1/14 Snowshoe hare, Shell Anacortes refinery, BC LNG, WA lege, green agenda, Trump's fossil fuel generals, Jordan Cove LNG, hot oceans, Storming the Sound, small orcas, Great Bear estuary

Snowshoe hare [D.Gordon E. Robinson]

Snowshoe Hare Lepus americanus
Snowshoe hares live in the coniferous and boreal forests of the Rocky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, New England, Alaska, Minnesota, Michigan, and Montana. Within the United States, most of these coniferous forests are found on mountaintops, such as the Rockies, or near the Canadian border...During the winter, snowshoe hares are white, which helps them blend in with the snow...The hind legs of a snowshoe hare are noticeably larger, and have more fur and larger toes than those of other rabbits or hares. These adaptations provide additional surface area and support for walking on snow. The hind legs are what give the hare its common name. (National Wildlife Federation)

Exclusive: Royal Dutch Shell seeking buyer for Anacortes, Washington refinery - sources
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) is looking to sell its oil refinery in Anacortes, Washington, according to three people familiar with the matter. If completed, this and other asset sales currently underway would reduce Shell’s North American refining operations to large plants on the U.S. Gulf Coast, said the people, speaking on condition of anonymity as the talks are private. Oil and gas major Shell has publicly committed to selling more than $5 billion of assets per year in 2019 and 2020. The Netherlands-based company is trying to use its global scale to build a power business as the world moves toward cleaner energy. Jessica Resnick-Ault and Laura Sanicola report. (Reuters)

Horgan says 'rule of law applies,' LNG pipeline will proceed despite protests
Premier John Horgan says a natural gas pipeline across northern British Columbia will be built despite ongoing protests and an eviction notice from some hereditary Indigenous leaders. The premier says the courts have ruled in favour of the project and the rule of law will apply to ensure work continues on the Coastal GasLink pipeline across northern B.C. to a coastal an export terminal. The 670-kilometre pipeline is part of a $40 billion liquefied natural gas project. Horgan says the project has received approval from 20 Indigenous nations along the pipeline route and its completion is of vital economic and social importance to the region. (Canadian Press)

Legislature opens on historic note amid plenty of protests
With some members wearing white to mark the centennial of American women getting the right to vote and various groups demanding action on $30 car tabs, support for farmers or protection of Puget Sound, the 2020 session of the Legislature opened on a historic note. Tacoma attorney Laurie Jinkins, a five-term legislator, was sworn in as the first woman and first lesbian to be elected as speaker of the House of Representatives. “Another barrier is broken, but it won’t be the last,” she told House members after she was elected unopposed. After meeting with legislators in most districts around the state in recent months, Jinkins said it’s clear homelessness and the lack of housing are issues in every community. Jim Camden reports. (Spokesman Review)

Inslee, environmentalists want aggressive action on climate, including a clean fuel standard
With auto emissions of planet-warming gases rising faster in Washington than almost anywhere on the West Coast — including car-centric Los Angeles — Gov. Jay Inslee and conservation groups plan a major push in the Legislature this session to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And while they’re still calling last year’s climate legislation victories momentous, Inslee and the greens say the 2020 session, which began Monday, will be a chance to complete 2019’s unfinished business. Katherine Long reports. (Investigate West)

Who Controls Trump’s Environmental Policy?
Among 20 of the most powerful people in government environment jobs, most have ties to the fossil fuel industry or have fought against the regulations they now are supposed to enforce. Lisa Friedman and Claire O'Neill report. (NY Times)

Federal Scientists Say Jordan Cove Won't Jeopardize Species
The proposed Jordan Cove liquified natural gas project will not jeopardize protected species. That’s according to a report by scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The study looked at the potential impact of the construction and operation of the proposed export terminal at Coos Bay, as well as the 234 mile-long pipeline that would bring the gas from a connection near Malin, southeast of Klamath Falls. The agency’s Michael Milstein says the so-called “biological opinion” — or “bi-op” — is part of the federal permitting process meant to protect endangered or threatened species. Liam Moriarty reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

2019 Was a Record Year for Ocean Temperatures, Data Show
Last year was the warmest year on record for the world’s oceans, part of a long-term warming trend, according to a study released Monday. “If you look at the ocean heat content, 2019 is by far the hottest, 2018 is second, 2017 is third, 2015 is fourth, and then 2016 is fifth,” said Kevin E. Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and an author on the study. The study, published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, follows an announcement last week by European scientists that Earth’s surface temperatures in 2019 were the second-hottest on record. Kendra Pierre-Louis reports. (NY Times)

Storming the Sound, January 30, Maple Hall, LaConner
Storming the Sound is a conference for environmental educators in the north Puget Sound region, including the counties of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, Jefferson and San Juan. Every January teachers, environmental organizations and students gather in La Conner to share their interest and expertise in environmental education. Registration is $10.

