7/18 Birds of summer, Vancouver gas, goat relo, green WSF, 'death cap,' fish oil pills

Northern cardinal [Daniella Theoret]

Birds and Baseball
At the crack of the bat, a Blue Jay flies toward first and glides around the base. Deep in left field, an Oriole pounces on the ball. He wings the ball toward second, where a fellow Oriole snares it on a hop - just as the swift Blue Jay slides toward the base in a cloud of red dust. Ahh, summer baseball! (BirdNote)


Why Vancouver is getting utterly hosed on gas prices
The one pipeline is full, the only refinery is maxxed out and thousands of vehicles run on whatever fuel can be imported by truck or barge The next time you’re cringing at the pump, spare a thought for Vancouver. The West Coast metropolis is consistently slapped with the highest gasoline prices of any major city on the continent. As of press time, the lowest gas price in all of Vancouver was 148.9. In Toronto and Montreal, meanwhile, the cheapest gas was 124.9 and 135.9, respectively. Tristin Hopper reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Forest Service agrees with mountain goat relocation plan
The U.S. Forest Service has proposed authorizing the National Park Service and partner agencies to relocate mountain goats from the Olympics to the North Cascades. The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie, Olympic and Okanogan-Wenatchee national forests released Friday a draft record of decision regarding the state’s mountain goat populations. The Forest Service supports the proposal announced in June by the National Park Service, state Department of Fish & Wildlife and other agencies that have been working on plans to address problematic, nonnative mountain goats in the Olympics and to increase the number of mountain goats in the North Cascades, where they are native. The plan is to move about 50 percent of the goats in the Olympics — about 360 — and kill the rest, according to the environmental impact statement, or EIS, the agencies released in May. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Washington State Ferries Joins Green Marine
Washington State Ferries (WSF) has become the first U.S. ferry operator to join Green Marine, the globally-recognized environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry.  WSF is the largest ferry system in the U.S, serving nearly 25 million people a year. It is enrolling all of its operations in the Green Marine program, namely 22 vessels, 19 terminals and a maintenance facility, thereby showing its substantial commitment to sustainable operations. Green Marine is a voluntary industry-led sustainability initiative for ship owners, port authorities, terminal operators and shipyard managers. The certification program guides participants towards reducing their environmental footprint by setting various benchmarks that exceed regulatory compliance and foster a culture of continual improvement. (Marine Executive) See also: Survey: Riders rate state ferry system as OK overall - with lots of specific gripes  (KOMO)

Warning issued after toxic death cap mushrooms found in Greater Victoria
The highly toxic “death cap” mushroom, responsible for the death of a Victoria toddler in 2016, has already been found growing in Greater Victoria, much earlier than expected, Island Health warns. Amanita phalloides mushrooms can be found in both urban and rural areas under ornamental European hardwoods introduced here about 50 years ago and more recently under native oak trees. Cindy E. Harnett reports. (Times Colonist)

Fish oil supplements for a healthy heart 'nonsense'
Taking omega-3 fish oil supplements is often touted as a simple way to protect your heart - but experts say the evidence that it does any good is flimsy at best. Cochrane researchers looked at trials in over 100,000 people and found little proof that it prevented heart disease. They say the chance of getting any meaningful benefit from taking omega-3 is one in 1,000. Eating oily fish, however, can still be recommended as part of a healthy diet. (BBC)



Now, your tug weather--



West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  235 AM PDT Wed Jul 18 2018   

TODAY  Light wind becoming W 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves less than 1 ft becoming 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W swell  5 ft at 7 seconds. Patchy fog in the morning. 

TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. W swell 4 ft at 9 seconds.


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