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SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
BusinessPoliticsEnvironment
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Turbines Longer bloom for $ Briefly . . . CONTINUED FROM A9 The turbines are to be made by the Irish firm OpenHydro. They are approximately 20 feet in diameter, weigh 414 tons each and sit 65 feet high on a triangular platform 100 by 85 feet. At peak generation, the turbines could produce 600 kilowatts of electricity. But because this is a pilot project, it is unlikely the turbines would ever generate that much electricity for the grid, Caller said, If the PUD’s board votes to move forward with the project — Aldrich said it likely will — the utility will need to obtain permits from Island County, where the power would be brought to shore, order the turbines and hire contractors. It’s brand-new territory for the utility, and installation of the turbines is years away.
Rockies’ flowers THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — The Rocky Mountain wildflower season has lengthened by over a month since the 1970s, according to a new study that found climate change is altering the flowering patterns of more species than previously thought. Flowers used to bloom from mid-May to early September, but the season now lasts 35 days longer, from April to mid-September, according to researchers who collected 39 years of data at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory near Crested Butte, Colo. Earlier spring snowmelt and other climate shifts have changed the timing of blooms for more than two-thirds of 60 species of native wildflowers
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in mountain meadows, stands of Aspen trees and conifer forest that were surveyed from 1974 to 2012, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The scientific paper is the latest to document one of the strongest signs that global warming is shaking up the natural world. Scientists studying phenology — the timing of seasonal events in nature — are observing rapid shifts in when flowers bloom, trees leaf out and bees, birds and butterflies appear in the spring. Scientists have documented the trend using historical records from writers and naturalists, including records made by Henry David Thoreau in the 1850s.
Security: Cyber tools CONTINUED FROM A9 This technology actually exists. A company called Malauzai Software built an on/off switch after one of its bank customers sought a solution to the amount of time its representatives were spending on the phone with people whose debit cards had gone missing. It wanted the customers to be able to turn the cards off temporarily via their mobile banking app until they found them again or declared them lost and asked for a replacement. Malauzai obliged, but it soon discovered that fraudwary customers were turning the cards on and off before and after every charge. “The fraud prevention thing was gravy on top of the mashed potatoes,” said Robb Gaynor, Malauzai’s cofounder and chief product officer. “It was unexpected.” Now 70 to 80 institutions — all smaller banks or credit unions — have adopted Malauzai’s on/off switch. Capital One has built its own for debit cards, as have USAA and Simple, which was acquired by BBVA last month. Of customers who are active on mobile banking apps and patronize a bank that uses Malauzai’s switch, 3 to 5 percent of them flip it at least once each month. Recurring charges for things like mobile phone bills get a code that allows them to go through even when a customer has turned the card off. A company called TSYS has its own new on/off offering for banks that can geofence transactions, keeping any from going through unless they’re relatively close to a user’s mobile phone. Ellen Richey, Visa’s chief legal officer, expressed a bit of skepticism about the on/ off switch. The right malware could muck it up, and users may forget that their cards are
off and get annoyed at the cash register when things aren’t working. “One thing we have found is that consumers are remarkably impatient with anything that gets between them and making a payment,” she said. Perhaps, but why not let consumers decide whether they mind that friction? So far, Chase, American Express, Citibank and Bank of America have no plans to do so. If enough of you demand it, however, perhaps they’ll see the light. This is what happened with the now ubiquitous tool that lets you deposit checks by taking a picture of them with your phone and zapping them to the bank.
■ Chip cards The United States is a fraud-friendly country in part because we still use old-fashioned magnetic stripes on the back of our cards. This makes it relatively easy for thieves to make counterfeit ones. At long last, retailers and banks and the companies that process their payments are preparing to begin to possibly get their acts together on this front. Over the next 18 months, more debit and credit card issuers will issue plastic with a microchip inside that will transmit a unique code each time you use it in person. Presumably, thieves won’t be able to counterfeit that sort of thing easily — at least for a while. Then, on Oct. 1, 2015, assuming there aren’t any extensions, most retailers who don’t have terminals to read the chip cards yet will be responsible for certain types of fraud if it occurs. If retailers do have the terminals but a bank hasn’t gotten around to giving a consumer a chip-enabled card, the bank will pay for the fraud as a penalty for lagging the retailers. It’s an elaborate game of chicken, fitting for an indus-
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try where the major players spent years embroiled in a lawsuit. Most people will be dipping these new cards in the terminals instead of swiping them, and some banks may eventually make you enter a PIN instead of signing for a purchase. As long as you don’t lose your card or have the actual plastic stolen, the sort of fraud that went on with Target should be a lot harder to pull off. That said, the thieves will then immediately migrate online, since many people will still be typing numbers into websites the old-fashioned way for the foreseeable future. There, the bad guys will find a more welcoming environment, at least until everyone involved with card payments agrees on a technology to thwart the scofflaws there, too. A process called tokenization may become the security standard, or perhaps you’ll be inputting codes you receive via text message, similar to the way you might be now if you have activated two-step verification for Gmail. Richey of Visa said she believes that the various industry players will be quick to act online as well. After all, if they do nothing, the rate of online fraud may rise at the same rate that in-person card fraud falls thanks to all those microchips. “It’s so compelling that it will fuel the merchant and bank players’ willingness to proceed,” she said. “Otherwise, they won’t get the benefit of the investments they’ve made in chip cards.” That’s a lot of ifs, in an industry that has waited an awfully long time to fix its fraud problems while inconveniencing millions of customers. Let’s hope it happens as they say it will. Until it does, set some alerts and pester your bank to give you all of the technological options that ought to be available right now.
