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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Pillory • \PILL-uh-ree\ • noun – 1: a device formerly used for publicly punishing offenders consisting of a wooden frame with holes in which the head and hands can be locked *2: a means for exposing one to public scorn or ridicule.
Abernathy slowly trod towards the public square, framed on both sides by the beefy security guards who had watched over him during the two days he spent languishing in the small town’s dungeon-like jail. It wasn’t until he entered the bright light of the square he was astonished to see that his punishment for selling bootleg videos of H.R. Pufnstuf was to be pilloried and pelted with aged Betamax tapes of Richard Pryor.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
Gray skies define this summer – It's not in your head. It really has been a cooler, rainier summer than usual — throwing off crop schedules, attracting fewer swimmers to area pools and reducing the amount of water local lawns and gardens have needed to thrive. (The Olympian )
http://www.theolympian.com/570/story/207220.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
California Heat Wave Kills 2, Leaves Thousands without Power (Fox News)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295667,00.html
Labor leaders find few takers for good jobs – As head of a public power utility, Steve Klein has faced some sticky issues over the years, mostly centered on keeping electricity prices low in an era of ever-spiraling rates from the Bonneville Power Administration. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070903/NEWS01/109030032
A New Push to Regulate Power Costs – More than a decade after the drive began to convert electricity from a regulated industry into a competitive one, many states are rolling back their initiatives or returning money to individuals and businesses. “…One prominent critic of competitive pricing — Marilyn Showalter, a former Washington state utility regulator who has become an advocate of publicly owned power systems — has calculated that, in the year ending May 31, customers in competitive states paid an extra $48 billion for their power, compared with what they would have paid under rates in regulated states…” (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/business/04energy.html?ei=5088&en=1aa833f883bf2119&ex=1346558400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1188878875-+8VhoFm5l8dR+z4fkbcYZw
Moses Lake allows overhead power lines – Grant County PUD upgrading substation (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/08/31/news/news02.txt
Dam important asset to the area – There's no doubt there's a lot to see on a tour of Wanapum Dam. (Mattawa Area News)
http://www.stpns.net/view_article.html?articleId=351Ilxw%20BlA=
For the Chelan County PUD Mannequins take plunge to save lives – Bobby and Bernie survived the ultimate, extreme, 100-percent-adrenaline Rocky Reach Dam tour Friday. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070901/NEWS04/709020424/1001
Part One – Hydro power in Southeast intrigues leaders (Alaska Journal of Commerce)
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/082607/hom_20070826012.shtml
Part Two – Hydro's bad image gets boost in Southeast – Big dams built by big government. Fish movements blocked. Habitats flooded. Wildlife and people displaced. (Alaska Journal of Commerce)
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/090207/hom_20070902010.shtml
Idaho Transmission Dispute Settled – The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved a negotiated settlement last week between wind developers and Idaho Power Co. over who should pay for transmission upgrades required to accommodate about 200 megawatts (MW) of new wind generation planned in Idaho's Magic Valley region. (RenewableEnergyAccess.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49811&src=rss
Hydropower sees peril, promise in climate change – It's been likened to a giant bellows or a massive fire hose, sending huge amounts of water roiling and churning between Puget Sound's southern and northern basins with every change of the tides. (Associated Press via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/205649.html
Coal Rush Reverses, Power Firms Follow – Plans for New Plants Stalled by Growing Opposition. The mayor of Missoula, Mont., is the latest person to discover just how unpopular coal plants have become. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301119.html?nav=rss_technology
Utah utility lacks coal – The shutdown of the Utah coal mine where a huge collapse trapped six men has a major customer scrambling for fuel to keep a power station operating. (The Daily Herald)
http://www.heraldextra.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=236350&Itemid=99999999
Pacific Gas and Electric Co: Power costs to increase in '08 – Big hit for business, 0.4 to 1.8 percent hike for homes. customers will pay more for power in 2008, with businesses taking the biggest hit. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/01/BUSTRTF6A.DTL&feed=rss.business
Power crazy – Across Canada, provincial governments are aggressively following the call of green power and energy conservation. No watt of electricity is exempt, from mandated fluorescent light bulbs to subsidies for windmill farms to the campaign to rehabilitate the granddaddy of power boondoggles, nuclear energy, out of long-term care. (The Financial Post)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=fe3612ec-0f9b-46e3-83d7-ccd595851c83
News Release – Risky Electricity Plan Will Cost Consumers Billions: The Ontario Power Authority's (OPA) new electricity plan will damage this province's economy, cost unsuspecting consumers billions unnecessarily and increase the likelihood of more blackouts, says the Power Workers' Union. (From the Power Workers' Union)
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2007/31/c4417.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Idaho Statesman – Rocky Barker's blog: Craig's departure would fundamentally change salmon debate in Congress
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/146778.html
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Opinion – Salmon Recovery: A priority now. It's well known that replacing culverts is important for salmon recovery. It should not have taken a successful lawsuit by 20 tribes to get the state to act on this concern.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/329906_culverted.html?source=rss
The Columbian Editorial – In our view: Lethal Force. Sea lions drive officials toward tough choices
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/08302007news190976.cfm
Severe drought conditions spread – Severe drought conditions are expanding across the Inland Northwest, with forests and fields crackling under weeks of heat and rivers trickling with record-low flows, according to a briefing issued Thursday by the National Drought Mitigation Center. (The Spokesman Review, Spokane)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=11332
Abuse of water laws jeopardizes supply for people, fish – Counties are asked to pay closer attention to housing projects claiming not to need a permit. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070904/NEWS01/109040028&news01ad=1
Restoring nature – Near the banks of Toppenish Creek, 75 years of corn and hay have been replaced with native wapato roots, dogwood and tule reeds taller than a man. Funding comes from a variety of places, including the Bonneville Power Administration, mandated by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to pay for efforts to mitigate the loss of habitat caused by hydroelectric dams. (Yakima Herald-Republic)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/289710125972267
Wanapum leader finds ancestors' stories in the rocks – Wanapum leader Rex Buck Jr. studies the basalt cliffs above the Columbia River where his ancestors tucked their stories in shadows and caves. “…The Grant County PUD and the Wanapum formed (patrols) with a unique pact to make sure the ancient and sacred safely co-exist with the river's modern users…” )Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_River_Patrol.html
Celilo Village Ore., Tribal members bid goodby to their old village – To those who zipped past it on Interstate-84, Celilo Village near The Dalles seemed a horrid slum, but it has been home to many Columbia River tribal members for a half-century. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-913219~Ore__Tribal_members_bid_goodby_to_their_old_village.html
The crush to catch Chinook at peak of salmon season (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/08/31/this_day/news09.txt
San Francisco Bay – Ruling to protect delta smelt may force water rationing in Bay Area. Cities around the Bay Area face the possibility of mandatory water rationing next year as a result of a federal court decision Friday to protect a rare fish found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, state officials and water experts said. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/01/MNPCRT83Q.DTL&feed=rss.news
Brown Water in Bremerton Not Dangerous, City Says – Some people who live between Gorst and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard got a surprise Monday morning when they turned on the tap: brown water. (The Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/sep/03/brown-water-in-bremerton-not-dangerous-city-says/
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
News Release – Shelton accounting firm takes the 100 percent renewable energy pledge with Mason EverGreen Power (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=359
Judge denies wind farm petition – The petition for review of a Columbia County conditional use permit for construction and operation of a 90-megawatt wind farm project was denied today. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/08/31/local_news/local01.txt
Canada wind industry grows amid opposition storm – Canada's fledgling wind power industry, late off the global starting blocks, has stumbled on growing local resistance to the idea of massive turbines dotting the country's relatively unmarked landscape. (ScientificAmerican.com)
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=canada-wind-industry-grow&chanID=sa003&modsrc=reuters
Scotland – Row blows up on wind farm locations. It was a claim that sent shockwaves through the wind-farm industry: the UK's turbines are being built in the wrong place, far from the strong winds that would make them efficient sources of electricity. (The Scotsman.com)
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1383372007
Seattle Times Editorial – Political attacks knock wind out of Kennedy's sails – The source of unhappiness is Kennedy's efforts to kill an offshore wind farm on Nantucket Sound. Cape Wind was to be the first such project in the United States and a source of pride to environmentally-minded New Englanders. Polls show 84 percent of Massachusetts residents in favor.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003863049_harrop041.html?syndication=rss
Beyond Wind and Solar, a New Generation of Clean Energy – Entrepreneurs see green in ocean power, methane, old tires and more (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083102054.html?nav=rss_email/components
Researchers deploy test buoys in quest for renewable electricity – Advocates of wave energy plan to float two buoys off the Oregon coast near Newport in coming days as part of a wider effort to find renewable sources of electricity. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/330035_buoys02.html
Green Power: The New Generation – In the name of fighting climate change, solar, geothermal, wave and tidal energy are getting a new look (Special reports from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/greenpower/
Nebraska – Mercer farm to sell bio-gas power: Fort Recovery poultry farm reaches deal with Midwest Electric. The electric cooperative, based in St. Marys, has entered into an agreement with a Mercer County poultry farm to purchase bio-gas power. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CfghktvqTSge%27%40%3E%20bfem%5Ev
Q & A: Lights Off! Does it really use more energy to turn a fluorescent bulb off and on than to keep it burning? (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/04/science/04qna.html?ex=1346558400&en=fb205a8ed1a4633c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Wenatchee World Opinion – Using forests is good for us. Fight global warming. Harvest timber.
