1/26 Shore crab, B'Bay waterfront, saving orcas, feeder salmonella, Vic sewer, Site C dam, ice loss, drilling ban, GasLink pipe

Purple shore crab [Mary Jo Adams]

Purple shore crab Hemigrapsus nudis
The purple shore crab is easy to identify because it usually has purple spots on its claws. Although the carapace is usually purple, you might occasionally find one that is olive green or reddish brown and without the purple spots on its claws.   Check the walking legs for hair; this species will be hairless.   Hemigrapsus nudis tends to be found on beaches with a fair amount of wave energy hiding under boulders and in mussel beds. (Mary Jo Adams/Sound Water Stewards)

The future arrives on the Bellingham Bay waterfront
After more than a decade of discussion, planning and cleanup of an industrial waste site, the city’s partnership with the port and a contract with a Dublin-based company are putting the waterfront’s future on the ground. First will come high-end waterfront condos, then multi-generation housing, hotel, restaurants, and recreation and office facilities. Meet your future, City of Subdued Excitement. (Salish Current)

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Tougher measures needed to save southern resident killer whales, experts warn
Humans beings, and nearly everything we do, present an existential threat to the 74 orcas that spend time in and around the Salish Sea, say experts. Airborne pollutants from industry and transport, waterborne toxins from agriculture, ship strikes, fishing pressure on their main food sources, and our past efforts to kidnap their young have all conspired to diminish their numbers, sicken the whales and interfere with their ability to reproduce. Randy Shore reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Remove your bird feeders: SPCA warns of salmonella transmission
The pine siskin, a populous brown bird in the finch family, has been hit hard by the bacteria. The BCSPCA is asking the public to remove any backyard feeders temporarily to help curb the spread of the disease. J.J. Adams reports. (Vancouver Sun)

PHOTOS: Check out Greater Victoria’s new wasterwater treatment facilities
The Capital Regional District’s newly finished tertiary wastewater treatment plant and accompanying facilities have taken Greater Victoria into a new era of not flushing screened sewage into the Salish Sea. (Saanich News)

‘Nothing should be kept secret’: B.C. First Nation asks court to order release of Site C dam safety documents
Site C construction continues at an estimated cost of $3 million a day amid growing concerns about the stability of the dam and secrecy from BC Hydro and the B.C. government, which is withholding a recent status report on the over-budget project from the public. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

Earth is now losing 1.2 trillion tons of ice each year. And it’s going to get worse.
Two new papers reveal the growing toll that human-caused global warming is having on the planet's ice. Chris Mooney and Andrew Freedman reports. (Washington Post)

Biden Launches Climate Change Efforts
President Biden on Wednesday will direct federal agencies to determine how expansive a ban on new oil and gas leasing on federal land should be, part of a suite of executive orders that will effectively launch his agenda to combat climate change, two people with knowledge of the president’s plans said Monday. Lisa Friedman reports. (NY Times)

A primer on the Coastal GasLink pipeline
From the project plan to the impact of COVID-19, here are six things to know about the pipeline project in northern B.C. (Canadian Press)

Now, your tug weather--West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  249 AM PST Tue Jan 26 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON 
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE  TONIGHT   
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell 9 ft at 13 seconds. A  slight chance of showers in the morning then a chance of rain in  the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  E wind 25 to 35 kt. Combined seas 8 to 9 ft with a  dominant period of 12 seconds. Rain in the evening then a chance  of rain after midnight.

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