1/17 Sea level rise, orca habitat, Wild Olympics, counting fish, Ecology on coal, Lacey bag ban

"Islands of Seattle" (Jeff Linn)

If all ice sheets melted, would your neighborhood be under water?
If you’ve ever wondered how your house or apartment would fare if the Earth was immediately and improbably inundated by the simultaneous melting of all the world’s ice sheets, Jeff Linn has an answer for you. The University of Washington planner has created a map showing what Seattle would look like if the sea level rose by 240 feet — the estimated amount it would rise if all the world’s ice sheets melted. Katherine Long blogs. Ha, ha: And if everyone flushed their toilets at once, would the Salish Sea overflow?

Group Calls For Expanding Killer Whale Habitat Protection
An environmental group is calling for a major expansion in habitat protection for Puget Sound’s killer whales. Research shows the endangered orcas that live in Puget Sound in the summer are venturing up and down the West Coast in the winter to forage for food. Scientists tracking these southern resident orcas have followed the whales as far north as Alaska and as far south as Monterey, Calif. Given these findings, the Center for Biological Diversity says the whales need a lot more habitat protection than they have now. The group filed a petition Thursday with the National Marine Fisheries Service to expand protected habitat for the whales from Puget Sound to a large swath of ocean area off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Cassandra Profita reports.

Kilmer, Murray to introduce new version of Wild Olympics bill today
A new version of Wild Olympics legislation will be introduced today by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. The Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2014, also known as Wild Olympics legislation, contains wilderness protection measures that were jointly introduced in 2012 by Murray, D-Bothell, and former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, Kilmer's 6th Congressional District predecessor... The new legislation, like the original bill, would ban logging on 126,554 acres of the 633,000-acre Olympic National Forest. Paul Gottlieb reports. See: POINT OF VIEW: In his own words, Kilmer explains why he's backing wilderness legislation

Researchers Detect and 'Count' Fish From Just A Glass Of Water
It's not something we often think about, but as we go about daily life, we're constantly shedding little flakes of skin. So are animals and fish. This fact now makes it possible to estimate which species are most plentiful in a lake or bay. University of Washington professor Ryan Kelly is jazzed. "This is about the coolest project I have been involved in,” Kelly said. That's because Kelly's research team could detect and count with just a glass of seawater the species of fish swimming around nearby. Tom Banse reports.

Senate Panel Questions Ecology On Review Of Coal Terminal
Washington’s top environmental regulator found herself in the hot seat Thursday during a state Senate hearing called by Republican lawmakers who disapprove her agency’s scrutiny of a coal export terminal proposed for the northern shore of Puget Sound. At issue: greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of Ecology caused a stir last year when it announced that it would consider the greenhouse gas emissions produced when 48 million tons of exported coal is burned in Asia – that’s how much coal would move through the Gateway Pacific Terminal every year. Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, convened a work session to question Ecology officials, including director Maia Bellon, about its move. Ashley Ahearn reports.

Data show Lacey residents support bag ban
The Lacey City Council on Thursday night weighed the results of a public outreach campaign tied to a proposed plastic bag ban, and the subsequent discussion revealed a divided council: Some want the issue to go to a vote of the people, while others said it is time the council showed some leadership and voted on the issue themselves. Thursday’s meeting was a council work session, but the council is set to consider the proposed ban of single-use plastic bags during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 23.... In addition, comment cards were mailed to 15,000 utility customers within the city limits. That data was compiled and presented to the council on Thursday, showing the city received 1,276 responses. More than 50 percent – 51.49 percent – are in favor of the ban, while 44.44 percent are against it, with 4.08 percent still undecided. Rolf Boone reports.

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI JAN 17 2014
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING
TODAY
E WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 5 TO 8 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 15
 SECONDS. PATCHY FOG.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. W
 SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND 10 KT...BECOMING VARIABLE IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 16 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE
 AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 10 KT...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
SUN AND SUN NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 16 SECONDS.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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