Monday, October 12, 2009

Energy News Digest for October 12, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• The Dalles Lock Will Be Fixed By Monday Night, Corps Says
• Clallam PUD Holds Off Power Rate Hike
• Sierra Club Visits Portland General Electric’s Boardman Coal Plant
• Op/Ed - Get Involved In Regional Energy Planning
• Fitch Affirms Benton County Public Utility Bonds at ‘A’; Outlook Stable
• California - Schwarzenegger Vetoes Energy Bills
• Editorial - FirstEnergy-PUCO light bulb fiasco would be a comedy of errors, if it were funny
• New Way to Tap Gas May Expand Global Supplies
• Mexico Says It Is Closing a Provider of Electricity
• Editorial - Salmon Plan Deserves a Chance
• Idaho Wants New Hatchery to Increase Snake River Sockeye
• Oregon, Nez Perce, Earthjustice Briefs Say Obama Salmon Plan Falls Short
• Struggling Santa Cruz County Steelhead Get Bump from Federal Stimulus
• Dam Breaching Celebrated on Famed Rogue River
• Aerial View: Albatrosses Following a Killer Whale
• The Evergreen State Faces A New Water Reality
• Lewis County - Scoping Out the Dams
• Elma May Have To Pay Twice For Biosolid Removal
• Idaho Water Czar’s Exit Complicates Teton Dam Debate
• Oregon ‘Dead Zone’ Less Lethal This Year
• Rain Gardens? Kitsap County Hopes They’re Pouring
• Tri-City Company Gets Grant to Develop Canal Hydropower
• Idaho Sees Interest from Wind Energy Companies
• Op/Ed - The Facts about Wind Turbine Sound
• Clean Energy Splits France
• Solar Power Outshining Colorado’s Gas Industry
• Solar-Powered Homes in Kalamazoo-Area Help with Energy Costs
• Alternative Energy Sources Offer Minimal Promise
• Clark Public Utilities to Get $1 Million from Stimulus
• City of Ellensburg Gets Energy Efficiency Support
• Idaho Receives Final Piece of Energy Stimulus Cash
• Coos-Curry Electric Co-op board expands conservation programs
• An Upcoming Stimulus Program Provides Rebates for Energy-Efficient Appliances
• Virginia Utilities Differ on Use of Green-Energy Funds
• Debate Follows Bills to Remove Clotheslines Bans
• Massachusetts Utility Customers to Get Home Energy Reports
• Air of Unease across Rust Belt from Climate Plan
• Steward’s 10 ‘Myths’ About Global Warming and CO2 Damage
• United Kingdom Climate Body Urges “Step Change” On Emissions
• Mukilteo Pulls off City Hall’s Weed-Filled Sod Roof
• ‘Let’s Just Go Extreme.” Building an extremely green home
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Goes Green
• Rival Ethanol Group Feud Said Hurting Industry
• Charging Ahead - Will 2010 Be the Year Electric Cars Hit the Road in Oregon?
• Tough Choices for Feds Giving out Broadband Money
• Seeking Energy Savings at the Heart of the Internet
• Economists to FCC: Wireless and Wired Broadband Are Equal
• FCC Launches Probe of Google Voice Service
• Google Hopes To Ride a Social-Networking Wave
• Shelton - St. Edwards Fight Apparently Over
• ‘River Rat’ Robber Trapped, Jailed
• Box Mill Closures Catch Port Townsend Union by Surprise
• Puget Sound Area Emerging As Wine Region, Thanks To Warmer Climate
• Lady Washington Launches Columbia River Tour
• GM Signs Deal to Sell Hummer Brand to Chinese Company

WORD OF THE DAY

MacGuffin • \muh-GUFF-in\ • noun - An object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance

The donkey was hypnotized by the carrot dangling on a string just out of reach of his twitching nostrils. Unbeknownst to the unfortunate beast of burden, the carrot was just a MacGuffin in his miserable existence. The true reason for the carrot was to distract him from the endless treadmill on which his hooves pounded…providing electricity for the hair-shirted blogger who pounded away on his ancient computer in the deep forests of the wildest land in the nation.

The first person to use “MacGuffin” as a word for a plot device was Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from an old shaggy-dog story in which some passengers on a train interrogate a fellow passenger carrying a large, strange-looking package. The fellow says the package contains a “MacGuffin,” which, he explains, is used to catch tigers in the Scottish Highlands. When the group protests that there are no tigers in the Highlands, the passenger replies, “Well, then, this must not be a MacGuffin.” Hitchcock apparently appreciated the way the mysterious package holds the audience’s attention and builds suspense. He recognized that an audience anticipating a solution to a mystery will continue to follow the story even if the initial interest-grabber turns out to be irrelevant.

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

The Dalles Lock Will Be Fixed By Monday Night, Corps Says (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/the_dalles_lock_fixed_by_monda.html

Clallam PUD Holds Off Power Rate Hike (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.konp.com/local/5163

Sierra Club Visits Portland General Electric’s Boardman Coal Plant (It’s Getting Hot in Here)
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/10/10/sierra-club-and-allies-visit-the-boardman-coal-plant/

Missoulian Op/Ed - Get Involved In Regional Energy Planning
http://www.missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/article_811a6a58-b737-11de-839f-001cc4c03286.html

Fitch Affirms Benton County Public Utility Bonds at ‘A’; Outlook Stable (Earth Times)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/fitch-affirms-benton-county-public,993769.shtml

California - Schwarzenegger Vetoes Energy Bills (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125533246723779819.html

Cleveland Plain-Dealer Editorial - FirstEnergy-PUCO light bulb fiasco would be a comedy of errors, if it were funny
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/firstenergy-puco_light_bulb_fi.html

New Way to Tap Gas May Expand Global Supplies (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/business/energy-environment/10gas.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Mexico Says It Is Closing a Provider of Electricity (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/world/americas/12mexico.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Daily News Editorial - Salmon Plan Deserves a Chance
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/10/12/editorial/doc4ad2d4fbe4114684010485.txt

Idaho Wants New Hatchery to Increase Snake River Sockeye Smolt Production Up To One Million (Columbia Basin Bulletin)
http://www.cbbulletin.com/360326.aspx

Oregon, Nez Perce, Earthjustice Briefs Say Obama Salmon Plan Falls Short; Fed Reply Due Oct. 23 (Columbia Basin Bulletin)
http://www.cbbulletin.com/360331.aspx

California - Struggling Santa Cruz County Steelhead Get Bump from Federal Stimulus (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13527052

Dam Breaching Celebrated on Famed Rogue River (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13536335

Aerial View: Albatrosses Following a Killer Whale (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/science/13obbird.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

