12/12 Snailfish, Tacoma LNG, escaping methane, Ardagh Glass suit, Wild Olympics Act, octopus vs eagle

Showy snailfish [Lynn Flaherty]

Showy snailfish Liparis puchellus
Showy snailfish are most commonly sighted resting on soft, sandy bottoms, often curled up around their tails like sleeping dogs. They range in color from pale, golden yellow to chocolate brown. Showy snailfish can be found along the coast from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to central California. Natalie Gibb writes. (liveaboutdotcom]

Environmental groups announce appeal after approval of final permit in Tacoma LNG project 
Environmental groups in Tacoma say they're planning a swift appeal against the decision from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency approving a permit for the liquefied natural gas facility that's being built in the city's tideflats...The Sierra Club and Physicians for Social Responsibility convened a press conference to announce their opposition. Barb Church, with the Tacoma Social Justice group The Conversation, says they stand with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and will fight the LNG plant to the end. Bellamy Pailthorp reports. (KNKX)

Exposing a Hidden Climate Threat: Methane ‘Super Emitters’
Vast amounts of methane are escaping from oil and gas sites nationwide, worsening global warming, even as the Trump administration weakens restrictions on offenders. Jonah M. Kessel and Hiroko Tabuchi report. (NY Times)

Puget Soundkeeper and Waste Action Project Send Notice of Intent to Sue to Ardagh Glass
On December 11, 2019 Puget Soundkeeper and Waste Action Project sent a Notice of Intent to Sue Letter to the glass manufacturer, Ardagh Glass Inc. formerly known as Saint Gobain Containers, operating in the South Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown. Ardaugh Group is a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products. As of 2012, the company operated 89 facilities in 22 countries and had approximately $8.5 billion in revenue. The Seattle glass plant is located on East Marginal Way in a Seattle neighborhood where health studies have shown Washington residents live sicker and die younger than people in other parts of Seattle due, in part, to high pollution emitted by manufacturers in the area. (Skanner News)

Wild Olympics Act clears committee, headed to House floor
Congressman Derek Kilmer’s Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act has passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee for possible consideration on the House floor. H.R. 2642 would designate 126,000-plus acres — almost 200 square miles, an area roughly 2 1/2 times the size of Seattle — of Olympic National Forest land as wilderness, and 19 rivers and their tributaries – 464 river miles – as Wild and Scenic rivers. Supporters of the act lauded this latest move as a step in the right direction toward protecting water quality, salmon habitat and forests, while expanding recreation opportunities, including hiking, boating, hunting and fishing without closing any roads or trailhead access. Opponents argue the act makes access to multi-use lands more difficult and takes tens of thousands of acres of second-growth harvestable timber out of the economy. Dan Hammock reports. (Aberdeen Daily News)

If you like to watch: Tentacles vs. talons: Octopus battles bald eagle in video shot off B.C. coast
John Ilett and his colleagues were working at a fish farm off the coast of northern Vancouver Island this week when they witnessed a knock-down drag-out fight between an octopus and bald eagle and caught the battle on video. The crew was in their boat finishing up work late Monday afternoon near Quatsino, B.C., when Ilett said they "heard a lot of screeching, a lot of splashing sounds" and saw a bald eagle drowning in the death grip of a large octopus....The crew didn't know if they should intervene, but eventually decided to step in and save the bird. Bridgette Watson reports. (CBC)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  237 AM PST Thu Dec 12 2019   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING   
TODAY  S wind 15 to 25 kt becoming SE 5 to 15 kt late this  morning. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less late  morning. W swell 15 ft at 18 seconds building to 17 ft at 16  seconds in the afternoon. A chance of rain in the morning then  rain likely and a slight chance of tstms in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  SW wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  17 ft at 16 seconds. Showers likely and isolated tstms in the  evening then showers after midnight.



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