The Energy News Digest: 08/12/11

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

PROGRAMMING NOTE:

The energy news digest will be sweating out temperatures in the upper 90’s in the SW US August 15-26. It will return August 29. Hopefully, not worse for the wear.

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Pacific NW Power Group: Gas Glut to Cut Electricity Prices (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/08/11/1757629/nw-power-group-gas-glut-to-cut.html

Departure of La Niña Likely Means Less Snow (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/11/departure-of-la-nina-likely-means-less-snow/

Forecasters Issue Dire Warning on Washington State Economy (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015885613_revenueforecast12m.html

High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Washington State Shellfish (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015886282_apwashellfishbiotoxin.html

Washington State Rep. Fred Finn: I Won’t Seek Third Term in 2012 (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/08/11/1757329/rep-fred-finn-i-wont-seek-third.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

Pacific NW Power Group: Gas Glut to Cut Electricity Prices
Wyoming - Bonneville Power Administration Will Raise Rates for Lower Valley Energy
BC Hydro to Cut Proposed Rate Increase Following Government Review
Tennessee Valley Authority Loses $240 Million in Fiscal Third Quarter
Electricity Restored to Nearly 400 Mason Lake Area Mason County PUD 3 Customers after Morning Outage
Balloons Cause West Kelso Power Outage
Dump Truck Takes Down Utility Lines near Wapato
Avista Dam Work Begins In Spokane
Coal Export Talk Continues in Grays Harbor
Can Little Old Washington Influence the Price of Coal to China?
Mason County PUD 3 Commission Report for August 9, 2011
Alabama Leads the Nation in Theft of Copper Telephone Cable, AT&T Says
New Rules & Old Plants May Strain Summer Energy Supplies
Colorado - Boulder’s Bold Move to Condemn Xcel
Illinois - Electrical Cooperatives: An Alternative to ComEd?
Pennsylvania - Seneca Nation of Indians Permitted for Kinzua Dam
‘Fracking’: Did Energy Department Report Clear Up Controversy?
Op/Ed - Judge Still Riding Feds to Restore Dwindling Columbia River Salmon
Editorial - The Salmon Deserve Better
A Safer (Fish) Passage
Bonneville Bear - Trap Set for Unwanted Fish Hatchery Visitor
USDA Hopeful to Save Greater Sage-Grouse
Oregon Environmental Groups Say New “Conservation Fund” Misnamed
High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Washington State Shellfish
Hearing Set for Simpson Lumber Company’s Air Quality Permit for Shelton Waterfront
Solar Power a Harder Sell in Seattle
Solar Revenue to Shrink as Price Drops Outpace Growth
BC Hydro Rejects Proposed Elk Falls Bio-Energy Project
Biomass Bonanza – Michigan: Tree Debris from Calhoun County Heads to Flint to Help Power Area
Duke Energy Can Count Trees as ‘Biomass’
Netherlands NIMBY - Germany & The Netherlands Bicker Over Wind Turbines
Why Internet Companies Are Abandoning Home Energy Plans
Once-Scorned Light Bulbs Are Advancing
Pump Carbon Dioxide Into the Earth to Create Electricity? Berkeley Lab is on It
Nature’s Weed Eaters - Chelan PUD Using Goats to Clean Up Rocky Reach
FBI Looking Into Allegation by Verizon of Sabotage
Google Accuses Microsoft of Revealing ‘Highly Confidential Source Code’
Washington State Rep. Fred Finn: I Won’t Seek Third Term in 2012
Who’s Who on Congress’s Debt ‘Super Committee’
Forecasters Issue Dire Warning on Washington State Economy
Departure of La Niña Likely Means Less Snow
Thieves Targeting Storm Drains in Thurston County
KREM Video Shows Bomb Suspect Harpham Walking in MLK Parade
More Native American Remains Found in Oak Harbor; Count Rises to 11
The Machine That Changed the World, the IBM PC, Turns 30 This Week

WORD OF THE DAY

Parsimonious • \par-suh-MOAN-ee-uss\ • Adjective - Exhibiting or marked by parsimony; especially: frugal to the point of stinginess

Parsimonious: see Jack Benny

Benny’s most notable gag:

A crook corners him and demands “Your Money or Your Life?”

