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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Vera Claussen, former public utility leader, dead in house fire
- Environmental groups to sue PGE over emissions at Boardman Power Plant
- Enron by proxy – Supreme Court Rules Against Investors in Securities Fraud Case
- United Kingdom – 'No collusion' over energy prices
- Head of Canadian Nuclear Regulator Fired
- Pennsylvania – Electricity bills could go up 60% in 2011 when Penelec fully deregulates
- Energy trader found guilty of natural gas price manipulation
- U.S. Energy Department's Budget Leader Stepping Away
- Oregon PUC scolded for laxity in applying '05 tax law
- Klamath groups offer plan for removing dams to help salmon
- New Twist on Sea Lions Versus Fish
- Chelan County PUD to study reducing hatchery water use
- Seattle seafood company sorry for sliming eagles in Kodiak
- California – Biologists: Salmon numbers declining in San Joaquin River
- On emptying seas, a vanishing way of life
- Don’t equivocate John – For McCain, Northwest echoes from eight years ago reverberate in his loss in Michigan (Snake River Dam comments not helpful)
- La Nina has Idaho water experts hopeful for 2008 water year
- Grant to help create 'road map' of Walla Walla aquifer
- Seattle Times Editorial – Milestone for wind
- Oregon wind project receives financial boost
- United Kingdom will have to build fifty times more wind turbines by 2020
- Wisconsin – Wind turbine bid challenges zoning
- Colorado – Vail Mountain goes green on ski slopes
- An energy saving bulb has gone - evacuate the room now!
- Tennessee – Audit finds problems with state energy program
- Expert: ‘We’re energy pigs’
- Wisconsin – Lieutenant Governor announces "Energy Star Tax Holiday"
- Group gets busy with carbon plan
- New test for developers in Maine: climate change
- Hole In Comcast Fiber Optic Line Leaves Thousands Without Cable
- 10 Things You Need to Know About the Future of Broadband
- WA gov touts 'real progress' in State of State Address
- Washington State jobless rate up slightly in December
- $200,000 of Marijuana Seized In Shelton Drug Bust
- Auditor: Lewis County Commissioners Violated Law
- Residents of Texas Town Abuzz Over Dozens of UFO Sightings
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
In place of an example sentence, I thought folks would find it interesting to learn the origin of the term “Hoist with his own petard”.
Petard • \puh-TARD\ • noun – 1: a case containing an explosive to break down a door or gate or breach a wall 2: a firework that explodes with a loud report
Etymology: Middle French, from peter to break wind, from pet expulsion of intestinal gas, from Latin peditum, from neuter of peditus, past participle of pedere to break wind; akin to Greek bdein to break wind
What's a Petard, and Why Does It Get Hoisted?
Q. What is the origin of the expression to hoist with his own petard? Is it hoist with or hoist by? When it's used in the past tense, is it you were hoist or hoisted with/by your own petard? And what the heck is a petard, anyway?
A petard was a case containing an explosive. It was used in warfare to blow open a door, a gate, or create a hole in a wall. The word comes from the Latin pedere, to break wind. When you are hoist (or hoisted) with (or by) your own petard, you are blown up by your own bomb (or flatus). The expression first appeared in Shakespeare's Hamlet as hoist with his own petar (the form without d is an archaic spelling). It is used figuratively today to mean that your own scheming against others backfires and hurts you instead.
From: What in the Word? by Charles Harrington Elster
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Environmental groups to sue PGE over emissions at Boardman Power Plant (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/01/14/daily8.html?ana=from_rss
Enron by proxy – Supreme Court Rules Against Investors in Securities Fraud Case – The Supreme Court today curbed the ability of investors who lost money through corporate fraud to sue businesses that may have helped facilitate the crime. (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011501329.html?wpisrc=_rssnation
Energy trader found guilty of price manipulation – Former Shell Trading Gas and Power Co. employee Anthony Dizona was found guilty Jan. 15 in a Houston federal court of attempting to manipulate natural gas prices on eight occasions. (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/01/14/daily28.html?ana=from_rss
Vera Claussen, former public utility leader, dead in house fire (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1161226~Vera_Claussen__former_public_utility_leader__dead_in_house_fire.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
U.S. Energy Department's Budget Leader Stepping Away (KNDO/KNDU, Tri-Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7629352
Oregon PUC scolded for laxity in applying '05 tax law – A judge in Marion County says the state's largest utilities failed to adjust customer rates quickly enough (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1200457511148420.xml&coll=7
Pennsylvania – Electricity bills could go up 60% in 2011 when Penelec fully deregulates (Titusville Herald)
http://www.titusvilleherald.com/articles/2008/01/16/news/news01.txt
United Kingdom – 'No collusion' over energy prices. Energy regulator Ofgem has said that there was no evidence that any of the recent gas and electricity price hikes are down to collusion between suppliers. (Just coincidence, nothin’ to see here…The Press Association)
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hxeIeHEEl4JvJQMgcCDOamBmz3gQ
Head of Canadian Nuclear Regulator Fired (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/business/16cnd-nuke.html?_r=1&ex=1358226000&en=4f9fe81adc7a09c9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
California – Sierra Sun Opinion: Debate over coal continues to burn. What the Truckee community — and probably many others — learned during the “Great Contract Debate” of late 2006 was that much of the electricity consumers use is generated by burning coal.
http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20080115/OPINION/817742246
Illinois Farmers Fight Off Pipeline – Alberta-to-Texas Crude Oil Conveyance Hits a Wall of Resistance (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/15/AR2008011503299.html?wpisrc=rss_nation
California – SMUD has money to give. Time running out for those on unclaimed list to speak up (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/294/story/588953.html
Chelan hydro project to be multinational – Manufacturers who build or design new components for the Chelan County PUD’s Lake Chelan Hydro Project will speak Portuguese, French and English. Some of them could dance a mean samba. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/NEWS04/876277152/1025/rss1025
Maine – Canadian linemen show skills to U.S. 'cable dogs' (Augusta Chronicle)
http://chronicle.augusta.com/ystories/011608/met_180576.shtml
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Klamath groups offer plan for removing dams to help salmon (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1159599~Klamath_groups_offer_plan_for_removing_dams_to_help_salmon.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines
New Twist On Sea Lions Versus Fish – Wildlife officials try to scare away Steller sea lions feasting on Columbia River sturgeon (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/256043.html
Chelan County PUD to study reducing hatchery water use – The PUD will spend about $1 million over the next three years to study ways of reducing the Eastbank Fish Hatchery's use of fresh water. (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080115/NEWS04/519803834/1025/rss1025
Seattle seafood company sorry for sliming eagles in Kodiak (The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01162008news263576.cfm
California – Biologists: Salmon numbers declining in San Joaquin River (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7977999?nclick_check=1
On emptying seas, a vanishing way of life (Christian Science Monitor)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080116/ts_csm/omedfish
Don’t equivocate John – For McCain, Northwest echoes from eight years ago reverberate in his loss in Michigan (Snake River Dam comments not helpful – The Oregonian)
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/01/for_mccain_northwest_echoes_fr.html
La Nina has Idaho water experts hopeful for 2008 water year (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/328457.html
Grant to help create 'road map' of local aquifer – The shallow aquifer system of the Little Walla Walla and Walla Walla rivers will be studied. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2008/01/15/local_news/local01.txt
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Seattle Times Editorial – Milestone for wind. Duck out of the wind for a minute and celebrate the Northwest attaining an important renewable-energy milestone.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004126957_winded16.html
Oregon wind project receives financial boost (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/01/14/daily12.html?ana=from_rss
United Kingdom will have to build fifty times more wind turbines by 2020 – Britain will have to install six times more wind turbines on land and 50 times more wind turbines at sea by the end of the next decade under rules to be announced by Brussels next week. (The Telegraph)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/15/eawind115.xml
Wisconsin – Wind turbine bid challenges zoning: But tower's power gives town reason for thought (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Chnuopoq%5BTjg%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
Colorado – Vail Mountain goes green on ski slopes – Midway through its 45th season, Colorado’s largest ski resort has become one of the nation’s leaders in using alternative energy to help reduce its carbon footprint. (The Daily Sentinel)
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/sports/stories/2008/01/16/011608_OUT_ski_Green_WWW.html
CONSERVATION
An energy saving bulb has gone - evacuate the room now! (The Daily Mail, United Kingdom)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_article_id=506347&in_page_id=1965
Tennessee – Audit finds problems with state energy program. An audit has questioned state government's energy efficiency and conservation efforts. (WMC-TV, Memphis)
http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=7629124
Expert: ‘We’re energy pigs’ – As valley guzzles fuels, community members wonder about impact. (Jackson Hole News & Guide)
http://www.jacksonholenews.com/article.php?art_id=2636
Wisconsin – Lieutenant Governor announces "Energy Star Tax Holiday" (Dane101)
http://www.dane101.com/current/2008/01/15/lieutenant_governor_announces_energy_star_tax_holiday
News Release – Mr. Handyman Shares Insight on How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient (Mr. Handyman, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080115/20080115006363.html?.v=1
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Group gets busy with carbon plan – Sustainable Life • Deal to ‘cap and trade’ regional emissions could get look by ’09 Legislature (Portland Tribune)
http://portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=120035137305916100
New test for developers in Maine: climate change (Christian Science Monitor)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080116/ts_csm/adevelop
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Hole In Comcast Fiber Optic Line Leaves Thousands Without Cable (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15057669/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=news
10 Things You Need to Know About the Future of Broadband (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/01/16/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-future-of-broadband/
GENERAL NEWS
WA gov touts 'real progress' in State of State Address (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/328429.html
Washington State jobless rate up slightly in December – But year-end figures show that the rate is at a historical low (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347405_jobs16.html?source=rss
$200,000 OF MARIJUANA SEIZED IN SHELTON DRUG BUST – Deputies from the Mason County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Group arrested two Shelton residents Monday for Manufacturing and Possessing Marijuana after a search warrant was served on their residence at 860 East Jensen Road. Arrested and booked into the Mason County Jail were 48-year-old John Gordon Reed and 44-year-old Karen Leann Mower. Both were booked on charges of Possession of Marijuana with intent to deliver and Manufacturing Marijuana. The arrests were the result of a week long investigation stemming from a complaint about the couple's drug activity. The ensuing investigation provided enough information for officers to obtain a search warrant. During the search of the residence, deputies found thirty eight budding marijuana plants that deputies estimated would yield one pound of product per plant, thirty six juvenile marijuana plants, approximately 2.2 pounds of processed bagged marijuana, hashish. Deputies also seized potting soil, several high density discharge 1000 watt lamps, ballasts, watering systems, air purifiers and other items related to manufacturing and selling marijuana, and over $3,000 in cash. When officers contacted Reed and Mower, they told officers they both had medical authorizations to possess marijuana. Officers found an authorization for Reed only. That authorization was for a “60 day supply not to exceed three ounces.” The amount of product found by deputies clearly exceeded the amount the couple was authorized to possess. Deputies placed a value of the seized marijuana at $200,000 if sold on the street. At last report, both suspects remain in custody on $5,000 bail, each. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Auditor: Lewis County Commissioners Violated Law – Public Meetings: Auditors Remind Commissioners They Are Bound to Discuss Public Matters in Public (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1200424201&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&
DIVERSIONS
Residents Of Texas Town Abuzz Over Dozens Of UFO Sightings
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15053876/detail.html
Don't send in the clowns – Bad news for Coco and Blinko -- children don't like clowns and even older kids are scared of them.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1582409620080116?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Police ask suspect: aren't you dead?
