1/28 Climate bill, train bill, oil drill, Vic sewage, wolf cull, Snake dams, canoe journeys

D & D Duck (Disney/BirdNote)

If you like to listen: The Duck in the Sailor Suit
Today, we celebrate Donald Fauntleroy Duck, first sighted in Hollywood in 1934. Despite nearly 80 years on the big screen and more than 150 films and countless comic books to his credit, Donald's plumage has never changed. Donald doesn't migrate, but resides year round in Duckburg. To our knowledge, longtime sweetheart Daisy has never made Donald a father. But he does show a strong paternal instinct for a trio of unruly nephews. While he means well, he tends to get in over his head, but he somehow overcomes the odds. And that perhaps is why Donald Duck is still loved after all these years. (BirdNote)

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's Climate Legislation Gets A Hearing
Gov. Jay Inslee has been pushing for a “polluters pay” carbon reduction plan for the majority of his time in office. Tuesday marked the first time that plan went before the state legislature, when the House Environment Committee held a hearing of HB 1314. The bill, which was drafted by the governor’s office, has 37 sponsors, all Democrats.  It would set a cap on statewide emissions that would be gradually ratcheted down over the coming years. Facilities, fuel suppliers and electricity importers whose annual greenhouse gas emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent would have to buy emissions allowances, or credits, beginning July 1, 2016. Ashley Ahearn reports. (EarthFix)

Ericksen’s oil train bill moves one step closer to floor vote
Sen. Doug Ericksen’s oil train safety bill was approved by the committee he chairs on Tuesday, Jan. 27. It will now move to the Senate Rules Committee before possibly getting a vote on the floor. The Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee amended Senate Bill 5057 Tuesday, to include provisions that would expand state authority to inspect rail crossings and form a workgroup that would look to see if more regulations are necessary for marine oil transport on the Columbia River and in Grays Harbor, according to an announcement from Ericksen’s office. Samantha Wohlfeil reports. (Bellingham Herald)

Obama opens Atlantic Coast to oil drilling, puts Alaskan Alaskan waters off limits
The Obama administration is opening up waters off the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, while putting big swaths of the Arctic waters of Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off-limits to oil development. A new five-year program for offshore oil and gas leasing, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Interior, includes 10 sales in the Gulf of Mexico and proposes one big sale in the South Atlantic off the coastlines of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia. U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, former CEO at Recreational Equipment Inc., wants to put Arctic Refuge lands and offshore waters off limits to oil and gas drilling. The “regionally tailored approach” offers a big victory for the oil industry off the East Coast and a major win for environmentalists in Alaska waters. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Victoria mayor to chair east-side sewage group
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps will guide east-side municipalities in development of sewage treatment options. Helps was acclaimed Tuesday as chairwoman of the newly formed east-side wastewater treatment and resource recovery select committee. Saanich Coun. Vic Derman was elected vice-chairman, beating out Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell for the position in a secret ballot. The committee was formed to allow Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay to explore wastewater treatment options together.

Wolf cull supported by conservation group Wildsight
Kootenay-based conservation group Wildsight is backing a controversial wolf cull in the South Peace and South Selkirks that would kill 184 wolves….. [C]onservation director John Bergenske told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff…"we've run into a situation with mountain caribou in specific places." He said in the South Selkirks the population has dropped to only 18 caribou down from 49 animals in 2009. Other conservation groups have criticized the cull saying loss of habitat is at the root of the caribou's decline — and the government needs to protect land rather than kill the wolves. (CBC) See also: Oregon Wolf Population Meets Level To Consider Delisting

Local dam removal initiative finds footing in Washington D.C.
What started as a petition to be submitted to Washington state congressional representatives will soon find its way to the nation’s capital. Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook Salmon Initiative, an organization formed recently by San Juan islanders, is petitioning for removal of the lower four Snake River dams. The group wants the dams removed to help recover the beleaguered southern resident orca population that rely heavily on Chinook salmon for food. The dams are located in Southeast Washington. The population of the southern residents sits at 78 whales, a 30-year low. “The orcas are starving,” said Sharon Grace, organizer of Salmon Initiative. “Breaching the Snake River dams is the most effective means to provide food to the orcas.” Emily Greenberg reports. (San Juan Journal)

Introducing this year’s Canoe ‘Journeys’
The 2015 Canoe Journey will actually consist of several regional Canoe Journeys. When no indigenous nation stepped forward and offered to host in 2015 after the 2014 Canoe Journey/Paddle to Bella Bella, the annual gathering of Northwest canoe cultures appeared to be headed toward a hiatus. But canoe skippers wanted to see the Journey continue without skipping a beat, and so a new approach emerged: Instead of one large Canoe Journey, there will be several Journeys hosted in various regions of the Salish Sea. Richard Walker reports. (Kingston Community News)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PST WED JAN 28 2015
TODAY
LIGHT WIND...BECOMING SE 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 12 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF
 SPRINKLES.
TONIGHT
SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 18 SECONDS. A CHANCE OF SPRINKLES.
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