The Energy News Digest: 08/09/13

Washington Supreme Court: Drunken Driver, Passenger Who Hit Pole Can Sue Power Company
Washington Supreme Court Rejects Legal Liability Defense for Utilities & Municipalities Where Criminally Negligent Drivers Cause Accidents
Utilities Blast Columbia River Treaty
Advisory Committee Suggests Five Percent PUD Residential Rate Hike
Wahkiakum PUD Commission Hears Reports on Service, Rates
City of Tacoma Completes Major Hydropower Upgrade at Cushman Dam
Thief Tries Steal Copper Wire, Gets Electrocuted
Officials Say Bird Caused Prosser Fire after Landing on Power Pole
Parents of Woman Crushed by Tree in California Sue Pacific Gas & Electric
Use of Coal Power Plants Rises with Natural Gas Prices
Energy & Water Are Running Out In Texas, But It’s Not Too Late
Tennessee Valley Authority Saves Chattanooga from $44 Million of Flood Damage in July
Latest Lake Washington Sockeye Count Shows More Than 178,000 Have Returned
Seattle City Light: Lonely Osprey Risks a Lot Looking for Love
Southern Oregon Farmers Suing to Prevent Klamath Water Release
Debate over Solar Panels Rages on in Kirkland
Avista Holding Open House at Kettle Falls Generating Station
Marin Supervisors Defeat Proposed Novato Solar Farm
SolarWorld Restructuring Proceeds in Germany, Cushioning Hillsboro Workers
Environmentalists Gearing Up for a War on Wind
State Renewable-Energy Laws Turn Out to be Incredibly Hard to Repeal
Maine: Officials Tour Proposed Hydropower Project in Wilton
Cut Emissions? Congress Itself Keeps Burning a Dirtier Fuel
Climate Change is Already Pummeling Energy Infrastructure
Swinging Carbon Dioxide Levels Show the Earth is ‘Breathing’ More Deeply
Canada: Is Extreme Weather the New Normal?
Study: Washington State the Second-Cleanest Place to Drive Electric Cars “…76 percent of electricity in the state is generated by hydroelectric dams…”
Are Hybrids ‘Greener’ Than Electric Cars?
Internet TVs May Drive Consumers to Cut Pay TV Cord
Frontier Broadband Subscribers Climb to 1.8 Million as Business Customer Churn Slows
CenturyLink Losing DSL Customers, Money
The Daily Yonder: Geography is First Piece in Understanding Rural Broadband Puzzle
This Is What an Undersea Data Cable Actually Looks Like
‘Like’ This Article Online? Your Friends Will Probably Approve, Too, Scientists Say
Why Online Conversations Don’t Matter Anymore - And Never Did
The Anatomy of a Successful, Responsive Website
Is Congressman Doc Hastings Eying House Oversight Chair?
This Week Marks the 39th Anniversary of Watergate Finale
Fire Weather Watch - For the Black Hills & Southwest Interior Lowlands, includes south Mason County
Wildfire Smoke Leads to Emergency Room Visits in Southern Oregon
California Wildfire Chases 1,500 from Their Homes
Baby Ejected from Car in Mason County Accident
Olympia Oyster House Fire: Spontaneous Combustion
Where Are the Foreign Language Households in Washington State? Not Where You Think
iPhone Thief Who Posted Pics on Facebook Caught

WORD OF THE DAY

Blah • \BLAW\ • Noun - 1: silly or pretentious chatter or nonsense 2: a feeling of boredom, lethargy, or general dissatisfaction.

“Blah. Blah, blah, blah, blah” mouthed the listless CEO to her attentive minions at the staff meeting. “Sounds like the chief has a case of the blahs,” chirped one attentive oaf.