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0959265620080116?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Energy News Digest for January 15, 2008
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.
The news digest is also available at the following web site:
http://www.energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Washington State joins Snohomish County PUD's fight on expensive power contract
- Maryland – Utilities commission orders Allegheny to hearings – Public outcry over cost of energy-efficient bulbs sparks action
- Montana – As coal-power plants boom, environmentalists launch legal assault
- Nuclear Safety Rule Ignites Strong Reactions
- Environmentalists Sue DOE over its creation of a corridor in the mid-Atlantic region
- FERC Eyeing New BPA Grid Interconnection Plan
- Transmission Developers Jolted
- Mason County PUD No. 3 receives national financial reporting award for third straight year
- Putting power to work for Western New York (cheap hydro supports industry)
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E launches work force development program
- Deep snowpack raises flood risk, forecasters warn
- Stakeholder group seeks to end rift between fishers
- Dallas Judge overturns TXU wind power supply award
- The Never-ending Story: Cape Wind Takes Step Forward
- California – Home builders group pledges to halve energy consumption by 2020
- Gregoire backs climate change legislation
- Satellite Will Search For Carbon “Sinks”
- Congressional Research – Pipelines for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Control
- Pollution Regulation's Unintended Consequences
- FCC Asks Comcast About Internet Filter
- Louisiana – Officials to begin Lafayette Utility Service fiber project
- Report Critical Of Cell Phone Ban On U.S. Planes
- 2008 Legislature leans toward green
- Jefferson commissioners approve rezoning for big Brinnon development
- Oops! Remember (Ed Hansen) that emails to public agencies are public records
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Auctorial • \awk-TOR-ee-ul\ • adjective – Of or relating to an author
Of all his auctorial duties, Dagwood’s required appearances at signing parties were the most feared and loathed. It wasn’t until the fourth such appearance at a bookstore in Dirt, North Dakota that he decided to only sign books in his personal secret code. Therefore, the recipient of the book would never know that although the inscription said “best wishes” the real meaning was “get lost”. Dagwood’s quality life was thereby improved immeasurably, and he looked forward to his appointments with glee.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Washington State joins Snohomish County PUD's fight on expensive power contract - The support is key to the PUD's argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080115/NEWS01/366808079/-1/RSS01
Maryland – Utilities commission orders Allegheny to hearings – Public outcry over cost of energy-efficient bulbs sparks action (Frederick News Post)
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=70008
Montana – As coal-power plants boom, environmentalists launch legal assault (Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1157113~As_coal_power_plants_boom__environmentalists_launch_legal_assault.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
Nuclear Safety Rule Ignites Strong Reactions (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402576.html?wpisrc=_rssbusiness
Environmentalists Sue DOE over its creation of a corridor in the mid-Atlantic region that could smooth the way for construction of new power lines. (Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUAYKjXaNb0UbYadhIOt3nwte31gD8U5S1AO2
FERC Eyeing New BPA Grid Interconnection Plan “…BPA…is considering the open season concept for its new grid interconnection approach…” (Trading Markets.com)
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/988027/
Transmission Developers Jolted – A proposed project to supply power throughout the East has come under fierce opposition. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5ChntusklVTif%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
News Release – Mason County PUD No. 3 receives national financial reporting award for third straight year (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=406
Putting power to work for Western New York: For the first time in a half-century, state officials are preparing to rethink the use of a huge block of low-cost hydropower generated north of Niagara Falls that's intended to promote economic development in Western New York. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChnqpvtpVTif%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E launches work force development program (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/01/14/daily16.html?ana=from_rss
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Deep snowpack raises flood risk, forecasters warn (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/15//area_news/10059249.txt
Oregon – A winter haven. A five-year Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife study is showing how small streams like Hamilton Creek in Ashland may help wild salmon survive (Mail-Tribune, Medford)
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS/801140319
Stakeholder group seeks to end rift between fishers – Sport and commercial representatives to discuss river fishing seasons (Daily Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=48332&TM=25757.47
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Dallas Judge overturns TXU award – A Dallas judge has overturned a jury decision that awarded TXU Corp. $8.9 million last June related to a flap over wind energy. (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/01/14/daily7.html?ana=from_rss
News Release – Electric Power Supply Association issues statement on renewable energy “…Organized electricity markets provide ease of access to grid; clear market signals to encourage investment; and large land area to compensate for variability…” (ThomasNet)
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/538468
The Never-ending Story: Cape Wind Takes Step Forward (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51128&src=rss
CONSERVATION
California – Home builders group pledges to halve energy consumption by 2020 (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/15/BUMTUF79S.DTL&feed=rss.business
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Gregoire backs climate change legislation (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347291_climate15.html?source=rss
Satellite Will Search For Carbon “Sinks” (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3483
Congressional Research – Regulation of Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions: State and Federal Standards
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RS22788
Congressional Research – Pipelines for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Control: Network Needs and Cost Uncertainties
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34316
Pollution Regulation's Unintended Consequences – Two recent energy stories were cheered by environmentalists and booed by the Wall Street Journal. Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to warn about climate change. American Electric Power was fined $4.6 billion for modifying old coal-fired power plants. (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1645
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC Asks Comcast About Internet Filter – Comcast Corp. Monday said it has received a letter of inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission regarding complaints that the company actively interferes with its subscribers' Internet traffic. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004126113_apcomcastdatadiscrimination15.html?syndication=rss
Vermont – Search broadens in rural options for broadband (Burlington Free Press, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS02/801140320/1007
Kansas – Municipal WiFi Provider Forces Local Monopoly to Offer Free Broadband Service (The Lawrencian, via Baller/Herbst)
http://buzz.lawrencian.com/lfnwifi.html
Louisiana – Officials to begin Lafayette Utility Service fiber project. Lafayette officials celebrated a milestone in the Lafayette Utilities System's fiber-to-the-home project Thursday. (The Daily Advertiser, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080111/BUSINESS/801110322/1046
Report Critical Of Cell Phone Ban On U.S. Planes (Boo-Hoo! Information Week)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080115/tc_cmp/205604708
GENERAL NEWS
2008 Legislature leans toward green – Poll gives governor a 13-percentage-point lead over Rossi, but it might not be enough (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347379_poll15.html
Jefferson commissioners approve rezoning for big Brinnon development; permits next (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080115/NEWS/801150307
DIVERSIONS
Oops! Remember that emails to public agencies are public records – Go 2 Guy: Too bad boosters can't be fired (Seattle Post Intelligencer fingers Ed Hansen in UW booster correspondence)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/huskies/347353_moore15.html
Man Apologizes For Profane Remark On Check To Pay Parking Ticket
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15044945/detail.html
Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile Singing Contest Locations
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7625136
Citroen apologizes for scowling Mao ad
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1549505420080115?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Germans puff on as smoking ban fizzles
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1421202620080115?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
The news digest is also available at the following web site:
http://www.energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Washington State joins Snohomish County PUD's fight on expensive power contract
- Maryland – Utilities commission orders Allegheny to hearings – Public outcry over cost of energy-efficient bulbs sparks action
- Montana – As coal-power plants boom, environmentalists launch legal assault
- Nuclear Safety Rule Ignites Strong Reactions
- Environmentalists Sue DOE over its creation of a corridor in the mid-Atlantic region
- FERC Eyeing New BPA Grid Interconnection Plan
- Transmission Developers Jolted
- Mason County PUD No. 3 receives national financial reporting award for third straight year
- Putting power to work for Western New York (cheap hydro supports industry)
- California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E launches work force development program
- Deep snowpack raises flood risk, forecasters warn
- Stakeholder group seeks to end rift between fishers
- Dallas Judge overturns TXU wind power supply award
- The Never-ending Story: Cape Wind Takes Step Forward
- California – Home builders group pledges to halve energy consumption by 2020
- Gregoire backs climate change legislation
- Satellite Will Search For Carbon “Sinks”