The Evergreen State Faces A New Water Reality - ‘If you are trying to develop a 2009 water right, you are about 104 years too late.’ (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/10/mitigation-the-evergreen-state-faces-a-new-water-reality

Lewis County - Scoping Out the Dams: Baird, Army Corps, Flood Authority Seek Ways to Move Forward on Flood Projects (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)
http://www.chronline.com/articles/2009/10/10/news/doc4ad0232b3e5ca075888175.txt

Elma May Have To Pay Twice For Biosolid Removal (Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/10/10/local_news/doc4acf7b0a4bbc7109776399.txt

Idaho Water Czar’s Exit Complicates Teton Dam Debate (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/1000154.html

Oregon ‘Dead Zone’ Less Lethal This Year - Global warming: Lessening wind helps (Associated Press)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/913265.html

Rain Gardens? Kitsap County Hopes They’re Pouring (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/12/kitsap-county-hopes-homeowners-will-get-their/?partner=RSS

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Tri-City Company Gets Grant to Develop Canal Hydropower (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/913357.html

Idaho Sees Interest from Wind Energy Companies (KPVI-TV, Pocatello, ID)
http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=11296956

Minneapolis Star-Tribune Op/Ed - The Facts about Wind Turbine Sound
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/63890637.html?elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DU2EPaL_V_9E7ODiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Clean Energy Splits France - It’s Carbon vs. Countryside in Environmental Battle over Plan for Windmills near Coastal Shrine (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/10/AR2009101001901.html

Solar Power Outshining Colorado’s Gas Industry (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilsDBjcry8X9Y7jwN5RoaBXZtP2AD9B891OO0

Michigan - Solar-Powered Homes in Kalamazoo-Area Help with Energy Costs (Kalamazoo Gazette, MI)
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/10/solar-powered_homes_help_with.html

Alternative Energy Sources Offer Minimal Promise (Heartland Institute)
http://www.heartland.org/publications/environment%20climate/article/26141/Alternative_Energy_Sources_Offer_Minimal_Promise.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Clark Public Utilities to Get $1 Million from Stimulus - To use money to support energy conservation (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091010/NEWS02/710109969/Utility+to+get+$1+million+from+stimulus

City Of Ellensburg Gets Energy Efficiency Support - State awards city $344,000 for gas conservation (Daily Record, Ellensberg, VA)
http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2009/10/10/news/doc4ad03a3b4d7a9300631570.txt

Idaho Receives Final Piece of Energy Stimulus Cash (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/931540.html

Coos-Curry Electric Co-op board expands conservation programs (Curry Coastal Pilot, Brookings, OR)
http://www.currypilot.com/20091009113992/News/Local-News/Co-op-board-expands-conservation-programs

An Upcoming Stimulus Program Provides Rebates for Energy-Efficient Appliances (New Orleans Times-Picayune, LA)
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/an_upcoming_stimulus_program_p.html

Virginia Utilities Differ on Use of Green-Energy Funds (Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA)
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/energy/article/B-RAPP10_20091009-215605/298489/

Debate Follows Bills to Remove Clotheslines Bans (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/us/11clothesline.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Massachusetts Utility Customers to Get Home Energy Reports (Boston Herald, MA)
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/20091012mass_utility_customers_to_get_home_energy_reports/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Air of Unease across Rust Belt from Climate Plan (Associated Press)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/11/us/AP-US-Climate-Rust-Belt.html

Steward’s 10 ‘Myths’ About Global Warming and CO2 Damage (US News & World Report)
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2009/10/09/stewards-10-myths-about-global-warming-and-co2-damage.html

United Kingdom Climate Body Urges “Step Change” On Emissions (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59B1IQ20091012

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Mukilteo Pulls off City Hall’s Weed-Filled Sod Roof - The green roof atop City Hall is leaving some people red-faced
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091010/NEWS01/710109875/-1/RSS02

‘Let’s Just Go Extreme.” Tom Elliott and Barbara Scott are setting out to build an extremely green home - but just how green is yet to be determined (Bend Bulletin, OR)
http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091011/NEWS0107/910110424/-1/rss

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Goes Green (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/911459.html

Rival Ethanol Group Feud Said Hurting Industry (United Press International)
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/10/10/Ethanol-group-feud-said-hurting-industry/UPI-65681255183891/

Charging Ahead - Will 2010 Be the Year Electric Cars Hit the Road in Oregon? (Eugene Register Guard, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/21330840-41/story.csp

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Tough Choices for Feds Giving out Broadband Money (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010044428_apustecbroadbandvignettes.html?syndication=rss

Seeking Energy Savings at the Heart of the Internet (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/energy-environment/12iht-green.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Economists to FCC: Wireless and Wired Broadband Are Equal (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/10/09/economists-to-fcc-wireless-and-wired-broadband-are-equal/

FCC Launches Probe of Google Voice Service (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13525900

Google Hopes To Ride a Social-Networking Wave (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/11/BU4O1A2UB6.DTL&feed=rss.business

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton - St. Edwards Fight Apparently Over (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=347:st-edwards-fight-apparently-over&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

‘River Rat’ Robber Trapped, Jailed (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/411039_rat12.html?source=rss

Box Mill Closures Catch Port Townsend Union by Surprise (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091011/news/310119988

Puget Sound Area Emerging As Wine Region, Thanks To Warmer Climate (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010045723_wine12m.html?syndication=rss

Lady Washington Launches Columbia River Tour (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_101009WAB-lady-washington-ship-KS.202f84cbe.html?rss?npc

GM Signs Deal to Sell Hummer Brand to Chinese Company (Associated Press)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13524696

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

A Day for Beer and Dachshunds - Oktoberfest: Dozens of wiener dog owners gather with their pooches for races and fun
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/913263.html

Madoff Mask a Natural for Halloween
http://www.kirotv.com/entertainment/21266267/detail.html

Maine Couple Wins Wife-Carrying Championship
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21265204/detail.html

‘Whatever’ Tops Most Annoying Word Poll - ‘You Know’ And ‘Anyway’ Also Among Most Annoying
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21230257/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Beer Barrel Polka-The Andrews Sisters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrDSMBJ7AAc

And for the accordion aficionados:

Walter Ostanek and His Band - Beer Barrel Polka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sshhb5ISHvI