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

Washington Supreme Court: Drunken Driver, Passenger Who Hit Pole Can Sue Power Company (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/court-drunken-driver-who-hit-pole-can-sue-power-co/nZJJ3/

Washington Supreme Court Rejects Legal Liability Defense for Utilities & Municipalities Where Criminally Negligent Drivers Cause Accidents (GTH Energy & Natural Resources Law Blog)

http://www.energynaturalresourceslaw.com/2013/08/washington-supreme-court.html

Utilities Blast Columbia River Treaty (Daily Interlake, Kalispell, MT)

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_1c62da24-0084-11e3-a7b1-0019bb2963f4.html

Advisory Committee Suggests Five Percent PUD Residential Rate Hike (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/abb5021c-008c-11e3-9db3-0019bb2963f4.html

Wahkiakum PUD Commission Hears Reports on Service, Rates (Wahkiakum Eagle, Skamokawa, WA)

http://www.waheagle.com/news/article.exm/2013-08-08_pud_commission_hears_reports_on_service__rates

City of Tacoma Completes Major Hydropower Upgrade at Cushman Dam (U-S Department of Energy)

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=19501

Thief Tries Steal Copper Wire, Gets Electrocuted (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Thief-tries-steal-copper-wire-gets-electrocuted-218898511.html

Officials Say Bird Caused Prosser Fire after Landing on Power Pole (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestlocalnews/1392293-8/officials-say-bird-cause-prosser-fire

Parents of Woman Crushed by Tree in California Sue Pacific Gas & Electric (Associated Press)

http://www.kgw.com/news/national/218828751.html

Use of Coal Power Plants Rises with Natural Gas Prices (Charlotte Business Journal, NC)

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/power_city/2013/08/use-of-coal-power-plants-rises-with.html

Energy & Water Are Running Out In Texas, But It’s Not Too Late (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/edfenergyexchange/2013/08/08/energy-and-water-are-running-out-in-texas-but-its-not-too-late/

Tennessee Valley Authority Saves Chattanooga from $44 Million of Flood Damage in July (Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN)

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/08/tva-saves-chattanooga-44-million-july/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Latest Lake Washington Sockeye Count Shows More Than 178,000 Have Returned (Seattle Times - Paywall Advisory)

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/reeltimenorthwest/2013/08/08/latest-lake-washington-sockeye-count-shows-more-than-178000-have-returned/?syndication=rss

Seattle City Light: Lonely Osprey Risks a Lot Looking for Love (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/City-Light-Lonely-osprey-risks-a-lot-looking-for-love-218892691.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Southern Oregon Farmers Suing to Prevent Klamath Water Release (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-farmers-suing-prevent-water-release

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Debate over Solar Panels Rages on in Kirkland (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Debate-over-solar-panels-rages-on-in-Kirkland-218943231.html

Avista Holding Open House at Kettle Falls Generating Station (KXLY-TV, Spokane, WA)

http://colvillestevenscounty.kxly.com/news/business/103671-avista-holding-open-house-kettle-falls-generating-station

Marin Supervisors Defeat Proposed Novato Solar Farm (Marin Independent Journal, San Rafael, CA)

http://www.marinij.com/ci_23808819/marin-supervisors-defeat-proposed-novato-solar-farm

SolarWorld Restructuring Proceeds in Germany, Cushioning Hillsboro Workers (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/08/solarworld_restructuring_proce.html

Environmentalists Gearing Up for a War on Wind (Forbes Magazine)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorensteffy/2013/08/09/environmentalists-gearing-up-for-a-war-on-wind/

State Renewable-Energy Laws Turn Out to be Incredibly Hard to Repeal (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/08/state-renewable-energy-laws-turn-out-to-be-really-hard-to-repeal/?wprss=rss_business&clsrd

Maine: Officials Tour Proposed Hydropower Project in Wilton (Franklin Sun Journal, Lewiston, ME)

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2013/08/08/officials-tour-proposed-hydropower-project-wilton/1405153

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Cut Emissions? Congress Itself Keeps Burning a Dirtier Fuel (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/us/politics/just-across-town-a-test-of-obamas-emissions-goals.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Climate Change is Already Pummeling Energy Infrastructure (High Country News)

http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/climate-change-is-already-impacting-the-energy-sector

Swinging Carbon Dioxide Levels Show the Earth is ‘Breathing’ More Deeply (National Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/08/210243967/swinging-co2-levels-show-the-earth-is-breathing-more-deeply?ft=1&f=2

