4/24 Dead-nettle, Earth Day, kids for Salish Sea, Snake R dams, Vancouver parks, pyrosomes, oil $

Purple Dead-nettle [WikiMedia]

Purple Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)
Purple Dead-nettle and Common or Henbit Dead-nettle (Lamium amplexicaule) have similar ranges and habitat preferences; both are weedy introductions from Eurasia. These nettle-like plants are 'dead' in the sense that they don't sting when touched. The name 'henbit' comes from the fact that hens like to nibble at its leaves. Lamium is from the Greek laimos ('throat'), because of the constricted throat of petal tube. (Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast)


America Before Earth Day: Smog and Disasters Spurred the Laws Trump Wants to Undo
A huge oil spill. A river catching fire. Lakes so polluted they were too dangerous for fishing or swimming. Air so thick with smog it was impossible to see the horizon. That was the environmental state of the nation 50 years ago.  But pollution and disasters prompted action. On April 22, 1970, millions of people throughout the country demonstrated on the inaugural Earth Day, calling for air, water and land in the country to be cleaned up and protected. And that year, in a bipartisan effort, the Environmental Protection Agency was created and key legislation — the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act — came into force. Now, the Trump administration has made eliminating federal regulations a priority, and an increasing number of environmental rules are under threat. Livia Albeck-Ripka and Kendra Pierre-Louis report. (NY Times)

New Kids Book Aims To Encourage Next Generation To Protect The Salish Sea
A new book is out that will likely be of interest to anyone who has just moved to the region and maybe even to some old-timers.   Explore The Salish Sea is a nature guide for kids. It’s about the unique marine ecosystem that connects Puget Sound with Canada. It’s aimed at fifth and sixth graders and based on a previous edition made for adults. Both books use lots of colorful photos and facts to showcase the abundant life that depends on the Salish Sea. Joe Gaydos from Orcas Island is co-author of the books and Chief Scientist at the nonprofit SeaDoc Society. Their first book came out of a paper he wrote with a colleague that attempted to catalog the hundreds of species in the Salish Sea. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Taking out the trash checked off Earth Day list of chores for divers in Commencement Bay
If there was a message in all the glass bottles divers brought up from the waters off Tacoma’s waterfront Saturday it might be this: Stop using Puget Sound as a garbage dump. The volunteer scuba divers divers brought up 47 pounds of garbage from the waters of Commencement Bay just off of Ruston Way. Most of that consisted of bottles. They also retrieved discarded fishing lines and hooks from the area near Les Davis Pier. Craig Sailor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Vote Expected Soon On Bill To Protect Snake River Dams
Some Eastern Washington lawmakers want the Snake River Dams to stay in place. They’ve crafted a bill to leave the dams as they are  — in response to a federal judge’s order to consider removing the dams to protect salmon. The bill, H.R. 3144, is expected to be voted on by the U.S. House this week. “Our legislation will keep in place the current collaborative framework that fosters fish recovery efforts while balancing the many economic contributions of our dams,” said Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse in a joint statement. Courtney Flatt reports. (OPB/EarthFix)


Ongoing work to 'rewild' Vancouver parks bring people close to nature
Driving through Stanley Park one morning, Vancouver park board biologist Nick Page came across a bizarre scene. Cars were abandoned haphazardly along the roadside as a crowd of people ran toward the seawall.... n fact, a grey whale had been spotted in the water near Siwash Rock. The incident confirmed an idea the park board had been working on, said Page. Parks shouldn’t only be about sports fields and recreation facilities, they should also be a place where people can experience nature.... In 2014, the park board began work to “rewild” parks and green spaces, identifying 28 biodiversity spots that should be protected, and educating people about their importance. The main goal of the plan was to encourage ecological literacy, said Page. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Oregon Coast Pyrosomes Continue To Multiply
They’re back. A lot of them. And they’re reproducing. The invasion of the pyrosomes, gelatinous, translucent tube-like creatures ranging in size from less than an inch to a foot or more, continues in force off the coast of Oregon for a second year, baffling scientists. The creatures, made up of individual zooids — small, multicellular organisms — normally reside in warmer waters, like the tropics, and usually don’t travel farther north than the waters off southern California. But last spring, scientists pulled pyrosomes out of the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Oregon and Washington by the tens of thousands. The pyrosomes also wreaked havoc with the nets of commercial anglers, and they washed ashore by the millions, littering beaches. Steve Benham reports. (Associated Press)

Oil at $75 as Iran sanction fears mount
Oil prices hit $75 on Tuesday, the highest level in nearly three and a half years, as fears mounted over the prospect of new US sanctions on Iran. Brent crude jumped for the sixth consecutive day, trading as high as $75.27 before falling back slightly. The US will decide by 12 May whether to abandon a nuclear deal with Iran and re-impose sanctions. Such a move on the third-biggest oil producer in the Opec cartel threatens to further tighten global supplies. Oil prices have been rising since the 14 nations in Opec, as well as other producers including Russia, decided to restrict output last year. (BBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  144 AM PDT Tue Apr 24 2018   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  SE wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 8 ft at 15 seconds. 
TONIGHT  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 7 ft  at 14 seconds.

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