- Congressional Research – Pipelines for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Control
- Pollution Regulation's Unintended Consequences
- FCC Asks Comcast About Internet Filter
- Louisiana – Officials to begin Lafayette Utility Service fiber project
- Report Critical Of Cell Phone Ban On U.S. Planes
- 2008 Legislature leans toward green
- Jefferson commissioners approve rezoning for big Brinnon development
- Oops! Remember (Ed Hansen) that emails to public agencies are public records
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Auctorial • \awk-TOR-ee-ul\ • adjective – Of or relating to an author
Of all his auctorial duties, Dagwood’s required appearances at signing parties were the most feared and loathed. It wasn’t until the fourth such appearance at a bookstore in Dirt, North Dakota that he decided to only sign books in his personal secret code. Therefore, the recipient of the book would never know that although the inscription said “best wishes” the real meaning was “get lost”. Dagwood’s quality life was thereby improved immeasurably, and he looked forward to his appointments with glee.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Washington State joins Snohomish County PUD's fight on expensive power contract - The support is key to the PUD's argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080115/NEWS01/366808079/-1/RSS01
Maryland – Utilities commission orders Allegheny to hearings – Public outcry over cost of energy-efficient bulbs sparks action (Frederick News Post)
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=70008
Montana – As coal-power plants boom, environmentalists launch legal assault (Associated Press, via the Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1157113~As_coal_power_plants_boom__environmentalists_launch_legal_assault.html?cid=rss-Montana_Headlines
Nuclear Safety Rule Ignites Strong Reactions (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402576.html?wpisrc=_rssbusiness
Environmentalists Sue DOE over its creation of a corridor in the mid-Atlantic region that could smooth the way for construction of new power lines. (Associated Press)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUAYKjXaNb0UbYadhIOt3nwte31gD8U5S1AO2
FERC Eyeing New BPA Grid Interconnection Plan “…BPA…is considering the open season concept for its new grid interconnection approach…” (Trading Markets.com)
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/988027/
Transmission Developers Jolted – A proposed project to supply power throughout the East has come under fierce opposition. (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5ChntusklVTif%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
News Release – Mason County PUD No. 3 receives national financial reporting award for third straight year (Mason County PUD No. 3)
http://www.masonpud3.org/News/display.asp?NewsID=406
Putting power to work for Western New York: For the first time in a half-century, state officials are preparing to rethink the use of a huge block of low-cost hydropower generated north of Niagara Falls that's intended to promote economic development in Western New York. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News via Power Marketers Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChnqpvtpVTif%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
California – Pacific Gas and Electric PG&E launches work force development program (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/01/14/daily16.html?ana=from_rss
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Deep snowpack raises flood risk, forecasters warn (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/15//area_news/10059249.txt
Oregon – A winter haven. A five-year Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife study is showing how small streams like Hamilton Creek in Ashland may help wild salmon survive (Mail-Tribune, Medford)
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS/801140319
Stakeholder group seeks to end rift between fishers – Sport and commercial representatives to discuss river fishing seasons (Daily Astorian)
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=48332&TM=25757.47
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Dallas Judge overturns TXU award – A Dallas judge has overturned a jury decision that awarded TXU Corp. $8.9 million last June related to a flap over wind energy. (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/01/14/daily7.html?ana=from_rss
News Release – Electric Power Supply Association issues statement on renewable energy “…Organized electricity markets provide ease of access to grid; clear market signals to encourage investment; and large land area to compensate for variability…” (ThomasNet)
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/538468
The Never-ending Story: Cape Wind Takes Step Forward (Renewable Energy Access)
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=51128&src=rss
CONSERVATION
California – Home builders group pledges to halve energy consumption by 2020 (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/15/BUMTUF79S.DTL&feed=rss.business
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Gregoire backs climate change legislation (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347291_climate15.html?source=rss
Satellite Will Search For Carbon “Sinks” (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3483
Congressional Research – Regulation of Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions: State and Federal Standards
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RS22788
Congressional Research – Pipelines for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Control: Network Needs and Cost Uncertainties
http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL34316
Pollution Regulation's Unintended Consequences – Two recent energy stories were cheered by environmentalists and booed by the Wall Street Journal. Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to warn about climate change. American Electric Power was fined $4.6 billion for modifying old coal-fired power plants. (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1645
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC Asks Comcast About Internet Filter – Comcast Corp. Monday said it has received a letter of inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission regarding complaints that the company actively interferes with its subscribers' Internet traffic. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004126113_apcomcastdatadiscrimination15.html?syndication=rss
Vermont – Search broadens in rural options for broadband (Burlington Free Press, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS02/801140320/1007
Kansas – Municipal WiFi Provider Forces Local Monopoly to Offer Free Broadband Service (The Lawrencian, via Baller/Herbst)
http://buzz.lawrencian.com/lfnwifi.html
Louisiana – Officials to begin Lafayette Utility Service fiber project. Lafayette officials celebrated a milestone in the Lafayette Utilities System's fiber-to-the-home project Thursday. (The Daily Advertiser, via Baller/Herbst)
http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080111/BUSINESS/801110322/1046
Report Critical Of Cell Phone Ban On U.S. Planes (Boo-Hoo! Information Week)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080115/tc_cmp/205604708
GENERAL NEWS
2008 Legislature leans toward green – Poll gives governor a 13-percentage-point lead over Rossi, but it might not be enough (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347379_poll15.html
Jefferson commissioners approve rezoning for big Brinnon development; permits next (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080115/NEWS/801150307
DIVERSIONS
Oops! Remember that emails to public agencies are public records – Go 2 Guy: Too bad boosters can't be fired (Seattle Post Intelligencer fingers Ed Hansen in UW booster correspondence)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/huskies/347353_moore15.html
Man Apologizes For Profane Remark On Check To Pay Parking Ticket
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15044945/detail.html
Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile Singing Contest Locations
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7625136
Citroen apologizes for scowling Mao ad
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1549505420080115?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Germans puff on as smoking ban fizzles
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1421202620080115?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Monday, January 14, 2008
Energy News Digest for January 14, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Utilities try to deter wire thieves
- Montana coal plans wait
- Oregon – Wyden: Reserve electricity needed
- Maryland – O'Malley to offer energy package
- Maryland – Area lawmakers demand Allegheny refund customers for light bulbs
- PSE asks for conservation proposals
- United Kingdom – Energy rip-off exposed
- With Nuke Rebirth Come New Worries
- Bucknell professor says utility choices, power alternatives to come at high cost
- Columbia River ports wary of LNG plans
- Clallam PUD considers water use goals
- Several thousand anchovies die in WA Hood Canal
- Salmon arrive late, but Klamath Basin returns beating goals
- Oregon ocean troll salmon fishing marks second-worst year in '07
- Sport, commercial fishing interests vie for allocations
- Debris another culprit harming marine life in Puget Sound
- Oregon Legislature's Feb. session to seek more water for rural Oregon
- Idaho – Hearings officer sides with state in south-central water dispute
- A Long-Dry California River Gets, and Gives, New Life
- Idaho, grass growers, environmentalists reach field-burning deal
- Yacolt, Oregon – Parrots get new roost
- Fuel Bills Steep? Burn Corn – Renewable Energy No Pipe Dream
- In warming Mediterranean, a model of energy-efficient building
- California – Critics cool to 'smart thermostat' proposal
- Aspen, CO Times Op/Ed – The hypocrisy of Aspen
- Seattle Times Editorial – Green choices
- Last Year Among Hottest On Record, Say Scientists
- Study Says Glaciers Formed During a Very Warm Period
- California – Race for '08: Voters split on global warming cost
- Clearwire cuts staff but says it wants to grow
- Official: Idaho must be ready if Micron leaves
- Yahoo’s Core Value Is Falling
- Telecommuting not so great for those left in office
- WA lawmakers open `safety & security' session Monday
- Liz Loomis Appointed To State Legislature
- Low Flying Aircraft Over Shelton Tuesday
- Grays Harbor – Weyco holds closed-bid auction for mill
- Western Washington construction industry needs more gravel pits
- Snohomish County – Pet waste is turning streams into sewers
- Weather Channel Ratings – Methow Valley listed top family winter getaway
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Invidious • \in-VID-ee-us\ • adjective – 1: tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy 2: envious 3a: of an unpleasant or objectionable nature: obnoxious *b: of a kind to cause harm or resentment.
