10/21 Vancouver redone, Trudeau & BC pipes, salmon closures, sunscreen & corals

Vancouver redone (City of Vancouver/CBC)

City of Vancouver reveals artist renderings of viaduct-free downtown
City staff painted a picture Tuesday at council of what downtown Vancouver might look like with the removal of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts…. The proposal to remove the viaducts, which would cost up to $127 million, includes an "almost unheard of" increase in downtown park space. It also includes two new city blocks that would be used for social and market housing. (CBC)

Trudeau victory means uncertain future for pipeline projects
The Liberal victory in yesterday's federal election appears to be the nail in the coffin for one West Coast pipeline project, but the future of another remains unclear. Incoming-prime minister Justin Trudeau is on record saying he would kill the Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal, which would carry crude oil from the Alberta oilsands to a tanker terminal on the North Coast of B.C. near Prince Rupert…. That leaves the proposed expansion of the existing Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, which runs from Alberta to Port Metro Vancouver on the South Coast of B.C. While Trudeau has promised to formalize the non-binding moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on B.C.'s North Coast passed by MP's in 2010 — that ban applies specifically to the North Coast. And that leaves leave the door open for Kinder Morgan, which is seeking approval from the NEB to twin the 50-year-old pipeline, tripling its capacity, and increasing the tanker traffic in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet on the South Coast. Mike Laanela reports. (CBC)

Salmon fishing closed on Skagit, Stillaguamish rivers
To protect lower than expected runs of returning coho salmon, fishing on the Skagit and Stillaguamish rivers is closed. The closure started Monday, according to a state Department of Fish & Wildlife news release. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald) Central Puget Sound salmon season closes three months early  The central Puget Sound’s salmon fishing season has ended more than three months early due to concerns about endangered chinook. Tristan Baurick reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Chemicals In Sunscreen Are Harming Coral Reefs, Says New Study
New research about sunscreen’s damaging effects on coral reefs suggest that you might want to think twice before slathering it on. Reports about the harmful environmental effects of certain chemicals in the water have been circulated for years, but according to the authors of a new study released Tuesday, the chemicals in even one drop of sunscreen are enough to damage fragile coral reef systems. Some 14,000 tons of sunscreen lotions wind up in coral reefs around the world each year. The ingredient oxybenzone leaches the coral of its nutrients and bleaches it white. It can also disrupt the development of fish and other wildlife. Laura Wagner reports. (NPR)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 247 AM PDT WED OCT 21 2015
TODAY
E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 4 FT AT 12 SECONDS. RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN
 IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
W WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 7 FT AT 11 SECONDS.
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