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/OP02/708310380/1025/rss1025
What might global warming mean for Washington (Associated Press via the Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Warming_Washington.html
State's water woes could intensify – Climate experts say global warming stands to dramatically change the way Washington residents use water on their yards and in their homes. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/206085.html
Atlantis Effect? Rising sea level worries shoreline areas – Washington's low-lying capital city is a bit nervous in planning a new $38 million City Hall near the shoreline of Puget Sound, fearing that global warming and rising waters could submerge much of the downtown in this century. (Associated Press via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/205656.html
U.N. Climate Talks End in Cloud of Discord – Industrialized, Developing Nations Still at Odds Over How and When to Cut Emissions (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083102052.html?nav=rss_world
An Analysis of the Carbon Emissions Impact of the Senate Energy Bill (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1557
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial – Don't hit Wi-Fi delete key. It’s time for Wi-Fi 2.0 if San Francisco is serious about overcoming the financial and leadership problems that killed the first version.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/02/EDM5RT7N7.DTL&feed=rss.opinion
Google grows into a target (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003866045_google03.html?syndication=rss
Dial-up holdouts ask: Why go to broadband? Holdouts don't see the need for broadband (Dallas Morning News)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/ptech/stories/DN-holdouts_04bus.ART.State.Edition1.35a81ac.html
Inslee Fears Copyright Fees Will Mute Internet Radio (Kitsap Sun, May require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/sep/03/inslee-fears-copyright-fees-will-mute-internet/
Telemarketers May Reach Cell Phones (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/money/14023347/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Wi-Fi gets this bunny hopping (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003863405_ptwifibunny01.html?syndication=rss
GENERAL NEWS
PLANE CRASH AT MASON LAKE – No one was injured when a float plane crashed on Mason Lake Monday. According to the State Patrol, a 1949 Aeronca S15AC aircraft attempted to take off from Mason Lake about 2:30pm. The plane became airborne momentarily but returned to the water. The plane's pontoon struts collapsed and the right wing tip entered the water. The aircraft came to rest right side up and did NOT make contact with any structures, vessels or the shoreline. The float plane was towed ashore by a passing boat. There were two people on board the plane with it crashed. The pilot was William A. Morris, 68 of Shelton. The passenger was Luke T. Aikins, 33 of Graham. The cause of this crash is being investigated by the F-A-A and the National Transportation Safety Board. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
North Mason Schools Pursuing Land Swap with County – North Mason School District took a big step toward acquiring nearly 40 acres of land near North Mason High School this week. (The Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/31/north-mason-schools-pursuing-land-swap-with/
Plastic bags get boot, but paper isn't perfect – Stores try alternatives, ask shoppers to pitch in. Plastic, paper, canvas or polypropylene? Or maybe just a cardboard box? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/330132_plasticbags04.html?source=rss
DIVERSIONS
Malaysia's 'King Tooth' Pulls Train With Teeth In World Record Bid
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14021622/detail.html
Death Notice Sent To Man Who's Alive, Well – Health Benefits In Jeopardy
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14018885/detail.html
Police Say Impaired Mom Let Son, 5, Drive – Boy Tells Police He Can't Reach Pedals
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14011967/detail.html
Squirrel to Blame for Fire in Burbank – A fire destroys an abandoned trailer and four abandoned vehicles this morning.
http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7018204
Dumb pickup lines are revealing, study says
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003866249_pickup03.html?syndication=rss
Radio Legend Paul Harvey Turns 89 (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14149801&ft=1&f=3
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
September 3 is a day off for the the News Digest
The News Digest will be taking Monday, September 3rd off to enjoy the Labor Day holiday. It will return on Tuesday, September 4.
News Digest for August 31, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
virescent • \vuh-RESS-unt\ • adjective – *1: beginning to be green: greenish 2: developing or displaying the condition of becoming green due to the development of chloroplasts in plant organs (as petals) normally white or colored
Bartholomew was weathering his first sea voyage quite well. That is, until the ocean liner exited the protected bay and met the long rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. The color of his face faded to white and then took a virescent tinge that was quickly followed by a phone call to Ralph on the “big white phone.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
Ore. climatologist forecasts wet, cold winter – Oregon State University climatologist George Taylor has issued his annual fall and winter forecast, and it says snow might be in Western Oregon's future. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-909452~Ore__climatologist_forecasts_wet__cold_winter.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
State of California dodges power problems, thanks to conservation (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA2NRSFL9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
BROKEN GAS LINE FORCES SHORT EVACUATION IN DOWNTOWN SHELTON – A broken natural gas line forced a short evacuation in downtown Shelton Thursday morning. According to Jay Ebbeson, Public Works Director for Shelton, a worker from Merlino Construction Company, working on the City's Basin Two project, hit and broke an unmarked service line to St. David's Parish Hall just before 9am. As a precaution, a four block by four block area was evacuated as Cascade Natural Gas was called in to shut off the gas and repair the break. The effected area was between Front and Fourth streets, and between Railroad Avenue and Alder Street. The gas line was shut off shortly after ten. People were allowed back in the homes and businesses by about 10:30am. No injuries were reported. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Pend Oreille PUD, Kalispels reach terms over flooded land – District to pay tribe yearly with at least $200,000 in power (Spokane Journal of Business)
http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokane_id=article&sub=3293
Snohomish County PUD reinforces Stanwood with new power line (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070831/NEWS01/108310038
Recycling Business Owner Arrested In Metal Theft Sting (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14014636/detail.html
Recycler arrested in purchase of stolen metal (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9479622.html
Ohio – Firelands Electrical Cooperative offers $500 reward for information on missing copper (The Morning Journal)
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18769554&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6
Puget Energy wants gas rate cut, its first in five years (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/08/27/daily27.html?ana=from_rss
Minnesota – Unpaid bills for natural gas are up sharply – About 160,000 CenterPoint Energy customers across Minnesota are in arrears on their natural gas bills, up from a 70,000 to 100,000 at the end of summer in years past, the company said Tuesday. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffjkmsuWVgbt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Canada – The 'N' word that makes politicians quake – Environmentalists demanding an end to global warming are calling on the world's governments to adopt clean, zero-emission energy. But mention "nuclear power" -- one of the safest energy sources available with no greenhouse gases -- and their reaction can be summed up in a word: radioactive. (The Province)
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=cde30296-27a7-48a9-94ce-154a91c7828e
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
The Columbian Newspaper on U.S. Sen. Larry Craig – Local angle: Salmon debate may be affected. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig represents constituents located well beyond Southwest Washington, but the senator has had a direct interest and effect on natural resource policies in the Columbia River basin.
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/08302007news190990.cfm
Here it comes! Sen. Craig no friend to 'greens' in NW (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Joel Connely)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/329774_joel31.html?source=mypi
Want to save Puget Sound? Do the science first (Crosscut Seattle)
http://crosscut.com/science-environment/6834/Want+to+save+Puget+Sound%3F+Do+the+science+first/
David Dicks Spells Out Tasks Ahead to Save Puget Sound (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/30/dicks-spells-out-tasks-ahead-to-save-puget-sound/
Fox News Commentary – The Endangered Species Act Out of Control. Is a salmon born in a hatchery a different species from the same salmon born in the wild?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295359,00.html
Ilwaco Salmon Fishery Reopens September 2 – The recreational fishery in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) will reopen to retention of chinook, coho and pink salmon at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 2, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today. (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen)
http://kbkw.com/wireready/news/00128_Ilwaco-Salmon_062842.php
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
Turbines shortage boosts wind-power costs – A prolonged shortage of wind turbines is pushing up prices for wind energy projects and forcing developers to scramble for deals long before construction begins. (Seattle Times, Golly…is anyone surprised by this?)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003861483_windmillshortage31.html
California IOUS want new renewable energy goals to apply to munis – California's investor-owned utilities Tuesday said they would support a 33% renewables target by 2020 in proposed legislation only if municipal utilities are required to meet the same target. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/6449531.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
United Kingdom – Assessing the UK's 'wind rush' . Wind lobby rebuts claims: Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in Britain. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6970209.stm
Reach for the sky: Could flying wind farms help beat global warming? (CNN Technology)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/31/sky.turbines/
News Release – Consumer Reports Reveals Ten Things Consumers Can Do Now to Save Hundreds on Energy Costs. October issue also explains personal carbon footprints; The dark side of compact fluorescent light bulbs (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=73139
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Global warming – who pays and when? The economics of climate change is driving what kind of pact nations may be willing to make. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0831/p08s01-comv.html
United Kingdom –Petrol-driven cars could be banned across Britain by 2040, under radical Liberal Democrat plans to tackle climate change. (The Guardian)
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,,2157621,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=environment
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Are e-mails public records? A case against a DSHS employee raises the issue of whether the public has the right to see the e-mails and Web-viewing habits of state workers. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003861655_openrecords31m.html
Google a victim of EarthLink woes with cancellation of S.F. Wi-Fi – The collapse of Mayor Gavin Newsom's ambitious plan to bring free wireless Internet access to San Francisco dealt a blow to Google Inc., which had hoped to use the system to test an array of new products. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BUT6RSDTU.DTL&feed=rss.business
GENERAL NEWS
Ore. troopers catching more triple-digit speeders – For some drivers, breaking the speed limit is just not enough. They have to smash it. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_SUPER_SPEEDERS_OROL-?SITE=KOPB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Craig fallout: Idaho will lose millions, influence –Idaho stands to lose influence and millions of federal dollars now that the state's senior U.S. senator has lost committee leadership positions and faces increasing pressure from Republican leaders to resign. (the Associated Press via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP08312007news191299.cfm
DIVERSIONS
Meteor 'outburst' expected Saturday morning – Find a place to lie down and look up Saturday morning, because a meteor "outburst" is forecast over the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NEWS/708310305
Got Arachnophobia? Here’s Your Worst Nightmare
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31spider.html?ex=1346212800&en=2e6183a24921db2d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Japanese men girdle up for battle of the bulge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15340920070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Russian man arrested for stealing bridge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15321120070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Naked man does hula, steals beer at store
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070830/ap_on_fe_st/naked_man_theft;_ylt=AlEy_HwKRqh1LomXRqGookHtiBIF
WORD OF THE DAY
virescent • \vuh-RESS-unt\ • adjective – *1: beginning to be green: greenish 2: developing or displaying the condition of becoming green due to the development of chloroplasts in plant organs (as petals) normally white or colored
Bartholomew was weathering his first sea voyage quite well. That is, until the ocean liner exited the protected bay and met the long rollers of the Atlantic Ocean. The color of his face faded to white and then took a virescent tinge that was quickly followed by a phone call to Ralph on the “big white phone.”
