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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Oregon Utility CEO
Warns of Possible Power Cuts This Fire Season (Bloomberg News)
Oregon Bootleg Fire:
Evacuations as Largest U.S. Fire Burns 300,000 Acres (British Broadcasting
Corporation)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57890935
Officials Pull
‘Emergency Lever’ as Lake Powell Plunges Toward Dangerous New Low (Gizmodo)
https://gizmodo.com/officials-pull-emergency-lever-as-lake-powell-plunges-1847308190
Lawsuit Seeks More
Spill Over Columbia Basin Dams for Salmon (Associated Press)
Lower Klamath Project
Dams Approved for Transfer, Demolition Under Klamath River Renewal Corporation
(Daily Energy Insider)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)
1. Oregon
Utility CEO Warns of Possible Power Cuts This Fire Season
2. California
Utility Says Its Equipment May Be Linked to ‘Big Dixie’ Fire
3. Lower
Klamath Project Dams Approved for Transfer, Demolition Under Klamath River
Renewal Corporation
4. Avista
Says During Customer Town Hall That It’s ‘Committed to Learn’ After
Controversial Planned Power Outages
5. WA
State: Seattle Electricity Rates to Go Up Annually Until 2026
6. California:
Liberty Utilities Proposes Significant Rate Hike for Fire Prevention
7. Eastern
Idaho Nuclear Reactor Project Downsized
8. California:
Challenge to Berkeley Gas Regulation Dismissed, a Win for Cities in Carbon
Emissions Fight
9. If
Dams Go, Then What? Saving Salmon, Power Grid Means Finding Answers Now,
Leaders Say
10. Will
Farmers Pay the Freight for Snake River Dam Breaching?
11. Bonneville
Power Administration Names Marcus Harris Long-Term Acting Chief Financial
Officer
12. How
Rural Electric Cooperatives Can Power Through California Outages with
Microgrids
13. What’s
an Energyshed? The Government Wants to Know.
14. State
of Oregon’s Motion for Court Injunction to Control Snake River Dam Operations
Reflects Disjointed Energy Policies, Disregard for Consumer Energy Costs &
Climate Concerns
15. Guest
Essay: Alaska Power Cost Equalization Is About Far More Than Money
16. Opinion:
Carbon Tariffs Are a Political Gimmick, Not a Real Response to Climate Change
17. WA
State: Daybreak Power Inc. Obtains Permit for Pumped Storage Hydro Facility
Near Lake Roosevelt
18. Floating
Wind Farms Offshore Could Boost California’s Power Supply – Here’s How They
Work
19. Good
Energy: Ways to Make Your Home as Energy Efficient as Possible
20. Lawsuit
Seeks More Spill Over Columbia Basin Dams for Salmon
21. California:
Extreme Heat Could Kill Nearly All Young Salmon in the Sacramento River,
Officials Say
22. Salmon
& Other Sea Life Affected by Recent Heat Waves, Experts Say
23. Instead
of Braving the River, These Endangered Snake River Salmon Take the Highway
24. Herrera
Beutler-Backed Sea Lion Removal Funding Approved
25. Environmentalists
Seek to Halt Montana Copper Mine Over Concerns About Local River
26. Officials
Pull ‘Emergency Lever’ as Lake Powell Plunges Toward Dangerous New Low
27. Biden
Administration Dropping Trump Rule to Boost Showerhead Water Flow
28. Oregon:
Eugene Spends $52,000 on Forest Project to Offset 2020 Emissions
29. Montana:
Co-Op Bringing High-Speed Internet Service to Lake County
30. New
WA State Laws Start to Close Public Broadband Gap — But It’s a Small Step
31. ‘Satellite
Constellations’ Are Filling the Arizona Night Sky
32. Explainer:
Could Balloons Power Uncensored Internet in Cuba?
