11/1 Cohen report, green governor, more BC quake, Lynch Cove reopened, Bainbridge bags, Allen Cr., big coal pissed

Whatcom Watch (National Marine Protected Area Center)

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Writing or making an oral comment at the ‘scoping’ meetings for the coal export facility proposed in the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve? Get the background at Whatcom Watch, Our Living Jewel--Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve

Environment reporter Christopher Dunagan’s stellar work at the Kitsap Sun is featured in a Washington State Magazine article by Eric Sorensen. Read Chris Dunagan ’74, ’75—Bearing witness to the sights and smells of our soggy backyard

There is "no smoking gun" to explain the "steady and profound" decline of the Fraser River sockeye, according to the B.C. Supreme Court justice who led a two and half year inquiry into the collapse. But in his final report released Wednesday in Vancouver, Justice Bruce Cohen lays out 75 recommendations, including the shutdown of dozens of fish farms on the sockeye migration route, if they’re found to be too risky. In a hefty, three-volume report spanning more than a thousand pages, Cohen says that “the idea that a single event or stressor is responsible for the 1992-2009 declines in Fraser River sockeye is appealing but improbable.” Instead, Cohen says a string of cumulative factors likely played a role, such as contaminants in the Fraser River, development along its shores, and ocean conditions that may have contributed to long-term decline as well. No 'smoking gun' for Fraser River sockeye salmon collapse    See also: Salmon inquiry commissioner critical of Fisheries Act changes

Democrat Jay Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna have spent the past year debating how to stimulate job growth and boost public-school funding, but Washington's next governor will also face some of the biggest environmental challenges the state has seen: Should we become the country's largest exporter of coal to Asia? How can we spur more fuel-efficiency? What can we do to improve the health of Puget Sound? Or push the federal government to make good on the promised cleanup of Hanford? While Inslee and McKenna agree on some environmental issues, their backgrounds suggest they would take very different approaches to these questions and more. Brian Rosenthal reports. Candidates for governor differ in approach on environment

A 5.1 M earthquake east of the southern coast of Haida Gwaii was recorded at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, though authorities say there is no tsunami danger. The earthquake happened about a kilometre under the ocean floor and about 97 km east of the island community of Sandspit, according to an National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration bulletin issued at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday. Mike Hager reports. 5.1 M earthquake recorded off Haida Gwaii; no tsunami alert issued

About 280 acres of shellfish beds outside of Belfair's Lynch Cove will soon be reopened for commercial and recreational harvesting, according to state health authorities. Once reopened, people will be able to take clams and oysters from Belfair State Park without worry of contamination, according to Scott Berbells of the state's Shellfish Program, an office within the Washington State Department of Health. The change in classification — from "prohibited" to "approved" — is considered a major accomplishment for state and local officials, Berbells said, but much of the credit goes to Hood Canal property owners who have upgraded their septic systems and reduced other sources of pollution. Chris Dunagan reports. Shellfish beds near Belfair to reopen  

Starting Thursday, Bainbridge Island retailers will no longer be allowed to provide thin plastic bags to customers and will charge 5 cents for large paper bags, as a citywide ban on plastic shopping bags takes effect. Town & Country Market in Winslow made the switch a day early, removing plastic bag racks from checkout counters Tuesday night. Shoppers who didn't bring their own reusable bags heard a new question at the grocery store Wednesday morning. "They were asking, 'Paper or paper?'" said Tony D'Onofrio, sustainability director for the supermarket chain, who added customers were taking the change in stride. "The response I got was it's going very well, people are kind of excited about it." Tad Sooter reports. Bainbridge bag ban takes effect Thursday  

Fines that landscaping and construction-materials company Pacific Topsoils paid last year for environmental violations on Smith Island have been put to use to restore part of the Snohomish River estuary. The money, awarded as a $50,000 state grant, allowed the Tulalip Tribes to dig a new channel for Allen Creek. The work south of downtown Marysville is part of the tribes' larger Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project that aims to revive habitat and minimize flood damage. Noah Haglund reports. Company's fines help fund Snohomish estuary restoration  

A vacation rental agency got the nod from the B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday to do business on Saltspring Island. In his ruling, Justice Peter Leask said that Westcoast Vacations Inc. does not operate commercial guest accommodation, and therefore is not contravening a bylaw prohibiting the use of residentially zoned dwellings for commercial guest accommodation. The Saltspring Island Local Trust Committee was seeking an injunction to stop the company from using or offering homes for accommodation. Islands Trust loses case on land use  

Pissing off Big Coal: “Carbon Sink: What Goes Around Comes Around” was installed on the University of Wyoming campus in late 2011. Funded by an anonymous donor and by the state Cultural Trust Fund, it consisted of a 36-foot-wide circle of logs from beetle-killed trees, arranged in a whirlpool pattern around a pile of coal. Drury hoped the sculpture would be left in place until it disintegrated, and the director of the campus art museum said there were “no plans to uninstall it.” It was, Drury said, intended to inspire a conversation. In May 2012, however, just after most students left campus, Carbon Sink quietly disappeared. Michelle Nijhuis reports. The Artwork That Infuriated Big Coal

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT THU NOV 1 2012
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 5 FT AT 9 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY.
TONIGHT
S WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING E 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL 4 FT AT 9 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF
 SHOWERS.
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