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
Ore. climatologist forecasts wet, cold winter – Oregon State University climatologist George Taylor has issued his annual fall and winter forecast, and it says snow might be in Western Oregon's future. (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-909452~Ore__climatologist_forecasts_wet__cold_winter.html
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
State of California dodges power problems, thanks to conservation (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BA2NRSFL9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
BROKEN GAS LINE FORCES SHORT EVACUATION IN DOWNTOWN SHELTON – A broken natural gas line forced a short evacuation in downtown Shelton Thursday morning. According to Jay Ebbeson, Public Works Director for Shelton, a worker from Merlino Construction Company, working on the City's Basin Two project, hit and broke an unmarked service line to St. David's Parish Hall just before 9am. As a precaution, a four block by four block area was evacuated as Cascade Natural Gas was called in to shut off the gas and repair the break. The effected area was between Front and Fourth streets, and between Railroad Avenue and Alder Street. The gas line was shut off shortly after ten. People were allowed back in the homes and businesses by about 10:30am. No injuries were reported. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Pend Oreille PUD, Kalispels reach terms over flooded land – District to pay tribe yearly with at least $200,000 in power (Spokane Journal of Business)
http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokane_id=article&sub=3293
Snohomish County PUD reinforces Stanwood with new power line (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070831/NEWS01/108310038
Recycling Business Owner Arrested In Metal Theft Sting (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14014636/detail.html
Recycler arrested in purchase of stolen metal (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9479622.html
Ohio – Firelands Electrical Cooperative offers $500 reward for information on missing copper (The Morning Journal)
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18769554&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6
Puget Energy wants gas rate cut, its first in five years (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/08/27/daily27.html?ana=from_rss
Minnesota – Unpaid bills for natural gas are up sharply – About 160,000 CenterPoint Energy customers across Minnesota are in arrears on their natural gas bills, up from a 70,000 to 100,000 at the end of summer in years past, the company said Tuesday. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffjkmsuWVgbt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Canada – The 'N' word that makes politicians quake – Environmentalists demanding an end to global warming are calling on the world's governments to adopt clean, zero-emission energy. But mention "nuclear power" -- one of the safest energy sources available with no greenhouse gases -- and their reaction can be summed up in a word: radioactive. (The Province)
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=cde30296-27a7-48a9-94ce-154a91c7828e
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
The Columbian Newspaper on U.S. Sen. Larry Craig – Local angle: Salmon debate may be affected. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig represents constituents located well beyond Southwest Washington, but the senator has had a direct interest and effect on natural resource policies in the Columbia River basin.
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/08302007news190990.cfm
Here it comes! Sen. Craig no friend to 'greens' in NW (Seattle Post Intelligencer, Joel Connely)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/329774_joel31.html?source=mypi
Want to save Puget Sound? Do the science first (Crosscut Seattle)
http://crosscut.com/science-environment/6834/Want+to+save+Puget+Sound%3F+Do+the+science+first/
David Dicks Spells Out Tasks Ahead to Save Puget Sound (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/30/dicks-spells-out-tasks-ahead-to-save-puget-sound/
Fox News Commentary – The Endangered Species Act Out of Control. Is a salmon born in a hatchery a different species from the same salmon born in the wild?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295359,00.html
Ilwaco Salmon Fishery Reopens September 2 – The recreational fishery in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) will reopen to retention of chinook, coho and pink salmon at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 2, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today. (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen)
http://kbkw.com/wireready/news/00128_Ilwaco-Salmon_062842.php
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
Turbines shortage boosts wind-power costs – A prolonged shortage of wind turbines is pushing up prices for wind energy projects and forcing developers to scramble for deals long before construction begins. (Seattle Times, Golly…is anyone surprised by this?)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003861483_windmillshortage31.html
California IOUS want new renewable energy goals to apply to munis – California's investor-owned utilities Tuesday said they would support a 33% renewables target by 2020 in proposed legislation only if municipal utilities are required to meet the same target. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/News/6449531.xml?sub=Electric%20Power&p=Electric%20Power/News&
United Kingdom – Assessing the UK's 'wind rush' . Wind lobby rebuts claims: Wind power is the fastest growing renewable energy sector in Britain. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6970209.stm
Reach for the sky: Could flying wind farms help beat global warming? (CNN Technology)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/31/sky.turbines/
News Release – Consumer Reports Reveals Ten Things Consumers Can Do Now to Save Hundreds on Energy Costs. October issue also explains personal carbon footprints; The dark side of compact fluorescent light bulbs (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=73139
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Global warming – who pays and when? The economics of climate change is driving what kind of pact nations may be willing to make. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0831/p08s01-comv.html
United Kingdom –Petrol-driven cars could be banned across Britain by 2040, under radical Liberal Democrat plans to tackle climate change. (The Guardian)
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,,2157621,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=environment
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Are e-mails public records? A case against a DSHS employee raises the issue of whether the public has the right to see the e-mails and Web-viewing habits of state workers. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003861655_openrecords31m.html
Google a victim of EarthLink woes with cancellation of S.F. Wi-Fi – The collapse of Mayor Gavin Newsom's ambitious plan to bring free wireless Internet access to San Francisco dealt a blow to Google Inc., which had hoped to use the system to test an array of new products. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/31/BUT6RSDTU.DTL&feed=rss.business
GENERAL NEWS
Ore. troopers catching more triple-digit speeders – For some drivers, breaking the speed limit is just not enough. They have to smash it. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OR_SUPER_SPEEDERS_OROL-?SITE=KOPB&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Craig fallout: Idaho will lose millions, influence –Idaho stands to lose influence and millions of federal dollars now that the state's senior U.S. senator has lost committee leadership positions and faces increasing pressure from Republican leaders to resign. (the Associated Press via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP08312007news191299.cfm
DIVERSIONS
Meteor 'outburst' expected Saturday morning – Find a place to lie down and look up Saturday morning, because a meteor "outburst" is forecast over the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/NEWS/708310305
Got Arachnophobia? Here’s Your Worst Nightmare
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31spider.html?ex=1346212800&en=2e6183a24921db2d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Japanese men girdle up for battle of the bulge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15340920070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Russian man arrested for stealing bridge
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER15321120070831?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Naked man does hula, steals beer at store
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070830/ap_on_fe_st/naked_man_theft;_ylt=AlEy_HwKRqh1LomXRqGookHtiBIF
Thursday, August 30, 2007
News Digest for August 30, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Protean • \PROH-tee-un\ • adjective – 1: of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms *2: displaying great diversity or variety: versatile
Woody Allen’s film “Zelig” celebrated the ultimate protean character. Titled the “Human Chameleon”, Leonard Zelig took on the attributes of those around him as a way to fit in. (I especially love the hidden camera interview where Zelig, under hypnosis, goes on and on about his psychiatrist’s lousy pancakes.)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Oregon – Manufacturer says design probably not cause of turbine collapse – Turbine blades turning at excessive speeds might have caused last weekend's fatal tower collapse at an Eastern Oregon wind farm, according to a spokeswoman for the manufacturer. (Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-907278~Manufacturer_says_design_probably_not_cause_of_turbine_collapse.html
Energy case kicked back to regulators – A ruling says new info needs to be studied in 2000-01 energy crisis. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered federal regulators to re-examine evidence that electricity wholesalers in the Northwest, including Portland General Electric, may have overcharged buyers for power on the spot market in 2000 and 2001. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/118844072291800.xml&coll=7
Senator takes aerial tour of hydro dams operated by BPA – As U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., flies over the sprawling system of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin, he can't help but think this power network could play a role in boosting renewable energy in Montana. (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/08/30/news/state/35-tester.txt
Lawsuit delays Montana power plant – Construction of a coal-fired power plant near Great Falls will be delayed pending resolution of a lawsuit that challenged the project's $650 million federal loan request, the project's general manager said Wednesday. (The Associated Press, via the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune)
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/regional/310e600fe97620d88725734600810067.txt
Clatsop officials endorse LNG plan – Proponents of a proposed LNG terminal on the lower Columbia River got a boost Wednesday when the Clatsop County Planning Commission endorsed the project. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/08/30/area_news/news06.txt
News Release – Pickering Community Celebrates New Bell Tower at Historic Grant School (Mason County PUD No. 3 web site)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=358
Suit tests Arizona Corporation Commission 'no' to Calif. power line – A new lawsuit will test how much state utility regulators can restrict companies shipping power generated here to other states. (Arizona Daily Star)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/business/198167.php
New York – Low water in river means loss of hydropower to Alcoa plants – Power supplied by the New York Power Authority to Alcoa's two smelters here is curtailed because of low water in the St. Lawrence River. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffkkosoTUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Ex San Miguel Power Association SMPA employees tell of drinking, “inappropriate graphical images” – Management at the SMPA seeded an office culture where lewd e-mails circulated and employees drank at work and drove home in company vehicles, two former employees said in interviews. (Telluride Daily Planet…”Great Caesar’s Ghost!”)
