3/8 Fish pens, BC carbon tax, Sally Jewell, San Juans reserve, toxic food

(North Sound Baykeeper)

Baykeeper Intern Matt Schwartz blogs: Cherry Point by Kayak.  Mid-February 2013  

It’s technologically possible to raise salmon in closed containment pens but questions remain whether it’s financially viable for the aquaculture industry, says a parliamentary report released Thursday. The report, by members of the House of Commons’ standing committee on fisheries and oceans, was delivered Thursday and included testimony from all sides of the controversial issue of closed containment aquaculture. The committee, which began the study in 2011, heard arguments about the environmental impacts of farming salmon in open net pens and decided the data is inconclusive. “Substantial disagreement remains among scientists as to the significance of this issue,” says the report. “Much scientific research remains to be carried out and made publicly available in order to instill greater public confidence in the environmental management of the aquaculture industry.” Committee members also noted that closed containment will carry its own set of environmental impacts because of its carbon footprint. Recommendations to government include a study of the effect on coastal employment of a transition to closed containment. Judith Lavoie reports. Closed-pen fish farms offer challenges and opportunities: study

A coalition of environmental and clean energy groups is urging the province’s political parties to raise the carbon tax and expand its coverage to include the natural gas and cement industries as a way of generating an additional $1 billion in provincial revenues. Better Future British Columbia, a coalition of five groups, said its proposal to raise the tax, is the key element of its plan to put climate change back on the political agenda leading up to the May 14 general election. B.C. was a leader in implementing a carbon tax five years ago but since then, has let the climate change issue slip to the point that other countries are now taking the lead, said Merran Smith, of Clean Energy Canada, the clean energy arm of the Tides Canada Foundation. Gordon Hamilton reports.  Environmental coalition urges B.C. to raise and expand carbon tax

Recreational Equipment Inc. chief executive officer Sally Jewell worked Thursday to convince Republican senators rattled by her leadership in conservation groups that she supports fossil fuel development and should be the nation’s next interior secretary. “Many people, as they enjoy the outdoors, jump in a car to get there,” she said at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But Jewell also pledged to support renewable energy and said climate change is not in debate. “There is no question in my mind it is real and that the scientific evidence backs it up,” Jewell told the senators. Sean Cockerham reports. Interior nominee Sally Jewell tells Senate she'll balance development, conservation

Washington state's congressional delegation joined forces this week in reintroducing legislation that would designate 1,000 acres of land and some entire islands in the San Juans as a national conservation area. In addition, U.S. Reps. Rick Larson (2nd Dist.) and Suzan DelBene (1st District), and democratic senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell recently sent a letter to President Obama asking once again that he use the presidential powers provided by the Antiquities Act of 1906 to register the lands and islands as a national monument. State's U.S. delegation renews 'Conservation Area' designation quest See also:  Lawmakers push for protection of San Juans land  

A Tacoma radiator shop has been fined $40,000 for “dangerous waste violations,” according to the state Department of Ecology. Performance Radiator, 2705 South Tacoma Way, is working to fix a 3-by-3-foot hole in the floor of the shop that was allowing high levels of lead, copper and zinc to leak in to the environment. The repair shop is in the South Tacoma Groundwater Protection District and is adjacent to a well. Tacoma radiator shop hit with $40,000 fine for violations

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have discovered phthalates, industrial chemicals, in common foods purchased in the United States. Phthalates can be found in a variety of products and food packaging material, child-care articles and medical devices. "Although it's not completely understood how phthalates get into our food, packaging may be a contributor to the levels of the toxin in food," said lead investigator Arnold Schecter, M.D., M.P.H., professor of environmental health at The University of Texas School of Public Health Dallas Regional campus, part of UTHealth. Industrial Chemicals Found in Food Samples

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 238 PM PST THU MAR 7 2013
FRI
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 16 SECONDS.
FRI NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 4 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
SAT
SW WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
NW WIND TO 10 KT IN THE EVENING...BECOMING LIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
SUN
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 15 SECONDS.
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