12/14 Coal meet, coal PR, Vic sewage, Enbridge vs First Nations, Wild Oly, Arctic Challenger

wherewillsantalive.ca

Larry O'Hanlon writes: "Record Arctic sea ice losses this year and the prospect of an ice-free summer Arctic begs the question: what will Santa Claus do? Nothing, actually. He's already done it. Kris Kringle's home and distribution center have recently been relocated onto land."  Relax: Santa Unaffected By Arctic Ice Loss

More than 2,300 people packed two rooms at the Washington State Convention Center on Thursday to tell government officials what they thought about plans to export coal from Rocky Mountain states through ports in the Northwest. Supporters indicated study should focus only on that one terminal. "Should the Cherry Point site be scrutinized? Absolutely," said Shahraim Allen, chair of the Washington State Legislative Board of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, who, like many coal-terminal supporters, wore a green shirt. "Should the impact on Puget Sound be studied? Without a doubt. But that is where the studies should stop." But with the vast majority of the crowd and speakers decked out in red anti-coal shirts, discussion often centered on more than just the so-called Gateway Pacific Terminal. It included concerns about the ecological risks of other proposed Northwest coal ports, from the Oregon side of the Columbia River to southwest Washington. Craig Welch and Brian Rosenthal report. Coal-export hearing packed, mostly by opponents   And from Floyd McKay: Seattle turns out to oppose proposed coal port  And from Ashley Ahearn: Strong Opposition In Seattle For Gateway Pacific

What do these PR firms have in common? Edelman, Berk Consulting, Nyhus Communications, Gallatin Public Affairs, ECONorthwest, Gard Communications and Strategies 360? They do PR for coal interests. Eric de Place and Nick Abraham at Sightline and Joel Connelly at SeattlePI.com report.  Look Who’s Taking Coal Money and Seattle PR firms are doing “coal’s dirty work”

Greater Victoria’s sewage committee shot down the idea of an independent environmental assessment of its sewage treatment project Wednesday, in a vote that once again exposed deep divisions among local communities on the issue. Politicians from Victoria, Saanich and Langford flexed their majority control of the Capital Regional District committee to reject a call from Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen for an environmental review. Rob Shaw reports. Region rejects sewage review

There have been times over the past few days at the review hearings into the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline when the testy exchanges between Enbridge experts and First Nations lawyers have bordered on verbal warfare. And as the project moves further toward an environmental assessment decision, it seems increasingly likely that the debate about the oil pipeline — an oil pipeline, any oil pipeline — will end in a showdown between the federal government and First Nations over aboriginal rights. Dene Moore reports. B.C. pipeline proposal heading toward showdown over First Nations rights See also Mark Hume: B.C. mayors join first nations in opposing Gateway

There's more work to do on Wild Olympics legislation before Derek Kilmer will support it after the new 6th District congressman is sworn in Jan. 3. Both House Bill 5995 and Senate Bill 3329, also known as Wild Olympics legislation, would ban logging on more than 126,000 acres of Olympic National Forest by designating the land as wilderness. It also would designate 19 rivers and seven tributaries as wild and scenic. In an interview this week, Kilmer refused to commit his support for the legislation as it stands. Paul Gottlieb reports. Rep.-elect Kilmer won't support Wild Olympics bill as it is now

The Arctic Challenger left Puget Sound's Bellingham Bay Wednesday night and arrived at a deep-water anchorage near Anacortes, Wash., Thursday morning. The barge is part of Shell Oil’s fleet of vessels aimed at exploring the Arctic Ocean for oil. The Arctic Challenger’s oil-spill containment system failed its first field test off Anacortes in September. Since then, Shell has rebuilt a 20-foot oil-containment dome that was “crushed like a beer can” in the first test. U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement spokesman Nicholas Pardi said Shell has not scheduled an official test of the rebuilt dome. He speculated that Shell may be testing the oil-spill system on its own before showing it to federal regulators. John Ryan reports. Shell Ready To Try Again With Rebuilt Oil-Spill Dome

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 419 AM PST FRI DEC 14 2012
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY
NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NE TO 10 KT THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 8
 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS THIS MORNING.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SE 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF RAIN.
SAT
SE WIND RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 6 TO 8 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD OF 11 SECONDS. RAIN.
SAT NIGHT
WIND BECOMING W 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SUN
W WIND 10 TO 20 KT...BECOMING SE TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT...SUBSIDING. W SWELL 9 FT AT 13 SECONDS.

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