Malnourished Millennial Killer Whales Grew Up Smaller
More than 20 years ago, the population of chinook salmon near British Columbia’s Vancouver Island plummeted. The decline hit salmon-eating killer whales hard and the populations of both northern and southern resident killer whales fell in suit. But for these salmon-eating specialists, death wasn’t the only consequence. A new study reveals the dramatic drop in chinook salmon numbers has had a long-term effect on the northern resident killer whales that survived the famine. In particular, killer whales that were in their prime growth periods in the 1990s—from birth until 15 years old for females, and into their 20s for males—have grown up to be significantly smaller than older whales. Jasspreet Sahib reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Great Bear Rainforest estuary bought to maintain wildlife habitat
B.C. has a new conservation area near Bella Coola in the Great Bear Rainforest after a descendant of the settlers who had owned the land for decades sold it to a land trust. The area is near the mouth of the Bella Coola River and close to the town on B.C.’s Central Coast. The estuary covers 70 hectares, about 20 per cent of the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. It has been renamed the tidal flats conservation area, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) was scheduled to announce Tuesday. The trust will protect the area’s intertidal marshes, mudflats and tidal channels, and continue to provide a home for animals and birds as diverse as grizzly bears, salmon and the threatened marbled murrelet. Susan Lazaruk reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  628 AM PST Tue Jan 14 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT 
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY  AFTERNOON   
TODAY  NE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft at 14 seconds  building to 10 ft at 13 seconds in the afternoon. A slight chance  of snow in the morning then a chance of snow in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SE wind 15 to 25 kt becoming E 20 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 10 ft at 13 seconds. Rain  likely in the evening then rain after midnight.



--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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1/13 Ptarmigan, green lege priorities, Oly port settlement, BC pipe indigenous rights, free parks, Snohomish rail tracks, hazards plan, dams v salmon, Aussie coal

Ptarmigan in winter [Paul Bannick/BirdNote]

Ptarmigan in Winter
Both the Willow Ptarmigan and these White-tailed Ptarmigan, feathered mostly brown in summer, are utterly transfigured by an autumn molt. As snow begins to mantle their world, both species, now all white, blend in superbly. But the ptarmigan pulls another trick. It adds dense white feathering on both the tops and bottoms of its feet. And its claws grow longer. The bird grows snowshoes! (BirdNote)

Environmental groups identify top legislative priorities as Legislature convenes in Olympia
As the new session gets underway in Olympia today, environmental groups have released their legislative priorities. Items topping their list this year are renewed attempts to pass a clean fuels standard to reduce carbon pollution from transportation, as well as a statewide ban on thin, single-use plastic bags.  A new priority this year has to do with restoring salmon habitat around Puget Sound, which is important for endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Nick Abraham with the Environmental Priorities Coalition says it aims to revise the current policy, in which development projects must show "no net loss" of salmon habitat. It would instead require an increase. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Port settles lawsuit with environmental group for $1.3M
The Port of Olympia agreed this week to pay roughly $1.3 million and take corrective steps to settle a federal lawsuit that alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at the port’s marine terminal. Waste Action Project of Covington announced that it intended to sue the port in April 2017, then followed through on that lawsuit two months later. Waste Action Project alleged that the port was violating the Clean Water Act by discharging polluted stormwater into Budd Inlet. “We’re not going to stand here and watch it happen,” Waste Action Project Executive Director Greg Wingard said at the time. “The port can step up and take care of it or we’ll step up and fix it in federal court.” That “fix” happened this week. The port commission — Joe Downing, Bill McGregor and E.J. Zita — met in executive session on Tuesday to discuss the litigation, then emerged and voted unanimously to approve the proposed settlement. Rolf Boone reports. (Olympian)

B.C. human rights commissioner asks Canadian government to halt pipeline project
British Columbia’s human rights commissioner has called on Canada to stop building a contentious natural gas pipeline until the affected Indigenous groups consent to the construction. Kasari Govender said she believes Canada is shirking its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. “I join (the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) in urging Canada to immediately cease the forced eviction of Wet’suwet’en and Secwepemc peoples, to prohibit the use of lethal weapons, and to guarantee no force will be used against them,” she wrote on Twitter. “This is a matter of fundamental human rights.” (Canadian Press)

