Monday, January 6, 2020

The Energy News Digest for January 6, 2020


The Hot Shots edition of The Energy News Digest is available on Facebook, and on Twitter.

To subscribe to the Energy News Digest, email jmyer@masonpud3.org.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS







HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Study: U.S. Would Lose Over $2.3 Billion by Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (Pacific Northwest Waterways Association)

Newport Smelter Company Quiet as Pend Oreille Officials End Agreement (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

Snohomish PUD Board Approves Time-of-Day Rate Pilot (American Public Power Association)

Spokane Considering Forgiving 14 Years of Unpaid Utility Bills They Believe Would Be Legally Difficult to Collect (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

Massive Snowfall & Heavy Precipitation Will Pummel the Cascades This Week (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

1.        Snohomish PUD Board Approves Time-of-Day Rate Pilot
2.        Spokane Considering Forgiving 14 Years of Unpaid Utility Bills They Believe Would Be Legally Difficult to Collect
3.        Powerful Lines: Seattle City Light’s Approach to Keep Its Customers Out of the Dark
4.        WPUDA’s George Caan Tapped to Serve on Energy Strategy Advisory Committee
5.        Navajo Maintains Electric Line That Carried Coal-Fired Power
6.        The Northeast’s Energy Problem Is an Opportunity for These Three Utilities – Meaning, Rate Hikes
7.        Study: U.S. Would Lose Over $2.3 Billion by Breaching Lower Snake River Dams
8.        Washington State Dam Breach Study Impacts Idahoans
9.        Why a New Report Examining Dams Along the Snake River Is Unlikely to Break Through the Logjam
10.     Public Invited to Clarkston-Pasco-Vancouver Workshops on Question of Snake River Dams
11.     Wahkiakum County Included in Lawsuit Against Marbled Murrelet Conservation Plan
12.     Counting Whales from Space Pitched as Key to Saving Them
13.     Grand Teton Park to Begin Killing Invasive Mountain Goats
14.     Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble Mine Project Delayed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
15.     ‘It’s an Atomic Bomb’: Australia Deploys Military as Fires Spread
16.     Newport Smelter Company Quiet as Pend Oreille Officials End Agreement
17.     California: AT&T Fights Denial of Broadband Antenna Tower in Rural Placer County
18.     U.S. House Advances Two Walden-Supported Bills to Expand Rural Broadband
19.     Looking for an Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Your State? It May Take a While.
20.     California Eyes Climate Bond to Prepare for Disasters
21.     Trump Administration Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning
22.     Geoengineering Wouldn’t Be Enough to Stop Greenland From Melting
23.     Oregon Marijuana Industry Deals with Growing Pains
24.     Editorial: Does Stinky Marijuana Need a Task Force Study? A Washington State Senator Wants One. We Have Questions.
25.     ‘They’ Is the Word of the Decade
26.     Smiley Faces Haida Style: Totem Carver Rolls Out Emojis for the Digital Age
27.     Composted Cows a Success Story for Some, A Concern for Others
28.     Get Ready For 13 Full Moons, Two Supermoons & a Blue Moon in 2020, NASA Says
29.     Washington State Rep. Kristine Reeves Is Running for Congress
30.     Chinook Tribe Back in Court Monday on Long Quest to Regain Federal Recognition
31.     Two Die in Belfair Tahuya Head-On – UPDATED
32.     Hit & Run Pedestrian Fatality on 101 North of Shelton
33.     Massive Snowfall & Heavy Precipitation Will Pummel the Cascades This Week
34.     Stormy This Week, Then Season’s First Arctic Blast Coming Next?
35.     The Crisis Clinic of Thurston & Mason Counties Is Facing a Crisis of Its Own
36.     Nation’s Growth May Be Slowing, But Washington Is Adding Babies Faster Than Other States
37.     Port Angeles to Victoria Ferry Coho Out for Month’s Maintenance Beginning Today

WORD OF THE DAY

Eavesdrop • \EEVES-drop\ • Verb - To listen secretly to what is said in private

At one time, the arched roof of the 1800-era US House chambers in Washington, DC provided a secret way for opposing Congressmen to hear the nefarious plotting of their counterparts. “This is a most excellent spot for eavesdropping,” mused Congressman John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, as he leaned back in his creaking, wooden chair. “The whispered conversations bounce most effectively off the ceiling, directly to my desk in this esteemed chamber.”

