9/14 Wolf-eel, Salish Sea fate, BC plastics, BC old-growth, David Legates, oil guys lies, Greenland ice, Fidalgo Bay Days

Wolf-eel [Monterey Bay Aquarium]

Wolf-eel Anarrhichthys ocellatus
The wolf-eel is not related to other eels. Wolf-eels live in shallow water as deep as 740 feet (225 m). They swim by making deep S-shapes with their bodies, like a snake moving across the ground. Males have thick jaws and a bulging forehead. Combined with their long, snaggly front teeth they look ferocious, but wolf-eels tend to be aggressive only to other wolf-eels. Adults wind those long bodies into caves and crevices, sticking just their heads out and waiting for something crunchy to swim by. They love crabs, urchins and shellfish. Wolf-eels mate for life and the pair takes special care of its eggs as they develop. Beginning around age seven, the female lays up to 10,000 eggs at a time, then coils around them and uses her body to shape the eggs into a neat sphere roughly the size of a grapefruit. (Monterey Bay Aquarium)

10 years after Salish Sea is named, experts say united front on conservation still distant
A decade after the Salish Sea was named with the hope nations would improve collaboration on conservation, scientists and First Nations say that has not been fully realized and the waterway is suffering because of it. The 18,000 square kilometre sea encompasses inland waterways stretching from the south end of Puget Sound in Washington State to Desolation Sound at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia in B.C., including the Juan de Fuca Strait. The name, adopted by the province and First Nations leaders in 2010, pays homage to the use of the waterways for thousands of years by Indigenous people. Emily Vance reports (CBC)

B.C. approves civic bylaws banning single-use plastics, provincewide bans on the way
The provincial government has approved bans on single-use items for a handful of municipalities and plans to give communities across B.C. more power when it comes to outlawing plastics. Victoria, Richmond, Tofino, Saanich and Ucluelet have been given the green light to implement bans after each community passed bylaws against single-use plastics. Jon Hernandez reports. (CB)

B.C. to protect 353,000 hectares of forest with old-growth trees from logging until new plan is developed
In what it's calling a new approach to forest management in B.C., the province says it will protect 353,000 hectares of forest in nine old-growth areas throughout the province from logging. The promise comes as the Ministry of Forests released a new report entitled A New Future for Old Forests, meant to guide an overhaul of forestry rules. It's based on the work of two foresters who travelled the province for months hearing about how B.C.'s massive, old-growth trees should be protected. The term old-growth in B.C. means trees that are generally 250 years or older on the coast and 140 years or older in the Interior. Chad Pawson reports. (CBC)

NOAA taps David Legates, professor who questions the seriousness and severity of global warming, for top role
The Trump administration has tapped David Legates, an academic who has long questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is causing global warming, to help run the agency that produces much of the climate research funded by the U.S. government. Legates, a University of Delaware professor who was forced out of his role as that state’s climatologist because of his controversial views, has taken a senior leadership role at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Andrew Freedman and Jason Samenow report. (Washington Post)

A Secret Recording Reveals Oil Executives’ Private Views on Climate Change
Last summer, oil and gas-industry groups were lobbying to overturn federal rules on leaks of natural gas, a major contributor to climate change. Their message: The companies had emissions under control. In private, the lobbyists were saying something very different. At a discussion convened last year by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a group that represents energy companies, participants worried that producers were intentionally flaring, or burning off, far too much natural gas, threatening the industry’s image, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)

Climate change: Warmth shatters section of Greenland ice shelf
A big chunk of ice has just broken away from the Arctic's largest remaining ice shelf - 79N, or Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden - in north-east Greenland. The ejected section covers about 110 square km; satellite imagery shows it to have shattered into many small pieces. The loss is further evidence say scientists of the rapid climate changes taking place in Greenland. Jonathan Amos reports. (BBC)

Fidalgo Bay Day pivots to scavenger hunt
When the COVID-19 pandemic kept the Skagit County Marine Resources Committee from holding its annual Fidalgo Bay Day, the committee adjusted. It is now hosting the Fidalgo Bay Day 2020 Scavenger Hunt through Sept. 30. The Scavenger Hunt Activity Guide includes a variety of mostly outdoor educational activities for all ages. To download the guide or to find where hard copies are available, go to fidalgobayday.com. Vince Richardson reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Now, your tug weather--
258 AM PDT Mon Sep 14 2020   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 2 ft  at 15 seconds. Smoke. A chance of showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  E wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 1 ft at 14 seconds. Smoke. A  chance of showers in the evening. Showers likely after midnight.

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