http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/news01.txt
Ohio Governor calls for mix of market-based, regulated electric rates (Columbus Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/08/27/daily21.html?ana=from_rss
Ohio governor proposes re-regulation of electricity (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2935526620070829?rpc=44
Deregulation/Restructuring Prove To Be a Long Term Force For Change And Utility Decision Making (PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5Cffkntyz%5BUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Utility's federal lobbying heavy: Spending to sway legislation may near company's peak – Duke Energy Corp. has spent more than $1 million this year trying to influence legislation in Washington, including proposed global-warming regulations (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffipunoXUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Ontario to spend $25B on nuclear plants (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/08/29/ontario-nuclear.html
Canadian activists board, chain themselves to coal ship –Several Greenpeace activists who boarded a coal-carrying bulk ore carrier on Lake Erie en route to a power plant in Nanticoke, Ont., have now chained themselves to the ship. (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070830.wgreenpeace0830/BNStory/National/home
Oops! Power outage hits nuclear weapons lab – An electric transformer failed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory this morning, causing a six-hour power outage that affected 107 of the lab's 700 laboratories. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNDIRRN39.DTL&feed=rss.news
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Little pink salmon in really big trouble – A huge run of pink salmon is backed up behind a White River dam. The problem highlights a dispute over fish and river management. Biologists will try to help.(News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/143968.html
Salmon Will Get an Upstream Route on Bainbridge Island Creek (The Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/29/salmon-will-get-an-upstream-route-on-bi-creek/
State, tribes agree to try negotiating over culverts (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070830/NEWS01/108300042
Canada – If Sockeye's back, why not Coho in Alouette River?
http://www.mapleridgenews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=46&cat=23&id=1053677&more=0
Olympia man among finalists for Wild Salmon Hall of Fame – An Olympia man is one of five finalists, one of whom will be selected for induction into the Wild Salmon Hall of Fame. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/144088.html
Archaeological tests find no more Beckett Point remains –Work on a nearly $3 million Jefferson County Public Utility District community septic system at Beckett Point, which stalled in late May after prehistoric Native American remains and artifacts were uncovered, has been cleared to resume (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/NEWS/708230301
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
North American Renewables Market to Reach $24.6 Billion in 2010 (Renewable Energy Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49796&src=rss
Ohio Considers Renewable Portfolio Standard – Governor will include "clean coal" and nuclear projects in the proposed energy portfolio. (Renewable Energy Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49804&src=rss
Toronto turns to lake water for air conditioning – Cold water drawn from Lake Ontario cools buildings and provides big energy savings. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p13s01-stgn.html
South Carolina utility will pay you for electricity – Starting in October, Santee Cooper will buy excess power from customers who make electricity with solar panels and other generators in a bid to bolster its green energy offerings and silence criticism from environmentalists. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffjmnmnUUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Tri-City Herald Opinion – A regional goal -- reducing emissions. It's more a leveling than it is a breakthrough, but the Western Climate Initiative is good news just the same.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9263014p-9177895c.html
United Kingdom – Rating needed for eco claims (The Times Online)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article2344110.ece
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PUD NETWORK TO UPGRADE EQUIPMENT OVERNIGHT – Mason County Public Utility District No. 3 will upgrade equipment on its fiber-optic network from 11:30 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday, curtailing Internet traffic over the PUD network. The upgrade will improve reliability, according to a PUD news release. (The Olympian)
Join the club…San Francisco citywide Wi-Fi plan fizzles as provider backs off – Mayor Gavin Newsom's high-profile effort to blanket San Francisco with a free wireless Internet network died Wednesday when provider EarthLink backed out of a proposed contract with the city. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNEJRRO70.DTL&feed=rss.news
Missouri – Light poles create delay in rollout of city's Wi-Fi network: Still waiting for citywide Wi-Fi in St. Louis? It might be awhile. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/34E21F9F755952D286257347000CFEE2?OpenDocument
Arkansans Call for Better Web Access – Rural advocacy groups and educators told two members of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday that a lack of high-speed Internet is hurting Arkansas' Delta and other poor regions (Associated Press, via the Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5092818.html
Yahoo’s New President Oversees a Shake-Up – Susan L. Decker, Yahoo’s new president, is reorganizing the company’s management ranks with a new division responsible for generating the bulk of the company’s revenue. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/technology/30yahoo.html?ex=1346126400&en=f50e8ce9eefb197e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Craig's Problems Have Mixed Implications For Oregon “…The delegation sticks together and works together in terms of timber payments, also on issues dealing with the Bonneville Power Administration, what to do with Hanford…” (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/craigs-problems-have-mixed-implications-oregon/
Women must repay Indian advocates – Two women have one year to pay $62,400 in restitution to an advocacy group for American Indian education, or else face conviction on felony theft charges for stealing from the group when they were board members. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/203399.html
That buttery aroma might be toxic, too – Common chemical in popcorn at center of concern (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/329640_popcorn30.html
DIVERSIONS
This is awesome! Comcast's Official Make a New Pot of Coffee Policy (The Consumerist, Note that there may be PG-13 language in the comments section)
http://consumerist.com/consumer/leaks/comcasts-official-make-a-new-pot-of-coffee-policy-294597.php
Helmsley leaves dog $12M, two grandkids zero (“My inheritance is for the ‘little people’”)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003858534_webhelmsley29.html?syndication=rss
Toddlers Can Still Marry In Ark. – Gov.: Special Session Not Worth Expense
http://www.kirotv.com/family/13992389/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01150308292007&ts=H
Police Arrest Boys Suspected Of Milkshake Attacks
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14006462/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Thief steals case, but misses $13,000 inside
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER05193420070830?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Teenage driver held over 140 mph YouTube video
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER05113020070830?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Tree Sitter Update – University of California decision to erect fence results in protest, 2 arrests. With more than 72,000 people expected to converge on Cal's Memorial Stadium on Saturday for a sold-out football game, the university on Wednesday erected a chain-link fence to separate fans and the band of protesters living in trees near the stadium.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6758622?source=rss&nclick_check=1
WORD OF THE DAY
Protean • \PROH-tee-un\ • adjective – 1: of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms *2: displaying great diversity or variety: versatile
Woody Allen’s film “Zelig” celebrated the ultimate protean character. Titled the “Human Chameleon”, Leonard Zelig took on the attributes of those around him as a way to fit in. (I especially love the hidden camera interview where Zelig, under hypnosis, goes on and on about his psychiatrist’s lousy pancakes.)
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Oregon – Manufacturer says design probably not cause of turbine collapse – Turbine blades turning at excessive speeds might have caused last weekend's fatal tower collapse at an Eastern Oregon wind farm, according to a spokeswoman for the manufacturer. (Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-907278~Manufacturer_says_design_probably_not_cause_of_turbine_collapse.html
Energy case kicked back to regulators – A ruling says new info needs to be studied in 2000-01 energy crisis. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered federal regulators to re-examine evidence that electricity wholesalers in the Northwest, including Portland General Electric, may have overcharged buyers for power on the spot market in 2000 and 2001. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/118844072291800.xml&coll=7
Senator takes aerial tour of hydro dams operated by BPA – As U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., flies over the sprawling system of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin, he can't help but think this power network could play a role in boosting renewable energy in Montana. (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/08/30/news/state/35-tester.txt
Lawsuit delays Montana power plant – Construction of a coal-fired power plant near Great Falls will be delayed pending resolution of a lawsuit that challenged the project's $650 million federal loan request, the project's general manager said Wednesday. (The Associated Press, via the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune)
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/regional/310e600fe97620d88725734600810067.txt
Clatsop officials endorse LNG plan – Proponents of a proposed LNG terminal on the lower Columbia River got a boost Wednesday when the Clatsop County Planning Commission endorsed the project. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/08/30/area_news/news06.txt
News Release – Pickering Community Celebrates New Bell Tower at Historic Grant School (Mason County PUD No. 3 web site)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=358
Suit tests Arizona Corporation Commission 'no' to Calif. power line – A new lawsuit will test how much state utility regulators can restrict companies shipping power generated here to other states. (Arizona Daily Star)
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/business/198167.php
New York – Low water in river means loss of hydropower to Alcoa plants – Power supplied by the New York Power Authority to Alcoa's two smelters here is curtailed because of low water in the St. Lawrence River. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffkkosoTUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Ex San Miguel Power Association SMPA employees tell of drinking, “inappropriate graphical images” – Management at the SMPA seeded an office culture where lewd e-mails circulated and employees drank at work and drove home in company vehicles, two former employees said in interviews. (Telluride Daily Planet…”Great Caesar’s Ghost!”)
