Post Number 1,002 - Energy News Digest for February 14, 2012

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.

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Wind Operators, RNP Protest Latest BPA Wind Power Proposal (Sustainable Business Oregon)

http://sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2012/02/wind-operators-rnp-protest-latest-bpa.html

Obama Seeks Billions for Home Energy Retrofits, Electric Vehicles (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2012/02/obama-seeks-6-billion-for-home-energy-retrofits/1?csp=34money

Death of Young Female Orca Due to Mysterious Trauma - Cause under investigation as body washes up on Washington coast (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/health/Death+young+female+orca+mysterious+trauma/6148919/story.html

Hurricanes Pose Risk to Offshore Wind Farms (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2012-02-12/wind-farms-hurricane-danger/53083084/1

Mylar Balloon Causes Valentine’s Day Outage in San Francisco (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19962366

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Wind Operators, RNP Protest Latest BPA Wind Power Proposal
• Avista bills could reflect falling gas prices
• Mylar Balloon Causes Valentine’s Day Outage in San Francisco
• Washington Nuclear Cleanup Project Under Scrutiny
• Are These PNNL Layoffs the Sign of More to Come?
• Hearing Today in Southern Montana Bankruptcy Case
• California - Torrance, Other Cities Want to Shed Light on Edison Pole & Replacement Charges
• Downtown Victoria Gas Leak Caused by Vandals Could Have ‘Blown Them to Smithereens’
• Federal Legislation Could Limit Rural Utility Service Lending
• Conference Board of Canada: Investment in Electricity Infrastructure Generates Employment & Economic Growth
• Germany Powers France in Cold Despite Nuclear U-Turn
• Death of Young Female Orca Due to Mysterious Trauma
• Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Adopts Piping System to Transfer Coho Salmon
• Survey Shows Increase in Goats in Olympic Mountains
• Idaho Governor Offers 150 Wolves to Oregon to Make Up for One Idaho Hunter Shot
• Hurricanes Pose Risk to Offshore Wind Farms
• Washington State Senate Approves Hatfield-Sponsored Pulp Mill Biomass Bill
• California - Merced Irrigation District Questions State’s Green Energy Costs, Requirements
• Overcapacity Could Drag on Solar for Some Time
• SunPower Sues Five Former Employees, Rival SolarCity for Computer Fraud
• Big Solar Fights California County’s ‘Sun Tax’
• Obama Seeks Billions for Home Energy Retrofits, Electric Vehicles
• Why Electric Cars Are More Polluting than Gas Guzzlers - At Least in China
• Sierra Club - Answering for Taking a Driller’s Cash
• Cisco Systems: Mobile Traffic Will Multiply 18 Times in 5 Years
• Illinois - Co-Op Network Hopes to Bring Broadband to More Rural Areas
• Takko Withdraws Shoreline Permit Bill after Environmentalists Tie it to Coal
• Washington Same-Sex Marriage Bill Signed into Law
• Foes of Same-Sex Marriage File Referendum
• Josh Powell’s ‘Testament’ Found at Recycling Center
• Washington State Will Apply For Waiver to No Child Left Behind Law
• Did the AP Just Declare War on News Aggregators?
• FCC Urged to End Sports Blackout Rule

WORD OF THE DAY

Aubade • \oh-BOD\ • Noun - 1: a song or poem greeting the dawn 2a: a morning love song b: a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn 3: morning music

Young lovers’ aubade

Romeo and Juliet

Saddest end ever

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

Wind Operators, RNP Protest Latest BPA Wind Power Proposal (Sustainable Business Oregon)

http://sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2012/02/wind-operators-rnp-protest-latest-bpa.html

Avista bills could reflect falling gas prices (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/feb/13/avista-bills-could-reflect-falling-gas-prices/

Mylar Balloon Causes Valentine’s Day Outage in San Francisco (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19962366

Washington Nuclear Cleanup Project Under Scrutiny (National Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/13/146826175/wash-nuclear-cleanup-project-under-scrutiny?ft=1&f=2

Are These PNNL Layoffs the Sign of More to Come? (KEPR-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/Are-more-layoffs-coming-to-PNNL-139269303.html

Hearing Today in Southern Montana Bankruptcy Case (Great Falls Tribune, MT)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20120214/NEWS01/202140313/Hearing-today-Southern-Montana-bankruptcy-case

California - Torrance, Other Cities Want to Shed Light on Edison Pole & Replacement Charges (Torrance Daily Breeze, CA)

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_19949519

Downtown Victoria Gas Leak Caused by Vandals Could Have ‘Blown Them to Smithereens’ (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Downtown+leak+caused+vandals+could+have+blown+them+smithereens/6150744/story.html

