7/22 BC LNG, Tesoro xylene, sea otters, pinks, Elwha weir, orcas for sale, Burfoot Park bacteria

Pune, India waste picker (New Scientist)

If you like to watch: Ethical 3D printing begins with plastic waste pickers
Pick the right plastic off a refuse tip, then shred, melt and convert it into feedstock for 3D printers – it's a living for some of India's poorest people. WITH her small child in tow, a young woman trudges across the hazardous clutter of a vast, dusty rubbish dump in Pune, India, scanning for scrap to sell. This scene comes from the launch video of a social enterprise called Protoprint, but it is played out at waste dumps in developing nations across the world. Some 15 million people are thought to scavenge for saleable refuse. Protoprint's scheme could soon improve the lives of some of these people. The group's aim is to train local pickers in Pune to collect high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste and then show them how to shred, melt and convert that plastic into the strands of filament that are the feedstock for one of the world's burgeoning technology industries: 3D printing. Paul Marks reports. (New Scientist)

Political summit hears B.C. liquefied natural gas cleans air, wipes out debt
Premier Christy Clark says British Columbia’s proposed liquefied natural gas industry has the power to fight air pollution in China and clear up smog in Los Angeles. The premier’s natural gas development minister also boasted to delegates at the same conference on Monday that the LNG industry will clean up the provincial debt. (Vancouver Sun)

Tesoro plans $400M investment to refine xylene in Anacortes
Tesoro Corp. today announced plans to invest about $400 million in its West Coast operations to extract up to 15,000 barrels per day of xylene at its Anacortes refinery. Startup of the new facilities is expected to be in 2017, subject to permitting and the approval process. A final investment decision is expected by year-end 2014. In a press release, the company said it intends to gather intermediate feedstock, primarily reformate, from its West Coast refining system for xylene extraction at its Anacortes refinery. The initial investment, estimated to be around $400 million, is designed to recover up to 15,000 barrels per day of mixed xylene, which will mainly be exported to Asia. Xylene is used to make polyester fibers and films for clothing, food packaging and beverage containers. (Skagit Valley Herald)

The remarkable comeback of sea otters to the B.C. coast
The evening before Barb Wilson faced the chiefs of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations she had a nightmare. The Haida elder and her colleague, Anne Salomon, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, had asked to speak with the chiefs about the spread of sea otters on the West Coast. The species is making a remarkable comeback in British Columbia after being pushed to the edge of extinction nearly 100 years ago. The revival of the otters is seen by some as a great environmental success story, but it is triggering dramatic ecological change and pitting native fishermen against animals that have a voracious appetite for urchins, crabs and clams. Mark Hume reports. (Globe and Mail)

Hyper-abundant pink salmon are outcompeting wild sockeye
Is it too soon to change B.C.’s iconic fish from the sockeye to the pink? Probably, but we should be prepared nonetheless as evidence mounts that the phenomenal and persistent abundance of pink salmon is putting real pressure on other Pacific salmon and even sea birds that share the same food resources. Randy Shore writes. (Vancouver Sun)

Conservationists threaten to sue over unused Elwha River hatchery weir
Four wild fish advocacy groups plan to sue over an unused weir at the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s hatchery on the Elwha River, saying that its lack threatens wild fish and violates the Endangered Species Act. The weir was designed to separate wild salmon species from those raised in the hatchery. “That weir was an integral part of their plan. If they can’t use it, their plan can no longer function as designed,” said Kurt Beardslee, executive director of the Wild Fish Conservancy based in Duvall.  Joe Smillie reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

EarthFix Conversation: Puget Sound Whales For Sale
The resident killer whales of Puget Sound are an endangered species. There are about 80 of them left. But there was a time, not too long ago, when people were catching these whales and selling them into captivity. In the 1960s and ‘70s an estimated 35 orcas were taken from Puget Sound. 13 were killed in the process. Sandra Pollard has documented the history of orca capture in Puget Sound in a new book: Puget Sound Whales For Sale: The Fight To End Orca Hunting. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

County issues swimming advisory for Burfoot Park
Thurston County health officials have issued an advisory for Burfoot Park after testing showed elevated levels of bacteria in the water. The beach is not closed, but it is recommended that people and pets stay out of the water, according to press release from Thurston County Health Division. In the release, Director of Environmental Health Division Art Starry said the department wants visitors to be aware of the situation and use their best judgment about whether they go in the water. Tammy McGee reports. (Olympian)

Now, your tug weather-
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE JUL 22 2014
TODAY
SE WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING NW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS AFTER
 MIDNIGHT.

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