10/10 Agate Pass, Kalama methanol, Bristol Bay mine, PacifiCorp coal, jellyfish, Canada's plastic polluters, B'ham port plans, bye-bye birdies

Agate Pass

Agate Pass
Agate Pass or Agate Passage is a high-current tidal strait in Puget Sound connecting Port Madison and mainland Kitsap County. It lies between Bainbridge Island and the mainland of the Kitsap Peninsula near Suquamish... The traditional winter village of the Suquamish people was located on Agate Pass. It was the site of Old Man House, the largest longhouse on Puget Sound, and Haleets, a petroglyph. Agate Pass was unknown to non-native people until it was discovered by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. Before then, Europeans thought Bainbridge Island was a peninsula. It was named by U.S. Navy Lt. Charles Wilkes in honor of one of the members of the expedition, Alfred Thomas Agate. (Wikipedia)

Kalama methanol plant decision delayed
A key permit decision for a methanol project in Kalama, Washington, is on hold after the state Department of Ecology announced it’s pausing its review to ask for more information. The Daily News reports that Ecology issued a decision Wednesday and is requesting information from Cowlitz County, Northwest Innovation Works and the Port of Kalama regarding the project’s greenhouse gas emissions before it will make a decision on whether or not to issue a shoreline conditional use permit for the project. Northwest Innovation Works hopes to build the $2 billion project at the Port of Kalama to convert natural gas into methanol for shipment to Asia. Backers say the project would create about 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs and generate millions of dollars in local taxes. (Associated Press)

Battle over Bristol Bay mine: Native, fisheries groups sue Trump
Five Bristol Bay native and fisheries groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, seeking to restore Clean Water Act protection and block a giant open pit copper-goldmine proposed cheek-by-jowl with the world's greatest sockeye salmon fishery. The suit was filed on National Salmon Day. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, reportedly after intervention by President Donald Trump, in July withdrew a determination that the proposed Pebble Mine would cause enormous potential harm to rivers and wetlands where salmon spawn. The mine would be located between two of the most productive salmon streams in the Bristol Bay fishery. Joel Connelly reports. (SeattlePI.com)

PacifiCorp Plan To Move Away From Coal Exposes Deep Divide Among Western States
....This month, PacifiCorp released a 20-year power plan that cuts way back on coal-fired power and ramps up renewable wind and solar. The plan exposes a harsh reality: With more than half of its power still coming from coal, the utility is stuck in the middle of a regional tug of war over the future of coal in the West. The West Coast states the company serves have firm plans to stop paying for coal-fired power. And they’re increasingly focused on reducing contributions to climate change like the carbon emissions that come from burning coal. But PacifiCorp customers in the Rocky Mountain states are still staffing its fleet of power plants and mining the coal they’re scheduled to be using for many years to come. Cassandra Profita reports. (OPB)

What's with all the jellyfish in Puget Sound waters?
It was a strange and surreal sight: Thousands of moon jellyfish swimming in Puget Sound. And not just in one spot -- we've received photos of jellyfish swarms in Vashon Island's Quartermaster Harbor and off Orcas Island. And stories of swarms in Sinclair Inlet too... But it turns out, it's not an unusual event -- in fact, it's an annual event. "Highest number of moon (jellyfish) typically occur in the late summer and fall," says Christopher Krembs with the Department of Ecology. He oversees the Eyes Over Puget Sound team and has been documenting jellyfish occurrence using aerial photos for several years now. Scott Sistek reports. (KOMO)

Nestlé, Tim Hortons named Canada's top plastic polluters again
For the second year in a row, Nestlé and Tim Hortons were the top companies behind branded plastic bottles, coffee cups, and lids and other plastic waste collected in shoreline cleanups across the country, Greenpeace Canada reported Tuesday. Starbucks, McDonald's and the Coca-Cola Company rounded out the top five of the environmental advocacy group's list of plastic polluters...The companies were named from 1,426 pieces of identifiably branded plastic out of 13,822 pieces of plastic waste collected and audited by 400 volunteers during shoreline cleanups between April and Sept. 21. The cleanups were organized by community groups participating in the global Break Free from Plastic movement in Halifax; Covehead, P.E.I.; Fredericton; Montreal; Toronto; Grimsby, Ont.; Broken Group Islands, B.C.; Vancouver and Victoria. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

WWU-Port of Bellingham plan this renewable energy research and development project
In an attempt to jump-start a key waterfront project, two public agencies will soon be reaching out to the private sector. Officials from the Port of Bellingham and Western Washington University have an outline in place to move forward with the Western Crossing Innovation Park. The Port of Bellingham commissioners approved an amendment in a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8; the plan is scheduled to go before Western’s Board of Trustees on Friday, Oct. 11. The plan calls for a public-private partnership where the Port and Western would seek out others, including business start-ups, to “nurture scientific and technological entrepreneurial ventures.” The focus of the park would be renewable energy research and development, according to port documents. Other ideas for the innovation park include cybersecurity and marine engineering. Dave Gallagher reports. (Bellingham Herald)

These State Birds May Be Forced Out of Their States as the World Warms
Each state in America has an official state bird, usually an iconic species that helps define the landscape. Minnesota chose the common loon, whose haunting wails echo across the state’s northern lakes each summer. Georgia picked the brown thrasher, a fiercely territorial bird with a repertoire of more than 1,000 song types. But as the planet warms and birds across the country relocate to escape the heat, at least eight states could see their state birds largely or entirely disappear from within their borders during the summer, according to a new study. Brad Plumer reports. (NY Times)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  217 AM PDT Thu Oct 10 2019   
TODAY  SE wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. SW swell  3 ft at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  E wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE 10 to 20 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. SW swell 2 ft at 14 seconds.



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