11/22 DAPL demand, BC pipes, Growlers, Duwamish, Snake dams, sunk tug, Samish clams, Tofino cleanup, no stink poop

Lake Padden algae (Robin Matthews/WWU Watershed Studies)

Blue-green Algae
From the state Department of Health: "Blue-green algae are actually bacteria that have qualities similar to algae and other plants. These bacteria are cyanobacteria – cyan means "blue-green" – and are commonly found on land and in lakes, rivers, ponds, and in estuaries and marine water. A combination of warm temperatures, sunlight, and nutrient-rich waters can cause blue-green algae to reproduce rapidly, or "bloom."… Although blue-green blooms can create nuisance conditions and undesirable water quality, most are not toxic…. Some blue-green algae produce toxins or poisons. In their toxic form, blue-green algae can cause illness in humans, pets, waterfowl, and other animals that come in contact with the algae. Toxic blooms can kill livestock and pets that drink the water."

Washington tribes demand that Obama stop, reroute Dakota Access Pipeline
Twenty eight tribal leaders in Washington state have written President Obama insisting he stop and reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline, following a night of violence in North Dakota in which police used a water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas against pipeline protesters…. Tribal leaders also said they were outraged at the tactics used by police against demonstrators, especially the water cannon deployed in subfreezing weather. “Industry and their goons and their so-called peacekeepers are taking it to the next level,” said Brian Cladoosby, chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.  Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

The case for more oil pipelines in Canada — as some analysts see it
The countdown is underway.  The federal government has less than one month to make a decision on whether to approve Kinder Morgan's expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to B.C.'s coast. Opponents of Trans Mountain say there are many reasons to reject the project. They include the environmental risks of pipeline and tanker spills, opposition from some First Nations, increased greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands growth, and the need to shift away from fossil fuels, to name just a few. If Ottawa gives Kinder Morgan the green light in December, the federal government must believe the positives outweigh all the negatives. Is that the case? Kyle Bakx reports. (CBC)

Guest blog: Remembering Polly Dyer
Author and artist Tony Angell writes about the influence the late Polly Dyer had on him and many educators in the early days of environmental education programs in Washington state. (read on)

More U.S. Navy jets could worsen rumble in Victoria area
Some people in Victoria, B.C., are worried about a plan to add more EA-18G Growler jets at a naval station on Whidbey Island in Washington State. There have long been complaints that Growler flights at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island — about 50 kilometres across the water from Victoria — cause a rumble on southern Vancouver Island…. The U.S. Navy plans to add up to 36 more Growler jets to its existing fleet of 82 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Megan Thomas reports. (CBC)

Students along polluted Duwamish River champion 'environmental justice' 
The Duwamish spent decades as what industry calls "a working river," with scant regard to those living near its banks, with heavy metals and PCBs making Seattle's only river a federal Superfund cleanup site. The ethnically diverse South Park neighborhood is making itself part of the cleanup, spurred by the fact that life expectancy is eight years lower there than the citywide average, with children's asthma rates substantially higher. "The river is very important to us, not just to animals but we all use it," said Guadalupe Zamora, 15, a student at Chief Sealth International High School, taking part in an Environmental Justice Youth Forum on Saturday at South Park Community Center. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.Com)

Why The Northwest Is Debating Dams On The Snake River (Again)
For more than half a century, dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have been taken for granted as a permanent part of the landscape. The four dams on the lower Snake River provide hydropower and navigation to the West Coast’s most inland port — in Lewiston, Idaho. They’ve also proven detrimental to threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. Now, a longstanding debate — removing or altering the four lower Snake River dams — is back at the forefront of a discussion on how to protect fish while still doing what’s best for all interests along the Columbia and Snake rivers. Courtney Flatt reports. (NWPR/EarthFix)

Salvage operation wraps, clean-up continues for sunken tug off B.C. coast
Efforts to remove a sunken tug from the waters off British Columbia's central coast have wrapped up, but crews continue to clean-up and survey the damage left behind. The latest situation report on the Nathan E. Stewart says a barge hauling the damaged vessel arrived in Surrey, B.C., Saturday and the salvage operation is now considered complete. Protective booms in the Seaforth Channel, near Bella Bella, where the boat ran aground and sank last month have been removed, though teams continue to sample water, sediment, vegetation and tissue in the area. (Canadian Press)

Shellfish harvest struggles continue in Samish Bay
As the sun began to set Friday, Kurt Goodale and his crew set out on Taylor Shellfish Farms’ Samish Bay boat, the Janet P, to harvest Pacific oysters and Manila clams. Goodale and his crew said their shifts recently have been “a roll of the dice,” with uncertainty about whether harvesting would be allowed in the bay or would be closed because of pollution problems. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Volunteer Tofino beach cleanup removes 900 kg of shipping container debris
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne says a weekend beach clean-up in Tofino to deal with shipping container debris was a success. 50 volunteers removed over 900 kg of debris from Pacific Rim National Park, much of it consisting of styrofoam. But she cautioned that there are issues of responsibility around beach garbage that need to be considered for the future. Liam Britten reports. (CBC News)

Bill Gates and a Swiss fragrance company battle the stink of poop 
Bill Gates is focused on poop. More specifically, the smell of poop. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is working with Swiss scent and perfume company Firmenich to battle the foul smells emitted by pit latrines. The foundation gave Firmenich a $6.3 million grant to develop a fragrance that tricks the brain into smelling goodness instead of feces. Ryan Blethen reports. (Seattle Times)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  300 AM PST TUE NOV 22 2016  

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON  
TODAY  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 3 FT. SW SWELL 10 FT AT 9  SECONDS...SUBSIDING TO 7 FT AT 9 SECONDS IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
TONIGHT  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. SW SWELL  8 FT AT 9 SECONDS...BUILDING TO W 10 FT AT 12 SECONDS AFTER  MIDNIGHT. RAIN IN THE EVENING...THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato at 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