Canada: Is Extreme Weather the New Normal? (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/08/06/f-weather-canada-2013.html?cmp=rss

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Study: Washington State the Second-Cleanest Place to Drive Electric Cars “…76 percent of electricity in the state is generated by hydroelectric dams…” (Seattle Times - Paywall Advisory)

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/08/study-washington-state-the-second-cleanest-place-to-drive-electric-cars/?syndication=rss

Are Hybrids ‘Greener’ Than Electric Cars? (SF Chronicle, CA)

http://blog.sfgate.com/energy/2013/08/09/are-hybrids-greener-than-electric-cars/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Internet TVs May Drive Consumers to Cut Pay TV Cord (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/08/08/cord-cutting-effect-grows/2632987/

Frontier Broadband Subscribers Climb to 1.8 Million as Business Customer Churn Slows (Fierce Telecom)

http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/frontier-broadband-subscribers-climb-18m-business-customer-churn-slows/2013-08-08

CenturyLink Losing DSL Customers, Money (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/CenturyLink-Losing-DSL-Customers-Money-125313

The Daily Yonder: Geography is First Piece in Understanding Rural Broadband Puzzle (Kentucky Forward)

http://www.kyforward.com/2013/08/the-daily-yonder-geography-is-first-piece-in-understanding-rural-broadband-puzzle/

This Is What an Undersea Data Cable Actually Looks Like (Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-an-undersea-data-cable-actually-looks-like-1076971031

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

‘Like’ This Article Online? Your Friends Will Probably Approve, Too, Scientists Say (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/science/internet-study-finds-the-persuasive-power-of-like.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Why Online Conversations Don’t Matter Anymore - And Never Did (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2013-08-09/why_online_conversations_dont_matter_anymore_and_never_did

The Anatomy of a Successful, Responsive Website (Mashable)

http://mashable.com/2013/08/08/responsive-design-best-practices/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Is Congressman Doc Hastings Eying House Oversight Chair? (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/spincontrol/2013/aug/08/doc-hastings-eying-house-oversight-chair/

This Week Marks the 39th Anniversary of Watergate Finale (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2013/08/08/this-week-marks-the-39th-anniversary-of-watergates-final-week/?wprss=rss_congress&clsrd

GENERAL NEWS

Fire Weather Watch - For the Black Hills & Southwest Interior Lowlands, includes south Mason County (Mason County PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

http://energynewsfeed.blogspot.com/2013/08/fire-weather-watch-for-black-hills.html

Wildfire Smoke Leads to Emergency Room Visits in Southern Oregon (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/wildfire-smoke-leads-emergency-room-visits-southern-oregon-0

California Wildfire Chases 1,500 from Their Homes (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0808/California-wildfire-chases-1-500-from-their-homes

Baby Ejected from Car in Mason County Accident (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=5858

Olympia Oyster House Fire: Spontaneous Combustion (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://kmasnewsradio.com/news/local-state-news/3740-oyster-house-fire-spontaneous-combustion

Where Are the Foreign Language Households in Washington State? Not Where You Think (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwpr.org/post/where-are-foreign-language-households-washington-state-not-where-you-think

iPhone Thief Who Posted Pics on Facebook Caught (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/iPhone-thief-who-posted-pic-on-Facebook-caught-218929621.html

DIVERSIONS

Oregon’s Boring, Meet Scotland’s Dull. Excited Yet?

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/morning_call/2013/08/oregons-boring-meet-scotlands-dull.html

We’re Getting Closer to Finding Mona Lisa’s Skeleton

http://gizmodo.com/were-getting-closer-to-finding-mona-lisas-skeleton-1072441216

Perseid Meteor Shower to Light Up Night Sky This Weekend

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2013/08/08/perseids-2013-meteor/2628521/

French Farmers in Egg-Smashing Rampage in Brittany

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-farmers-egg-smashing-rampage-brittany-19912663

SONG OF THE DAY

Boy Meets Girl – Waiting for a Star to Fall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG7NZNAJd10

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.

Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.

The Energy News Digest

Friday, August 9, 2013

Energy News Digest for August 9, 2013

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