2/1 TCEP & TDCCP, pipelines, oil trains, Seattle waterfront, bag ban, ocean acid, fisheries, bird & fossils

New blog: “Since the ground thawed from the last hard freeze, Mr. Mole has been busy along the edge of the cement walkway building his mountains of soil. The only time I’ve seen a mole was an unpleasant encounter when I trapped one a long time ago in a garden in Oregon. This one in our yard I’ve never seen but the dog sure smells him....”  Waiting For Mr. Mole  

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Some state lawmakers are pushing to ban potentially cancer-causing chemicals from children's products and sofas. Bills in the House and Senate would prohibit the use of two flame retardant chemicals, known as TCEP and TDCCP, in strollers, car seats, changing pads and other children's products, as well as home furniture. The bills also prohibit manufacturers from using chemicals on the state's list of chemicals of concern as replacements. Phuong Le reports. Bills would ban chemicals in baby products, sofas

From Chris Dunagan's blog: Federal grants make statement about Puget Sound

The oilsands industry is going to be demanding more pipelines across Western Canada in the next decade, even if three proposed projects get built, the head of Kinder Morgan Canada predicts. Kinder Morgan president Ian Anderson told the Vancouver Board of Trade on Thursday that the North American market for Canadian oilsands crude is drying up as U.S. production rises, and producers in Alberta will soon be looking to move their product across B.C. and out of ports on the West Coast. Pipeline demands to increase in coming decade

Opponents of the Northern Gateway pipeline are threatening to turn their sights on CN Rail, as at least one Alberta oil company explores the possibility of transporting oil sands crude to the B.C. coast by rail car. Sixteen environmental groups signed a letter sent to Canadian National CEO Claude Mongeau this week to express opposition to any plans to ship product from the Alberta oil sands west by rail. Dene Moore reports. Oil pipeline opponents may target rail shipments next

The Northwest is on the verge of becoming a gateway for crude oil. Three different developers have plans to use docks on Grays Harbor, Washington to transfer crude oil from trains to ships. Other projects are getting off the ground in Tacoma, Vancouver, B.C. and on the lower Columbia River. There was a huge turnout Wednesday night at an introductory public workshop in Aberdeen, Washington. The response indicates crude-by-rail may be the region’s next big environmental controversy.  Tom Banse reports. Northwest On Verge Of Becoming Pacific Crude Oil Gateway

Planners are hammering out the details of a handful of ambitious projects that will drastically alter downtown Seattle’s waterfront. While the physical work on the high-profile projects won’t begin for some time, key decisions regarding the $1 billion plan are being made now. Among them: how to expand Pike Place Market and the Seattle Aquarium, whether to resurrect the waterfront streetcar, and how to pay for it all. Marc Stiles reports. Major Seattle waterfront projects see flurry of activity

The citywide ban on most retail plastic bags starts March 1, and Issaquah leaders reminded residents to prepare in the 30 days before the legislation goes into effect. The measure also sets a 5-cent fee for most paper carryout bags. Under the ordinance, retailers keep the fee to offset the cost to phase out plastic bags and shoppers can see the expense itemized on receipts. Though the ordinance requires most plastic bags to disappear from retailers in March, consumers should not expect to see the bags vanish altogether. Issaquah starts 30-day countdown to plastic bag ban

Between 2005 and 2009, billions of oyster larvae began dying at hatcheries around the state before anyone knew what was going on or could do anything about it. The state's $270 million shellfish industry, which employs about 3,200 people, is in danger. One oyster farm, Goose Point Oysters in Willapa Bay, has begun raising oyster larvae in Hawaii because it can no longer grow them here. The reason, scientists say, is ocean acidification. Bill Sheets reports. State's $270 million fisheries business threatened by ocean acidification

Pete Knutson opines: "Despite the 1995 and 1999 voter rejection of initiatives favoring sport fishing, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission moves steadily to restrict and eliminate commercial fisheries in Washington state. Under a veneer of conservation rhetoric, the commission has reallocated salmon, crab, prawns and now Columbia River Chinook from food fish harvesters to the politically powerful sport industry. On Jan. 12, they voted to eliminate the 150-year-old Columbia River non-tribal commercial salmon fishery, which has been a significant source of livelihood for the economically depressed southwest Washington region...."  Political games are devastating sustainable commercial fishing  

Size limits have been a part of fisheries management for decades, but some fear that they are doing more harm than good. Brendan Borrell writes. Ocean conservation: A big fight over little fish  

A new photographic exhibit exploring the intertwined lives of owls and woodpeckers is scheduled to open this weekend at Edmonds Historical Museum. The exhibit called "The Owl & the Woodpecker in Washington" by photographer Paul Bannick is part of a traveling show created by the Burke Museum in Seattle. The exhibit is scheduled to be shown in Edmonds through April 14.  Photos of woodpeckers, owls exhibited at Edmonds museum    And: Fossils are all around Washington. That’s the message paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll share in the traveling exhibit Cruisin’ the Washington Fossil Freeway, opening at the Harbor History Museum on Saturday, Feb. 2. Traveling fossil exhibit from Seattle’s at Harbor History Museum

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST FRI FEB 1 2013
TODAY
NW WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING E. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 5 FT AT 12 SECONDS. AREAS
 OF FOG IN THE MORNING.
TONIGHT
E WIND 10 TO 20 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 5 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
SAT
SE WIND 15 TO 20 KT...EASING TO 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 6 FT AT 20 SECONDS...BUILDING TO 9 FT.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND TO 10 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 10 FT AT 17 SECONDS.
SUN
S WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 9 FT AT 16 SECONDS.

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