“You’re wearing a silly hat,” thundered Octavio during the morning session on energy conservation. Ignoring the remark, the hardy presenter droned on about heat pumps and cost savings. “You’re mother wears army boots,” marked the next salvo in Octavio’s barrage of invidious comments. His barking, irrelevant comments were the only points that kept the attendees awake. Unfortunately for the presenter, the only things the attendees remembered were something about boots and hats.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Utilities try to deter wire thieves – Color-coding might make it harder for the criminals to sell the costly material to metal recyclers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1200014711154130.xml&coll=7
Montana coal plans wait – Laundry list of mining and power projects twisting in the wind. (Casper Star-Tribune)
http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/01/07/news/regional/d17f90ce1c84637d872573c700267703.txt
Oregon – Wyden: Reserve electricity needed. “…Wyden said he is working with his constituents in Washington, D.C., to ‘change their priorities’ to better address energy needs on the North Coast…” (Seaside Signal)
http://seasidesignal.com/articles/2008/01/11/news/local_news/doc47879ee3aa1cd367643936.txt
Maryland – O'Malley to offer energy package. Plan boosts conservation, could raise consumer costs (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.power14jan14,0,4691318.story?track=rss
Maryland – Area lawmakers demand Allegheny refund customers for light bulbs (Herald-Mail, Hagerstown)
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=183053&format=html
Maryland – Federal officials say bulb mailings already might be illegal (Herald-Mail, Hagerstown)
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=183057&format=html
PSE asks for conservation proposals (I would suggest staying away from unsolicited CFL promotions – Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347111_pse12.html?source=rss
United Kingdom – Energy rip-off exposed. Britain’s biggest energy companies have stifled competition to raise prices and make record profits of more than £4.5 billion, a Sunday Times investigation has found. (Times of London)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3177612.ece
With Nuke Rebirth Come New Worries – Global warming and rocketing oil prices are making nuclear power fashionable, drawing a once demonized industry out of the shadows of the Chernobyl disaster as a potential shining knight of clean energy. (Associated Press, via San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/12/international/i100252S42.DTL&feed=rss.business
Pennsylvania – Bucknell professor says utility choices, power alternatives to come at high cost (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Chnogoqr%5BTfc%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
Australia – Costs 'lower' for privatized power. Victorian consumers are paying less for electricity now than in the days when the state government owned and ran the power industry; undermining claims by unions in NSW that privatization means higher prices. (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23053211-5005200,00.html
News Release – PJM Names Terry Boston as President & CEO (PR Newswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-11-2008/0004734975&EDATE=
Columbia River ports wary of LNG plans – The shipping vessels that travel the Columbia River can cost as much as $60,000 each day to operate, said Larry Paulson, the Port of Vancouver's executive director. The companies that own them, he said, are not fond of delays. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/13//area_news/doc4789b4eca69e5282774481.txt
Man gets jail for gas theft: He illegally tapped utility line to heat his garage – A Menomonee Falls who said a fire that heavily damaged his garage was divine comeuppance for stealing natural gas to heat it got his earthly punishment on Thursday. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChnmhlqvYTfc%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Clallam PUD considers water use goals –PUD commissioners will accept public comment and consider adoption of new water use efficiency goals today. (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3354
Several thousand anchovies die in WA Hood Canal (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/324884.html
Salmon arrive late, but Klamath Basin returns beating goals – After three straight lean years, 2007 returns of wild fall Chinook salmon to the Klamath Basin have exceeded the minimums set by federal fisheries managers. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004121399_klamathsalmon12m.html?syndication=rss
Oregon ocean troll salmon fishing marks second-worst year in '07 (KTVZ-TV, Bend)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7617570
Sport, commercial fishing interests vie for allocations (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/01/01132008_Sport-commercial-fishing-interests-vie-for-allocations.cfm
Debris another culprit harming marine life in Puget Sound – Lost fishing gear, creosote pilings add to dangers (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347029_creosote12.html?source=rss
Oregon Legislature's Feb. session to seek more water for rural Oregon “Sen. Brad Avakian… and others said Oregon soon will have to face up to dwindling water supplies…” (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1200165849268220.xml&storylist=orlocal
Idaho – Hearings officer sides with state in south-central water dispute. A former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice has upheld most of a 2005 order aimed at resolving disputes between groundwater users and two fish farms (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/325454.html
Montana – ‘People will enjoy this open space for a long time’. Several major conservation easements were executed…last month, capping a busy year for easements in the Flathead Valley. “...Grant funding from the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and from BPA’s Hungry Horse Dam fisheries mitigation program…” (Daily Interlake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/01/13/news/news02.txt
A Long-Dry California River Gets, and Gives, New Life – One of the largest river-restoration projects in the country has sent a gentle current of water meandering through what just a year ago was largely a sandy, rocky bed best used as a horse trail and barely distinguishable from the surrounding high desert scrub. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/us/12water.html?ex=1357880400&en=c1a2183800954fd2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Idaho, grass growers, environmentalists reach field-burning deal (But is it still carbon neutral since it’s the burning of biomass? – Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/324791.html
Yacolt, Oregon – Parrots get new roost. Several Quaker Parrots who have made an unlikely home in this rural burg were a cheerful bunch on Saturday. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01132008_Parrots-get-new-roost.cfm/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Fuel Bills Steep? Burn Corn – Renewable Energy No Pipe Dream (No, really: burn corn in your stove! – WRTV-TV, Indianapolis)
http://www.theindychannel.com/money/15008942/detail.html
In warming Mediterranean, a model of energy-efficient building – In Athens, Sol Energy Hellas is headquartered in a building powered entirely by renewable energy. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0114/p13s01-woeu.html
Laidlaw Energy files $10 mill lawsuit against NY town; seeks judgment to operate cogeneration facility (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/316757/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/Laidlaw-Energy-files-$10-mill-lawsuit-against-NY-town;-seeks-judgment-to-operate-cogeneration-facility/
CONSERVATION
California – Critics cool to 'smart thermostat' proposal – New thermostats in homes and businesses would be fitted with technology that would allow utilities to change a building's temperature by remote control under a proposal being considered by state energy officials. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/12/MNHDUDAQ3.DTL&feed=rss.news
Aspen, CO Times Op/Ed – The hypocrisy of Aspen. A guest opinion in last week’s Aspen Times (“A Recipe for Foreign Oil Dependence” Jan. 8) charged that Aspen is hypocritical in its environmental stance against regional energy development because local energy appetites are conspicuous and excessive.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080114/COLUMN/784294045
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Seattle Times Editorial – Green choices. Gov. Christine Gregoire's voice needs to be heard on the environmental proposals car-pooling to Olympia this legislative session.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004118975_envied11.html
Last Year Among Hottest On Record, Say Scientists (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103483.html?wpisrc=rss_technology
Study Says Glaciers Formed During a Very Warm Period – Giant glaciers formed about 90 million years ago during a warm period when alligators thrived in the Arctic (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/europe/11glacier.html?ex=1357880400&en=ac256a44ec656b42&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
California – Race for '08: Voters split on global warming cost. Some fear businesses will be hobbled (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/631856.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Clearwire cuts staff but says it wants to grow (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347089_clearwire12.html?source=rss
Official: Idaho must be ready if Micron leaves – Company’s losses have been mounting as prices for its products have collapsed. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/262286.html
Yahoo’s Core Value Is Falling – Still more rumors that Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo. (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/yahoos-core-value-is-falling/index.html?ex=1357880400&en=13a0da1e51f16988&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Broadband access on the rise in West Virginia (Cumberland News-Times)
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_014093804.html
Telecommuting not so great for those left in office – Telecommuting may boost morale, and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study. (Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080111/wr_nm/ba_work_telecommuting_dc_1
GENERAL NEWS
WA lawmakers open `safety & security' session Monday (Associated Press, via The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01142008news261933.cfm?newsletter=10
LOOMIS APPOINTED TO STATE LEGISLATURE – The Snohomish County Council has appointed Liz Loomis to fill the 44th District seat in the state Legislature vacated by John Lovick, who was recently elected county sheriff. Loomis, a former Snohomish City Council member who lost a re-election bid in 2005, owns Liz Loomis Public Affairs, a public relations and strategic communications agency that specializes in public power issues. Since 2001 she has also headed PeoplePower, which helps educate and encourages grassroots efforts on behalf of consumer-owned utilities in the Northwest, including 21 Washington PUD members.
LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT OVER SHELTON TUESDAY – A reminder: an aircraft will be flying low over the City of Shelton Tuesday. The plane will be conducting an aerial survey of the Hillcrest area for the Sewer Basin Five Inflow and Infiltration Reduction project. The aircraft will be taking pictures of structures, utility locations and the general area. This will provide a comprehensive picture of the area for design of the project. City officials are alerting residents of this low flying aircraft so people do NOT think the plane is in distress. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Grays Harbor – Weyco holds closed-bid auction for mill “…Those interested reportedly include…a joint offer made by the Grays Harbor PUD and California-based Evergreen Pulp…” (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/01/12/local_news/02news.txt
Western Washington construction industry needs more gravel pits (Seattle Times, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1156573~Western_Washington_construction_industry_needs_more_gravel_pits.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Snohomish County – Pet waste is turning streams into sewers. The county is finishing a $475,000 effort to protect creeks and encourage pet owners to scoop and bag. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080114/NEWS01/456182906&news01ad=1
Weather Channel Ratings – Methow Valley listed top family winter getaway (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS04/557081408/1001
There are rules for leaving effective, useful voice mail – As we clean our desks and promise to start the new year fresh, perhaps it's time to rethink how we handle voice mail. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347082_voicemail14.html
DIVERSIONS
Home demolition begins with grandma, four others still inside – RCMP were forced to step in when the owner of a Fraser Valley home began a planned demolition while five former renters were still inside.
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=943c78b5-c869-487a-ac53-d345ead998e3&k=80842
Twins separated at birth met and married
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC17037920080111?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Parents snort as school enforces pig rearing
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1438977520080114?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Fishing License Stickers Don't Stick to Boats
http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=0399CE0E2C4E463E659B5D11C2314B7B?contentId=5476290&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1
NY Post Parks Simpson Twin Behind Cowboys’ Bench
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/lynsey-nordstrom-photos-jessica-simpson-twin-hired-by-nypost-for-giants-game-15415
Man reels Hummer Limo out of Lake Texoma
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/13758402.html
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Utilities try to deter wire thieves
- Montana coal plans wait
- Oregon – Wyden: Reserve electricity needed
- Maryland – O'Malley to offer energy package
- Maryland – Area lawmakers demand Allegheny refund customers for light bulbs
- PSE asks for conservation proposals
- United Kingdom – Energy rip-off exposed
- With Nuke Rebirth Come New Worries
- Bucknell professor says utility choices, power alternatives to come at high cost
- Columbia River ports wary of LNG plans
- Clallam PUD considers water use goals
- Several thousand anchovies die in WA Hood Canal
- Salmon arrive late, but Klamath Basin returns beating goals
- Oregon ocean troll salmon fishing marks second-worst year in '07
- Sport, commercial fishing interests vie for allocations
- Debris another culprit harming marine life in Puget Sound
- Oregon Legislature's Feb. session to seek more water for rural Oregon
- Idaho – Hearings officer sides with state in south-central water dispute
- A Long-Dry California River Gets, and Gives, New Life
- Idaho, grass growers, environmentalists reach field-burning deal
- Yacolt, Oregon – Parrots get new roost
- Fuel Bills Steep? Burn Corn – Renewable Energy No Pipe Dream
- In warming Mediterranean, a model of energy-efficient building
- California – Critics cool to 'smart thermostat' proposal
- Aspen, CO Times Op/Ed – The hypocrisy of Aspen
- Seattle Times Editorial – Green choices
- Last Year Among Hottest On Record, Say Scientists
- Study Says Glaciers Formed During a Very Warm Period
- California – Race for '08: Voters split on global warming cost
- Clearwire cuts staff but says it wants to grow
- Official: Idaho must be ready if Micron leaves
- Yahoo’s Core Value Is Falling
- Telecommuting not so great for those left in office
- WA lawmakers open `safety & security' session Monday
- Liz Loomis Appointed To State Legislature
- Low Flying Aircraft Over Shelton Tuesday
- Grays Harbor – Weyco holds closed-bid auction for mill
- Western Washington construction industry needs more gravel pits
- Snohomish County – Pet waste is turning streams into sewers
- Weather Channel Ratings – Methow Valley listed top family winter getaway
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Invidious • \in-VID-ee-us\ • adjective – 1: tending to cause discontent, animosity, or envy 2: envious 3a: of an unpleasant or objectionable nature: obnoxious *b: of a kind to cause harm or resentment.
