7/8 Snowberry, Keystone, grizzlies, Jordan Cove, June heat, BC LNG pipe, single-use straw, humpbacks, rainforest park, green Canada

Snowberry [Native Plants of the PNW]

Snowberry Symphoricarppos albus
Common Snowberry is found from southeast Alaska to southern California; all across the northern United States and the Canadian provinces. Snowberries are high in saponins, which are poorly absorbed by the body.  Although they are largely considered poisonous, (given names like ‘corpse berry’ or ‘snake’s berry’), some tribes ate them fresh or dried them for later consumption.  The berries were used as a shampoo to clean hair.  Crushed berries were also rubbed on the skin to treat burns, warts, rashes and sores; and rubbed in armpits as an antiperspirant.  Various parts were infused and used as an eyewash for sore eyes.  A tea made from the roots was used for stomach disorders; a tea made from the twigs was used for fevers.  Branches were tied together to make brooms.  Bird arrows were also made from the stems. Symphori- means “bear together;” –carpos means fruits– referring to the clustered fruits.  Albus meaning white. (Native Plants of the PNw)

US Supreme Court Deals Blow to Keystone Oil Pipeline Project
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed another blow to the disputed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada by keeping in place a lower court ruling that blocked a key permit for the project. Canadian company TC Energy needs the permit to continue building the long-disputed pipeline across U.S. rivers and streams. Without it, the project that has been heavily promoted by President Donald Trump faces more delay just as work on it had finally begun this year following years of courtroom battles. Monday's Supreme Court order also put on hold an earlier court ruling out of Montana as it pertains to other oil and gas pipelines across the nation. Matthew Brown reports. (AP) Judge rejects Dakota Access request for emergency order  A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request for an emergency order to delay the process of shutting down the Dakota Access pipeline while attorneys appeal a ruling to shutter the pipeline during the course of an environmental review. (AP) Legal and Environmental Setbacks Stymie Pipelines Nationwide  (NY Times)

Federal Government Gives Up Grizzly Bear Reintroduction In North Cascades
The federal government on Tuesday decided to scrap plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem in Washington state. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt told a meeting of community members in Omak, Washington, that his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the plan. “The Trump Administration is committed to being a good neighbor, and the people who live and work in north central Washington have made their voices clear that they do not want grizzly bears,” Bernhardt said in a news release. Nicholas Geranios reports. (AP)

Landowners Seek Court Order To Kill, Or At Least Stall, Jordan Cove Pipeline Project
In March, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, gave a provisional go-ahead to the proposed pipeline and liquefied natural gas export terminal in southwest Oregon. Pembina — the Canadian corporation which wants to build the project – can’t begin construction until it gets several other permits. But Deb Evans and other landowners whose property is in the path of the proposed pipeline fear Pembina could use eminent domain to take their property while legal challenges to the project await court action. Liam Moriarty reports. (Jefferson Public Radio)

Unprecedented heat in Siberia pushed planet to warmest June on record, tied with last year
June 2020 tied for the planet’s warmest on record, closely matching the anomalously toasty temperatures observed globally during June last year. But one region in particular saw heat virtually off the charts — Siberia. Uncharacteristically warm weather and at least one instance of triple-digit heat thawed vast stretches the Arctic, contributing to a flare-up in wildfires and melting away permafrost in a process set to accelerate the pace of human-induced climate change. Matthew Cappucci reports. (Washington Post)

B.C. orders Coastal GasLink to stop pipeline construction near protected wetlands
After the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en Clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation flagged concerns, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office found Coastal GasLink failed to follow its wetlands management plan. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Single-use straw ban in Port Townsend gets preliminary nod
The Port Townsend City Council has unanimously approved on first reading a ban of the sale and use of plastic straws or stirrers, except for exempt locations, an action urged by a student group. The council approved the measure Monday evening. Final approval will be considered upon a second reading of the proposed ordinance. The ban, if approved on its second reading, would go into effect Jan. 1 and would ban food service industries from providing single-use plastic straws and stirrers to customers in favor of other alternatives such as paper, biodegradable or reusable straws. Ken Park reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

On Knowing the Winged Whale
Humpbacks are some of the most watched whales in the world, and yet so much of their lives remains a mystery. Bruce Grierson reports. (Hakai Magazine)

B.C. First Nation secures funding for multi-million-dollar project in ancient rainforest park
A new injection of government money is helping a B.C. First Nation start an ambitious project in the world's only inland temperate rainforest. The Lheidli T'enneh Nation, whose traditional territories stretch from Prince George to the Alberta border, announced Monday that both the provincial and federal government are contributing funds toward an $8.7 million development project the nation is planning in the Ancient Forest Provincial Park, or Chun T'oh Whudujut in the local Lheidli language. Chun T'oh Whudujut is located 120 kilometres east of Prince George, and according to B.C. Parks, covers an area of over 11,000 hectares, including 685 hectares of protected land. (CBC)

A green COVID-19 recovery: how Canada can chart a sustainable path forward for the economy
New report from Canada’s leading environmental groups lays out a roadmap for recovery that ties federal support to emissions reductions, prioritizes worker training and addresses longstanding inequalities. Ainslie Cruickshank reports. (The Narwhal)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  258 AM PDT Wed Jul 8 2020   
TODAY  Light wind becoming NW to 10 kt in the afternoon. Wind  waves 1 ft or less. SW swell 3 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of  showers. 
TONIGHT  NW wind 5 to 15 kt in the evening becoming light. Wind  waves 2 ft or less. SW swell 2 ft at 10 seconds. Showers likely.




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