10/17 Stormwater, Bellingham port, biomass, natural gas, Enbridge pipe, Comox seaweed, seal tracking, Tethys UGA

Tomato Time (PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Mmmmm-- Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: "From the smooth juiciness of the Yellow Brandywines to the smoky tang of the Black Cherries, it’s been a fabulous year for tomatoes. All 10 of the varieties we grew this summer have been prolific and delicious, making meal times at our place a mouth-watering affair...." A Mouth-Watering Affair

Yuk-- Gliding through the clear, emerald water of Puget Sound, Diver Laura James stopped when something shiny on the bottom caught her eye. She reached down and picked up a tire-flattened beer can. And then she noticed more garbage — stir straws, bubble gum wrappers, coffee lids, a plastic packet of ketchup — littered across the sound’s sandy floor. “I didn’t understand what I was seeing at first,” James says. “We’d swim along and we’d see this decaying swath – black with dead leaves and garbage. And then it would go back to normal.” Ashley Ahearn and Katie Campbell report. How We Got Into Such A Mess With Stormwater

The three finalists for the executive director job at the Port of Bellingham will meet the public at a reception scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven. Finalists are Les Reardanz, Jonathan Daniels, William Panos. John Stark reports. Port of Bellingham unveils finalists for executive post

A plan to place four temporary air-quality monitors in Port Angeles and Sequim in 2013 and monitors in Port Townsend in 2014 doesn't go far enough, according to many at a packed Olympic Region Clean Air Agency board meeting in Sequim. Many among the more than two dozen Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend residents who gave maximum-three-minute comments at the meeting Monday night were concerned about biomass expansion projects under construction in Port Angeles and Port Townsend. Paul Gottlieb reports. Biomass meet in Sequim draws a crowd of protesters

Natural gas production in North America has increased so dramatically that no fewer than 17 companies have now applied to export the fuel overseas. Two gas export terminals are proposed in the Northwest -- one near Coos Bay, Oregon and the other at the Port of Astoria. This week, federal energy regulators are getting an earful of public testimony. As public meetings go, Monday’s visit by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the Oregon Coast was more tense and raucous than usual.  Tom Banse reports. To keep or to export? The Northwest's natural gas debate  

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams and a growing array of entertainers, including Michael Moore, Daryl Hannah and Mark Ruffalo, are adding their voices to a protest against a proposed pipeline across British Columbia. Ms. Williams, an American who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban anti-personnel landmines, said at a press conference in Vancouver on Tuesday that a tour along the pipeline route left her convinced that local communities will halt the proposed Enbridge project. Mark Hume reports. Nobel winner joins pipeline opposition

The Comox Valley could become known for a new agricultural export -- dried seaweed. The provincial government has issued a licence to harvest 1,000 tonnes of the species mazzaella japonica — commonly known as Irish moss — from the shoreline between Deep Bay and Qualicum Beach. And the idea is that it would be transported to a currently disused barn at Beaver Meadow Farms on Anderton Road in Comox, which would be restored to house a new drying plant. Plan to export dried seaweed could be new money-maker for Vancouver Island  

In a new pilot project, the Vancouver Aquarium is starting to track five harbour seals that have been rescued and released. Members of the public will also be able to track the seals’ progress and whereabouts by using the website SeaTurtle.org. The aquarium rehabilitated 145 seal pups this year, and equipped five of those with satellite-linked transmitters before releasing them back into their natural habitat on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.  Vancouver Aquarium, public can track five harbour seals that have been rescued and released  

The city of Anacortes is compiling more information for its urban growth area request after the county asked for clarification in order to move forward with the proposal. The property, about 11 acres on the south side of Stevenson Road off Reservation Road, is being eyed by Tethys Enterprises as part of the property it needs for its proposed facility. Tethys is working to acquire property and build a huge beverage-bottling plant here. County wants more information on city’s UGA request  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 845 AM PDT WED OCT 17 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
NW SWELL 11 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS LATE. E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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