4/24 Octopus, #SSEC2020, clean water win, Earth Day justice, lockdown, Van Aquarium, wolf pack, data loss, 'Thin Green Line,' urban wildlife, river campaign, happy birthday Hubble

Giant Pacific Octopus [National Geographic]

If you like to watch: Salish Sea Wild: Shaking Hands With the World’s Biggest Octopus
Team SeaDoc heads deep into Hood Canal under the cover of night to encounter one of the Salish Sea’s largest and most cunning carnivores, the Giant Pacific Octopus.


*EDITOR'S NOTE: Access updates on the COVID-19 virus at national and regional print publications like the CBC, the Seattle Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
 

Endangered orcas prominent part of annual conference
Though they are at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers who study the Salish Sea that connects Washington and British Columbia convened online this week to discuss their latest work. The 2020 Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference, held Tuesday and Wednesday, marked the biennial event’s first time behind held through webinars. Hundreds tuned in to each session to hear about the most recent studies, findings and concerns of those working on issues that include protecting the Southern Resident orcas from extinction. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

US Supreme Court Rules Against Maui In Major Clean Water Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Maui County can’t skirt the Clean Water Act by merely pumping its sewage into groundwater before discharging it into the ocean. In a 6-3 opinion written by Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, the majority ruled that Maui County, like other municipalities and businesses dumping pollutants into the nation’s rivers, lakes and oceans, must have a permit to do so. The ruling is both a rebuke of Maui County and the Trump administration, which had joined the county in arguing that the Clean Water Act should only cover waste that was discharged directly into navigable waters, and not pollutants that were first filtered through groundwater before reaching their final destination. Nick Grube reports. (Civil Beat)

On Earth Day, activists call for environmental justice in the face of the coronavirus pandemic
Washington’s broadest coalition of climate activists is using the 50th anniversary of Earth Day to call for a just recovery from COVID-19. Like climate pollution, the new coronavirus is having a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and people of color. Washington’s Climate Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy says as the state and the country come out of the public health crisis, emergency justice is needed to ensure a safer, more equitable future for all. The list of calls to action is as long and diverse as the coalition putting it forward. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Poll: Most WA voters wary of reopening economy too soon
A new Crosscut/Elway Poll finds 76% of voters believe the pandemic restrictions are working, and 61% are concerned about lifting them too soon. Donna Gordon Blankinship reports. (Crosscut) See: 8 In 10 Americans Support COVID-19 Shutdown, Kaiser Health Poll Finds  80% of Americans also say they can follow the restrictions for at least one more month. Bill Chappell reports. (NPR)

Donations give Vancouver Aquarium about 2 more weeks of life
The Vancouver Aquarium has received a flood of support from the public since it announced its precarious financial situation last week, but according to the CEO of the non-profit that operates the 64-year-old attraction, it won't be enough to keep the aquarium afloat. Lasse Gustavsson, CEO of Ocean Wise, said about $600,000 in donations has come in, but depending on the generosity of the public isn't sustainable. Without a support package from provincial or federal governments, the institution will have to close permanently, likely sometime in June. Rafferty Baker reports. (CBC)

State report: No more Diobsud wolf pack
A pair of wolves in Skagit County were deemed the first pack of the recovering species west of the Cascade Mountains a year ago, but without enough information to verify more than one wolf remains in the area, the state has scratched the Diobsud Creek Pack off of its annual list. In the Washington Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2019 Annual Report released Monday, the name for the short-lived Diobsud Pack was typed in strike-through text. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

The great data freeze: How the pandemic will set back environmental science
AS THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC takes tens of thousands of human lives, grinds society to a halt and tears a hole in its financial and social safety nets, the natural world continues to persevere around us. But with the majority of environment-focused scientists, natural resource managers and field technicians who study and maintain the natural world working remotely to flatten the curve, the flow of crucial data yielded by fieldwork has essentially been frozen. Hannah Weinberger reports. (Crosscut/High Country News)

The Making of the ‘Thin Green Line’
How a disparate group of activists in the Pacific Northwest took on the fossil fuel industry — and won. Marlene Cimmons reports. (Nexus Media)

Is This Plague for the Birds?
And how are raccoons and other critters getting by? An urban wildlife check-in. Steve Burgess reports. (The Tree)

Campaign continues to keep river information flowing
Transportation advocates are backing a campaign to ensure information about the Columbia-Snake River system continues to reach Pacific Northwest residents and decision makers. “Opinion research consistently shows that the more people know about the Columbia-Snake River system, the more they approve of it and the more they support it,” said Scott Clemans, communications director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. “Unfortunately, the conversation has tended to be dominated by very large, but not necessarily representative voices, including some voices that aren’t from the Pacific Northwest at all.” Members asked the association to create the River Values campaign to highlight the roles and benefits of the river system. The campaign includes digital advertising, social media, member opinion pieces, stories and letters to the editor in local media. Matthew Weaver reports. (Capital Press)

Hubble telescope delivers stunning 30th birthday picture
It's 30 years ago to the day that the Hubble telescope was launched - and to celebrate its birthday, the veteran observatory has produced another astonishing image of the cosmos. Jonathan Amos reports. (BBC)



Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  240 AM PDT Fri Apr 24 2020   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  NW wind to 10 kt becoming E after midnight. Wind waves  1 ft or less. SW swell 4 ft at 15 seconds. A chance of rain after  midnight. 
SAT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW in the afternoon. Wind  waves 2 to 4 ft. SW swell 5 ft at 15 seconds building to 7 ft at  9 seconds in the afternoon. Rain in the morning then rain likely  in the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  SW wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft subsiding  to 1 ft or less after midnight. W swell 7 ft at 9 seconds 
SUN  SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 7 ft at 10 seconds.




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