3/26 Clean Water Act, Orca Tour, gray whales, BC quake, body humor, Exxon Valdez spill

Inside a fly (BBC News)

If you like to watch: 3D insect flight: footage captured from inside a fly
A team of scientists from Oxford University, Imperial College, and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland have used very intense X-rays to film inside an insect as it flies. (BBC)

Clean Water Act proposal would protect more water sources in West
The Obama administration proposed a long-awaited rule on Tuesday to clarify that the Clean Water Act protects wetlands near rivers and waterways fed by seasonal thaws and rains — a decision that could particularly shield water sources in the West. Proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers, the draft Waters of the U.S. rule is aimed at defining the scope of the Clean Water Act after two Supreme Court decisions in the last 15 years led to confusion about which waterways were under federal protection, said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Neela Banerjee reports. (LA Times) And from Chris Dunagan at the Kitsap Sun: EPA asserts protections under Clean Water Act

News release: Orca Tour 2014 Features Author Erich Hoyt In May Events Along The Range of Southern Resident Orcas
The endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales spend a significant amount of time on the Pacific Coast, from Vancouver Island to Monterey, CA. In May, The Whale Trail and partners are collaborating with noted author and marine conservationist Erich Hoyt on a series of nine presentations throughout the orcas' range.

Celebrate Gray whales at the New Langley Whale Center and Welcome the Whales Day April 19
Orca Network's Whale Sighting Network has followed the travels of the Gray whales, as well as orcas and other whales, and now is opening its new Langley Whale Center. On April 19, Orca Network will celebrate its annual "Welcome the Whales Day Parade and Festival" in Langley.

Catastrophic earthquake: B.C. not prepared, says report
B.C.'s emergency management agency (EMBC) is not adequately prepared for a catastrophic earthquake, according to the province's auditor general Russ Jones. Jones also found that neither the provincial government or Emergency Management BC has made significant progress preparing for a destructive earthquake since the last report 17 years ago. (CBC)

Body humor billboards turn heads, gain attention for septic company FloHawks
A friend of mine almost drove off the road in Pierce County when she sped by a billboard that caught her eye. “Our customers give us crap everyday,” it read. Turns out it is one of 30 billboards around south King, Pierce, Thurston and Kitsap counties, all part of an advertising campaign for FloHawks, a Puyallup-based plumbing and septic company. Some of the other traffic-slowing billboard slogans are, “Your doody. Our duty” and, “You think your job stinks!” Patti Payne reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

25 Years Later, A Look Back At The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill  
At midnight 25 years ago, a ship called Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling enough crude oil to fill 17 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The event came as a shock to most people, but not to Kimbal Sundberg. [Sundberg now lives on San Juan Island and is active in water resources issues.] He’d spent the three years leading up to that day mapping out what would happen in the case of just such an event.  As a habitat biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sundberg had commented on oil spill contingency plans for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. He'd even co-authored an impact analysis report on how an oil spill might affect fish and wildlife in the area. Rae Ellem Bichell reports. (KPLU) And read Shelly Larsen’s account of growing up in Alaska constantly hearing about “the spill”: 25 years later, what have we learned from Exxon Valdez?  And Friday Harbor's David Nash and Lynn Danaher remember--Twenty-five years later; in the wake of Exxon Valdez

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT WED MAR 26 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY
SE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING E 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A
 CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
TONIGHT
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 8 FT AT 10 SECONDS. SHOWERS.

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