9/12 Northern lights, old rail cars, Vic sewer $s, coal $s, BC no-pipe alliance, BC CG, Ted Fick

(PHOTO: Notanee Bourassa/CBC)

Northern lights: Auroras expected after 2 huge solar flares erupt
Two powerful blasts from the sun are hurtling towards Earth, and may generate beautiful auroras as far south as Pennsylvania tonight and tomorrow night – along with possible power and communications disruptions. "A G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued for September 13th due to the combined influence of these two events," reported the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo. early Thursday morning. It recommended looking for possible auroras both Thursday and Friday night. (CBC)

If you like to watch (no flush): Victoria… It’s More than That  (TourismVictoriaBC)

Groups Sue Over Oil Shipments In Older Rail Cars
Environmental groups sued the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday over the shipment of volatile crude oil in older railroad tank cars. Accident investigators have complained for decades that the cars are too easily punctured or ruptured when derailed, leading to spills. The lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and ForestEthics says the agency failed to respond to a legal petition the groups filed in July. That petition sought an emergency order to prohibit crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana and elsewhere from being carried in older tank cars, known as DOT-111s. (Associated Press)

Funding 'reset' if sewage plant's site changed, CRD warned
Eliminating McLoughlin Point as a site for a regional sewage treatment plant is like “pushing the reset button and starting over” on $253 million in federal funding, Capital Regional District directors were told Wednesday. The federal and provincial governments have agreed to provide a combined $500 million — about two-thirds the cost — of the $783-million project. But the agreements are predicated on the CRD’s approved Liquid Waste Management Plan, which identifies McLoughlin Point as the treatment plant’s site. Bill Cleverley reports. (Times Colonist)

B.C. coal mine suspends activity amid low prices
Anglo American PLC says low coal prices have forced it to make plans to temporarily halt production at its Trend mine in northeastern British Columbia. “This is a pause and not a withdraw from our long-term vision in British Columbia,” Anglo American spokesman Federico Velasquez said in an interview Thursday from Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail)

First Nations & Allies Launch Alliance to Protect Coastal Waters from Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline
Proposals to triple the volume of tar sands production in Canada have sparked a new alliance of First Nations and Northwest tribes to stop it. Lead by the Coast Salish Tseil-Waututh nation of British Columbia, the alliance urges environmental and faith allies to take “unprecedented, unified action” to protect and restore coastal waters and lands from fossil fuel expansion. Martha Baskin reports. (Green Acres Radio)

And: On September 20, Canadians and Americans, First Nations and Native American tribes, and all the diverse communities of the Salish Sea will gather at the Peace Arch to send a unified and clear message that it is time for unprecedented action to defend the Salish Sea and our global climate from fossil fuel development. Info here.

Coast Guard closure leaves Kits in rocky waters
When the federal government closed its Kitsilano Coast Guard base early last year despite the City of Vancouver’s objections, it did everything except literally pull up the pilings. It removed its docks, and most importantly, the breakwater that protected the entrance to False Creek from English Bay’s frequent wind-whipped waves. Now the city is having to spend $300,000 to replace that breakwater after it began to suffer damage to its adjacent Burrard Civic Marina. (Vancouver Sun)

Port of Seattle commissioners OK Ted Fick as new CEO
The Tacoma native will start work Sept. 29 at a salary of $350,000 a year. He succeeds Tay Yoshitani, who is retiring as CEO at the end of the month after seven years. Coral Garnick reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT FRI SEP 12 2014
TODAY
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING E TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES LESS THAN 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.

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