“You’re wearing a silly hat,” thundered Octavio during the morning session on energy conservation. Ignoring the remark, the hardy presenter droned on about heat pumps and cost savings. “You’re mother wears army boots,” marked the next salvo in Octavio’s barrage of invidious comments. His barking, irrelevant comments were the only points that kept the attendees awake. Unfortunately for the presenter, the only things the attendees remembered were something about boots and hats.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Utilities try to deter wire thieves – Color-coding might make it harder for the criminals to sell the costly material to metal recyclers (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1200014711154130.xml&coll=7
Montana coal plans wait – Laundry list of mining and power projects twisting in the wind. (Casper Star-Tribune)
http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/01/07/news/regional/d17f90ce1c84637d872573c700267703.txt
Oregon – Wyden: Reserve electricity needed. “…Wyden said he is working with his constituents in Washington, D.C., to ‘change their priorities’ to better address energy needs on the North Coast…” (Seaside Signal)
http://seasidesignal.com/articles/2008/01/11/news/local_news/doc47879ee3aa1cd367643936.txt
Maryland – O'Malley to offer energy package. Plan boosts conservation, could raise consumer costs (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-te.md.power14jan14,0,4691318.story?track=rss
Maryland – Area lawmakers demand Allegheny refund customers for light bulbs (Herald-Mail, Hagerstown)
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=183053&format=html
Maryland – Federal officials say bulb mailings already might be illegal (Herald-Mail, Hagerstown)
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=183057&format=html
PSE asks for conservation proposals (I would suggest staying away from unsolicited CFL promotions – Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347111_pse12.html?source=rss
United Kingdom – Energy rip-off exposed. Britain’s biggest energy companies have stifled competition to raise prices and make record profits of more than £4.5 billion, a Sunday Times investigation has found. (Times of London)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3177612.ece
With Nuke Rebirth Come New Worries – Global warming and rocketing oil prices are making nuclear power fashionable, drawing a once demonized industry out of the shadows of the Chernobyl disaster as a potential shining knight of clean energy. (Associated Press, via San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/12/international/i100252S42.DTL&feed=rss.business
Pennsylvania – Bucknell professor says utility choices, power alternatives to come at high cost (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Chnogoqr%5BTfc%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
Australia – Costs 'lower' for privatized power. Victorian consumers are paying less for electricity now than in the days when the state government owned and ran the power industry; undermining claims by unions in NSW that privatization means higher prices. (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23053211-5005200,00.html
News Release – PJM Names Terry Boston as President & CEO (PR Newswire)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-11-2008/0004734975&EDATE=
Columbia River ports wary of LNG plans – The shipping vessels that travel the Columbia River can cost as much as $60,000 each day to operate, said Larry Paulson, the Port of Vancouver's executive director. The companies that own them, he said, are not fond of delays. (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/13//area_news/doc4789b4eca69e5282774481.txt
Man gets jail for gas theft: He illegally tapped utility line to heat his garage – A Menomonee Falls who said a fire that heavily damaged his garage was divine comeuppance for stealing natural gas to heat it got his earthly punishment on Thursday. (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChnmhlqvYTfc%7D38%7Dbfen%5Fv
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Clallam PUD considers water use goals –PUD commissioners will accept public comment and consider adoption of new water use efficiency goals today. (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3354
Several thousand anchovies die in WA Hood Canal (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/324884.html
Salmon arrive late, but Klamath Basin returns beating goals – After three straight lean years, 2007 returns of wild fall Chinook salmon to the Klamath Basin have exceeded the minimums set by federal fisheries managers. (Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004121399_klamathsalmon12m.html?syndication=rss
Oregon ocean troll salmon fishing marks second-worst year in '07 (KTVZ-TV, Bend)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7617570
Sport, commercial fishing interests vie for allocations (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/sports/localNews/2008/01/01132008_Sport-commercial-fishing-interests-vie-for-allocations.cfm
Debris another culprit harming marine life in Puget Sound – Lost fishing gear, creosote pilings add to dangers (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/347029_creosote12.html?source=rss
Oregon Legislature's Feb. session to seek more water for rural Oregon “Sen. Brad Avakian… and others said Oregon soon will have to face up to dwindling water supplies…” (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-22/1200165849268220.xml&storylist=orlocal
Idaho – Hearings officer sides with state in south-central water dispute. A former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice has upheld most of a 2005 order aimed at resolving disputes between groundwater users and two fish farms (Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/325454.html
Montana – ‘People will enjoy this open space for a long time’. Several major conservation easements were executed…last month, capping a busy year for easements in the Flathead Valley. “...Grant funding from the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and from BPA’s Hungry Horse Dam fisheries mitigation program…” (Daily Interlake)
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/01/13/news/news02.txt
A Long-Dry California River Gets, and Gives, New Life – One of the largest river-restoration projects in the country has sent a gentle current of water meandering through what just a year ago was largely a sandy, rocky bed best used as a horse trail and barely distinguishable from the surrounding high desert scrub. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/us/12water.html?ex=1357880400&en=c1a2183800954fd2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Idaho, grass growers, environmentalists reach field-burning deal (But is it still carbon neutral since it’s the burning of biomass? – Associated Press, via the Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/324791.html
Yacolt, Oregon – Parrots get new roost. Several Quaker Parrots who have made an unlikely home in this rural burg were a cheerful bunch on Saturday. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01132008_Parrots-get-new-roost.cfm/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Fuel Bills Steep? Burn Corn – Renewable Energy No Pipe Dream (No, really: burn corn in your stove! – WRTV-TV, Indianapolis)
http://www.theindychannel.com/money/15008942/detail.html
In warming Mediterranean, a model of energy-efficient building – In Athens, Sol Energy Hellas is headquartered in a building powered entirely by renewable energy. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0114/p13s01-woeu.html
Laidlaw Energy files $10 mill lawsuit against NY town; seeks judgment to operate cogeneration facility (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/316757/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/Laidlaw-Energy-files-$10-mill-lawsuit-against-NY-town;-seeks-judgment-to-operate-cogeneration-facility/
CONSERVATION
California – Critics cool to 'smart thermostat' proposal – New thermostats in homes and businesses would be fitted with technology that would allow utilities to change a building's temperature by remote control under a proposal being considered by state energy officials. (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/12/MNHDUDAQ3.DTL&feed=rss.news
Aspen, CO Times Op/Ed – The hypocrisy of Aspen. A guest opinion in last week’s Aspen Times (“A Recipe for Foreign Oil Dependence” Jan. 8) charged that Aspen is hypocritical in its environmental stance against regional energy development because local energy appetites are conspicuous and excessive.
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080114/COLUMN/784294045
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Seattle Times Editorial – Green choices. Gov. Christine Gregoire's voice needs to be heard on the environmental proposals car-pooling to Olympia this legislative session.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004118975_envied11.html
Last Year Among Hottest On Record, Say Scientists (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103483.html?wpisrc=rss_technology
Study Says Glaciers Formed During a Very Warm Period – Giant glaciers formed about 90 million years ago during a warm period when alligators thrived in the Arctic (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/world/europe/11glacier.html?ex=1357880400&en=ac256a44ec656b42&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
California – Race for '08: Voters split on global warming cost. Some fear businesses will be hobbled (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/631856.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Clearwire cuts staff but says it wants to grow (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347089_clearwire12.html?source=rss
Official: Idaho must be ready if Micron leaves – Company’s losses have been mounting as prices for its products have collapsed. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/262286.html
Yahoo’s Core Value Is Falling – Still more rumors that Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo. (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/yahoos-core-value-is-falling/index.html?ex=1357880400&en=13a0da1e51f16988&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Broadband access on the rise in West Virginia (Cumberland News-Times)
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_014093804.html
Telecommuting not so great for those left in office – Telecommuting may boost morale, and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study. (Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080111/wr_nm/ba_work_telecommuting_dc_1
GENERAL NEWS
WA lawmakers open `safety & security' session Monday (Associated Press, via The Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01142008news261933.cfm?newsletter=10
LOOMIS APPOINTED TO STATE LEGISLATURE – The Snohomish County Council has appointed Liz Loomis to fill the 44th District seat in the state Legislature vacated by John Lovick, who was recently elected county sheriff. Loomis, a former Snohomish City Council member who lost a re-election bid in 2005, owns Liz Loomis Public Affairs, a public relations and strategic communications agency that specializes in public power issues. Since 2001 she has also headed PeoplePower, which helps educate and encourages grassroots efforts on behalf of consumer-owned utilities in the Northwest, including 21 Washington PUD members.
LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT OVER SHELTON TUESDAY – A reminder: an aircraft will be flying low over the City of Shelton Tuesday. The plane will be conducting an aerial survey of the Hillcrest area for the Sewer Basin Five Inflow and Infiltration Reduction project. The aircraft will be taking pictures of structures, utility locations and the general area. This will provide a comprehensive picture of the area for design of the project. City officials are alerting residents of this low flying aircraft so people do NOT think the plane is in distress. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)
Grays Harbor – Weyco holds closed-bid auction for mill “…Those interested reportedly include…a joint offer made by the Grays Harbor PUD and California-based Evergreen Pulp…” (Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/01/12/local_news/02news.txt
Western Washington construction industry needs more gravel pits (Seattle Times, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1156573~Western_Washington_construction_industry_needs_more_gravel_pits.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines
Snohomish County – Pet waste is turning streams into sewers. The county is finishing a $475,000 effort to protect creeks and encourage pet owners to scoop and bag. (Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080114/NEWS01/456182906&news01ad=1
Weather Channel Ratings – Methow Valley listed top family winter getaway (Wenatchee World)
http://www.wenworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS04/557081408/1001
There are rules for leaving effective, useful voice mail – As we clean our desks and promise to start the new year fresh, perhaps it's time to rethink how we handle voice mail. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/347082_voicemail14.html
DIVERSIONS
Home demolition begins with grandma, four others still inside – RCMP were forced to step in when the owner of a Fraser Valley home began a planned demolition while five former renters were still inside.
