6/17 Canarygrass, border closure, SRKW hunting, BC gas pipe, rising emissions, energy overhaul, manure

Ree canarygrass

Reed canarygrass Phalaris arundinacea
Reed canarygrass typically occurs in soils that are saturated or nearly saturated for most of the growing season. Established stands can tolerate extended periods of inundation. It grows in roadside ditches, river dikes, shallow marshes, wetlands and meadows.  Canarygrass is a major threat to natural wetlands. It out competes most native species as it forms large, single-species stands, outcompeting other species. Dense stands have little wildlife habitat value. Its invasion can cause siltation in irrigation ditches. Reed canarygrass can spread by seeds or by creeping rhizomes. The species will also produce roots and shoots from the nodes of freshly cut stems. (Washington Toxic Weed Control)

Canada-U.S. border to remain closed to non-essential travel for another month
An agreement has once again been reached between Canada and the United States to keep the border closed to all non-essential or "discretionary" travel for another month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced. The extension on the existing agreement means that the border restrictions will stay in place until July 21, even as both countries continue to reopen their economies. Brooklyn Neustaeter (CTVNews)

Sound Strategy: Hunting with the Southern Residents
Southern Resident killer whales can tell a lot about salmon using only sound. This is especially interesting to Marla Holt, who studies how integral sound is to the lives of Southern Resident killer whales. Indeed, it’s critical to their hunting abilities. It is so precise that the whales can tell one species of fish from another. Their hunting is also easily interrupted by noise. Along with disturbance from boat traffic, noise is considered one of the key threats to these endangered whales. (NOAA Fisheries)

Coastal GasLink ramps up pipeline work, 4 months after Wet'suwet'en land conflict sparked rail blockades
Coastal GasLink is ramping up construction across northern B.C, just months after a high profile conflict over Wet'suwet'en land rights sparked RCMP raids on the pipeline route and rail blockades across the country. Now, the company says about 2,500 people will be putting pipe in the ground by September, along the 670 kilometre route, from the gas fields of northeastern B.C. to the Pacific. The $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline will carry natural gas to a $40 billion LNG terminal under construction in Kitimat, representing one of the largest private sector investments in Canadian history. Betsy Trumpener reports. (CBC)

Emissions Are Surging Back as Countries and States Reopen
After a drastic decline this spring, global greenhouse gas emissions are now rebounding sharply, scientists reported, as countries relax their coronavirus lockdowns and traffic surges back onto roads. It’s a stark reminder that even as the pandemic rages, the world is still far from getting global warming under control. Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich report. (NY Times)

Absent From Stimulus Packages: Overhauling Energy, Climate Programs
Around the world leaders see opportunity in the global pandemic to address the other big problem humanity faces: climate change. The United Nations and International Energy Agency suggest all nations consider climate when drafting stimulus plans. The European Union is developing a plan that does that. But here in the United States, climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions have not been a part of the $3 trillion in relief packages passed so far. That’s despite the country’s history of passing big energy programs to boost the economy. Jeff Brady reports. (NPR)

B.C. fossil discovery demonstrates 50-million-year-old link between Canada and Australia
An insect fossil found near Kamloops, B.C., has researchers questioning the global movement of animals and evolutionary changes based on climate.  The fossil, estimated to be 50 million years old, was found in B.C., but its closest relatives now live exclusively in Australia. This has experts contemplating a Canada-Australia connection that had not been considered.  "I'm starting to see insects which are shared with Australia today and that's a little bit harder to explain, that's more mysterious," said paleontologist Bruce Archibald, who discovered the fossil. "Australia was not connected by land with B.C. [at that time]." (CBC)

Turning manure into money
Farmers and utilities are burning methane for energy — and curtailing a powerful greenhouse gas in the process. Jim Morrison reports. (Washington Post)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  229 AM PDT Wed Jun 17 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt rising to 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.  Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 1 to 3 ft in the afternoon. W  swell 6 ft at 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell  5 ft at 9 seconds.




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