Friday, October 9, 2009

Energy News Digest for October 9, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Douglas PUD Budget Approved - Including Rate Increase
• Hearing Set on Pacific Power Rate Increase
• Op/Ed - Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative: Why Your Rates Are Changing
• Florida Utility Company to Pay $25 Million for Blackout
• United Kingdom - Energy Bills Could Surge 60%, Ofgem Warns
• Vermont Reaches Deal over Nuclear Power plant
• Ohio Light Bulb Program Has Some Customers Seeing Red
• Why Aren’t We Harnessing Waste Heat?
• Groups Say Nothing New In Columbia Salmon Plan
• Oregon and Its Allies Ask Judge to Toss Obama Salmon Plan
• Op/Ed – Kulongoski: Another flawed plan to protect salmon
• Critics Contest Dam Plan in Northwest
• Skagit River Salmon - 'This May Be a once in a Lifetime Experience'
• B.C. Study Says Climate Change Means Winners and Losers in Fisheries
• Gig Harbor ‘Chumfest’ Celebrates Salmon, Healthy Water
• Grizzly Bears in More Danger on Threatened List, Officials Say
• Skagit PUD Lays off Six in Bid to Harness Internal Costs
• Error Leads To 11,000 Gallon Sewage Spill in Lacey
• Tacoma among the Most Polluted In the US
• Pacific Ocean 'Dead Zone' In Northwest May Be Irreversible
• Montana - Space-Age Dam Gate Holds Water at Tin Cup Lake
• States Not Meeting Renewable Energy Goals
• Prospects Distant for Offshore Wind in West
• Smart Grid Good For Big Solar, Wind
• California Solar Company Expands In Oregon
• Centron Solar Changes Name to Grape Solar
• North Carolina - Fibrowatt’s Poultry Litter-Fired Power Plant Plans Progress
• A Smarter Use of Power - Flathead Electric Participating In ‘Smart Grid’
• North Carolina - LED-Maker Cree To Add 575 Jobs In Next 3 Years
• Defiant Chamber Chief Says ‘Bring ’Em On’
• Editorial - Embrace Cantwell on Climate Change
• Alaska's Murkowski Rips EPA Over Proposed Emissions Rules
• Going Green on the Blue Waters of Puget Sound
• Columnist - Clean Tech's Dirty Little Secret
• Speed Bumps That Also Generate Electricity
• FCC Approves New Trans-Pacific Fiber-Optic Cable
• Broadband Isn’t Just the Web - It’s Our Future
• YouTube: We’re Bigger than You Thought
• Cowlitz County Highway Project Forced To Refund Stimulus Money
• Professor May Sue Evergreen Over Chile Trip
• In Test of Water on Moon, Craft Hits Bull’s-Eye
• New Tech Not Always Best In a Disaster

WORD OF THE DAY

Romper • \RAWM-per\ • noun – 1: one that romps 2: jumpsuit 2; especially: a jumpsuit for infants - often used in plural

“Aren’t you a little old for rompers,” asked the bemused shop foreman to the new mechanic. “These aren’t ROMPERS,” shouted the new hire. “This is my superhero outfit. Now, outa my way so I can use my super powers to fix this reluctant Fiat!”

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Douglas PUD Budget Approved - Including Rate Increase (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/oct/08/douglas-pud-budget-approved-including-rate-ncreas/

Hearing Set on Pacific Power Rate Increase (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, WA)
http://union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/10/08/local_news/091008local03pacificpowerhearing.txt

Teton Valley News Op/Ed - Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative: Why Your Rates Are Changing
http://www.tetonvalleynews.net/articles/2009/10/08/opinion/editorials/doc4acd127f1165f449820107.txt

Florida Utility Company to Pay $25 Million for Blackout (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/us/09blackout.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

United Kingdom - Energy Bills Could Surge 60%, Ofgem Warns (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/09/ofgem-warns-energy-prices-could-surge

Vermont Reaches Deal over Nuclear Power plant (Power Engineering)
http://pepei.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=6&ARTICLE_ID=369921&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

Ohio Light Bulb Program Has Some Customers Seeing Red (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ihZf--KlAYYK_gaZJH2_Zj-9bD3AD9B763E80

Why Aren’t We Harnessing Waste Heat? (Christian Science Monitor)
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/10/08/why-arent-we-harnessing-waste-heat/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Groups Say Nothing New In Columbia Salmon Plan (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010028174_aporsalmondams1stldwritethru.html

Oregon and Its Allies Ask Judge to Toss Obama Salmon Plan (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/10/oregon_and_its_allies_ask_judg.html

Oregonian Op/Ed – Kulongoski: Another flawed plan to protect salmon (Oh, and give us more Columbia water…)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/another_flawed_plan_to_protect.html

Critics Contest Dam Plan in Northwest (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/critics-contest-dam-plan-in-northwest/

Skagit River Salmon - 'This May Be a once in a Lifetime Experience': the river is having its best salmon run in 3 decades (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/63813162.html

B.C. Study Says Climate Change Means Winners and Losers in Fisheries (Vancouver Sun, BC)
http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Climate+change+means+winners+losers+fisheries/2082691/story.html

Gig Harbor ‘Chumfest’ Celebrates Salmon, Healthy Water (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/997832.html

Grizzly Bears in More Danger on Threatened List, Officials Say (Associated Press)
http://www.helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/article_d74bfe3a-b496-11de-a5d1-001cc4c03286.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Skagit PUD Lays off Six in Bid to Harness Internal Costs (Skagit Valley Herald)
http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/pud_lays_off_six_in_bid_to_harness_internal_costs/

Error Leads To 11,000 Gallon Sewage Spill in Lacey (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/997762.html

Tacoma among the Most Polluted In the US (KIRO Radio, Seattle)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=222981

Pacific Ocean 'Dead Zone' In Northwest May Be Irreversible (Los Angeles Times, CA)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oregon-ocean9-2009oct09,0,4615320.story?track=rss

Montana - Space-Age Dam Gate Holds Water at Tin Cup Lake (Ravalli Republic, Hamilton, MT)
http://www.ravallirepublic.com/articles/2009/10/09/news/news53.txt

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

States Not Meeting Renewable Energy Goals (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-10-08-altenergy_N.htm

Prospects Distant for Offshore Wind in West (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/prospects-distant-for-offshore-wind-in-west/

Smart Grid Good For Big Solar, Wind (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BusinessofGreen/idUSTRE5973WM20091008

California Solar Company Expands In Oregon (Portland Business Journal)
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/10/05/daily46.html?ana=from_rss

Centron Solar Changes Name to Grape Solar (Portland Business Journal)
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/10/05/daily54.html?ana=from_rss

North Carolina - Fibrowatt’s Poultry Litter-Fired Power Plant Plans Progress (Biomass Magazine)
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3137

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

A Smarter Use of Power - Flathead Electric Participating In ‘Smart Grid’ Demonstration Project (Flathead Beacon, Kalispell, MT)
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/a_smarter_use_of_power/13420/

North Carolina - LED-Maker Cree To Add 575 Jobs In Next 3 Years (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/08/financial/f134953D33.DTL&feed=rss.business

