11/29 Pineapple Express, Victoria sewage, ocean acid, rising seas, fishers, Wyman's Marina, Marysville odor, BP banned

Pretty Boy (PHOTO: Laurie MacBride)

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: “Meet Pretty Boy, one of our ‘resident’ family of black-tailed deer. He’s aptly named, isn’t he? He and his twin brother first appeared outside our kitchen window in 2009. Since then we’ve watched him grow from a tiny fawn, to a gangly adolescent, to the powerful buck he’s become today....” Pretty Boy, Well and Truly Launched

New blog: "Here are three more points to raise with the federal, state and local government agencies holding a public meeting today in Ferndale (and in Spokane on Dec. 5 and Seattle on Dec. 13) to gather comments about what should be considered in evaluating the coal export facility proposed for the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve..." Two Minute Drill: Ocean Acid, Coal Exports and Jobs

The western U.S. is bracing for another round of torrential rain Thursday. It is the second of three storms this week that could cause trouble over a widespread area. It's a so-called "Pineapple Express" weather system -- a jet stream that starts near the pineapple-growing territory of the Hawaiian islands. Some call it a rain train, with a final and potentially devastating destination in the western U.S.  "Pineapple Express" storm effects feared in western U.S.

Greater Victoria's contentious sewage-treatment project survived its latest challenge Tuesday when a motion that would have suspended work until 2040 was rejected. Politicians on the Capital Regional District's sewage committee voted 10 to four against demanding that the federal government reclassify the region as at a lower risk for sewage pollution. That means the $783-million treatment project will continue, with completion of a secondary-treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt by 2018. Rob Shaw reports. Greater Victoria sewage committee votes to keep project flowing  

Check out a top-notch reporting piece on the recent state initiative to fight ocean acidification: “Rescuing shellfish from the rising acidity in Puget Sound will require a wide-ranging response: Everything from curbing greenhouse gases and controlling water pollution to growing more seaweed and putting restaurant-discarded oyster shells into shallow bays.” Ashley Ahearn, Katie Campbell and David Steves report. Acidifying Water Takes Toll On Northwest Shellfish 

A new peer-reviewed study by climate scientists finds the rise in sea level during the past two decades has been 60 percent faster than predictions from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The scientists also found that IPCC's estimates for warming temperatures was just right. Eyder Peralta reports. Sea Level Rising Much Faster Than U.N. Projections

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists will begin studying next year whether the fisher, a weasel-like mammal recently reintroduced to Olympic National Park, should be listed on the federal endangered species list. The fisher is now listed on the state endangered species list. It was reintroduced to the North Olympic Peninsula from Canada during 2008 to 2011. Before then, the most recent reported sighting of a fisher on the Peninsula was in 1969. Jeremy Schwartz reports. Fisher being studied for federal endangered list  

The City Council recently approved a shoreline substantial development permit for the Port of Anacortes to transform waterfront area near the former Wyman’s Marina into an aquatic habitat. The port, which owns the property, is doing the work as mitigation in exchange for redevelopment at Pier 1 for Dakota Creek Industries. Because waters of the state were taken away as part of that project, the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring the port to create new waters. The property will be converted to about one acre of aquatic habitat through the port’s project. Kimberly Jacobson reports. Council OKs permit for port mitigation site at Wyman’s  

After three years of crying foul, Marysville’s Mike Davis has decided that he’s had enough of the odor that’s lingered in his life for far too long. The co-founder of “Citizens for a Smell Free Snohomish County” has joined other area residents in hiring attorneys, on a contingency fee basis, to investigate filing a civil lawsuit for damages against Cedar Grove Composting. Area residents look to take Cedar Grove to court  

The Environmental Protection Agency has suspended BP from bidding on any new federal contracts, including drilling leases, as a result of the company’s conduct during the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010 that led to 11 deaths and the largest U.S. offshore spill. The temporary ban came early on the day the Interior Department held a sale of leases on 20 million acres of offshore oil and gas prospects in the western Gulf of Mexico that the department said attracted $133 million in bids. People familiar with the process said the company did not submit any bids. Steven Mufson reports on Wednesday. EPA suspends BP from new federal contracts in wake of oil spill  

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 230 AM PST THU NOV 29 2012
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT
TODAY
SE WIND 25 TO 35 KT EASING TO 15 KT. COMBINED SEAS 11 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 12 SECONDS. RAIN.
TONIGHT
E WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. SW SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN.

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