Monday, August 4, 2014

Energy News Digest for August 4, 2014


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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for August 4, 2014

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Washington State: As Oysters Die, Climate Policy Goes on the Stump (NY Times)

Strong Winds Bring Blackouts & Blocked Roads to the Inland Northwest – Again (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Editorial: Feds Need to Either Get On or Off the Pot (Ellensburg Daily Record, WA)

On Columbia, ‘Just Add Water’ Seems to be Working (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

CEO Tells Congress: Equity in Rural Broadband Needed (Electric Co-op Today)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Strong Winds Bring Blackouts & Blocked Roads to the Inland Northwest – Again
  • Editorial: Feds Need to Either Get On or Off the Pot
  • Discounts Available for Some Low-Income Cowlitz PUD Customers
  • Op/Ed: The Rest of the Story - Demand for Electricity is Growing
  • Tennessee Valley Authority Settles Coal Ash Sludge Lawsuit
  • Kentucky, Indiana File Suit to Block EPA Rule on Power Plants
  • LaFleur Named Chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  • On Columbia, ‘Just Add Water’ Seems to be Working
  • Residents, Cowlitz Tribe Pray for Return to Natural Salmon Runs - Concerns about Columbia River Treaty
  • Pest Rodent Nutria Will Find Itself in Gun Sights at Olympia’s Capitol Lake
  • Keep Wolverines Protected, Scientists Urge Interior Department
  • “Low Quality Wood:” Off Switch Hit at Saskatchewan Wood-Burning Power Generation Plant
  • Ohio Utilities Take Net Metering Fight to State Supreme Court
  • Washington State: As Oysters Die, Climate Policy Goes on the Stump
  • Idaho Leaders Take on a Changing Climate
  • Utility Industry: We Need to Promote Electric Vehicles in Order to ‘Remain Viable’
  • How Biofuels Will Expand Tesla’s Charging Stations
  • CEO Tells Congress: Equity in Rural Broadband Needed
  • Google Effect: Comcast is Boosting Internet Speeds for Olathe, Independence & Other KC Suburbs
  • Cloud Revenue Jumps, Led by Microsoft & IBM
  • Call Center Jobs Increase as More Return from Overseas
  • Ditching Email: Inspired Vision or Hallucination?
  • Want to Increase Your Readership? Forget About Twitter & Stop Posting So Many Stories, Says the Telegraph
  • How Con Edison Effectively Relied on Social Media to Reach Customers during Superstorm Sandy
  • Twitter Tests a New Feature That Explains Hashtags for You
  • Five Ways to Make Your Website More Mobile Friendly
  • Today’s Google Doodle Celebrates the Art of the Venn Diagram
  • Washington Voters Set to Weigh in on Primary
  • Ellensburg Wildfire Burns a Dozen Homes
  • Oregon Gulch Fire near Ashland, Klamath Falls Remains Biggest, Most Volatile in State
  • WW1 Remembered: First World War Commemorations
  • In Pictures: World War One Battlefields 100 Years On
  • Mother of Toddler Found Dead at Cannon Beach in Custody
  • These Growers Know Marijuana Inside & Out
  • Is It Better to Grow Marijuana Indoors or Out?
  • August 6 Resurfacing to Delay Drivers on SR 302
  • Graffiti Blemishes Sacred Olympic Peninsula Tribal Site
WORD OF THE DAY

Noachian • \no-AY-kee-un\ • Adjective - Of or relating to the patriarch Noah or his time.

