Programming Note
The
Energy News Digest will be away from the interwebs March 17-21. Where are we
going (I don’t know)? When will we get there (I ain’t certain)? All that I know
is I am on my way…..
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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD
Energy
News Digest Word Cloud for March 14, 2014
HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Feds Ordered to Pay Energy Northwest $19 Million
over Spent Fuel (Tri-City Herald, WA)
Review of Wanapum Dam Will Take Engineers Nine
Days to Complete (iFiberOne News, Ephrata, WA)
Salmon Fishing Ocean Limits at Levels Not Seen
Since Late ‘70s (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)
British
Columbia Wants Changes in Columbia River Pact with U-S (Reuters)
Climate
Change Not a Top Worry in U-S (Gallup)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Feds Ordered to Pay Energy Northwest $19 Million over Spent Fuel
- Review of Wanapum Dam Will Take Engineers Nine Days to Complete
- Wanapum Dam’s River Drawdown Churns Up Old Bones, Inundates Guards
- Oregon: Pacific Power Clarifies Pricing for Millersburg Utility
- Oregon: Bonneville Power Administration Says Millersburg Power Can’t All Be Tier 1 Rate
- $25,000 BPA Reward for Info on Vandals Damaging Covington Land
- Eight Things Ratepayers Should Know about PacifiCorp & Coal-Fired Power Plants
- Mason PUD 3 Commission Report for the March 11, 2014 Business Meeting
- How Does BPA Move a Transformer? Verrrrrrrry Carefully
- Strong Hydro Generation Causes Negative Pacific Northwest U-S Power Prices
- New Power Sources Planned to Replace California Nuclear Plant
- Comcast Starts Selling Electricity in Pennsylvania
- A Utility Death Spiral? Warren Buffett Says No
- Salmon Fishing Ocean Limits at Levels Not Seen Since Late ‘70s
- Chinese & U-S Officials to Discuss China’s Shellfish Import Ban
- Salmon in the Classroom Program Takes Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Students to the Columbia River Gorge
- Land Banked - 63-Acre Site on Willamette River Will Be Sold to a Nature Group
- British Columbia Wants Changes in Columbia River Pact with U-S
- Battle Lines Being Drawn in Diplomatic Water Wars
- More Water on Tap for the Columbia River Basin
- Water-Rights Bill Backed by Ski Areas OK’d by U-S House of Representatives
- Montana: Bird Lovers Balk at Wind Farm
- California: Biomass Appeal - Stockton Plant Focused on Clean Way to Turn Wood Waste into Power
- Ontario: Renewable Energy Not to Blame for High Bills
- Green Energy: Can We Save the Planet & Save Birds?
- Renewable Energy Powers Rural Nepal into the Future
- Big Data Driving App Usage
- Op/Ed: Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Are Finally Worth Buying
- Washington Co-op Helps Clear Cascade Night Sky
- An Ultra-Flat Air Conditioner That Could Be Mistaken for Artwork
- Climate Change Not a Top Worry in U-S
- GOP Senators Press FCC on Rural Broadband
- Don’t Count on Verizon FiOS Coming to Your Town Anytime Soon
- Amazon Raises Price of Prime Membership to $99
- When Facebook Sends Visitors to News Sites, They Tend Not to Stay
- The Ultimate Missed Social-Media Opportunity for Brands: Climate Change
- Bravo to Affordable Solar for This Fun & Rewarding Solar Campaign
- Washington State Legislative Session Ends without Tackling Some Major Issues
- Lawmakers Pass Budget, Little Else, As Session Ends
- Exclusive: Radar Data Suggests Missing Malaysia Plane Deliberately Flown Way Off Course
- Three Years Later, Where Did Japanese Tsunami Debris Go?
