6/4 Slug, dams removal, pinto abalone, only Canadian species, ocean acid, earth carbon, Arctic spill, greens on race

Chocolae arion [L. Schroeder]

Chocolate Arion Arion rufus
Arion rufus is part of the Arion ater/Arion rufus complex, native to Europe. Arion rufus has been introduced to North America and is very common and widespread.  The color can be variable from bright orange to black. The foot may exhibit a color ranging from yellow to black. Lives in gardens, parks and wastelands, and can be a serious plant pest.  Arion ater has been shown to be a separate species.  Since the two species were once considered the same, some older references list A. ater as present in the Northwest.  This is not the case. (Pacific Northwest Shell Club)

Port Angeles council co-signs Snake River dam letter
After seeing the Elwha River respond to dam removal in its own backyard, the Port Angeles City Council has voted to support the removal of four dams on the lower Snake River. The vote Tuesday was 5-1 with one abstention to co-sign a letter to U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, that seeks Congressional leadership in finding “win-win solutions” to benefit salmon and orca populations. Rob Ollikainen reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Delicious and now endangered: Can the pinto abalone make a comeback? 
The pinto abalone was a popular sport catch for divers in the Salish Sea until its numbers plummeted to near extinction. Now, the delicious marine snail is on the endangered species list and the focus of an ambitious hatchery and replanting program. The search is on for suitable habitat and a broad coalition of partners has released more than 20,000 young pintos into the wild with the hope that the population will start to rebound. Bob Friel reports. (Salish Sea Currents)

These Canadian species are found nowhere else on Earth
What species are more Canadian than moose or beavers? We now have an answer. A new report has catalogued 308 species, sub-species and varieties of plants and animals found in Canada — and nowhere else on the planet. They include mammals such as the eastern wolf, Vancouver Island marmot, wood bison and Peary caribou; birds such as the Pacific Steller's jay; and fish such as the Banff longnose dace, Atlantic whitefish and Vancouver lamprey. But 80 per cent of them are plants and insects — ones you probably haven't heard of, like the Maritime ringlet butterfly and the Yukon goldenweed. Emily Chung reports. (CBC)

Measuring ocean acidification along US coasts
... While ocean acidification in North America has been studied in smaller, specific areas before, this is the first time that researchers have compared data from the east coast, west coast and Gulf of Mexico locations. Through this work, researchers were able to identify the similarities and differences of ocean acidification on both coasts, as well as point out hot spots that will be particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification in the future. The results of that research were recently published in Nature Communications. (Science Daily)

Earth’s carbon dioxide levels hit record high, despite coronavirus-related emissions drop
The coronavirus-related economic downturn may have set off a sudden plunge in global greenhouse gas emissions, but another crucial metric for determining the severity of global warming — the amount of greenhouse gases actually in the air — just hit a record high. According to readings from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the amount of CO2 in the air in May 2020 hit an average of slightly greater than 417 parts per million (ppm). This is the highest monthly average value ever recorded, and is up from 414.7 ppm in May of last year. Andrew Freedman and Chris Mooney report. (Washington Post)

Arctic Circle oil spill prompts Putin to declare state of emergency
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel oil leaked into a river within the Arctic Circle. The spill happened when a fuel tank at a power plant near the Siberian city of Norilsk collapsed last Friday. The power plant's director Vyacheslav Starostin has been taken into custody until 31 July, but not yet charged. (BBC)

Responding to protests, green groups reckon with a racist past
Prominent groups in the environmental movement — which has long struggled with a dark, racist past — are speaking out against institutional prejudice and calling for the movement to better prioritize social justice. Shannon Osaka reports. (Grist)



Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  236 AM PDT Thu Jun 4 2020   
TODAY  SW wind to 10 kt becoming NW 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 13 seconds. A chance of showers in the  morning then a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 10 to 20 kt becoming W 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft at 12 seconds.




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