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Defiant Chamber Chief Says ‘Bring ’Em On’ (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/defiant-chamber-chief-says-bring-em-on/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Daily Astorian Editorial - Embrace Cantwell on Climate Change: Waxman-Markey Bill is an elaborate and expensive shell game
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=64711

Alaska's Murkowski Rips EPA Over Proposed Emissions Rules (McClatchy News Service)
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/environment/story/76826.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Going Green on the Blue Waters of Puget Sound (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/63830272.html

Forbes Magazine Columnist - Clean Tech's Dirty Little Secret
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/08/innovation-startups-legislation-technology-breakthroughs-cleantech.html

Speed Bumps That Also Generate Electricity (NY Times)
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/speed-bumps-that-also-generate-electricity/?hpw

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Approves New Trans-Pacific Fiber-Optic Cable (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13516303?nclick_check=1

Broadband Isn’t Just the Web - It’s Our Future (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/10/09/broadband-isnt-just-the-web-its-our-future/

YouTube: We’re Bigger than You Thought (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/youtube-were-bigger-than-you-thought/?partner=rss&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Cowlitz County Highway Project Forced To Refund Stimulus Money (Associated Press)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=11284393

Professor May Sue Evergreen Over Chile Trip - College settles with students for $23,500 (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/997758.html

In Test of Water on Moon, Craft Hits Bull’s-Eye (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/science/space/10moon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

New Tech Not Always Best In a Disaster (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13447762

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Boredom Breeds Stupidity - Inmates' Flushing Habits Prove Costly
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/08/BA2C1A30DC.DTL&feed=rss.news

Shooting Away Unwanted Pumpkins
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=11279383

SONG OF THE DAY

Norah Jones - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PHHS3Wo08&feature=related

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Energy News Digest for October 8, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Alcoa Stock Up After Surprise Profit
• PenLight to Hold off Increase until April
• Gunshots Cause Castle Rock Power Outage
• Dam's Lock Closure Hurts Northwest Shippers But Could Have Been Far Worse
• Hydropower Allocation Triggers New York Plant Expansion
• Texas Power Suppliers Facing Wind Challenges
• Governors Adopt Energy Road Map for Midwest
• Looking for Salmon Success? Better Converge On the Cowlitz
• Columbia Basin Brimming With Steelhead
• Editorial - Regional Plan for Steelhead Recovery Is Right Approach
• Darigold Ammonia Leak Kills Fish in Issaquah Creek
• Is Someone Targeting Ducks In Lake Washington?
• State Of The Beaver
• Alaska: Habitat for Sea Otters
• Pacific Seafood to Appeal Oregon Plant Waste Fine
• A Researcher in Our Back Yard
• Olympia Man Pursuing Biomass Plant in Longview
• Clark County Students Learn About Ethanol by Producing It
• Something New Under the Sun, A Way to Finance Solar Power
• Maryland Energy Administration Stops Solar Incentives
• States Have the Wind at Their Backs in the Offshore Debate
• Replica Sword Brandished At Wind Turbine Inquiry
• Australia to Launch Trades in Renewables Certificates
• Idaho Is In the Vanguard for Energy-Efficient Building Codes
• Ohio Delays Potentially Evil Expensive Light Bulb Program
• Westar Unveils Offering Free Programmable Thermostats in Kansas
• Chimney, Fireplace Should Be Checked Before Winter Sets In
• Green Tech Execs Press for Climate Change Bill
• Changing Alliances Shape Climate-Change Debate
• White House Aid Urges Cap-And-Trade System
• ‘Forest Offsets’ Would Aid Bottom Line, Report Finds
• America's Greenest Colleges
• Saudis Ask for Aid If World Cuts Dependence on Oil
• Snohomish County Puts Plug-In Prius to the Test
• Washington State's 'Pirates' ship too dirty for California
• Tacoma's Click! Cable Television Bills May Rise Twice In 2010
• FCC Chairman Warns of 'Looming Spectrum Crisis'
• Justice Department Examining IBM's Computer Market Conduct
• E-Mail Passwords Leak Not Limited to Hotmail
• 100 Arrested in Online Fraud Crackdown
• Google, Amazon Top Public Cloud Surveys
• Shelton Elk Hunter and Others Held at Gunpoint near Brinnon
• 21-Year-Old Brinnon Man -- brother of elk hunter detained by tribal police -- Dies In Unrelated Highway Crash
• State Auditor Says Port of Shelton Did Not Comply with Open Public Meetings Act
• Evergreen Professor on Leave in Wake of School Trips to Chile
• Flu Strikes Tenino Schools Hard
• Providence St. Peter Hospital Workers Plan 1-Day Strike
• Builders To Take Campaign-Finance Lawsuit To Trial
• Did Olympia Extortion Plot Inspire Blackmail Attempt On Letterman?
• Gun-Toting Pa. Soccer Mom, Husband Found Shot Dead
• Crash of Lunar Probe to Bring Out Amateur Astronomers
• NASA Downgrades Threat of Large Asteroid

WORD OF THE DAY

Crick • \KRIK\ • noun – A painful spasmodic condition of muscles (as of the neck or back)

After four hours of craning his neck to install overhead can lights in his kitchen, Mel complained that he had “more cricks in his neck than a teen-aged boy watching the girls on a Brazilian beach.”

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Alcoa Stock Up After Surprise Profit “…The company, which has curtailed metal production by more than 20 percent and cut its workforce by about 30 percent…said there were signs that key markets are stabilizing…” (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE5965T920091008?feedType=nl&feedName=usbusinessearly

PenLight to Hold off Increase until April (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/908211.html

Gunshots Cause Castle Rock Power Outage - Police Are Looking For Whoever Shot Electrical Equipment (KPTV-TV, Portland, OR)
http://www.kptv.com/news/21233763/detail.html

Dam's Lock Closure Hurts Northwest Shippers But Could Have Been Far Worse (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/post_1.html

Hydropower Allocation Triggers New York Plant Expansion - The low-cost power will boost the production of batteries for electric vehicles (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/10/hydropower-allocation-triggers-new-york-plant-expansion?cmpid=rss

Texas Power Suppliers Facing Wind Challenges - A doubling of wind-generated electric capacity will alter operations of every power plant in the state (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59701B20091008

Governors Adopt Energy Road Map for Midwest (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI)
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/63689297.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Looking for Salmon Success? Better Converge On the Cowlitz - Large number of Coho and Chinook returning (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/letstalkfishing/story/996684.html

Columbia Basin Brimming With Steelhead (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091008/SPORTS/710089962/1008/SPORTS02

Walla Walla Union Bulletin Editorial - Regional Plan for Steelhead Recovery Is Right Approach: This is the type of effort needed across the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/10/07/opinion/daily_editorial/091007editorial01.txt