After a long pause, the impatient crook demands an answer.

An annoyed Benny responds, “I’m thinking about it!”

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

Pacific NW Power Group: Gas Glut to Cut Electricity Prices (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/08/11/1757629/nw-power-group-gas-glut-to-cut.html

Wyoming - Bonneville Power Administration Will Raise Rates for Lower Valley Energy (Jackson Hole News & Guide, WY)

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=7611

BC Hydro to Cut Proposed Rate Increase Following Government Review (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Hydro+proposed+rate+increase+following+government+review/5243421/story.html

Tennessee Valley Authority Loses $240 Million in Fiscal Third Quarter (Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN)

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/12/tva-loses-240-million-in-fiscal-third-quarter/

Electricity Restored to Nearly 400 Mason Lake Area Mason County PUD 3 Customers after Morning Outage (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=898

Balloons Cause West Kelso Power Outage (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_7434dabe-c48a-11e0-aef7-001cc4c03286.html

Dump Truck Takes Down Utility Lines near Wapato (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015888194_apwadumptruckdestruction.html

Avista Dam Work Begins In Spokane (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/12/dam-work-begins/

Coal Export Talk Continues in Grays Harbor (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=2936

Can Little Old Washington Influence the Price of Coal to China? (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/20444/Can-little-old-Washington-influence-the-price-of-coal-to-China-/

Mason County PUD 3 Commission Report for August 9, 2011 (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/Newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=896

Alabama Leads the Nation in Theft of Copper Telephone Cable, AT&T Says (Associated Press)

http://blog.al.com/wire/2011/08/alabama_leads_the_nation_in_th.html

Google Search for “Electrocution Copper,” via Broadband Reports

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1_____enUS408US408&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Electrocution+copper#rlz=1C1_____enUS408US408&q=Electrocution+copper&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=nws&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn&fp=1&biw=888&bih=579&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&cad=b

New Rules & Old Plants May Strain Summer Energy Supplies (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/business/energy-environment/new-rules-and-old-plants-may-strain-summer-energy-supplies.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Colorado - Boulder’s Bold Move to Condemn Xcel (EnergyBiz Insider)

http://www.scoop.com/remote/article/include/270273865/53616c7465645f5f55db3aa67bd8d868d393abda27f996ba5713a24bb0c2dfd717f92ca86ffb38e5

Illinois - Electrical Cooperatives: An Alternative to ComEd? (Highland Park Patch, IL)

http://highlandpark.patch.com/articles/electrical-cooperatives-an-alternative-to-comed

Pennsylvania - Seneca Nation of Indians Permitted for Kinzua Dam (Buffalo Business First, NY)

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/blog/morning_roundup/2011/08/senecas-permitted-for-kinzua-dam.html

‘Fracking’: Did Energy Department Report Clear Up Controversy? (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0811/Fracking-Did-Energy-Department-report-clear-up-controversy

FISH & WILDLIFE

Op/Ed - Judge Still Riding Feds to Restore Dwindling Columbia River Salmon (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2015885665_guest12hawley.html

Editorial - The Salmon Deserve Better (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/opinion/the-salmon-deserve-better.html

A Safer (Fish) Passage - The Pacific Northwest Laboratory has been researching spillway induced injury in fish (Water Power Magazine)

http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectionCode=46&storyCode=2060359

Bonneville Bear - Trap Set for Unwanted Fish Hatchery Visitor (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/trap-set-unwanted-fish-hatchery-visitor/

USDA Hopeful to Save Greater Sage-Grouse (NW Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=9258

Oregon Environmental Groups Say New “Conservation Fund” Misnamed (NW Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=9260

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

High Levels of Biotoxin Found in Washington State Shellfish (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015886282_apwashellfishbiotoxin.html

Hearing Set for Simpson Lumber Company’s Air Quality Permit for Shelton Waterfront (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/12380-hearing-for-simpson-permit

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Solar Power a Harder Sell in Seattle (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/Solar-power-a-harder-sell-in-Seattle-1840996.php

