7/8 Green darner, save the whales, deactivated pipelines, asbestos ban, seabed mining, chemical safety board, cormorants, democracy watch

Green darner dragonfly

 
Green darner dragonfly Anax junius Drury
In 1997, the common green darner dragonfly became Washington's official state insect after a group of students at Crestwood Elementary School in Kent brought the idea to the Legislature. Also known as the "mosquito hawk," this insect can be found throughout Washington and is a beneficial contributor to the ecosystem because it consumes a large number of insect pests. There are over 400 different species of dragonflies. Dragonflies existed prior to the dinosaur age and some had up to a three-foot wing span. "Darner" is one family of dragonflies and the common green (Anax junius) was first sighted and recorded by Drury in 1773. (Washington State Legislature)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Children of the Setting Sun expands vision in new space

Act Now to Save Killer Whales, Urges New Report
In March, nearly three dozen scientists gathered over three days in Vancouver with a single focus — to evaluate the state of the southern resident killer whale and figure out how to prevent its likely extinction. Today (July 7) they issued their report, “Strengthening Recovery Actions for Southern Resident Killer Whales.”  It contains a detailed road map, including 26 recommendations, to reverse the population decline that has continued even though the whales have been on Canada’s endangered species list for the past 20 years. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

Oil giant broke deal to deactivate thousands of pipelines and faced no penalty, documents reveal
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. failed to deliver on a promise to deactivate thousands of inactive pipelines under a special deal with B.C.’s energy regulator. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Trump Administration, Reversing Itself, Won’t Rewrite a Ban on Asbestos
The Trump administration has withdrawn its plan to rewrite a ban on the last type of asbestos still used in the United States. The Biden-era ban was a victory for health advocates who had long fought to prohibit the carcinogenic mineral in all its forms. Last month the Trump administration said it planned to reconsider the asbestos ban, which would have delayed its implementation by several years. But late Monday, it withdrew that filing. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)

The Fight Over Seabed Mining Comes to Vancouver
A U.S. executive order to promote deep-sea mining and a Canadian company’s application to take advantage of the Trump government’s interest in the practice prompted a protest in downtown Vancouver on Friday. Kristen de Jager reports. (The Tyee)

Trump Wants to Close the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
The White House is planning to eliminate the board, a small agency that investigates chemical disasters to understand what went wrong. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)

A Wild Home on the Bones of the City
North America’s largest and most urban double-crested cormorant colony shows how people can share space with an unfairly reviled species. Patricia Homonylo and Sarah Gilman report. (bioGraphic)

Democracy Watch

• Troops and federal agents briefly descend on LA’s MacArthur Park in largely immigrant neighborhood (AP)
  
• Veterans Affairs Dept. Scales Back Plans for Vast Job Cuts (NY Times)
  
• RFK Jr.'s vaccine policy sparks a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics (NPR)
  
• Planned Parenthood sues Trump administration officials over ‘defunding’ provision in budget bill (Washington State Standard)
  

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  201 AM PDT Tue Jul 8 2025    
TODAY  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 3 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft  at 8 seconds. Areas of dense fog early this morning. Patchy dense  fog late this morning and afternoon. A chance of rain this  afternoon.  
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 10 kt. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: W 3 ft  at 8 seconds. Rain. Patchy fog in the evening. Widespread dense  fog after midnight.

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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. It is included as a daily feature in the Salish Current newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Questions? Email msato(at)salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



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