33. Viral
Video Shows Malaysian Police Destroying 1,069 Bitcoin Mining Rigs with a
Steamroller
34. The
U.S. Has Formally Accused China of a Massive Cyberattack on Microsoft
35. As
Sea Levels Rise, British Columbia Coastal Cities Could Face Flooding from
Moon’s ‘Wobble’
36. Oregon
Bootleg Fire: Evacuations as Largest U.S. Fire Burns 300,000 Acres
37. WA
& OR Seeing More Than Three-Times the Number of Fires Than in 2020
38. Fire
‘Round-Up’ Map of 2021 Fires
39. Current
Washington Drought Most Severe on Record
40. U.S.
Senate Panel Passes Energy Measure Likely to Shape Infrastructure Bill
41. Biden’s
BLM Pick Hit with New Allegations from Former Investigator in Tree-Spiking Case
42. Explainer: WA State Tenants Get Modified Eviction Reprieve
WORD OF THE DAY
Flibbertigibbet • \flib-er-tee-JIB-ut\ • noun - A silly flighty person
How do you solve a
problem like Maria?
How do you catch a
cloud and pin it down?
How do you find a word
that means Maria?
A flibbertigibbet! A
will-o’-the wisp! A clown!
WORD ORIGIN FROM MERRIAM WEBSTER - “Flibbertigibbet” is one of many incarnations of the Middle English word “flepergebet,” meaning “gossip” or “chatterer.” It is a word created from sounds that were intended to represent meaningless chatter. Shakespeare apparently saw a devilish aspect to a gossipy chatterer; he used “flibbertigibbet” in King Lear as the name of a devil. This use never caught on, but the devilish connotation of the word reappeared over 200 years later when Sir Walter Scott used “Flibbertigibbet” as the nickname of an impish urchin in the novel Kenilworth. The impish meaning derived from Scott’s character was short-lived and was laid to rest by the 19th-century’s end, leaving us with only the “silly flighty person” meaning.
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
1. Oregon
Utility CEO Warns of Possible Power Cuts This Fire Season (Bloomberg News)
2.
California Utility Says Its Equipment May Be
Linked to ‘Big Dixie’ Fire (Public Broadcasting Service)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/california-utility-says-its-equipment-may-be-linked-to-fire
4.
Avista Says During Customer Town Hall That It’s ‘Committed
to Learn’ After Controversial Planned Power Outages (Spokesman-Review, Spokane,
WA – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jul/15/avista-says-during-customer-town-hall-that-its-com/
5.
WA State: Seattle Electricity Rates to Go Up
Annually Until 2026 (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)
6.
California: Liberty Utilities Proposes
Significant Rate Hike for Fire Prevention (Tahoe Daily Tribune, CA)
7.
Eastern Idaho Nuclear Reactor Project Downsized
(Idaho Falls Post-Register, ID)
8.
California: Challenge to Berkeley Gas Regulation
Dismissed, a Win for Cities in Carbon Emissions Fight (Utility Dive)
9.
If Dams Go, Then What? Saving Salmon, Power Grid
Means Finding Answers Now, Leaders Say (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/environment/article252822453.html
10.
Will Farmers Pay the Freight for Snake River Dam
Breaching? (Lewiston Tribune, ID)
11.
Bonneville Power Administration Names Marcus
Harris Long-Term Acting Chief Financial Officer (Bonneville Power Administration)
12.
How Rural Electric Cooperatives Can Power
Through California Outages with Microgrids (Microgrid Knowledge)
https://microgridknowledge.com/rural-electric-cooperatives-microgrids-anza-electric/
13.
What’s an Energyshed? The Government Wants to Know.
(Grist Online)
https://grist.org/energy/whats-an-energyshed-the-government-wants-to-know/
SOAPBOX SERENADE – VOX POPULI
14.
State of Oregon’s Motion for Court Injunction to
Control Snake River Dam Operations Reflects Disjointed Energy Policies,
Disregard for Consumer Energy Costs & Climate Concerns (News Release – NW RiverPartners,
Vancouver, WA)
https://nwriverpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-NWRP-Oregon-Injuction-PressStatement.pdf
15.
Guest Essay: Alaska Power Cost Equalization Is
About Far More Than Money (Anchorage Daily News, AK)
https://www.adn.com/opinions/2021/07/18/power-cost-equalization-is-about-far-more-than-money/
16.
Opinion: Carbon Tariffs Are a Political Gimmick,
Not a Real Response to Climate Change (Washington Post)
RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE
17.
WA State: Daybreak Power Inc. Obtains Permit for
Pumped Storage Hydro Facility Near Lake Roosevelt (Spokesman-Review, Spokane,
WA – Paywall Advisory)
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jul/15/daybreak-power-inc-obtains-permit-for-pumped-stora/
18.