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Station General Manager Todd Ortloff hosts the Monday through Thursday segments. This week’s scheduled lineup: ■ Monday: Gail Powers of the Old Time Fiddlers discussing an upcoming concert. ■ Tuesday: Lindsay Johnson, manager of the Olympic Medical Sleep Center, gives an update. ■ Wednesday: In the first segment, Port Angeles Farmers Market Manager Cynthia Warne discusses its upcoming basement sale fundraiser. In the second segment, Erika Bergman, submersible pilot, engineer and underwater explorer, discusses a unique fundraiser and an extreme Arctic snorkel she will be part of. ■ Thursday: To be announced.
SEATTLE — A hole that was accidentally drilled through the hull has been repaired and the ferry MV Walla Walla returned to service Friday on the SeattleBremerton route. The repair is temporary and the ferry will need a permanent patch at its next regular dry-dock period. Washington State Ferries said Monday that a crew at the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility accidentally drilled a hole about 2 inches in diameter as it was working to drain dirty water and paint chips from the bilge.
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shores of the Columbia River in Grant County PUD’s Priest Rapids Project contain artifacts from the Wanapum and other Native American groups that lived and traveled along the river, according to Grant’s website. And lately, artifact protection and public safety have been concerns because of the lowered Wanapum Reservoir, exposing shoreline and resulting in the PUD closing the area to the public. Ferry christened Two human skeletons, SEATTLE — Transporta- believed to be several huntion Secretary Lynn Peterdred years old, were recently son decided to break the bot- found after the water was tle herself on the hull of the lowered.* MV Tokitae to christen the new ferry at the Vigor IndusNation/World trial shipyard in Seattle. It’s the first of three 144car Olympic Class ferries to Breakfast is pricier NEW YORK — Breakreplace the 1950s-era Evergreen State class vessels. fast is now being served The new vessel is sched- with a side of sticker shock. uled to go into service this The price of bacon is summer on the Mukilteosurging and the cost of Clinton run. other morning staples, like The next ferry is under coffee and orange juice, is construction and the Legisset to rise because of global lature recently approved supply problems, from funding for the third. The drought in Brazil to disease total budget for all three is on U.S. pig farms. $388 million. And it’s not just the first Tokitae is a tribal greetmeal of the day that’s being ing meaning “nice day.” It’s affected. also the name of a WashingThe cost of meats, fish ton orca better known as and eggs led the biggest Lolita at the Miami Seaincrease in U.S. food prices quarium. in nearly 2.5 years last month, according to governUW Bothell building ment data. An index that tracks BOTHELL — The new science building at the Uni- those foods rose 1.2 percent versity of Washington Both- in February and has climbed 4 percent over the ell has room for 1,000 stulast 12 months. dents. While overall inflation Officials at its dedication showed off classrooms, labs, remains low, the increases in food prices are forcing shops and a lecture hall. shoppers to search out The $68 million Discovdeals and cut back. ery Hall houses the univerEven though food comsity’s School of Science, Techpanies use a range of costnology, Engineering and cutting methods to limit Mathematics. the effect of higher food UW Bothell has about costs, consumers will likely 4,200 students on the campus it shares with Cascadia feel the “ripple effects” of rising commodity prices, College. according to the Grocery Artifact bill posed Manufacturers Association. OLYMPIA — A bill protecting the locations of tribal Wishful highway LAS VEGAS — A proburial grounds and other posed interstate freeway archaeological sites awaits linking Las Vegas and Phoethe governor’s signature to nix is still years and billions become law. of dollars from reality, but The legislation, which the governors of Nevada and makes information about the locations of archaeologi- Arizona already have cal resources unavailable to unveiled signs to mark their dream. the public through publicArizona Gov. Jan Brewer, records requests, was passed Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval unanimously by the House with 47 votes in favor and and Rep. Steven Horsford, two opposed in the Senate. D-Nev., met at Hoover Dam In Grant County, some on Friday to unveil signs
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Online privacy WASHINGTON — A week before a self-imposed deadline for a review of National Security Agency programs, President Barack Obama sought Friday to assure leading Internet and tech executives that his administration is committed to protecting people’s privacy. CEOs from Facebook, Google, Netflix and others spent more than two hours with Obama in the Oval Office discussing their concerns about NSA spying programs, which have drawn outrage from tech companies whose data have been scooped up by the government. Joining Obama and the CEOs were Obama’s commerce secretary, homeland security adviser, and counselor John Podesta, whom Obama has tasked with leading a review of privacy and “big data.” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues departed the White House without speaking to reporters.
BlackBerry paring NEW YORK — BlackBerry is selling most of its real estate holdings in Canada as the struggling smartphone company continues to look for ways to improve its business. BlackBerry Ltd. did not disclose the buyer or purchase price, but said Friday that it will sell more than 3 million square feet of space and vacant lands. It will also lease back part of the space. “The successful sale of property in Canada will help us move toward our goal of continued operational efficiency,” CEO and Executive Chair John Chen said in a statement.
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that will be posted along the proposed Interstate 11. It was a symbolic effort meant to keep up momentum on the project, which is coming of age in an era of scarce highway funding. Nevada and Arizona are linked by U.S. Highway 93, but the corridor missed out on being in the original interstate network because the region’s population exploded after the roadbuilding program began in the mid-1950s. The states’ transportation departments haven’t officially estimated the cost of building an interstatequality road through the 290-mile stretch, although informal projections range from $4 billion to $10 billion.
Gold for April delivery rose $5.50, or 0.4 percent, to $1,336 an ounce Friday. May silver shed 12 cents, or 0.6 percent, to end at $20.31 an ounce. Peninsula Daily News and The Associated Press