http://www.telluridegateway.com/articles/2007/08/30/news/news01.txt
Ohio Governor calls for mix of market-based, regulated electric rates (Columbus Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/08/27/daily21.html?ana=from_rss
Ohio governor proposes re-regulation of electricity (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2935526620070829?rpc=44
Deregulation/Restructuring Prove To Be a Long Term Force For Change And Utility Decision Making (PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5Cffkntyz%5BUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Utility's federal lobbying heavy: Spending to sway legislation may near company's peak – Duke Energy Corp. has spent more than $1 million this year trying to influence legislation in Washington, including proposed global-warming regulations (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffipunoXUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Ontario to spend $25B on nuclear plants (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/08/29/ontario-nuclear.html
Canadian activists board, chain themselves to coal ship –Several Greenpeace activists who boarded a coal-carrying bulk ore carrier on Lake Erie en route to a power plant in Nanticoke, Ont., have now chained themselves to the ship. (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070830.wgreenpeace0830/BNStory/National/home
Oops! Power outage hits nuclear weapons lab – An electric transformer failed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory this morning, causing a six-hour power outage that affected 107 of the lab's 700 laboratories. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNDIRRN39.DTL&feed=rss.news
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Little pink salmon in really big trouble – A huge run of pink salmon is backed up behind a White River dam. The problem highlights a dispute over fish and river management. Biologists will try to help.(News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/143968.html
Salmon Will Get an Upstream Route on Bainbridge Island Creek (The Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/29/salmon-will-get-an-upstream-route-on-bi-creek/
State, tribes agree to try negotiating over culverts (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070830/NEWS01/108300042
Canada – If Sockeye's back, why not Coho in Alouette River?
http://www.mapleridgenews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=46&cat=23&id=1053677&more=0
Olympia man among finalists for Wild Salmon Hall of Fame – An Olympia man is one of five finalists, one of whom will be selected for induction into the Wild Salmon Hall of Fame. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/144088.html
Archaeological tests find no more Beckett Point remains –Work on a nearly $3 million Jefferson County Public Utility District community septic system at Beckett Point, which stalled in late May after prehistoric Native American remains and artifacts were uncovered, has been cleared to resume (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/NEWS/708230301
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
North American Renewables Market to Reach $24.6 Billion in 2010 (Renewable Energy Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49796&src=rss
Ohio Considers Renewable Portfolio Standard – Governor will include "clean coal" and nuclear projects in the proposed energy portfolio. (Renewable Energy Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49804&src=rss
Toronto turns to lake water for air conditioning – Cold water drawn from Lake Ontario cools buildings and provides big energy savings. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0830/p13s01-stgn.html
South Carolina utility will pay you for electricity – Starting in October, Santee Cooper will buy excess power from customers who make electricity with solar panels and other generators in a bid to bolster its green energy offerings and silence criticism from environmentalists. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via PowerMarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffjmnmnUUokt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Tri-City Herald Opinion – A regional goal -- reducing emissions. It's more a leveling than it is a breakthrough, but the Western Climate Initiative is good news just the same.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/opinions/v-rss/story/9263014p-9177895c.html
United Kingdom – Rating needed for eco claims (The Times Online)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article2344110.ece
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PUD NETWORK TO UPGRADE EQUIPMENT OVERNIGHT – Mason County Public Utility District No. 3 will upgrade equipment on its fiber-optic network from 11:30 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday, curtailing Internet traffic over the PUD network. The upgrade will improve reliability, according to a PUD news release. (The Olympian)
Join the club…San Francisco citywide Wi-Fi plan fizzles as provider backs off – Mayor Gavin Newsom's high-profile effort to blanket San Francisco with a free wireless Internet network died Wednesday when provider EarthLink backed out of a proposed contract with the city. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/MNEJRRO70.DTL&feed=rss.news
Missouri – Light poles create delay in rollout of city's Wi-Fi network: Still waiting for citywide Wi-Fi in St. Louis? It might be awhile. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/34E21F9F755952D286257347000CFEE2?OpenDocument
Arkansans Call for Better Web Access – Rural advocacy groups and educators told two members of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday that a lack of high-speed Internet is hurting Arkansas' Delta and other poor regions (Associated Press, via the Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5092818.html
Yahoo’s New President Oversees a Shake-Up – Susan L. Decker, Yahoo’s new president, is reorganizing the company’s management ranks with a new division responsible for generating the bulk of the company’s revenue. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/technology/30yahoo.html?ex=1346126400&en=f50e8ce9eefb197e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
GENERAL NEWS
Craig's Problems Have Mixed Implications For Oregon “…The delegation sticks together and works together in terms of timber payments, also on issues dealing with the Bonneville Power Administration, what to do with Hanford…” (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/craigs-problems-have-mixed-implications-oregon/
Women must repay Indian advocates – Two women have one year to pay $62,400 in restitution to an advocacy group for American Indian education, or else face conviction on felony theft charges for stealing from the group when they were board members. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/203399.html
That buttery aroma might be toxic, too – Common chemical in popcorn at center of concern (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/329640_popcorn30.html
DIVERSIONS
This is awesome! Comcast's Official Make a New Pot of Coffee Policy (The Consumerist, Note that there may be PG-13 language in the comments section)
http://consumerist.com/consumer/leaks/comcasts-official-make-a-new-pot-of-coffee-policy-294597.php
Helmsley leaves dog $12M, two grandkids zero (“My inheritance is for the ‘little people’”)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003858534_webhelmsley29.html?syndication=rss
Toddlers Can Still Marry In Ark. – Gov.: Special Session Not Worth Expense
http://www.kirotv.com/family/13992389/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_nots&tmi=sea_nots_1_01150308292007&ts=H
Police Arrest Boys Suspected Of Milkshake Attacks
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14006462/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Thief steals case, but misses $13,000 inside
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER05193420070830?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Teenage driver held over 140 mph YouTube video
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER05113020070830?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Tree Sitter Update – University of California decision to erect fence results in protest, 2 arrests. With more than 72,000 people expected to converge on Cal's Memorial Stadium on Saturday for a sold-out football game, the university on Wednesday erected a chain-link fence to separate fans and the band of protesters living in trees near the stadium.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6758622?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
News Digest for August 29, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Crambo • \KRAM-boh\ • noun – A game in which one player gives a word or line of verse to be matched in rhyme by other players
I love the movie “Princess Bride”. Especially the game of crambo between Fezzik and Inigo. Let’s review it now! (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database)
Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no *harm*.
Fezzik: He's really very short on *charm*.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?
Vizzini: DYEEAAHHHHHH.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Oregon – Siemens looks at excessive blade speed in tower fall. Preliminary findings seem to move suspicion away from a structural problem (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1188354306162160.xml&coll=7
Okanogan County PUD moves forward with transmission line design – The PUD is going forward with design plans for the Pateros-to-Twisp 115-kilovolt transmission line. (The Omak Chronicle)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n070828b.shtml
The Grant County Public Utilities District offers workshop to study service costs – The PUD holds a public workshop next week to study electrical costs and determine the utility's future revenue requirements. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/08/28/news/news03.txt
Montana – Missoula Drops Proposal to Buy Power From Electric City Power. The Missoula City Council Monday approved Mayor John Engen’s motion to officially withdraw a proposal for purchasing energy from a Great Falls public power company with plans to build a coal-fired power plant. (New West)
http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/missoula_drops_proposal_to_buy_power_from_electric_city_power/C38/L38/
Seattle Times Columnist – Coal comes cheap, but it's still costly
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003857660_harrop29.html
British Columbia border towns balk at Alberta nuclear plan – Mayors of towns in B.C.'s Peace River region said Tuesday they want a voice in discussions about a proposal to build the first nuclear power plant in western Canada (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=318784a6-af2d-4366-aae8-4c3d877a245e
California – As temperatures rise, state officials urge power conservation (San Jose Mercury-News)
http://origin.mercurynews.com/healthandscience/ci_6748849?nclick_check=1
Maryland – Power rival of BGE falters: PSC suspends Ohms' license – Sheirmiar White launched Ohms Energy Co. in spring 2006 with a promise to beat Baltimore Gas and Electric's rates, hoping to show that deregulation could deliver lower electricity prices. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffgltvqSUnjt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Massachusetts - Compact: Don’t Expect Good News On Electric Bills. Take an antiquated infrastructure and outdated government energy policy, and add to it the region’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels and a lack of competition, and you’ve got the recipe for Cape Cod’s sky-high residential electrical rates. (Cape Cod Chronicle)
http://www.capecodchronicle.com/chatnews/chat083007_6.htm
Canadians seek better information, service from electric utilities – survey (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070828/b082873A.html
New Hampshire – Town Says Lights Out To Cut Costs. Official Says Move Saves Nearly $50,000 A Year
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13982639/detail.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Endangered-species suit planned – An environmental organization served notice Tuesday that it intends to sue a federal agency over 55 endangered species in 28 states and seek restoration of 8.7 million acres of protected habitat. (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003858059_envirosuit29m.html?syndication=rss
Washington State Governor Gregoire offers to negotiate over fixing culverts for salmon (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP08292007news190146.cfm
Chelan County PUD adjusts Lake Chelan water levels – The level of Lake Chelan will be a little lower this fall to help salmon and a little higher next June to help recreation. (The Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS04/708280344/1001/rss1001
Tearing down dams helps build up fish – Marmot Dam on the Sandy River and Brownsville Canal Company Dam on the Calapooia River (The Eugene Register-Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/08/28/b1.od.stahlberg.0828.p1.php?section=outdoors
Log airlift helps fish return to their roots – The logs added to the Stillaguamish River delta will help restore lost habitat. (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070829/NEWS01/108290010&news01ad=1
Oregon fish project is conservation award-winner “…The money came from Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife…” (Salem Statesman Journal)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/OUTDOORS/70828005/1034
Irrigation district shuts off taps early in SW Idaho – Come this weekend, a southwestern Idaho irrigation district is turning off water to hundreds of farmers in Nampa and Meridian. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/202656.html
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
California Looks to Neighbors for Green Energy – California is looking to tap green energy projects in bordering states to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. “…developers can avoid the state's intensive regulatory process while reaping the benefits of selling it green power…” (Green Wombat)
http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/08/california-look.html?section=magazines_business2
Long Island, NY – Wind farm debate split environmentalists (Newsday)
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzwind0829,0,7975620.story
Light Bulbs and Lost Opportunities - Part I A Case Study (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1548
Light Bulbs and Lost Opportunities - Part II The Big Picture (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1549
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Hot year blamed on greenhouse gases (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-08-28-hot-2006_N.htm?csp=34
Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change – The biggest animal rights groups do not always overlap in their missions, but now they have coalesced around a message that eating meat is worse for the environment than driving. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/media/29adco.html?ex=1346040000&en=600ab00df97a692e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
City of Chicago disconnecting from Wi-Fi vision – Chicago is curtailing its digital dreams, deciding to back away from municipal Wi-Fi service after failing to reach agreement with either of two companies that sought to build a wireless Internet network in the city. (Chicago Tribune, tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue_nowifi0828aug28,1,5694863.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Illinois – AT&T cancels citywide Wi-Fi plan. AT&T has scuttled plans it had to deploy wireless Internet with some free access throughout Springfield, according to Mayor Tim Davlin’s top aide. (Springfield Journal-Register)
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/15186.asp
EarthLink's Wi-Fi dreams may be fading – EarthLink's dreams of competing against the big telephone and cable companies are fading as it slashes nearly half its total work force in an effort to cut costs. (CNET News.com)
http://news.com.com/EarthLinks+Wi-Fi+dreams+may+be+fading/2100-7351-6204984.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703
Report: Wi-Fi to supersede wired Ethernet – Wi-Fi will start replacing wired Ethernet within the next two to three years, as users and applications go mobile, an IT analyst group has claimed. (CNET News.com)
http://news.com.com/Report%3A+Wi-Fi+to+supersede+wired+Ethernet/2100-7351_3-6205010.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703
Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future – Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.html?nav=rss_world
Congressional Research Service – Broadband Internet Regulation and Access: Background and Issues
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL33542
Oregon – Telecom bust survivor bulking up. Portland-based Integra will buy a Minnesota phone company and is looking at an IPO within two years (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1188267933219450.xml&coll=7
GENERAL NEWS
Hoodsport – Neighbors Angry Over 13-Year-Old Rapist Living Nearby (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/13992507/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Seattle Times Editorial – Gorton could be just what the nation needs: Slade Gorton could be the answer to President Bush's latest challenge — replacing his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003857655_sladed29.html
Copper thieves cost farmers millions in losses – Metal used widely in agricultural operations sells for about $3.50 a pound (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6748373?source=rss&nclick_check=1
DIVERSIONS
Portland Water Bureau posts mug of soaper on Web site – Portland hopes to humble vandals, like the 19-year-old who put dish soap in a popular fountain
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1188267907219450.xml&coll=7
Artist Arrested in Burning Man Torching (OK, maybe we can’t all related to the event, but I just HAD to post this story for the mug shot alone…priceless!)