Floating Wind Farms Offshore Could Boost California’s
Power Supply – Here’s How They Work (Public Broadcasting Service)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
19.
Good Energy: Ways to Make Your Home as Energy
Efficient as Possible (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)
FISH & WILDLIFE
20. Lawsuit
Seeks More Spill Over Columbia Basin Dams for Salmon (Associated Press)
21.
California: Extreme Heat Could Kill Nearly All
Young Salmon in the Sacramento River, Officials Say (Cable News Network)
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/weather/extreme-heat-salmon-sacramento-river/index.html
22. Salmon
& Other Sea Life Affected by Recent Heat Waves, Experts Say (Victoria
Times-Colonist, BC)
23.
Instead of Braving the River, These Endangered Snake
River Salmon Take the Highway (Yahoo News)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/instead-braving-river-endangered-salmon-110047440.html
24.
Herrera Beutler-Backed Sea Lion Removal Funding
Approved (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
https://www.chronline.com/stories/herrera-beutler-backed-sea-lion-removal-funding-approved,269217?
ENVIRONMENTAL AFFLATUS – CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE
25.
Environmentalists Seek to Halt Montana Copper
Mine Over Concerns About Local River (Courthouse News Service)
WATER, WATER, ANYWHERE?
26. Officials
Pull ‘Emergency Lever’ as Lake Powell Plunges Toward Dangerous New Low (Gizmodo)
https://gizmodo.com/officials-pull-emergency-lever-as-lake-powell-plunges-1847308190
27.
Biden Administration Dropping Trump Rule to Boost
Showerhead Water Flow (CBS News)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-showerhead-rule-energy-department-reverts-water-flow-standard/
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
28.
Oregon: Eugene Spends $52,000 on Forest Project to
Offset 2020 Emissions (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
29.
Montana: Co-Op Bringing High-Speed Internet
Service to Lake County (Lake County Leader, Polson, MT)
https://leaderadvertiser.com/news/2021/jul/15/internet-co-op-bringing-high-speed-service-lake-co/
30.
New WA State Laws Start to Close Public
Broadband Gap — But It’s a Small Step (Crosscut Seattle, WA)
https://crosscut.com/politics/2021/07/new-wa-laws-start-close-public-broadband-gap-its-small-step
31.
‘Satellite Constellations’ Are Filling the
Arizona Night Sky (Associated Press)
32.
Explainer: Could Balloons Power Uncensored
Internet in Cuba? (Associated Press)
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/explainer-could-balloons-power-uncensored-internet-in-cuba/
THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY
33.
Viral Video Shows Malaysian Police Destroying
1,069 Bitcoin Mining Rigs with a Steamroller (CNBC)
34.
The U.S. Has Formally Accused China of a Massive
Cyberattack on Microsoft (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/07/19/us-accuses-china-massive-cyberattack-microsoft/
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE
35.
As Sea Levels Rise, British Columbia Coastal
Cities Could Face Flooding from Moon’s ‘Wobble’ (Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation)
WILDFIRES AND HOT WEATHER
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57890935
37.
WA & OR Seeing More Than Three-Times the Number
of Fires Than in 2020 (KNDU/KNDO-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
38.
Fire ‘Round-Up’ Map of 2021 Fires (KNDU/KNDO-TV,
Tri-Cities, WA)
39.
Current Washington Drought Most Severe on Record
(KREM-TV, Spokane, WA)
GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT
40.
U.S. Senate Panel Passes Energy Measure Likely to
Shape Infrastructure Bill (Reuters)
41.
Biden’s BLM Pick Hit with New Allegations from Former
Investigator in Tree-Spiking Case (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/15/biden-blm-pick-allegations-499739
42.
Explainer: WA State Tenants Get Modified
Eviction Reprieve (Associated Press)
https://www.q13fox.com/news/explainer-wa-tenants-get-modified-eviction-reprieve
NOODLES IN THE SOUP – DIVERSIONS
Oldest Working Nurse in
the Country Retires from Tacoma Hospital
The ‘Best Meteor Shower
of the Year’ Is Happening. Here’s How You Can See It.
Tokyo Olympics: ‘Plague
of Oysters’ Threatens Key Venue
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57883922
A Truck Carrying 20,000
Pounds of Ramen Crashes in an Arkansas Lake
SONG OF THE DAY
Eddie Kendricks - Keep
On Truckin’
