1/29 Tsunami debris, Idle No More, oil & spills, coal & warming, vanishing blogs

B.C. Tsunami Debris (Living Oceans Society)

Debris from the tsunami that struck Japan two years ago is building up on West Coast beaches, with everything from soccer balls to floating docks drifting ashore from Alaska to California. Peter Barratt, operations manager for West Coast Helicopters, has been looking down on British Columbia’s rugged Pacific coastline for much of the past 30 years – and he has never seen as much garbage as he did on a recent reconnaissance flight along northwest Vancouver Island with Will Soltau, of the Living Oceans Society. Tsunami debris litters B.C. beaches

Idle No More protesters turned up outside the Aboriginal Affairs office in Vancouver Monday, with many in the crowd focusing on pollution from Canada’s oil and gas industry. Photos: Idle No More rally in downtown Vancouver  And: First Nation leaders in central B.C. are raising red flags over plans for natural gas pipelines across their territories, warning the projects won't go ahead unless they are consulted and approve. At least four pipelines are being proposed to move natural gas from northeast B.C. to ports on the coast when the product would be turned into liquefied natural gas for export overseas. B.C. First Nations send warnings over gas pipelines  

To follow up on Lynda Mapes' oil spill risk story: Eric Scigliano in Crosscut writes, Northwest energy whack-a-mole: Another pipeline rears its head  Learn even more from a posting by UW grad students: What Are the Increased Risks From Transporting Tar Sands Oil?

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is one of four recipients of $200,000 in state funding for programs designed to recruit volunteers to prepare for and clean up oil spills. The Swinomish are receiving $35,003 to establish standard operating procedures for responding to an oil spill within or adjacent to the Swinomish Reservation. The grant also will support identification of priority habitat, propose updates to regional response plans and help train train employees and volunteers who respond to oil spills. Other recipients of the grant money include: Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team ($52,660), Seattle Audubon Society ($48,479), and Northwest Straits Foundation ($60,000).  Grant awarded to Swins for oil spill response

Tracy Warner opines: If you look at one study, the easy assumptions that exporting coal will harm the climate could prove backward. Two Stanford researchers raise a point worth looking at. Coal exports: There could be a twist on the global warming argument

Just a few years ago, it seemed like new neighborhood blogs were popping up every day. Now, not only are there fewer blogs, but the ones that survive seem to have less content. What happened? Anna Minard reports.  What Happened to the Neighborhood Blogs?

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 900 AM PST TUE JAN 29 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT DURING THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 11
 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY.
TONIGHT
W WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN.

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