From Merriam Webster: Originally this word had nothing to do with snooping. Eavesdrop started off literally: first it referred to the water that fell from the eaves of a house, then it came to mean the ground where that water fell. Eventually, eavesdropper described someone who stood within the eavesdrop of a house to overhear a conversation inside. Over time, the word obtained its current meaning: “to listen secretly to what is said in private.”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Snohomish PUD Board Approves Time-of-Day Rate Pilot (American Public Power Association)

2.      Spokane Considering Forgiving 14 Years of Unpaid Utility Bills They Believe Would Be Legally Difficult to Collect (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

3.      Powerful Lines: Seattle City Light’s Approach to Keep Its Customers Out of the Dark (Seattle City Light, WA)

4.      WPUDA’s George Caan Tapped to Serve on Energy Strategy Advisory Committee (Washington PUD Association)

5.      Navajo maintains electric line that carried coal-fired power (Associated Press)

6.      The Northeast’s Energy Problem Is an Opportunity for These Three Utilities – Meaning, Rate Hikes (The Motley Fool)

DAM STORIES

7.      Study: U.S. Would Lose Over $2.3 Billion by Breaching Lower Snake River Dams (Pacific Northwest Waterways Association)

8.      Washington State Dam Breach Study Impacts Idahoans (LEW-TV, Lewiston, ID)

9.      Why a New Report Examining Dams Along the Snake River Is Unlikely to Break Through the Logjam (The Inlander, Spokane, WA)

10.   Public Invited to Clarkston-Pasco-Vancouver Workshops on Question of Snake River Dams (Northwest News Network – Will the ‘Rapping Orca’ be there?)

FISH & WILDLIFE

11.   Wahkiakum County Included in Lawsuit Against Marbled Murrelet Conservation Plan (Longview Daily News, WA)

12.   Counting Whales from Space Pitched as Key to Saving Them (Associated Press)

13.   Grand Teton Park to Begin Killing Invasive Mountain Goats (Associated Press)

“CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE” – WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

14.   Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble Mine Project Delayed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (KTUU-TV, Anchorage, AK)

15.   ‘It’s an Atomic Bomb’: Australia Deploys Military as Fires Spread (NY Times)

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

16.   Newport Smelter Company Quiet as Pend Oreille Officials End Agreement (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

17.   California: AT&T Fights Denial of Broadband Antenna Tower in Rural Placer County (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)

18.   U.S. House Advances Two Walden-Supported Bills to Expand Rural Broadband (The Ripon Advance)

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

19.   Looking for an Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Your State? It May Take a While. (Mashable)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

20.   California Eyes Climate Bond to Prepare for Disasters (Associated Press)

21.   Trump Administration Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning (NY Times)

22.   Geoengineering Wouldn’t Be Enough to Stop Greenland From Melting (Gizmodo)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

23.   Oregon Marijuana Industry Deals with Growing Pains (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

24.   Editorial: Does Stinky Marijuana Need a Task Force Study? A Washington State Senator Wants One. We Have Questions. (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA – Paywall Advisory)

PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING & MEDIA

25.   ‘They’ Is the Word of the Decade (Mashable)

26.   Smiley Faces Haida Style: Totem Carver Rolls Out Emojis for the Digital Age (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

27.   Composted Cows a Success Story for Some, A Concern for Others (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

28.   Get Ready For 13 Full Moons, Two Supermoons & a Blue Moon in 2020, NASA Says (Sacramento Bee, CA)

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

29.   Washington State Rep. Kristine Reeves Is Running for Congress (Washington State, Wire)

30.   Chinook Tribe Back in Court Monday on Long Quest to Regain Federal Recognition (Northwest News Network)

GENERAL NEWS

31.   Two Die in Belfair Tahuya Head-On – UPDATED (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

32.   Hit & Run Pedestrian Fatality on 101 North of Shelton (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

33.   Massive Snowfall & Heavy Precipitation Will Pummel the Cascades This Week (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

34.   Stormy This Week, Then Season’s First Arctic Blast Coming Next? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

35.   The Crisis Clinic of Thurston & Mason Counties Is Facing a Crisis of Its Own (Olympian, WA – Paywall Advisory)

36.   Nation’s Growth May Be Slowing, But Washington Is Adding Babies Faster Than Other States (Olympian, WA – Paywall Advisory)

37.   Port Angeles to Victoria Ferry Coho Out for Month’s Maintenance Beginning Today (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Police: Man & Goat Taken on Terrifying Three-State Drive

Column: ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ (1924) Just Reached the Public Domain, Showing the Insanity of U.S. Copyright Law

Somebody Released Bedbugs Inside a Walmart. Pennsylvania Authorities Want to Know Who - & Why.

Ballooning Dispute: America’s Giant Inflatable Rats Under Attack

SONG OF THE DAY

Ella Fitzgerald, Andre Previn – I’ve Got a Crush on You, Someone to Watch Over Me, Embraceable You

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in the news digest lead to current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links.