http://www.examiner.com/a-905480~Artist_Arrested_in_Burning_Man_Torching.html
Drivers warned: Don't trust your Sat Navs
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER94602320070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
In Italy – Roadside window-washers threatened with jail
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER94576020070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
WORD OF THE DAY
Crambo • \KRAM-boh\ • noun – A game in which one player gives a word or line of verse to be matched in rhyme by other players
I love the movie “Princess Bride”. Especially the game of crambo between Fezzik and Inigo. Let’s review it now! (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database)
Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no *harm*.
Fezzik: He's really very short on *charm*.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?
Vizzini: DYEEAAHHHHHH.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Oregon – Siemens looks at excessive blade speed in tower fall. Preliminary findings seem to move suspicion away from a structural problem (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1188354306162160.xml&coll=7
Okanogan County PUD moves forward with transmission line design – The PUD is going forward with design plans for the Pateros-to-Twisp 115-kilovolt transmission line. (The Omak Chronicle)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n070828b.shtml
The Grant County Public Utilities District offers workshop to study service costs – The PUD holds a public workshop next week to study electrical costs and determine the utility's future revenue requirements. (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/08/28/news/news03.txt
Montana – Missoula Drops Proposal to Buy Power From Electric City Power. The Missoula City Council Monday approved Mayor John Engen’s motion to officially withdraw a proposal for purchasing energy from a Great Falls public power company with plans to build a coal-fired power plant. (New West)
http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/missoula_drops_proposal_to_buy_power_from_electric_city_power/C38/L38/
Seattle Times Columnist – Coal comes cheap, but it's still costly
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003857660_harrop29.html
British Columbia border towns balk at Alberta nuclear plan – Mayors of towns in B.C.'s Peace River region said Tuesday they want a voice in discussions about a proposal to build the first nuclear power plant in western Canada (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=318784a6-af2d-4366-aae8-4c3d877a245e
California – As temperatures rise, state officials urge power conservation (San Jose Mercury-News)
http://origin.mercurynews.com/healthandscience/ci_6748849?nclick_check=1
Maryland – Power rival of BGE falters: PSC suspends Ohms' license – Sheirmiar White launched Ohms Energy Co. in spring 2006 with a promise to beat Baltimore Gas and Electric's rates, hoping to show that deregulation could deliver lower electricity prices. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CffgltvqSUnjt%3EEvbfem%5Ev
Massachusetts - Compact: Don’t Expect Good News On Electric Bills. Take an antiquated infrastructure and outdated government energy policy, and add to it the region’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels and a lack of competition, and you’ve got the recipe for Cape Cod’s sky-high residential electrical rates. (Cape Cod Chronicle)
http://www.capecodchronicle.com/chatnews/chat083007_6.htm
Canadians seek better information, service from electric utilities – survey (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/070828/b082873A.html
New Hampshire – Town Says Lights Out To Cut Costs. Official Says Move Saves Nearly $50,000 A Year
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13982639/detail.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Endangered-species suit planned – An environmental organization served notice Tuesday that it intends to sue a federal agency over 55 endangered species in 28 states and seek restoration of 8.7 million acres of protected habitat. (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003858059_envirosuit29m.html?syndication=rss
Washington State Governor Gregoire offers to negotiate over fixing culverts for salmon (The Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP08292007news190146.cfm
Chelan County PUD adjusts Lake Chelan water levels – The level of Lake Chelan will be a little lower this fall to help salmon and a little higher next June to help recreation. (The Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/NEWS04/708280344/1001/rss1001
Tearing down dams helps build up fish – Marmot Dam on the Sandy River and Brownsville Canal Company Dam on the Calapooia River (The Eugene Register-Guard)
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/08/28/b1.od.stahlberg.0828.p1.php?section=outdoors
Log airlift helps fish return to their roots – The logs added to the Stillaguamish River delta will help restore lost habitat. (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070829/NEWS01/108290010&news01ad=1
Oregon fish project is conservation award-winner “…The money came from Bonneville Power Administration, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife…” (Salem Statesman Journal)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070828/OUTDOORS/70828005/1034
Irrigation district shuts off taps early in SW Idaho – Come this weekend, a southwestern Idaho irrigation district is turning off water to hundreds of farmers in Nampa and Meridian. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/202656.html
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
California Looks to Neighbors for Green Energy – California is looking to tap green energy projects in bordering states to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. “…developers can avoid the state's intensive regulatory process while reaping the benefits of selling it green power…” (Green Wombat)
http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/08/california-look.html?section=magazines_business2
Long Island, NY – Wind farm debate split environmentalists (Newsday)
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzwind0829,0,7975620.story
Light Bulbs and Lost Opportunities - Part I A Case Study (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1548
Light Bulbs and Lost Opportunities - Part II The Big Picture (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1549
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Hot year blamed on greenhouse gases (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-08-28-hot-2006_N.htm?csp=34
Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change – The biggest animal rights groups do not always overlap in their missions, but now they have coalesced around a message that eating meat is worse for the environment than driving. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/media/29adco.html?ex=1346040000&en=600ab00df97a692e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
City of Chicago disconnecting from Wi-Fi vision – Chicago is curtailing its digital dreams, deciding to back away from municipal Wi-Fi service after failing to reach agreement with either of two companies that sought to build a wireless Internet network in the city. (Chicago Tribune, tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue_nowifi0828aug28,1,5694863.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Illinois – AT&T cancels citywide Wi-Fi plan. AT&T has scuttled plans it had to deploy wireless Internet with some free access throughout Springfield, according to Mayor Tim Davlin’s top aide. (Springfield Journal-Register)
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/15186.asp
EarthLink's Wi-Fi dreams may be fading – EarthLink's dreams of competing against the big telephone and cable companies are fading as it slashes nearly half its total work force in an effort to cut costs. (CNET News.com)
http://news.com.com/EarthLinks+Wi-Fi+dreams+may+be+fading/2100-7351-6204984.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e703
Report: Wi-Fi to supersede wired Ethernet – Wi-Fi will start replacing wired Ethernet within the next two to three years, as users and applications go mobile, an IT analyst group has claimed. (CNET News.com)
http://news.com.com/Report%3A+Wi-Fi+to+supersede+wired+Ethernet/2100-7351_3-6205010.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703
Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future – Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.html?nav=rss_world
Congressional Research Service – Broadband Internet Regulation and Access: Background and Issues
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL33542
Oregon – Telecom bust survivor bulking up. Portland-based Integra will buy a Minnesota phone company and is looking at an IPO within two years (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1188267933219450.xml&coll=7
GENERAL NEWS
Hoodsport – Neighbors Angry Over 13-Year-Old Rapist Living Nearby (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/13992507/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
Seattle Times Editorial – Gorton could be just what the nation needs: Slade Gorton could be the answer to President Bush's latest challenge — replacing his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003857655_sladed29.html
Copper thieves cost farmers millions in losses – Metal used widely in agricultural operations sells for about $3.50 a pound (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6748373?source=rss&nclick_check=1
DIVERSIONS
Portland Water Bureau posts mug of soaper on Web site – Portland hopes to humble vandals, like the 19-year-old who put dish soap in a popular fountain
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1188267907219450.xml&coll=7
Artist Arrested in Burning Man Torching (OK, maybe we can’t all related to the event, but I just HAD to post this story for the mug shot alone…priceless!)
http://www.examiner.com/a-905480~Artist_Arrested_in_Burning_Man_Torching.html
Drivers warned: Don't trust your Sat Navs
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER94602320070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
In Italy – Roadside window-washers threatened with jail
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSHER94576020070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
News Digest for August 28, 2007
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.
