6/27 Orcas, EPA, coal stories, prairie stewardship, Arctic drilling, Alaska kings, bad gas, BC CG, Vancouver Is quake, Makah timber

Ronnie Mitchell, real person (Paul K. Anderson)

If you like to watch: Our Man on the Peninsula writes, “Thanks to Jules for sharing this with us. An amazing film of orcas hunting dolphins at Hyacinthe Bay BC (north of Nanaimo). And thanks to Grind TV for getting it up online!”  Spectacular film of Orcas chasing Dolphins  

If you like to watch: “Documerica,” the first in-depth pictorial examination of the environment in the United States, can be viewed this week at Seattle’s Discovery Park Learning Center. The nationwide environmental documentary photo project was meant to give a sense for what life was like in the 1970s at the start of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ‘Documerica’ Illustrates the EPA’s Progress  

If you like to listen: Real People, Real Stories at Coal Train Facts

The National Parks Service is seeking public input in developing a long-range stewardship plan for the prairies of American and English camps of San Juan Island National Historical Park. National Parks is hosting a series of meetings this week in Anacortes, Friday Harbor and in Seattle to gather public comment on the Prairie Stewardship Plan, which will direct the manner in which the natural and cultural landscape of American Camp and English Camp's Young Hill are managed.  National Parks seeks input on long-range prairie stewardship plan  

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday that it was “highly likely” that the agency would grant Shell permits to begin drilling exploratory wells off the North Slope of Alaska as early as next month. Mr. Salazar, while acknowledging that the Arctic presented unique environmental and safety challenges for oil and gas operations, said he was confident that Shell would meet the Interior Department’s new standards for offshore drilling. He noted that Shell had successfully tested a new oil spill containment device in Washington State’s Puget Sound in recent days and said he believed the company’s claims that it could collect at least 90 percent of any oil spilled in the event of a well blowout.  Shell Is Likely to Receive Permits for Oil Drilling Off Alaska  

Something in the ocean has been death to Alaska's king salmon. The state's iconic fish, treasured for food, sport and cash, should now be swimming in droves up rivers from the Southeast rain forests to the populated Railbelt and the Western Alaska tundra. But they're not. Decline in king salmon is rooted in the sea, Alaska state biologists say

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the first-ever regulations aimed at reducing the gases blamed for global warming, handing down perhaps the most significant decision on the issue since a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases could be controlled as air pollutants. The rules, which had been challenged by industry groups and several states, will reduce emissions of six heat-trapping gases from large industrial facilities such as factories and power plants, as well as from automobile tailpipes.  Federal court upholds EPA's global warming rules  And see Cliff Mass on Cascade Melt Out

Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield is defending his government's funding cuts to the Canadian Coast Guard and says anyone who claims the changes endanger lives in Vancouver is propagating false information.  Minister says it's myth that Vancouver coast guard cuts would put lives at risk

A 4.9 earthquake shook Vancouver Island, British Columbia, at 9:22 p.m. Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The epicenter was located more than 50 miles off the western shore and more than 100 miles from most cities on the island. The closest major city, Port Hardy, is 115 miles away from it. 4.9 earthquake rumbles Vancouver Island  

The Makah tribe has made its first purchase using funds from a $25 million settlement with the federal government by buying land for harvesting timber, Tribal Chairman Micah McCarty said Tuesday. The tribe spent $12.5 million of the funds for about 3,000 acres near Lake Ozette in the Umbrella Creek watershed within the Olympic Range Tree Farm, which is owned by a Boston corporation, Tribal General Manager Meri Parker said.  Makah buy timberland with half of $25 million U.S. settlement  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 254 AM PDT WED JUN 27 2012
TODAY
SE WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 13 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 KT EARLY...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

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