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=943c78b5-c869-487a-ac53-d345ead998e3&k=80842
Twins separated at birth met and married
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC17037920080111?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Parents snort as school enforces pig rearing
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1438977520080114?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews
Fishing License Stickers Don't Stick to Boats
http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=0399CE0E2C4E463E659B5D11C2314B7B?contentId=5476290&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1
NY Post Parks Simpson Twin Behind Cowboys’ Bench
http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/lynsey-nordstrom-photos-jessica-simpson-twin-hired-by-nypost-for-giants-game-15415
Man reels Hummer Limo out of Lake Texoma
http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/13758402.html
Friday, January 11, 2008
Energy News Digest for January 11, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Tiny utility takes on BPA's boss
- Maryland Electric Company Sends You Unsolicited Light Bulbs, Charges $12
- Money runs out for low-income energy assistance program
- Vancouver Island – Power line upgrade costs hit $5.1 billion; higher bills predicted for consumers
- California – Environmental group sues over federal energy corridor plan
- FERC approves three planning and operating reliability standards – reversed NERC's reliability registry determinations for 3 companies
- Britain reverses course on nuclear power
- Redford taking on Texas coal-fired power plants
- Disaster in the United Kingdom – Huge energy price hikes threaten pubs
- Floodwaters damaged salmon habitat
- Weyerhaeuser, environmentalists argue logging's effect on floods
- Despite one of best runs of spring Chinook, local anglers likely won't be able to fish downriver of Portland
- Hungry sea lions back in the Columbia, but birds worse problem
- California recreational fishing adds $2B to state economy
- Chemical trace leads U.S. to ban Tofino salmon
- Daily Astorian Editorial – Salmon can't live on shallow symbolism
- Wind generation in BPA control area surpasses 1,000 MW for the first time
- California Seeks Thermostat Control
- Washington State legislation aims to build on last year's climate change bill
- Lifting the Lid: Banks urged to address climate change
- Wired America – America's Most Wired Cities (Forbes – Seattle is #2, Portland #10)
- FCC chairman defends commission practices
- Telcos Defend Broadband Speeds, Reach
- Trees downed by storms create glut, harvest rush
- U.S. Olympic panel bristles at peninsula winery's name
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Cliometrics • \klye-uh-MET-riks\ • noun – the application of methods developed in other fields (as economics, statistics, and data processing) to the study of history
For the moment, Clarence was able to bask in the glory of his doctoral thesis. Through the use of cliometrics, he was able to prove (on paper at least) that the 1929 stock market crash was not due to marginal trading and “irrational exuberance” but rather on men’s fashion trends…specifically the lack of spats for men’s shoes. It wasn’t until he was defending his academic paper that the entire house of cards that was his thesis fell down. It had actually been constructed of 3x5 index cards that fell over when one of the professors sneezed.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Tornado in Vancouver WA – Amazingly, nobody was hurt – A lunch-hour tornado raked roofs, shredded trees, downed power lines and jumbled traffic Thursday in Hazel Dell and Fruit Valley. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01112008_Amazingly-nobody-was-hurt.cfm
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Tiny utility takes on BPA's boss – The Canby board wants someone other than Steve Wright to oversee an aspect of a crucial rate case (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1200027310193770.xml&coll=7
Maryland Electric Company Sends You Unsolicited Light Bulbs, Charges $12 –Allegheny Power, sent its customers some CFL light bulbs as part of a consumer education program. Sounds nice until you find out that the customers were charged $0.96 a month (about $12 a year) for the two light bulbs. (The Consumerist, beware of possible PG-13 language in the comments)
http://consumerist.com/343376/maryland-electric-company-sends-you-unsolicted-light-bulbs-charges-12
Here’s the original story: Faithful Allegheny Power customer considers mailing 'underhanded' (Cumberland Times News)
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_010091257.html
Money runs out for low-income energy assistance program (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080110/NEWS01/509864848
Vancouver Island – Power line upgrade costs hit $5.1 billion; higher bills predicted for consumers. Groups warn that massive upgrades will jolt consumers for years to come (Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=8f54662d-ec82-43dd-ac89-ba01df1ead66&k=98739
California – Environmental group sues over federal energy corridor plan – An environmental group sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday for designating an energy corridor in Arizona and California that will bypass normal reviews for new high-voltage power lines. (Associated Press, via Press-Enterprise)
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/WST_Energy_Corridors_322955C.shtml
FERC approves three planning and operating reliability standards – FERC approved three reliability standards proposed by NERC; reversed NERC's reliability registry determinations for 3 companies. (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/316026/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/FERC-approves-three-planning-and-operating-reliability-standards/
Britain reverses course on nuclear power (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/346951_britain11.html
Redford taking on Texas coal-fired power plants – The Sundance Kid is taking on "Goliath" to block the building of coal-fired electricity plants in Texas, the most power-hungry state in the U.S. (Salt Lake Tribune)
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_7932373
News Whiz – Americans for Balanced Energy Choices Research Identifies Benefits of New Coal-Fueled Power Plant Construction (PR Newswire, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-10-2008/0004734265&EDATE=
Disaster in the United Kingdom – Huge energy price hikes threaten pubs. Licensees are expecting big hikes in gas and electricity prices following news that Npower has increased rates for domestic users by about 15%. (The Advertiser)
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=55374
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Floodwaters damaged salmon habitat (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/323994.html
Weyerhaeuser, environmentalists argue logging's effect on floods (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004119378_logging11m.html
Despite one of best runs of spring Chinook, local anglers likely won't be able to fish downriver of Portland (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/11/this_day/doc4787978bf35b9328445716.txt
Hungry sea lions back in the Columbia, but birds worse problem (KTVC-TV, Bend)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7609251
California recreational fishing adds $2B to state economy (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/01/07/daily42.html?ana=from_rss
Chemical trace leads U.S. to ban Tofino salmon – U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests that found traces of malachite green in Chinook salmon fillets from a Tofino fish farm have flabbergasted the company's general manager. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=a91cb77a-3906-4c69-84e6-645d3f2f6a59
Daily Astorian Editorial – Salmon can't live on shallow symbolism. Their struggle is a warning of what’s coming for the human population
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=48228&TM=4082.365
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
News Release – Wind generation in BPA control area surpasses 1,000 MW for the first time (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/188211/
CONSERVATION
Seattle Post Intelligencer Columnist – Make energy resolutions for 2008
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/346893_energy11.html
California Seeks Thermostat Control – Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html?ex=1357707600&en=608b7b5bb2921934&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Legislation aims to build on last year's climate change bill – Follow-up legislation to last year's climate change bill could be unveiled as soon as Monday, setting the stage for broader limits on polluters. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9565218p-9477626c.html
Lifting the Lid: Banks urged to address climate change (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersComService4/idUSN0852567820080111
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Wired America – America's Most Wired Cities (Forbes – Seattle is #2, Portland #10)
http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2008/01/09/wired-cities-wifi-tech-wireless-cx_ew_0110wired.html
Arizona – Tempe, Chandler municipal broadband network back online with new owner (MuniWireless)
http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6699/1/23
Winning The Airwaves – Phoning In Wireless Dreams (Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/01/10/verizon-wireless-auction-tech-wire-cx_ew_0110auction.html
FCC chairman defends commission practices (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN0960117420080109
Telcos Defend Broadband Speeds, Reach “…The idea that the U.S. has lost its leadership position in global broadband is greatly exaggerated…" (PC World)
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006204.html
GENERAL NEWS
Trees downed by storms create glut, harvest rush – Private and public forestland owners are scrambling to salvage hundreds of millions of board feet of timber that was blown over in Western Washington by the early December storms. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/323996.html
Lakefair's royal controversy – Teen calls treatment 'unjust' (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/324002.html
U.S. Olympic panel bristles at peninsula winery's name – A lawyer for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) wrote to the winery last fall saying its name infringes on the committee's turf. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004119045_olympic11.html?syndication=rss
DIVERSIONS
Dog Poop Footprints Lead Police To Drunken Driving Suspect
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15021839/detail.html
Gerbing’s Heated Clothing – Mason County 12th Men Fit Seahawks With Heated Britches
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/10/mason-county-12th-men-fit-seahawks-with-heated/
Reaction cool to Brown's hot pants – The Green Bay Packers were amused Thursday when told that Josh Brown uses battery-powered heaters in his warm-up pants to keep his kicking leg loose
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/346948_pants11.html
The NFL's Coldest Games
http://www.forbes.com/sportsbusiness/2007/12/14/nfl-packers-bears-biz-sports-cx_tvr_1214frozen.html?boxes=popstories
A First! Snow Falls in Baghdad
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/11/international/i040305S39.DTL&feed=rss.news
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Tiny utility takes on BPA's boss
- Maryland Electric Company Sends You Unsolicited Light Bulbs, Charges $12
- Money runs out for low-income energy assistance program
- Vancouver Island – Power line upgrade costs hit $5.1 billion; higher bills predicted for consumers
- California – Environmental group sues over federal energy corridor plan
- FERC approves three planning and operating reliability standards – reversed NERC's reliability registry determinations for 3 companies
- Britain reverses course on nuclear power
- Redford taking on Texas coal-fired power plants
- Disaster in the United Kingdom – Huge energy price hikes threaten pubs
- Floodwaters damaged salmon habitat
- Weyerhaeuser, environmentalists argue logging's effect on floods
- Despite one of best runs of spring Chinook, local anglers likely won't be able to fish downriver of Portland
- Hungry sea lions back in the Columbia, but birds worse problem
- California recreational fishing adds $2B to state economy
- Chemical trace leads U.S. to ban Tofino salmon
- Daily Astorian Editorial – Salmon can't live on shallow symbolism
- Wind generation in BPA control area surpasses 1,000 MW for the first time
- California Seeks Thermostat Control
- Washington State legislation aims to build on last year's climate change bill
- Lifting the Lid: Banks urged to address climate change
- Wired America – America's Most Wired Cities (Forbes – Seattle is #2, Portland #10)
- FCC chairman defends commission practices
- Telcos Defend Broadband Speeds, Reach
- Trees downed by storms create glut, harvest rush
- U.S. Olympic panel bristles at peninsula winery's name
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Cliometrics • \klye-uh-MET-riks\ • noun – the application of methods developed in other fields (as economics, statistics, and data processing) to the study of history
For the moment, Clarence was able to bask in the glory of his doctoral thesis. Through the use of cliometrics, he was able to prove (on paper at least) that the 1929 stock market crash was not due to marginal trading and “irrational exuberance” but rather on men’s fashion trends…specifically the lack of spats for men’s shoes. It wasn’t until he was defending his academic paper that the entire house of cards that was his thesis fell down. It had actually been constructed of 3x5 index cards that fell over when one of the professors sneezed.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
Tornado in Vancouver WA – Amazingly, nobody was hurt – A lunch-hour tornado raked roofs, shredded trees, downed power lines and jumbled traffic Thursday in Hazel Dell and Fruit Valley. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/01/01112008_Amazingly-nobody-was-hurt.cfm
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Tiny utility takes on BPA's boss – The Canby board wants someone other than Steve Wright to oversee an aspect of a crucial rate case (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1200027310193770.xml&coll=7
Maryland Electric Company Sends You Unsolicited Light Bulbs, Charges $12 –Allegheny Power, sent its customers some CFL light bulbs as part of a consumer education program. Sounds nice until you find out that the customers were charged $0.96 a month (about $12 a year) for the two light bulbs. (The Consumerist, beware of possible PG-13 language in the comments)
