6/8 Pipeline burglar, climate deal, BC pipe, renewables, BC birds, Jim Jensen tweets, Asian plastic

Double-crested cormorant [Tom Vezo/VIREO, Audubon]

Double-crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. Though they look like a combination of a goose and a loon, they are relatives of frigatebirds and boobies. They are the most common of our three local species. They breed on rocky islets in and near the Strait of Juan de Fuca. They vie over sandy or gravelly bottoms to depths of 60 feet for stickleback, sculpins and juvenile salmonids. (All About Birds/Marine Wildlife of Puget Sound, the San Juans and the Strait of Georgia)

Man found guilty of burglary in pipeline facility break-in
Kenneth Ward was found guilty Wednesday of second-degree burglary for trying to shut off an oil pipeline Oct. 11 at a Kinder Morgan facility west of Burlington. The jury found Ward, 60, guilty of burglary after a two-day trial, but a mistrial was declared on a charge of criminal sabotage after the jury failed to reach a verdict. This was Ward’s second trial on each of the charges. His first trial ended in a mistrial Feb. 1 after jurors failed to reach a verdict on each of the charges. Marilyn Napier reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Connelly: Washington, Alaska, Dakota tribes stand for Paris Climate Agreement
Several of the Northwest's best known Native American nations are choosing to stand with the Paris Climate Agreement and reacting with disdain to President Trump's decision to withdraw from an accord signed by more than 190 nations. The tribes vowed to "aggressively address climate change" in their homelands and reservations, in response to Trump's decision to quit the climate agreement. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com) See also: Defying Trump, Hawaii Becomes First State to Pass Law Committing to Paris Climate Accord  Hawaii on Tuesday became the first state to pass a law committing to the goals and limits of the Paris climate accord, defying President Trump, who announced last week that he would withdraw the United States from the historic agreement. Jonah Engel Bromwich reports. (NY Times)

Trudeau Liberals back motion in support of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
The federal Liberal government has thrown its weight behind an Opposition motion backing Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, even as political turmoil in British Columbia threatens the project's future. The motion, introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Mark Strahl, affirms that the project has social licence to proceed, is critical to the economy, is environmentally sound and should proceed as planned. It passed Tuesday by a vote of 252-51, with the backing of the Conservatives and all Liberal MPs, except two B.C. backbenchers who have criticized the project in the past. Mia Rabson reports. (Canadian Press)

In Trump Country, Renewable Energy Is Thriving
…. Some of the fastest progress on clean energy is occurring in states led by Republican governors and legislators, and states carried by Donald J. Trump in the presidential election.  The five states that get the largest percentage of their power from wind turbines — Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma and North Dakota — all voted for Mr. Trump. So did Texas, which produces the most wind power in absolute terms. In fact, 69 percent of the wind power produced in the country comes from states that Mr. Trump carried in November. Justin Gillis and Nadja Popovich report. (NY Times)

Forget about clamming and other recreational harvesting here until it’s safe again
The state Department of Health has closed beaches in northern Whatcom County to recreational shellfish harvesting because of unsafe levels of the biotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning on beaches in Birch Bay and Drayton Harbor. The ban affects beaches from Sandy Point north to the Canadian border, including Point Roberts. Kie Relyea reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Birds of a feather: B.C. researchers are on a crane feather hunt
A group of B.C. researchers describing themselves as "craniacs" are asking the public to mail them crane feathers as part of The Great Sandhill Crane Feather Hunt. The Sandhill crane spends summers along the central and north coast of B.C. and northeast Alaska. Their feathers are easy to spot, due to the cranes' distinctive red colouring from wetland mud…. With the help of scientists at the University of B.C., they will use the feathers conduct a genetic study of the Sandhill crane, a rarely studied type of crane with a small population of 5,000. (CBC) See also: Experts surprised red-tailed hawk chick surviving in bald-eagle nest  Kevin Griffin reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Controversial tweets sink Trump supporter’s campaign for port commission
A candidate for the Port of Tacoma commission is pulling out of the race after coming under fire for posting what he later admitted were “insensitive, unacceptable and unkind” comments on Twitter about women, African-Americans and others. Jim Jensen, 37, apologized in a statement on Wednesday. Candice Ruud reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Asian nations make plastic oceans promise
Nations responsible for much of the world's ocean plastic pollution have promised to start cleaning up their act. At a UN oceans summit, delegates from China, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines said they would work to keep plastics out of the seas. Some of the promises are not yet formalised and environmentalists say the measures proposed are not nearly urgent enough. Roger Harrabin reports. (BBC)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  244 AM PDT Thu Jun 8 2017  
Today  SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. SW swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. Rain  in the morning then showers in the afternoon.
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 5 ft at 9 seconds. A chance of  showers in the evening then showers likely after midnight.

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