Who Doesn't Like Free? Legislature Ponders Washington State Park Entry Fees
Remember back when it didn’t cost anything to visit a state park for the day? A senior Republican in the Washington Legislature says the state’s budget surplus should make it possible for park access to be free again. Eastern Washington Sen. Mark Schoesler has drafted a bill to eliminate state park access and parking fees, effective this summer. The Senate minority leader said now is a good time to go back to free day use because the state can afford it....Schoesler needs support from the Democratic majority in the Washington Legislature to advance his idea. It’s uncertain if he will get it. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Changes coming for coastal train tracks that endanger salmon
Much like its human residents, Snohomish County’s chinook salmon are trying to navigate the 73 miles of BNSF railway tracks trimming Puget Sound to access the water. For young fish, a natural nursery habitat at the spot where streams meet the sound is often blocked by pipes that route waterflow under the tracks. A collection of state and federal agencies just wrapped up a year-long effort to prioritize nearly 200 streams and determine where projects to increase fish access would have the most bang for their buck. Of the 74 stream crossing sites in Snohomish County, six are considered a high priority. They include spots at Meadowdale Park, Japanese Gulch and Boeing Creek. Julia-Grace Sanders reports. (Everett Herald)

County seeks input on hazard mitigation plan
After months of reviewing risks faced by communities throughout Skagit County from natural hazards including from volcanoes in the North Cascades and tsunamis from the Pacific Ocean, the county Department of Emergency Management has released a draft plan for keeping communities safe. The draft 2020 Skagit County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan is open for public comment by email or mail through Jan. 20. Emergency Management leads the development of a local natural hazard mitigation plan in coordination with cities, towns and local districts including those for schools and fire responders. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Dams Vs. Salmon: Workshops Aim To Get Past 'My Study Can Beat Up Your Study' On Snake River
Salmon need our help, but solutions aren’t going to come easy. That was the common thought from speakers Tuesday night in Clarkston, Washington. The panel kicked off the first of three workshops to discuss issues that bog down the fate of four lower Snake River dams in Washington. More than 300 people showed up to hear speakers talk about why it’s important to either keep or alter the dams. The panel stems from a Washington state study that will guide the state’s position on dam removal. Courtney Flatt reports. (NW Public Broadcasting)

Siemens resists climate protests over Australia coal project
German engineering giant Siemens says that despite protests by climate activists it will fulfil a deal to help develop a huge coal mine in Australia. The controversial open-cast mine in Queensland, owned by India's Adani group, is to go operational next year. Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser said "we should have been wiser about this project", but "we need to be a supplier who sticks to its commitments". Extinction Rebellion activists have protested outside Siemens HQ in Munich. (BBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  403 AM PST Mon Jan 13 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 17 ft  at 13 seconds subsiding to 9 ft at 12 seconds. A chance of showers. 
TONIGHT  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 7 ft  at 15 seconds.



--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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1/10 Whudge, 'Doughnut Hole,' Trump's NEPA, ghost crab traps, OceanGate

Whudge
A different term for Puget Sound, used by a number of Native Americans and environmental groups, is Whulge (or Whulj), an anglicization of the Lushootseed name x̌ʷə́lč, which means "sea, salt water, ocean, or sound". (Wikipedia)

‘The border is this imaginary line’: why Americans are fighting mining in B.C.’s ‘Doughnut Hole’
Logging permits in the Skagit River headwaters will no longer be issued by the B.C. government but mining exploration is causing friction with Americans downstream. We travelled the river to meet the people fighting an Imperial Metals permit. Christopher Pollon reports. (The Narwhal)

How Trump’s Environmental Policy Rollback Affects The Northwest
A new Trump administration plan to scale back a bedrock environmental law could affect all kinds of projects in the Northwest, including timber sales, hydroelectric dams, and large energy developments like the controversial Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas project with its 235-mile Pacific Connector pipeline. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)

How to Exorcise the Ghosts of Crab Traps Past
In New Jersey, crabbers and scientists have found a local solution for a worldwide ghost gear problem. Dani Leviss reports. (Hakai Magazine)

OceanGate raises $18M to build a bigger submersible fleet and set up Titanic trips
OceanGate says it has raised $18.1 million in new investment, laying the financial groundwork for an expansion of its fleet of deep-sea submersibles and setting the stage for dives to the 108-year-old Titanic shipwreck in 2021...This is shaping up as a rebuilding year for the nearly 11-year-old venture, based in Everett, Wash. The main task on the agenda is to build two new submersibles capable of diving as deep as 6,000 meters (3.7 miles), which is more than a mile deeper than the part of the North Atlantic ocean floor where the Titanic is resting. Alan Boyle reports. (GeekWire)


Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  853 PM PST Thu Jan 9 2020   
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING   
FRI  SE wind 30 to 40 kt becoming SW 10 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 6 to 8 ft with a dominant period of  10 seconds building to 10 to 11 ft with a dominant period of  9 seconds in the afternoon. Rain. 
FRI NIGHT  S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming NE to 10 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 10 ft at 10 seconds  building to 12 ft at 12 seconds after midnight. Rain. 
SAT  NW wind 25 to 35 kt becoming W 20 to 30 kt in the  afternoon. Combined seas 17 to 18 ft with a dominant period of  15 seconds building to 20 to 21 ft with a dominant period of  15 seconds in the afternoon. 
SAT NIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell  15 ft at 14 seconds.
 SUN  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming W 15 to 20 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 11 ft at 13 seconds.



--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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1/9 Jay, Trump's NEPA, Seattle fossil fuels, homelessness, BC pipe, goldfinches, Lanai electricity, Democracy Rebellion

Steller's jay [Jeff Maw]

Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
Scientists have described 16 subspecies of the Steller’s Jay in North and Central America, showing varying combinations of black and blue on the crest, head, and body. The Queen Charlotte Islands off British Columbia are home to the largest and darkest race. In mainland North America, you can notice differences between darker Pacific forms, with blue streaks over the eye, and lighter Rocky Mountain forms with white streaks and a partial white eye ring. Steller's Jays are the provincial birds of British Columbia. (All About Birds)

White House wants to change environmental rules to speed up highway projects, pipelines and more
The White House is moving to exempt projects without significant federal funding from environmental reviews that have been required for 50 years, a major shift that would make it easier to build mines, expand airports and lay pipelines, among other things, according to three people familiar with the proposal...The proposed changes would narrow the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires federal agencies to assess the impact of a major project before a spade of dirt is turned and to include the public in the process. Environmental groups, tribal activists and others have used the law to delay or block a slew of infrastructure, mining, logging and drilling projects since it was signed by President Richard Nixon in 1970. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis report. (Washington Post)

Seattle will get city-owned buildings off fossil fuels, Mayor Durkan says
Seattle will no longer use fossil fuels like natural gas to heat, cool and cook in new and substantially altered city-owned buildings and will come up with a plan by 2021 to transition all city-owned buildings to clean electric systems over time, Mayor Jenny Durkan said Wednesday, including those directives in a “Green New Deal” executive order... Neither the new KeyArena now under construction at Seattle Center nor the massive Seattle Aquarium expansion pavilion planned for construction starting next year will be covered by the city’s new fossil-fuel ban, however, Durkan said. That’s because the projects are underway, she said. Both city-owned structures will use a lot of energy. Daniel Beekman reports. (Seattle Times)

Across the entire state, WA voters rank homelessness as the No. 1 issue lawmakers must address
In new Crosscut/Elway Poll, 31% of respondents named homelessness as the state's top issue, a 10-point increase from 2019. Melissa Santos reports. (Crosscut) See also: KNKX, Seattle Times partner to produce in-depth podcast series on homelessness  Kari Blog reports. (KNKX)

Coastal GasLink gives pipeline opponents 72-hour notice to clear way to work site
Coastal GasLink has posted an injunction order giving opponents to its pipeline project 72 hours to clear the way to its work site in northern B.C. The order, stamped Tuesday by the B.C. Supreme Court registry, addresses members of the Wet'suwet'en Nation and supporters who say the project has no authority without consent from the five hereditary clan chiefs. It comes one year after RCMP enforcement of a similar injunction along the same road to the work site sparked global rallies in support of Indigenous rights and raised questions about land claims. (Canadian Press)

Goldfinches
A reader writes in response to yesterday's goldfinch profile: "[J]ust recently I discovered the Lesser goldfinch.  I was on the Oregon DFW website reading about American goldfinches because I was so happy they are back this year after taking a break from us for a few years and it said that the Lesser goldfinches flock with them.  Sure enough when I started looking, the group outside the kitchen window was a mixture of the two.  It had never occurred to me to look more carefully at the individuals."