Darigold Ammonia Leak Kills Fish in Issaquah Creek (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010025374_webfishkill08m.html?syndication=rss

Is Someone Targeting Ducks In Lake Washington? (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100709WAB-duck-attacks-kirkland-KC.1f5dd2b1b.html?rss?npc

State Of The Beaver - Here in the Beaver State, Castor canadensis is both loathed and loved, even apart from his role as a university mascot (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/21024701-35/story.csp

Alaska: Habitat for Sea Otters (Associated Press)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/us/08brfs-HABITATFORSE_BRF.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Pacific Seafood to Appeal Oregon Plant Waste Fine (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/07/financial/f183252D72.DTL&feed=rss.business

A Researcher in Our Back Yard - Washington Sea Grant’s Teri King combines research with education to drive home the water-quality protection message (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/07/researcher-our-back-yard/?partner=RSS

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Olympia Man Pursuing Biomass Plant in Longview (Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/10/08/area_news/doc4acd4bbf40cc2963201452.txt

Clark County Students Learn About Ethanol by Producing It (Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20091008/NEWS02/710089948/

Something New Under the Sun, A Way to Finance Solar Power (Oregon Public Radio)
http://news.opb.org/article/5985-something-new-under-sun-way-finance-solar-power/

Maryland Energy Administration Stops Solar Incentives (Washington Business Journal)
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/05/daily75.html?ana=from_rss

States Have the Wind at Their Backs in the Offshore Debate (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/08/08climatewire-states-have-the-wind-at-their-backs-in-the-o-69324.html

United Kingdom - Replica Sword Brandished At Wind Turbine Inquiry (Hull Daily Mail, UK)
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/environment/Replica-sword-brandished-turbine-inquiry/article-1400029-detail/article.html

Australia to Launch Trades in Renewables Certificates (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/08/australia-renewable-certificates

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Idaho Is In the Vanguard for Energy-Efficient Building Codes (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/928816.html

Ohio Public Utilities Commission Delays Potentially Evil Expensive Light Bulb Program (Consumerist – Note: Comment section may contain PG-13 Language)
http://consumerist.com/5376681/ohio-public-utilities-commission-delays-potentially-evil-expensive-light-bulb-program

Westar Unveils Offering Free Programmable Thermostats in Kansas (Yahoo! Finance)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Westar-unveils-offering-free-apf-2195991931.html?x=0&.v=1

Chimney, Fireplace Should Be Checked Before Winter Sets In (Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH)
http://www.cleveland.com/insideout/index.ssf/2009/10/chimney_fireplace_should_be_ch.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Green Tech Execs Press for Climate Change Bill (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13510349

Changing Alliances Shape Climate-Change Debate (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/07/BUN51A20MQ.DTL&feed=rss.news

White House Aid Urges Cap-And-Trade System (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100702090.html?wprss=rss_politics

‘Forest Offsets’ Would Aid Bottom Line, Report Finds - Companies could cut emissions more cheaply by saving rainforests (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/08/forest-offsets-would-aid-bottom-line-report-finds/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

America's Greenest Colleges - As the U.S. becomes greener, some colleges and universities are leading the way (Forbes Magazine – Note: report needs to distinguish offsets or “indulgences” from actual green energy purchases)
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/07/greenest-colleges-harvard-business-energy-evergreen.html

Saudis Ask for Aid If World Cuts Dependence on Oil (Seattle Times – This is a joke, right?)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010021692_apasclimatetalkssaudisinneed.html?syndication=rss

Snohomish County Puts Plug-In Prius to the Test (Everett Herald, WA)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20091008/NEWS01/710089882

Washington State's 'Pirates' ship too dirty for Calif.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2010021075_ladywashington08m.html?syndication=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Tacoma's Click! Cable Television Bills May Rise Twice In 2010 (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/908735.html

FCC Chairman Warns of 'Looming Spectrum Crisis' (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/07/financial/f130123D15.DTL&feed=rss.business

Justice Department Examining IBM's Computer Market Conduct (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13514515

E-Mail Passwords Leak Not Limited to Hotmail (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/181337.asp?source=pimail

100 Arrested in Online Fraud Crackdown (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/technology/internet/08phish.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Google, Amazon Top Public Cloud Surveys (Information Week)
http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/saas/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220301599&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Elk Hunter And Others Held At Gunpoint: Local men were acting legally in Brinnon, say state and county law officials (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&ArticleID=25332&TM=43167.45

21-Year-Old Brinnon Man -- brother of elk hunter detained by tribal police -- Dies In Unrelated Highway Crash (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091008/news/310089994

State Auditor Says Port of Shelton Did Not Comply with Open Public Meetings Act (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=333:port-of-shelton-did-not-comply-with-open-public-meetings-act&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Evergreen Professor on Leave in Wake of School Trips to Chile (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2010021166_chile08m.html?syndication=rss

Flu Strikes Tenino Schools Hard - There have been a couple of cases of confirmed seasonal flu, many students home sick (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/996618.html

Providence St. Peter Hospital Workers Plan 1-Day Strike (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/996651.html

Builders To Take Campaign-Finance Lawsuit To Trial - At issue is money that backed Dino Rossi (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/996605.html

Did Olympia Extortion Plot Inspire Blackmail Attempt On Letterman? (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21233875/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_7am&tmi=sea_7am_1_09000110082009&ts=H

Gun-Toting Pa. Soccer Mom, Husband Found Shot Dead (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/nationworld/story/996544.html

Crash of Lunar Probe to Bring Out Amateur Astronomers (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13507258

NASA Downgrades Threat of Large Asteroid (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2256182~NASA_downgrades_threat_of_large_asteroid.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

What's Up, Doc? Radioactive Rabbit Poop at Hanford (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/410808_radioactivepoop5.html?source=rss

Irish School Asks Pupils to Bring Own Toilet Roll
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE59558I20091006?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Go Before You Go? Flush Before You Fly?
http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/181333.asp?source=pimail

Cage Fighters in Drag Wallop Drunken Duo
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091007/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_drag

SONG OF THE DAY

Leif Garret - I Was Made For Dancing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hihp_Jjdnsg