- Weed Island? Company Looks to Make Pot-Infused Snacks, Candy on Vashon
- Top Pot Doughnuts Bids Sweet ‘So-Long’ to Golden Tate
WORD OF THE DAY
Pi • \PIE\ • Noun - 1: the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet 2a: the symbol π denoting the ratio of the
circumference of a circle to its diameter b:
the ratio itself: a transcendental
number having a value rounded to eight decimal places of 3.14159265
3.14: Celebrate Pi Day today
PUD 3 Belfair Office’s Haiku:
Radius, Circle
Diameter, Circumference,
Infinite numbers
And their Pi-ku is:
Haiku should
Be
Five, seven, five
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Feds Ordered to Pay Energy Northwest $19 Million
over Spent Fuel (Tri-City Herald, WA)
Review of Wanapum Dam Will Take Engineers Nine
Days to Complete (iFiberOne News, Ephrata, WA)
Wanapum Dam’s River Drawdown Churns Up Old Bones,
Inundates Guards (Northwest Public Radio)
Oregon: Pacific Power Clarifies Pricing for Millersburg
Utility (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
Oregon: Bonneville Power Administration Says Millersburg
Power Can’t All Be Tier 1 Rate (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
$25,000 BPA Reward for Info on Vandals Damaging Covington
Land (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)
Eight Things Ratepayers Should Know about
PacifiCorp & Coal-Fired Power Plants (Oregonian, Portland)
Mason PUD 3 Commission Report for the March 11,
2014 Business Meeting (Mason County PUD 3, Shelton, WA)
How Does BPA Move a Transformer? Verrrrrrrry Carefully
(Bonneville Power Administration)
Strong Hydro Generation Causes Negative Pacific Northwest
U-S Power Prices (Platts)
New Power Sources Planned to Replace California Nuclear
Plant (Associated Press)
Comcast Starts Selling Electricity in
Pennsylvania (Broadband Reports)
A Utility Death Spiral? Warren Buffett Says No (Sustainable
Business Oregon)
http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2014/03/a-utility-death-spiral-warren-buffett.html
FISH & WILDLIFE
Salmon Fishing Ocean Limits at Levels Not Seen
Since Late ‘70s (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)
Chinese & U-S Officials to Discuss China’s
Shellfish Import Ban (Northwest Public Radio)
Salmon in the Classroom Program Takes Boise-Eliot/Humboldt
Students to the Columbia River Gorge (Oregonian, Portland)
Land Banked - 63-Acre Site on Willamette River Will
Be Sold to a Nature Group - $345,000 to come from Bonneville Power
Administration (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
British
Columbia Wants Changes in Columbia River Pact with U-S (Reuters)
Battle
Lines Being Drawn in Diplomatic Water Wars - British Columbia seeks to maintain
50-year-old Columbia River Treaty against U-S interest to claw back payments
(Vancouver Sun, BC)
More
Water on Tap for the Columbia River Basin (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake,
WA)
Water-Rights
Bill Backed by Ski Areas OK’d by U-S House of Representatives (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Montana:
Bird Lovers Balk at Wind Farm (Missoula Independent, MT)
California:
Biomass Appeal - Stockton Plant Focused on Clean Way to Turn Wood Waste into Power
(Stockton Record, CA)
Ontario:
Renewable Energy Not to Blame for High Bills (Toronto Star, Ontario, Canada)
Green
Energy: Can We Save the Planet & Save Birds? (Audubon Magazine)
Renewable
Energy Powers Rural Nepal into the Future (Renewable
Energy World)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
Big Data Driving App Usage (Conduit)
Op/Ed: Energy Efficient Light Bulbs Are Finally
Worth Buying (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
Washington Co-op Helps Clear Cascade Night Sky (Electric Co-op Today)
An Ultra-Flat Air Conditioner That Could Be
Mistaken For Artwork (Gizmodo)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Climate
Change Not a Top Worry in U-S (Gallup)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
GOP Senators Press FCC on Rural Broadband (The Hill,
Washington, DC)
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/200698-gop-senators-press-fcc-on-rural-broadband
Don’t Count on Verizon FiOS Coming to Your Town
Anytime Soon (Consumerist)
Amazon Raises Price of Prime Membership to $99 (Northwest
Cable News Network)
SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING
When Facebook Sends Visitors to News Sites, They
Tend Not to Stay (Mashable)
The Ultimate Missed Social-Media Opportunity for
Brands: Climate Change (The Guardian, UK)
Bravo to Affordable Solar for This Fun &
Rewarding Solar Campaign (Renewable Energy World)
POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
Washington State Legislative Session Ends without
Tackling Some Major Issues (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)
Lawmakers Pass Budget, Little Else, As Session Ends
(Everett Herald, WA)
GENERAL NEWS
Exclusive: Radar Data Suggests Missing Malaysia Plane
Deliberately Flown Way Off Course (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/us-malaysia-airlines-radar-exclusive-idUSBREA2D0DG20140314
Three Years Later, Where Did Japanese Tsunami
Debris Go? (Northwest Public Radio)
Weed Island? Company Looks to Make Pot-Infused
Snacks, Candy on Vashon (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)
Top Pot Doughnuts Bids Sweet ‘So-Long’ to Golden
Tate (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
DIVERSIONS
College
Basketball: March Madness May Cost Billions in Lost Productivity
Seahawks
Hunk Headed to the Prom
Workers
on Treadmills Can Step Up Productivity by 10 Percent, Study Finds
Old
Spice Attracting Women in Gender-Bending Hit for P&G
SONG OF THE DAY
CBS Spots - One Shining Moment 2013
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.