Kathy Fletcher, girly fish, Gateway pipe, Straitwatch, Lk Whatcom park, Oly shore plan, shark fins, Tom Cashman, Latino voters

Kathy Fletcher

"I am shocked, I am sad at the decision to dissolve People for Puget Sound, and I strongly believe this did not need to happen," said Kathy Fletcher, founder and executive director of the nonprofit until her retirement last year. Lynda Mapes reports. People for Puget Sound shutting down after 20 years  

For all of the Clean Water Act’s successes, it was never designed to control contaminants that have emerged since its passage in 1972. These pollutants are affecting the environment in new and different ways. Consider the feminized fish of Puget Sound. That’s something Lyndal Johnson has been doing a lot of lately. Johnson is a fisheries biologist and toxicologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She and a team of scientists were out sampling English sole –- a flatfish common to the sound’s Elliott Bay — when they noticed something, well, fishy. Ashley Ahearn reports. Feminized Fish: A Side Effect Of Emerging Contaminants

Opponents of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline are organizing what they're calling the largest act of peaceful civil disobedience on the oil sands issue in Canada. Greenpeace Canada says a mass sit-in planned for the front lawn of the B.C. legislature in Victoria on Oct. 22 is backed by more than 80 leaders from the business, First Nations, environmental, labour and academic communities across Canada. The group says those supporters include environmentalist David Suzuki, former Canadian UN ambassador Stephen Lewis, Council of Canadians chair Maude Barlow, lawyer Clayton Ruby, author Naomi Klein and economist Mark Jaccard. Mass sit-in planned at B.C. legislature over Northern Gateway pipeline  

A non-profit group that keeps an eye on boaters and whale-watchers around Victoria and Alert Bay has been beached after being denied funding by Environment Canada The Straitwatch program, run by the Cetus Research and Conservation Society, has two Zodiac boats and does on-the-water education and monitoring to reduce disturbances to the endangered southern resident and threatened northern resident killer whales. Cut in government funds leaves whale group on shore

The Whatcom County Council will take up the proposed Lake Whatcom watershed land transfer proposal again on Oct. 9, after more than 200 people turned out Tuesday, Sept. 11, for a public hearing on it. The transfer would shift 8,844 acres of state-managed timber lands to county control - a move that proponents say would help protect the lake while enabling the county to create a massive new park. After hearing from opponents of the transfer, Council Chairwoman Kathy Kershner said she was convinced that it needs further study. John Stark reports. County Council: Lake Whatcom land transfer needs more study  

Olympia’s draft shoreline plan is “simply going in the wrong direction” in a number of areas, a state Department of Ecology official told the Olympia City Council on Tuesday. One of those areas is Port of Olympia property on the north and east sides of the port peninsula, said Crissy Bailey, regional shoreline planner for the Department of Ecology. No commercial development would be allowed within 100 feet of the shoreline under the Shoreline Master Program that the Olympia Planning Commission is recommending to the City Council.  Matt Batcheldor reports. Ecology official warns Olympia City Council about draft shoreline plan

The tide of shark conservation is continuing to wash over Metro Vancouver — one municipality at a time. The City of Vancouver will become the latest jurisdiction to weigh in on the growing international issue when it debates a motion Tuesday related to a ban on the sale of shark fins. Vancouver city council to debate ban on shark fins


Foss Waterway Seaport Executive Director Tom Cashman, who built the maritime museum and education center from an all-volunteer organization to a nonprofit enterprise with seven employees and a historic waterfront home, is leaving the organization. John Gille reports. Foss Waterway Seaport director Tom Cashman to leave  

For overwhelming numbers of Latino voters in the U.S., protecting the environment seems to be a very personal matter. It’s a matter of protecting families and the health of loved ones, safeguarding communities’ way of life, and taking responsibility for the future. It’s a matter of safe jobs and neighborhoods. It’s about being true to one’s core values. That’s the signal Sierra Club and National Council of La Raza received from recent focus groups and a national survey designed to gauge Latino voters’ opinions on environmental issues. The findings reinforce results from other recent public opinion research as well as a similar survey by Sierra Club from 2008. In many cases, Latinos’ environmental attitudes have grown stronger in the past few years. Anna Fehey reports. Hispanic voters aren't playing chicken with the environment

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 259 AM PDT THU SEP 13 2012
TODAY
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING LIGHT THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. NW SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS. AREAS OF DENSE FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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