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Energy News Digest for October 7, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Op/Ed – Jefferson PUD Discussing Electric Facilities Sale with PSE
• Grays Harbor PUD Wins Appeal for Disaster Funds
• Eugene Water & Electric Board Boosts Residential Power Rates 4.5 Percent
• Portland City Leaders Oppose Portland General Electric's Future Power Plan
• Dalles Lock Closure Could Have Been Worse
• Florida - One Man Electrocuted, another Injured Working on Tree
• Asbestos Claims - Federal Case against San Diego Utility Dropped
• Alcoa to Kick off Earnings Season
• Lots of Dead Fish along Sultan River Mean Good Year for Pinks
• Steelhead Recovery Plan Out
• Dressed for Success - Northwest Salmon Advocates Make the Rounds in D.C.
• Op/Ed - Dam Removal: Small Steps & Giant Leaps
• Op/Ed - For Wild Salmon, More Business as Usual
• Victims of Budget Cuts - A Sad Die-Off of Salmon Festivals
• Reward Offered In Long Beach Seabird Killings
• Oregon - Land Purchases for Wapato Lake Unit of Refuge Is Coming Along
• Clean Bill Of Health for Nisqually Shellfish Area
• Fish Workers To Live On Sea Farms
• Chelan PUD to Area Developers: Show Us the Water First
• Chelan PUD Is Working Up Plan to Cut Waste ... In the Water
• Vancouver Yacht Builder Sails Into Renewable Energy
• Renewable Energy Could Be Future Of Clark County Manufacturing
• $2 Million State Biomass Grant Will Let Port Townsend Paper Create Jobs
• Flathead Electric Coop: Geothermal Energy Testing Planned For Lake County
• Wyoming - Plan Could Boost Use of Vented Coal Mine Methane
• Op/Ed - Energy infrastructure: Time to Walk the Line
• Is the German Renewable Energy Industry in Jeopardy?
• Colorado Company Looks to Salvage Nebraska Ethanol Plants
• Seattle City Light Offers Customers Microsoft "Hohm" Connections
• Google & the Energy Detective Join Forces
• Why Google’s PowerMeter Gadget Partnership Is a Big Power Play
• NCS Power: Future Bright for Efficient Light Fixtures
• Ohio Utility To Distribute Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs, But Not for Free
• So Who Left the Lights on? This System Knows
• Senate Dems Opening to Nuclear as Path to GOP Support for Federal Climate Bill
• Nuclear Power: An Inconvenient Solution?
• Over the Summer, a Spread of Thicker Arctic Ice
• Activists Sue Texas to Restrict Greenhouse Gases
• Fish & Wildlife Creates Climate Change Job
• Study Says Natural Gas to Play Key Role in Cutting Carbon Dioxide
• ‘Cleantech’ Could Be Economy’s Next Boom
• Time Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment 2009
• Giants in Cattle Industry Agree to Help Fight Deforestation
• Mason County Commission Terminates Fairgrounds Lease
• Port of Shelton Urged to Keep Blame for Fairgrounds Closure on Mason County
• Future of Mason County Fair Uncertain
• Olympic National Park to Close Hurricane Ridge's Sunrise Snowplay Area for Good
• Man Accused of Firing Gun Outside Narrows League High School Football Game
• Second Letter with Unknown Powder Sent to Seattle Times
• Study Says Drivers Not Distracted By Texting
• Tumwater Business Vandalized

WORD OF THE DAY

Finesse • \fin-ESS \ • noun & verb – 1: refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture 2: skillful handling of a situation: adroit maneuvering 3: the withholding of one's highest card or trump in the hope that a lower card will take the trick because the only opposing higher card is in the hand of an opponent who has already played

Bertie’s gambit needed all the finesse he could muster. The concert venue was lightly packed on the big night. Although he knew that he could muscle his way past the pencil-necked backstage security guard, he was less sure that he could talk his way past Shaun Cassidy’s business manager for an exclusive interview for the local weekly’s “Star Spotlight” section.

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast & Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Port Townsend Leader Op/Ed - PUD Discussing Electric Facilities Sale with PSE
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=25350

Grays Harbor PUD Wins Appeal for Disaster Funds (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2009/10/07/local_news/doc4accd74adf2ff294495047.txt

Eugene Water & Electric Board Boosts Residential Power Rates 4.5 Percent (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/21258669-46/story.csp

Portland City Leaders Oppose Portland General Electric's Future Power Plan (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/portland_city_leaders_oppose_p.html

Dalles Lock Closure Could Have Been Worse (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/995465.html

Florida - One Man Electrocuted, another Injured Working on Tree (Gainesville Sun, FL)
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091006/ARTICLES/910069938/-1/MAGAZINE?Title=One-man-electrocuted-another-injured-working-on-tree

Asbestos Claims - Federal Case Against San Diego Utility Dropped (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2255745~Federal_case_against_San_Diego_utility_dropped.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Alcoa to Kick off Earnings Season - The aluminum maker will report after the close (MSN Money)
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/market-dispatches.aspx?post=1309329

FISH & WILDLIFE

Lots of Dead Fish along Sultan River Mean Good Year for Pinks (Everett Herald, WA)
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091007/NEWS01/710079720

Steelhead Recovery Plan Out - The federal plan is intended to help restore steelhead populations over 35,000 square miles in Oregon & Washington (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, WA)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2009/10/06/local_news/091006local06.txt

Dressed for Success - Northwest Salmon Advocates Make the Rounds in D.C.
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/10/northwest_salmon_advocates_mak.html

Oregonian Op/Ed - Dam Removal: Small Steps & Giant Leaps
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/dam_removal_small_steps_and_gi.html

Oregonian Op/Ed - For Wild Salmon, More Business as Usual
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/for_wild_salmon_more_business.html

Victims of Budget Cuts - A Sad Die-Off of Salmon Festivals (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/10/a_sad_die-off_of_salmon_festiv.html

Reward Offered In Long Beach Seabird Killings (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100609WAB-longbeach-seabirds-killed-SW.1eefcdc37.html?rss

Oregon - Land Purchases for Wapato Lake Unit of Refuge Is Coming Along: Bonneville Power Administration could be part of funding package (Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/10/land_purchases_for_wapato_lake.html

Clean Bill Of Health for Nisqually Shellfish Area - Efforts of neighbors, officials pay off in lifting of restrictions that had been in effect since 1992 (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/995475.html

Fish Workers To Live On Sea Farms - Workers could soon be living on moored barges under plans to extend salmon farming further off the Scottish coast. (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8293241.stm

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Chelan PUD to Area Developers: Show Us the Water First (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/oct/06/pud-to-area-developers-show-us-the-water-first/

Chelan PUD Is Working Up Plan to Cut Waste ... In the Water (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/oct/06/puds-working-up-plan-to-cut-waste-in-the-water/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Vancouver Yacht Builder Sails Into Renewable Energy (Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091007/BIZ01/710079958/RECS++Yacht+builder+sails+into+renewable+energy

Renewable Energy Could Be Future Of Clark County Manufacturing - Field holds promise, but is not yet proven, experts caution (Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091007/BIZ01/710079951/Renewable+energy+could+be+future+of+county+manufacturing

$2 Million State Biomass Grant Will Let Port Townsend Paper Create Jobs (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091007/news/310079992

