11/8 Salish Sea News and Weather: Seattle waterfront, Kitsap shoreline, creosote, Asarco, acidification, coal export, farmland, Elwha coho, BC salmon, biofuels, WalMart

Lynda Mapes' friend

Washington voter? Last chance to vote today... Otherwise no right to complain.

Lynda Mapes in the Seattle Times begins a new Field Notes series with her friend the seal with whom she takes a walk along the Seattle waterfront, Calling the question, Seattle: What kind of waterfront do we want?

What kind of shoreline does Kitsap County want? The shoreline task force reconvenes tomorrow to deal with shoreline buffers, bulkheads and docks. Shoreline task force to tackle thorny issues

Biggest surprise? The amount of creosote found in our waterways as reported in the recent state survey of toxic pollutants. Despite cleanup, creosote toxins common in our waters

John Dodge in The Olympian reports on the next big push to clean up more of the toxic mess created by the former Asarco smelter in Ruston. State to cast wide net for Asarco smelter pollution   See also the sad chronology of the plant’s life and death. The Asarco smelter's toxic legacy 

New report from Sightlines paints a picture of what’s in store for the Northwest as carbon dioxide pollution from cars, power plants, and other human sources changes the chemistry of our marine waters. Northwest Ocean Acidification: The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuel Pollution

Floyd McKay in Crosscut reports on why Washington state senators are asking the Department of Ecology and Whatcom County to include a sweeping review of environmental and economic impacts of a proposed coal-export terminal at Cherry Point. The senators include Ed Murray, Dan Swecker, Kevin Ranker, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Karen Fraser, Nick Harper, Debbie Regala, Steve Conway, Karen Keiser, Sharon Nelson, Paull Shin, Adam Kine, and Maralyn Chase.  Senators seek wide review of proposal for shipping coal to China

Read what Dennis Canty, director of the Pacific Northwest regional office of the American Farmland Trust, and what Rebecca Sadinsky, head of the PCC Farmland Trust, have to say about what can be done to save farmland from suburban development. Incredible shrinking farmland 

Elwha Love: Katie Campbell in EarthFix reports on the introduction of coho salmon to the middle section of the Elwha River. Said Mel Elofson of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s fisheries department, “It’s a historic day. We haven’t had salmon in these reaches for almost 100 years.” Showing Coho the Upper Elwha River

And, to the north, all gloves are off in the final days of the Cohen Commission investigation of the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River after stocks collapsed in 2009.  Salmon hearing participants clash openly in final submissions

Hey, what’s cookin’? Some Alaska Airlines flights will be flying on used cooking oil as they travel from Seattle to Portland and Washington D.C. Alaska Airlines will use biofuel on 75 flights

And I promise to ask Grist to stop beating up on WalMart when the corporate giant truly cleans up its act. Walmart’s greenwash: Why the retail giant is still unsustainable
 
Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST TUE NOV 8 2011
  TODAY
 SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
 TONIGHT
 E WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 11 SECONDS. CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
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