10/17 Race Rocks Light, WA shellfish permit, Marathon Anacortes Refinery legal battle, Vancouver quake map, Victoria cruise ships, Cooke Aqua steelheads, Extinction Rebellion Vancouver, Big Oil natural gas burn off

Race Rocks Light [WikiCommons]

Race Rocks Light
Race Rocks Light is one of the first two lighthouses that were built on the west coast of Canada, financed by the British Government and illuminated in 1860. It is the only lighthouse on that coast built of rock, (granite) purportedly quarried in Scotland, and topped with sandstone quarried on Gabriola Island. The Islands of Race Rocks are located just off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Victoria, British Columbia. (Wikipedia)

Judge tosses federal permit for Washington shellfish industry, saying it doesn't do enough to protect environment
A federal judge has thrown out a federal permit for the state’s shellfish industry, saying the Army Corps of Engineers failed to give enough environmental scrutiny to aquaculture farms. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik found federal regulators did not comply with the Clean Water and  National Environmental Policy acts in granting a general permit in 2017 that authorizes most of the state’s shellfish operations. What happens next is unclear. Lasnik, in a ruling released Friday, wrote that he has the power to vacate the permit outright. But to avoid the disruption of the industry, he left open the option of continuing current operations while the Army Corps “performs an adequate analysis to correct its unlawful actions.” Hal Bernton reports. (Seattle Times)

Environment groups score court win over refinery project
A legal battle continues over the Marathon Anacortes Refinery's plans to produce a chemical compound for A legal battle continues over the Marathon Anacortes Refinery’s plans to produce a chemical compound for shipment overseas and to reduce the sulfur content of its fuels. A Thurston County Superior Court judge recently ruled in favor of a coalition of environment groups that argued it was unfairly denied the right to appeal Skagit County’s Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, for the project. That earlier appeal, made to the state Shorelines Hearings Board in October 2018, may now be revisited, according to a news release from Crag Law Center that is representing the environment groups. The appeal to Thurston County Superior Court was the third from the coalition of environment groups, which unsuccessfully appealed the project to the Skagit County Board of Commissioners and to the state Shorelines Hearings Board. Kimberly Cauvel reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Map shows Vancouver areas likely to see quake damage
A map released by the City of Vancouver highlights areas that would see the most severe damage during a significant earthquake. The map has been produced as part of the city’s ongoing investments to assess earthquake risk and upgrade infrastructure. It shows a magnitude 7.3 earthquake would cause the most damage to Vancouver’s older, multi-family residential and commercial areas. Neighbourhoods in Chinatown, the west end, Kitsilano, and south Granville would be hit the hardest, with pockets of damage also highlighted in the Point Grey, Strathcona, Mount Pleasant and Marpole areas. (Canadian Press)

Cruise ship industry responds to Victoria's motion to reduce emissions
The cruise ship industry says everybody has a role to play in response to a City of Victoria motion to regulate the industry's environmental impact. Victoria's mayor and two councillors have tabled a motion asking for, among other things, a limit on the number of cruise ships entering the city until a plan can be found to limit their emissions and waste. Lisa Helps and councillors Marianne Alto and Ben Isitt tabled the motion which will go before council Thursday. The city declared a climate emergency in February and has been looking at ways to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2050. (CBC)

Cooke Aquaculture partners with Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe to farm native fish in the Salish Sea
It’s been more than two years since Cooke Aquaculture’s net pens collapsed at Cypress Island near Anacortes. The fallout led the state Legislature to ban net-pen farming of non-native fish in Washington waters. Now, Cooke is back with plans to farm two native species in its pens in Port Angeles Harbor. Cooke is able to forge ahead with its plans here because it has switched species. Instead of non-native Atlantic salmon, it wants to farm steelhead. And it has a partner in a joint venture to do so: the Jamestown S’Klallum Tribe. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Vancouver climate activists to ‘snake march’ through Friday rush hour
Climate change activists plan to ‘snake march’ through downtown Vancouver during rush hour on Friday, in protest of government inaction on the climate crisis. Members of the Vancouver chapter of Extinction Rebellion will gather at the intersection of West Georgia and Hamilton streets on Friday at 4:30 p.m. before marching into the streets and winding their way through downtown Vancouver. Stephanie Ip reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Despite Their Promises, Giant Energy Companies Burn Away Vast Amounts of Natural Gas
When leaders from Exxon Mobil and BP gathered last month with other fossil-fuel executives to declare they were serious about climate change, they cited progress in curbing an energy-wasting practice called flaring — the intentional burning of natural gas as companies drill faster than pipelines can move the energy away. But in recent years, some of these same companies have significantly increased their flaring, as well as the venting of natural gas and other potent greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere, according to data from the three largest shale-oil fields in the United States. The practice has consequence for climate change because natural gas is a potent contributor to global warming. It also wastes vast amounts of energy: Last year in Texas, venting and flaring in the Permian Basin oil field alone consumed more natural gas than states like Arizona and South Carolina use in a year. Hiroko Tabuchi reports. (NY Times)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  227 AM PDT Thu Oct 17 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH  LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 14 ft  at 15 seconds building to 17 ft at 16 seconds in the afternoon.  Rain. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SW 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. W swell 16 ft at 15 seconds. Rain likely.



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