2/19 Beach knotweed, 'The Blob,' WA salmon bill, warm winters, BC LNG, Colstrip, Wild Olympics Act, transient 'Jack,' Everett waterfront, roads dangers, WA plastics ban

Beach knotweed [Mary Jo Adams]

Beach knotweed Polygonum paronychia
This plant belongs to the knotweed or buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).  It has a low lying form with woody stems, tiny white or pale pink flowers that bloom from April to September, and 1–inch-long leaves with margins that roll under.  Beach knotweed is found on coastal dunes and sandy beaches from northern California to southern Vancouver Island.  It is native in the Pacific Northwest.  Other common names for it are black knotweed and smartweed. (Mary Jo Adams/Sound Stewards)

Feared return of 'The Blob' fizzles as storms churn, chill Pacific Ocean
It looked big. It looked bad. But the marine heat wave that threatened much of the West Coast in the fall of 2019 has mostly dissipated, at least at the surface. Lynda Mapes reports. (Seattle Times)

Salmon bill aimed at restoring salmon habitat wins state senate approval
A bill aimed at restoring salmon habitat for Puget Sound orcas struggling to find enough food to survive was approved by the Washington State Senate today by a vote of 32-16. SB 6147, sponsored by 32nd District Sen. Jesse Salomon (D-Shoreline), would require the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider less environmentally disruptive alternatives when property owners look to repair or replace seawalls and bulkheads. (Mountlake Terrace News)

How Warming Winters Are Affecting Everything
Winters are warming faster than other seasons across much of the U.S. While that may sound like a welcome change for those bundled in scarves and hats, it’s causing a cascade of unpredictable impacts in communities across the country. Temperatures continue to steadily rise around the globe, but that trend isn’t spread evenly across the map or even the yearly calendar. “The cold seasons are warming faster than the warm seasons,” says Deke Arndt, chief of climate monitoring at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. “The colder times of day are warming faster than warmer times of day. And the colder places are warming faster than the warmer places.” auren Sommer, Mose Buchele, Molly Samuel, Patty Wight, Michael Elizabeth Sakas, Amy Mayer, Nat Herz report. (NPR)

Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs won’t talk with Trudeau and Horgan until Mounties leave
On Sunday, Scott Fraser, B.C.’s Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, and Carolyn Bennett, federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, sent a letter to Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs asking to meet as soon as possible to “talk about finding a peaceful resolution to the blockades across the country and other issues arising from the concerns of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.” However, on Tuesday afternoon Chief Woos of the Grizzly House said all hereditary chiefs agreed they would not meet with government until the RCMP removed their mobile command unit across the bridge from the Unist’ot’en camp on the forest road that links Houston to a Coastal GasLink work camp. David Carrigg reports. (Vancouver Sun) See also: Pipeline approval record reveals conflict with Wet'suwet'en years in the making  Jason Proctor reports. (CBC) See also:  Demonstration linked to Wet'suwet'en pipeline fight blocks traffic in East Vancouver Supporters of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' fight against a natural gas pipeline blocked traffic briefly in East Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon. (CBC)

Washington state eyes investigation into Colstrip coal contract
The latest coal contract for Colstrip Power Plant has prompted calls for investigation in Washington state, where researchers have questions about new details. Three of Colstrip Power Plant's five monopoly utility owners do business in Washington, which as a state consumes more electricity from the coal-fired southeast Montana generator than any other. Now researchers for Washington’s Utility and Transportation Commission want to know whether customers are overpaying for the 10-square-mile expansion of Rosebud Mine, while also not benefiting from a substantial tax credit. Tom Luted reports. (Billings Gazette)

Controversial Wild Olympics Act passes U.S. House
The divisive Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, some eight years after it was first introduced by Sen. Patty Murray and then-Congressman Norm Dicks in 2012. The Act, which designates more than 126,000 acres of the Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 464 Olympic Peninsula river miles as Wild and Scenic, has undergone numerous modifications over the years and had never made it to a vote in either chamber until Wednesday’s passage. Dan Hammock reports. (Aberdeen Daily World)

Injured transient orca swimming successfully near Anacortes
An orca that was injured when its transient pod passed through Kitsap in August is now in seemingly good health. Jack, also known as T137A, suffered an injury to his tail that resulted in the whale swimming slowly and acting strangely in August. When researchers from the Center of Whale Research observed the transient orcas by boat, Jack wasn’t diving, stayed close to the surface and sometimes would fall nearly a mile behind the rest of the group. Erin Gless, lead naturalist at Island Adventures in Anacortes, said she saw Jack on Saturday swimming successfully with his family. Jessie Darland reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Growing up in Snohomish County: How Everett's waterfront is taking shape
Up to 660 apartments, condos, and townhomes are planned for Everett's waterfront, along with 10 restaurants, an amphitheater, as well as office and retail space. Eric Wilkinson reports. (KING)

Living close to major roads leads to higher risk of Parkinson’s and dementia: UBC study
The results of a UBC study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Environmental Health in January 2020 suggest air pollution and living close to major roads is connected to a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Karin Olafson reports. (The Narwhal)

Washington considers banning disposable plastics in restaurants and grocery stores
Amid worries about the mounting environmental and public-health costs of disposable plastic, Washington lawmakers are considering forcing the state’s takeout industry to go compostable-only. Proposed legislation would create a phased-in ban on plastic “food-service products” accompanying ready-to-eat food — a lengthy list of items including containers, bowls, bottles, meat trays, produce sacks, utensils, tea bags and sandwich wrap. House Bill 2656 would also impose a penny-per-item fee on disposable goods to fund a multi-million-dollar upgrade of composting facilities in the state, most of which can’t process compostable utensils and containers. Levi Pulkkinen reports. (InvestigateWest)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  222 AM PST Wed Feb 19 2020   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 4 ft  at 13 seconds. 
TONIGHT  E wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 4 ft  at 14 seconds.



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