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Idaho Power's cloud seeding efforts
Boise Idaho Statesman
11/19/2009
Idaho Power Co. is investing up to $1 million to seed the clouds above Idaho's mountains in hopes of increasing the snowpack that holds the water that will drive the hydroelectric turbines to produce the cheapest power the company can get.
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Making sun, wind power more reliable
New York Times
11/19/2009
Technology and policy are coming together to promise electricity as abundant as sunshine and as freely available as the breeze -- and about as fickle. That could change.
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Physicians detail health hazards from coal
Oregonian
11/18/2009
A new report from the advocacy group Physicians for Social Responsibility concludes that pollutants from coal-fired power plants contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the US: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases. Coal plants still provide about 40 percent of the electricity used in OR and nearly 20 percent in WA.
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Senate to put off climate bill until spring
Wall Street Journal
11/17/2009
Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would put off debate on a big climate-change bill until spring, in a sign of weakening political will to tackle a long-term environmental issue at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
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A Q&A with Al Gore
Seattle Times
11/17/2009
On a book tour in Seattle, former Vice President Al Gore weighs in on the Copenhagen climate summit, Obama's efforts so far, the prospects for US legislation, pseudo-science and garden-variety denial.
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OR governor orders review of energy tax credits
Oregonian
11/17/2009
Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered a hurry-up review Tuesday of Oregon's incentives for renewable energy companies in the face of ongoing criticism of the tax breaks, asking whether the increasingly expensive Business Energy Tax Credit is necessary for continued expansion of renewable and wind energy.
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Where can I juice up my ride?
Washington Post
11/18/2009
As their manufacturers see it, the electric cars entering U.S. showrooms as early as next year will be engineering marvels: stylish, battery-operated, zero-emission wonders. Yet for all their technological prowess, there's one practical question that unsettles the green dreamers and entrepreneurs alike: Where, oh, where, can you plug them in?
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Boise company's solar charger may save gas
Boise Idaho Statesman
11/17/2009
Treasure Valley Solar is marketing a way to keep electronic devices revved up in the car without turning on the engine.
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Paying extra for green power, getting ads instead
New York Times
11/17/2009
Close to a million electricity customers have signed up for voluntary "green power" payments, and the amount of electricity sold in this way has nearly tripled since 2005, amid rising concern about climate change and energy security. But the participants are in a distinct minority, with a sign-up rate of only about 2 percent in programs run by utilities.
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Is 'cash for clunker appliances' coming to Seattle?
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
11/17/2009
If you were hoping to buy a new, energy-efficient dishwasher or fridge with a federal rebate by Christmas, you're out of luck.
Cash for clunker appliances - officially known as the US Department of Energy's state energy efficient appliance rebate program - won't be available in Washington until February of next year.
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Views: Simon Frasier professors slam Campbell's energy plan
The Tyee
11/17/2009
Hobbling BC Hydro so private firms can profit big is bad public policy.
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EPA has new 'green homes' Web site
Oregonian
11/17/2009
The US Environmental Protection Agency has a new "Green Homes" Web site that aims to guide homeowners and renters toward environmentally friendly home improvement and yard care.
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Green Wave Energy may turn wind power on its axis
Los Angeles Times
11/17/2009
The company and investors are banking on the unconventional design of its microturbines that can generate energy by capturing breezes from any direction.
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So you want a green career?
Los Angeles Times
11/15/2009
Although the recession has emptied shopping malls and filled jobless centers, the call has only gotten louder for renewable energy, environmentally gentle products and eco-friendly practices - and for people to make all of that happen. The giant push has even created job opportunities for those with little or no experience.
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Riding out the recession
Spokesman Review
11/15/2009
It wasn't long ago that the Spokane Transit Authority was riding high, but the worst economic recession in generations has brought a new reality. Cuts in service are likely over the next several years, though some urge the agency to look beyond the recession and get ready for conversion to a "green" economy.
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Innovator and writer looks ahead
San Francisco Chronicle
11/15/2009
The founder of the Whole Earth Catalog lives on a tugboat with shrubbery on top and solar panels in front of the steering wheel. And yet he makes no apologies to the cow he just washed down with a frosty cup of ice cream. Stewart Brand's new book, "Whole Earth Discipline," thrusts him in the middle of the global climate debate, and not in an easily digestible way.
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Views: OR governor defends green tax breaks
Oregonian
11/15/2009
The growth in Oregon's renewable energy sector was not by accident - it was by design and the result of public policies that encourage new companies to move here and thrive here, writes OR governor Ted Kulongoski.
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Polar bears vs. oil in Alaska
Anchorage Daily News
11/16/2009
Like his predecessor, Sarah Palin, Alaksa's new governor is suing the federal government to overturn the listing of the polar bear - the iconic symbol of the Arctic - as a threatened species, which he believes could threaten Alaska's lifeblood: petroleum development.
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Curbs on OR electricity plant sought
Eugene Register Guard
11/15/2009
The Oregon Toxics Alliance has launched a last-ditch effort to require tougher pollution controls and reduced carbon dioxide emissions from Seneca Sawmill Co.’s new wood-fired electricity plant, which is now under construction.
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Desperate climate times call for oddball measures?
Los Angeles Times
11/15/2009
As global warming concerns grow, scientists are taking seriously some seemingly crazy proposals. One suggestion: Launch a million tiny mirrors into space. Every minute. But geo-engineering remains a highly controversial concept, dismissed as a dangerous distraction by critics or embraced as a quick fix by enthusiasts such as the authors of the bestselling book "Freakonomics."
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Views: Political will needed for climate fix
New York Times
11/15/2009
Putting a price on carbon in the face of powerful opposing forces - from consumers who will always want their fuel, electricity, food and clothing to be cheaper than it is, to corporations driven by the bottom line - will ultimately be a matter of sheer political will.
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PUD works on a plan for people and fish
Everett Herald
11/16/2009
A few years from now, there could be more salmon spawning in the Sultan River, and more chances for kayakers and boaters to get out on the water. Improving a river for people as well as fish is the key component of the Snohomish County PUD’s application to renew its federal licensing for its hydropower system, utility officials say.
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Native elder to drilling proponents: 'Chill, baby, chill'
Juneau Empire
11/12/2009
Call her "the other Sarah" from Alaska. Like former Gov. Sarah Palin, Sarah James, of tiny Arctic Village, is outspoken about oil and gas development in Alaska. But while Palin calls drilling an answer to the nation's energy needs, James calls it an affront.
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Geothermal power -- just add water
Bend Bulletin
11/12/2009
With a $25 million influx of federal stimulus money, two companies are planning to try a different way of generating geothermal power just west of Newberry National Volcanic Monument in Oregon.
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New solar panel promises cheaper power
Sacramento Bee
11/12/2009
The roof of a North Sacramento plastics factory will host the biggest West Coast installation of a new type of solar panel that uses cells shaped like long fluorescent light tubes so they can harvest sunlight from any angle.
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