Montana – Flathead Electric Coop: Geothermal Energy Testing Planned For Lake County (KAJ-TV, Kalispell, MT)
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=11273413

Wyoming - Plan Could Boost Use of Vented Coal Mine Methane (Billings Gazette, MT)
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_68eeaaba-b2f6-11de-ac84-001cc4c002e0.html

Blue Oregon Op/Ed - Energy infrastructure: Time to Walk the Line
http://www.blueoregon.com/2009/10/energy-infrastructure-time-to-walk-the-line.html?cid=6a00d8341c2c3f53ef0120a620a678970c

Is the German Renewable Energy Industry in Jeopardy? (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/10/is-the-german-renewable-energy-industry-in-jeopardy?cmpid=rss

Colorado Company Looks to Salvage Nebraska Ethanol Plants (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/06/financial/f090313D66.DTL&feed=rss.business

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Seattle City Light Offers Customers Microsoft "Hohm" Connections (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/archives/181314.asp?source=rss

Google & the Energy Detective Join Forces (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/google-and-the-energy-detective-join-forces/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Why Google’s PowerMeter Gadget Partnership Is a Big Power Play (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/10/06/why-googles-powermeter-gadget-partnership-is-a-big-power-play/

NCS Power: Future Bright for Efficient Light Fixtures (Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20091007/BIZ01/710079962/-1/BIZ

Ohio Utility To Distribute Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs, But Not for Free “…The utility will charge average users 60 cents a month extra on their electric bills for the next three years -- $21.60 all together. That covers the cost of the bulbs, their delivery, plus other charges…” (Mansfield News-Journal, OH)
http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20091007/UPDATES01/91007004

So Who Left the Lights on? This System Knows (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/realestate/commercial/07meter.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Senate Dems Opening to Nuclear as Path to GOP Support for Federal Climate Bill (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/07/07climatewire-senate-dems-opening-to-nuclear-as-path-to-go-28815.html

Nuclear Power: An Inconvenient Solution? (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmCarbonEmissions/idUS305571454120091006

Over the Summer, a Spread of Thicker Arctic Ice (NY Times)
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/spread-of-thicker-arctic-ice-seen-last-summer/?hp

Activists Sue Texas to Restrict Greenhouse Gases (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/06/financial/f212332D85.DTL&feed=rss.business

Fish & Wildlife Creates Climate Change Job (Associated Press)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/744320.html

Study Says Natural Gas to Play Key Role in Cutting Carbon Dioxide (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN06439884

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

‘Cleantech’ Could Be Economy’s Next Boom - Momentum around clean energy reminds some of Internet’s early days (MSNBC)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33198138/ns/technology_and_science-future_of_energy/

Time Magazine’s Heroes of the Environment 2009
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1924149_1924151,00.html

Giants in Cattle Industry Agree to Help Fight Deforestation (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/world/americas/07deforest.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Mason County Commission Terminates Fairgrounds Lease (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=323:mason-county-commission-terminates-fairgrounds-lease&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Port of Shelton Urged to Keep Blame for Fairgrounds Closure on Mason County (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=324:port-urged-to-keep-blame-for-fairgrounds-closure-on-county-&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Future of Mason County Fair Uncertain - Commission trims expenses with cancellation of fairgrounds lease (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/995484.html

Olympic National Park to Close Hurricane Ridge's Sunrise Snowplay Area for Good (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20091007/news/310079985

Tacoma - Man Accused of Firing Gun Outside Narrows League High School Football Game (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/63650347.html

Second Letter with Unknown Powder Sent to Seattle Times (Associated Press)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/63644767.html

Study Says Drivers Not Distracted By Texting (South Florida Business Journal)
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/10/05/daily42.html?ana=from_rss

Tumwater Business Vandalized - Someone damages, steals heavy equipment over weekend (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/995487.html

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

'Art Theft' Smells Fishy, Investigators Say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/06/BA581A1R2I.DTL&feed=rss.news

Roadshow: Drivers Beware: It's Deer-Mating Season
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13498429

Owls on the Attack in the Suburbs
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100609ANB-owl-attacks-mercer-island-KC.1f06ffff3.html?rss

Man upset at closed Miami Taco Bell shoots worker
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010010633_apustacobellshooting.html?syndication=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Shaun Cassidy - Hey Deanie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXn4aOVK-Ng

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Energy News Digest for October 6, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• City Approves John's Prairie Water Latecomers' Agreement with PUD 3
• Montana - Storm Hits Mountain Areas Hardest; Power Knocked Out for Many
• Arcing Wires Blamed for Explosion in Bellingham
• Tiny Temblor Rumbles near Mossyrock Dam
• Montana - Report May Come In November for Great Falls Energy Venture
• Op/Ed: Fall River Electric Replies to Customer's Questions
• During Wildfires - San Diego Utility Pushes Rural Shut-Off Plan
• California - Diablo Canyon Power Plant Safely Shuts Down Unit Two
• Gov't to Consumers: Break on Winter Heating Costs
• RTI Data Distribution Service Selected for Upgrade of Grand Coulee Control System
• The Worm: Band promotes Grant County, Including Grant PUD
• Editorial - We Will Pay True Cost of Klamath Dams
• Killer Whales Heading South
• Report: North America to Install 40,000 Wind Turbines by 2015 (hmm, what is it about that year that sounds soooo familiar?)
• Ellensburg Company Harnesses the Wind Installing Residential Wind Turbines
• Editorial - Can Baker Ride The Biomass Wave?
• Stanwood Students Earn Snohomish PUD Grant to Power Farm Equipment with Solar Panel
• Rating a Home’s Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy Credits Are Not Carbon Dioxide Offsets: U.S. Expert
• Apple to Leave U.S. Chamber of Commerce over Global-Warming Views
• New Report Details Costs of Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Op/Ed - A Code Too Far: Building codes have finally gone too far
• Obama Puts Government on Greenhouse-Gas Diet
• NTIA Hands Out First Broadband Stimulus Grants
• Thousands of Hotmail Passwords Posted Online
• Is Cloud Computing The Hotel California Of Tech?
• Ecology Director Jay Manning Named Gregoire's Chief of Staff
• Ecology Chief, Point Man in Upper Kittitas Well Ban, Moves to Governor's Staff
• Dog Fighting Operation Suspected in Graham
• Shelton City Commission Considering Cutting Four Positions
• Boeing Will Take $1 Billion Charge in Quarter
• Poll Says Seattle, Washington State Are Popular Places to Live
• Is Manufacturing Overcapacity a Threat to the Global Recovery?
• Montana City's Jail Deal Delayed amid Controversy
• DUST STORM: NASA Satellite Captures Image of Yesterday's Dust Storm
• Neighboring Planets to Be Noticeable in Pre-Dawn Sky
• Shelton Grad (and Mason PUD 3 employee) Bowls Perfect Game

WORD OF THE DAY

Saurian • \SOAR-ee-un\ • noun – Any of a suborder (Sauria) of reptiles including the lizards and in older classifications the crocodiles and various extinct forms (as the dinosaurs and ichthyosaurs) that resemble lizards.