Pulama Lana‘i looking to buy Lanai island’s electric utility
Pulama Lana’i and Hawaiian Electric have begun “exploratory discussions” about the possibility of the Lanai company “owning the grid.” he utility said Monday that it was approached by Pulama Lana’i, the company owned by tech billionaire Larry Ellison that owns about 98 percent of the island, about acquiring the assets of the utility after the release of request for proposals last month for 9.5 megawatts of solar power paired with energy storage for the island...Pulama Lana’i said Monday that “our journey toward 100 percent sustainability now leads us to investigate the potential benefits of owning the grid.” ... Pulama Lana’i said that its “initial transition phase” calls for creating microgrids with the Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Manele and the Four Seasons Resort Lana’i at Ko’ele, a Sensei Retreat. Lee Imada reports. (Maui News)

TONIGHT--2020 MUST WATCH: The Democracy Rebellion
It’s the missing story of American politics. Not Washington, but grassroots America. Not stale gridlock, but fresh reforms. Not negative ads and billionaire donors, but positive change and citizen activists pressing for gerrymander reform, voting rights for former felons, exposing dark money, and winning surprising victories to give voters more voice and make elections fairer in states as disparate as Florida and California, North Carolina and South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Missouri, Utah and more. Veteran Frontline Correspondent Hedrick Smith, one of PBS’s most trusted voices over three decades, takes viewers into half a dozen states with citizen activist leaders. Watch January 9 at 8 PM on KBTC-28 or January 11 at 11 PM on KCTS-9. For a sneak peek, click here.

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  255 AM PST Thu Jan 9 2020   
TODAY  NW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  7 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of showers in the morning. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 5 to 15 kt becoming S 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft after  midnight. W swell 6 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of showers in the  evening then rain after midnight.



--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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1/8 Goldfinch, B'ham climate, gas pipes, Democracy Rebellion, BP Spill effects, plastic bottles, Trump's truck pollution, marine protected areas, marine lab threat, 'Our Water Ways'

American goldfinch [Tom Grey]

American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis
The American Goldfinch was designated as the Washington State Bird in 1951. This beautiful golden bird is found throughout our state and is commonly seen in flocks in fields, bushes and trees. Dandelions, sunflowers and especially thistles, are preferred food - hence the scientific name Carduelis, from the Latin carduus, a thistle. (Audubon Washington)

Bellingham Council creates climate committee, will begin discussing recommendations
Bellingham City Council members established a standing Climate Action Committee on Monday, Jan. 6, to bring the city toward its goal of using 100% renewable energy in the next 10 to 15 years. Council member Hannah Stone was named chairwoman of the panel, which also includes council members Pinky Vargas and Dan Hammill...Possibly contentious task force recommendations include a gradual shift from natural gas to electricity throughout the city for home heating and hot water. But the proposals don’t require solar panels on every roof, they don’t require new windows, foundations or roofs, and they don’t require removal of gas stoves or fireplaces, said task force member Erin McDade, of the nonprofit Architecture 2030, during a December presentation. Robert Mittendorf reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Battle over B.C. gas pipeline comes as some cities pursue green energy options
As conflict erupts over a natural gas pipeline in northwestern B.C., the City of Vancouver is reporting decreased gas use in new buildings, and some of our closest neighbours to the south are now proposing to broadly curtail the fossil fuel — even in homes that already rely on it. The City of Bellingham’s ambitious idea emerged from a planning exercise on how to move the city to zero emissions, explained Michael Lilliquist, a city councillor. Matt Robinson reports. (Vancouver Sun)
2020 MUST WATCH: The Democracy Rebellion
It’s the missing story of American politics. Not Washington, but grassroots America. Not stale gridlock, but fresh reforms. Not negative ads and billionaire donors, but positive change and citizen activists pressing for gerrymander reform, voting rights for former felons, exposing dark money, and winning surprising victories to give voters more voice and make elections fairer in states as disparate as Florida and California, North Carolina and South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Missouri, Utah and more. Veteran Frontline Correspondent Hedrick Smith, one of PBS’s most trusted voices over three decades, takes viewers into half a dozen states with citizen activist leaders. Watch January 9 at 8 PM on KBTC-28 or January 11 at 11 PM on KCTS-9. For a sneak peek, click here.

Nine years of research on BP spill, dispersants documents potential human health, mental health effects
Nearly a decade of BP-funded research has uncovered a laundry list of potential health effects resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, including possible links between obesity and dispersants used to break up the oil; the discovery of dangerous bacteria in tar balls still washing up on Gulf beaches; and a new understanding of the links between disasters and the mental health problems of both fishers and oilfield workers. The research is summarized in a review article published in the American Geophysical Union’s GeoHealth journal in October, authored by researchers at the College of Charleston, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Mark Schleifstein reports. (NOLA.Com)

What really happens to plastic drink bottles you toss in your recycling bin
The infinite triangular loop of arrows that we know as the recycling symbol adorns millions of plastic pop and water bottles we carefully sort in the blue bin. It comforts us with the idea that each one will be recycled over and over again forever.  But unfortunately, most of the time, it's a lie. Many bottles aren't recycled at all, and those that do get recycled usually aren't turned into other bottles or recycled again after that. Instead, they end up in the world's landfills — or worse, in the ocean. In Canada, plastic bottles and caps were the top plastic trash items collected during shoreline cleanups in 2019, just behind cigarette butts. They're also typically among the top three items in shoreline cleanups worldwide. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