http://consumerist.com/343376/maryland-electric-company-sends-you-unsolicted-light-bulbs-charges-12
Here’s the original story: Faithful Allegheny Power customer considers mailing 'underhanded' (Cumberland Times News)
http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_010091257.html
Money runs out for low-income energy assistance program (The Everett Herald)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080110/NEWS01/509864848
Vancouver Island – Power line upgrade costs hit $5.1 billion; higher bills predicted for consumers. Groups warn that massive upgrades will jolt consumers for years to come (Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=8f54662d-ec82-43dd-ac89-ba01df1ead66&k=98739
California – Environmental group sues over federal energy corridor plan – An environmental group sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday for designating an energy corridor in Arizona and California that will bypass normal reviews for new high-voltage power lines. (Associated Press, via Press-Enterprise)
http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/WST_Energy_Corridors_322955C.shtml
FERC approves three planning and operating reliability standards – FERC approved three reliability standards proposed by NERC; reversed NERC's reliability registry determinations for 3 companies. (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/316026/22/ARTCL/none/none/1/FERC-approves-three-planning-and-operating-reliability-standards/
Britain reverses course on nuclear power (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/346951_britain11.html
Redford taking on Texas coal-fired power plants – The Sundance Kid is taking on "Goliath" to block the building of coal-fired electricity plants in Texas, the most power-hungry state in the U.S. (Salt Lake Tribune)
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_7932373
News Whiz – Americans for Balanced Energy Choices Research Identifies Benefits of New Coal-Fueled Power Plant Construction (PR Newswire, Americans for Balanced Energy Choices)
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-10-2008/0004734265&EDATE=
Disaster in the United Kingdom – Huge energy price hikes threaten pubs. Licensees are expecting big hikes in gas and electricity prices following news that Npower has increased rates for domestic users by about 15%. (The Advertiser)
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=55374
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Floodwaters damaged salmon habitat (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/323994.html
Weyerhaeuser, environmentalists argue logging's effect on floods (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004119378_logging11m.html
Despite one of best runs of spring Chinook, local anglers likely won't be able to fish downriver of Portland (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/01/11/this_day/doc4787978bf35b9328445716.txt
Hungry sea lions back in the Columbia, but birds worse problem (KTVC-TV, Bend)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=7609251
California recreational fishing adds $2B to state economy (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/01/07/daily42.html?ana=from_rss
Chemical trace leads U.S. to ban Tofino salmon – U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests that found traces of malachite green in Chinook salmon fillets from a Tofino fish farm have flabbergasted the company's general manager. (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=a91cb77a-3906-4c69-84e6-645d3f2f6a59
Daily Astorian Editorial – Salmon can't live on shallow symbolism. Their struggle is a warning of what’s coming for the human population
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=48228&TM=4082.365
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
News Release – Wind generation in BPA control area surpasses 1,000 MW for the first time (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/188211/
CONSERVATION
Seattle Post Intelligencer Columnist – Make energy resolutions for 2008
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/346893_energy11.html
California Seeks Thermostat Control – Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html?ex=1357707600&en=608b7b5bb2921934&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Legislation aims to build on last year's climate change bill – Follow-up legislation to last year's climate change bill could be unveiled as soon as Monday, setting the stage for broader limits on polluters. (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9565218p-9477626c.html
Lifting the Lid: Banks urged to address climate change (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersComService4/idUSN0852567820080111
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Wired America – America's Most Wired Cities (Forbes – Seattle is #2, Portland #10)
http://www.forbes.com/home/technology/2008/01/09/wired-cities-wifi-tech-wireless-cx_ew_0110wired.html
Arizona – Tempe, Chandler municipal broadband network back online with new owner (MuniWireless)
http://www.muniwireless.com/article/articleview/6699/1/23
Winning The Airwaves – Phoning In Wireless Dreams (Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/01/10/verizon-wireless-auction-tech-wire-cx_ew_0110auction.html
FCC chairman defends commission practices (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN0960117420080109
Telcos Defend Broadband Speeds, Reach “…The idea that the U.S. has lost its leadership position in global broadband is greatly exaggerated…" (PC World)
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006204.html
GENERAL NEWS
Trees downed by storms create glut, harvest rush – Private and public forestland owners are scrambling to salvage hundreds of millions of board feet of timber that was blown over in Western Washington by the early December storms. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/323996.html
Lakefair's royal controversy – Teen calls treatment 'unjust' (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/324002.html
U.S. Olympic panel bristles at peninsula winery's name – A lawyer for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) wrote to the winery last fall saying its name infringes on the committee's turf. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004119045_olympic11.html?syndication=rss
DIVERSIONS
Dog Poop Footprints Lead Police To Drunken Driving Suspect
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15021839/detail.html
Gerbing’s Heated Clothing – Mason County 12th Men Fit Seahawks With Heated Britches
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jan/10/mason-county-12th-men-fit-seahawks-with-heated/
Reaction cool to Brown's hot pants – The Green Bay Packers were amused Thursday when told that Josh Brown uses battery-powered heaters in his warm-up pants to keep his kicking leg loose
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/346948_pants11.html
The NFL's Coldest Games
http://www.forbes.com/sportsbusiness/2007/12/14/nfl-packers-bears-biz-sports-cx_tvr_1214frozen.html?boxes=popstories
A First! Snow Falls in Baghdad
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/11/international/i040305S39.DTL&feed=rss.news
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Energy News Digest for Janaury 10, 2008
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.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Nuclear power gains steam in energy race
- Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards at Nuclear Plants
- Puget Energy Declares Dividends
- Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses
- Smarter meters, dumber utilities
- Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism
- Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery
- Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science
- San Francisco – Delta's grim year
- U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling
- Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options
- Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
- Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass
- Wave energy promoters get to work
- California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes
- United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind
- Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding
- Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program
- Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office
- Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand
- Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints
- Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning
- Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System
- Canadian government says no to carbon tax
- From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium
- As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows
- Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks
- Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double
- F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net
- 365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green'
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Lachrymose • \ LACK-rim-mose\ • adjective – 1: given to tears or weeping: tearful 2: tending to cause tears: mournful
Tad’s ad campaign for a new variety of onion was not going over so well. After having sold the DeBarto Onion Company on the popular theme “An Onion A Day Keeps Your Spouse Away” he embarked on a new campaign for “Lachrymose Free Onions, They’re All Wet”. The executives were not amused.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Nuclear power gains steam in energy race – Nuclear power, despite controversy over safety, pollution and cost factors, is rapidly gathering steam in a race to guarantee energy as emerging economies compete for fuel and particularly oil. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080110/sc_afp/worldenergynuclearsectorenvironment_080110161224
Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards – The security company’s chief executive resigned during continuing controversy about guards caught napping at a Pennsylvania reactor last year. ("…We would like to thank Mr. Sanders and wish him the best of luck in the future..." Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903368.html?nav=rss_business
Canada – Top nuclear watchdog stands ground, criticizes threat to fire her. The president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission vowed on Tuesday to serve out her term as Canada's top nuclear watchdog (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=58a1c041-3edb-4371-a9d0-b92246a82825&k=65082
PUGET ENERGY DECLARES DIVIDENDS – Puget Energy has declared quarterly dividends on the company's common and preferred stock. A quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share was declared on Puget Energy's common stock, payable Feb. 15 to shareholders of record as of the close of business Jan. 23. The dividend is the 258th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Puget Energy and its predecessor companies. (South Sound Business Examiner)
Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses (The Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock09jan09,0,5311887.column
Smarter meters, dumber utilities (Contra Costa Times, Via Turn.org)
http://www.turn.org/article.php?id=653
Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism. A draft government designation of more than 6,000 miles of energy transportation corridors through 11 Western states found a crescendo of criticism and no support at a hearing on a multi-agency preliminary environmental impact statement. (The Argus Observer)
http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2008/01/09/news/doc47852896508a2404873428.txt
Montana – Candy billionaire fights energy firms. A reclusive billionaire whose family owns the Mars candy empire is emerging as a formidable opponent to the energy industry's plans to expand development of some of the country's most productive coal and gas deposits. (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_bi_ge/candy_versus_coal_1
UK'S Brown says energy price rises 'regrettable' – Severe rises in the cost of British domestic energy are 'regrettable', Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament. (“Golly, that’s too bad…poor chap…” Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/01/09/afx4510613.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/250774.html
Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery (The Chronicle, Omak)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080107a.shtml
Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/letters/story/252549.html
San Francisco – Delta's grim year. Survey says weather, pollution in 2007 caused fish species to hit record-low levels (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931189?nclick_check=1
U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling – An Indian tribe says it will continue its efforts to force a Canadian company to pay to clean up pollution of a stretch of the Columbia River that flows past the tribe's reservation. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01082008news259020.cfm?newsletter=10
Thurston County Judge finds man illegally fished on tribal land (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/322873.html
Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/kennewick-explores-underground-water-storage-options/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/OPINION/801090379/1049
Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/front/story/259282.html
Wave energy promoters get to work (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/01/07/daily14.html?ana=from_rss
California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes – Third agency turns down state funds to build vehicle fueling station (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931193
United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind – Greens. New nuclear stations would generate electricity at twice the price of electricity from offshore wind turbines, opponents have claimed. (Kent News)
http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Students-in-Kent-achieve-best__ever-GCSE-results-newsinkent8633.aspx?news=local
Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding: producers – Germany produced almost a tenth of its energy needs for transport, electricity generation and heating from renewable sources in 2007, an industry group said on Tuesday. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/sc_afp/germanyclimatewarmingenergyalternative_080108193629