The rain gardens and stormwater retention system at PUD 3’s Johns Prairie operations center were designed to collect and treat voluminous amounts of water unleashed by the sluicegates of heaven. However, if the last retention area in the long string of collection ponds gets even close to fullness, we’ve got bigger problems than just rainfall…we’ll all be building arks of Noachian proportions.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Strong Winds Bring Blackouts & Blocked Roads to the Inland Northwest – Again (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Editorial: Feds Need to Either Get On or Off the Pot (Ellensburg Daily Record, WA)

Discounts Available for Some Low-Income Cowlitz PUD Customers (Longview Daily News, WA)

Op/Ed: The Rest of the Story - Demand for Electricity is Growing “…Our abundant low cost hydropower has been the staple of our state’s economy…most of the world is not blessed with our Columbia River hydropower system and must rely on fossil fuels….” (Enumclaw Courier-Herald, WA)

Tennessee Valley Authority Settles Coal Ash Sludge Lawsuit (Associated Press)

Kentucky, Indiana File Suit to Block EPA Rule on Power Plants (Louisville Business, First, KY)

LaFleur Named Chair of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (American Public Power Association)

FISH & WILDLIFE

On Columbia, ‘Just Add Water’ Seems to be Working (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Residents, Cowlitz Tribe Pray for Return to Natural Salmon Runs - Concerns about Columbia River Treaty (Longview Daily News, WA)

Pest Rodent Nutria Will Find Itself in Gun Sights at Olympia’s Capitol Lake (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA - Paywall Advisory)

Keep Wolverines Protected, Scientists Urge Interior Department (Los Angeles Times, CA)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

“Low Quality Wood:” Off Switch Hit at Saskatchewan Wood-Burning Power Generation Plant (Comox Valley Echo, BC)

Ohio Utilities Take Net Metering Fight to State Supreme Court (Midwest Energy News)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Washington State: As Oysters Die, Climate Policy Goes on the Stump (NY Times)

Idaho Leaders Take on a Changing Climate (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Utility Industry: We Need to Promote Electric Vehicles in Order to ‘Remain Viable’ (The Energy Collective)

How Biofuels Will Expand Tesla’s Charging Stations (USA Today)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

CEO Tells Congress: Equity in Rural Broadband Needed (Electric Co-op Today)

Google Effect: Comcast is Boosting Internet Speeds for Olathe, Independence & Other KC Suburbs (Kansas City Star, MO)

Cloud Revenue Jumps, Led by Microsoft & IBM (NY Times)

Call Center Jobs Increase as More Return from Overseas (USA Today)

Ditching Email: Inspired Vision or Hallucination? (Associated Press)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Want to Increase Your Readership? Forget About Twitter & Stop Posting So Many Stories, Says the Telegraph (GigaOM)

How Con Edison Effectively Relied on Social Media to Reach Customers during Superstorm Sandy (The Energy Collective – 3 million customers, 20,000 Twitter followers – 3,175 FB Likes)

Twitter Tests a New Feature That Explains Hashtags for You (Washington Post)

Five Ways to Make Your Website More Mobile Friendly (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)

Today’s Google Doodle Celebrates the Art of the Venn Diagram (TIME Magazine)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Washington Voters Set to Weigh in on Primary (Associated Press)

Primary Ballot for Mason County (Mason County Auditor’s Office, Shelton, WA)

GENERAL NEWS

Ellensburg Wildfire Burns a Dozen Homes (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

Oregon Gulch Fire near Ashland, Klamath Falls Remains Biggest, Most Volatile in State (Oregonian, Portland)

WW1 Remembered: First World War Commemorations (The Guardian, UK)

In Pictures: World War One Battlefields 100 Years On (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Mother of Toddler Found Dead at Cannon Beach in Custody (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

These Growers Know Marijuana Inside & Out (Olympian - Paywall Advisory)

Is It Better to Grow Marijuana Indoors or Out? (Northwest Public Radio)

August 6 Resurfacing to Delay Drivers on SR 302 (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Graffiti Blemishes Sacred Olympic Peninsula Tribal Site (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

DIVERSIONS

You Will Regret Handing Out Slide Whistle Straws at Your Next Party

Guy’s Hilarious Obit: ‘Don’t E-Mail Me, I’m Dead’

The REAL Cookie Monster - Illinois Man Angered by Three Missing Chips Ahoy! Cookies Tries to Kill Roommate, Police Say

Why We Yawn (And Why It Really Is Contagious)

SONG OF THE DAY

Mark Knopfler - Going Home - Theme from Local Hero

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.