5/8 CO2, Shell drill, BC LNG, WA pipe, BC farm fish, GiveBIG, Billy Frank Jr., Energize Eastside, bluebirds

(PHOTO: BBC)

CO2 levels reach monthly record
The milestone was announced by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). They said it was the first month that the entire globe broke 400ppm, reaching levels that haven't been seen for about two million years. Noaa's Pieter Tans said that reaching the mark was "a significant milestone". Scientists announced that CO2 had passed the 400 ppm level for the first time in the Arctic in 2012, and then at Mauna Loa in Hawaii in 2013. (BBC) See also: Summer 2015: The Northwest's Global Warming Stress Test  Cliff Mass reports. (Weather Blog)

Shell drillship expected to dock in Everett before heading to Seattle
The Noble Discoverer, the drillship that’s part of Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet, will arrive in Everett next week, according to the Port of Everett. Shell confirmed Thursday that the ship will load and unload supplies in Everett before it heads to Seattle. The news comes as Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said Monday that the Port of Seattle needs new permits to host Shell’s drilling fleet at Terminal 5. The port plans to discuss the issue at a public meeting Tuesday. Coral Garnick reports. (Seattle Times) See also: Shell: We have ‘backup plans’ if blocked from Port of Seattle  Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

B.C. First Nations group rejects $1-billion offer from LNG venture
In the second stage of three votes, members of a B.C. First Nations group have again unanimously rejected a $1-billion offer from a liquefied natural gas project. More than 255 eligible Lax Kw’alaams voters at a meeting Thursday night in Prince Rupert stood up to show their opposition, row upon row, two sources close to the aboriginal group said. In the first vote in Lax Kw’alaams on Tuesday night, more than 180 eligible voters also unanimously stood up to signal their opposition to the Pacific NorthWest LNG joint venture led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas. Lax Kw’alaams Mayor Garry Reece and 12 elected councillors will make the final decision on behalf of the 3,600-member band, after voting wraps up next Tuesday in Vancouver. Brent Jang reports. (Globe and Mail) See also: Portland Mayor Withdraws Support For Propane Export Terminal  Cassandra Profita reports. KUOW)

State Pipeline Rights Under Siege? Wash. Citizens’ Oversight Panel Sounding Alarm
A new report from a statewide citizens’ committee on pipeline safety is calling foul on a federal proposal. The 13-member panel says the interstate agreements that authorize local response to pipeline issues could be rescinded…. The latest annual report from the Citizens’ Oversight Committee says the federal government is threatening to take away states’ authority over interstate pipelines. Their concern is that inspectors would have to come from too far away, slowing response times and loosening enforcement. There are nine interstate transmission pipelines in Washington. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KPLU)

Court orders new safeguards to prevent fish farm disease spreading to ocean
The federal government must shield the Pacific Ocean from the potential spread of diseases by infected fish being farmed along the British Columbia coast, a Federal Court has ruled. The Department of Fisheries has been ordered to shore up its regulations to prevent infections from being transferred from dozens of fish farms to the open marine environment. The legal action was prompted by elevated concerns about one particular illness that attacks the heart and muscles of salmon, which the court heard could imperil the Fraser River sockeye. (Canadian Press)

Seattle Foundation's GiveBig fundraiser blows past 2014 totals
In its annual 24-hour online fundraising event, the Seattle Foundation raised $16.3 million for area nonprofits on Tuesday, surpassing the 2014 total raised by 12 percent…. The 2015 GiveBig event generated $14.3 million in online contributions, $850,000 in challenge grants and $1.1 million in stretch dollars. Becky Monk reports. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge would be renamed for civil rights hero Billy Frank Jr. http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2015/05/07/nisqually-wildlife-refuge-would-be-renamed-for-civil-rights-hero-billy-frank-jr/
The state’s congressional delegation, showing rare bipartisan unity, plans next week to introduce legislation that would rename the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in honor of Billy Frank  Jr., champion of native fishing rights and a Washington civil rights hero. The bill would create a National Historic Site to mark the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, which took land from natives but did guarantee them the right to take fish “at all usual and accustomed stations . . . in common with the citizens of the territory.” Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Environmental review begins for PSE’s Energize Eastside project
The City of Bellevue has begun the environmental review process for Puget Sound Energy's Energize Eastside project. It will include five scoping meetings for the public to weigh in on details they want to see included when preparing the Environmental Impact Statement for the project, as required by the Washington State Environmental Policy Act. The project will run 18 miles of 230kV transmission lines from Renton to Redmond and add another transformer to the system in an effort to prevent capacity issues projected as soon as winter 2017-18. The scoping period for Phase 1 of the EIS closes June 15. The city is leading the environmental process, with partnering cities Kirkland, Newcastle, Redmond and Renton. (Mercer Island Reporter)

Bluebirds back on Island after almost two decades
After disappearing from Vancouver Island in the mid-1990s, the western bluebird is back and hatching in the Cowichan Valley. At least 20 birds are nesting and breeding on the Island after successfully re-establishing themselves via breeding pairs brought from southern Washington state — one of the few enclaves with enough of the songbirds to spare, said Jemma Green, Victoria-based co-ordinator of the Bring Back the Bluebirds Project. Last week, six of the 2015 nestlings hatched and so far they’re doing well, Green said. “They are really sweet, one of the gentlest of the native birds we have in B.C., and they really need our help.” Katherine Dedyna reports. (Times Colonist)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 250 AM PDT FRI MAY 8 2015
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. NW SWELL 2 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
TONIGHT
N WIND TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT
E WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 3 FT AT 9 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT. W SWELL 3 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
SUN
W WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING NW 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 2 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE
 AFTERNOON. W SWELL 4 FT AT 10 SECONDS.
--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter.

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told