8/17 Aspen, culverts, BC-WA pollution, carbon auction, climate doom, tug sinking, BC fish farms

 

Quaking Aspen [Native Plants PNW]

Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides
Quaking Aspen is sometimes called Trembling Aspen.  All of its names refer to how the leaves will quiver with the slightest breeze. It is the most widely distributed tree in North America. It is found sporadically in valleys west of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon, often in association with Black Hawthorn, Crataegus douglasii.  It is also found near the shores of Puget Sound and on southeastern Vancouver Island. (Native Plants of the Pacific NW)

WA, 9 other states get federal grants to replace culverts that can harm fish
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced nearly $200 million in federal infrastructure grants to upgrade tunnels that carry streams beneath roads but can be deadly to fish that get stuck trying to pass through.J eff McMurray reports (Associated Press)

Why is it taking so long to reduce cross-border water pollution from B.C.?
Water contaminated with fecal matter continues to cross into the U.S. after a problem identified at least a decade ago. Gordon Hoekstra reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Extra cap-and-trade auction may net $62M for Washington
A special auction of pollution allowances on Aug. 9 likely generated $62.5 million for Washington, revenue that the state can funnel into programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. During the three-hour bidding window, all 1,054,000 allowances offered were sold at preset prices, the state Department of Ecology reported Wednesday. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)

Spreading climate doom may make it harder to halt global warming
Focusing too much on extreme weather could trigger a backlash against climate action in the mid-2020s, when global temperature rises are set to slow down as the El Niño climate pattern fades. Madeleine Cuff reports. (New Scientist)

Tugboat owners plead guilty to safety charges connected to fatal sinking near Kitimat, B.C.
The owners of a tugboat that sank in coastal waters south of Kitimat, B.C., causing the death of two mariners, have pleaded guilty to safety charges under the Workers Compensation Act. Wainwright Marine Services and James Geoffrey Bates, the president of parent company Bates Properties Ltd., were each charged in February with eight counts of violating occupational health and safety provisions, according to court records. (CBC)

B.C. First Nations coalition seeks leave to join case to support salmon farm closures
A coalition representing 19 British Columbia First Nations and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs has applied jointly to the Federal Court to intervene in a case involving the closure of fish farms off Vancouver Island and the survival of wild salmon. A joint statement from the coalition says they are applying to the court out of their obligation to protect wild salmon for current and future generations. (Canadian Press)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  849 AM PDT Thu Aug 17 2023   
TODAY  NW wind to 10 kt becoming W 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 9 seconds. 
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 6 ft  at 9 seconds building to 10 ft at 10 seconds after midnight.

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