Bradley dreaded his weekly encounters with his ponderous, slow-talking supervisor. As he stalked into the boss’s lair, he always had an impression of a huge, saurian beast occupying the creaking, leather chair behind the fortress-like oak desk. Brad often wondered what would happen if he tossed a chicken carcass into the room before entering. Would it be gone when he took his seat, the poultry juices running down the chin of his mentor?

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/mapclick.php?textfield1=47.213805&textfield2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=shelton%2c%20wa%2c%20usa

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

City Approves John's Prairie Water Latecomers' Agreement with PUD 3 (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=316:city-approves-johns-prairie-water-latecomers-agreement-with-pud-3&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Montana - Storm Hits Mountain Areas Hardest; Power Knocked Out for Many: Snow passes 3 feet in places (Billings Gazette)
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_3ec2d8ca-b23c-11de-a3a4-001cc4c03286.html

Arcing Wires Blamed for Explosion in Bellingham (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/63569722.html

Tiny Temblor Rumbles near Mossyrock Dam (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?Tiny-Temblor-Rumbles-near-Mossyrock-Dam=1&blockID=79268&feedID=410

Montana - Report May Come In November for Great Falls Energy Venture (Great Falls Tribune, MT)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20091006/NEWS01/910060314

Montana - Yellowstone News Op/Ed: Fall River Electric Replies to Customer's Questions
http://www.westyellowstonenews.com/articles/2009/10/05/opinions/opinion1.txt

During Wildfires - San Diego Utility Pushes Rural Shut-Off Plan (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/05/state/n091953D30.DTL&feed=rss.business

California - Diablo Canyon Power Plant Safely Shuts Down Unit Two (KSBY-TV, San Luis Obispo, CA)
http://www.ksby.com/Global/story.asp?S=11256331

Gov't to Consumers: Break on Winter Heating Costs (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2010009739_apuswinterheating.html?syndication=rss

RTI Data Distribution Service Selected for Upgrade of Grand Coulee Dam’s Control System (BusinessWire)
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20091006005276&newsLang=en

The Worm: Band promotes Grant County, Including Grant PUD (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/oct/05/the-worm-band-promotes-grant-county/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Astorian Editorial - We Will Pay True Cost of Klamath Dams: This monumental negotiation carries meaning for Columbia-Snake dams
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=392&ArticleID=64621

Killer Whales Heading South - Pod that was in South Sound spotted off California coast (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/994323.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Report: North America to Install 40,000 Wind Turbines by 2015 (Power Engineering)
http://pepei.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=6&ARTICLE_ID=369727&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

Ellensburg Company Harnesses the Wind Installing Residential Wind Turbines (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=11262550

Baker City Herald Editorial - Can Baker Ride The Biomass Wave?
http://www.bakercityherald.com/Editorials/Can-Baker-ride-the-biomass-wave

Stanwood Students Earn Snohomish PUD Grant to Power Farm Equipment with Solar Panel (Everett Herald, WA)
http://heraldnet.com/article/20091006/NEWS01/708179781

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Rating a Home’s Energy Efficiency - A new tool can help buyers gauge their future utility expenses (Eugene Register-Guard, OR)
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/business/20198052-41/story.csp

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Renewable Energy Credits Are Not Carbon Dioxide Offsets: U.S. Expert (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5943YC20091005

Apple to Leave U.S. Chamber of Commerce over Global-Warming Views (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13492186

New Report Details Costs of Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100600018.html?wprss=rss_business

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Op/Ed - A Code Too Far: Building codes have finally gone too far.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/forthright/archives/181140.asp?from=blog_last3

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Obama Puts Government on Greenhouse-Gas Diet (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2010005190_apusobamagreenhousegases.html?syndication=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

NTIA Hands Out First Broadband Stimulus Grants - California, Indiana, North Carolina and Vermont (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/NTIA-Hands-Out-First-Broadband-Stimulus-Grants-104827

Thousands of Hotmail Passwords Posted Online (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/181057.asp?source=pimail

Is Cloud Computing The Hotel California Of Tech? (C/NET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10367052-16.html?tag=nl.e703

GENERAL NEWS

Ecology Director Jay Manning Named Gregoire's Chief of Staff (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2010005243_department_of_ecology_director.html?syndication=rss

Ecology Chief, Point Man in Upper Kittitas Well Ban, Moves To Governor's Staff (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/10/05/ecology-chief-point-man-in-upper-kittitas-well-ban-moves-to-governor-s-staff

Dog Fighting Operation Suspected in Graham (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_100509WAB-graham-dog-fighting-KC.1eaa1e1a3.html?rss

Shelton City Commission Considering Cutting Four Positions (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=318:city-commission-considering-cutting-four-positions&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Boeing Will Take $1 Billion Charge in Quarter (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/business/07boeing.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Poll Says Seattle, Washington State Are Popular Places to Live (Puget Sound Business Journal)
http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/10/05/daily5.html?ana=from_rss

Is Manufacturing Overcapacity a Threat to the Global Recovery? (Time Magazine)
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1928261,00.html

Montana City's Jail Deal Delayed amid Controversy (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ifOx0LPKy5B_0KAyPHyNTEqdQz6QD9B59NN80

DUST STORM: NASA Satellite Captures Image of Yesterday's Dust Storm (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/945/story/743453.html

Neighboring Planets to Be Noticeable in Pre-Dawn Sky (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/05/neighboring-planets-be-noticeable-week/

Shelton Grad (and Mason PUD 3 employee) Bowls Perfect Game (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=321:shelton-grad-bowls-perfect-game-a-results-from-high-school-sports-played-monday-10509&catid=38:sports&Itemid=56

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Hotel Survival - with George Egg
http://digs.by/Tfp

Weather Eye: Caterpillars Call for Milder Winter
http://columbian.com/article/20091006/NEWS02/710069964/

Shroud Of Turin Called Medieval Fake - Italian debunkers say relic man-made
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/06/shroud-of-turin-called-medieval-fake/

Md. Driving Lesson Ends With Van in Bedroom
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/21215099/detail.html

Students Sign On For Beatles Degree - Master of the Arts Degree Focuses on Beatles Music, History (And NO, it isn’t an Evergreen program)
http://www.kirotv.com/education/21213591/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Eagles – Hotel California
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zT3LzXzhJo