E.P.A. Aims to Reduce Truck Pollution, and Avert Tougher State Controls
The Trump administration on Monday took its first step toward tighter pollution controls on trucks, an anomalous move for a government known for weakening environmental policies but one that would pre-empt tougher state rules. Andrew Wheeler, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, began the legal and regulatory process for curbing highway truck emissions of nitrogen dioxide, which has been linked to asthma and lung disease. While the move could give President Trump a nominal environmental achievement for the 2020 campaign, public health experts say the truck regulations are not as out of line with administration policy as they would appear. The emerging rule will quite likely limit nitrogen dioxide pollution more than current standards, they say, but still fall far short of what is necessary to significantly prevent respiratory illness and even premature deaths. Coral Davenport reports. (NY Times)

Marine Protected Areas: May or May Not Include Actual Protection
....Goose Island—part of the Goose Group—is ringed by reefs, islets, and shallow waters that support diverse fish populations, which in turn attract high concentrations of seabirds. Harbor seals haul out here during pupping season. Above the sandy bays and tidal flats, a curtain of Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and western red cedar hides the boggy interior. Although the Goose Group and surrounding waters were declared part of a provincial marine conservancy in 2008, there is still no published management plan. Brian Payton reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Marine Labs on the Water’s Edge Are Threatened by Climate Change
A marine laboratory 85 miles southwest of New Orleans was designed to be a fortress against extreme weather. But it might be defeated by climate change. Sitting at the end of Louisiana State Highway 56, where dirt dissolves into wetlands and then the Gulf of Mexico, the laboratory, the W.J. DeFelice Marine Center, has successfully weathered many hurricanes since it opened its doors in 1986. It stands 18 feet above the ground on pillars with pilings that extend more than 100 feet underground. Its walls can withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour. But the water is coming. Around the country, from New Jersey to Massachusetts, Virginia to Oregon, education centers and marine laboratories like this one are bracing against rising seas and a changing climate. The assault from climate change is slower but more relentless than any storm, and will ultimately do more damage. It threatens researchers’ ability to study marine environments up close at a time when it’s more vital than ever to understand them. John Swartz reports. (NY Times)

"Our Water Ways"
Christopher Dunagan writes: "I just posted my final blog entry for the Kitsap Sun's blog "Watching Our Water Ways." I have moved the blog to the UW's Puget Sound Institute, where it will be called "Our Water Ways."


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  251 AM PST Wed Jan 8 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  NW wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 to 2 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 12 ft at 11 seconds subsiding to 10 ft at  11 seconds in the afternoon. A slight chance of rain in the  morning then a chance of rain in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SW wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell  6 ft at 11 seconds. Rain likely in the evening then a chance of  rain after midnight.



--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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1/7 Rhody, rain & snow, Trump's toxic sites, BC pipes, Chinook tribe, abandoned ship, Alex Ramel

Coast rhododendron [Jeanne Roe]

Coast Rhododendron Rhododendron macrophyllum
Washington officially designated the coast rhododendron as the state flower in 1959, though it was actually selected as the state flower in 1892 by the women of Washington for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Also called Pacific rhododendron, or big leaf rhododendron, the coast rhododendron is a broadleaf evergreen rhododendron species native to western North America. The coast rhododendron is found primarily near the Pacific coast, but its range extends to the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. (State Symbols USA)

Heavy rain increases threat of landslides, flooding in western Washington
Nearly 1 inch of rain could fall in the lowlands through tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Between 2-4 inches is expected in the mountains. (KING) See also: Relentess winter storm prompts renewed warnings for southern B.C. highways  (CBC)

Backlog of toxic Superfund clean-ups grows under Trump
The Trump administration has built up the biggest backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund clean-up projects in at least 15 years, nearly triple the number that were stalled for lack of money in the Obama era, according to 2019 figures quietly released by the Environmental Protection Agency over the winter holidays. The accumulation of Superfund projects that are ready to go except for money comes as the Trump administration routinely proposes funding cuts for Superfund and for the EPA in general. The four-decade-old Superfund program is meant to tackle some of the most heavily contaminated sites in the U.S. and Trump has declared it a priority even while seeking to shrink its budget. (Associated Press)

