12/3 Enbridge tankers, BP trains, coal export, Elwha, chum run, Hood Canal mounds, Vic sewer, Kitsap shellfish, CO2, marine wilderness

White bear (Wayne McCrory/Valhalla Wilderness Society)

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Tanker traffic associated with the Enbridge Northern Gateway project poses “significant, cumulative, adverse, and immitigable impacts” to the greatest coastal habitat for B.C.’s iconic white spirit bear, a research study warns. The study expresses special concern for 20,690-hectare Gribbell Island — “the mother island of the white bear,” south of Kitimat — which would be in direct line of the tanker traffic and severely impacted by a spill.  Larry Pynn reports. ‘Mother island’ of B.C.’s white spirit bear at risk from Enbridge Northern Gateway tankers: research report

BP Cherry Point Refinery is moving ahead with a rail construction project to accommodate trainloads of crude oil from the booming Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. BP spokesman Mike Abendhoff said the company has submitted an application for the project to Whatcom County planners and could begin construction in early 2013 on the $60 million rail loop. If that happens, the refinery would begin receiving crude shipments by rail in spring 2014. John Stark reports. BP taking next steps on rail project for crude oil

The gray waters of the Puget Sound are rough and scattered with white caps on this cold and wet October morning. The air is pungent with the low-tide smells of seaweed and salt. Schools of chum salmon are migrating from the Pacific into the Nooksack River to spawn. A handful of Lummi fishermen in small weather-beaten boats brave the driving rain and frigid gusts to reel in their nets, harvesting the fish as their ancestors have done for 175 generations. Kari Lydersen reports. Fueling the Tiger: The US Coal Industry Wants to Boost Exports to Asia – Native American Tribes Stand in the Way

In Whatcom County, people see a Cherry Point shipping terminal as a source of well-paying jobs and opportunity for local residents. Floyd McKay reports on the difference between "The County" and Bellingham. Coal supporters make their push

The unleashing of the Olympic Peninsula’s Elwha River from two dams presents Washingtonians with a not-to-be-missed opportunity to witness the transformation wrought by the world’s largest dam-removal project. All along the river, a new landscape is unfolding. Go see it for yourself. Lynda Mapes reports. Seeing the Olympic Peninsula's Elwha River, reborn as dams come down

Reports that a potentially lethal salmon virus had been found in the waters off British Columbia last year drew a fast, co-ordinated response from the federal government, tied up resources of three federal ministries for months, and even required the assistance of Canadian consular officials in the U.S., newly released documents indicate. SFU professor's report of deadly salmon virus in B.C. tied up federal resources for months

Nearly twice as many chum salmon migrated back to streams in Central and South Puget Sound as were predicted earlier this year, officials say. Numbers won't be final for a few months, but it appears about 600,000 chum salmon made it back, compared to a preseason forecast of 324,000. The 600,000 figure is slightly below the average for the past 10 years, which included record runs of more than 1 million chum in 2004 and again in 2007. Chris Dunagan reports. Chum salmon run comes in strong  

Washington scientists guessed that mysterious mounds hundreds of feet below the surface of Hood Canal were deposited by Ice Age glaciers or built up by natural gas seeps or geothermal vents. After taking a closer look with a remote control camera they have another theory: Underwater landslides. There are two dome-shaped mounds, each more than 100 feet high and more than 1,000 feet wide, on the bottom at the south end of the canal near Lilliwaup. Doug Esser reports. Scientists: Underwater landslides caused mounds in Hood Canal  

One of Victoria’s most scenic roads could become another battleground for Greater Victoria’s controversial sewage treatment project. Critics of the $783 million plan are claiming a new pipe from Clover Point to Ogden Point will mean digging up and potentially damaging Dallas Road and part of Beacon Hill Park. But the Capital Regional District, and a Victoria councillor, are firing back, calling the claims fear-mongering and untrue.  Dallas Road skirmish brewing over sewage pipe

Warnings regarding biotoxins in shellfish have been lifted for the Kitsap Peninsula, except for a continuing advisory against taking butter clams along the East Kitsap shoreline. Most areas safe for taking shellfish   However, shellfish beds along the Port Washington Narrows and in Dyes Inlet are closed to harvesting for the next week after 167,000 gallons of treated sewage spilled into the water from the city of Bremerton's East Bremerton sewage treatment plant. Dyes Inlet closed to shellfish harvesting  

Fisheries officers investigating the discovery of a bullet-riddled and decapitated sea lion earlier this week on a beach in Campbell River, B.C., are dealing with two similarly maimed sea lions found Friday. Two more decapitated sea lions found in B.C.

The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent — the latest indication that efforts to limit such emissions are failing. Global emissions of carbon dioxide were at a record high in 2011 and are likely to take a similar jump in 2012, scientists reported Sunday. Emissions continue to grow so rapidly that an international goal of limiting the ultimate warming of the planet to 2 degrees, established three years ago, is on the verge of becoming unattainable, said researchers affiliated with the Global Carbon Project. Global carbon-dioxide pollution still on rapid rise  

The federal government cleared the way Thursday for waters off the Northern California coast to become the first marine wilderness in the continental United States, ending a contentious political battle that pitted a powerful U.S. senator against the National Park Service. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar settled the dispute by refusing to extend a permit for a commercial oyster farm operating in Point Reyes National Seashore. Congress designated the area as potential wilderness in 1976 but put that on hold until the farm's 40-year federal permit ended. Julie Cart reports. First marine wilderness in continental U.S. is designated

Now, your thank-goodness-for-tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST MON DEC 3 2012
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
 GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON
TODAY
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING S 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 10 SECONDS. NUMEROUS SHOWERS IN THE
 MORNING...THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SE 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 7 TO 10 FT WITH A DOMINANT PERIOD AT 10 SECONDS. RAIN.

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