Solar Revenue to Shrink as Price Drops Outpace Growth (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/11/us-solar-idUSTRE77A6YG20110811

BC Hydro Rejects Proposed Elk Falls Bio-Energy Project (Campbell River Island Courier, BC)

http://www.canada.com/Hydro+rejects+proposed+Falls+energy+project/5245045/story.html

Biomass Bonanza – Michigan: Tree Debris from Calhoun County Heads to Flint to Help Power Area (Flint Journal, MI)

http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/08/tree_debris_from_calhoun_count.html

Duke Energy Can Count Trees as ‘Biomass’ (Charlotte News Observer, NC)

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/12/1406528/duke-can-count-trees-as-biomass.html

Netherlands NIMBY - Germany & The Netherlands Bicker Over Wind Turbines (Dutch News)

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/08/germany_and_the_netherlands_bi.php

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Why Internet Companies Are Abandoning Home Energy Plans (Gigaom)

http://gigaom.com/cleantech/why-internet-companies-are-abandoning-home-energy-plans/

Once-Scorned Light Bulbs Are Advancing (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/once-scorned-compact-fluorescents-are-advancing/?partner=rss&

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Pump Carbon Dioxide Into the Earth to Create Electricity? Berkeley Lab is on It (ZD-Net)

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/green/pump-co2-into-the-earth-to-create-electricity-berkeley-lab-is-on-it/18377

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Nature’s Weed Eaters - Chelan PUD Using Goats to Clean Up Rocky Reach (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/aug/11/natures-weed-eaters-pud-using-goats-to-clean-up/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FBI Looking Into Allegation by Verizon of Sabotage (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/11/financial/f160617D56.DTL

Google Accuses Microsoft of Revealing ‘Highly Confidential Source Code’ (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2011/08/12/google-accuses-microsoft-of-revealing.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Washington State Rep. Fred Finn: I Won’t Seek Third Term in 2012 (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/08/11/1757329/rep-fred-finn-i-wont-seek-third.html

Who’s Who on Congress’s Debt ‘Super Committee’ (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2011/0811/Who-s-who-on-Congress-s-debt-super-committee/Sen.-Max-Baucus-D-of-Montana

GENERAL NEWS

Forecasters Issue Dire Warning on Washington State Economy (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015885613_revenueforecast12m.html

Departure of La Niña Likely Means Less Snow (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/aug/11/departure-of-la-nina-likely-means-less-snow/

Thieves Targeting Storm Drains in Thurston County (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/127568473.html

KREM Video Shows Bomb Suspect Harpham Walking in MLK Parade (NW Cable News Network)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/127592748.html

More Native American Remains Found in Oak Harbor; Count Rises to 11 (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/sound/article/More-Native-American-remains-found-in-Oak-Harbor-1912539.php

The Machine That Changed the World, the IBM PC, Turns 30 This Week (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/techblog/2011/08/11/the-machine-that-changed-the-world-%E2%80%93-the-ibm-pc-%E2%80%93-turns-30-this-week/

DIVERSIONS

These Eco-Friendly Flip-Flops Will Only Cost You $18,000 (But you still can’t wear them to work)

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/11/these-eco-friendly-flip-flops-will-only-cost-you-18000/

Woman Banned from Buying Too Much Abercrombie & Fitch

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=8290087

Taco Bell Worker Arrested for Handcuffing Himself to Woman He Wanted to Date

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/aug/11/dalton-taco-bell-worker-arrested-handcuffing-himse/?news

Virginia County Removes Sherlock Holmes from School List

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015888058_apussherlockholmesbookremoved.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Janis Joplin - Ball & Chain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Pk1KjL_pg

The Energy News Digest

Friday, August 12, 2011

35th Legislative District - Mason County Republican to seek seat in Legislature (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

Klickitat River fishway project nearing completion (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

Renewable Energy Credit (REC) battle highlights unsettled Idaho power market (Associated Press)

Oregon Fish & Wildlife trap black bear near Bonneville Hatchery

Banks Lake lowering progresses

Oregon: An undercover cleantech player

Energy News Digest for August 12, 2011

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