_ri.html

News Whiz - A Pivotal Hearing for the Columbia & Snake Rivers (American Rivers)

http://www.americanrivers.org/newsroom/blog/mgarrity-20110509-a-pivotal-hearing-for-the-columbia-and-snake-rivers.html

Agents Go Undercover to Bust Washington Shellfish Poachers (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Agents-go-undercover-to-bust-Washington-shellfish-poachers-121424654.html

Canada - Banner Sockeye Run Expected: Mid-May Start to Angling Season Widely Anticipated (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/Banner+sockeye+expected/4738264/story.html

Vancouver Island - Three Weeks after Crash, Goldstream River Remains Blighted by Fuel Spill (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/thewest/Three+weeks+after+crash+Goldstream+River+remains+blighted+fuel+spill/4743013/story.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Elwha Dam's Days Numbered; Powerhouse First to be Shut Down (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110509/NEWS/305099994/elwha-dams-days-numbered-powerhouse-first-to-be-shut-down

Editorial - Caldwell: Water Disputes Need Local Solutions (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/may/08/water-disputes-need-local-solutions/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Green talk vs. green action – Radar Ridge in the Crosshairs: NIMBY’S, BANANA’S, NOPE’S & CAVE people, oh my (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_93e2ce12-783f-11e0-bdbf-001cc4c03286.html

Visitors Drawn to Wild Horse to See Farm-Fresh Wind Power (Renewables Biz)

http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/11/05/visitors-drawn-wild-horse-see-farm-fresh-wind-power

California - Permit Process Clouds Solar Energy Projects (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/01/3590755/permit-process-clouds-solar-energy.html

Massachusetts Firm Proposes Hydro Plants at Locks & Dams along the Upper Mississippi River (Renewables Biz)

http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/11/05/firm-proposes-hydro-plants-locks-and-dams

Wisconsin - Walker, GOP Reversing Green Initiatives: Recycling, Wind Power, Energy Efforts Weakened (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI)

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/121449869.html

Solar Panels Can Melt Away Utility Bills (North Jersey Media Group, NJ)

http://www.northjersey.com/community/house_gardening/121430308_Solar_panels_can_melt_away_utility_bills.html

United Kingdom - Offshore Wind Farm Plans 'Are a Costly Mistake' - Climate experts demand rethink on turbines and more nuclear power (The Daily Mail, UK)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1384898/Climate-experts-demand-rethink-turbines-nuclear-power.html

Renewables to Raise UK Energy Bills – Report (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE7451BO20110508

Denmark Tops List of Clean Technology Producers; China is No. 2; US at 17 is Rapidly Expanding (Canadian Press)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g86wJ1CpeAChilK5rPoVJH9lV-sw?docId=6789257

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Five Things You Need to Know Before Buying a Refrigerator (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/general/2011-05-05-reviewed-dot-com-refrigerators_n.htm

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Green Jobs Have Been Slow to Grow - Workers are training for positions in the green economy, only to discover many of those jobs don't yet exist (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110508/biz/705089924/-1/rss03

PNW Developers Vie to Construct “World’s Greenest” Buildings (Northwest Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=8737

Editorial - South Sound Faces a Reckoning over Wood-Burning (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/opinion/2011/05/07/south-sound-faces-a-reckoning-over-wood-burning/

Julia Roberts Joins Campaign for Cleaner Stoves (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2014981474_apusjuliarobertsstoves.html

Tesla Posts a $48.9-Million Loss despite Jump in Revenue (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_18002124

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Could “Cloud” Become a Dirty Word for Consumers? (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2011/04/29/could-cloud-become-a-dirty-word-for-consumers/