Federal Legislation Could Limit Rural Utility Service Lending (Electric Co-op Today)

http://www.ect.coop/public-policy-watch/energy-environment/legislation-could-limit-rus-lending/39642

Conference Board of Canada: Investment in Electricity Infrastructure Generates Employment & Economic Growth (Electric Energy Online)

http://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_news&rss=1&id=163353

Germany Powers France in Cold Despite Nuclear U-Turn (Reuters)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/europe-power-supply-idUKL5E8DD87020120214

FISH & WILDLIFE

Death of Young Female Orca Due to Mysterious Trauma - Cause under investigation as body washes up on Washington coast (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/health/Death+young+female+orca+mysterious+trauma/6148919/story.html

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Adopts Piping System to Transfer Coho Salmon (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/feb/13/tribe-adopts-piping-system-to-transfer-coho/

Survey Shows Increase in Goats in Olympic Mountains (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017497085_apwaolympicmountaingoats.html

Idaho Governor Offers 150 Wolves to Oregon to Make Up for One Idaho Hunter Shot (Associated Press)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/02/idaho_gov_butch_otter_offers_1.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Hurricanes Pose Risk to Offshore Wind Farms (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2012-02-12/wind-farms-hurricane-danger/53083084/1

Washington State Senate Approves Hatfield-Sponsored Pulp Mill Biomass Bill (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/senate-approves-hatfield-sponsored-pulp-mill-biomass-bill/article_1385be6e-56b0-11e1-8bc8-001871e3ce6c.html

California - Merced Irrigation District Questions State’s Green Energy Costs, Requirements (Energy Central)

http://www.energycentral.com/generationstorage/wind/news/en/23369330/Merced-Irrigtation-District-questions-state-s-green-energy-costs-requirements?

Overcapacity Could Drag on Solar for Some Time (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/14/financial/f091025S83.DTL

SunPower Sues Five Former Employees, Rival SolarCity for Computer Fraud (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19960541

Big Solar Fights California County’s ‘Sun Tax’ (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/namarchetti/76306/big-solar-fights-california-county-s-sun-tax

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Obama Seeks Billions for Home Energy Retrofits, Electric Vehicles (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2012/02/obama-seeks-6-billion-for-home-energy-retrofits/1?csp=34money

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Why Electric Cars Are More Polluting than Gas Guzzlers - At Least in China (TIME Magazine)

http://healthland.time.com/2012/02/14/why-electric-cars-are-more-polluting-than-gas-guzzlers-at-least-in-china/

Sierra Club - Answering for Taking a Driller’s Cash (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/science/earth/after-disclosure-of-sierra-clubs-gifts-from-gas-driller-a-roiling-debate.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Cisco Systems: Mobile Traffic Will Multiply 18 Times in 5 Years (San Francisco Business Times, CA)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/02/14/cisco-systems-mobile-traffic-18-times.html

Illinois - Co-Op Network Hopes to Bring Broadband to More Rural Areas (Springfield Journal-Register, IL)

http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1341776344/Co-op-network-hopes-to-bring-broadband-to-more-rural-areas

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Takko Withdraws Shoreline Permit Bill after Environmentalists Tie it to Coal (Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/takko-withdraws-bill-after-environmentalists-tie-it-coal.html

GENERAL NEWS

Washington Same-Sex Marriage Bill Signed into Law (Northwest Cable News)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/139281688.html

Foes of Same-Sex Marriage File Referendum (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/article/Foes-of-same-sex-marriage-file-referendum-3312946.php

Josh Powell’s ‘Testament’ Found at Recycling Center (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19961810

Washington State Will Apply For Waiver to No Child Left Behind Law (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/State-will-apply-for-waiver-to-US-education-law-139238448.html

Did the AP Just Declare War on News Aggregators? (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2012/02/14/did-the-ap-just-declare-war-on-news-aggregators/

FCC Urged to End Sports Blackout Rule (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2017497299_apusfccsportsblackouts.html

DIVERSIONS

The Chieftains: For 50 Years, Irish Music for the World

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/14/146821406/the-chieftains-for-50-years-irish-music-for-the-world?ft=1&f=3

Surplus of California Chihuahuas Sent to Seattle to Find Owners

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=627590

Love Stinks! Brooklyn Sewage Plant Offers Special Valentine’s Day Tour

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/13/love-stinks-brooklyn-sewage-plant-offers-special-valentines-day-tour/

Shanghai Airport Customs Officers Seize 79 Live Turtles

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/13/shanghai-airport-customs-officers-seize-79-live-turtles/

SONG OF THE DAY

The Chieftains & Van Morrison - Have I Told You Lately

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4vAsdBHu3k