WORD OF THE DAY
Auriferous • \aw-RIF-uh-russ\ • adjective – containing gold
The auriferous traits of the goose were well known by the locals. Less well known was the bird’s unnerving habit of dropping her two-pound golden eggs while in flight over the pedestrian mall near the farmer’s market. “Try to explain that to your insurance agent,” she was known to honk as she flew to her next victim’s noggin.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Authorities identify victim of Oregon wind turbine accident as 34-year-old Goldendale, Wash., man (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/08/authorities_identify_victim_of.html
Investigators look for cause of Ore. turbine collapse (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-903246~Investigators_look_for_cause_of_Ore__turbine_collapse.html
BPA to workers: Bring the stuff back – If you work at Bonneville Power Administration and happen to be in possession of a gently used bucket truck, high-voltage transmission tower or pair of pliers marked "property of BPA," the agency would like it back -- no questions asked. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1188271506322970.xml&coll=7
Clatskanie PUD's Ollila decides to fight recall effort (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/08/28/area_news/news11.txt
COWLITZ PUD REPORTS SOME SUCCESS SINCE REPLACING STOLEN COPPER WIRE WITH STEEL – Work that began in December to replace stolen copper ground wires from Cowlitz PUD utility poles is nearly 40 percent complete, according to utility spokesman Dave Andrew. The high price of copper was leading metal thieves to steal the copper wires, which protect the electrical equipment from power surges. The PUD has been replacing the stolen wires with steel wire has a low resale value and is more difficult to cut, said Andrew. The tactic is working, according to Andrew. "We have found some vandalism on the new ones, and it's obvious people aren't having much luck," Andrew said. "It's much harder to cut. Hopefully the word's on the street that it's not worth the time." The copper wire thievery was not concentrated in any one area. "It's all over," Andrew said. "We found ground wires missing in every corner of the county. Everywhere we see a residential area, we see more, but that's because we're closer together." Ground wires have been stolen from thousands of poles, and Andrew previously estimated it would cost about $300,000 to repair the damage. He did not have a summary of costs to date on Friday. (The Daily News, Longview)
New York – City Street Lights Carry Con-Ed Shock. Stray Voltage A 'Concern' (The New York Post)
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/news/regionalnews/a_new_con_ed_shock.htm
Plants are fueling debate on energy – Nearly half of all Americans wouldn't be able to turn the lights on if the country were to immediately ban the use of coal-fired power plants. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Powermarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CfemrnqrTUmit%3EEvbfem%5Ev
(Meanwhile) With coal production, cleaner skies could mean more landfills – As the nation's coal-fired power plants work to create cleaner skies, they'll likely fill up landfills with millions more tons of potentially harmful ash. (The Associated Press, via the Charleston Daily Mail)
http://dailymail.com/static/apnews/?story=ap0012n.php
To clean coal, start-up GreatPoint makes gas – A group of environmentally oriented entrepreneurs has landed in an unlikely spot: the coal business. Their company, GreatPoint Energy, is commercializing a technology to convert coal to natural gas--turning one of the dirtiest fuels into one of the cleanest. (CNET News)
http://news.com.com/To+clean+coal%2C+start-up+GreatPoint+makes+gas/2100-11392_3-6204422.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703
But, does it play in Peoria? Court upholds coal plant construction – Plant near St. Louis would employ 450 permanent workers (Peoria Journal Star)
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/082807/REG_BE6PUFDI.049.php
Texas PUC bares weak teeth on TXU deal: In notes, regulators worry about how to protect public (The Dallas Morning News, via Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/news/display_news_story.cfm?Section=WireNews&Category=HOME&NewsID=151342
Oops! Armed Guard Found Asleep at Nuke Plant – A federal inspector found an armed guard asleep at a gate inside the Indian Point nuclear power plants but officials said Monday there was no security breach. (Associated Press, via Huffington Post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070827/indian-point-asleep/
The Columbian’s look back at past editorials – Rewind: '57: Atomic race is on. Cheap nuclear power is the goal of a costly technological race between the U.S., Great Britain, and Soviet Russia.
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/08272007news189307.cfm
United Kingdom – Time to pull the plug on dual-fuel power deals. Getting gas and electricity from the same supplier may no longer make financial sense (The Times Online)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/consumer_affairs/article2326750.ece
Michigan – DTE under fire for late pay: Utility admits payments to some vendors are tardy because of switch to new computer system, crippling some businesses. (The Detroit News)
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/BIZ/708270305/1001/rss21
Texas – Oncor uses nanotechnology to fight copper wire theft. Oncor Electric Delivery will implement a new technology that is designed to both discourage would-be criminals from stealing copper from the company's substations and switchyards (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/304077/22/ARTCL/none/none/Oncor-uses-nanotechnology-to-fight-copper-wire-theft/
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Jefferson County PUD to Benefit – $50,000 grant to aid Beckett Point project: Jefferson County has been awarded a $50,000 grant to help with the expenses of the Beckett Point septic project, which was delayed by the finding of Native American remains and artifacts. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS/708270305
Montana – Restoring cutthroats to habitat requires first choking out nonnative brook trout (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/08/28/news/state/18-trout_z.txt
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
Wind power group spent $384,000 lobbying – The American Wind Energy Association, which represents the wind power industry, spent nearly $384,000 to lobby the federal government in the first half of 2007, according to a disclosure form. (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-19167182.htm
Backer is out, but plans for Moses Lake ethanol plant continue – A Redmond company will continue to work on building a huge ethanol factory in Moses Lake, even though a key backer is no longer involved. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/201379.html
What is the Cause of the Parts Shortages in the Wind Industry? (Renewable Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49774&src=rss
Missouri - Large-scale energy users try to conserve. As City Utilities announces record usage, its largest customers look for ways to save (Springfield Business Journal)
http://www.sbj.net/article.asp?aID=5743576.7052881.1020565.85772202.670934.374&aID2=78496
As an Energy-Saver, the Clothesline Makes a Comeback (WABC-TV, New York)
http://ww2.7online.com/Global/story.asp?S=6992871
Body heat touted as power source – German scientists claimed to have a developed a procedure that harnesses body heat in order to generate power, which in the future may be used to power mobile devices – Ectotherms need not apply. (Techworld)
http://www.techworld.com/green-it/news/index.cfm?newsID=9919&pagtype=all
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Climate Change: Get Over Objectivity, Newspapers – The industry still has a lot of power to influence people. How about if newspapers abandon their old way of doing things when it comes to the issue of global warming, and turn their influence to good? (Editor and Publisher magazine)
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/stopthepresses_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003631984
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Rural broadband drought puts hurt on retailer – The lack of broadband access in rural areas isn't just hurting individuals and small businesses. Even large retail chains, which often have stores in rural shopping centers, find that they can't get online. (Computerworld, Tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/6093
Speed up, with fiber – Cities across Minnesota consider building fiber optic networks as Internet connections around the globe zoom past those available in the U.S. (Pioneer Press, twincities.com Tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_6712026?nclick_check=1
P-I Columnist Bill Virgin – Internet is no longer the next big thing. The Internet is boring. It's obsolete; it has outlived its usefulness. The Internet is for old people. Hey, don't shoot the messenger with your rolled eyes and scoffing, dismissive remarks. Blame Mark Cuban.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/virgin/329192_virgin28.html
GENERAL NEWS
MILL FIRE ON JOHNS PRAIRIE – A fire substantially damaged Shearer Brothers Chipping operation on John's Prairie Monday night. According to Tim McKern, Assistant Chief for Mason County Fire District Five, firefighters responded to 500 East Millwright Road about 11pm to find the company's two story high lumber facility fully involved. Fire crews from Mason County Fire Districts Two, Three, Four, Six and Shelton Fire battled the blaze through the night, stopping the fire at what McKern called the "hoppers". Crews remained on the scene Tuesday morning mopping up hot spots. No one was in the mill and no injuries were reported. Cause of the fire is under investigation. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Scrap Metal Thieves Make Off With Bend Bleachers – A thief made off with a set of Bend High School's stadium bleachers last week, but was caught hours later when he allegedly tried to resell them as scrap metal. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/scrap-metal-thieves-make-bend-bleachers/
Coalition: Christmas trees are eco-friendly – Oregon’s two largest Christmas tree growers are joining forces to convince consumers that their product is the environmentally correct holiday choice. (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
http://gazettetimes.com/articles/2007/08/28/news/community/6aaa03_christmastrees.txt
DIVERSIONS
Oregon men accused of using rodent glue to steal park money
http://www.examiner.com/a-903220~Oregon_men_accused_of_using_rodent_glue_to_steal_park_money.html
Wedding couple, back from honeymoon, get bad news – Wedding crasher made off with their cash gifts
http://www.examiner.com/a-903548~Crashed_SoCal_wedding_couple__back_from_honeymoon__gets_bad_news.html
Really? The Claim: Swallowed Gum Takes a Long Time to Digest
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/health/28real.html?ei=5088&en=5afadfae70af5e5a&ex=1345953600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1188325297-9XSPMieHn0GJVGKFk+LX2w
WORD OF THE DAY
Auriferous • \aw-RIF-uh-russ\ • adjective – containing gold
The auriferous traits of the goose were well known by the locals. Less well known was the bird’s unnerving habit of dropping her two-pound golden eggs while in flight over the pedestrian mall near the farmer’s market. “Try to explain that to your insurance agent,” she was known to honk as she flew to her next victim’s noggin.
WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/index.php?minlon=-124.8&maxlon=-120.57&minlat=46.2&maxlat=49.33&mapwidth=354&map.x=144&map.y=269
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Authorities identify victim of Oregon wind turbine accident as 34-year-old Goldendale, Wash., man (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/08/authorities_identify_victim_of.html
Investigators look for cause of Ore. turbine collapse (The Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-903246~Investigators_look_for_cause_of_Ore__turbine_collapse.html
BPA to workers: Bring the stuff back – If you work at Bonneville Power Administration and happen to be in possession of a gently used bucket truck, high-voltage transmission tower or pair of pliers marked "property of BPA," the agency would like it back -- no questions asked. (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1188271506322970.xml&coll=7
Clatskanie PUD's Ollila decides to fight recall effort (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2007/08/28/area_news/news11.txt
COWLITZ PUD REPORTS SOME SUCCESS SINCE REPLACING STOLEN COPPER WIRE WITH STEEL – Work that began in December to replace stolen copper ground wires from Cowlitz PUD utility poles is nearly 40 percent complete, according to utility spokesman Dave Andrew. The high price of copper was leading metal thieves to steal the copper wires, which protect the electrical equipment from power surges. The PUD has been replacing the stolen wires with steel wire has a low resale value and is more difficult to cut, said Andrew. The tactic is working, according to Andrew. "We have found some vandalism on the new ones, and it's obvious people aren't having much luck," Andrew said. "It's much harder to cut. Hopefully the word's on the street that it's not worth the time." The copper wire thievery was not concentrated in any one area. "It's all over," Andrew said. "We found ground wires missing in every corner of the county. Everywhere we see a residential area, we see more, but that's because we're closer together." Ground wires have been stolen from thousands of poles, and Andrew previously estimated it would cost about $300,000 to repair the damage. He did not have a summary of costs to date on Friday. (The Daily News, Longview)
New York – City Street Lights Carry Con-Ed Shock. Stray Voltage A 'Concern' (The New York Post)
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08272007/news/regionalnews/a_new_con_ed_shock.htm
Plants are fueling debate on energy – Nearly half of all Americans wouldn't be able to turn the lights on if the country were to immediately ban the use of coal-fired power plants. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Powermarketers.com)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CfemrnqrTUmit%3EEvbfem%5Ev
(Meanwhile) With coal production, cleaner skies could mean more landfills – As the nation's coal-fired power plants work to create cleaner skies, they'll likely fill up landfills with millions more tons of potentially harmful ash. (The Associated Press, via the Charleston Daily Mail)
http://dailymail.com/static/apnews/?story=ap0012n.php
To clean coal, start-up GreatPoint makes gas – A group of environmentally oriented entrepreneurs has landed in an unlikely spot: the coal business. Their company, GreatPoint Energy, is commercializing a technology to convert coal to natural gas--turning one of the dirtiest fuels into one of the cleanest. (CNET News)
http://news.com.com/To+clean+coal%2C+start-up+GreatPoint+makes+gas/2100-11392_3-6204422.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703
But, does it play in Peoria? Court upholds coal plant construction – Plant near St. Louis would employ 450 permanent workers (Peoria Journal Star)
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/082807/REG_BE6PUFDI.049.php
Texas PUC bares weak teeth on TXU deal: In notes, regulators worry about how to protect public (The Dallas Morning News, via Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/news/display_news_story.cfm?Section=WireNews&Category=HOME&NewsID=151342
Oops! Armed Guard Found Asleep at Nuke Plant – A federal inspector found an armed guard asleep at a gate inside the Indian Point nuclear power plants but officials said Monday there was no security breach. (Associated Press, via Huffington Post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070827/indian-point-asleep/
The Columbian’s look back at past editorials – Rewind: '57: Atomic race is on. Cheap nuclear power is the goal of a costly technological race between the U.S., Great Britain, and Soviet Russia.
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/08272007news189307.cfm
United Kingdom – Time to pull the plug on dual-fuel power deals. Getting gas and electricity from the same supplier may no longer make financial sense (The Times Online)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/consumer_affairs/article2326750.ece
Michigan – DTE under fire for late pay: Utility admits payments to some vendors are tardy because of switch to new computer system, crippling some businesses. (The Detroit News)
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/BIZ/708270305/1001/rss21
Texas – Oncor uses nanotechnology to fight copper wire theft. Oncor Electric Delivery will implement a new technology that is designed to both discourage would-be criminals from stealing copper from the company's substations and switchyards (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/304077/22/ARTCL/none/none/Oncor-uses-nanotechnology-to-fight-copper-wire-theft/
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Jefferson County PUD to Benefit – $50,000 grant to aid Beckett Point project: Jefferson County has been awarded a $50,000 grant to help with the expenses of the Beckett Point septic project, which was delayed by the finding of Native American remains and artifacts. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070827/NEWS/708270305
Montana – Restoring cutthroats to habitat requires first choking out nonnative brook trout (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/08/28/news/state/18-trout_z.txt
CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
Wind power group spent $384,000 lobbying – The American Wind Energy Association, which represents the wind power industry, spent nearly $384,000 to lobby the federal government in the first half of 2007, according to a disclosure form. (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-19167182.htm
Backer is out, but plans for Moses Lake ethanol plant continue – A Redmond company will continue to work on building a huge ethanol factory in Moses Lake, even though a key backer is no longer involved. (The Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/201379.html
What is the Cause of the Parts Shortages in the Wind Industry? (Renewable Access.com)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49774&src=rss
Missouri - Large-scale energy users try to conserve. As City Utilities announces record usage, its largest customers look for ways to save (Springfield Business Journal)
http://www.sbj.net/article.asp?aID=5743576.7052881.1020565.85772202.670934.374&aID2=78496
As an Energy-Saver, the Clothesline Makes a Comeback (WABC-TV, New York)
http://ww2.7online.com/Global/story.asp?S=6992871
Body heat touted as power source – German scientists claimed to have a developed a procedure that harnesses body heat in order to generate power, which in the future may be used to power mobile devices – Ectotherms need not apply. (Techworld)
http://www.techworld.com/green-it/news/index.cfm?newsID=9919&pagtype=all
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Climate Change: Get Over Objectivity, Newspapers – The industry still has a lot of power to influence people. How about if newspapers abandon their old way of doing things when it comes to the issue of global warming, and turn their influence to good? (Editor and Publisher magazine)
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/stopthepresses_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003631984
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Rural broadband drought puts hurt on retailer – The lack of broadband access in rural areas isn't just hurting individuals and small businesses. Even large retail chains, which often have stores in rural shopping centers, find that they can't get online. (Computerworld, Tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/6093
Speed up, with fiber – Cities across Minnesota consider building fiber optic networks as Internet connections around the globe zoom past those available in the U.S. (Pioneer Press, twincities.com Tip from Baller/Herbst)
http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_6712026?nclick_check=1
P-I Columnist Bill Virgin – Internet is no longer the next big thing. The Internet is boring. It's obsolete; it has outlived its usefulness. The Internet is for old people. Hey, don't shoot the messenger with your rolled eyes and scoffing, dismissive remarks. Blame Mark Cuban.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/virgin/329192_virgin28.html
GENERAL NEWS
MILL FIRE ON JOHNS PRAIRIE – A fire substantially damaged Shearer Brothers Chipping operation on John's Prairie Monday night. According to Tim McKern, Assistant Chief for Mason County Fire District Five, firefighters responded to 500 East Millwright Road about 11pm to find the company's two story high lumber facility fully involved. Fire crews from Mason County Fire Districts Two, Three, Four, Six and Shelton Fire battled the blaze through the night, stopping the fire at what McKern called the "hoppers". Crews remained on the scene Tuesday morning mopping up hot spots. No one was in the mill and no injuries were reported. Cause of the fire is under investigation. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Scrap Metal Thieves Make Off With Bend Bleachers – A thief made off with a set of Bend High School's stadium bleachers last week, but was caught hours later when he allegedly tried to resell them as scrap metal. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/scrap-metal-thieves-make-bend-bleachers/
Coalition: Christmas trees are eco-friendly – Oregon’s two largest Christmas tree growers are joining forces to convince consumers that their product is the environmentally correct holiday choice. (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
http://gazettetimes.com/articles/2007/08/28/news/community/6aaa03_christmastrees.txt
DIVERSIONS
Oregon men accused of using rodent glue to steal park money
http://www.examiner.com/a-903220~Oregon_men_accused_of_using_rodent_glue_to_steal_park_money.html
Wedding couple, back from honeymoon, get bad news – Wedding crasher made off with their cash gifts
http://www.examiner.com/a-903548~Crashed_SoCal_wedding_couple__back_from_honeymoon__gets_bad_news.html
Really? The Claim: Swallowed Gum Takes a Long Time to Digest
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/health/28real.html?ei=5088&en=5afadfae70af5e5a&ex=1345953600&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1188325297-9XSPMieHn0GJVGKFk+LX2w
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