10/24 Canada C3, fossil-free street, Victoria Barrett, climate, BC LNG, saving seabirds, enviro justice

Pileated woodpecker [Diana Buckley/BirdNote]

Pileated Applepeckers
It's autumn, and apples have begun to fall, although many remain on the trees. In full view of its offspring, an adult Pileated Woodpecker stabs a tasty apple treat. After it feeds, it flies to a nearby tree. Alone now, the youngster repeats what it's seen, knocking apples to the ground until it finds one secure enough to withstand its hungry blows. It just learned something that will sustain it, once it's on its own. Hey, perhaps they should be called Pileated Applepeckers at this time of year! (BirdNote)

DNA tests on water samples provide glimpse into biodiversity on Canada’s coastline
DNA tests of water samples from Canada’s three coastlines is providing unique and fascinating insights into the nation’s marine biodiversity. Scientists aboard the Canada C3 expedition’s 67-meter icebreaker exploring the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coastlines over 150 days have collected water samples at 93 sites, and run the samples through a genetic sequencer to see what lives there. Preliminary results of the first 14 samples showed major signs of pink salmon — as well as their predators, grizzly and black bears and bald eagles — in Khutze Inlet in B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest, the only such discoveries to date. Larry Pynn reports. (Vancouver Sun)

12 big cities sign 'fossil-fuel-free streets' declaration
Twelve major cities including London, Paris, Los Angeles and Cape Town promised on Monday to buy only zero-emissions buses from 2025 and to make major areas free of fossil fuel emissions by 2030 to protect the environment. The 12, with a combined population of almost 80 million, said they would promote walking, cycling and the use of public transport under a joint "fossil-fuel-free streets declaration." Many cities are setting tougher environmental goals than governments to limit air pollution and to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions. (Thomson Reuters)

For this teenager, rebellion means suing the government over climate change
Scientists believe that for the planet to continue to safely support life, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere should be kept as close to 350 parts per million as possible. We haven’t seen that level since the late 1980s - more than a decade before Victoria Barrett was born. Barrett is one of 21 young Americans — between the ages of 10 and 21 — who are suing the Trump Administration to compel action on climate change in a lawsuit known as Juliana v. United States. They claim the government is violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property by supporting the use of fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change. Ashley Ahearn reports. (Terrestrial)

With sea-level rise, waterfront owners confront their options
When John and Maia Vechey bought a waterfront house on Orcas Island six years ago, they immediately grappled with the idea of removing an old creosote bulkhead along the shore. The treated-wood structure was meant to protect the house from waves and erosion, but it was otherwise worthless. The bulkhead produced a horrible, pungent odor in hot weather, Vechey said. It also blocked easy access to the beach, and it did nothing to benefit the fish and wildlife that used the nearshore habitat. As the Vecheys pondered their options with the help of a landscape architect, concerns about sea-level rise came into play. Their final decision became fairly dramatic: Move the house back from the water, tear down the bulkhead, and restore the beach to a natural condition. Chris Dunagan reports. (Salish Sea Currents) See also: Climate change already costing U.S. taxpayers billions each year, GAO says   Michael Biesecker reports. (Associated Press)

'Our blood is still on the land': Tsimshian raise totem pole declaring victory over B.C. LNG project
Members of the Tsimshian First Nation have raised a new totem pole on Lelu Island in northwest B.C. to assert their stewardship over the land and celebrate the cancelation of a controversial liquefied natural gas project. "[We] made a stand to show Canada that our blood is still on the land and that we are here forever," said Gwishawaal (Ken Lawson), a house leader of the Gitwilgyoots, one of the nine allied tribes of the coast Tsimshian.He made the declaration as the Prince Rupert Port Authority patrolled nearby waters monitoring the ceremony, a reminder that who the land belongs to remains a point of contention. Though Gwishawaal and other Tsimshian members say they hold decision-making authority over the island's future, the Prince Rupert Port Authority says that power belongs to them. Andrew Kurjata reports. (CBC)

Fishermen, Researchers Try To Outsmart Bait-Robbing Seabirds To Save Them
When commercial fishermen spool out long lines in pursuit of sablefish— better known to consumers as black cod—seabirds looking for an easy meal dive to steal the bait off the series of hooks. Some unlucky birds get hooked and drown as the line sinks to the deep. And when the drowned bird is an endangered species such as the short-tailed albatross, it triggers scrutiny. "Just one was all it took. Yeah, just one,” said Amanda Gladics, a coastal fisheries specialist with Oregon Sea Grant. "Because they are endangered there is a lot of scrutiny on every single time any of those albatrosses are caught in a fishery." Gladics and colleagues from Oregon and Washington went to sea to determine the best tactics to avoid bycatch and published those in the journal Fisheries Research. The paper recommends either fishing at night or deploying bird-scaring streamers on a line towed from a mast. Tom Banse reports. (NW News Network)

Sen. Cory Booker introduces environmental justice bill
U.S Sen. Cory Booker has introduced a bill that aims to protect low-income and minority communities from environmental problems. The New Jersey Democrat’s measure would require federal agencies to strengthen legal protections and to take action through the permitting process against what Booker calls environmental injustice. The bill would make the 1994 executive order on environmental justice law and expand its protections for minority and low-income communities. It would establish requirements for federal agencies to implement and update a strategy annually to address negative environmental health impacts. The measure also would make it easier to file lawsuits. (Associated Press)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  300 AM PDT Tue Oct 24 2017  
TODAY  SE wind to 10 kt becoming E in the afternoon. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 13 seconds. Patchy fog in the  morning.
TONIGHT  Light wind becoming W to 10 kt after midnight. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. W swell 7 ft at 12 seconds. A chance of  showers after midnight.

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