B.C. government resists intervention in LNG Canada pipeline dispute
The B.C. government resisted calls Monday to intervene in a blockade of a natural gas pipeline project near Houston, despite it threatening the future of a $40-billion LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat that the governing New Democrats have publicly championed as an economic boon for the province. Neither Premier John Horgan nor Energy Minister Michelle Mungall would comment on the blockade Monday, amid reports the RCMP were amassing in the area to enforce a recently-won B.C. Supreme Court injunction and clear Wet’suwet’en First Nations members, hereditary chiefs and protesters opposed to the project construction. Rob Shaw reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Work must stop on Trans Mountain, Site C, LNG pipeline until First Nations approval, UN committee says
A United Nations committee working to end racism is urging Canada to immediately stop the construction of three major resource projects in B.C. until it obtains approval from affected First Nations. The committee on the elimination of racial discrimination monitors a convention to end racial discrimination signed by countries including Canada, and is calling for a suspension of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Site C dam and Coastal GasLink pipeline. The committee of 18 experts said in a written directive last month that it is concerned by the approval and construction of the three projects without the free, prior and informed consent of impacted Indigenous groups. It also said it's disturbed by law enforcement's "forced removal, disproportionate use of force, harassment and intimidation'' and "escalating threat of violence'' against Indigenous people. Laura Kane reports. (Canadian Press)

Chinook tribe back in court Monday on long quest to regain federal recognition
The decades-long quest of Chinook tribal members to regain federal recognition gets another airing in court on Monday. A U.S. District Court judge is scheduled to hear oral arguments on cross-claims for summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by the tribe against the Department of the Interior. The Chinook people are the original inhabitants around the mouth of the Columbia River. The U.S. Congress never ratified the treaty that the tribe and other coastal bands signed in 1851. The Chinook hired its first lawyers to fight for land rights in 1899 and its legal battles continue in various forms all the way to today. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Rusty abandoned ship in Fraser River near Surrey, B.C., will be removed: DFO
Work has begun on the removal of an abandoned vessel near Surrey, B.C., that has been an eyesore on the Fraser River for over five years. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan announced that an assessment of the MV Spudnik shows there's an imminent risk of pollution, hull corrosion, sinking and fire. The department says in a news release that the Canadian Coast Guard has begun work with contractor Marine Recycling Corporation to assess various options to safely dismantle and remove the former fishing vessel from the water. The 75-year-old ship has been moored at the same location on the Fraser River since 2014 and bulk pollutants were removed at that time. (Canadian Press)

Ramel appointed to state House
Bellingham-based environmental activist Alex Ramel was appointed Monday to the state House of Representatives, filling a seat left vacant by outgoing Rep. Jeff Morris. Elected officials from Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties narrowly selected Ramel to represent the 40th Legislative District...Ramel was selected over 10-year Bellingham City Council member Michael Lilliquist and Marco Morales, a migrant graduation specialist with the Mount Vernon School District. The 40th District encompasses northwest Skagit County — including Anacortes — southwest Whatcom County and all of San Juan County. Brandon Stone reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  250 AM PST Tue Jan 7 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  S wind 20 to 30 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 11 ft  at 11 seconds building to 13 ft at 10 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 11 ft at 11 seconds. Rain  likely and a slight chance of tstms in the evening then a chance  of rain after midnight.



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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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1/6 Dogwood, WA forest plans sued, banning natural gas, creosote removal, BC pipe eviction, counting whales, saving sturgeon, Trump's infrastructure rule, monarch butterflies, Newell's shearwater, Democracy Rebellion

Pacific dogwood [Walter Siegmund]

Pacific dogwood Cornus nuttallii
The Pacific dogwood or mountain dogwood is a species of dogwood native to western North America from the lowlands of southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California, with an inland population in central Idaho. Cultivated examples are found as far north as Haida Gwaii. It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 10–25 m tall. Cornus nuttallii is named after Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist and zoologist who worked in North America in the nineteenth century. It has been the provincial flower of British Columbia since 1956. (Wikipedia)

Environment groups, logging interests and communities across Washington sue over state's plans to sell timber
Two more lawsuits have been filed against the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) over its plans for state-managed timber lands, further clouding the future of the state’s forests and the timber money that helps support rural communities throughout Western Washington. The newly filed lawsuits are led by a timber trade group and an environmental coalition. A previous lawsuit was filed on Monday by Skagit County over the state’s sustainable timber-harvest level. Proceeds from timber sales have historically benefited counties, the public-school system and local taxing agencies in rural areas, such as school, fire, hospital and library districts. Evan Bush reports. (Seattle Times)

