11/5 Bog blueberry, global coal, State of the Sound, orca DNA, hatcheries, refinery sale, brain fungus, seawalls. week in review

Bog blueberry [Frank Hecker]

Bog blueberry Vaccinium uliginosum
Bog blueberry is found in low-elevation bogs, subalpine heath, and dry to moist rocky alpine tundra. They were, and still are, a highly important food of northern peoples of Canada and Alaska, but they were also eaten by coastal groups fresh or dried into cakes. 'Blueberry' comes from the Scottish blaeberry, from the 15th century (probably Scandinavian) word blae meaning 'blue black.'

Over 40 Countries Pledge to End Use of Coal Power at COP26
The United States did not agree to stop coal development at home but promised to halt overseas funding of oil, gas and coal. More than 40 countries pledged to phase out coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, in a deal announced Thursday at the United Nations climate summit that prompted Alok Sharma, the head of the conference, to proclaim “the end of coal is in sight.” But several of the biggest coal consumers were notably absent from the accord, including China and India, which together burn roughly two-thirds of the world’s coal, as well as Australia, the world’s 11th-biggest user of coal and a major exporter. Brad Plumer and Lisa Friedman report. (NY Times)

Puget Sound fish and wildlife populations fall short of 10-year recovery goals
A final report on the 2020 ecosystem-recovery goals for Puget Sound outlines habitat improvements for some streams, shorelines and wetlands, but it also describes ongoing declines among fish and wildlife populations that use those habitats. The latest State of the Sound report, released this week by the Puget Sound Partnership, summarizes the status of 52 individual ecosystem indicators used to measure the health of Puget Sound. While 11 indicators point in a positive direction, suggesting that conditions are getting better for Puget Sound, 22 indicators tell us that things are not getting better. In fact, five of them are listed as “getting worse.” Nine indicators offer “mixed results” with measurements of both improvement and decline. Another 10 lack enough information to determine a trend. Chris Dunagan reports. (Puget Sound Institute)

Killer Whales’ Low Genetic Diversity Offers a Warning for the Future
Even after thousands of years, many killer whale populations are still reeling from the genetic bottleneck of navigating the end of the last ice age. Shi En Kim reports. (Hakai Magazine)

Hatcheries for Waning Orcas No Longer Works
If you’re an orca, you may turn your nose up at Chinook salmon produced in hatcheries. (“You call that a fish?”) Likewise, if you’re the state of Washington, you’re ignoring law and science to flood Puget Sound with hatchery salmon in the name of saving orcas.  These are two big takeaways from a lawsuit filed recently against the state by Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) and The Conservation Angler. Dan Chasan writes. (Post Alley)

Sale of Shell Puget Sound Refinery completed
HollyFrontier Corp. is the new owner of the Shell Puget Sound Refinery. Shell Oil Products U.S. recently completed the previously announced sale of the refinery to Dallas-based HollyFrontier, according to a Monday news release from HollyFrontier. In May, HollyFrontier agreed to purchase the 850-acre refinery on March Point — plus its hydrocarbon inventory — for $350 million. Jacqueline Allison reports. (Skagit Valley Herald)

Cause of mysterious brain-invading-fungus outbreak finally discovered
Scientists have finally found the cause of a mysterious brain-invading tropical fungus outbreak that killed more than 40 dolphins and porpoises in the Pacific Northwest: humans. Between 1997 and 2016, scientists found 42 dead dolphins in the Salish Sea around British Columbia and Washington. All had died of an infection from a tropical fungus, Cryptococcus gattii, which had entered their lungs and eventually spread to their brains. A similar outbreak occurred in humans from 1999 to 2007, when 218 people in British Columbia were infected by the fungus and 19 died from complications of the ensuing disease...A new study published October 22 in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms has finally solved the mystery: Climate change pushed the habitable zone of the fungus farther north, and then human activity from construction and deforestation displaced the fungus from the soil and trees and moved it into the air, where its deadly spores wafted out to sea. Ben Turner reports. (Live Science)

Washington and other coastal states seek to limit seawall construction
Protective structures can help save properties from erosion, but by blocking the natural flow of sand and sediment, they can accelerate erosion elsewhere. Alex Brown reports. (Stateline)

Salish Sea News Week in Review 11/5/21: Donut Friday, Zim Kingston, kelp carbon, Growlers, Blueberry ruling, kids climate suit, BC old growth, Canadian fossil fuels, oil ships, brain fungus, orca DNA, State of the Sound

Now, your weekend tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  223 AM PDT Fri Nov 5 2021   
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT   
TODAY  SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. W swell 11 ft  at 11 seconds. Showers and a slight chance of tstms in the  morning then showers likely and a chance of tstms in the  afternoon. 
TONIGHT  S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SE 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft building to 2 to 4 ft after  midnight. W swell 11 ft at 11 seconds. A chance of tstms in the  evening then showers and a slight chance of tstms after midnight. 
SAT  E wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SE 20 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. W swell 11 ft at 11 seconds.  Rain. 
SAT NIGHT  SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. W swell  11 ft at 11 seconds. 
SUN  S wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 11 ft at  11 seconds.

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