NY Times Op-Ed Columnist – Is Ethanol for Everybody?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/opinion/10cohen.html?ex=1357621200&en=1b45fba9e5dfc00d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CONSERVATION
Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/technology/10energy.html?_r=2&ex=1357707600&en=0bf4d327a1f48fca&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office (Montana Standard)
http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2008/01/10/state/hjjbjiijjjeghf.txt
Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand; A Switch in Light Bulbs (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119984808932177097.html
Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints, and developers are paying heed (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1199481915133570.xml&coll=7
Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1647
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3472
Canadian government says no to carbon tax (The National Post)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=221515
From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium – Premier Brad Wall is "dreaming in Technicolor" if he thinks Saskatchewan and Canada will - or should - receive credit for greenhouse-gas reductions because of the province's export of uranium (CanWest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=cb0626b4-93f6-45ea-8a86-e730e33c2432&k=99370
As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows – Scientists are puzzled, but the phenomenon seems to fit the latest global-warming models. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0110/p14s01-sten.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks (The Davis County Clipper)
http://www.clippertoday.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=24815&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1005&hn=clippertoday&he=.com
Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/paidcontent/PCORG_318515.html?ex=1357621200&en=12b424d4f1a786e0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net Associated Press, via the NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/business/media/09fcc.html?ex=1357534800&en=9e4b64cb37e6d47b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green' (Information Week, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080109/tc_cmp/205600759
GENERAL NEWS
Seattle Times Columnist – Art as a symbol ... of Port waste
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004115152_danny09.html
DIVERSIONS
'Meanest Mom' Sells Teenage Son's Wheels – Mom Finds Alcohol In Son's Car
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15013132/detail.html
Calling Tom Hagen – Man Who Mailed Cow's Head To Wife's Lover Sentenced (extra points for those who got the ‘Godfather’ reference)
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013006/detail.html
Police Chief Fired, Convicted Of Stealing Beer From Firefighters' Fridge
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013024/detail.html
Cat Causes Idaho Blackout
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15003098/detail.html
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
- Nuclear power gains steam in energy race
- Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards at Nuclear Plants
- Puget Energy Declares Dividends
- Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses
- Smarter meters, dumber utilities
- Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism
- Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery
- Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science
- San Francisco – Delta's grim year
- U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling
- Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options
- Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
- Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass
- Wave energy promoters get to work
- California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes
- United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind
- Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding
- Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program
- Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office
- Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand
- Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints
- Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning
- Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System
- Canadian government says no to carbon tax
- From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium
- As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows
- Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks
- Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double
- F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net
- 365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green'
These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest
WORD OF THE DAY
Lachrymose • \ LACK-rim-mose\ • adjective – 1: given to tears or weeping: tearful 2: tending to cause tears: mournful
Tad’s ad campaign for a new variety of onion was not going over so well. After having sold the DeBarto Onion Company on the popular theme “An Onion A Day Keeps Your Spouse Away” he embarked on a new campaign for “Lachrymose Free Onions, They’re All Wet”. The executives were not amused.
WEATHER
Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Nuclear power gains steam in energy race – Nuclear power, despite controversy over safety, pollution and cost factors, is rapidly gathering steam in a race to guarantee energy as emerging economies compete for fuel and particularly oil. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080110/sc_afp/worldenergynuclearsectorenvironment_080110161224
Executive Resigns in Storm Over Sleeping Guards – The security company’s chief executive resigned during continuing controversy about guards caught napping at a Pennsylvania reactor last year. ("…We would like to thank Mr. Sanders and wish him the best of luck in the future..." Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/09/AR2008010903368.html?nav=rss_business
Canada – Top nuclear watchdog stands ground, criticizes threat to fire her. The president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission vowed on Tuesday to serve out her term as Canada's top nuclear watchdog (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=58a1c041-3edb-4371-a9d0-b92246a82825&k=65082
PUGET ENERGY DECLARES DIVIDENDS – Puget Energy has declared quarterly dividends on the company's common and preferred stock. A quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share was declared on Puget Energy's common stock, payable Feb. 15 to shareholders of record as of the close of business Jan. 23. The dividend is the 258th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Puget Energy and its predecessor companies. (South Sound Business Examiner)
Maryland – Hedging bets on electricity – Zen and the art of making utility customers pay for trading losses (The Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock09jan09,0,5311887.column
Smarter meters, dumber utilities (Contra Costa Times, Via Turn.org)
http://www.turn.org/article.php?id=653
Oregon – Energy corridors draw criticism. A draft government designation of more than 6,000 miles of energy transportation corridors through 11 Western states found a crescendo of criticism and no support at a hearing on a multi-agency preliminary environmental impact statement. (The Argus Observer)
http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2008/01/09/news/doc47852896508a2404873428.txt
Montana – Candy billionaire fights energy firms. A reclusive billionaire whose family owns the Mars candy empire is emerging as a formidable opponent to the energy industry's plans to expand development of some of the country's most productive coal and gas deposits. (The Associated Press)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_bi_ge/candy_versus_coal_1
UK'S Brown says energy price rises 'regrettable' – Severe rises in the cost of British domestic energy are 'regrettable', Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament. (“Golly, that’s too bad…poor chap…” Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/01/09/afx4510613.html
WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT
Wildlife commissions will discuss Columbia River salmon runs (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/story/250774.html
Northwest Power and Conservation Council recommends funding for salmon recovery (The Chronicle, Omak)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080107a.shtml
Letter to the editor – Dam Breaching: Editorial board ignores facts, new science (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/letters/story/252549.html
San Francisco – Delta's grim year. Survey says weather, pollution in 2007 caused fish species to hit record-low levels (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931189?nclick_check=1
U.S. high court declines to review Can. company pollution ruling – An Indian tribe says it will continue its efforts to force a Canadian company to pay to clean up pollution of a stretch of the Columbia River that flows past the tribe's reservation. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP01082008news259020.cfm?newsletter=10
Thurston County Judge finds man illegally fished on tribal land (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/322873.html
Kennewick Explores Underground Water Storage Options (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/kennewick-explores-underground-water-storage-options/
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Salem Statesman-Journal Commentary – Wind-power industry is booming
http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080109/OPINION/801090379/1049
Alaska – Energy company wants to test wind power in Hatcher Pass (Anchorage Daily News)
http://www.adn.com/front/story/259282.html
Wave energy promoters get to work (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/01/07/daily14.html?ana=from_rss
California Hydrogen plans hit the brakes – Third agency turns down state funds to build vehicle fueling station (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7931193
United Kingdom – Nuclear power costs double offshore wind – Greens. New nuclear stations would generate electricity at twice the price of electricity from offshore wind turbines, opponents have claimed. (Kent News)
http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Students-in-Kent-achieve-best__ever-GCSE-results-newsinkent8633.aspx?news=local
Investment stalling – 'Green' energy up in Germany but future clouding: producers – Germany produced almost a tenth of its energy needs for transport, electricity generation and heating from renewable sources in 2007, an industry group said on Tuesday. (Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080108/sc_afp/germanyclimatewarmingenergyalternative_080108193629
NY Times Op-Ed Columnist – Is Ethanol for Everybody?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/opinion/10cohen.html?ex=1357621200&en=1b45fba9e5dfc00d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
CONSERVATION
Digital Tools Help Users Save Energy, Study Finds – Includes Olympic Peninsula Gridwise Program (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/technology/10energy.html?_r=2&ex=1357707600&en=0bf4d327a1f48fca&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Montana – Think tank proposes state energy-conservation office (Montana Standard)
http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2008/01/10/state/hjjbjiijjjeghf.txt
Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use – California Pays Bonuses For Reducing Demand; A Switch in Light Bulbs (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119984808932177097.html
Building green – Buyers are demanding homes that leave smaller energy footprints, and developers are paying heed (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/metrowest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_west_news/1199481915133570.xml&coll=7
Big Foot - Big Energy! Refrigerator and Freezer Decommissioning (Energy Pulse Commentary)
http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a_id=1647
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
Western States Gather to Design Cap-and-Trade System (NW Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=3472
Canadian government says no to carbon tax (The National Post)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=221515
From the chutzpa department – Saskatchewan wants climate credit for uranium – Premier Brad Wall is "dreaming in Technicolor" if he thinks Saskatchewan and Canada will - or should - receive credit for greenhouse-gas reductions because of the province's export of uranium (CanWest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=cb0626b4-93f6-45ea-8a86-e730e33c2432&k=99370
As arctic ice melts, South Pole ice grows – Scientists are puzzled, but the phenomenon seems to fit the latest global-warming models. (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0110/p14s01-sten.html
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Utah Fiber Optics – UTOPIA ‘unlikely to fail’ despite key setbacks (The Davis County Clipper)
http://www.clippertoday.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=24815&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1005&hn=clippertoday&he=.com
Daily Traffic to Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/paidcontent/PCORG_318515.html?ex=1357621200&en=12b424d4f1a786e0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
F.C.C. to Look at Complaints Comcast Interferes With Net Associated Press, via the NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/business/media/09fcc.html?ex=1357534800&en=9e4b64cb37e6d47b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
365 Main – Data Center Operator Cuts Energy Bill By Going 'Green' (Information Week, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080109/tc_cmp/205600759
GENERAL NEWS
Seattle Times Columnist – Art as a symbol ... of Port waste
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2004115152_danny09.html
DIVERSIONS
'Meanest Mom' Sells Teenage Son's Wheels – Mom Finds Alcohol In Son's Car
http://www.kirotv.com/family/15013132/detail.html
Calling Tom Hagen – Man Who Mailed Cow's Head To Wife's Lover Sentenced (extra points for those who got the ‘Godfather’ reference)
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013006/detail.html
Police Chief Fired, Convicted Of Stealing Beer From Firefighters' Fridge
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15013024/detail.html
Cat Causes Idaho Blackout
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15003098/detail.html
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