10/29 Coal meeting, poor state of the Sound, Haida Gwaii quake, geoengineering, Banksavers Nursery, Island Co shores, oil money

Where the Earth shook (Globe&Mail)

If you need to be persuaded: The New Yorker’s Endorsement of Barack Obama  and Barack Obama for Re-election

Close to 2,000 people came to Squalicum High School on Saturday, Oct. 27, to participate in a public meeting called to identify public concerns about the Gateway Pacific Terminal coal export pier proposed at Whatcom County's Cherry Point.... Although signs for and against the coal port lined the McLeod Road approach to the school in close to equal numbers, the crowd and the commenters in the meeting rooms seemed to be overwhelmingly against it. John Stark reports. Coal port debate packs Squalicum High School Upcoming hearings: Nov 3, Friday Harbor High School, 12-3 PM; Nov 5, McIntyre Hall, Mount Vernon, 4-7 PM

Since establishing recovery targets for Puget Sound, the Puget Sound Partnership faces the harsh reality that little progress has been made toward its own restoration goals. Since 2007, the number of killer whales and chinook salmon have declined; herring stocks and eelgrass beds have not increased; and marine water quality shows a recent worsening trend. These are the findings in the latest "State of the Sound" report approved Friday by the Puget Sound Leadership Council, the governing board for the partnership. Improvements were noted for two significant ecosystem indicators. Nearly 1,400 acres of commercial shellfish beds were recovered between 2007 and 2011, and about 2,300 acres of habitat were restored in some 16 major river estuaries. Chris Dunagan reports. Little progress reported in Puget Sound health  

A 6.3-magnitude aftershock struck off the coast of B.C.'s Haida Gwaii islands Sunday morning — less than 24 hours after Canada's strongest earthquake in more than 60 years hit the same area. Officials said the temblor hit 64 kilometres southwest of Sandspit at a depth of 19 kilometres just before noon Sunday. A tweet from Emergency Information B.C. said no tsunami alerts were issued. More than 30 aftershocks have hit the area after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck Saturday evening, and several of the aftershocks measured at least 4 in magnitude. 6.3-magnitude aftershock hits near B.C.'s Haida Gwaii  And see: Haida Gwaii’s weekend of tremors sheds new light on future disasters   And also: An Essential Field Guide to North American Earthquake Beasts  

Canada may be called onto the carpet this week as nations gather in the United Kingdom to negotiate the terms of an international treaty to regulate the controversial practice of geoengineering. A First Nations salmon restoration group in Haida Gwaii has attracted worldwide attention after dumping more than 100 metric tonnes of iron into the Pacific Ocean in a process known as ocean fertilization. Many scientists from around the world have condemned the unsanctioned experiment, and the federal government says it is investigating. Haida Gwaii iron dumping hot topic as nations negotiate international geoengineering treaty

Banksavers Nursery is the state's only tribal-owned native plant nursery, and one of the few around that focuses solely on plants native to Western Washington. Operated by the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, Banksavers evolved from educational and social efforts to engage tribal members in learning about native plants and their traditional uses. Then it became a program in which the tribe grew native plants for its own salmon habitat projects, establishing wetlands and forests to mitigate for the tribe's development in the county. Gale Fiege reports. Stillaguamish nursery’s native plants key to habitat projects

Island County has 207 miles of shoreline, about 40 percent of which is residential. Owners of those marine or lake shorelines are encouraged to participate in the county's process to update its shoreline management regulations. A series of public hearings continues at 10:20 a.m. Nov. 5 in the Board of Commissioners hearing room in Coupeville and at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 in the same hearing room. Gale Fiege reports. Hearings planned on Island County shoreline rules

Chevron USA, the No. 3 company on the Fortune 500 list, has donated $2.5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a “SuperPAC” designed to maintain Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives and win control of the Senate. Chevron had revenues last year of more than $250 billion and spent $9.5 million on lobbying, with another $5.3 million in lobbying so far in 2012, according to figures compiled by the Center for Public Integrity. In this state, Big Oil has flexed its muscle by underwriting the signature drive for Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1185.  The initiative requires “supermajorities” in both houses of the Legislature to raise taxes or close corporate loopholes. In 2010, the Legislature came close to passing a small per-barrel tax on oil, with the money designated for oil spill cleanup preparation and control of storm runoff of petroleum byproducts into Puget Sound. BP, ConocoPhillips and Equilon have put money into the I-1185 campaign. Joel Connelly reports. $2.5 million from Chevron USA to Republicans  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT MON OCT 29 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PDT TODAY
TODAY
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING W 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN
 THIS MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS...THEN RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.
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