8/20 Safe seafood, killing gulls, sea-level rise, Embridge science, Pt Gamble oysters, Stoops award, Slug U

You really don't want to watch: B.C. man caught filling garbage bags full of gas in Bellingham  

A dispute over how much seafood people eat in Washington -- and what it means for the state's environmental regulations -- will have to wait for the administration of a Gov. Jay Inslee or a Gov. Rob McKenna. Fish-consumption rates are more controversial than they sound, because of their implications for how much pollution industrial and municipal plants are allowed to discharge into lakes, rivers and Puget Sound. That's why lobbyists for businesses, local governments, environmentalists and Indian tribes were at one time eagerly awaiting rules that Gov. Chris Gregoire's Department of Ecology proposed last week and a technical document that is now due out in the next two weeks. Both were supposed to include estimates of fish consumption that would lead to a rate in state rules by the end of the year. But Ecology decided not to publish a number for fish consumption in either document, which will delay the adoption of an official rate until 2013 or 2014. Jordan Schrader reports. State passes on setting fish-consumption rates

No surprise here, but things are a little backed up down in Olympia. Three years after an advisory committee voted to turn it back into an estuary, the 250-acre, man-made Capitol Lake, which lies below the Capitol dome, is backing up with 10,000 dump trucks full of gunky sediment flowing from the Deschutes River, The Olympian reports. State Gunky Sediment officials reportedly are putting off dredging and other work in deference to the uncanny symbolism. Ron Judd muses. Bring on the mudslinging: Olympia's Capitol Lake could use it  

Whether you praise or condemn the squawking gangs of sea gulls in Port Angeles — and the white-streaks they create by their droppings — more of the birds would be creating a ruckus if not for an abatement practice that suffocates chicks in their shells. A federal sea gull management program has prevented 950 chicks from being hatched atop downtown buildings since 2004 by spraying the birds’ eggs with corn oil, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services district supervisor said last week. Port Angeles is the only city on the North Olympic Peninsula taking part in the Integrated Pest Management Program, which is intended to reduce the sea gull population and limit the amount of sea gull feces coating sidewalks and streets and splattered on cars, District Supervisor Matt Cleland said. Paul Gottleb reports. Which comes first — the sea gull or the egg? 

A risk assessment on climate change for the City of Victoria says it needs to start work now to prepare for rising sea levels, more storms, wetter winters and drier summers. The assessment looks at the projected risks the city will face with changes in climate conditions by 2050. The report predicts temperatures in Victoria could rise by more than two degrees by 2050, the amount of summer rain could drop by 32 per cent, while winter precipitation may jump 14 per cent, along with a similar increase in the number of intense storms. Victoria should brace for rising sea levels, more storms: climate change report

Critics of Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to tankers on the British Columbia coast say there is no time for the science to be completed before a federal deadline for the environmental assessment currently underway. Documents filed with the National Energy Board show the environmental review panel studying the Northern Gateway project asked Fisheries and Oceans Canada for risk assessments for the bodies of water the proposed pipeline will cross. The pipeline is to traverse nearly 1,000 streams and rivers in the upper Fraser, Skeena and Kitimat watersheds. The department didn't have them. Northern Gateway review hobbled by budget cuts, critics say  

Efforts of the nonprofit Puget Sound Restoration Fund are adding Olympia oysters and kelp near Point Julia in Port Gamble Bay, bringing back a native species and underwater forest that supports the local ecosystem. A team of nine full- and part-time staff began the first portion of the restoration project in late June for the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, when divers placed 1,200 feet of natural-fiber ropes seeded with young bull kelp plants. Work underway to return Olympia oysters to Port Gamble Bay  

The Port Townsend Marine Science Center is seeking nominations for the 2012 Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award.  The award recognizes people on the North Olympic Peninsula who are stewards of the environment and have demonstrated leadership in efforts to protect the natural world. Nominations must be submitted to the marine science center before 5 p.m. Aug. 31. The winner and runners-up will be honored at the marine science center’s Stewardship Breakfast at the Fort Worden Commons at 8 a.m. Oct. 4. Eleanor Stopps award nominations being accepted

The sun was going down and the river ran red. It wasn't the reflection of the sunset, however. Earlier this week, state Department of Ecology researchers Markus Von Prause and Ralph Svrjcek waded out hip-deep into the Stillaguamish to pour fluorescent red dye into the river as part of water quality study. Gail Fiege reports. Red dye helps measure health of Stillaguamish  

Wearing a set of red-and-orange tentacles on her head made from pipe cleaners, Calie Williamson patiently waited for the opening of “Slug University.”  Last week’s two-hour class was part of Washington State University Thurston County Extension’s summertime children’s program at the Dirt Works Demonstration Garden in Olympia.  Slimy, shunned — and a big hit with kids

Watch your back, tansy ragwort. Beware, butterfly bush. Bill Rogers is coming for you.  Weedbusters of Skagit County 

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PDT MON AUG 20 2012
TODAY
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. W
 SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.

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