7/10 OR coal, BC crabs, Oly shores, Tethys water, Tacoma water, ecosystem diversity

Mama Springer

Hearings about a proposed coal export project drew hundreds of opponents and backers in Portland and Hermiston, Ore. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is considering permits to let the proposal move ahead. Crowds rallied during rush-hour, as coal opponents held a “people’s hearing” outside an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality meeting. The Department hosted two hearings on the Morrow Pacific Project, a proposed coal export terminal that would transport nearly 9 million tons of coal through the Pacific Northwest to Asia. Courtney Flatt and Cassandra Profita report. Hundreds Turn Out For Hearing On Columbia River Coal Plan

The tasty, hence lucrative, Dungeness crab is off-limits in B.C.’s northern coastal waters this month, and the region’s crab fishermen are exceedingly, well, crabby about it. “Yeah, you could say that,” said Dan Edwards, executive director of the Area A Crab Association, as he voiced the fishermen’s mounting anger over a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to keep the crab fishery closed until Aug. 1.... Mel Kotyk, area director for the DFO, said the region was declared off-limits for crab harvesting after sampling provided insufficient evidence that it was safe to allow the fishermen to lay their traps without damaging the fishery. Rod Mickleburgh reports. Closing of B.C. Dungeness crab fishery sparks anger

More than a hundred people attended the Olympia City Council’s public hearing Tuesday on the draft Shoreline Master Program, a state-mandated plan that regulates development on state shorelines. The city has been considering the plan for more than three years. Several who spoke early in the hearing, including business owners, developers and others tied to the business community, praised the current draft, although they also pointed out parts they would like to see changed. Others in the audience reminded the City Council that the SMP is not just for developers but for the city and community at large, and still more raised the issues of public access to the waterfront and the threat of sea-level rise. Rolf Boone reports. Crowd comments on Olympia shore plan  

The Skagit County Commissioners (Tuesday) morning unanimously voted to docket the city of Anacortes’ request to expand its urban growth area. The property is being eyed by Tethys Enterprises for a potential 1 million-square-foot bottling facility. Docketing the proposal means the review will continue. The county Planning Department will now start an environmental review process. Once that is complete, public hearings will be scheduled before the county Planning Commission. The commission’s recommendation will then be forwarded to the county commissioners for review and a final decision. Kimberly Jacobson reports. County commissioners docket city’s UGA request  

Tacoma Water is projecting that it will receive about $800,000 in annual revenue should a California-based water-bottling company become one of its customers. That money from a deal with Niagara Bottling LLC could help keep water rate increases for residential customers in check, utility officials told the Tacoma City Council at a study session Tuesday. “For us to sell our surplus supply is a good deal, and it will allow us to mitigate rate increases,” said Tony Lindgren, Tacoma Water’s distribution engineering manager. Melissa Santos reports. Tacoma Water seeking approval to sell water at discounted rate to bottler

Ocean acidification may create an impact similar to extinction on marine ecosystems, according to a study released today by the University of California, Davis. The study, published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that ocean acidification can degrade not only individual species, as past studies have shown, but entire ecosystems. This results in a homogenized marine community, dominated by fewer plants and animals. Glimpse Into the Future of Acidic Oceans Shows Ecosystems Transformed  

On the other hand: By studying rapidly evolving bacteria as they diversify and compete under varying environmental conditions, researchers have shown that temporal niches are important to maintaining biodiversity in natural systems. The research is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of temporal niche dynamics promoting biodiversity over evolutionary time scales. The temporal niches -- changes in environmental conditions that occur during specific periods of time -- promoted frequency-dependent selection within the bacterial communities and positive growth of new mutants. They played a vital role in allowing diversity among bacterial phenotypes to persist. Study Helps Understand How Nature Maintains Diversity

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED JUL 10 2013
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
W WIND TO 10 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. NW SWELL 5 FT AT 8
 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
W WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT. NW SWELL 5
 FT AT 7 SECONDS.
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