9/15 NZ spinach, TMX insurance, Enbridge reroute, SRKW return, BC dams, razor clams, COVID-19 vax, dead zones, Being Frank, green crab, eat weeds

New Zealand spinach

New Zealand spinach Tetragonia tetragonoides
New Zealand spinach is a flowering plant in the fig-marigold family. It is often cultivated as a leafy vegetable. It is a widespread species, native to eastern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. (Wikipedia)

Trans Mountain Loses 16th Insurer as Industry Giant Chubb Walks Away
The world’s biggest publicly-traded provider of property and casualty insurance, Chubb, has become the 16th insurer to declare that it won’t back the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, a coalition of climate and Indigenous campaigners announced yesterday. The flurry of social media activity was triggered by a single tweet from Financial Times insurance correspondent Ian Smith... “Chubb does not provide insurance coverage for any tar sands projects,” a spokesperson told Smith, following a protest at the U.S. Open tennis tournament earlier this month. (Energy Mix) Chubb exits from covering tar sands projects  Lyle Adriano reports. (Insurance Business Magazine)

B.C. First Nation demands Enbridge reroute gas pipeline after 2018 explosion
A First Nation in northern British Columbia said on Tuesday it was trying to force Enbridge to reroute a natural gas pipeline off its reserve lands after the line exploded in 2018, causing residents to flee their homes. The Lheidli T'enneh First Nation has written to the Canadian federal and B.C. provincial governments, which grant pipeline rights of way, asking ministers to order the Calgary-based energy company to reroute a 1.5 kilometre section of its T-South pipeline network that crosses the nation's reserve lands. (Reuters/CBC)

Southern Resident orcas return to Salish Sea area
After a long absence from the Salish Sea, some Southern Resident orcas found salmon near the San Juan Islands last week before making a one-day trip farther south into the Puget Sound Sept. 7. Normally, the endangered whales don’t head south until early October. Members of J pod passed close to Bush Point on Whidbey Island during their Sept. 7 visit. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Audit found 87 high-risk B.C. dams with ‘deficiencies,’ but doesn’t say where
B.C.’s auditor general is urging people not to be alarmed after releasing a 35-page report that found provincial officials weren’t doing enough to prevent dam failures that could lead to deaths and destruction. Sarah Cox reports. (The Narwhal)

The Aquaculture Industry Needs a Heat-Loving Salmon
Climate change is a huge threat to salmon farming. Scientists are on the hunt for a fish that can handle the heat. Chris Baraniuk reports. (Hakai Magazine)

First razor clam digs for 2021-2022 get green light
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has given final approval to the first nine razor clam digs of the 2021-22 season, with early-morning digs kicking off beginning this Friday. Shellfish managers with WDFW approved the digs after results of marine toxin tests showed clams at all open beaches were safe for human consumption. The state Department of Health finalized the results early Monday. Pierre LaBossiere reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

COVID-19: Over 70 per cent of all British Columbians now fully vaccinated  David Carrigg reports. (Vancouver Sun)  VA) Washington State COVID-19 Data Dashboard As of September 13, 68.1% of Washingtonians 12 and older are fully vaccinated. This number is higher than the DOH data dashboard because it includes state Immunization Information System (IIS) data, as well as aggregate data from the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs.

Experts seek ways to avoid 'dead zones' in Puget Sound caused by excess nutrients from humans
The Washington State Department of Ecology (WSDOE) says that excess nutrients from humans are contributing to low oxygen levels in Puget Sound. If oxygen levels drop low enough, it could lead to what’s called “dead zones,” or areas where aquatic life cannot be sustained because of the lack of oxygen. The current levels of dissolved oxygen in Puget Sound do not meet water quality standards and is “bad news for aquatic life,” according to WSDOE. (KING)

Being Frank: We have no time to slow down our recovery efforts
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission lost an irreplaceable leader last month when our chairperson, Lorraine Loomis, walked on. Lorraine’s contributions to protecting treaty rights can’t be overstated. Before she was elected NWIFC chairperson, she served as a commissioner for more than 40 years, many of those sitting beside Billy Frank Jr. as vice chair. Shawn Yanity writes. (Sequim Gazette)

Flipping the 'genetic paradox of invasions'
A new study led by Carolyn Tepolt, an associate scientist of biology at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is investigating the adaptive mechanisms of the green crab along the west coast of North America, where it has shown extensive dispersal in the last decade despite minimal genetic diversity. The study was published recently in Molecular Ecology and is a collaboration between WHOI, the University of California at Davis, Portland State University, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. (Phys.org)

5 weeds a Northwest horticulturist says you should try eating
Dandelion, white clover, purslane, creeping woodsorrel and bittercress. Monika Spykerman reports. (Columbian)

Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  247 AM PDT Wed Sep 15 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING   
TODAY  NW wind to 10 kt becoming W 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 1 ft or less building to 2 to 4 ft in the  afternoon. W swell 6 ft at 10 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. NW swell 6 ft at 10 seconds.

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