To Fight Climate Change, One City May Ban Heating Homes With Natural Gas
As a progressive-minded city nestled where the Cascade mountains reach the sea, Bellingham, Wash., has long been looking to scale back its contribution to climate change. In recent years, city leaders have converted the streetlights to low-power LEDs, provided bikes for city employees and made plans to halt the burning of sewage solids. But while the efforts so far have lowered the city’s emissions, none have come close to erasing its carbon footprint. Now, Bellingham is looking to do something that no other city has yet attempted: adopt a ban on all residential heating by natural gas. The ambitious plan set for consideration by the City Council in the coming weeks had already prompted vigorous debate over how much one small city should try to do to avert climate catastrophe, at a time when the federal government was putting less emphasis on halting the trajectory of rising temperatures. Mike Baker reports. (NY Times)

Hundreds of creosote-soaked pilings along Ruston Way to be removed
Remnants of a long-ago lumber mill along the Ruston Way waterfront can still be seen more than 40 years after it closed down. Perhaps the most notable are the 1,000 pilings that supported a dock there. Their history in Tacoma is drawing to a close. Allison Needles reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

First Nation issues eviction notice to Coastal GasLink contractors
A hereditary chief with the Wet'suwet'en Nation said a work site for the Coastal GasLink pipeline near Houston, B.C., has been vacated following the issuing of an eviction notice. "We've tried the avenues available," said Na'Moks, who also goes by John Ridsdale.  On Dec. 31, a B.C. Supreme Court judge granted Coastal GasLink an injunction against protestors who had blocked access to the project inside their territory. In a letter issued to Coastal GasLink representatives, hereditary chiefs with the First Nation wrote all staff and contractors must leave the territory immediately. Joe Dryden reports. (Canadian Press)

Counting Whales From Space: scientists and engineers plan hi-tech effort 
An aquarium and an engineering firm in Massachusetts are working on a project to better protect whales – by monitoring them from space. The New England Aquarium, based in Boston, and Draper, a firm based in nearby Cambridge, say new and higher-tech solutions are needed in order to protect whales from extinction. So they are using data from sources such as satellites, sonar and radar to keep a closer eye on how many whales are in the ocean. A project involving complex data and surveillance has an easy to understand name: Counting Whales From Space. But John Irvine, chief scientist for data analytics at Draper, said that was the only simple thing about the project. (Associated Press)

No ‘easy blueprint’ for saving endangered Nechako white sturgeon
The Nechako River’s endangered white sturgeon could have a silt-free spawning site this spring if all goes according to plan. The B.C. Ministry of Environment is seeking a company that can remove fine particles from a small section of the river where the endangered fish lay their eggs and rear their young. It’s part of a plan to help the sturgeon, a species whose evolution dates back to the dinosaurs, reproduce on their own. For decades, the Nechako sturgeon have struggled to successfully spawn in the wild. Scientists believe their slow disappearance from the river is linked to the construction of the Kenney Dam in the 1950s, which helps supply power to what is now the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelters. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Trump Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning
Federal agencies would no longer have to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects, according to a Trump administration plan that would weaken the nation’s benchmark environmental law. The proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act could sharply reduce obstacles to the Keystone XL oil pipeline and other fossil fuel projects that have been stymied when courts ruled that the Trump administration did not properly consider climate change when analyzing the environmental effects of the projects. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

Climate change is playing havoc with Mexico’s monarch butterfly migration
More than 95 percent of the species migrates each year to the same few hillsides in Central Mexico. Changing temperatures and weather are making their journey more precarious. Kevin Sieff reports. (Washington Post)

Threatened Hawaiian Bird Strives To Make Comeback
Hawaii is known as a natural paradise. It's also known as the endangered species capital of the world. One of the state's most threatened seabirds, the Newell's shearwater makes its home on the island of Kauai, where a small group of environmentalists is working to keep the iconic seabird from disappearing because of collisions with power lines and confusion from artificial light. Gloria Hillard reports. (NPR)


2020 MUST WATCH: The Democracy Rebellion
It’s the missing story of American politics. Not Washington, but grassroots America. Not stale gridlock, but fresh reforms. Not negative ads and billionaire donors, but positive change and citizen activists pressing for gerrymander reform, voting rights for former felons, exposing dark money, and winning surprising victories to give voters more voice and make elections fairer in states as disparate as Florida and California, North Carolina and South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Missouri, Utah and more. Veteran Frontline Correspondent Hedrick Smith, one of PBS’s most trusted voices over three decades, takes viewers into half a dozen states with citizen activist leaders. Watch January 9 at 8 PM on KBTC-28 or January 11 at 11 PM on KCTS-9. For a sneak peek, click here.

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  202 AM PST Mon Jan 6 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W  swell 10 ft at 12 seconds. Rain. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming S 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 10 ft at 11 seconds.  Rain.



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"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told